A Clash of Worlds (Taliesin&redblood)

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Adrian couldn't seem to focus on Paris's progress as much as he wished. The dark feelings kept creeping up to gnaw at him every time he dared to relax and try to enjoy the lesson. He did his best to not let it show but when he tried to return Paris's smile it wasn't quite right. As usual, he decided to deal with the problem by pretending it didn't happen. "Good." He praised, sounding a bit more normal the longer he talked. "It's a start on the first concept." He glanced around and several more bubbles popped into existence, now in clusters of progressively larger numbers of bubbles. "Now, try to do the same but on a larger scale."

He took a moment to judge the suns position. They had the whole day to themselves but as always magic practice made the time fly. They probably wouldn't have time for more than another exercise or two. That was assuming Paris didn't run out of energy before hand, which was entirely likely as well. Not just was Paris practicing very advanced magic for his overall progression but he was doing a lot more in one session than would generally be advisable to someone so new to their power. His age helped mitigate this problem somewhat, but that only went so far.
 
Paris could already feel his brain giving up on him, even though they hadn't done much. Maybe they hadn't done much, but they had taken up quite a lot of time. It was hard to notice how the time flew forward when the mind focused on something much more interesting.

The young prince, even though tired, started to work on the new bubbles. It was a distraction from his worries, both from Alyssia and Adrian. Adrian were acting strange, and he didn't know why. Was it something he didn't dare to tell him? That were things that was impossible to think about while practicing. All his attention had to be put into his training.

Halfway through the the bubbles, Paris were far too tired to continue. A bit more and he might just fall asleep standing. On the other hand, even if he tried his best, a little bit more wouldn't work. First when he noticed that he barely could move the air anymore, he realized how tired he was and stopped. "I don't think I'll be able to do more today. I'll probably pass out if I try." He said, not being able to help the yawn that came at the end of his sentence. "Does it become easier, or are you just incredibly good at hiding your exhaustion?" He then asked grinning as he sat down. Everything became easier with practice. If someone started to practice swimming they would find hundred meters very difficult at first, but with time they could even learn to swim fivehundred without batting an eye. The body adapted to the situation.
 
"A bit of both." Adrian said nonchalantly, seeming a bit more like his usual self with the grin he offered this time. "I have been working magic since I was a wee thing, I am aware of my exact boundaries. Which does help a lot in this." He tilted his head for a moment and then pulled Paris over into his lap. "You should rest for a bit. I'll take us back to the palace later." He felt much more calm running his hands through the other princes hair. It was smooth and silky but most importantly it meant he was close to Paris, which was his only succor in this mess of his emotions. "I am glad that you are also developing an idea for when to stop, though you perhaps should have a bit earlier."
 
Paris leaned in on Adrian's shoulder, his body already relaxed in his lovers arms. But as fast as he heard the mentioning of returning to the palace, he unintentionally flinched. Sometimes he just forgot that they had to return back home. While he knew he must, otherwise an army would eventually be out to search after him, it was very tempting to just propose for them to run away. Live out there forever.

He wouldn't last very long though, even if people wouldn't be searching for him. He would feel far too guilty for abandoning his people, and probably soon starve to death if Adrian couldn't use magic to make food for them. Plus, a paradise wouldn't feel like a paradise if you lived there all the time. It wouldn't stay special for long.

At least the topic was changed quickly. "I just stopped because I couldn't keep focus on it at all any longer. Otherwise I would have kept going until it was done." He half complained and half explained. Paris didn't like quitting in the middle of a task, so he was slightly disappointed with himself. Stop before a task is started or after it is finished if you're tired. He usually did one last thing even though he felt too tired for it. Another yawn came from him.

"What do you think your brother will say if he gets to know about us?" Paris quite unexpectedly asked. His family already knew. His father was slightly warming up to Adrian, but Paris was certain he weren't too fond of their relationship still. He had no idea what his mother thought of them, but at the very least he knew she wouldn't go against them as long as her son wasn't hurt. Alyssia, his precious adopted cousin, was heartbroken because of it. Her parents were of course worried for their daughter, but he doubted they had anything against the prince's decision. He had only spoken to them for a few minutes when he had met Alyssia, but he hadn't felt that they blamed him for what had happened at the very least.

What would Adrian's family think? He knew the brothers weren't very close though, so Adrian might not say anything about it.
 
