The Pup and the Unruly (2)

Once we were done at the Soup Kitchens, the next stop was the castle. With the twins still walking with us, I found myself thoughtful over two specific matters that I had been ignoring to bring up in a conversation lest ruining my date with Mya.

It wasn't like I expected those topics to actually sour things too much, but rather make for a poor first impression to make on these two new knights in an effort to get through these worries of mine. While I knew the two blonds were far from malicious in their intents, with Gaheris being more of a teen going through puberty and being an angst-driven jerk at times, I was well unnerved by the possibility that if they confirmed their pledge to my rule, I was going to give Morgan another reason to come and visit again.

While I had made plenty of upgrades around the castle through the help of Scathach and Altuos to deal with any sudden invasion from the witch, I really didn't want to face the terrible woman anytime soon. And by soon, I was referring to 'ever'.

Still, despite my worries in maintaining a form of balance in this dual interaction, I still decided to trouble myself with one of the two subjects I was really concerned about. One that I knew wasn't going to get any terrible reaction out of the two if I was careful enough with my words.

"From what I understand you've been on the run since you were given the chance to wander around far from Lot's castle," I muttered with a calm tone. "I assume it was quite limiting before that."

"It was," Gareth admitted with just a hint of nervousness in her voice. "But… we managed. Mother wasn't that focused on us, at least not as much as she had been with Agravain and Gawain-"

"Don't mention him," Her brother interjected fiercely. "He… He is no brother of ours."

I frowned, glancing at Gaheris with a confused look.

"Are you referring to Agravain?"

"No," The young man quickly replied, his stare moving away from me as if having some trouble keeping it while talking about this very topic. "Gawain is… is not our brother."

Wasn't he?

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. He would've gotten us out too if he could have at the time," His sister remarked, getting a growl out of the blond.

"Sure, and then he would've led us to the mystical land that does not exist."

I stared at the two with an interested look, trying to make sense of the whole situation since I didn't have much background on these siblings before the tales of their glorious deeds. I knew that they were all born from the union of Morgan with King Lot, but I didn't know how the situation in their home was before they left to ally with Arthur.

Most of the sources would confirm Gawain as a warrior that ended up traveling to Jerusalem in a pilgrimage before deciding to return to his homeland to join Arthur's cause. Some even went as far as saying that at the time he was back home he had gone through a couple of wars in the Middle East and Continental Europe that he had been active about.

I doubted this was actually the case since that kind of voyage was quite prohibitive in terms of expenses and physical capacity to live and survive the chaotic infighting still happening in Europe, and I really couldn't see someone that wasn't born to respect or even know about Christianity to actually make a trip in Palestine for no major reason.

It would've been cool to learn more about this legendary knight and even personally meet him if he really did this kind of stuff while the isles were busy with the petty clashing of various kings, religions, and civilizations.

Pushing back that little curiosity of mine to ponder about on a later time, I decided to shift my attention on the issue at hand since I could tell Gaheris was getting close to snap because of his rising irritation about the subject. Mya was also nudging at my elbow with quite some insistence, feeling rather nervous with the two individuals getting in a heated discussion so easily.

Like, what did Gawain do to warrant this much anger from his younger siblings?

"How about you two stop discussing and getting this much attention on yourself?" I offered quietly, managing to at least get Gareth's focus away from her brother. She looked surprised at first but soon bowed her head in minor embarrassment at being called out like that. Her brother followed suit shortly after, his attention briefly turning to me before the realization of what I was hinting seemed to get him to flush in frustration on the slightly humiliating comment.

"Apologies, your highness," The blonde replied with a humble tone. "We will stop dragging attention on us like this and-"

"I don't mind you two chatting about that kind of stuff," I interrupted quietly. "I don't see any reason to stop you from doing that. Just don't get too incensed by simple words."

"Your highness, my memories are difficult to keep in check without having my ire rise because of those," Gaheris admitted with an unhappy sigh. "I will try to be more mindful and-"

"How about we try something that I know might help you two in the long term? Nothing about magic or any of that stuff, only proper conversation through a reliable judge."

…

"What?" Gareth inquired, getting Mya to giggle at that cute tone she got as she said that.

"I think Joseph is referring to me," The white-haired woman explained. "While I might not know what exactly you two are discussing, I wouldn't mind giving my own opinion if you're willing to spare me a simple explanation about what you're talking about."

