"I know," Bel says. He knows that he won't be able to fight his father (he's too scared to) and he knows that Nico needs a few moments. Give Nico space, let him clear his mind, they'll cross a bridge once they're both ready. Distance, the perfect way to allow anyone to calm down. Bel's plenty versed in giving people their space. He watches the back of Nico's neck for a moment before turning back to Cassian with a somber, close-lipped smile. "I look forward to meeting your leader. Perhaps we'll be able to figure something out between us."
Truth be told, his siblings won't allow such a sudden and abrupt change in power. Miran's been waiting for his throne since he was a baby–their father too stubborn to pass from natural causes or have enough grace to retire. Val and Treya like the resources, the riches, the ability to have anything instantly at their fingertips–and Bel would be a hypocrite and a liar if he said he didn't also enjoy it. The idea of… multiple people wanting Bel dead doesn't sit well with him. It wouldn't sit well with anybody. Even with their current rift, Bel still doubts that Nico would allow anything to happen to him. Nico did promise, and Bel knows the man isn't a liar.
You've already met him, Cassian wanted to say but he didn't. Nico had his reasons for keeping his identity a secret even now, even after Bel had come to trust him. He didn't think it was right for keeping the secret for so long, none of them did, but none of them would tell as long as Nico wanted to keep to himself. They only hoped it wouldn't blow up in his face.
"You'll be able to work something out. He's understanding and open minded. Despite what your father has put him through, I think you'll both be able to come up with something that will at least spare your siblings." Cassian knew Nico would. If this continued, Nico would oribably do anything Bel asked. "Do me a favor and don't ask him about his scars. He'll tell you when he's ready. If you ask to soon, he'll shut you out completely. It's a sensitive subject for him."
"I didn't plan on doing so," Bel replies about the scars. Bel sometimes wonders if they forget that Bel's a prince, raised with the best manners and etiquette classes in the kingdom. Even if his alleged false princehood is true, it doesn't change the fact that Bel's polite in the face of strangers. Mentally, Bel tries to imagine what this leader could look like. Large, hulking, scars across every inch of his body… He'll likely tower over Bel and try to make him feel small and insignificant–maybe? No. Bel's imagination is getting away from him.
"Your leader will tell me everything when he's ready." Bel may be technically a prisoner, but if anything, he feels more of an ambassador–somebody sent to find a proper armistice between warring nations. "And if he doesn't choose to tell me then that's fine. It's his business and not mine, my only business regards my family and the kingdom." The kingdom, not his. It's not Bel's. He thought it was his father's and promised to his brother, but now that even seems to be wrong.
Cassian was quiet for a moment, taking the time to look around them. With the other four, he wasn't worried about being ambused unexpectedly. They protected his back and his front. It was just out of habit that he kept an eye on his surroundings. With his line of work he always had to keep an eye out.
"He will tell you, I can promise you that." If cassian coukd starw a hole into Nico's head he would have done it just then. "He won't keep you in the dark. Once we catch him up on everything, he'll be understanding. He welcomes everyone. You will be welcomed as well. He wants only the best for his kingdom and as long as you want the same, he can work with that."
"Thank you, Cassian." Bel nods. "I do appreciate what you've told me." Now it's time for Bel to digest it all in silence. He's so used to silence, to taking everything in for himself. Being around these five men is the most consistent interaction he's had in a decade. Not to mention this whole… thing he has with Nico. Bel bites at his lip, staring at the back of his blond head. There's no way his singular comment could have messed up everything that they had accumulated, right? Like what Cassian said, give Nico some space and it'll wash over–hopefully.
(timeskip soon? maybe to night so Bel and Nico can talk out their feelings like adults alkdsfj)
(Yeah yeah I got you.)
Cassian nodded to him. He offered small stories over his time with the Lisais, all fun and easy and nothing that would expose Nico for who he was. Eventually, he fell back to speak to Kaillas, leaving Bel alone in the middle.