Adrian chuckled and managed a smile that was even closer to what Paris was used to. The other prince was just too cute when he was whining like that. It made Adrian forget about all of the craziness within him for just a moment. Of course then Paris had to ask a question that brought up anxiety for a whole new reason. "My brother will probably do his best to disown me or punish me in some way." He said frankly, his tone almost darkly matter of fact. "Our relationship is not well accepted in your country, it is even worse in mine, especially as I am a prince." He paused and tilted his head. "Though it would probably be a relief to my brother that there will be fewer contenders to the throne..." He smiled bitterly.
 
Paris lifted his head and looked worried at Adrian. He had known that they weren't that fond of each other, but to go that far. It wasn't such a big surprise though that the people wouldn't accept it easily. So far Adrian was the only one that had dared to go over the border to see how the other country truly were. From Paris's country there had been a few going over, but non had actually gone to the capital, nor even close to the human towns and cities yet. Usually it was the nature they wanted to see. No one was ready to confront the humans from the opposite culture yet.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, not quite sure why, but it felt right. He wished the brothers were closer, more like a family, but it wasn't like he could do anything to make that happen. Maybe if he had siblings, the same would have happened to them. Maybe the throne always would split families apart. Paris would probably give away his right as the heir to his brother, if he had one, though. As long as that brother had showed that he was responsible enough and wanted the country's best, then the prince wouldn't have minded it. Actually he would have loved such an outcome. Being king didn't appeal to him, but leaving the country in someone else's hands without knowing if they could be the best ruler for the people, that was even worse.

"Wait... Is it the culture part or the gender part your people would have a problem with?" He suddenly asked, realizing he had just assumed it was the culture part. Homosexuality was too accepted, outside of the royal family because royal DNA was so important, so it was sometimes hard to remember that it was a problem in certain countries and cultures.
 
Adrian moved his gaze from the trees around them and looked down at Paris with the most bemused expression he had probably ever worn. "Why are you apologizing for something he would do?" He spoke with some exasperation. His lover really was something else. Then there was the question that followed and he realized just how accepting people here must be of his kind when it was not the all important royal family. He had to admit even then the response was pretty lackluster compared to what they would have encountered in his country. Again, he felt a terrible pang of guilt and he wasn't even entirely sure why this time. Something about this country being so wonderful, aside from it's superstitions of his own country. And press conferences. "Making an alliance with a princess of your country would have been far preferable to them." He said somewhat obliquely in response, though the answer should still be pretty obvious.
 
"People are so nitpicky about those things." Paris mumbled. "You think they would ease up if I wore a dress?" He chuckled before another yawn left him. He weren't sure how to answer Adrian's question. He just wanted the brothers to be... Like brothers. But Adrian probably would have a hard time understanding what he meant, considering that was the only brother he had ever known.

"Don't tell anyone, but my mother actually put dresses on me as a child sometimes. The papers gave her the idea. There was a rumor once that they hid my real gender and in reality I were a girl. So mom got curious and wanted to see if I really looked that feminine. The logical solution, put me in a dress. She said it was a great success." He laughed a bit while shaking his head. Luckily Adrian were from a non technological country. Hopefully he wouldn't be used enough to their concept of photos and video yet to automatically ask if there were any. Because there were. A lot of them. Funnily enough, those never leaked to the press.

"I don't think I would look so good in them today though. At least I hope I don't. That would be a bit sad." Maybe the young prince weren't very masculine, but at the very least he did not want to be taken for a girl. That felt slightly embarrassing even for him.
 
Adrian was caught off guard by the image of Paris in a dress. He didn't know quite what he thought about it. He was sure Paris would look great but he wasn't sure how that would effect his response to the other prince. The idea of child Paris in dresses though was absolutely adorable. Considering how good this country was at creating images he was sure there was some sort of record of these times. "It would be an interesting sight to see." Adrian replied playfully, though he was unlikely to pursue such an event. He happily put the thought of his brother and country behind him and let his hand run gently through Paris's hair a few more times before sighing lightly. "I think it is time to go back." People would start to look for them soon and Adrian had a few pressing matters on his mind.
 
Interesting for him, but an embarrassment for Paris. Oh well, at the very least he hadn't thought about pictures and videos. At least not as far as the young prince knew. Then Adrian reminded them of another matter. Paris didn't want to return to the palace yet. But considering how long they had been out, someone might come for them soon. Maybe to remind that dinner would be served, or because an emergency had arisen.

