The Unseen Perils of Court (Blueflame01 & Church)

“Isn’t this exciting, Your Highness? Coming back to Lucifite after all these years.”

Carson pulled his head away from the window to stare at the woman who spoke to him. The woman was in her late forties and had been sent by the Lucifite court to make sure he made it to the capitol safely. She had been trying to engage him in conversation since he landed and up until this point he had ignored her. He had favored staring out the window on the long drive to Lucifite’s capitol.

Looking at the woman again Carson sighed before decided that he may as well humor the poor lady. If only to get her to stop trying to get him to talk. “Yeah. I haven’t been here since I was six. When it was decided that I would marry the heir to the throne.”

The woman obviously hadn’t caught the hint that he didn’t want to talk for she continued. “I know exciting. Being called here to meet your betrothed. I can not fathom how excited you must be.”

“I wasn’t brought here to ‘meet my betrothed’ as you so lovingly put it. I was brought here because someone tried to kill me!” Carson snapped before turning back to the window. He was sulking and he knew it, but at least it stopped the woman from trying to speak to him.

The rest of the trip was made in silence. None of the other occupants daring to try and start a conversation with the temperamental prince and Carson was fine leaving it that way.

After about four hours the car finally pulled up to the gates of the castle and Carson got his first look at what was to be his new home.

Maddox gazed out the large window during the meeting he was being forced to sit through, discussing all the changes that would be taking place once the prince had arrived. It had been a sudden announcement as they hadn't intended on being together for at least a little while longer. He personally would have liked a little extra time with some of his playthings before he was going to be forced into wedlock.

Even though they were being put together now they may end up betrothed before the month was out regardless. His father was sick, not that it had become widespread knowledge, and he had slowly been introduced and started taking over his duties as king. He noticed one of their cars pull down the drive and he stood, garnering everyones attention.

"Our guest has arrived, though it seems you have your head's too far up your ass to be aware" he told them and stalked off towards the front door. He rather hated the men and would be replacing them when he was king. Servants opened the main doors into the castle and he stepped out, dressed in finery with hair so golden it could have been a crown itself and bright blue eyes. He gave Carson a wide smile and walked up and shook the mans hand "Welcome back to Lucifite, I do hope that your journey was uneventful" he smiled and practically pulled him inside.

He gave a quiet order to one of his servants that he would be showing the prince the grounds and that they were not to be disturbed. More or less he just wanted to get everyone off his back for a while so that he could breathe.

"Do you remember the castle at all?" he asked, planning on giving him a quick tour anyway, his tone much less formal and almost bored. He had been friends with the boy, and while that was when they were 6, he still felt fairly relaxed around him. He pointed out his own bedroom and where Carson's would be, then added once they were wed they would take the kings suite where the bed was massive.

They passed the closet where they had kissed when they were young, hearing about the fact that they were going to be married and they both wanted to know what it was like. He wondered if Carson still remembered or realized that this is where it was if he did. "Are you hungry? Or maybe care for something to drink? Then we can go out to the gardens where maybe they'll fucking leave me alone" he groaned, knowing that even despite his orders he could tell someone was following him.

The car pulled to a rolling stop and Carson patiently waited for a nearby servant to open the door for him. Stepping out of the limo Carson got his first look at his betrothed in thirteen years. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes that Carson remembered, just in more grown up face. Carson almost chuckled looking at that golden hair. People used to joke that when they would get married they would become the white king and black king of the kingdom. Seeing that Carson had ink black hair and emerald green eyes.

“It was. Thank you for asking.” Carson early got his reply out before he felt himself being dragged through the front door and into the castle. Carson let himself be led by the other male as etiquette dictated, seeing as how Carson was going to be king consort and not the other way around, and tried to seem interested in what the other was saying. “Vaguely. I was six that last time I was here. I remember the staircase that led up to where we used to play, and I do believe some of the other rooms, but other then not I can’t say for sure.”

Carson spoke elegantly and refined. His guard almost snorting when he talked. “The gardens sound like a pleasant idea. I seem to recall them being some of my favorite things here. Also I’ll have a glass of water, if it’s not to much trouble.”

