Status: Trying to update weekly

Towered

The Princes Arrive

Minka strolled through her tower home, double checking every last detail. She so rarely received visitors, she wanted to make sure absolutely everything was perfect. Once she had assured herself that the entire place was spotless and inviting, she sat herself down on the couch and for the first time in the week since her birthday allowed herself to truly reflect on what was about to happen to her.
Her father had informed her that the sons of five other kings would be coming to stay with her for a time. Although never explicitly stated, the princess knew that she was to choose one of these men to wed. The very thought was overwhelming. With the exception of her own father, Minka had never even met a man before.
She had been in the tower for as long as she could remember. Her father assured her that it was for her safety. The Long War might be over, but it's ramifications still were not. She trusted him. She had no reason not to, but that didn't make her life less lonely. Her father came to visit as often as he could, though his duties as High King made free time scarce. Besides him, she'd had a small list of nannies, tutors, and general caretakers, all sworn to secrecy. The existence of the princess could not be common knowledge. Even they, however, had slowly abandoned her as she grew too old to require their services.
For the last three years, she had been entirely alone, with the exception of her father's entirely too rare visits. Now, however, five new people would be coming to her, and they intended to stay for quite a while.
Minka wasn't sure which was stronger, her excitement or her anxiety. Either way, she felt sick. She couldn't help but wonder what these princes would be like. Would they be handsome? Smart? Kind? She couldn't stop the flow of questions that ran through her head. What if they didn't like her? She supposed that didn't really matter, any one of them would jump at the opportunity to be High King. No man on the continent would refuse a marriage proposition that came from her. But what if she didn't like any of them? Would her father allow her to say no, to meet more eligible royals? Or was her entire lot in life contained to these five?
She wasn't sure she wanted to think about it. Surely at least one of them would be acceptable. If not, she supposed she would worry about that when the time came. It wouldn't do much good to worry herself to death over a situation that may never happen.
“Besides,” she said aloud to the empty room, “marriage is your ticket out of this tower.” Saying the words out loud helped to settle her resolve. She could not spend her entire life locked away. How much had she already missed? If marriage meant freedom, she would do whatever it took to seduce a prince.
She ran a hand through her hair, cursing its dull color. It fell around her shoulder, straight and brown. How she envied the storybook princesses with golden curls.
There was a knock at the tower door. She jumped and spun around to see. Minka could hear the key turning in the lock. Her breath caught in her throat. The heavy door slowly opened inward, she blinked hard against the sudden sunlight. A helmeted head appeared in the doorway. “Princess.” The guard bowed. “May I present his royal highness, Prince Koa,?” As quickly as he had appeared, the guard disappeared, but in his stead stood another. He was all but pushed across the threshold before the door slammed behind him.
He turned to look at her, one blond eyebrow raised. “I guess... Hi?” he chuckled, one hand brushing his hair back from his forehead in an awkward gesture. He seemed uncomfortable, as if he were unsure of what he was supposed to be doing. Minka couldn't help but agree with him there.
She knew that she was staring, but she wasn't able to force herself to look away. He was so different from what she had been expected. He was taller than her by several inches. His blond hair was cropped close on both sides, slightly longer on top. An easy, if not slightly awkward, smile tugged at his lips, and his green eyes sparkled.
He laughed again. All sense of decorum returned to her. She curtsied low, thankful that the movement let her hide her crimson face for a moment. “Welcome, your grace,” she mumbled.
“I believe,” he responded stepping towards her, “that I am the one who should be offering such formalities. Thank you for allowing me into your home.” He bent himself at the waist, their faces mere inches from each other now.
“The pleasure is all mine. Please, make yourself at home. The other princes should be arriving shortly.” She was glad that her speech, at least, had not abandoned her.
“Wonderful.” Koa brushed past her and flopped down on the sofa in a most un-princely fashion. “Am I the first one here?” She nodded mutely. “Odd. I thought for sure that Z, at least, would beat me here.” He shrugged and sprawled out on the sofa, clearly quite content to wait.
“You know the other princes?” She questioned, walking around the couch to the arm chair directly across from it. She sat down delicately, legs crossed at the ankles.
“Yeah. We've all basically grown up together. All young royals are kinda friends, sort of. Our families hope we will either make or strengthen alliances, so we are thrown together at every conceivable social event.” He shrugged. “Had there not been a war, you probably would have been the same.”
The thought fascinated her. She felt she the smallest pangs of jealousy. Here was this man, barely older than her, telling her about freedoms that she had never even been able to even dream of. Would she really be just as well traveled, just as well acquainted with the other members of court if there had not been a war? She didn't know.