It wasn't until night had fallen that Nico gave the signal they were stopping and found a spot good enough in the woods. A fire was struck and bed mats were set out. Nico had picked up another bed mat during their supply run so he didn't have to sleep on the hard ground any longer. Food and fresh bread was passed around the fire, Nico still sitting there in silence, alone with his thoughts.
With the setting sun comes Bel's nightly uneasiness. Nico signals to stop after nearly fourteen hours of straight riding. The bed rolls get unfurled, the fire gets lit, and everyone begins to settle down for the night. After moving his mandolin from Cassian's bag to his own, Bel decides to bite the sword and approach Nico. At first, he doesn't say anything as he sits beside the blond. Bel looks at the sky, the stars, then to the trees around him, and finally settles on staring into the fire.
"I'm sorry," Bel says eventually, quietly to only be heard between them. "You were… You were talking about the potential deaths of the only people I had ever carried about and I got… defensive and I said something I shouldn't have." He takes a breath, only realizing that he had been borderline rambling. "I'm sorry."
As Bel cane to sit by him, the other four men suddenly found something else to do. Checking supplies, checking the horses, scouting the area. Anything but focus on them, which really told Nico they were all listening them talk. Bunch if busy bodies.
Nico reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. "You dint have anything to be sorry for. It's your family, of course you'd want to protect them. I shouldn't have said anything. At least not without explaining everything." This was the time to say it. Another opportunity staring him right in the face. "I promise to tell you everything when get to my home." He just couldn't do it. There was that sinking fear in the back of his head that something bad was going ti happen if he said anything. "Let's not talk about this anymore. At least not until you've heard the full story."
The near immediate forgiveness strikes Bel as odd. No sort of argument or violence or even intense emotion–just… forgiveness. Quickly, Bel recovers from his momentary shock and he squeezes Nico's hand in return. Nico keeps telling him that Bel will finally hear everything when they arrive at his home. "How far is your home?" He asks. "I just want to know how many more nights I'll have to sleep on the ground." He tries to offer a smile, something to break the ice Bel can feel between them.
"We can talk about something else," Bel suggests. He's missed Nico's companionship through the day. The unpacked saddle bag beside his bed roll catches his attention. There's his mandolin and his book.
Nico offered him a small smile in return. "It's about a weeks ride, maybe less depending on how much ground we can cover. We'll go straight through a small village in a few days, stay the night, and then another day or two we should get there. You won't have to sleep on the ground for much longer. And hopefully, it will be a long time before you have to sleep on it again."
Nico stretched his legs out in front of him, his body relaxing. He felt more at peace now that they had spoken. Things would get better now. He would Bel eventually about who he was. Just not now. He couldn't now. It wasn't the right time. He brought Bel's hand up to his mouth, dropping a soft kiss on the knuckles. "What would you like to talk about?"
A week. That should be fine. Bel's already braved many nights out in the dangerous woods and one night in a safe and exhilarating inn. Nico brings Bel's hand up for a soft kiss and the prince's shoulders sag in relief almost instantly. They're back to normal. Hopefully. With a sigh, Bel drops his head onto Nico's shoulder and closes his eyes.
After a long breath, he starts. "I have a book, it was the one I was allowed to bring with me." Even though it's hidden away in Bel's saddlebag, he can see it clearly behind his eyelids. A soft sage green with a golden garden etched into the cover. The spine is worn and fraying at the tops, the fabric threads hanging off the binding. On the first of the yellowed pages is a flourishing signature in black ink–Dionn Irkevska, Bel's mother before she was married into Araniel. "It was my mother's when she was a girl. She bought it when she snuck off to the town when she was ten."
Nico dropped his hand but only to wrap an arm around Bel and pull him into his side. It was like a weight lifted off of his shoulders. They were fine now. Everything was fine now. And maybe Bel wouldn't freak out when he learned the truth. Maybe he would be understanding. Maybe after a few hours of thinking it over he would be okay with it. Everything was going to be fine.
"Would you like to show it to me?" Nico knew an invitation to ask about something when it was presented to him. "Go get it." The others had settled back around the small fire as the danger was over and the two weren't fighting anymore. They hadn't been fighting to begin with but whatever had happened between them was solved and it was safe again.
