Even with the steady beat of the drums parading through the air a family of birds still graced the castle garden in song, unafraid by the noise. Most birds would have fled to a quieter place, yet a handful had stayed behind in the company of the garden's sole occupants. Spring time was in full boom, nourishing the greenery into lush colors. Red and white roses bloomed and garnished the hedge sculptures. Thorns wove themselves between ivy and vines across a wooden frame that lined the surrounding stone walls. their bold, sharp red and black points threatened any who dared to climb over them. In recent years, rafters had been constructed to create sheltered areas of the garden from the summer heat. Ivy took over and entangled around the structure, providing shade. The hedge maze had since been replanted and sprouted overnight thanks to the royal chemist's hand-crafted growth formula.
Everywhere there was plant life of all kinds.
In another section of the garden was an old stone well. "Old" may have been too generous of a word for it. There was not a single stone in it that hadn't been cracked or chipped. The rafter above creaked anytime a gust of wind rolled by, unsteady and sounded as though it'd collapse at any second. Weeds and roots climbed their way up along the side of the walls. It was the only thing in the garden that time seemed to touch, having never been repaired or even polished. Moss collected in the cracks and scum caked the inside. Surely the water was poisonous to drink. No one knew why the royal family refused to replace the well with something more sightful or at least repair it. Every year, each king had refused, stemming back centuries. Some thought it was the original declaration site when the kingdom was founded. Others thought its waters were magic so long as it was never replaced. Whatever the truth was, it was lost in the archival records of the royal library; memoirs of the old kings.
Flower petals always floated in the air with grace and beauty, even the ones ripped prematurely from their home. The way they fluttered softly looked ever painless as they descended into their final resting place - the watery pit of the well, void of light. As the petals twirled and rocked in the air, spring warmth was replaced with a damp, slight chill and then suddenly taken away into a heavy soak, surrounded by circular stone walls.
Prince Snow continued plucking petals from the flowers he had gathered from various gardenlife and sending them off into the well one after another, muttering whatever nonsense came to his mind. A smile was on his face all the while. "Soon I'll be just like them. Stuck in a stone prison… I never thought I'd be comparing myself to a flower like this," he teased himself as he tossed in the final petal. Taking the stem, Snow began to tie it into a much larger collection, threading them all together until they were tightly woven into a thin, but sturdy strap.
Another flower was picked up and another petal plucked. He smiled. The parade was even louder. Nayzaria had arrived. As he rubbed the petal between his fingers, his mood seemed to lighten. "Hmm. I wish…" Snow was able to finish his statement when suddenly another person made their presence known, hurling themselves from atop the well's rafters and hanging upside down over the edge. The sudden invasion of personal space frightened the prince, causing him to jump back with a small shout and reach for the dagger on the hilt of his belt until he realized who it was.
The person before him upheld a cocky face, despite the blood rushing to his head and almost losing his turban. He dressed in a white robe and vest with gold trim made from fine silks. The sleeves were airy to match his harem pants. A small cape hung from behind, falling along the well's walls, and even spilling inside. Unable to resist gravity any further, his turban slipped off and tumbled to the ground. Dark hair dangled, swishing to and fro, and he shook his head.
"Dramatic as ever. Aren't you a little too old to be tossing petals into a beggar's well? What? Hoping someone will finally fall in love with you?" Ali said, taunting him as he continued to hang about. He spoke with a smile upheld as he swung his body from side to side in a teasing, joking manner. The weak rafters began to creak.
"My mother never was, and neither is my father. Why should I ever be?" Snow declared as he removed his hand from his dagger. He stepped forward to playfully push aside the other's face. "Aren't you a little too old to be jumping out from high places to scare others, Prince Ali?" Charm was present in his speech as his eyes glanced up at Ali's legs, barely holding him in place. He smirked, waiting for it…
"I'm afraid I can't hear you from way up here, Prince Snow." Cocky as ever, Ali decided to begin a set of pull-ups as a means to show off. The rafters creaked again. "A pity. I'd love to stay here and listen to your witless remarks all day but- " SNAP! There it was. The messy compiled roof of the well collapsed under Ali's weight, sending him plummeting to a new watery home along with all the necessary sticks and leaves to begin building shelter, like a beaver. Prince Snow only laughed at the splashing echoes as dust and debris clouded the area.
He waved the air clear before he reached over the edge to help the other escape. "Funny. Normally you're the one pulling me over stone walls," he grunted as he heaved the other prince into the warm sun. Water dripped from Ali's soaked robe, now stained a hideous brown. The disgusting filth pooled over the stone walkway around them as it dripped.
"True. When did our roles become reversed?" Steam was already starting to rise from Ali's body, heavy from water absorbed by his clothes. When finally outside the well and standing on his own two feet, Ali just stretched and shook his limbs about as he continued steaming. At a glance, it would look like his clothes had caught fire, yet Snow showed no concern for what was happening. This was normal. Ali loved to show off, to find any excuse to display his abilities, and this was just another time for it. Within seconds he was dry again, but his dress remained slightly stained. "Never liked this old well, anyway!" he said as he gave it a light kick. "Things' so old I can't believe your family never once replaced it!"
"Yet, you knew exactly where to find me, didn't you? It's always been here even before my grandfather was alive. Father tells me he often considered it his thinking spot when he was young, as did my mother. Often, he has said that he tossed a coin into it before he asked for her hand, and once more before he remarried." He chuckled for a moment. "They both believed in its magic, and it worked. So why shouldn't I?"
Ali smirked for a moment, giving him a side-eye as he put two and two together. "Hmph. Fine, I guess it's not that terrible. A royal family always has to have something old and near worthless they hold dear, don't they?"