There was another knock at the door. She and Koa both turned their heads toward the sound, though neither made a move to answer it. Within a moment, the same guard appeared. “My lady, my lord.” He inclined his head toward them both in turn. “His grace, Prince Eryx.”
Where Koa was all golden sunlight, this newcomer was more midnight shadows. Dark hair fell lightly across just as dark eyes, before tumbling down to well past his shoulders. His skin was pale, nearly ghostly. Even his clothing was dark.
He crossed the room in two strides, stopping directly before Minka. He bowed low, taking her hand and pressing it against his lips. “Princess.”
For the second time that afternoon, Minka could feel a blush rising in her cheeks. “W-welcome.” She managed to stutter out, although it came out as more of a squeak than anything.
He smiled warmly. “Thank you kindly.”
Prince Koa snorted. “So formal!” Eryx turned slowly to regard the room's only other occupant. “Come now, we all have to be here for a while. Can't we dispense with the formalities and theatrics?”
“Prince Koa, how lovely to see you again. It's been, what, a half year since our last meeting?” Eryx's voice was lightly accented, a thicker rougher sound that was native to the Northern Mountain ranges.
Koa's smiled wilted slightly. “Or perhaps not,” he mumbled, not bothering to answer the questions.
“If I am correct,” Eryx spoke again, “one of the twins had just arrived as I was being led down here to the tower.”
Koa perked up a little at that. “I wonder which one Rushu sent? Probably Nox, he is older.”
Eryx nodded his agreement. “I must admit,” he began, “it will be quite unusual to see one without the other. I don't believe I ever have before.” Koa shrugged, something Minka was beginning to suspect he did fairly often.
Before anyone could say anything more on the subject, the door opened once more. Again the guard bowed, though he seemed to be getting slightly less formal every time. Minka did not blame him. The day's activities were probably growing quite tedious for him. “I present his grace, Prince Nox.” Koa and Eryx exchanged a look. “And,” the guard continued, not bothering to look at anyone other than Minka herself, “his brother, Prince Shade.”
Two young men shoved their way into the tower, dancing past the guard who had not yet had the opportunity to leave. They stood in the doorway, looking around at the place. They were completely identical. They were tall and thin, with pale blond hair, almost silvery in color, that they wore tied back into loose tails. The only discernible difference Minka could see was that one wore black plastic rimmed glasses over his blue eyes, and the other did not.
They strolled into the room in perfect synchronization, as if they owned the place. Their confidence felt nearly overwhelming. They stopped in front of the princess, bowing slightly, before taking places on the floor. “Afternoon, gentlemen.” The one without glasses grinned.
“M'lady,” the other intoned.
“Unbelievable.” Eryx grunted, finally seeming to drop his stiff, formal demeanor. “How did Rushu manage to get you both an invitation?”
The twins just grinned and shrugged. “We didn't ask too many questions.”
“We are just glad to be here.”
Koa rolled his eyes. “Princess, these two idiots are the princes of the Islands. The one with glasses is Shade, the other is Nox. Try not to take anything they say too terribly seriously.”
“My dear man,” the one now identified as Nox began, “you wound me!”
“You dare to impugn our honor by suggesting the lady Minka cannot trust us?” Shade covered his heart with his left hand, right pressed firmly against his head.
The princess could not help but laugh at the theatrics. She had never before witnessed such dramatic personalities. They were quite unlike any of the people who had yet visited her tower. “I thank you for your concern,” she grinned at Koa, “but I will reserve all judgment for the moment. After all,” she couldn't help but chide, “what basis do I have to trust you over them?”
The twins openly laughed, hands to their stomachs, leaning against each other for support. Even Eryx chuckled, and Koa could not contain his grin.
“And what a witty princess we have on our hands! Here I had feared a lifetime of reclusiveness would have dulled your wit, or at least your sense of humor. It seems that I have worried in vain!” It was her turn to raise in eyebrow.
“I'm so sorry to have made you lose any sleep, my lord. I do hope to live up to your standards from here on.” Her tone was cold, but she hoped that Koa could see the smile in her eyes.
“Ooooh. I like her!” Shade smiled at his brother.
“She's fun,” Nox agreed.
Minka could feel herself relaxing, just a little bit. Princes though the may be, these were still normal people. All she needed to do was keep calm, and try to find some common ground with them. For all she knew, she may even end up enjoying her time with them and leave this tower with actual real friends, something she had only ever dreamed of in the past.
