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Sex with Luna was a soft, sweet affair more akin to being enveloped in a warm cloud than what all those adult movies led him to believe. It was an experience that let him wake up feeling refreshed happy no matter what the day had in store for him.
Sex with Noctis was like being hit by a truck with ‘pleasure’ spray painted on the mudflaps.
He was sore from the tops of his thighs to his lower abdomen, comparable to days after a particularly hard run. Only if his vagina could run.
“Noctis.” Luna said with a sore voice. “What time is it?”
Noctis shifted around a bit so he could reach over Prompto’s head and check his phone. “Ten, why?”
“Because we have a meeting at eleven.”
“Since when?”
“Since the party.”
The bed shifted again, “Honestly Noctis if you were going to treat my clitoris like a tennis ball you could’ve at least done it on a night where we don’t have people to meet.”
“Didn’t hear you complaining about it last night.”
“Yeah, well, that’s your fault.”
“Shhhh.” Prompto hissed, “Stop with your mouth noises.”
“Don’t you have work?”
“No.” He rolled over and buried his head under the pillow. Luna and Noctis continued their loving marital bickering as they got ready, though they took the time to convince him to join them for a bath. Prompto relaxed in the warm water for a bit longer after they left and let his muscles unwind so that when he got out it was on much more steady feet.
Prompto returned to bed for some more sleep, then left to get food when his stomach started growling.
The palace had a rotating menu for all staff on duty. They would deliver dining boxes out to the different guard posts during meal times, and the rest could visit the actual staff cafeteria on the basement level. When he wasn’t eating with Luna and Noctis that’s where he got his food.
One of the women commented on how it had been since she’d seen him she handed him a lunch box, but he didn’t stick around long enough to chat.
His camera had been sitting in his room in a box, getting dusty with disuse. He took that and his lunch outside for some photography as the sun got high in the sky.
He found some kind of bird hanging out in a tree near one of the gates, he didn’t know what type it was but he got a few good shots of it grooming before it flew off. Nearby a rabbit was trying to squeeze through the gate bars, and he was allowed to get a picture before one of the gardners pulled it loose. Then he headed over to Luna’s garden where some of the rose bushes were in bloom. He found a nice, cool spot of grass to lie down in, take some pictures, and eat his food.
“You seem to be having a nice day.”
Prompto’s head shot up. Standing above him was Senator Flora. He didn’t know much about her, but she was the senator of the local district so she was around often. Prompto was on his feet in a second.
“Uhh. Yeah, you know.” He stuttered, “It’s nice weather?”
“Yes it is, very nice indeed.”
“Can I help you ma’am?”
“Oh don’t mind me dear, I just came to inspect the gardens.” She set herself down on one of the benches. “My dear how long have you been here?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“No here.” She pointed down as if that would help. “At this palace.”
“Uhm, a little over a year now?”
“Really now? How interesting.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just something interesting happened in court today my darling.” She said, “The Queen tried to slip this little detail into the budget is all. Caused quite the stir.”
Clearly Senator Flora did not come to inspect the gardens. Prompto could almost feel her need to talk about something, and he didn’t know how smart of an idea it was to keep listening.
“That’s fascinating ma’am.” He picked up the empty lunch box and his camera. “Please enjoy the gardens.”
“Oh, darling you don’t have to go. There’s plenty of room for us to both be here.”
He bit his lip, “Of course ma’am.”
The only thing he could think of doing was wandering around and photographing the flowers, but that felt empty when he could feel this woman’s eyes on his back. Her foot began to tap, the steel on the bottom made an almost cracking noise on the stone.
“Your relationship with the King and Queen - is it serious?”
Prompto’s heartbeat jumped, he slowly turned to see the little smirk on her lips.
“Yes it is.”
“So you are interested in becoming a mistress.”
“Uh ma’am.” He said not so firmly, “I-I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so darling?”
“That is so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go see to some, uh, business.”
Prompto all but ran out of the garden, face heating so hot he thought it would melt off. He hid in the staff cafeteria and played games on his phone until it ran out of battery before finally braving the main palace area long enough to sprint up to his room.
He refused to come out until dinner time. Luna and Noctis were having the cook make some sort of thick, heavy pasta dish that he couldn’t appreciate. He wanted to bring up what happened with Senator Flora, but they were all having a nice evening that he didn’t dare bring it up to them. He did, however, decide to sleep in his room rather than share with Luna and Noctis again. The quiet of his room let him think about it a little more than he may have wanted, but he came to the decision that he needed to figure out what had happened in the senate that day.
