A/N: Hey there you fellow degenerates. Here's a quick little pronunciation guide for some tricky names:
Mikaela Forsberg ; mee - ka - ella fors - berg
Kyros Argyros ; kee -ross Ar - gee - ross
Alanis ; Like 'Atlantis' without the 't's
Egreya ; Eh - grey - ya
Enjoy!
Mikaela
"I'm bored." I said to my father as we watched the flailing of the men in the ring. His clear eyes rounded on me, the corner of his mouth twitched with repressed amusement.
"Will you be stepping into the ring yourself then? I'm sure the people would be inspired seeing their Prince participating."
The audience cheered politely at another ridiculous set of exchanges performed by the two in the ring.
"My old sparring partner is visiting. It's sure to be more entertaining than this incessant floundering." I rolled my eyes at the superficial spectacle. "Have him prepared for the next match." I said with no formality as I stood up and walked to the stairs leading down from the royal viewing box.
"How impertinent." My father muttered before I strolled out of earshot.
*
"Mikaela, this is Kyros. General Argyros' eldest son."
*
Shing!
Steel clashed loudly and my arms shuddered under the explosive force my opponent applied. My muscles burned as they fought hard to resist the full might of Kyros. It was all I could do, to parry and redirect but he was forcing me back. I'd be cornered sooner or later.
Pitch-black hair hung loose around his nape and clung to his nut-brown skin with the sweat he had quickly built up in the summer heat. We both wore the standard training fatigues for palace guards, a sleeveless black tank top tucked into black combat pants which in turn was tucked into a pair of polished leather combat boots. The clothes themselves were armoured which was why both of us hadn't bothered with additional wrist guards or shin guards.
His dark eyes held razor focus, however I recognized the excitement in them too. The beginnings of a familiar smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The smile pissed me off. With a burst of outraged strength, I managed to push back. Not enough to move someone as unnecessarily large as Kyros but enough to shift his sword back ever so slightly, allowing me to break out of the deadlock and slide my sword along his until his strike was redirected. It wasn't perfect but I'd bought enough time to follow my sword out of the new path of his slice and away from the edge of the arena where I'd been almost cornered.
By the time Kyros turned around to face me his old mischievous grin was plastered almost ear to ear on his face. "You've improved." He really meant it too. How irritating.
"As if it'll ever be enough." I rolled my eyes. I took a breath and a new stance with both my hands gripping the sword tightly in front of me. Kyros mirrored me. Of course he would.
I made the first move. Sprinting quickly to try and get inside his guard, I raised my sword parallel to my nose to deflect his first strike. Before our swords clashed once more, I dropped to my knees, the impact was heavy, but I ignored it. Kyros's sword went sailing way too close over my head causing my stomach to drop ever so slightly into my posterior. I kept my composure and refused to stop moving. My muscles tensed as I pulled my sword back past my waist and then struck out with the speed of a viper aiming straight for his neck.
Any other opponent would have been decapitated. It would have been an honour really, to be beheaded by the Crown Prince. Frankly, I found it offensive how instinctively he reacted to an attempted assassination. The sound of steel striking steel rang loudly throughout the arena, he'd infuriatingly used the pommel of his blade to block my strike. Its focus was speed, not precision so it bounced off in a harmless direction over his left shoulder. He used his free hand to grasp my wrist and have it follow my sword past his shoulder. One pinch of his thumb and my fingers involuntarily dropped the sword. He'd squeezed a pressure point. I huffed as he elegantly brought my empty hand in front of him and bowed.
I finally heard the audience applauding enthusiastically. It was easily one of the more exciting duels on display today. I found myself grinding my teeth in frustration.
"You still fight well." I managed to say casually as I tried to keep my chest from heaving. Kyros stood upright once again.
"As do you, your Majesty. It's interesting to see you've learned to incorporate the Zyrin techniques, even with a longsword."
"It's clearly a useless endeavour, what's the point if I'm too slow?" I grumbled. His response to my blatant admittance to attempted murder was simply a sheepish smile. "A smaller sword and you might decapitate me yet."
We both turned to face the royal viewing box. My father stood in the centre, beaming with pride. Next to him, with an equally proud expression was Kyros' father, General Commander Nikolaos Argyros. The attendants and council members stood back to allow my father to address us.
