arranged - a markson royal AU

Chapter 6 - Jackson

"Excuse me. I am here to bring Prince Wang into the castle to meet Prince Mark." A messenger calls out to the caravan. Jackson steps forward.

"Take me to him."

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"This way Your Highness." The messenger says as he leads Jackson through the halls of the castle. There are so many halls and rooms, the castle seems almost like a maze. Portraits of past kings and queens are hung on the walls, which are covered in tasteful wallpaper.

Jackson's anticipation rises as he grows ever closer to meeting Mark.

The messenger leads Jackson to a heavy wooden door and had two guards pull it open.

"Please come in Your Highness. We will wait here for Prince Mark." The messenger says and then moves to stand against the back wall.

"Thank you." Jackson responds and he moves toward the large bay windows.

What if Mark absolutely hates me and we have to live together for the rest of our lives. Jackson thinks to himself. He looks out the windows and sees the beautiful castle gardens. His nerves continue to build but he does his best to stay calm.

The messenger is standing on the other side of the room, looking as if he is assessing Jackson. It feels unnerving and makes a shiver go down his spine.

The door starts to open and Jackson looks toward it. Mark enters the room and he looks amazing. Jackson has never even seen a portrait of Mark before and he definitely didn't expect that Mark would look like a perfect angel. Mark is wearing a maroon suit and it looks amazing on him.

I can't believe I am lucky enough to be engaged to this beautiful person. He looks really nervous. I'll try my best to not wind him up.

The two boys walked toward each other in awe.

I should say something..... But what should I say. He knows who I am so introducing myself would be pointless. I'll just say hello.

"Hello Mark." Jackson says with a smile.

"H... Hello"

Jackson feels a smile grow on his face.

He's too cute. I hope I'm not making him too nervous.

"It's nice to finally meet you." Jackson says.

"It's nice to meet you too. Thank you for Coco." Mark responds.

"Coco?" Jackson asks.

What's a Coco?

"Yes, I named the puppy you gave me Coco." Mark says.

That's adorable. Absolutely adorable.

"A cute name for a cute puppy. How is the little puppy?" Jackson asks. Jackson is keeping up his composure on the outside, but on the inside he is giddy. Mark is adorable, handsome, and kind.

"Coco is great. Thank you for asking. Also, thank you for the portraits of you. They helped me know a bit about what I'm getting into." Mark humorously says.

Oh gosh no. Not the paintings.

Jackson remembers posing for his first portrait at the age of 7. He was dressed up in an uncomfortable and rather stupid looking outfit in his opinion, and forced to stay in the same position for more than 2 hours as the artist worked on the painting. In the end, Jackson didn't like the painting even though everyone else loved it. Jackson thinks that all of the paintings made him look more like a dress-up doll than a boy. The same went for the rest of the painting that were done of him over the years.

Jackson fidgets in place. He is embarrassed that Mark saw him dressed up like some toy.

"Those were my dad's idea. I thought they didn't look very good and I was kinda embarrassed by them." Jackson rubs the back of his neck and shifts his weight from one foot to another.

"Well I liked them and I think you look good in them, although you look even better in person." Mark says then instantly looks like he wants to take it back. Jackson feels surprise at Mark's bold statement then starts to laugh.

This boy is actually adorable and will probably be the death of me.

"Thanks!" Jackson says with a blindingly bright smile.

"Why don't we sit down and get to know each other better?" Mark asks and gestures towards a table near the window.

The two boys sit at the table and talk for hours. They discuss everything from favorite colors and favorite foods to fashion and trading.

A few hours later, Mark's father comes to check on his son. Mark and Jackson hear a knock on the door and then King Tuan enters the room.

"Hello you two. I am here to speak with you about further arrangements and to then escort Prince Jackson to his room." the king announces. Jackson stands to greet the king and gestures toward the other chair.

"Please, have a seat Your Highness."

"No need for formalities. We will be in laws soon, we might as well address each other casually." The king humorously says with a wave of his hand.

"Then, please, call me Jackson."

"Jackson it is." The king responds. Mark gives Jackson an encouraging smile and then turns his attention back to the king, who continues to talk.

"You two seen to get along fine so let's begin planning for your wedding." The king says. The two 18 year olds get matching blushes on their cheeks. The king simply laughs at them.

"No need to be embarrassed, it's going to happen eventually." The kings says with a smirk.

"Dad. Please stop." Mark says as he covers his face.

"I'm a dad. It's my job to be embarrassing."

Mark groans in response and Jackson laughs so hard he nearly cries. If what the King said hadn't been funny enough, seeing Mark in such a state is hilarious.

"Anyway, we are thinking about having the wedding in around 2 months. What do you two think?" King Tuan asks.

Both of the boys agree to the king's proposition and the continue to discuss the wedding arrangements for 45 minutes. They decide on basics like what color of flowers they want and the general feel of the wedding. They will continue to plan the wedding the next few weeks to decide on the details.

"It's getting late. Mark, why don't you head to bed and I will walk Jackson to his room?"

"Of course. Good night Jackson." Mark says.

"Good night Mark. Sleep well." Jackson responds.

"Follow me Jackson. Your room is in the west wing." King Tuan leads Jackson to the young prince's room. As the king says goodnight to Jackson he gives one final statement before leaving.

"You seem like a nice boy and Mark seems to like you, but if you hurt my son I will not hesitate to destroy you."

"I wouldn't dream of it"

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This is a pretty long chapter for me. I hope you enjoyed it!