The gazebo in the far south of the palace grounds has always provided Khres with his needed peace and quiet. Not only that, but it can also give him ample space to meet with certain people who seek an audience with him. After all, a Prevoir in the capital can sometimes be unsettling to the people. Khres would always hear people around him wonder in hushed voices if he had seen something that could potentially hurt them, the royal family, or the realm.

It comes with the last name and their family’s magical ability.

As seers whose gifts revolve around being able to see a glimpse of the future, they have since been deemed vital to running a good kingdom. Or so they keep on telling the Prevoirs. For Khres, personally, it was nothing but an unnecessary burden, knowing what may or may not come true. Though his personal standpoint remains steadfast deep inside his heart, Khres remains to be a young lord whose duties would always come first no matter what.

That was why, he was seated in the gazebo, smiling as prettily as he could, as he sipped his tea opposite none other than the current consort of the king.

“I am very honored to be speaking with your majesty this morning,” chirped Khres. “Is there any assistance I can provide you at this point in time?”

“Grant me a vision,” Queen Harana demanded. “I want to see my daughter on the throne. I need to know how to make it hers once more.”

Khres’s smile widened, “Great kings and queens do not fret what lies ahead, for their feet are steady, and their gaze wide.”

“I already know how charming you are, young Prevoir,” bit out Harana. “You were able to forge a friendship with my children and made your way to the crown prince’s bed. Yet your smiles and your body won’t ever equate to whatever magic lives in your head. Now, tell me.”

Harana placed down her cup, letting the small saucer rattle at the force. “How do I make my daughter queen? Grant me that vision.”

Khres nodded as he smiled, his dark curls swaying about him. “The future is a fickle thing, your highness.”

“That is none of my business. If there is a way, I will make sure it will happen. I spoke with your father, have you forgotten?”

The seer chuckled, “Indeed, a queen’s will is as strong as a hurricane. Very well.”

Khres placed down his own cup, and let his hands fall on his lap. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tapped the magic that lives inside of him. The rush of the magic blew his eyes open, his golden irises glowing.

Instead of the queen, he was seeing something else. 

Most of his sight was covered with flames and ashes. He tried to navigate his surroundings. It looked like a military camp in the middle of a clearing. There was a battle. Fallen horses and men scattered the field. A lone banner covered in fresh, red blood.

Khres tried to look closely at the details of the bloodied cloth. The Erstellen ouroboros was embedded on deep green silk.

The vision faded right there. His eyes lost their glow, and Khres had to blink once or twice to adjust his eyesight.

Khres tried not to trip on words as he spoke, “An Erstellen banner… covered in blood.”

A smile bloomed on Queen Harana’s glass-like face, “A war. The Nine Houses should expect to decide soon.”

“That may be so,” agreed Khres.

The consort then stood up and looked at Khres, “I will speak to your father once more, but in the meantime, since you remain to have access to the crown prince’s private quarters, do keep an eye on him for me.”

The young Prevoir chuckled, “You don’t have to ask me, your highness. I can take care of my crown prince myself.”

“We’ll see about that,” responded Queen Harana.

Khres stood up and bowed as she walked out of the gazebo, leaving the young heir alone. The tea has already gone cold.

When Khres entered the workshop, he found his prince engaged with his work. He was too focused on his work to even notice Khres’ arrival. There were several kinds of metal ingots floating around the prince with the use of his magic, and now and then, Khres can see Aleph reaching for one before deciding against the ingot and letting it fall to a barrel by his side. 

Aleph seemed different here in his workshop. With Aleph like this, it sometimes felt like the prince didn’t just inherit his maternal family’s magic that dealt with metals but also the Erstellen gift of creation and alchemy. 

But that was impossible. There has never been a person who has inherited two gifts in history. It was what led them to the current situation. 

Aleph with the gift of the House of Acero or Likha with her Erstellen gift. The answer should have been obvious. It was tradition for the one with the family gift to inherit the family title. 

But tradition was not a law in this case. The King’s word was law. 

At least for now, Khres thought with a sardonic twist to his lips. 

Aleph had yet to notice him. He saw the prince reach for the stack of books to the table to his left. It looked so haphazard, and he had even left a cup of tea on top of it. Aleph brought the cup to his lips now, and Khres watched with amusement as Aleph spluttered upon realizing his drink had cooled considerably in his distraction. 