---
Noctis’ study was a few floors above Luna’s situated next to other offices for generals and the like. He assumed there was an old reason behind it, but he was just happy that he was able to visit Noctis and not worry about Luna being around or some unassuming cleaner would walk in. He knew Noctis’ schedule and came up half an hour after Noctis finished lunch.
There were books scattered all over Noctis’ desk, but he didn’t seem all that interested in reading them since he immediately pushed them aside when Prompto opened the door.
“Hey Prom, what’s up?” He leaned back in his chair.
“Oh, nothing. Thought I’d come and visit.”
“Really?” He chuckled, “You must be bored.”
“Actually.” Prompto took the seat right in front of Noctis’ desk. “I have a question. About Senator Flora.”
Noctis frowned. “What about her?”
“Well... she came up to me recently and asked if my relationship with you and Luna was serious.”
“Why would she ask that?”
“You would know better then I would.”
Noctis’ frowned deepened, and he needed a moment to think before he seemed to connect the dots. “Might be because of yesterday…”
“Mmhm.” Prompto prodded.
“Might be because of the budget…”
“Go on.”
“Luna and I tried adding a clause that would let us, well let me, have a mistress.”
Prompto’s brows furrowed. “I see.”
“No, I know what you’re thinking Prompto.” Noctis sat up in his chair to properly look Prompto in the eye. “It’s not what it sounds like. It was a small clause that we thought we could get away that would set up the groundwork for us to establish a channel so we could have a mistress. It didn’t mean we were making someone a mistress that day.”
“... I don’t follow.”
“What part do you not follow?”
“The part where you’re apparently trying to make having a mistress legal!”
“It’s always been legal!”
“Since when?”
“Since, I don’t know, forever? Kings have always had mistresses.” Noctis ran his hand through his hair, “A royal mistress is an official court position, and Luna and I tried to slip a rule into this long bill that was being passed, but Viscount Pierre caught onto us and the entire thing was shot down. Like, the entire thing. Which pissed off some people on the council, so they were less willing to negotiate with the rest, and now everyone’s pissed.”
Prompto felt a hot coal of guilt lodge itself in his stomach. “So, this was really bad?”
“Technically. The whole thing was a little bit more complicated than we thought it would be.”
“How so?”
“Well, Lucis had different laws surrounding mistresses then Tenebrae and Niflheim did.” Noctis said. “Like in Lucis it was a little more casual. Both the king and queen could have a mistress, but mistress’ kids weren’t royal. In Tenebrae only the king can and the point was to have as many heirs as possible, but mistresses could only come from certain classes. Niflheim has this whole approval by the court thing. The point is that some old Niflheim guy saw that, immediately went apeshit, and shot a very important spending bill dead.”
“Oh…” The coal in his stomach grew hotter and a lump well up in his throat.
“Prompto. Don’t give me that look. If it wasn’t this it would’ve been something else, it’s.... Politics.”
He left Noctis’ office when Lady Fiel, his advisor, came in and went straight down to Luna’s office only to be told the same story. It was hard to decide how to feel about the issue so he let it lay to rest for a few days so he could think about it. But it had apparently been a very, very big deal, and it spread like wildfire. He heard talk of it on his rounds by senators and councilmen, even heard people discussing it in the breakroom one day. It might not have made it as far as the newspapers, but a few people were rubbed the wrong way.
“It was quite the personal bit of legislation they tried to pass.” Senator Flora said, once again back the garden while he was taking pictures. “The Union is far from poor, but so soon after the sun came back? With so much to do? Many in the court felt it was selfish.”
“Noctis said it was just a few lines though. Wasn’t the whole bill two thousand pages long?”
“My dear, politics is finicky. Bills get kicked back for all sorts of reasons. Last week His Majesty refused to approve a spending grant for Dame Vienna’s research team because she cited a single Niflheim scientist’s work in her twenty page proposal.”
Prompto frowned, “Oh...”
“But you shouldn’t let that deter you. Don’t you want that legitimacy in your relationship? It’s not as if you were all being subtle about it anyway.”
“I…”
“Just think about it darling.”
---
Noctis’ top political advisor was name Feyna Fiel. She was an old woman with sharp cheekbones and hair that never moved from the tight bun on her head. Her office was near Noctis’, and she silently let him in before closing the door.