…

"but why?" Gaheris asked with a more confused look, accentuated by his deepening frown. "I mean, no disrespect to you, your highness and… Lady Mya. But why is this important?"

I sighed, glancing around in an effort to clear out my mind and leave just a good explanation to that kind of snooping we were trying to pull in that instant. Sadly for me, someone else had been more than ready to answer as I came up with my own answer.

"The King is someone that values people's issues. Those problems that could potentially harm the growth of those he trusts upon, and that could possibly endanger those around them," Lancelot said with a confident voice. "While your distrust is legitimate, I too believe that keeping this kind of problem away from resolution will only harm you in the long way.

"Still, why Lady Mya? I don't have anything against her but..."

"You don't see how she could help you, don't you?"

…

I sighed. "Gareth, my fiance is someone that is more experienced in handling emotions. I'm more logical and… she is someone that cares mostly about feelings and passion itself."

The girl nodded, still looking partly confused by my reasoning but still accepting the idea despite this very issue. Gaheris took a little more to understand this, but he eventually decided to see what kind of plan I had laid out in this situation.

The lance-wielder was the first one to speak. The blonde offered an account of swift events with some extra details around the bits that could've incriminated Gawain of what was being accused about by the fellow swordsman. Her twin was a little less restrained with his version of the final events. I listened silently as he detailed how his brothers had decided to betray them by leaving them to their devices when he had the chance of escaping their mother's influence.

Gawain didn't seem to have ever mentioned this interest, and thus the possibility of this being a betrayal of sorts stuck around the mind of Gaheris. The young man was angry, frustrated, and potentially in serious need of some sleeping from the dark bags under his eyes. While his story did make it seem like their old brother had decided to leave them despite his clear affections for them, combining both versions of the tale offered a better understanding of that very instance.

It was easy for me to understand where the real problem was, instead allowing Myasviel to raise her own points on the matter since she was the one that was meant to dodge.

"I think your brother didn't leave you two because you were a burden in his eyes. I think from the way you described him sounded like a nice person. One that would do his best to protect that part of the family he considered worthy of that kind of love, and to never leave those he cares about without a good enough reason." Mya spoke up with a convinced tone. "In fact, I believe there has to be more to the story. Maybe a bit you two don't didn't know about."

"A… A bit? You mean like… a motivation that could've forbidden Gawain to take us with him?"

"You also said he was rather strong. Enough for your mother to buy him nice armors, swords and other good tools used in fights. Since she favored him, maybe he thought that you would've been hurt if he had tried to take you two with him."

"But why? Why would he worry about something about that?" Gaheris pressed with some insistence in his voice. "Gareth and I are strong enough at the time to help him against any enemy-"

"Even your mother?" I quipped suddenly, getting both to freeze up at the unexpected question.

"Mother-"

"As I've said, if she favors him, then she would've actively hunted him and… she would've tried to use you two as means to make him easier to capture," Mya resumed her explanation as politely as she could. "Until you ask him, I don't anyone else will provide you the truth… unless as a way to prank you or trick you into doing horrible stuff for nothing."

…

"We're not that gullible," Gaheris rebuffed, but I knew he was lying from how long it took him to answer that chance.

Mya held back a giggle, and I merely smiled as Gareth huffed at her brother.

"Why did you wait that long to answer? You're giving them the wrong impression."

"I- but how? I just answered and-"

"You were speaking up much slower than you usually would with other topics," I flatly interrupted. "I believe that is more than enough to give any silly impression of yourself."

The still distracted young man frowned with an even more perplexed look than before, still he couldn't help but nod at that awkward mistake of his. Gareth had to hold herself from giggling at her brother's mistake, but she managed pretty well in doing so. Soon we were walking inside the castle through the main gates, right where someone had been waiting around for us to return for a couple of hours now.

A bored Marcus had decided to wait at the gates of the castle for our return, giving me the chance to address him about my plans with the young blond man with him. Confusion turned in minor annoyance as he realized what I was talking about, yet he still seemed to grasp well enough that 1) Marcus was experienced and worthy to study under and 2) realizing that it was easy to remember where we were despite how everything was for both.

