sk8 au week - day 2: royalty and soulmate
reki kyan was nearing his eighteenth birthday and he had yet to meet his soulmate. reki has heard the whispers of the people in the town about people who donāt find their soulmates. itās not that he didnāt have one -he did, for your information, thank you very much- but because reki was from a royal family, and therefore a prince, he was to be married off and did not have the luxury of being with his soulmate. unless his soulmate was from another royal family, but reki had seen where his red string lead: straight into the center of the town below. so no such luck for another noble as his soulmate.
rekiās mother had tried to let him build friendships and hopefully relationships with the other royal children around his age, but reki had dreams about meeting his soulmate and never developed anything more than friendship with the other royals.
reki stared at his red string, eyes tracing its path down into the village, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone. sometimes when he sleep he caught glimpses of a tall, pale, slender figure and bright blue eyes. reki wondered what those eyes would look like mere inches from his own.
suddenly a book smacked into the back of rekiās head, startling him from his daydream.
āwhat the fuck-ā rekiās head whipped around.
āhey there slime.ā said a voice.
reki groaned at the sight of the boy sitting atop his desk.
āhello miya.ā he grumbled.
āwhatāre you looking at?ā the young prince asked, a catlike smirk breaking out on his face.
ānothing,ā reki said pushing himself up and walking over to miya.
āso is your mom still making you meet that prince for dinner tonight?ā miya hummed as he twirled a pen in his hands.
rekiās mother was much more kind with her son and his romantic predicament, compared to rekiās father who was ready to marry his son off without a meeting between the spouses. but after his father ran away with the sevrant girl he impregnated no one stuck to his old rules.
āyes, but i have a plan to escape and i need your help.ā reki said placing his hands on miyaās shoulders.
āiām all ears,ā miya said leaning forward as if rekiās mother was outside the door and eavesdropping this very moment.
āok so i need you to mix up joe and shadowās schedules so theyāre both in the great hall at the same time. we cant have a fancy dinner set up if the cook and florist are in there at the same time now can we?ā
āi like what iām hearing.ā
āand then i need you and koyomi to either distract the stable hand while i sneak through the barn.ā
ādone. is that all you need?ā
āyep. the rest is up to me. joe accidentally let it slip that his soulmate is the craftsman in town and that he sneaks out at the exit behind the greenhouses to meet him. so thanks to joe iāve got my escape route all planned.ā
āwell look at this, prince reki ditching the feast planned just for him. who would have thought?ā miya asked with a laugh.
āwell after how the last dinner ended itās not that surprising.ā reki said with a shudder as he remembered the glazed goat falling onto the poor princess who was just looking for a potential marriage partner.
miya let out snicker at the memory. āwell now that you say that...ā
āanyways i have to hurry if i wanna make it before my mom sends a servant to make sure iām ready.ā
āoh right right letās go. iāll go get koyomi and head to the stables. see you soon.ā and with a wink miya slipped out the door and was gone. grabbing a cloak from his bed, reki fastened the clasp and dashed out the room after miya.
he was sick of all this arranged marriage bullshit, he was sick of it all. reki just wanted to meet his soulmate and fall in love. he knew his thoughts were selfish though. he was the eldest of the four kyan children and his mom was doing her best to rule a kingdom by herself, so by default his marriage was bound to be political. it was very unlikely he would end up with his soulmate.
and so thatās why reki was going to meet his soulmate tonight. he would meet them and apologize for being a lousy soulmate before heading back to the castle to meet the prince who he was supposed to be dinning with.
for most of rekiās life he soulmate had lead to a place up in the snowy mountains. but within the past few years the string moved into the town below the castle reki lived in. just like fate his soulmate moved to his home town. but it was someone elseās fate, not his. so reki made up his mind weeks ago: meet his soulmate, apologize, then finally agree to a political marriage. his plan would take away his curiously about his soulmate, it would hopefully lessen his guilt about not being able to be with said soulmate, and it would make his mom happy. so why didnāt he like what he was about to do?
ignoring the heavy feeling in his stomach reki pushed on. running quietly through the halls reki hid behind stone pillars and over large plant pots when he needed too. finally reaching the barn reki slipped into there to see miya and koyomi talking away with the stable hand over a loaf of bread and some pieces of cheese.
slipping past the trio and out into the courtyard beyond reki doesnāt make a noise. he holds his breath all the way to the green house, and doesnāt let it out until heās well into the tunnel behind it. some time ago a tunnel was dug in the large wall protecting the castle, the entrance was hidden by vines on both sides. the cave was known only to a select few.
as reki hurried through the cave he began to think back to some of his earlier suitors. he remembers his best friend who he could have seen himself marrying despite not being soulmates. but his friend got sick and went back to his kingdom and reki never heard from him again.
but tonight was about his soulmate. so reki trudged on, squinting for the cave opening.
before long the prince was stumbling out of the vines and onto the street. luckily it was mostly empty. empty except for a tall man with long pink hair and glasses.
at the sound of someone falling through the leaves he looked up but seemed shocked to see a teenager.