"I guess so." He mumbled, not too enthusiastic over it. But it wasn't like Adrian would go anywhere. They could come back any night they wanted, and any day when there was time for it. The latter would be extremely rare though.

"You're right, we should go back." He then said matter of factly. There were things to take care of, and they couldn't lazy around forever. "I should probably check on Alyssia either way. Hopefully she's calmed down by now." This time it was mainly a mumbling reminder to himself.
 
Adrian chuckled at Paris's reluctance and allowed himself the luxury of playing with his lover's hair for just a bit longer, though his hands went stiff at the mention of that stupid woman. It took him far too long to recover and set his hands on either side of himself. "Let's go then." His tone at least was only a little on the cold side. Once Paris stood up he took the other prince's hand and within seconds the bubble once again popped into existence around them, this time a greenish red, before they not-quite-shot-up into the air and headed for the palace at the upper limits of Adrian's speed.
 
Paris wondered a bit what it was that ticked Adrian off all the time. His mood seemed to be switching an awful lot. Maybe he simply didn't like the thought of going back again, considering all the gossip that would surround them for the next few weeks. The prince decided not to confront Adrian about his mood though, it probably would pass in a few days. Maybe it was the stress from the other day that was taking over.

"Will you ever tell me what the colors of the bubble means?" He asked as they traveled. Adrian had once told him that they differed depending on the emotions of the magician. Paris knew which colors that was connected with which emotion in his own culture, but Adrian had never told him which colors represented which emotion in his culture. Or within magic.
 
"Once you are skilled enough in magic you will discover that yourself." Adrian was certainly not going to give up his one advantage in this moment. As it was he tried not to think about the questions that would raise once Paris was able to understand what everything meant. The twisting in his stomach had returned and he was grateful that they arrived at the palace in what seemed like a very short time. They landed in Paris's room, at which point Adrian tried to determine what was the best avenue of escape at the moment.

"Are you going to check on the girl then?" He questioned in a carefully neutral tone.
 
Discover it yourself. Damn it. Oh well, eventually he would know. Too bad there weren't other magicians around to ask about it. But maybe there was an unwritten code that said to let people learn by experience. In that case it would have ended the same way even if he had someone else to ask.

They landed in his room, and Adrian surprisingly asked about Alyssia immediately. Maybe he was easing up towards her. Paris couldn't see any other reason why he would ask that instead of getting some extra time with him. "Yeah, I should probably do that. But we can meet up in an hour or so if you want. We can watch some TV and just relax." The young prince suggested. The next day would be filled with work, so he wanted to take the chance to be with his lover as much as possible. But maybe Adrian were too tired for it. Considering his weird behavior during that whole day.
 
It took Adrian a minute to remember just what 'TV' was. He remained silent as he thought about it. Part of him felt guilty and frustrated with the other parts of him that were having so many issues. He knew he wasn't going to get near as much time in the near future and he shouldn't waste it. He did however desperately need to fix the hex on the woman as soon as possible. Perhaps this could be an opportunity for just that. "In an hour." He agreed, leaning against the wall and looking tired. "I don't know how long i'll last though...you go ahead and I will-" His brow furrowed as he sought for the proper terminology. "message you?" He finished in a questioning tone.
 
Paris almost sighed in relief, but were somehow able to hold it back. "Sounds good. I'll see you in a bit then." He said happily and gave Adrian a kiss on the cheek. He hoped the other prince wouldn't fall asleep. In that case it would be almost impossible to wake him up. They might not have known one another for long, but he had snapped that up quickly.

He then were on his way while he sent a text to his aunt to ask for Alyssia's whereabouts. Hopefully she would be up on her feet by now, but of course she wasn't. Arriving at her room he found his once so adorable cousin lying in her bed with swollen eyes after all the crying. At least she seemed calm now.

"What about taking a walk with me? You'll feel better with some fresh air." Paris proposed as he stepped inside.

"I won't let people see me like this." She murmured and pulled the cover over her face. Paris walked up to her and gently pulled to cover off of her.

"No one will see you if we walk outside. It's too dark." He reminded her and finally she obliged. She did stumble a bit as she rose, but once she had stood up for a little while, she became steadier. Then they walked together to the garden, Paris holding her hand as a gentle big brother, even though she and most others might not see it as that.
 
