~

Hyaru

"Yeah, yeah. Your dad told me," Riyelle glummed. "I suppose I'm okay with it. I know your circumstances make it necessary. Just treat the girl right, damnit!"

Her thin cat tail was a direct reflection of everything she felt. It drooped and sagged anytime she said something she felt sad about, and immediately raised and stiffened when she was adamant or excited.

"Can't leave her hanging, ya know. You've got a history with that," she jabbed. It was with a smile, all in good faith, but I still felt bad.

"Tch. Right. You'd have to hang on a door handle if someone didn't open it for you."

"I am NOT that short!!" She shrieked. Now she really sounded like a cat.

Ellice laughed her head off behind me, still wearing that same thin fur coat which wasn't even buttoned. Honestly, that woman has no regard for the people around her at all.

"If you say so, ya short cat," Elle prodded, not paying any heed to her volume either.

"Oh that's easy for you to say, I mean look at the way you dress? Have you ever worn a shirt a day in your life? I bet that boorish man doesn't even want you for your personality!" The cat-like girl had her tail stuck straight out back as she was practically on top of the counter, right up in Ellice's face.

Ellice just took Riyelle's coat off her back with one quick swipe and dangled it over her head. Riyelle's not really that short, but Ellice is definitely tall, and knows how to reach up.

"Oh I'll kill you! I swear!"

"Ladies, would you drop it," I barked, and they both turned around, groaned annoyedly, and Ellice dropped the coat - intentionally on the floor, of course.

They bicker like this all the time. Sometimes I can hardly tell if there's hard feelings between them or if they really just wanna kill each other. They're kind of like siblings in that way. But I guess that's a good thing. They're both my wives, after all.

As the son of a royal with claim to the throne, or at least claim that I had before my family's seat of power was stolen from it (long story), I needed to have more than one woman to marry, each one with different political standing and value to the country.

When my father explained that to me, Zovi knows I almost lost it. It felt like I was supposed to choose women only for what they can do for me, and not for my feelings for them.

But, being me, I found a loophole. Ellice is the daughter of an army commander, a role she might inherit. At the very least, she's an extremely formidable warrior, and one that, when I fell for, I excused making her my wife by explaining that she would be my protector and have value in the military.

Riyelle is another story for another time. Really both of them entirely are a different story. Right now what's important is what they're getting on my case about-

"Hey! Oi!" Ellice snapped and clapped in my face, drawing me out of my thoughts. "You'd think he's not standing in front of his two dearest ladies," she mocked in a sappy voice.

I just flicked my knuckle at her forehead, which made a resounding thunk. "Huh. There really isn't anything in there," it was my turn to throw a jab. I got an angry glare and growl, but continued. "At any rate, I hope you two are okay with this. And just the same as I told my father, we will all sit down very soon and have a long conversation. I promise. But I need to know that you're both on board with this."

Riyelle sighed. "Honestly, you're such a handful. I knew what I signed myself up for when I married you. Like I said, just treat the poor girl right!"

"Aye aye, m'lady," I affirmed in mock formality. "Seriously. I love you. Both of you."

The cat-lady chuckled. "You can prove that later over some dinner. Some fish, maybe?"

"You are so cliché," I scoffed, turning to leave.

"Ellice, you're on babysitting duty."

Despite them butting heads all the time, the only thing they got along on was when it came to collectively butting heads with me instead. A slow smile grew on her face. "Of course I am. I couldn't let Hyaru have all the fun now."

After that, I shook my head, and we both went and got ready. On the way there, while Ellice was pestering me, we bumped into two demihumans who looked lost.

"You alright?" I asked, worried about their worried looks.

"Yeah... can you show me where the adventurers are?" She had a thick, thick accent and I was pretty sure she was asking where the adventurer's hall is.

I pointed her in the direction of the building I just left. Riyelle runs it. We shrugged it off and moved along, but something about the two of them was strange. Namely the way they were both hooded and looked like they'd been traveling a very long while.

We were headed off to a fancy dinner, so I had to dress presentably, and so did Ellice, which I think was a grave miscalculation for her when she offered to "babysit" me. She grew up tracking down animals and intruders in the woods and killing giant beasts with her bare hands before she'd even walked this world for a decade.

It's pretty safe to say that she's not the formal getup type. But when she gets over it, boy does she clean up nicely.

Of course, she opts for a tomboyish, barely even female look, but that's something I've gotten used to. And by gotten used to I mean I love it. Despite the fact that she garners more than her fair share of angry glares when she dresses the way she does, since I put so much of a burden on them with what happened back then and having to share me, Ellice can dress how she wants. Which isn't to say I have control over that, but I don't give her a hard time.

