For the rest of the day the whole palace was bustling and hustling for the departure the next. Vayne himself did his absolute best to keep distracted with such work as needed. How he wished to not be around as they invaded the poor small village. Before this had happened years back, and he knew the outcome would be anything but similar.

~~~

Three years back, when both Vesperia and Raspa were working together against an enemy kingdom which greedily wanted either both or one kingdom’s land for their own, this little village on their border was also requested for supplies and safe housing.

Then, while Ryu was alive, he was sent forward to calm the villagers. Families were forced to stand affront their homes as the king made his rounds.

One particular small child was absolutely terrified, and as any child would, ran towards the royals and screamed their dislike for them. “Why can’t you go away! This is your war, not ours! Mama and papa work so hard for so little...and you think you can stroll in and take that away? Leave, we don’t want you here!”

Said child was only maybe age ten or even younger. Both parents gasped at the scene their daughter was making and prayed she would be let off easy. A slap on the wrist, maybe a peace offering from themselves. It was a rumor that some kings executed those who made trouble in times of war when asked for assistance.

Unlucky for the girl, the man she picked to scream and throw fists at was Vayne. When she finally looked up, she became even more terrified and took a step back. Vayne didn’t smile very much; instead he wore a frown that most who were unaccustomed to such found scary or unattractive. After taking in his appearance, she dropped to her knees and broke out into tears. This made Vayne flinch and heart tighten. Did he really have such an effect on children?

Once the water works started, Ren took notice and grumbled before heading over. Frightened for the girl, Ryu beside his younger brother knelt down in front of the child and lay a palm on her head to ruffle her hair. “I’m sure you’ve had it rough. Now this may not be much but-” Out of his pocket, Ryu pulled out both a pouch of coins and an apple he had picked from a tree on the way for a snack. She looked like she needed it more. “I want you to take this, and run back to your family. You must have gave them a scare!” He puffed his cheeks in a comical way and shook his head. “And not the kind of scare my brother here gave you. Here, let me tell you a secret.” Still crouching, the prince scooted a smidgen closer to the child. “He’s actually really friendly if you gave him a chance. Go on, apologize to him.” It was almost as if he were the girls own parent while scolding.

She sniffled once before looking back up towards the taller prince. “I-I’m sorry mister.” Shocked by the touching sentiment, the prince tried his best to force out a smile. It wasn’t that he knew not how to, but in situations such as this he found it hard to muster up the ability to.

That was, however until just seconds after another being entered the situation. “Yuki!” Ryu practically flung himself forward towards and into the arms of the Vesperian prince who had just waltzed over after taking care of things on another side of town with the local blacksmiths. Yuki let out an ‘oof’ as their bodies collided but quickly lifted his friend an inch or so off the ground and proceeded to grin widely in return.

 After their meeting a year before, both princes became as close of friends as they could be within that time. The site brought a real smile upon Vayne’s face as he took in the site. The child beside him was forgotten as he watched in both happiness for his sibling as well as a longing for something similar.

As Ren did continue his approach after the situation was taken care of, the girl finally broke away and ran back to her family. He too watched Ryu with pride as both princes set off into their own world before turning to his other son and his cold stare returned once again. “You-I need you to continue things here. Quickly I would prefer to.” Not even a name, just ‘you’. It was amazing the difference in how he treated both his sons.

Once more Vayne turned to watch his brother and friend, gaze lingering on this ‘Yuki’ a little longer. It looked like he made Ryu so happy.

What if...what if it were him he held and not Ryu?

Perhaps this was also the start of his fascination.