With Lancelot taking his leave with young Gareth to help her find where her living quarters were now that she had accepted training and be a knight under me, Mya and I were finally spared some proper time alone while we arrived at our garden. The young woman was smiling eye-to-eye, both because she was glad of the help she was capable of offering and… because now we were free from giving a try to the last bit of our date.

And with the tune of a slow dance softly buzzing from my phone, I made the greatest effort to not step onto her feet… but also hold myself from overreacting at her own mistakes. She giggled each moment she realized she had messed up, making my irritation falter and vanish at the melodious notes of her explanations.

"Did you think Marcus will be able to handle someone like Gaheris?"

I sighed at Mya's question, feeling rather drained by the chances of dealing with the young man again since my current interest was aimed at our slow and quiet efforts to master how proper dance was supposed to unfold, with me enjoying the rest of the day with the hopes of not drawing too much attention to ourselves about it.

No trouble had raised up to our attention, but the young woman was still legitimately taken by the tales of the two twins. Both looked to have gone through some rough experiences, and I could tell Mya found their story compelling since it reminded her of how her life was before I freed her. At first I didn't think this correlation went that far, but as I thought about what was really happening inside her head, the young woman happily revealed the truth.

I was stomped by the seriousness she made use of in that brief conversation, but I was quick to accept her reasoning as those didn't lack a logical foundation to be. In fact, it was one of the most solid and most coherent thoughts she could've provided about any reason why she was interested in the two young knight's plight.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't invested in their past too, but my reasons easily faded before the ones that Mya had to fuel her curiosity and good-willed interest in helping these two. So, instead of either ignoring or giving the topic too little interest in an effort to keep the attention lingering at our current activity together, I decided to give her a truthful answer.

"Maybe. Marcus had dealt with tougher people… so I believe it's more up to Gaheris than the Commander," I confessed, soon humming for a while as I finished massaging my feet as we prepared to go through our umpteenth dance session. The surprise created by my phone's function to reproduce music fading away the more the woman grew accustomed to the simple device. Three hours had been wasted in that endeavor, and while I was pretty sure we were both growing tired with every new effort, I could tell we were both improving from those.

It was a slow process, one that I knew would take a couple of months to get down to before we could easily say we could dance properly to the classic music I had on my phone, but it wasn't completely crappy as I would've imagined it being before our first attempt together. Mya was nimbler than I had thought her be, and I was less stiff with my own moves than I would've imagined myself being.

We were both good enough to make a good scene if we wanted, but I was rather nervous of dancing with others looking at us, and I could tell the girl too wasn't up to deal with that kind of attention just yet. Something of a good news… but one that swiftly prompted the young woman to ask for more training to get this 'easier to go through'.

Eventually the dance training dragged a little closer to dinnertime. It was still pretty far for us to be compelled to go, but the disposition we ended up taking as we both stopped dancing was quite unexpected and… adorable.

Resting her head on my lap, a cute yawn left her lips as she happily enjoyed having her hair softly played with while my left hand quietly cupped her left cheek with a caring touch. It wasn't the first time we ended up in that position, but I felt a sense of completion to see her like this for today. I knew that the reason she looked so happy despite her tired attitude was because I had managed to give her the day she wanted to spend with me.

It was different in some aspects from what I had initially planned it out to be, mostly with the arrival of both Gareth and Gaheris, but it was still easy to manage as we went through our planned stops without much of an issue with these unexpected developments. In fact, I was willing to say that these unplanned additions only heightened the uniqueness of the day of a couple of touches, giving us both something to handle together as a team rather than being restrained to the usual couple-related activities.

Soon Mya allowed a pleased sigh to leave her mouth as she enjoyed her little treatment, a mirthful smile adorning her gorgeous visage as we both enjoyed the surprising warmth of today's sun. Usually the sunlight wouldn't have been strong enough to bring any noticeable warmth, yet for some reason today it just felt warmer than usual. Thus basking under its rays left us happier as we went through the last few topics we were going to talk about before going to eat dinner.

"Can I ask you a rather silly question, Joseph?"

…

I blinked, glancing down at Mya's curious red eyes for a little while before giving her a silent nod. She hummed, thinking about her query for a moment before finally speaking up once again.

"Would you prefer a son or a daughter?"

