Of Roses and Daisies | Rawoong +18

A Kiss

"I..." What did Hwanwoong wanted to say? He had been sent there on a mission he had failed. There was no way he had enjoyed fighting against the other prince, feeling like his life was hanging on a thread while trying to predict the other's moves. "I did..." His eyes widened at his own words and he looked down at his own cup filled with the red nectar, deciding he would have stopped drinking for that night or he would have ended up saying even more nonsense than he already had.

The prince of Roses made their cups click together, raising his own for the knight before drinking. "That is what I'm talking about! We are young, we are handsome and to me we are all brothers." He surrounded the other's neck with his arm, pulling him slightly closer. "No hard feelings!"

Hwanwoong found himself unable to believe what the other had just told him. He had heard many stories about Prince Youngjo and he had just come to the conclusion none of those were true, except for the ones about his very good sword fighting skills. Unless the prince of the Kingdom of Roses had a twin whose personality was the opposite, Youngjo didn't sound full of himself nor narcissistic at all. Hwanwoong had to admit he even seemed like a pretty nice person, talking about brotherhood, and enjoying the process rather than focusing on the finish line only. He was speechless.

"You know..." The prince suddenly spoke again, slowly this time as if alcohol was kicking in. "Fighting with you felt the same way as doing it with my knights friends! You must have prepared yourself very well for the tournament. I would love to practice with you some other time!"

Hwanwoong was looking at the other's hand hanging on his shoulder as a new shocking discovery sank in his brain: his father had lied to him. Prince Youngjo had just befriended him, addressing his knights as if they were brothers and proposing him to fight together like an old friend would have. He had been honorable during their fight and he had been nothing but kind to him even if Hwanwoong was practically a stranger. A clear, loud, question appeared inside the prince of the Kingdom of Daisies head: why the king had created in his son's mind a completely wrong idea of prince Youngjo?

"I'm sorry, I tend to get very talkative when I drink a good wine like this one!" Youngjo apologized, giving the other such a sweet and innocent smile Hwanwoong didn't know how to react.

"N-Not at all, Your Majesty. This wine is truly delicious!" He quickly said, his cheeks feeling hot.

Prince Youngjo laughed: "Let's play a game so you can stop staring at me from here and you can forget about the bitter taste of defeat." He whispered close to Hwanwoong's ear, giving him unexpected goosebumps. "Who wants to play a game with the winner of the tournament?" He asked out loud right after, catching all the guests attention.

Hwanwoong watched many knights and ladies crowd excitedly around them at the prince's call.

"Does anyone of you know a good game we could play?" Youngjo asked and everyone started proposing different options to him. "Oh yes, we should go with that one! Do you know how to play, Ser Yeo?" He asked the knight, tightening the grip of his arm around the other's neck.

"Y-Yes." Hwanwoong's body tensed when the prince's hot breath reached his cheek. He was suddenly feeling extremely shy and awkward now that they weren't alone at the table anymore.

"Great! Everyone, let's play!" Prince Youngjo said to the others cheerfully.

"What's the prize though, Your Majesty?" One of the ladies of the court asked in a quite witty way.

"You know what we want from you, right?" Another one asked with a quite sultry voice as she stole the bottle from Hwanwoong's hands to pour the prince of Roses some more wine.

Youngjo knew exactly what she was talking about, especially because he had already let himself indulge in occasional affairs with court's ladies like her when he had felt the need for a distraction. He smiled charmingly: "The prize is a kiss from your prince. Is that enough for you, my lady?"