"Mikaela! Kyros! I am sure I am not the only person in this arena with my blood set to boiling after that duel!" The audience roared in agreement. "Your swordsmanship is an example to all of dedication, loyalty and the alliance connecting the crown and the military. Kyros of house Argyros, it is an honor to host you as General of the South. Your contribution to strengthening the border defenses has been praised as tactical genius and is a testament to the hard work you have dedicated to the empire. A good King recognizes the effort of his subjects," My father paused dramatically, I saw an attendant behind him make a motion and another attendant came sprinting from the arena door. He held a black, silk cushion aloft and despite his speed as he sprinted up to us, the golden medal in the center didn't jostle in the slightest. Kyros blinked at the medal as the attendant finally reached us.
"I, Ludvig Forseberg the first, King of the Egreyan Empire, hereby bestow the title 'The Might of Egreya' upon General Kyros Argyros, for his dedicated service to the crown and empire, for his undisputed prowess in both strategy and combat. The title serves as a reminder of the overwhelming strength of Egreya." The audience lost their minds.
The attendant presented the cushion with trembling hands. Kyros looked at me with a smirk. He wanted me to pin it on him.
It was a formality. The old man had to pretend to give him something for beating me in this impromptu duel. The title was probably something he'd pulled out of his rear when I left the viewing box. As far as I could tell it was a completely superficial title, meant to placate the commoners and make it seem as if the duel had a lot more preparation than being the impromptu whims of the Prince.
I gave Kyros a halfhearted sidelong glance before turning to leave the arena without acknowledging the medal.
*
"Why do you get a mech before me? I'm the Prince!" I complained childishly as Kyros walked me through his mech.
"Cause I'll be fighting at the border." Kyros stuck his tongue out as he settled into the command seat, the metal spine immediately latched on to his back. Four electrodes extended from the headrest and Kyros stuck two onto his temples and two onto the end of the metal spine at the base of his neck. He flipped numerous switches, the door closed and the inside lit up. Multiple screens came to life in front of us, a host of gauges, numbers and graphs showed that the mech was in good condition.
It was spacious, big enough for a living space with all the amenities needed to survive for at least a month, probably more. The entrance walked straight into the command centre where Kyros's pilot seat dominated most of the space. In front of him was the wall-sized monitor broken up into smaller screens that showed flight data and a 360 view of the outside. Two desk-sized terminals sat in front of the command centre, every single switch, button, lever and dial held an extremely important function designed to respond to the pilot's exact wishes. It's said that pilots can spend an entire week fine tuning the settings of their mech to suit them perfectly.
I huffed as I leaned against his seat. "It's not fair, I'm just as good as you... more or less. At the very least I'm definitely worth more than those grunts at the border."
"Of course you are, Your Majesty." His tone was all mocking, a mischievous grin on his lips. He flipped the last switch and the faint sounds of the engine could be heard humming softly. "Just accept your cushy life and let us grunts handle the giant robots." He pulled the lever, despite being unbuckled I barely felt the movement of the mech as it took off into the stratosphere.
The main monitor showed the blue skies outside. Subsidiary monitors showed the ground getting progressively smaller as we ascended.
*
A hard rap to the back of my head had me doubling over in pain.
"Ow!" I groaned, swatting away my attacker's hands as they attempted to hit me again.
"I did not teach you those techniques to kill your general!" Marawaan Amiri, Captain of my Prince's Guard, scolded as I exited my quarters.
His left eyebrow was pulled up impressively, made even more jarring by the angular scar that ran through it from his cheekbone up into his hairline and his mouth was a hard line that highlighted the small white scar that ran through it on the right side.
Two plain silver balls blinked from the space between his hazel coloured eagle eyes. A larger collection of silver rings, chains and balls hung from his ears. Sharp black lines started from the middle of his forehead and travelled down the right side of his face, curling up under his chin slightly and then continuing down into the neck of his shirt.
He wasn't dressed in the violet and silver of the Prince's Guard, instead he had donned his combat fatigues and his Kevlar armour. His hair pulled back into a braid that had probably been neater a few hours earlier. From his appearance he had to have been in his mech.
"Oh please, he didn't even blink at the feint. Your consideration is wasted on him." I said as I eased the pain at the back of my head. "Besides, as my general I expect that this will not be the first attempt on his life. He should be prepared." I shrugged.
"So you'll be assessing assassination attempts on all of the generals then? Or has the younger General Argyros done something to provoke your ire?" There was a reason he was my guard captain. That reason only served to antagonise me at this moment.
"I believe I have a feast to attend, captain." I ignored his prattling and brushed past him impatiently.
*
"I don't want you to go to the border." I said weakly. We were under a large oak tree in the northern courtyard of the west wing. Both of us were still in our military academy uniforms, jackets opened casually over white shirts and loosened ties.
Kyros looked at me. I couldn't read his expression. "It's my duty to serve at the border Mika. It's your duty to serve here."
