| [ Ever since Aether arrived, the palace has been abuzz with curious chatter. It began with his background — could this beautiful youth be of royal blood himself, a distant kingdom's long lost heir to the throne, abducted from his homeland? — and like parched wanderers stumbling upon a lush oasis at last, gossiping tongues lapped up the mystery to spin into fanciful stories. Soon, they came to circle connected questions: how did Aether win Prince Alhaitham's favor, and so quickly at that? Less politely: what goes on behind closed doors now, night after night?
After all, so the whole of Sumeru knows, the prince is notoriously and unrepentantly difficult, albeit never in ways that would cost him his birthright. Though he gives neither the king nor their subjects reason to despair overmuch, he is said to prefer the company of books to that of humans, lacking a future ruler's manner. That is, he does nothing that tarnishes the royal family's name, and the people have no cause to fear the years ahead, but what sort of leader is a man so uninterested in power and prestige? Prince Alhaitham has all but stated just that outright, from his refusal to engage with anything that he deems needless ceremony to his apparent reluctance to entertain even a political marriage while it serves no purpose better achieved by other means. He may not shirk his duties, but nothing kindles ambition or desire in his heart, it seems, save the prospect of expanding the borders of Sumeru's already vast library.
Were he not born a prince, he might have joined the scribes. As a prince, someone else in his place might aspire to become a philosopher king, at the least.
Why, then, was he the one to bring Aether to the palace like a new acquisition added to the library's collection of texts? To the outside world, he appears to be thoroughly taken with the young man, uncharacteristically lavishing so much attention on him.
Some of the whispers decide that Aether's beauty makes him an otherworldly being capable of enchanting mortal men and robbing even the most rational among them of all reason. Others simply call him a cunning actor in a wider plot, here to pursue an unknown objective. Perhaps he will reveal himself as a spy or a thief, nothing more.
No one considers innocuous possibilities.
The talk has reached Alhaitham's ears, too, but he leaves it alone — intervening to silence speculation is a waste of time, and besides, keeping his unexpected chosen companion close ensures that someone watches Aether's movements as it is. Thus far, he can conclude that he hasn't made a mistake. What the rest of the palace believes won't sway him.
Tonight, the twentieth night, the recent routine continues. The prince and his companion have dined together, and they settle to while away another evening not only by making full use of the bath and the bed, but with tales offered like tribute, akin to a handful of pages turned at a time.
Standing behind Aether, near the arch of the window overlooking a view of the city far below, Alhaitham lets his hands come to rest on the smaller man's slim shoulders, warm and steady. ]
What do you have for me, Aether? |
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