“Her Majesty did not make this easy for you.” She in a sharp voice, “I told her it was foolish to try and sneak such a law in like that, now half of the council is up in arms.”
“But, she said that it wasn’t uncommon to -”
“To try and sneak personal laws into important bills so see them passed? No it is not unusual at all, but she spat in the face of tradition and now we’re all paying for it.”
Feyna pulled a large encyclopedia from her bookshelf.
“Old money carries old traditions. For common folk a mistress is just some slut. They hide their relationships, and their men compensate with a cheap handbag.”
Prompto raised an eyebrow, but chose not to argue.
“In high society a mistress is someone with political weight, sometimes a considerable amount. This is why Her Majesty’s actions have caused such a disturbance. She tried to get sneaky with a serious, public role.
“As of now the only people you can count on to be in your favor are Lucian councilors. In Lucis mistresses were informal, and their arrangements were negotiated between themselves and the King and Queen. It is the rest, I’m afraid, you must persuade. I believe the Tenebrae councilors will be the most difficult, men did not become mistresses in Tenebrae. There will be concern over lineage.”
“But - “
“They will not care that you cannot get Her Majesty pregnant. They denied Her Majesty's grandmother a male mistress despite that same argument, not to mention you are a commoner.
She began stacking thick books on her desk. “This will take months, if not years, to fully execute. You will need to do more than smile and play nice once in awhile. We will need to teach you about politics, about political relationships, teach you the very basics of socializing in high society.”
“Am I supposed to read -”
“Yes.” She rested her hand on the foot high stack. “These are notes on this histories of Tenebrae and Niflheim. You will need to read them all.”
“Oh…”
“We will sign you up for lessons.” She continued, “Many lessons before we allow you to roam amongst the nobility. If you have questions you will defer to me. His Majesty has assured me that he will not try to interfere.”
“Okay…”
“I will send your lessons schedule to your superiors. You may take these books with you to study. That is all.” She dismissed.
Prompto lugged the stack of books to his room where the only space for them was the crack under his bed. He pushed them under, crawled under the covers and wondered for a moment if this was a smart choice or not.
---
Lady Fiel arranged for his lessons to start early at five A.M sharp six days a week, two classes a day. Each class was two hours, and didn’t offer any breaks. Everyday started with what Lady Fiel called “Government, History, and Social Issues” and was taught by a woman who ran a finishing school. When he came in on his first day sweaty from his morning run she beamed him over the head with a rod, and that was all he needed to know about that.
His second classes were a range of topics. For his Literature class he had to finish a classic piece of literature every two weeks, and discuss it with his instructor. A large man with a loud voice had him practice his etiquette. There was an instruction on public speaking done by a woman so old he thought she would die every time she spoke. A poet taught him about poetry, and spiraled into a twenty minute lecture when he asked why poetry and literature were two different things. A music theory class every other week.
Prompto didn’t understand what half of these lessons were for. He certainly didn’t understand why there was a special way to sit at a table or why he needed to know the root meaning of nocturnal. Noctis never went on about symbolism in Dante’s classic trilogy of Leur. He never sat up away from the back of his chair, hell normally tried to make as much contact with the chair as possible. Luna seemed like she knew a lot of poetry, but she never talked about any of it.
It simply seemed like he was given a bunch of busy work to do, and it soon began to take it’s toll. He was slower on his runs, which were harder and harder to get up for. He began nodding off on his shifts which his captain noticed immediately. When he wasn’t working he was reading or practicing or studying. There was no time for fun, no time for Luna and Noctis, barely enough time to eat and shower.
“You know.” Noctis said as Prompto slowly fell asleep on his shoulder during a movie, “You don’t have to do all this if you don’t want to. You don’t have to be official if it’s going to be this hard.”
Prompto just grunted out an “I know” before he fell asleep on his shoulder.
He had his reasons for doing all of this, though it felt selfish to say. When it all began he knew he wouldn’t be like Luna and Noctis, they were too important, and honestly that discrepancy was always a sore spot. He didn’t like feeling like a dirty secret, but he did love them both. Thankfully the why wasn’t important to most people, Lady Fiel didn’t even bother to ask it at any of their check in lunches.