"Are you...looking forward to it?" I had to look away. That wasn't the question I wanted to ask.
"I'll learn to lead. Protect Egreya. Protect the crown and-" He stopped himself and looked away. Sunlight filtered through the trees, illuminating his dark hair. Even in sunlight his eyes were dark.
A complicated mood took over me. Words attempted to erupt from my throat but I swallowed them down. Not all of them though.
"Why do you look at me like that sometimes?" I met a pair of startled eyes. I steeled my nerves and pushed forward. "Sometimes... you look at me and I don't understand what you're thinking. Like you're only seeing me. It makes me feel-" I couldn't finish the sentence. His eyes were still boring into me. I felt my neck extend ever so slightly as I was about to look away but then I closed my eyes instead.
I closed the distance between us and hesitatingly touched my lips to his. Our lips barely brushed. Three heartbeats went by, and I mustered the courage to push forward a little harder. Our lips pressed into each other.
I felt a warm hand at my cheek, cupping it gently as Kyros amazingly pulled me in closer. The kiss deepened ever so slowly. Both of us afraid of scaring the other.
And then it was over Kyros pulled away and I felt cold in the absence of his heat. My heart sank at the horrified expression on his face. As if we'd committed the highest sin.
"Mika... we can't do this."
*
Trumpets and violins swelled in a cacophony of elegant music as the doors to the Great Hall opened.
My father and I were seated at the royal table atop a grand dais at the end of the Hall. An undisturbed view of the doors and the aisle before us. Gaudy decorations hung from the high ceiling while banners in colours of purple, violet, gold and silver lined the walls and draped over the large floor to ceiling windows.
Many guests were already seated to either side of the aisle sipping drinks and biting down on hors d'oeuvres. Attendants scuttled about, making sure the nobles did not have to ask for anything. They flitted about the royal table as well, replacing dishes and pitchers as necessary.
I stubbornly refused to look at the tables flanked to either side of ours. To my father's right was the newly appointed General Commander, Nikolaos Argyros, his partner and gathered around the table were the four generals and their respective partners. I sat to my father's left. Kyros was seated to my left with the seat between us left empty and next to him was Morley Kostro, General of the East.
The sudden swell of music had the entire hall silenced with their necks craning to get a glimpse at the doors.
Alanis Argyros could cause an entire hall to hold their breath. Silky black hair flowed gracefully down to his waist, even when it was pinned up with crimson gemstones. His hair is a stark contrast to his milk-white, jade smoothed skin. He wore the formal attire of a rather important omega. A crimson undershirt under cream-coloured robes, the sleeves much longer than his arms. His pants, the same colour as the robe, were cinched at the waist and flowing out wider at the bottom. One couldn't see his shoes, but I was pretty sure they were a pair of indoor slippers.
He approached the royal table. His dark, fox-shaped eyes found mine and a demure smile played on his full, pink lips. One could think that he was shy. He fell to the floor in an impressive display of submission. Palms on either side of his head with his forehead touching the floor. His hair spilled around him like black puddle.
"Alanis, my dear. You are as lovely as ever." My father spoke warmly as he regarded Alanis.
"You flatter me, Your Majesty." Alanis' voice was filled with appreciation and piety.
"Rise and face the court, Alanis Argyros." My father said and he too rose. The rest of the hall followed his lead.
"My loyal subjects. It is with my greatest pleasure to announce the union of the Royal house of Forsberg and the ever-loyal house of Argyros." My father raised his chalice proudly. "My son, Mikaela and Alanis, second son of my General Commander Nikolaos, will be joined in matrimony six months from now. It is with pride that we welcome Alanis into our small family. As many of you know, the Argyros Family has been a significant contributor in the success of Egreya. Our families will continue to lead the Kingdom with sensibility, strength and compassion. I, King Ludvig Forsberg, hereby declare Alanis Argyros as formal royal suitor to Prince Mikaela Forsberg."
The hall erupted with deafening applause. Alanis turned to me and bowed in submission, extending his neck. I bit the inside of my cheek as I regarded him and tried not to look when he took the empty seat between Kyros and me.
"Your highness." He greeted me sweetly.
I thought about ignoring him but I couldn't help leaning forward and saying just loud enough for Kyros to hear, "I wanted your title to be 'The Royal Whore' but my father thought it inappropriate."
Kyros stiffened but Alanis kept his sweetly submissive facade.
"I'd say that green doesn't suit you, your majesty but it honestly does. You know, seeing as you're a snake and all."
"I'm the snake but you're the one with the ashy skin? Have you considered moisturising?"
"Have you considered a new personality? To think, the crown prince is envious of a 'whore'" He giggled behind his sleeve.