"As if your family doesn't have anything like that yourself?" Snow gave a light punch to Ali's ribs.
"Hey, no attacks on the royals, now! Another blow and this joyous visit will end in war declaration, mark my words!"
Snow raised a brow and smirked at him. "Oh, you mean like the time you pulled me over the castle wall when we were kids and we ran into the city together? Remember how our fathers thought someone was responsible for a kidnapping?" He had since resumed sitting along the stone's edge, working with the vines once more and sending petal after petal into the well. "Someone was almost executed because of that idea of yours."
"You always love to leave out the part where you started crying in the middle of the street until I held your hand when we were lost. You were such a baby back then!" Ali knelt to collect his turban and then remained standing tall, arms crossed over his chest and a single eyebrow raised.
"And you always love to leave out the part where you panicked and accidentally set a building on fire. You just had to grow into your magic right then, didn't you?"
"Hey, it got people's attention! At least father was able to pay for it all. If I hadn't then the guards wouldn't have noticed us and taken us back to the castle!"
"You almost destroyed an entire shopping district," Snow laughed as he tightened the last of the vines together. He had been so focused on his handiwork that he almost fell backward into the well on his own when he looked up to see sparks and flares swerving in the air before him, and encircle him until the flames took shape. Thin lines connected and buzzed about, the fire imitating the image of a dozen dragonflies, flickering, and then dispersing into smoke trails.
"I got better," Ali boasted with pride as he snapped his fingers.
There was a short, calming silence between them save the sounds of birds chirping about. The Nayzarian drums silenced, indicating that they had arrived at the palace. With his turban back on straight, Ali shifted so that he could face Snow directly, eyes meeting softly. Their hands touched lightly before Ali slipped Snow's into his own. "I've missed you," he finally hushed as he placed a gentle kiss on the other's forehead. His skin was cool as ice, pleasant and sweet to his usually heated body.
"I've missed you, too," Snow whispered as he placed his free hand to rest at the crook on Ali's neck and shoulder. He was more than eager to feel the other's warmth and claim it for himself. Briefly, he thought to disrobe Ali in the garden if it meant feeling their bodies against one another in such a way. Snow exhaled an elongated breath and restrained himself.
Ali parted only for a moment to reach up into the folds of his turban and pull out something, concealing it in his hand. "For you," he said as he humbly held out a small blossom in his palm, rich in color, bright and purple. "They bloom in the desert and don't last long once they're picked. Difficult to find and even harder to cultivate! Yet, when we chanced by a small cactus in bloom I thought of you. It's considered a blessing and an omen of good favor." A faint crimson glow appeared on Ali as he spoke. Gently, he held the flower by what little stem it had left and was slow to place it in Snow's dark hair, around his ear.
"Thank you," he said softly. Snow could only hum as he looked down at the vines on the well's rim. He'd been weaving a wristband out of ivy and snowdrops. It had been a small trick his mother had taught him when he was a child. Even a decade later he still had vivid memories of her, how she'd laugh and wear his poorly made straps and flower crowns with pride, proclaiming herself to be Titania, the mighty and feared queen of fairies or a nymph of the woods. A melancholy feeling surrounded Snow as he recalled days he never knew he'd miss so greatly. "Um...this isn't much of a gift in return, but do hold out your wrist for me."
Without hesitation Ali stuck his hand out, smiling at him without a word.
"And this… is just a simple woven bracelet. It doesn't mean much to our people, but it was something I learned when I was very young. It symbolizes my boredom, and dedication to a single task no matter how repetitive." Despite the sarcasm, Snow still displayed grace and care. Pale hands wove the final knots together, tightening the trinket around Ali's tan wrist. He was careful to give enough room to not choke a vein or irritate the skin. "Still, I suppose you can think of it as a way of binding lives together," he said, a bit embarrassed. "Tada! And it didn't have to be stolen this time."
"I'll wear it until it rots off my arm," Ali spoke with pride. His eyes were clear and focused. Despite Snow's prior tone, Ali lacked the same playfulness as he stared into Snow's own. He was serious. Ali rotated his wrist, admiring the handy work and Snow's nibble fingers. Gently, he tapped the remaining snowdrop buds in the weave, and briefly imagined they would still blood despite being plucked.
Ali pulled himself away to lean over the well, standing beside Snow. The two were silent for a moment, each letting out of a deep breath, enjoying each other's presence. Ali's hand reached over between them to firmly clasp over the other's.
Just like that, Snow sighed as he felt Ali's heat worm its way into his body. He smiled over to Ali as he squeezed his fingers, and rubbed along the backside of his hand. He lifted the Nayzarian's hand. It met his lips in a kind gesture, returning the one he had been shown earlier to Snow's forehead.
"I hope you're prepared for a tiring week; even more gruesome months to follow," Snow finally said.
"It'll be worth it, once it's all settled. Our kingdoms are to be united and you shall be a great king, Snow."
"That's right. King…" The thought of it still terrified him. His eyes glanced over their surroundings. At first he started at the entrance to the castle and then to the garden wall, quickly mapping a route to climb over it. He paused to consider everything and then spoke up. "Come, let's get a move on, shall we?" Snow stepped beside Ali, heading for the castle entrance.
"Am I to believe you're wanting to attend to your duty properly, or are you ordering me to pull you over the stone walls, yet again?"
Snow only smiled and nodded his head as he extended his hand out for Ali to take. He smirked, refusing to give a proper answer.
Ali returned a devilish, knowing look and took his hand.
The castle clock tower rang in a new hour as they went inside.