We Are Lovers ཉ MikaYuu

we are (not) prisoners

ུ

⠀⠀⠀ The date of the party was a week after Yuichiro had read the letter, and the day to go had finally arrived. The raven-haired king had asked his wife if she had wanted to attend, and of course, Krul's answer had been an immediate decline. "There is nothing I want to do with the likes of him," Yuichiro recalls her saying. "To waste my precious time in celebration of a street rat turning royalty is pathetic. Besides, I don't want to risk catching disease from his people— after all, four years isn't enough to rebuild a kingdom from scratch. His village must be flooded with ill-stricken peasants and dead, rotting corpses. If I were you, I wouldn't waste a breath."

⠀⠀⠀ Yuichiro knows the true reason for her absence to the party, if that knight guarding her doorway wasn't enough of a clue.

⠀⠀⠀ Akane holds his hand as they ride within a carriage to the party. The warmth of her fingers on his palm is comforting— almost like the fresh sensation of sweet sunlight upon budding sunflower petals— and Yuichiro silently thanks the young servant. As soon as Akane did respond to the letter, another one was quick to come again. It lovingly spoke of excitement and gratitude for their upcoming arrival to the party, and whomever had wrote it had allowed multiple ink blots to dance all over the expensive paper, staining some words and leaving them illegible. Immediately, Yuichiro recognizes it as not Mikaela's own cursive, and his heart drops heavily within his chest.

⠀⠀⠀ Perhaps, Mikaela was not as desperate for his arrival, after all— a one-sided, longing romance that only he, Yuichiro, was participating in.

⠀⠀⠀ A minor bump of the gravel path brought the raven back to reality, and he glanced towards Akane once more. Her eyes were closed, but her lips were moving.

⠀⠀⠀ A prayer, hopefully for him.

⠀⠀⠀ The conductor announced that they would soon be arriving at their destination, and Akane squeezed his hand firmly. Within his throat, Yuichiro could feel the lump of anxiety clog his desperate breaths like sharp thorns with the intention to kill. The time was almost here— to finally see the man he had been waiting for almost four solid years. This time, though, their relationship would be different— it would be royalty to royalty with no other connecting ties. Other than this one interaction, they would be nothing more than two kings among the same map while controlling their respective lands. Yuichiro adjusted the crown on his head, a brief reminder of who he was and how he was meant to act.

⠀⠀⠀ "Look, my king," Akane's small voice suddenly murmured. Her eyes were directed outside of the window of their carriage, gazing beyond the clear glass with pure amazement. "It's his kingdom. How beautiful."

⠀⠀⠀ Beautiful wasn't enough to describe it. The exterior was breathtaking— all of it was constructed out of luscious, pure white brick. The kingdom towered above the carriage as if it were touching the sky, confident and radiating a new sense of strength. Windows filled each and every wall, a fountain was centered at the entrance of the castle just beyond a hill and staircase. The closer they neared, the easier it was to see each and every detail.

⠀⠀⠀ Yuichiro looked around at the village surrounding the castle, pupil darting from one home to the next and to people of unrecognizable faces. His lips were parted in amazement. This was what Mikaela had worked to achieve— a new village for his people, a castle to call home, a title he could proudly name himself. This was all Mikaela had strived to create. And that made Yuichiro both prideful and strained. The raven knew he should be happy for his past lover; he knows he should let the pain go and move on. After all, what else can he do? Mikaela was out of his reach now— he was a king, a protector of his people— not a protector of him, no longer. And yet, he couldn't.