"Shouldn't you be on your back somewhere with a cock inside of you?"
"Unfortunately it seems that my partner might be impotent. At least going by the fact that he can't even draw out my heat."
"Don't put all the blame on the poor man. There's only so much you can do with a defective omega. Oh, I'm sorry Alanis, I'd heard the whispers."
His eyes twitched ever so slightly but he maintained his coquettish grin. His gaze then slid over to Kyros who had overheard the exchange with a carefully controlled expression but was making conversation with the Eastern General.
"Oh I know about whispers, your highness."
*
"Mikaela!" The voice stopped me in my tracks and I hated the way my heart stuttered at the sound of it.
I'd excused myself from the feast after an appropriate amount of time mingling with all the people my father deemed absolutely necessary. I walked through the north courtyard of the west wing, on the way to my royal apartments. I'd stopped just before the small steps that led to the entryway of the residence. The ornate doors were closed but I knew there would be guards just behind it.
"What could you possibly want? General Argyros." I couldn't keep the venom from my voice as I turned to face Kyros. He had stopped in the middle of the courtyard, in front of the same large oak tree we saw each other last.
Formal attire suited him just as well as combat fatigues and armor. Black, silk fabric flowed smoothly over the planes of his muscle. Several badges and accolades shone on his jacket including the newly bequeathed medal from the duel. The insignia of the South army on his right bicep.
The crisp white collar of his shirt was a pleasing contrast against his smooth dark-brown throat, cinched with a gold embroidered black tie. His sleeves held golden cufflinks and in his left ear was a plain golden earring from which hung a pea sized ball engraved with the Argyros family crest. His hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail that accentuated the faded sides, a single lock of black hair had come loose and curled ever so slightly under his jaw.
"You know it's not fair how you treat him. Is it too much to even be civil in public at least? Is this how you've treated him this whole time?"
"I'm sorry, but last I checked, how I treat Alanis has nothing to do with you. You're the one who left us both." I said through pressed teeth.
"Mika-"
I crossed my arms. "Bold of you to address me like that considering the fuss you made last time." I spat. Kyros stopped and took a deep breath.
"This is not about us." His careful tone infuriated me. I bit down all of the insults and poison I wanted to spit at him.
"There is no 'us' general. Well at least not until I become King, even then the general commander is to be our go between. So please, don't be so presumptuous as to assume that you have a say in my relationship with Alanis. Even if he is your brother, as the future royal consort he probably outranks you too according to your dense hierarchy." My voice was low and scathing.
He was trying hard to keep himself calm. I kept prodding.
"What do you really want, Kyros? You're the one who decided it to be like this. This distance." I straightened my back and took one deliberate step forward. The movement was subtle and repressed but his body became rigid.
"I want you to grow up! Stop throwing these tantrums every time you don't get your way. My actions had nothing to do with Alanis and you know it." He tried to keep his tone neutral, but I could hear his temper building.
"Yes!" I matched his heated tone. "I do! And how I treat Alanis has nothing to do with you. You've been at the border for two years. I know you two send your little hummingbirds back and forth but don't fool yourself into thinking you know him. Or me."
He let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, he's still my brother. I've seen the way you've always treated him, don't act like I don't know. He doesn't deserve that. He's isolated enough as it is, I know he misses home too. I don't care if you're going to be the King, I have to try and protect him."
I felt a pang in my chest. I still wanted to be angry at him. I could have poked his temper some more with degrading comments of hypocrisy, I could have insulted his brother some more, I could have insinuated an unforgivable taboo. Instead, I hated the way I had to look away from his determined gaze. Jealousy rose at the way he spoke so defensively about Alanis. A sick sense of hope blossomed in my chest as I thought about his words.
I isolated them and threw them back quietly.
"You don't care if I'm going to be King?"
He was taken aback by the phrase I'd chosen to say. It was silent until I forced my gaze to meet his once more. He blinked at me. Surprise rippling across his face. I waited.
"That's not- I didn't mean-" He started but then composed himself. "You know that's not what I meant." He said a little helplessly. "You asked me what I want, what do you want?" I steeled myself and took another step forward that put me right in front of him.
"The last time we were alone I kissed you. You kissed me back. And then you told me that it was wrong. A mistake. Because I was a Prince and you were beneath my station. Because we're both Alpha and that it would tarnish the crown's reputation for it to be public knowledge that I would let another Alpha touch me. And then you left for the border. Two years, no text, no email. Not a letter or a note. Not even one of those blasted hummingbirds you and Alanis send each other."