“So, there are two more coming, then?” She asked to no one in particular, adjusting the number of princes she had been told to except to accommodate the twins.
“I believe so,” Eryx responded. “We still have Mattex's son, Zaire, and Fennis's son, Torin. Those are the only two that I am aware of.”
He had only barely finished speaking when once more a knock came at the tower door, this time while the door was already opening. “I present to you, Prince Torin.” Once more the guard vanished, leaving behind a startled looking prince.
“Hey, guys.” He looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes. He was the shortest so far, only barely taller than Minka. His skin was a dark, sunkissed tan, and his hair was a deep, chocolate brown that curled around his ears delicately. “I'm sorry, am I late?” He addressed Minka directly.
“Not at all,” she smiled warmly. “You aren't even the last to arrive.”
“Really?” He glanced back over the others, clearly counting. “Strange. Here I thought there were only to be five of us.”
“Yes,” Koa responded glibly. “So did we.”
“The twins had other plans,” Eryx finished, gesturing to the princes in question. They merely waved. Torin rolled his eyes, but his smile never faded.
He walked with an almost feline grace. Minka found herself expected him to pounce at any given moment. He stalked slowly around the room, stopping at the far end of the sofa from Koa, before sitting down lightly. “Well, this is nice,” he stated after a moment of silence. “It's so rare that we are able to gather without immediately jumping into politics. And so rarely do we have such radiant company.” He smiled at Minka. She returned the smile without thinking. It certainly was charming.
Nox let out a short bark of laughter. “Please. You think everything about this little meeting isn't about politics? No offense, princess, but we are all here in the the hopes of improving our station, even you.” Shade nodded, but otherwise remained silent.
“Be that as it may, it is still pleasant to not have to overtly discuss such things. Regardless of rising above my station, I am still overjoyed to do something a little less mundane. And I am certainly thrilled to meet you, Minka. I thought that I had met every eligible princess on the continent. It's always nice to be surprised.”
“Must you always be so damn optimistic?” Koa growled, though he was still smiling. “It is truly bad for my nerves.”
Torin pretended to think for a moment. “Why, yes. I believe that I do.” He winked at Koa. “Can't go around changing my personality for you, love. Then everyone will expect the same. Before we know it, I will be nothing other than what others have deemed appropriate, and we don't want that.”
Koa snorted. “I want that.” Torin reached over and lightly smacked him on the shoulder.
Minka watched, smile planted firmly on her face. Never before had she experienced such camaraderie. She found herself craving it. Would it be possible for her to ever have such an easy repartee with someone? She hoped so. Watching these five princes interact made her realize exactly how lonely her life had been in the tower.
For the fifth, and presumably final time that evening there was a knock at the door. Once more the large, oak door swung open. “His royal highness, Prince Zaire.” The door slammed shut with an air of finality.
Minka examined this newcomer, as did everyone else in the room. He shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot, not enjoying being the center of attention. He dressed in a dark jacket, and tight trousers. The low neckline of his white shirt displaying several silver necklaces. His hair tumbled down to his waist, a dark almost black color, that was sparked through with natural red highlights. Minka presumed that in bright sunlight it would be of the darkest auburn. The most striking feature about him, however, was the mask that covered half of his face.
It was a simple black mask that concealed everything from the bridge of his nose up into his hairline. It was covered in shining red embroidery that helped to accent the colors in his hair. Minka could just make out the black satin ribbons that affixed it to his face.
Minka had never seen someone wear a mask like that. She wanted desperately to ask him about it, but figured that now was not the time. He already seemed uncomfortable, fidgeting in the doorway.
“Please, come in,” she called over to him, rising to greet him properly. His eyes peered out at her from under the cover of his mask, pale silver irises gazed at her, taking in her appearance just as she was taking in his. Once she reached him, he bowed to her, red hair obscuring his face, and brushing the tiled floor.
“It is an honor to meet you, your grace.” he intoned so quietly she was sure that the others had not been able to hear. His voice was deep, so deep she could practically feel the rumble of it in her bones.
“The honor is all mine,” she whispered back. He rose out of his bow and gave her just the faintest of smiles before turning to acknowledge the other men in the room.
“What took you so long?” Koa called out to him, still not moving from his place on the couch. “I thought for sure you would be the first to arrive. You had the least distance to travel.”
Zaire shrugged. “My father and I had a disagreement before I left. It took some... time to resolve.” He offered no further explanation and the others seemed to know better than to pry for one. The princess chose to follow their example.
She sighed lightly and turned to face the room. She had a room full of unfamiliar men and the door was locked tightly behind her. What now?