When the prince had stepped out of the car Matt had been completely blown away by how different he was from how he remembered him and yet it was as if he looked the same as well. It was a very strange feeling and he caught himself staring at him a few times as they made their way through the castle, catching on his lips before glancing back up towards his eyes. He'd thought about this time for a long time and now that it was finally upon him he wasn't quite ready to embrace it fully.

"That's no trouble at all" he assured the other and led him towards the kitchens, walking in and telling one of the women to get them water. He plucked an apple from one of the bowls on a counter and bit into it as they waited, his eyes flicking through the large room until it seemed he'd found what he'd been looking for. His eyes had met with another, one brown and one green, the shorter man having mousy brown hair and a kind smile. He looked at him for only a few moments before he turned his attention back to the man he was engaged to and drank a few sips of his water before setting it back down and taking the apple with him as they left.

There wasn't much he could think of to say at the moment. He wasn't sure what you should say to someone who was having to give up their home to marry another singularly to benefit their country financially and politically. His eyes raked down the boys frame as they moved through the tall hedges of the garden and around a large fountain, pausing on the curve of his behind and the front of his trousers in an attempt to determine what he'd been endowed with. He was also wondering whether he preferred giving to receiving but wouldn't push that far quite yet. After all, they still had some time before their wedding day.

Carson felt Matt’s eyes on him as they made their way through the halls of the castle. Though in his opinion there wasn’t much to look at. He supposed he was attractive enough, the girls in his families court found him attractive though if it was because of his looks or title he didn’t know. His ink, black hair was styled into a spiky mess on his head. His skin was pale and he didn’t have much in the way of muscle, though that probably had more to do with that he avoided physical labor like the plague. He had high cheekbones that gave him a more feminine appearance then he actually wanted.

When they entered the kitchen Carson accepted his drink with a soft thank you. Taking small sips of the cool liquid as to wait for Matt to start speaking to him. he didn’t. ‘Well this is going well.’ Carson thought sarcastically as he continued to take small sips. Finally he set the glass down, and it immediately disappeared by one of the servants who were no doubt waiting nearby, before following his betrothed out into the gardens.

They were lovely and the fresh air felt amazing after being stuffed inside an airplane and car for almost 24 hours. Even inside of the castle itself had felt stuffy with all of the eye and people staring at him. As the finally rounded a large fountain Carson couldn’t take the eyes on him any more and abruptly turned and faced the other male. “The gardens are as lovely as I remember them to be. Though I don’t feel as though you are enjoying them as much as I am.”

The weather was a stark opposite to how Matt had been feeling that day. The sun was out and bathing the gardens in a warm glow while he felt much colder, wondering why his parents had decided to marry him off when he'd been six. He knew it wasn't out of the ordinary for children of royal families to be strategically auctioned off to another family to status but that was usually when the children were a bit older and had already lost all their baby teeth. He'd been stuck inside of his own head for the majority of their time together and hadn't quite realized it until he was called out. Matt blinked quickly a few times as he was spoken to, looking a bit surprised and then blushing before turning his face away.

He turned back to Carson with a smile on his face "I do apologize I've been a rather horrid host, haven't I?" he'd asked though needed no confirmation from the other, laughing quietly in a most self-deprecating way. "To be honest I've never had to do this sort of thing before. My father was a very friendly and talkative man when he was well I just can't seem to think of anything even mildly interesting to talk about that you could even pretend to find interesting," he told him truthfully. "I wouldn't dare to ramble on about myself for some lengthy period of time and risk boring you to death before supper. Is there anything in particular that you would like to know?" He'd offered as something of a compromise, thinking that might be some sort of segway into a conversation.

He also couldn't think of any questions that were fitting for the situation but also didn't seem like he was asking only because Carson had called him out on his attitude as of late. He suddenly stopped walking and took a glance back towards the castle, a smile on his face that made him look much younger than he was "would you care to climb that old tree we used to play on until I fell and they yelled at us?" he asked with a laugh. The last time he'd seen Carson was the last time he'd tried climbing it though it still stood the same and they shouldn't have half the trouble they used to.