So I found my heart pounding out of my chest when she showed up in a suit with the tie tucked in and fancy white gloves, with her hair slicked back and swirled, giving the word suave a run for its money.

She saw my shocked face and grabbed my chin. "Like what you see, huh?"

I nodded slowly.

"That's too bad. It's a shame I can't catch your eye, and it's gazing at another woman."

"Hey that's not fair."

She raised an eyebrow, and I could only pout in defeat. "And besides, you chose to wear black and red. What's up with that? Not your color."

I winked. "It's no fun if I spoil it."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The dinner was, of course, in the capital, but I guess it was a pretty serious event, and not one that we were the center of, thankfully. I knew it was gonna be a big deal because a wyvern came to pick us up, making the normally 2 day trip with stops take a few straight hours. Wyverns aren't sent for just nothing.

I had some concerns about how I managed to land an invitation to this party, considering I'm technically in exile, but I guess that was when I was young. And with some makeup and a nice outfit, coupled with laying my head low, people won't realize who I really am.

When we got there, there was a piece to the puzzle that I wasn't expecting: the current king. He's a powerful man and one I have a history with. So by that point I really had to keep my head low.

I'll save you details on the formalities. I was keeping it all to the barest minimum and sticking to the sidelines. Luckily, the venue was completely packed and had multiple rooms for a few different events going on.

Of course, we spent most of our time hanging around the dinner hall. And don't look at me. I had like 3 bites. Ellice must be on her 10th or maybe even 20th plate by now, and boy was she giving the caterers a headache.

I was waiting around for a woman, who I'm told would probably arrive late. She does know about the proposed... arrangement... but I don't know just how much she actually knows.

She arrived just before the peak of the event, and I realized then what fashionably late meant. A breathtaking woman entered through somewhere I didn't even know existed, wearing a totally extravagant, amazingly sized deep blue dress. She was pulling out all the stops.

This woman drew more than just a few whispers and murmurs, but after she introduced herself and greeted the king (a part I cleverly skipped), I got the impression she wasn't trying to be late to steal the show, and once everyone settled down, things went right back to normal.

As soon as she arrived, I looked over my shoulder and Ellice was completely gone. And to be honest... good. She would only make things a headache. That and possibly just ruin my chances altogether.

This is a proposed arrangement, and one strongly encouraged by all parties involved, but it's not forced. If things don't work out then they don't, and that's a failure I have to take home with me. So in other words, I need to pull out all the stops.

My first stop was to grab a glass of wine from a caterer, a hair brush from the ladies' room, a napkin, two coins from my pocket, a bucket of ice, and a sealed bottle of a very nice wine.

I tapped on the shoulder of a free butler and told him to offer the woman a plate of food, and gave him a wink. He was an older gentleman, and picked up on the hint before I finished speaking. I put the sealed bottle in the bucket of ice and gave a coin to someone who looked like an event organizer, and had her hide the bucket out of sight but somewhere I could reach.

Listen, I'm sure you know where this is going, and it's cliche. I don't care. Just bear with me.

I took the hair brush and a sprinkle of water and used it to fluff out my tails. My kind doesn't just do this for nothing. After that, I took the wine, and it was showtime.

The woman had just gotten her plate from the butler, which was small and had some hearty items on it. Perfect. Now I play devil's advocate and hopeless romantic. Besides I have to score her. I have plot armor.

I took a seat across her as she sat, taking the glass of wine and placing it at the center of the table.

"That's a healthy plate for a healthy, beautiful woman," I said with the warmest smile I knew how to give.

"Why thank you," she smiled back, sweet and whole, yet also with the tiny hint of a wink that said she knew what was up.

"Do I take it then that you don't drink?" I asked as I handed her the glass of wine. With my directness, she subconsciously had to take it. Perfect.

"I do on occasion. I may be a lady, but I don't see any harm in a drink for such a time."

"Would this be one such time?" I asked as I leaned forward and placed my hand on the center of the table where the glass was, setting down the napkin, which hid the other coin under it.

"Perhaps as the night draws on. And besides, there's only one glass," she said with another sweet smile, and placed the glass back down where she found it.

Just like clockwork, the coin kept the wine unsteady, and it tipped over. The very small round table let it bounce once, and half of its contents ended up in my lap.

The woman gasped and lurched forward. "My lord! Are you alright?"

I feigned shock, then sat back up and brushed myself off. "Of course. It's just some wine. It isn't even visible, see?"