Check in lunches with Lady Fiel were always on a Sunday, and used as a benchmark of his progress. On his first check in he’d broken ten social etiquette rules by the time he sat down, and at the end she’d handed him a list with the other two dozen. He’d managed to whittle four off that list the next week, then three, then two, then six. Sometimes the list got longer on a bad week, but he’d like to think it was all good progress.
The only acceptable suit he’d had was the one he’d worn to the party with Luna. Lady Fiel was kind enough to ignore that little detail even as she came in a variety of appropriate semi-casual dresses.
“The weather is lovely this evening.” She said. Following traditional protocol of pleasantries before asking anything important.
Pleasantries were important, as had been drilled in his head by literally everyone. Being too direct could be seen as aggressive or rude, but playing too subtle meant you made no progress. According to his teachers pleasantries were exchanged until the appetizers, between that and the main course you were supposed to build up to the topic of discussion. If the deal wasn’t sealed by the time of dessert you had failed, try again another time.
He carefully kept the conversation light and on an appropriate topic. Last time he lost points for turning the conversation towards some pop singer who had made a fool of herself on T.V the night before. When their appetizers came conversations turned towards his classes and how much he was learning, which transitioned nicely into what they came to talk about that evening.
“You have progressed nicely.” She said. “I believe that you are as ready as possible for more public appearances.”
“Really?” He asked in his most polite voice.
“Really. The courts have something new to focus on in since His Majesty is trying to build agreements with some smaller foreign governments, most of them and I believe now would be a good time to start to sway them.
You will have to make appearances at parties, many of them. Introduce yourself to them, and make them feel like this will be a good decision for them.”
“But, how would this be a good decision for them?”
“For Tenebrae it was thought that the more mistresses the king had the more powerful the crown was. He was able to negotiate with these women to become his mistress, and he was able to negotiate the funds to support them. You’ve spoken to Lady Flora, that is her motivation for voting in your favor.”
“Oh…”
“For others they might prefer knowing that there is a backup in case Her Majesty fails to get pregnant.”
Prompto kept his mouth firmly shut.
“And, if you are any good at your position, you might be able to work on the crown’s behalf. Or work with the public. It’s not unusual for a particularly charismatic mistress to appeal to the masses and make public appearances. Sponsor some young artist and the like.”
“And what if I just want to go back to my guard position?”
“We will have to cross that bridge when we get there. How about coffee for dessert?”
---
Luna and Noctis normally didn’t have anything scheduled for Sunday’s so they were still in bed when he got back. He toed off his shoes and got in next to Noctis without even taking his suit jacket off.
“How was your lunch?” Noctis said as he wrapped an arm around Prompto’s waist.
“It went great, did you two have sex?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Lucky.”
“Mmmhmm.”
Luna poked his side. “What’d she say.”
“Just that I needed to start appealing to these people, get them on my side or whatever.”
“How so?”
“You know, go to parties and kiss up. The usual.”
Luna raised herself on her hand, “She wants you to go to parties?”
“Yep.” Prompto carefully pulled his socks off with his toes and kicked them out from under the blanket. “Use all the crap I’ve learned. You know the drill.”
“We have to go shopping!” She yelled. Luna was out of the bed and in her closet like lightning
Prompto’s cracked one eye open, “Right now?”
“Right now!”
“Whyyyyyyyyy.” He whined.
Luna grabbed his arm and began to pull. “We’re going to go shopping~” she sang.
“Luna I don’t have any money!” He stuck his foot down to the floor to keep himself from falling out.
“I’ll pay!” She successfully pulled him out from the covers. “Come on Prompto!”
“Wait, I wanna go too!” Noctis yelled, tripping out of the bed.
“Hurry up Noctis we don’t have all day!”
“We could do this next week you know!” Prompto pleaded.
Luna pushed him towards the door, “Shopping for Prompto~”
---
Three weeks later Prompto had ten new suits, all obtained with only two hours of fighting over colors and one night at the bar. They were hung up in Noctis’ half of the closet since the one in his room couldn’t hold them all.
His first chance to use them was when the palace was throwing a party to celebrate two years since the sun began to rise again. Important people were going to come and celebrate regaining the power they’d had before the disasters. Lady Fiel sat him down during their lunch a week before and gave him his list of people.
“Baroness Carmine should be the simplest. She has a few men outside of her marriage with the Baron, and she has be described as tenderhearted. An emotional appeal will work on her.
“Earl Yemen is old and softspoken. His mistress was killed three years ago. All you need is to give him a face to the name and let him connect the dots.
