David arrived back at the castle in tears. He ducked his head, ignoring those who saw his tears and asked if he needed assistance. Sometimes he loathed his emotional self- when he showed his heart on his sleeve, and this was one of those times. He wished he was like those who kept their feelings concealed easily, those who could hold back tears and put on a brave face. He didn't know how that type of person could do it; David had tried many times to push back the feeling of oncoming tears. But he always failed.

As David was rushing down the hallways toward Nathan's room, he was majorly failing; he just wanted to find his soulmate. He knew Nathan could make him feel better. He knew Nathan could stop the tears from falling, if not him. 

He was watching his feet, keeping his head down, turning his face away from anyone who came near enough to see the tear tracks. But then, he ran into someone, and he knew it couldn't be Nathan because the person recoiled.

"What the hell?! Watch where you're going!" David didn't have to lift his head to know who it was- General Reno. He definitely didn't want this man to see him cry.

"I-I'm sorry," David winced, cursing his emotions in his head for his broken and weary speech.

Suddenly, General Reno's narrowed eyes were staring directly at his face. The general had bent down slightly to look under the fringe of David's hair. David covered his face with his hands, knowing that General Reno saw the tears and knew that he was upset. 

This is so embarrassing, David thought to himself.

"Hey now," General Reno said, his voice still biting but with less anger. It made David think he was more compassionate than he seemed. "Don't act like a crying baby over it. I'm not going to f*cking hurt you over it."

David stood corrected.

"I know," he said, holding back a sniff from his running nose. His face was still covered; David was still, as if not to anger Reno anymore. General Reno was silent for a moment before speaking, but when he spoke, it wasn't toward David.

"HEY! JACK*SS!" he yelled, and David flinched at his strong language in such a formal setting. David heard the footsteps of someone walk over. No, don't come over here! he wished; he didn't want anyone else to see him cry!

"What is it Dominic?" and David recognized Arnold's stiff, defensive voice. David didn't know whether he should be relieved or upset, but the tears were still flowing, so he kept his face covered. He tried to keep his shaking emotional self still.

"The queen is upset, that's f*cking what," Reno said, "Go get your glorified king out of his sister's *ss so that he can comfort his f*cking soulmate."

"I still don't accept your language, but I appreciate your consideration for our queen," Arnold said, but there was something in his voice that David didn't expect to be there: pride. It was minuscule and barely noticeable, but it was there.

"Yeah, yeah," Reno said, then direct his voice back toward David, "Hey, cry baby, you can move your f*cking hands. No one else is in the hallway."

David didn't want them to see, but he trusted General Reno- or Dominic- somewhat after he called for Arnold to get his soulmate. 

He removed his hands to see a blurry image of Dominic Reno standing in front of him with crossed arms. Arnold must have gone to get Nathan because he was not standing near them.

"Come on," Reno sighed, waving his hand in a 'follow me' motion, " I'll take you to Nathan's -or should I say- your room. You can wait there for him so no one sees you so upset."

He understands? David wondered, yet continued to follow the general until they arrived at the familiar doors again.

"I'll find the jack*ss and let him know you're here. Just don't wander off," Dominic said, but before David could question him or even thank him, he turned on his heel and walked back down the hallway.

David opened the doors and walked inside, closing the doors behind him. He could now cry in peace, yet he felt more reassured knowing that Nathan was on his way. His tears slowed and not just because Nathan was on his way; he was also reassured by Reno's kindness.

He remembered what Arnold had told him about Reno- "He is an extremely good person, no matter how violent he gets."

David saw it now- the person Arnold could see inside Reno. However, the butler also said he didn't care about the person that's inside Reno because he hates the person that Reno shows.

David wasn't sure if he should think the same way.

He was so caught up in the mystery of Dominic Reno that he almost forgot about his upsetting experience that day. Almost. He was caught up in it until he heard a knock on the door; knowing it was Nathan, the memories of the forest came back and so did the questions. 

Why didn't his leshy talk? 

Was he really a runt? 

Was he defective? Weaker? The one that should have died at birth?

Nathan opened the door, and, as soon as David saw his face, the leshy burst into renewed tears. 

"Oh, baby..." Nathan closed the door behind him and rushed over to slide into the bed that David was lying in, bringing David into his arms and holding him close. Every brush of Nathan's fingers in his hair, every kiss on his forehead, every mumble of comfort, and the warm arms surrounding David made him feel much better. Even though he was perfectly capable of defending himself, David felt safe in this situation, as if Nathan was not protecting him physically, but he was guarding him emotionally.

Then his mind worked against him. His mind echoed what Philotes teased him for: "Do you need a big strong man to take care of you, runt? Do you need a big strong man to hold you when you cry with your little soft feelings?"

David hated his mind sometimes. He tried to convince himself that getting help was not weak, that crying was not weak, but he recognized that he was lying to himself. Reno might not have been an entirely good person; the general probably had pity on how pathetic he was acting. David didn't even have the emotional strength to hold in his emotions.

Philotes's words shouldn't have affected him this much, but it did. Oh, it did. And David thought himself weak for letting the big-headed leshy's words affect him so. However, he knew it wasn't just the words of Philotes; he's heard the word all his life. And once so many people think the same thing about you, you can't help but believe it's true.

"I assume that the forest thing didn't go so well?" Nathan asked, thankfully pulling David out of his own thoughts. 

David shook his head "no." He didn't want to get into any more detail, for he feared he would start sobbing again.