I wore black and red for a reason.

"Oh, that's a relief," she said. "I'm terribly sorry, nevertheless. I'm usually not so careless."

"It's quite alright. To make it up to me, why don't you tell me your name?"

She stopped and narrowed her eyes for a second, then her eyes slowly lit up, and lips tightened. I was confused for a second, and then she broke out laughing.

"You're so hopeless," she giggled. She had a very sincere demeanor about her, and then I realized that she realized. She took the napkin off the center of the table, clearly aware of the coin but not acknowledging it, and brushed it against the wet part of my suit. "My name's Scarlet. You must be Hyaru."

I smiled back, a little defeated that my game crashed in front of me, but also happy that she didn't seem to mind in the least. If anything, she was amused, her face seeming never to lose the slight, honest smile it bore.

"That would be me," I confirmed, sitting straight up and letting my tails drift slowly from side to side. "Would you lend me the pleasure of your company this evening?"

Even though she'd already dropped the formalities and gave the sense that she didn't mind a more casual conversation, I kept it up for a little while longer. I do have a little experience by now. Noble women like a formal, collected man.

She giggled again, then apologized and sobered. "I'd love to have your company."

"Right then, Scarlet," I said with a bow of my head. "Should we begin with a bite to eat?"

I led her on and we picked out some stuff we liked, which sparked the beginning of our conversation. Food is an easy one. If you can ever find a buffet that serves some real, quality food, take a potential partner there. It starts all kinds of talks about the ways food can be eaten, prepared, and enjoyed.

Besides food, I picked up into the deeper discussion with her name.

"Your name. I take it that it's meant to compliment your hair?" Her hair had this vibrant red to it, sort of a bright cherry with the ever slightest droplet of pink that seemed to cascade from her roots to her tips.

"It is, yes. I've been told a handful of times that it's... unique. But I'm glad it can catch your eye."

Have I scored already?

"To... how do I put this... skip the formalities... what are your thoughts on this whole arrangement?" She cut to the chase, a genuinely curious look cluing me to the fact that she'd been thinking about this for a while. I'm sure there was probably as much doubt and mystery surrounding me in her mind as she had for me. "Dinners and parties aren't much my forté. I just like to keep things simple."

I gave her an understanding look. "That's alright. There's times I feel the same way, too." We locked eyes for a moment, then looked away. "Listen, I think there's a few things that you should know about."

"What's that?" She asked earnestly as our eyes met again.

"I don't know what you know about me. I know that I don't know much about you. But you have to keep this a secret."

"Okay," she agreed.

"My name is Hyaru Magyara. I may very well be the king of this country at some point soon. If we are to get married, a lot of it is for political reasons I haven't quite been filled in on yet."

Her eyes widened a little, but then she smiled again. Her complexion was a little more on the nervous side by now, but I think it was anticipation. "I understand that."

"I'm also already a married man."

That part made her face sink a little, but even that looked faded into the same smile. "That's alright."

I stared for a moment, waiting for a lengthier response.

"So is this something you want? What would you stand to gain, or at least what did you stand to gain before you knew about my future?"

"I guess I should start with telling you a truth, the same as you have for me. But you can't tell anyone either."

I nodded slightly, keeping a tight grip on her gaze.

"I'm not... from this world."

~

[A/N]

Well I currently have a headache beating me harder than I am my keyboard over my upload schedule, but I hope you enjoyed this little "watch Hyaru be a bean" bit. Are things too slow for you guys?

I keep making excuses and this and that and the other for posting so slowly because the truth remains that this story, you guys, and especially I deserve better than what we're all getting here. It's still coming along and the passion's still there, I'm just really freaking good at procrastinating :(

To keep it short and sweet, this arc finishes soon, I'll be taking a small, and I mean small, hiatus after you guys get the remaining backlog chapters, and while I'm gone I'll be editing all of the current content to cut bulky stuff and polish up. So please, I beg you, if something doesn't sit right with you or was too fast/slow, let me know. Spill my blood.

I don't have an exact length for the hiatus but I don't anticipate it taking longer than a month. During that time, aside from editing, I'll be taking some time to work on myself, since I'm adult-ing now, and getting on a better routine. Healthy bodies make healthy minds, and healthy minds don't procrastinate. Or at least that's what I tell myself. That way I'm in a state where I can finally, finally post consistently. Hopefully twice a week, which is the plan. Fingers crossed.

I'm posting this as a pledge of sorts. Mostly to help motivate myself. Now anyways, I have a frozen eggnog stash to raid and I need to feed the dragon in my basement, ta-ta~