[the eleventh day of Vouno]

Aushen nibbled on the herbal ice as he listened to Valleus, and found himself feeling much better. He pursed his lips in thought. “Valleus, what exactly does the Moonflower do?”

“Well, it helps to control side effects of pheromones for both alphas and omegas. Alphas that become knights are taught all the places to find it and ways to prepare it in case of an emergency.” 

Aushen’s expression bent a bit to a frown. “So it doesn’t have any simple anti-fever properties on its own?”

Valleus shook his head. “Nope, not a bit. And it has no effect on betas.” As he finished his response, he realized what Aushen was getting at and met his eyes quickly. 

Aushen sighed. “I see. Well… this complicates things.” He leaned back, continuing to chew on the ice. 

After a moment of silence, Valleus found his voice. “How so, Your Highness?” He looked conflicted. “I believe you’ll still be an incredible king, regardless of your secondary sex.”

Aushen cast him a bittersweet smile. “Thanks, but unfortunately, that’s only one of my concerns…” He trailed off into a sigh. “The marriage talks.”

Valleus cocked his head. “What about them?”

Aushen looked up, narrowing his eyes. “The princess is a beta. If I truly am an omega, the chances of having a child with her would be incredibly low. The crown prince is an alpha, but with both of us as heirs to our respective thrones, it would be impossible to pursue. Besides, Odessa is hopelessly taken with the man.” The prince laughed dryly. “Imagine how betrayed she would feel if her older brother stole the man she loved for the sake of a loveless marriage…” Aushen shook his head.

“At any rate, if I am indeed an omega, this completely changes everything. I don’t even know if it’s worth it to continue the trip, although Odessa would be crushed not to visit. And everyone’s poured so much time and effort into preparation for it…” Since Aushen knew the only one with him was his trusted confidante, he leaned his face into his hands, feeling rather pathetic and un-prince-like. 

Valleus sighed, moving to sit right next to Aushen. “I never even considered any of that. You really are cut out to be king,” he chuckled. Seeing he got a tiny smile in response, he continued. “Your Highness, I know you have to weigh all your decisions against the future of Kumbra, and its reputation, and all that, but… if all of that was of no concern, and you were just a regular man, what would you want to do? Would you want to continue your trip, or go home?”

Aushen closed his eyes, leaning his head back. “Honestly… I just want to see it. I want to see a new land where I’m not in charge, and see how our cultures differ, and see how I can improve.”

Valleus cast him a warm smile. “Well there’s your answer. At the Northern Castle, you can write a letter to the king explaining the situation, and when you’re ready, we can go forward and travel to Fiilzia, we can explain that there’s a complication to the princess, and then we can go home, after taking in all sorts of new experiences.”

Aushen looked up at Valleus, taking a small bite of the melting ice in his hand. “You make everything sound a lot easier, you know.”

Valleus smiled proudly in return. “That’s my job, after all.” Then, he leaned forward, crawling out of the cave. As he stood, he stretched. “Whenever you’re ready, Your Highness, we can head to the Northern Castle!”

Aushen cast his gaze back down to the ground, a tinge of red coloring his cheeks. The herb was definitely working- he felt a thousand times better than he had before. Nevertheless, his heart still raced after seeing such a brilliant smile from Valleus. He sighed inwardly. Once he’d admitted his feelings to himself, it was like a dam broke. There would be no more suppression- in fact, seeing him again as an adult merely solidified it all: he truly was in love with Valleus, and the pheromones had nothing to do with it.

After collecting himself and finishing the herb ice he’d been given, Aushen scooted out of the low cave into the bright mountainside. Once he adjusted to the light, he was able to take in the view. The cave they’d been in was tucked into the side of a huge mountain. Luckily, the top rounded rather gently, allowing plenty of space to walk without fear of falling. The vast mountain range went as far as Aushen could see. “Where exactly are we?” he asked Valleus, nervousness peppering his tone. 

Valleus chuckled. “It’s quite something, isn’t it? We’re on the last mountain entirely within the border of Kumbra. Everything you see from here is part of Fiilzia. The Northern Castle is on the other side of the mountain- it should only take us an hour or two to get there if we fly.” It was a funny sentence, and certainly one Aushen had never expected to hear. 

“So, how exactly will that work?” Aushen asked. 

He quickly had his answer. Valleus scooped him up in a bridal style carry. “You may want to hold on to my neck,” he laughed. Luckily for Aushen, he wasn’t given any time to be shy. He hung on quite tightly as he was whisked away into the air at a dizzying speed. 

For someone who only just got wings less than a day ago, Valleus flew with grace and precision, guiding them through the air effortlessly. Aushen was quite impressed- he imagined Valleus must’ve been practicing whilst cooling down after their little incident with Aushen’s pheromones.

After an hour had passed, Aushen found himself rather comfortable in his companion’s strong embrace. This was definitely a new experience for them both, but one would think Valleus had been doing it all his life. Absent-mindedly, Aushen rested his head against Valleus’ bare chest. Neither of the young men noticed the other blush.