As soon as Paris turned around and was out the door Adrian cloaked himself in invisibility and slipped out the door after him, staying close but as silent as possible. Making too much noise had messed up many a magician and Adrian hated to repeat other peoples mistakes. He just barely managed to sneak in Alyssia's behind Paris and moved carefully back into a corner while they spoke. Seeing the woman still filled him with rage but he had higher motivations now and he would not give in.

The feeling he felt when Paris casually grabbed the bitch's hand as they walked out was painful. He felt like he couldn't breath and his insides were twisting together even more than they had been before. It took several minutes after they were gone for him to recover himself and stumble over to the bed where with a wave of a hand he erased the mark off the wall. After that it took several minutes more before he recovered enough to return to his room. He dropped his invisibility just before his door in a secluded spot and let himself in.

Almost immediately he fell on his bed. He felt both exhausted and sick and did not think he would be up to hanging out with Paris again tonight. It was unlikely that he would be able to not comment on what he saw and really he just needed some time to recover from the emotional upheavals today. So he did what he rarely approved of, and set himself to sleep.
 
Alyssia started out by just listening to Paris, but slowly she started to ask more and more questions and eventually even criticized Adrian's honesty. Paris tried to explain everything to her, but she barely listened. Slightly hurt by the fact, he soon started to lead her back towards her room, and after many but's coming from her, she finally agreed on going to sleep. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.

He messaged Adrian, wondering when he wanted to meet up as the end of the hour approached rather quickly, but no answer came. The prince went back to his own room as he waited for the reply and eventually he wrote a second message, but nothing came. Eventually he walked to Adrian's room and knocked very quietly so that if he was asleep, then he wouldn't wake up. Considering it was Adrian, he probably wouldn't wake up even if a bomb fell down next door. He creaked the door open and saw his lover sleeping. He must have hidden the fact that he was exhausted, Paris thought.

The prince tip-toed inside and gave Adrian a goodnight kiss before leaving him. Quite frankly he did want to lie down beside him, but he was far too afraid to wake him up for that. So he left silently.

The next day was filled with work, and Paris didn't get any time over for Adrian. Except for some hurried text messages, and a hello in the corridor, they weren't able to talk at all that day. The day after that however, Paris had some time over during the evening. He sent a text over to Adrian as he entered his room after the dinner with his parents.

'I just got off work, do you have time to meet up?' Paris wrote, not entirely sure what the other prince was doing. If he were doing what he should be doing, then he were trying to make more connections with the other ambassadors. But considering how he tried to run away from such things when he first came there, because everyone wanted to see his magic tricks, maybe he would be locked up inside his room instead. Now when he thought about it, he didn't know at all what Adrian were up to when he wasn't around. Maybe he should ask him sometime.
 
Adrian woke up the next morning not much better off. Driven by a sense of duty he did finally reemerge into the public light and visit with some of the nobles and other ambassadors but he was so clearly lethargic and not feeling well that one very motherly noble woman broke into the group he was chatting with and ordered him back to bed while chiding the other members of the group on their blind greed. He gratefully took the order and retreated to his room where he took a rather fitful nap and resumed his research on the computer. Nothing was being particularly effective against his supposed illness though.

The next day Adrian mostly hid in his room and tried to sleep, hoping that would somehow fix what ailed him. He was just coming out of yet another light nap when his phone buzzed. He lifted it up tiredly and stared at the message for an inordinately long time. Finally, he typed out an affirmative and changed into his most comfortable robes and told himself to pull it together. After a chilly shower and a mental pep up session he was feeling nominally more like his usual self. "Where do you want to meet?" He sent the other prince.
 
It felt as if an eternity passed before he got a reply. At that point he had started to check all the newspapers he could find online to see how the story was developing. It had been three days after the press conference and people seemed to jump between believing Adrian was hoaxing them and believing that it was for real. It would take a while before everything would calm down, but it was hard to sit there and read some theories people had. How Adrian had come to their country to trick the royal family and then take over the throne. It was disgusting how some people truly could believe that. Even saying things like he had planned to seduce the prince into liking him.

Luckily Adrian finally messaged him, asking where to meet up. He smiled and turned off his computer. Just the thought of meeting the other prince made him forget all the ridiculousness people were writing.

'What about under the big hideout tree in the garden?' He proposed and sent the text. They had been there the day before the press conference. At that time they had made sure that the leaves were pushed aside so that people would be able to see them and think they weren't up to anything suspicious. This time that wouldn't be needed, even though it was nice to be able to see the moon.
 
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