In his spluttering, Aleph had elbowed the books, and he tried to catch the stack quickly in a panic, only to miss most of it. Khres couldn’t help it then. He laughed loudly, curling an arm around his aching belly when he couldn’t stop laughing. 

Khres heard the sound of metal clattering to the ground as Aleph released his magic, and he looked up to find the put-out expression on his prince. 

“How long have you been there?” Aleph said with a blank look, but Khres can almost imagine his face in a pout instead. 

“Long enough,” Khres said with a grin. “Well done, your highness.” 

Aleph groaned and crouched to pick up the books from the floor. Khres crossed the room to help him with the mess. Their fingers brushed when they went for the same book, and Khres smirked at the prince as he snatched it up from him. Khres made sure to place the books he gathered in a shorter and more stable stack in a free space across the room. 

“I needed those,” Aleph complained even though he had already turned to his work table and started arranging the fallen ingots into a more organized mess. 

“I’m sure you cannot possibly read a dozen books all at the same time, love,” Khres shot back. “And it is easy enough to stand to get the room. You can get a bit of exercise walking around so you aren’t bowed over your work for so long.” 

Aleph grumbled under his breath, and though Khres couldn’t hear it now, he’s heard it enough times in the past to know his prince’s protests. 

He crossed the room again and wrapped his arms around Aleph’s neck from behind, resting his chin on top of his prince’s head. “What are you working on then?” 

Khres watched as Aleph brought the slender dagger to the center of the table. The blade gleamed brightly under the sunlight from the windows, and Khres watched as Aleph’s fingers moved over the blade and the unshaped hilt and crossguard. Tendrils of magic seemed to caress Aleph’s fingers as the metal shaped itself under his steady hands until there was a small and delicate silver dragon curled with its tail in its mouth on the crossguard. With a last flick of Aleph’s fingers, the dragon opened its eyes, showing small emeralds set in them. It was Aleph’s personal sigil. 

“Beautiful,” Khres breathed out with a smile. He bent his head to kiss the top of Aleph’s hand. “Personal project?” 

“Practice,” Aleph admitted. “I want to give Emet something to play with. He’s been fretting.” 

“Fretting?” Khres said in disbelief, thinking of the carefree and sometimes reckless prince. “Our Emy?” 

Aleph hummed, tracing one forefinger over the flat of the blade. “He’s just worried,” he said. “I don’t know what design to use for Emet. He’s yet to pick a personal sigil.” 

“And he probably never will,” Khres pointed out. He removed his arms from around Aleph and dropped on the free space on the couch, one of the only places in the workshop free from clutter. Aleph had always kept it neat for him to use when he visited, and it was those small things that got him growing ever fonder of his prince. “He’ll probably just use a silver variation of the Silvestris Griffin once he marries Lady Loreza.” 

Aleph chuckled at that. “You’re right,” he agreed with a smile towards Khres. “Perhaps I’ll do that then.” 

“Do you have the time to?” 

“Don’t remind me,” Aleph said with a groan. “Likha and I are going on an inspection in the city this week, and we’ve yet to close any deal with the Silvestris at court. You’d think Emet would be happy with their presence, but he’s been avoiding Lord Lorenzo.” 

“I thought Lorenzo approved of the prince’s relationship with his little sister.” 

“I don’t think it’s that,” Aleph said. The prince worried at his lip, and it was clear to Khres that Aleph knew exactly what it was that was bothering Emet. He wondered if Aleph was only trying to be loyal to his brother or if Khres had lost his trust with everything that’s happened recently. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Khres said with a reassuring grin as he leaned back on the couch. Aleph looked at him gratefully, and Khres felt something warm bloom in his chest at the sight of him–the sun streaking through his hair, making it look like spun moonlight, those red eyes the color of fire you would have thought he had the Hariq gift coursing through him. 

“The court has been getting to all of us,” Aleph finally said. He twirled the dagger over the table, the point digging into the surface as it spun, the emeralds glittering like stars every time the light hit it right. 

“Join me for dinner then,” Khres said, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, and resting his chin over his interlaced fingers. 

“Dinner?”

Khres winked at his lover. “I’ll make it worth your while, your highness.”