first meeting
It was a stifling hot sort of day that made Wilhelm itch for the cool wood of a dull practice sword, or the ache in his muscles that came from a long day of riding his horse all the way to the thundering rapids. Made him itch for anything that could act as a buffer between him and the oppressive glare of his eldest brother or the sickeningly sweet condensation of his second brother.
Wilhelm breathed out in a huff, weaving through the dusty shelves of the barely used library to his favorite hiding nook. It was only a week. Only a week of his brothers’ ever present, watchful gaze. Then they would return to the First Palace and they could put away this charade of a caring family for another year. He leaned against the alcove and closed his eyes, perhaps he could sleep the next few days away.
“Wil? Wil, where are you?”
Wilhelm looked up with a start, he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t hear the arrival of his second brother. Putting away the book he was pretending to be engrossed in he started back to the library’s entryway, preparing himself for the innate drivel his brother was likely to spout. Perhaps another attempt for him to give up sword training in favor of academics. Anything to protect his soft and delicate brother. Even from himself.
Wilhelm stopped as he rounded the corner, his brother wasn’t alone. The man, or boy, Wil corrected in his mind, as he seemed to be around his age, struck a dark and imposing figure beside his brother.
“Wil! There you are!” Charles beamed.
“Brother.” Wil paused, flicking his eyes up and down skeptically, taking in the white uniform of the Imperial guard and golden stars that decorated the boy’s body. “Who is this…”
Then the strange boy looks up to meet Wil’s eyes and the strangest sense of deja vu and other tangled up, indecipherable emotions rocks through Wil’s core, rooting him to the floor.
Not noticing Wil’s sudden stop, Charles beams at him, “This is Theo! He’s the same age as you Wil, well maybe a bit older. Youngest to join the army then the Imperial guard after that. I mean as I’m sure you’ve guessed his gift is immensely powerful.”
Wil shook off the indescribable feeling of yearning and felt the slow heat of anger start to blaze through him. “No, Charles, I know you didn’t do this. I refuse.”
Charles frowned, the kind of slightly disappointed frown you give a child when they refuse to finish their allotted share of vegetables. “Now Wil, I know you know how much me and your brother worry about you-”
“Stop!” Wil interrupts, “Stop acting like this is coming out of concern, and not just another way to shove your pitiful, powerless brother to the wayside! I am not weak, I have no need for a glorified babysitter.”
Charles’ normally cheerful and smiling face shuts down, leaving a cold and stony expression. “It doesn’t matter what you believe you need. Theo has been personally assigned to you by father. You will accept this gift and you will do so gracefully.”
Wil feels his face freeze in panic, a buzzing fills the room as he sees his brother say something to Theo then leave the library. Leaving him with this strange boy. This additional shackle, tying him to this hot and stifling palace. He stands there staring at the closed door, breathing his anger out, until he realizes that Theo moved to stand beside him.
“Hello, sir,” he says in a quiet voice, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Wil looks at him in shock. Is he mocking him? How could he not possibly realize that they are each other's shackles? The pitifully, powerless prince who could not be trusted to live on his own, and the poor knight who was unlucky enough to be assigned to him. He shoots a glare at Theo and shoves past his offered hand, ignoring the peaceful, cool feeling that resonated from the spot his shoulder brushed the boy’s fingers.
And he doesn’t know. How could he know? How could they know? They’ve already done this song and dance, over and over again, forever intertwined in a constant waltz for others' enjoyment. Their souls are weary and old, but oh their minds are new. And they yearn for each other.