As would be expected of bad timing, that same day the Vesperian Royals chose to conquer the poor border village for their own usage.

“Am I allowed to join in this, or is brother dearest going to keep me cooped up here. Bored and all alone.” As Sal was preparing to leave, Yuki did his very best to be as convincing, but also as annoying as he could. To add to his poor attempt, the younger of the two lay sprawled out over Sal’s legs while the elder attempted to dress himself.

Sighing, Sal reached down and flicked Yuki right on the nose.

“Ow!”

“If something so trivial hurt, I won’t let you leave even this palace.” The king half joked as he tried, and failed to stand but was held down by the heavy weight that refused to leave.

Cutting in before more bickering ensued, the queen knocked on the wall by the now opened door and leaned against the frame. Sal’s wife, Willow, was more than used to the antics these brother got tangled up in and knew better than to let them continue on for too long. She was raised alongside the two; the daughter of a maid but was more than welcomed to the family before the previous rulers had passed. “Sal, why not just let him follow along. Think of him as no more than a pet.”

Lifting a hand to scratch at the fuzz breaking through on his chin, Sal contemplated. Then grinned and nodded. “What a fine idea. Yuki reminds me of a large feline. Maybe if you behave while we’re out, I’ll give you a treat.”

The last straw for Yuki was the scratches behind his ear. “Okay okay, I’m moving. Stop that.” Agitated, the prince rolled himself off, stood straight up and gave both a glare. “So can I go, or am I sneaking off to follow anyway?” Folding both arms across his chest, Yuki focused his stare towards his brother again and held strong. Both were well aware that for him to never leave, he would need be chained down and that would stay as a last option only.

Rolling his eyes, Sal let out a sigh of defeat and shrugged while finally doing the final touches to his uniform. “Fine. But you know the rules. Stay by me, or at the very least within my line of sight. Do you understand?” His softer, more gentle tone turned quick into one fit for a parent cracking down on their child's behavior.

“Yes, yes fine. Whatever you say. Dad.” The raven haired male sarcastically bit out as he made his way towards Willow and the exit in an attempt to end the conversation with the last word.

“Yu, I mean it.”

Groaning in utter annoyance, Yuki turned back around and gave a formal yet stiff bow. “Yes, your royal majesty. I will do as you command.” Quickly moving back around, he muttered a few profanities before making his way out.

Chuckling, Willow waltzed her way to her husband and greeted him with a chaste kiss. “You know, you should really loosen the chains on him. Yuki is a grown adult yet you dot on him as would a parent. All he really needs is a brother now though. He’s a grown adult.”

“I’m well aware just…” Sal leaned into his wives arm and allowed her to cradle him in her embrace. “I’m not willing to let him go. Not in this state of mind. If only he had someone to bring normalcy back to his life…”

“Well, if you’re not fast enough, you’ll be letting him go right out the door without you. May wish to speed things up here.” As she pointed this out, Sal jolted upwards, and charged as fast as he could from the room. Shaking her head, Willow grinned widely from where she was left behind. “The bond between these brothers is an entertaining one for sure.”