"Mikaela, you know that wasn't supposed to happen!" His eyebrows knit together in frustration. "This isn't how it should be between us, I am your general!" It was said with a hint of desperation. Trying to cling to the rational. But it faltered.
"You're nothing. Here, right now, there's no one else. So you're nothing, neither am I." I lowered my eyes and held his onyx gaze. His body tensed. "There are no titles. No Prince. No General. No King. You just called me 'Mikaela' so stop bullshitting me. This has nothing to do with Alanis and we were never going to have the same relationship as our fathers." I'd leaned closer, our noses half an inch apart. "Not since you started looking at me. Just. Like. That." He'd kept a cool mask this whole time but when I came closer his eyes betrayed him by flickering down to my mouth. I couldn't help the twitch at the corner of it.
I tilted my head back, my chin up. An invitation. A chance to redo the past.
He closed the distance. Our lips crashed into each other. I vaguely felt the sturdy trunk of the oak tree behind me.
The kiss was chaotic. Filled with all the anger and frustration of the past two years. We both fought for control, neither of us willing to give in just yet. He ground my lower lip between his teeth, I knew what he wanted but I was stubborn. My left hand slid into his hair, grasping the top of the ponytail and pulling hard, snapping his head back and his chin up so that my lips found his neck.
He let out a breathless chuckle as my right hand came up to undo his tie and collar exposing his whole neck to me. He sighed as he let himself enjoy the moment. His hands trailing up and down my sides, up my torso, in my hair, down my back.
I sucked on the skin of his neck for a few moments, just beneath his collar bone so he wouldn't freak out about it sticking out. It could hardly be seen through his skin tone but even the slightest change satisfied me.
"Stop thinking." I said when I pulled away, I'd noticed that he was still a little tense under my fingertips.
Kyros looked down at me. Our foreheads touched. "Then let me." He pushed against me, my back flat against the oak tree behind me, our knees knocking against each other and our breath mingling as he leaned in to kiss me again. This time I didn't fight him. It was still frustrating but when his teeth grazed my lower lip once more, I opened my mouth slightly in permission. He wasted no time taking the opportunity to wrestle his tongue with mine.
He slowed down so much I found myself light headed. My mind was filled with thoughts of; yes! and finally! and more! I pressed my body closer to his so that there was no space between us. Warmth turned to burning, and I felt the tense desire building between us.
I let his weight push against me. Let my head tilt back against the coarse bark of the oak tree, my neck exposed to him ever so slightly. He let out a gruff sound, his shoulders tensing as he realised what I was doing. Unsure what to do with the submission. Our foreheads met once again, his hands cupping my chin, so that my neck was still slightly bared to him. My skin burned where it met his.
"I'll stop thinking." The whisper set my heart racing akin to the beat of a hummingbird's wings.
I couldn't understand the internal struggle he was having. I was born at the pinnacle of the hierarchy. My whims were always unchallenged. I didn't feel the wrongness he felt when I bared my neck to him despite being an alpha myself. It should have been there. I had all the other traits of a noble born alpha. I'd never submit to anyone else. Not even to my father as would be expected of a future King.
Kyros should be King. The idea was in my mind before I'd made sense of it. It seemed a completely natural idea. He'd always been ahead of me in everything we did. Despite my scathing comments I didn't resent the idea. I'd accepted it a long time ago. That's why he was the only one I would submit to.
And so there we were. A mass of heated passion and desire. A two-year-old conflict culminating into the beginning of a beautiful and hopeless connection that I knew I would kill to protect. A raspy cough echoed through the quiet courtyard.
I merely snapped my eyes to the uninvited intruder but did not move from where I was leaning quite seductively against the oak tree. Kyros, however, took three steps back rather clumsily and would have fallen over splendidly had I not caught and steadied him.
His skin darkened slightly with a blush as he stared horror struck at the newcomer.
"Captain Amiri, to what do I owe the disturbance?" I said out loud, lathering my voice with impatience. Marawaan regarded us carefully, the scar over his eye looking particularly haunting in the soft light. His initial surprise melted away quickly.
"Your Highness, I was merely confirming your security. Apologies for the disturbance, I believe General Argyros is more than capable of assuring your safety." He bowed and turned to leave.
"The General is on his way out." I said quickly. Kyros looked like he wanted to throw himself off the nearest tower. He'd need some time to rewire his brain after everything that happened. "Goodnight, General. I look forward to our next meeting." I stood up straight and strolled up to join Marawaan. I ignored the quizzical look he was giving me and continued to my residence.
A/N: Hope ya'll enjoyed that, thanks to my editor and the cat(Floyd) walking across the keyboard as I type this. I'll try and update every fortnight or so.