āyour not kojiro.ā the stranger blurted.
āand your not- actually i wasnāt waiting for anyone and i have no idea who you are...or who kojiro is.ā
the man stared at reki for a minute before recognition flashed in his eyes.
āprince reki! what are you doing outside of the castle?ā
āi um...well you see-ā but reki was cut off by a rustling behind the vines and a large figure falling out of said vines.
ākaoru you will never believe the day i had...ā joe trailed off, eyes catching sight of a panicked reki and surprised kaoru.
ājoe?ā reki blurted at the same time joe said āreki?ā
the two stared at each other before reki made a run for it.
but joe caught him by his hood so reki didnāt get far.
ākid what the hell are you doing here?ā joe said apparently forgetting all formalities one should talk to their prince with.
ānot of your business! and i could ask you the same!ā reki yelled as he struggled to get free from joeās grip.
āiām meeting my soulmate. and iām going to ask you again, what are you doing here?ā
reki sagged, giving up the struggle. āsame here,ā
āyouāre meeting your soulmate?ā kaoru asked.
āyes, what about it?ā reki said crossing his arms. it had all gone so good until now.
āarenāt you supposed to be in a arranged marriage?ā
āyes so iām going to meet my soulmate and apologize before agreeing to an arranged marriage.ā
āwhat?ā joe said, surprise causing him to loosen his grip. taking the chance reki dashed away. ignoring the yells behind him reki kept on running. nothing can stop me now, reki thought, iāve come this far.
eyeing his string, reki ran through the streets watching it get tighter and tighter. reki was too focused on the string that he didnāt see the boy in front of himself until it was too late.
the boys slammed into each other hard, the medicinal products in the other boyās hands clattering to the ground.
they both spoke at the same time causing the boys to look up at each other abruptly. the boy had bright blue hair that went down past his ears. he was tall and lanky, his skin almost as pale as snow. bright blue eyes that reki had sworn he had seen before. but when rekiās gaze meet the boyās hands, his heart stopped. a thin red string connecting rekiās own finger to this mystery boyās, hung in the air. a red string of fate; a soulmate string. this boy was his soulmate.
eyes snapping back to the bright blue ones reki knew his soulmate saw it too.
āwell shit.ā reki blurted and the boy began to laugh. it was a sweet noise, like the chime of heavenly bells. and so reki began to laugh too.
āwell i guess youāre my soulmate. that makes this search a lot easier then.ā standing up and reaching out a hand to his soulmate, reki began to speak. āso you probably know who i am and therefore i canāt marry you -or be with you quite frankly- and iām very sorry for that and itās selfish of me but i have the responsibility of the kingdom on my shoulders and i canāt fail my people.ā
āwhat? ākingdomā? what are you talking about?ā the boyās blank stare bored into reki.
ā...iām the prince. and iām going to be king someday. and as much i want to be with my soulmate -you-, i have to be responsible for my people -which includes you-.ā
realization dawned on his face. āooh, i see.ā
āand honestly i donāt care about the difference of ārankā between noble and townsfolk but other royalty do.ā
āwell my moms a doctor if that means anything.ā
āa prominent roll indeed but unfortunately not enough for the in-law of a prince. well not in my eyes, but in the eyes of others.ā
the boy hummed in though. āwell she was the queen of the kingdom in the mountains before my father fell to illness and some corrupt politician overthrew her and had us banished. do that mean anything?ā
āyou- you mean you were a prince?ā
āoh my god. oh my god! this may just work then! i may be able to be with my soulmate and still have a marriage that pleases the royal court!ā rekiās eyes light up in happiness. āthatās only if you do want to be with me i mean.ā he added.
āwell youāre my soulmate, are you not? so weāre meant to be together, no?ā
āwell yes of course. but i wanted to make sure you were comfortable with it and all...ā
āof course reki.ā the boy said sweetly while reaching out and clasping rekiās hands in his own.
reki almost melted at the use of his given name spoken by his soulmate.
āoh wait can i call you that? is that ok?ā
all reki could do was dumbly nod.
āmy names langa by the way.ā
ālanga,ā reki said testing out the way the name felt on his tongue. āi like it!ā he smiled and watched as langaās face turned red.
āwell should we head to the castle or something to relay the news?ā langa asked, turning to reki.
āhmmm i think we can wait a minute. wanna show me around the town?ā
āit would be my honor.ā
and so the two boys disappeared into the lively bustle of the town as the laughed away and held each otherās hand like a lifeline.