“Viscount York is a sucker for a good love story.
“Dame Vienna is very anti-traditionalist, and she recently obtained a seat at the senate since her father’s passing. She might want to feel like she’s doing something.”
She had a stack of cards with their pictures on one side and information on the back. He looked at the notes for more details.
“What about Senator Flora?”
“She will vote on your behalf, I am sure of it. Her family lost all of their holdings when her country succeeded from Niflheim, and she is eager to get them back. Senator Flora will try and use a vote in favor to appeal for something that will let her rebuild.”
“Oh… sounds complicated.”
“That is politics Prompto. You will have to remember favors and slights against you if you want this position. If you can’t, you won’t be very successful.”
That sounded like a warning. A warning that if he wanted to give up than he better do it quickly. He’d heard that a few times before, and he’d honestly thought about taking it. His lessons were long and boring, and he wasn’t confident this would work out the way he wanted to anyway. But going through this might get him something he’d wanted since this relationship began.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” He said.
Two days later and he was feeling much less fine. As some unimportant schlub he didn’t get to make the entrances that Luna and Noctis had to make, nor could he sub in as Luna’s date, so he sat in the crowd with every other unimportant person as names were announced and the party took its time getting underway. None of the people he was trying to woo were unimportant, and not only did he have to wait for them to be announced, but he also had to wait for them to make their rounds and greet people they needed to speak with first. So he stood in the back and chatted with one of the guardsmen until the party was in full swing and many of the people were mingling.
Earl Yemen was near the band quietly appreciating the music. His typical routine was to spend the minimum polite amount of time at these events before leaving, but he was notably good natured when spoken to. Yemen never discussed politics at parties, however, so Prompto couldn’t be direct about it. He was genuinely unsure of how to go about approaching him, and there wasn’t anyone around to offer advice. So he trusted his gut and went for it.
“I love this song too.” He said, even though he couldn’t place the name of the piece. Earl Yemen was started, but his eyes crinkled in delight when he saw that Prompto was speaking with him.
“Yes, they are all very skilled. Cantus would be proud to hear her work treated with such respect. The crown has really spared no expense on the entertainment.”
“Thank you. I was glad they could come on such short notice.” He said.
“Oh, you arranged for them to appear?”
“I did make a call or two.” A call, he made one call to the event planner who made several calls for him. So he technically wasn’t lying.
The Earl held out his hand, “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name my boy.”
“Prompto Argentum.” He said.
“How wonderful to meet you Mr. Argentum, Ronald Yemen, I must say you have good taste in music. The last few events I’ve been to insisted upon something more modern, and while I hate to engage in musical debate I must say that it lacks the complexity and the artistry of the classics. It’s either too loud or too soft, and the need to use every instrument in a piece. It becomes so jumbled and disoriented sometimes. Don’t you agree?”
Prompto nodded, though he had only managed to listen to half of what the man had said. “Yes. It’s very dramatic, but it seems to have little substance to it.”
“Yes, exactly my boy. But you must excuse me, I’m afraid I left my wife alone for too long.”
Earl Yemen scurried off and Prompto was left feeling fairly accomplished despite such an easy goal.
Outside Viscount York had dropped his earring and was trying to not be obvious as he searched for it. Prompto immediately jumped on this opportunity and found the jewelry in the fountain. It was a large piece embedded with several rubies in the shape of a heart. He didn’t know how it got lost in the first place.
“Ah thank you!” York said when he returned it. “I would have been in so much trouble with my wife if I had lost this. She is the one who gave it to me, you see, as proof of our love.”
Prompto had to wonder if that was the only proof of their love since the man had about a dozen rings on his knuckles and three sets of earrings. He refrained from saying anything as he pulled out the ring he kept attached to a chain under his shirt.
“It must be special to you, I would be sad too if I lost my ring. Her Majesty gave it to me.”
“Her Majesty gave it to you? How romantic, it’s such a shame you can’t wear it on your hand. I suppose she is not allowed to openly find other suitors.”
“Well, not right now she’s not.”
He politely let the Viscount come to his own conclusions as he excused himself to go find his wife.
“I just think that we should be open to it.” Duchess Carmine said when he alluded to the subject of mistresses. “People were not designed to be stuck in one marriage with one person for the rest of their lives. Honestly, some people just want to make everyone fit into one little box until we die.” She said. And that was that.
