Modern era
The prince did not sleep well that night. For the first time since his youth, nightmares plagued him. Haunting, awful screams of soldiers burning in his ears like sirens as he sat up in a cold sweat. He shouted, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry... sorry..." Panting as his senses slowly returned to him. He placed both hands to his face as the velvet blanket slid down his bare torso. It had been three days since the queen's assassination, and the dreams were only growing worse.
He glanced quietly at the charm above his bed that his mother had made. A simple weaving of raven feathers on silk in the shape of a net. She said she learned the practice in a land where the fields glisten with golden crops. Now, it seemed to have lost all ability.
He sat up and torn down the small circular trinket, gritting his teeth. He held back so much anger every day. A fury that boiled from every barb he ignored. Every glare and stare st his oddities. For a moment, he nearly crushed the thing, but a deep breath calmed his fire wnough to setting it down on the black corner of his nightstand. He buried his face between his hands as his legs draped over the side, brushing over the simple straw and sand floor.
"I... I need a drink." He muttered, standing and tossing on an old blue robe as he started down the hallway. He rubbed his face as he passed down iron filled hallways, ghostly sets of mail that once filled him with pride, now only reminders. Reminders of the red caking his hands. In the day, he could find solace in the sunlight or the warmth of fires, but nighttime was always harder on him. It was as if his mind flowed with the cycle of day and night, rising with sunshine and fading with moonlight. With his mother gone, what guard he had at night seemed to also fade with her. Dirt in an already gnarly wound.
He heard movement nearby as he turned into a hallway toward the kitchen. As he did, he spotted a familiar sight. The woman from the other night, yet he saw her dawning a hood presently. It was no she, but Prince Nuru. Why was he disguised?
"Excuse me?" He called and approached, stiffen the prince. "Prince Nuru?"
He sighed slightly, letting the hood fall back over to show his black hair. Edan often wondered about the preference.
"P... Prince Edan." He turned and gave a small smile. Edan returned it, trying to calm the heat behind his eyes.
"So, you were the mysterious lady? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I... was not certain of your character."
Edan smiled quietly for a moment. He nodded after a pause. "A wise move, but I hope that I have met your qualifications." His voice was deeper, softer. He often got annoyed at how gruff he sounded before he had time to stretch his vocals in the morning. He looked up into Nuru's eyes and was puzzled to find his cheeks a warm shade of rosey pink. He stepped closer, resting a soft hand to the smaller man's cheek. "You are burning up..." He muttered, eyes moving back to Nuru's solid blues. This only seemed to worsen his heat to a near furnace.
He stepped back after a moment, swatting fretfully at Edan's hands. "I.. I am simply a little hot. These trappings handle poorly in your... bogey climate."
"Well, then let's get you something better."
"E...excuse me?"
....
Nuru stared into the expansive vanity mirror of the tailor's hall. It was a large rectangular room littered with fabrics and sewing equipment. Most used it for little projects, especially Aelfrun whenever her rival Frida visited. The mirror covered the entire back wall, giving one total view of a look and themselves.
"This is..." Nuru lightly traced his hands over the fabric. It was cotton and wool, but softly spun and gentle on the skin. It draped to the floor with a cinched waist dark green skirt that stopped just below his breast. The top part was made from softer silks and velvet fabric that gave it an emerald sheen, ending in wide swooping sleeves. They completely hid his hands and arms. The neckline stopped just below his chin with a very soft lining inside that made it comfortable but breathable, with the entire dress stitched to allow air to flow without compromising its integrity. He finished the ensemble off by placing a small black veil around Nuru's face just above the nose line, commonly worn by the noble women when in public. It wasn't a stretch to say he liked it, so he kept it on.
"Now just for the hair and your eyes." Edan murmured. He placed a hand on Nuru's wig, only to have it batted away in an instant.
"N-no!" He shouted a little before blushing quietly. "Ahem... we can.. restyle it." Edan grinned.
"Sounds like a plan!" He grabbed some scissors, extra hair, and a stool, setting down Nuru and began snipping and and adding until the wig had a bit of a rougher more practical look, before braiding and tying it just below where it would reveal that it was a wig, and let the new braid drape down with the back of the dress and covered the seam of cross stitching threads that revealed his back slightly. "There."
...