…

Blinking again, I took a moment to actually think at the incredibly big question the young woman has given me to try and solve. Sure, I had been thinking of this for a long time now, starting from the moment when I began thinking how things were going to be after the marriage.

After consuming the first night together, the next step was the production of a healthy heir for me to be able to pass upon my legacy onto. By logical thinking, a son would be the most ideal decision among the available picks. Not only we would've avoided being pressured too much by others about extending the dynasty, but it would also be an interesting experience that I wasn't nervous to actually make with my soon-to-be wife.

Still, I wasn't going to say no to a daughter. I've long learned to accept the chances of the classic family's predisposition of having a firstborn son and a second-born daughter being disrupted one way or another… but I wouldn't exactly mind having to love a mini-Mya in a couple of years from now.

I could already imagine the giggling echoing across the castle's halls as I would be always giving chase to a cheeky white-haired child that had gone and made some trouble worthy of some running around home. And the mere mental picture was enough to make the choice stand up strongly against the 'son' decision. Enough to make the two stuck in a tie in my head.

…

"I guess I don't have a legitimate preference. I would love to have a little son to teach to, but I would be the happiest if it was a little Mya running around and wreaking havoc in Londinium."

The young woman giggled at the latter half of the response, giving an agreeing nod at my answer.

"I can see both being fun options, but perhaps we could give it a try and see if we can have both a son and a daughter," She suggested with a fascinated tone. "I think it would be nice if they had someone else to trust on. A sibling to rely on."

I was surprised by such a comment, but I found the whole concept not that odd to believe into. Still, I decided to tackle the comment with a mirthful thought of mine.

"Maybe you should first see how you handle your first pregnancy. And that is a tough experience as it is before going for a second one."

She huffed. "I will manage."

I was sure she would have, but I knew that the last months were going to be a nightmare since her behavior was going to be intensified to an unpleasant notch. There was nothing wrong in that and I wasn't going to blame her to be a little moody during that kind of time period, but I sure wasn't going to have an easy life about it for sure.

"And I will have you to stand beside me," Mya also added. "So I believe it even more."

…

I sighed, slowly leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Aren't you being a flatterer today, my dear?" I inquired softly, drawing a happy sigh out of her as she enjoyed the closeness we had right now. I turned to give her my right cheek, nuzzling back at her as we happily went through that silent cuddling in relative peace. This was going to be one of the many loving moments we would share before I would have to leave to deal with the problems in the north.

I knew Ria would be taking a more active stance once she was done with her marital business, and I was sure she was going to ask for my support just like we had established through our letters. Morgan needed to be stopped, and the faster that happened, the lesser the chances of more treacheries where to unfold in our respective courts.

But for now I enjoyed the moment, savoring my moment of bliss with my beloved as I prepared for a long day tomorrow now that I had two new individuals to take case of. Gareth looked to be reliable enough to leave in Lancelot's care, while her brother was still too stubborn to be moved away from the rough and blunt training style I knew Marcus being capable of.

While I knew the commander had little to teach to the young man in terms of fighting, I wanted the older man to be educating the blond about moral conduct and the duties of being a proper knight in a well-established court. And hopefully, he was going to stop being driven by his temper in making poor decisions that could either threaten his own well-being or the one of those around him.

After spending another hour together with Mya, we both started to make our way back to the dining room where much had to be discussed about tomorrow's affairs. With the two of us looking rather radiant, Altuos decided to take some sweet revenge at his busy day with triple the usual paperwork he was accustomed to by bringing up this very topic.

At first it didn't do much to us since we had both grown accustomed to this kind of comments… but then he brought up the endless possibilities of how our children were going to look like, and our minds decided to betray us by bringing up some endearing combination of any of our future sons and daughters. Our faces were quick to turn beet red as the chuckles coming from the elder domineered over the dinner for almost half an hour.

Still, with the pleasant developments making this day the best in a long time, I felt the need to think and prepare as I knew this wasn't meant to last. Something just felt like things weren't going to keep up this good, especially with how tense the situation with the petty kingdoms was slowly turning into.

I needed to make plans and prepare for the inevitable and, perhaps, it was time to stake some claims and remove some of the 'pillow nations' that existed between Londinium and the Lothians.

Maybe Morgan wasn't looking at us while I tried to accomplish the extremely delicate task of doing so, that is…