Nathan felt this and decided to snuggle him more and change the subject slightly. 

"When Arnold came for me saying you were upset, I was worried," Nathan continued, "Should I be worried?"

David shook his head again. He didn't trust his voice after the stutter he let out with Reno.

"I'm glad he found you, otherwise I would have been even more worried," Nathan said before giving David a tender loving kiss on his forehead. It made David close his eyes and bask in the tingly feelings of love working its way from the kissed spot to his heart.

"Actually, Reno found me and told Arnold to get you," David replied, deciding to give Reno credit. 

Nathan and Reno didn't seem to agree that much, and David would love if they would put aside their differences. It was awkward watching them fight. Then again, Reno seemed to pick a fight with anyone he encountered. However, with Nathan, Reno's attitude seemed worse.

"Really? That's...good, I guess. At least I know he'll take care of you if he needs to," Nathan sighed wearily, "He's a...difficult person. But I can't just get rid of him."

"Why not?" David wondered, "I mean, now that you have me, I can probably defeat William Kain's army by myself. I'm not weak or anything. And then you don't have to deal with his attitude."

"First of all, I'm not sending you into war with William Kain. How do you know that he doesn't have a supernatural helping him out too? You could be in danger, and I'm not risking it," Nathan huffed, "Second of all, I'm not just keeping him because of William Kain."

"Then why do you keep him?" David wondered. 

"Because my father chose him, of all people," Nathan replied, "And I want to know why."

"It's probably because he's a good general," David reasoned.

"No, my father was better than that. He didn't just hire young people like Reno to be the general because they were good. There were many older, more mature generals he could have chosen from," Nathan replied, "My dad picked Reno for some other reason. And I want to figure it out."

David was also curious as to why. Maybe because Nathan's father saw the man inside Dominic Reno, who was nice enough to help David when he was upset. But surely there would be other, more capable nominees who were good people too, on the inside and the outside? But what other reason could there be for the hiring of Reno?

"And what happens if you figure out the reason?" David asked his soulmate.

"Well, depending on the reason," Nathan mumbled, "He could either be executed for his past offenses or be awarded."

~{()}~

The preparations of the soulmate ball Nathan had declared for the appearance of his soulmate were slightly changed with the arrival of Nathan's sister. It was now a celebration for the return of the princess and the arrival of the new queen. Arnold had rushed to and fro gathering supplies, ordering chefs and maids around, and tending to his king and queen's needs.

Now, here he was, on his way to the home of General Dominic Reno, preparing himself to wake up the man. Again. He hated the task with a passion, for General Reno was most definitely not an excellent morning person. Especially when Arnold was Dominic's personal alarm clock.

For someone who had such a high salary, the small hut in which Dominic lived was not such a facade that was easy on the eyes. The poor house was a mess due to the little amount of care given to it. Arnold remembered when he was younger, when he was just a footman, that Reno got to live in the castle, but ever since King Clarence II died, the small general had retired to a small shack just on the outskirts of the castle.

The poorly looked-after object was practically falling apart, but it wasn't as if Reno cared. The general would be unaffected even if he lived in the woods without a bed to sleep on.

Arnold took a deep breath and reluctantly knocked on the door of the small shack. As per usual, the person inside was undisturbed, and Arnold had to enter the repulsive building, if you could even call it a building. The shack consisted of only one single room with a bed and a small nightstand. Barely any of a kitchen. Arnold wondered if the general even ate due to his small stature and skinny muscles. Arnold knew the man was strong, but his training must be the only thing that gave Reno muscle mass. Arnold was sure that he would be even stronger if he ate more.

Arnold recognized the stench of cigarettes as he entered, which burned his sensitive nose. He glanced at the nightstand, where a brown glass bottle caught his eye.

This man is a catastrophe, Arnold huffed to himself. 

Only after he scanned the room did he look at Reno. The general always slept on his side, Arnold had come to notice after waking him up so many times, and the butler could now see the scars on the general's face. It looked like some feral animal left claw marks from his ear all the way to the corner of his lip. One closest to the bottom of his face made it to his jawline.

Arnold was always curious about the cause of the scars. Some say that Reno would have been a perfect bachelor for the ladies if not for the scars and his rude attitude. Arnold didn't think the scars affected his beauty; they just made him seem human, whereas his attitude made him seem as if he had no human feelings.

Arnold really did not want to awake the beast. Right now, the young soldier looked peaceful, beautiful even; Arnold did not like the idea of waking him up and releasing his unpleasing attitude.

But it must be done by his king's command.

So, Arnold reluctantly shook Reno awake. At first, the general did not wake, and Arnold thought that if Reno ever slept on his missions, the enemy could easily kill him in his sleep. But then he was completely taken aback by the furthering thought of General Reno not sleeping on his missions for that very reason. He must only get proper sleep while he was in the kingdom.

Arnold took a mental note to let his king know of this, so that the general would have longer to sleep while he was within the kingdom. Perhaps more sleep would better his mood.

By the time Arnold had shaken the general awake, dodging the initial flying fists that the general threw at his waker, Arnold had to listen to ten full minutes of Dominic's creative cursing directed at him.

Every time, the general bluffed that he was going to murder Arnold, and sometimes Arnold thought he meant it. Every time, Arnold would say it's the king's orders, and Reno would march ahead in anger, ready to take it out on King Nathan. And every time, Arnold would protest and walk just as fast, arguing with him.

Arnold hated waking Reno up, yes, but it had slowly become a routine in his life.