At the invitation, Bel carefully moves out of Nico's touch and takes the few steps to his saddlebag. He has to remove his mandolin first to get to it. Looking at the fine, untuned strings Bel realizes exactly just how much he's missed playing it. Perhaps when they're at another village he can risk plucking a few strings. The last thing he wants is to attract a monster or hoard of bandits.
Bel's quick to return to Nico's side, sitting right up against him as he showcases the small novel. "It's a set of three short stories, all about the same young girl who lives at three different homes in three different kingdoms. In the first two, she's seven and nine, and in the third one she turns fourteen and falls in love with the local baker's son." Bel's nose curls at the sticky romanticism. "It's… very sappy, but my mother read it to me when I was little, so I guess there's a sentimental aspect to it."
Nico smiled brightly as Bel settled back into him after he came back. He looked down at the novels, listening intently as Bel spoke. It wasn't anything that Nico would enjoy reading himself. It just wasn't his genre. But if Bel liked it he would listen.
"It's special to you and that's all that matters. It doesn't matter how sappy or romantic it is. As long as it makes you happy." Nico gave him a small squeeze. "How about you read it to me? I'll take first watch so we can stay up a little later if that's okay with you?" He wanted it to be okay with Bel. It didn't matter what the books said as ling as he got to hear Bel's voice.
The thought of reading out loud sounds horrifying, to say the absolute least. His tutors would chastise him for stumbling over words and skipping lines and forgetting to pause in the correct places–but if Nico asked for it, Bel would be happy to oblige. "I could," Bel drops his voice to a step above a whisper. "I wouldn't wish to bother the others though." So Bel will read quietly with his head upon Nico's shoulder in the light of the fire.
Carefully, Bel turns the cover and stares at the first page–the page with his mother's signature. Bel rubs his thumb over it, as if to feel her through the page, before moving on to the first story. Quietly, Bel begins to read off the first lines, the ones that he's read so many times in the past. It's practically engraved in his brain as he reads softly, flipping through the age-yellowed pages and following the young heroine through her first adventures of life.
Nico pressed a soft kiss to Bel's head, glaring at the other from above his head. If any of then said anything to make him uncomfortable he would make the rest if this trip miserable for them.
At his glare, the others quickly settled down into their bedmays, rolling away and giving them their backs. Nico was satisfied by this. He pulled Bel's legs over his lap, placing a hand on his thigh and rubbing it softly. He just wanted to touch him, that was all. He just wanted to be near him and touching. Every breath he took was purely Bel and he loved it.
"You won't bother them." Nico murmured. He leaned his head against his, listening to him read the words on the pages. He was focusing more on Bel's voice than the actual words, just happy to hear his voice. Perhaps he shouldn't have taken first watch. This little minx was distracting him.
The book is relatively small and meant for a much younger reader than Bel. Soon enough, the first short story is finished and Bel closes the book and suppresses a yawn. He knows that Nico hasn't been listening to the words and is focusing on him instead. Curled against Nico and in the light of the campfire, Bel can feel himself growing sleepier and sleepier. Tonight's sleep won't be anything compared to his rest the night before, but at least it's still beside Nico.
"You're on first watch?" Bel asks, tilting his nose to poke at Nico's chin. The watches split between five men are usually short, Bels sure he could stay awake long enough with Nico before they both go off to sleep.
Nico had been a bit entranced by his voice it took him a minute to realize Bel had stopped talking. It was a good thing no one had snuck up on them because Nico was too distracted to have sounded the alarm. He smiled at Bel, watching him yawn. The prince needed sleep.
"Yeah, I'm on the first watch. You can go to sleep. It's alright. You don't need to stay up with me." While Nico appreciated the gesture, he didn't want to be responsible for keeping Bel up. Nico settled back, holing the prince to his chest. His ears were open and taking in their surroundings. He was trying to make up for the fact that he hadn't been paying attention earlier. With a discrete flick of his wrist, he used his magic to survey if anyone was around them. His wind didn't run into anything other than the critters and animals already around them. There as nothing to worry about.
