Ambrose's Links
Ambrose has mixed feelings towards his father, the King. From a young age he was lavished with the finest a noble's life could offer— until he had came of age. Ambrose held no known desire for the throne and that was well known to his father. So his father's sudden cut off on affection and doting cut quite deep. Resentment festered in the wound to his heart and he has distanced himself from the King which he secretly knows hurt him. Pride and spite keep him from mending the bond. He hides his affair with one of the King's hired mercenaries with the knowledge if they are found out it will likely end disastrously.
While the King loves his son, he finds him to be too frivolous. He has offered the world and more for his youngest born son— one of the favourites of his children— yet as the years progressed Alabaster began to worry he was too lenient towards the young man. He became much more strict in the later years, evoking a sense of resentment from his son which was a source of sadness for the old man. He has not become aware of his youngest's calculative nature, and would find it hard to believe his son could hold any true ambition. The King also doesn't know of Ambrose's rompings with a notorious mercenary that the King had hired not too long ago.
Ambrose first met Cassius on the day the Mercenary was hired and brought into the castle. They got off to an extremely rocky start— with neither being able to stand eachother's presence. The news of Cassius becoming the Prince's bodyguard came as an extremely unpleasant surprise for both parties. In the Prince's mind Cassius was nothing more than a rarely-spoken, no-brained, blood-hungry oaf. Yet, as the two managed to coexist the initial resentment faded. It was Cassius whose heart had softened first which would have easily surprised every person who knew him and how he had lived around his ward. Ambrose fondly remembers when the Knight's feelings were made known even if the circumstances had been rather terrible. While they still keep up the appearance of a clashing guard and ward in public the confines of private are where they truly become candid.
Cassius had hated the coddled Prince the moment he was assigned to him. Everything about the little male evoked disgust in the battle hardened Brute's mind. He was soft, small, arrogant, and Cassius could've swore the fucker had been wearing perfume. When he was assigned as his guard it took much of the Brute's self control not to protest and instead hold his tongue in front of the Prince's father. However, out of the King's eyesight Cassius would truly make his feelings known; ranging from verbally tearing the "arrogant little prick" a new one at every mistake he made or coldly ignoring him until he absolutely had to act to protect Ambrose. This way of living went on for a long while, bickering making up the majority of their interactions— until one day Cassius had a realization. All it took was a visit to one of the Prince's elder siblings to sow the seeds of change in the Mercenary's mind. It was then that he began to realize there was more to the youngest Prince than what met the eye. Sure he appeared rather spinless and soft— but in front of his siblings and immediate danger Ambrose offered composure and a well hidden calculative nature not seen before. Cassius became fascinated and perhaps a different feeling became to grow the more he observed his ward. The confession was borne out of a dangerous situation which later became a silver lining in both their minds.
The Mercenary had protested Ambrose's proposal to act as though nothing had happened between them in public, but would eventually yield under his lover's reasoning. In order to keep themselves safe and throw off the King and his spies, he begrudgingly continues to act with contempt towards Ambrose.