In a Garden of Serpents

Social season within the kingdom of Ogronevia was a sight to see. So much so that many minor nobles from the main continent would abandon their own to attend the events of the little nation. For the small nation's social season brought with it entertaining events that put many other kingdoms' to shame, not to mention the years' worth of gossip and drama as well as partnerships and romance. Many a unions were forged during the nation's social season as well as many downfalls and destruction. Never a dull moment. It started during the beginning of summer and went on for as long as a month, ending with a royal ball in the castle.

The current social season was said to be something of legends, what with the kingdom's tragedy still hanging overhead as well as their new young king. On top of that, the new king's thirteenth birthday would also be around the corner, promising a grand event for all of its attendees. From the highest of nobles to the blossoming debutants, the king included.

The king's social debut had many excited with anticipation, the noblewomen with daughters even more so. Many designers and tailors had been booked to the heavens by mothers scrambling to shape their daughters into the perfect future queen.

They put their barely teenage daughters through rigorous training from the arts to swordsmanship, from tea-making to embroidery. The more extreme ones even forced their daughters into dieting.

Even while socializing within the banquet hall of Viscount Haddsson's manor, their eyes never left the entrance doors. Drinks in hands and conversation flowing, many attendants that night were simply vibrating with anticipation for the young king to finally show up.

Yet Ísar kept them waiting as he sat in his carriage outside the manor's gates, trying to calm both his and Xinghua's nerves. Both boys sat across from each other, going over their plan for the night for the millionth time while trying to not look each other in the eyes.

Ísar played with the sleeves of his beige shirt, the gold and white embroidered jacket over it not feeling right. He usually wore darker colors as he felt more comfortable in them but the palace's seamstress was particularly adamant about his outfit choice this time.

His nervousness only grew once he'd seen what she'd picked out for Xinghua to wear. It was almost identical to the king's outfit save for more of a Quanlong flair to it. It used the lucky colors of the empire, red and gold, and the older boy's long black hair had been styled in a high ponytail with two pieces of framing his face.

They had stared at each other for a long time when Ísar had descended to the castle's foyer. Then suddenly, Xinghua couldn't look at him and said not a single word until they arrived at the Viscount's estate.

It made Ísar want to go back to the castle and hide in his room.

"I am suddenly unsure about this," Xinghua finally said once they had nothing else to discuss in regards to infiltrating the Grand Duke's land.

"Why?" Ísar asked tentatively, his anxiety eating away at him. "I know the social season here could not hold a candle to the ones within an empire but I heard from my oldest sister that they can be quite fun and we'd be leaving early either way. Gods I'm sorry for dragging you to this."

Ísar realized that he rambled when he was anxious and he wanted to dig a hole and slowly die away at the fact that he mostly did the embarrassing act around Xinghua.

"You apologize quite a lot for a king," Xinghua teased, a small smile on his face. "It is fine. I'm fine. I'm just worried about you being seen with me instead of a noble lady. This is your first official debut and I'm worried I might affect it."

"Are you out of your right mind?"

The angry tone he used surprised Xinghua enough to lean back with wide eyes.

"Why in all the realms would I want to be around anyone else? Please get such ridiculous thoughts out of your head. Really. And here I was wondering why you were ignoring me for most of the trip if not for regretting your decision to follow me here." Ísar huffed while folding his arms and looking out the carriage's window, absolutely annoyed by the silly thing his friend had just said.

"I wasn't ignoring you. I just didn't know how to look at you tonight," Xinghua explained almost in a rush.

Ísar turned back to look at the boy with an eyebrow raised, not sure what he meant.

The older boy sighed and said, "I don't know, you just look so…you look like a fairy. I was a bit taken aback."

Ísar didn't know how to take the boy's words, his face feeling warm again. He suddenly couldn't look at Xinghua again, not sure if he could take the prince's words as a compliment being a boy himself but he couldn't help but like it.

"A-anyway," Xinghua continued after a while, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just…nervous. Parties were never my thing. Put me on the borders of the empire and I'm fine but put me in the middle of that garden or serpents I suddenly forget how to speak."

"Your majesty, your highness," Sir Erik spoke from outside the carriage. "We must enter now if we don't want to be too late."

"In a moment," Ísar responded as he took Xinghua's hands, leaning forward to talk to the prince. "I understand, my friend, but it's not like you're going inside the dangerous garden by yourself. Lean on me this time, yeah?"

Xinghua stared at their entwined hands for a moment, took and breath and said shakily, "Okay. Okay."

The intricacies of the social scene were intimidating enough to leave a powerful prince like Xinghua reverting to the child he was. From the stories he'd heard from his siblings offhandedly, it really was like being in a garden of serpents but Ísar couldn't let that get to him that night.

The ball wasn't their true object. They only needed to show up, make pleasantries and depart. There were more important and darker unknowns for them to unravel at least that night.

But it was nice, being there with Xinghua and coming in together. It made Ísar feel ever so warm to have the other boy by his side in such a way.