Nuru appreciated himself. The dress hugged his chest but let the flow of its fabric fall over him in a lovely silhoutte. The hair was more european in style, and he felt rather pretty all things considered. The veil even gave him a small tie to home. "One last thing." He glanced over as Edan slid on a pair of blindman glasses but with false lenses. Anyone looking would assume he, or she by their thoughts, was blind. "Now we can spend more time together without all the fuss of court, ay?" He gave him a big, goofy smile again.
Nuru could still feel the pain in the edge of his creasing eyes. These last couple days had weighed on him, and he was trying to keep up spirits. Likely, Nuru had been a welcome distraction from whatever had awoken him this late.
"Prince Edan?"
"Hm?" He looked back directly at Nuru as the smaller prince lowered the glasses.
"You... don't have to he strong right now."
"..."
"No one is watching but us. Its... okay." He touched Edan's cheek. Delicate, soft hands touching the rugged skin of the warrior prince. He watched as decades of self-control briefly crack in those lovely eyes. Such splendidly beautiful eyes like amber gold. Soon, they began to spill forth rain.
"Why... did it have to be her..." He shook, slowly pressing his cheek against Nuru's palm as he lost a losing war against his own tears. A gentle thumb stroked away each dreadful drip as they fell. For a brief moment, Nuru forgot his plan. He just pulled Edan's head close for a moment, stroking his hair as the man wrapped himself around the smaller royal. Sobs began to rock him in a way they hadn't since the day of, and the egyptian couldn't stand seeing him hold in such pain a second longer, even if he lacked the understanding to why.
"Let it out..." He whispered softly. "It is not a failing to be weak."
...
The kitchen was a mess to witness had Edan ever managed to reach it. Shattered wine bottles and tossed about cookware leading to the open pantry door. Frida stepped into the room, wearing just a navy blue tunic and some loose fitted black pants with her hair under a net. She gulped quietly at the sight laid on the pantry floor, lightly singing sea shanties to herself. Aelfrun had been stern faced during the day, but Frida knew better.
"Soon.. maaaay... the... wetter... Oh... fuck it." She hurled the bottle she had clasped as Frida caught it, walking in quietly to the pantry.
"Frun."
"Fri..fr.. frida. Yes. Good. I need you to fetch me the bottle on the top shelf."
"Frun..."
"Come... come on then..."
Frida simply knelt down and embraced the girl. Aelfrun struggled for a second, tears forming as she punched at the greater woman's chest to little success. Frida said nothing. She had no words, only the offering of comfort as she quietly squeezed the smaller woman. "It's okay, Frun. It's okay." She pressed her face quietly to her collar, lip trembling as she felt the first trickles down her shoulder. Her screams ripped out soon after. "It's okay to not be okay."
...
Hadeon quietly stared at the remaining mark on his wall. Silent, eyes fixed on the outline of his beloved wife. His hand clenching a letter from his council, hinting at church involvement. His hand shook horribly on the letter. If Kore and Aida were correct, there could be no greater betrayal. No greater harm done on his house than this. It was no mere insult. It was a butchery of her. Of her magnificence. An insult to her ways, her attempts to give back the light of magic to people. That dream died with her, for Hadeon lacked the compassion and talent in magic to spread such knowledge.
He slowly fell onto his knees, paper fluttering down as his hands held to his strained face. He fought it, but gentle hands resting a blanket over his shoulders unleashed him. He barely heard the voice of Neri say, "I am here, Eon... I am here..." She said softly. He felt her soft blue fingers rubbing his shoulders as he wept, her black and grey robes shifting as she knelt down to softly embrace him from behind. He felt the plush of her small breasts against his back, gently moving one delicate hand to dab his eyes with a handkerchief. They once had been so close before he had wed Macha. They had grown distant in the politics of war, but she always came to help when he could not surrender in front of anyone else. Anyone, but Macha.
He wailed quietly, only letting his pride fall enough for that. He turned, letting her take him closer in her arms as brown stray locks fell onto his head, her softly pink lips whispering soft comforts into his hair. He wept for quite a long time, yet there was a soothing quality to Neri's voice. There had always been such a gentleness when she spoke, and she rarely spoke. He felt the ache in his heart easing as the tears fell with her gentle words.
"Relax, Eon... rest..." He felt her smile against his hair as he slipped into dreams, exhausted by nearly a dozen minutes sobbing. "I will make it all better."