With the night setting in, Bel finds his usual fear is subdued, especially in the arms of Nico. He trusts that nothing will attack them, but anything could happen. Perhaps if it was an inhuman monster, Bel would find it less taxing to kill it rather than a real human. He's no stranger to hunting animals–why should monsters be different?
"Make sure nothing kills us," Bel says sleepily, a small smile on his face. He sets his book down to his side and leans into Nico even more. He yawns again and blinks a few times, feeling sleep begin to wash over him. "I'll see you in the morning." With that, Bel relaxes and fades.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Nico said. And he meant it. He would rather cut off his sword arm than ket any harm befall on Bel. He held him as he slept.
When time was up, he gently laid Bel down on a bedmat before waking up Braxton for the next shift. He laid down next to Bel, curling his body around him, and sleep found him quickly. He slept soundly through the night until the sun peaked in the horizon, waking him for the morning.
His sleep isn't dreamless that night. Bel dreams of the kingdom of Irgeven and his technical fiance that rules over it. Tacia–with her strawberry hair tied in a meticulous bun and her sunset dresses–watches over from her favorite balcony. She's wise, kind, and entirely distant from every other ruler on the continent. The dream is not one of action or nightmare, simply just a brief view into what could have been–Bel being a trophy husband for a powerful and benevolent queen. Tacia kept out of the war, fulfilling the former queen's wishes to stay neutral, that was until Bel's father suggested an alliance and promise of an Irgevian heir.
Bel wakes at the first sight of dawn, the noises of some of the men preparing for the day easily waking him. His dream weighs heavily in his mind. Bel had been worried for his siblings, but he never stopped to consider how Lady Tacia might react to the news of her missing fiance. Bel doesn't know her well enough to come to a solid conclusion.
He doesn't move yet, too content with Nico curled around him to move. He opens his eyes to look around, but closes them soon. Here's to yet another day of travel–an entire week until they're at Nico's home and Bel has to have a conversation and make a deal that will determine the fate of his kingdom and siblings.
Nico opened his eyes at first light, curling further around Bel in response. He wasn't ready to get up. He was quite comfortable like this despite sleeping on the ground. But hearing the voices of the other men had him unwrapping himself from the prince and getting up.
They ate breakfast quickly before packing everything up and they were back on the rode. Another day of riding on horseback. There were a few tome the horses were urged to run, but other than Bel's stallion, they were all exhausted. Three long weeks the horses had been riding. Three long weeks. They were exhausted and needed their rest. When they returned home, those horses were getting a nice, long vacation and a spa treatment. All the works. New horse shoes, a bath, a good brushing, and lots of treats.
Sitting up with Nico and then letting the man stand to tend to his duties. He rolls his bed mat and ties it to the back of Thicket. He flicks one last time through the book before sliding it into the same pocket as his mandolin. If he weren't going across the continent with a group of vagabonds, Bel would be going through his endless hobbies searching for something to do. Perhaps a little poetry or pottery, candlemaking or catering, archery or alchemy. Bel's unsure if he'll even enjoy horseback riding after all this. He feels bad for taxing the horses this much.
"Well, we should be on our way then?" He asks, mounting Thicket with ease, most of the pain from his abdomen and legs mostly eased with sleep.
(Do u have anything planned atm? I don't have anything planned yet. Otherwise we can skip.)
Nico made sure Bel had enough to eat and that he was well hydrated before letting him mount his horse. Nico followed shortly, making sure everything was strapped on and tied up. "Another day of riding? Excited?"
Nico grinned and gave him a wink and they were riding through the trees.
(No i don't have anything planned lahfjsks timeskip is good. im good to go to when you have anything planned, if you dont have anything planned i can brew an idea or two (i have a couple already))
Bel has to laugh, just softly woth a shake of his head. "Yes I'm ecstatic to ride for another entire day." Bel has a pouch full if berries at his side, ones that he knows are fine and edible. They set out again, Bel briefly coughing into the crook of his elbow as the horses settle into a canter.