Rushu had chosen to accompany his children to the mainland. It had only been a week since his last voyage, but he wished to speak with his high king. So he found himself sitting in an uncomfortable, high backed chair outside of Esho's office waiting impatiently. He fidgeted, shifting his weight around. He did not like being ignored, and had already been seated here far longer than he would have cared for.
He contemplated saying something, but he was sure it wouldn't do him any good. Esho would not be rushed, could not be rushed. He would meet with Rushu when, and if, he so chose.
“You may enter now,” the high king's assistant, and near constant shadow, proclaimed from her perch behind a small desk directly to the right of the king's door. She never once looked up from her computer, as she typed furiously, her red painted fingernails a crimson blur.
He nodded his thanks, unsure whether she would see it or not. He didn't really care either way. He brushed passed her, and pushed hard on the double doors. They let out the faintest, sighing protest before giving way beneath his weight and opening in.
Esho was seated at his desk, staring hard at a mountain of paperwork. He seemed to have edged a decade in the last week. Rushu was taken aback by his haggard appearance. His skin appeared ashen, and his already thinned hair appeared to be even thinner.
Rushu whistled. “You are not looking so good, old friend,” he tormented gently, throwing himself into the only empty chair in the room.
Esho snorted. “Stress will do that to you. You would know such things if you ever took anything seriously.” He ran his fingers through hair that was no longer there, grimacing at what he felt. When he finally made eye contact with his friend, Rushu couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his eyes; they were nearly black and took up a good portion of his face.
“I take many things seriously,” he responded softly. “My children are in there too.”
“Did I make the wrong decision?” Esho looked deep into his eyes, searching for some sort of sign. “Delaya and I always agreed that Minka should be kept safe at all costs, but was locking her away the right choice?” It was a sign of how much Esho trusted Rushu that he would make himself so vulnerable in front of the man. They both knew how dangerous it was to display such weakness.
Rushu knew that it was important choose his words carefully. He spoke slowly. “I cannot tell you if it was right or wrong,” he started with an apologetic smile. “I can tell you that you are doing what we all do. You are trying your hardest to make sure that your child lives a full, healthy life. I don't know if you made the wrong choices. Or, hell, maybe you are the only one of us who did the right thing. No one can answer that for you. All I know is that you did the best you could.” He rested his hand on the other man's shoulder.
Esho sighed loudly. “Thank you, old friend. I needed to hear that. Now then, about those boys of yours, I believe I specified that each king bring one son. What's this I am hearing about you bringing your twins?” There was the faintest hint of his old self sparkling in his eyes.
Rushu threw his head back and laughed. “You know how badly the boys hate to be separated. You know as well as I do that if your girl picks one of them, you will most likely end up with them both.” They both laughed for a good moment. “Besides, the boys keep each other in check.”
Esho brushed a tear from his cheek, still chuckling. “You had better hope that they do.” He smiled at his old friend. “Now then, I'm sure you didn't come all this way just to listen to an old man's fears. What can I do for you?”
“Well, my lord, I wanted to ask you what your plan for all of this was.” Esho arched a brow, inviting his friend to proceed. “How long will my boys, and the others, be here? What happens when your daughter makes her decision? You realize that in setting it up this way, you have created the potential of making several powerful men very angry? You give five men hopes that their heirs will be high king, knowing full well that only one truly can be. Have you thought what happens to the other four when they start to grow resentful?” He hadn't meant to question the King so much. What he said bordered on treasonous, though they both knew he spoke in legitimate concerns, not threats.
“I do not know what the future will hold for any of us, Rushu. All I can say with certainty is that I took too much away from my daughter to steal this last choice from her too. Besides that, I also have the potential to make powerful allies. Even the men my daughter refuses will spend a considerable amount of time in that tower with her, as I do not expect a decision to be made any time soon. You and I know first hand how influential friendships forged in youth can be.”
Rushu sat back in his chair, stunned by the simplicity of it all. “You sly old fox,” he laughed, still slightly disbelieving. “You don't care if she rejects the whole lot, do you? This was never about marriage. You just, in theory, strengthened all five bonds at once!” He shook his head in wonder. “Just know, you are playing a dangerous game. Time and create friendships, but it can also breed resentment if she takes too long to make a choice. No one likes the idea of their heart being a plaything.”
Esho just shrugged noncommittally. “I know. But it is a risk I am willing to take.”
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I know that this one seems a little filler-y still, but it was a necessary evil. I had a lot of character to introduce. Hopefully from here on out it'll get a little more eventful.

Thanks for reading!