Dame Vienna was a hard woman to track down, but he managed to find her in the hall near the dancing. It was all slowing down, but she didn’t waste any time approaching him to ask for the dance.
“You know. I get the feeling you’re here to ask a favor.” She said when they fell in line with the music. “What is it?”
“That’s an awfully forward question isn’t it?” He said, a little flustered. Here he was rolling so well with upper society, this bluntness felt like a trap.
“I’m not a fan of putting on airs. I know you want something, and depending on what it is I might be willing to do it if you are willing to do me a favor.”
“I was hoping.” He raised his arm to let her pass under, “That you might vote in the crown's’ favor on the issue concerning royal mistresses.”
“That’s all?” She smiled, and he couldn’t tell if he should be reassured or not. “Well, I have a similar request from you. In a few weeks I will be looking to request a budget increase for the research group I head. If you convince the King and Queen to be amenable to that I will hold up my end.”
“Research?”
“For the benefit of the crown.” She quickly said. “His Majesty is Lucian. He has been hesitant to agree to anything. I can give you some documentation if it’ll make you feel better to know I’m not some mad scientist.”
“That would be great.”
He left the party feeling a little like he was making a deal with the devil. People were still dancing in the ballroom, but the noises became more and more faint as he went up the stairs. He changed into some sweats and passed out in Luna and Noctis’ room without turning the lights off.
----
The plan didn’t change much. Every event he attended he had a new list of names and new strategies to employ. Lady Fiel was very good at her job, following her instruction was the easiest way to get through the hoops.
Noctis was hard to convince where Lady Vienna was concerned. Prompto had a feeling that he just didn’t like her. She came from a long line of Niflheim warmongers and she had a group of relatives taking refuge in a nearby isolationist country called Siena for war crimes. For many people in the courts her refusal to bow her head and apologize for her family was a blatant show of disrespect. Noctis was in agreement with these people. He eventually did sign the bill, but he sure made it sound like he was pulling out his own teeth.
On a warm summer's day he was stopped by Duke Ferind, a big, meaty man who embodied Niflheim politics and mannerisms so completely his pictures were probably in textbooks somewhere. Prompto had told him he was adopted from Niflheim a few weeks prior at some Viscount’s garden party and then bullshited his way through a half hour long conversation with him about the place. He pulled Prompto aside right after a ten hour shift that began at midnight and said,
“My boy, have you ever gone out shooting?”
An hour later Prompto was dressed in some black leathers in the back of a fancy truck with four other people shooting the shit about their new equipment.
“The latest rifle.” Lady Min said. She held up her gun to show it off. “Can shoot bullets almost as big as my head. Gonna get one of them right in the eye.”
He thankfully wasn’t expected to show off his arsenal. All he had was the same old handguns he’d been using for years. They were illegally custom made by some guy outside of the Crown City and technically he didn’t have a permit for them. He had a feeling that would only endear him to them, but he also didn’t want trouble if it turned out they weren’t going to play nice.
“Those are the anak.” Ferind pointed towards a herd of the animals. The truck stopped a few hundred feet away from them. “Alright, who wants the first go?”
Sir Charles leaned over to him while the rest debated. “You see, how it works is someone shoots first and then it’s a race to get the most because after they start to scatter.”
Sir Rayne won the argument. He pulled out his rifle and aimed for the closest one, but the light from his laser sight startled one of them and before he could pull the trigger the entire herd was running.
Prompto was startled at the noise of four large rifles going off at once, and was the last to get his gun out and shoot. He still managed to get two anak before they all disappeared.
“I got three! Two calves and a grown one.” Sir Rayne said.
“Two.”
“One baby.”
“None.”
None of them noticed when he didn’t yell out a number. The car started back up again and they were driving away from the site.
“Don’t we have to collect the bodies?” He whispered to Sir Charles.
“What for?” Charles replied, making Prompto feel guilty. Ignis would be pissed to see so much good food go to waste for no good reason.
Their next spot was a large group of Reapertails all lazily basking in the sun.
“Oh, these are tricky.” Sir Rayne said. “When they get under the ground it’s all over.”
“I’ll go first.” Lady Min announced. No sooner did she have her gun out then she was shooting. And the others wasted no time in following her lead.
Some of the reapertails immediately started burrowing, and others began to scurry away. Prompto skipped the ones close and aimed for the ones trying to put distance between themselves and the car. He didn’t feel nearly as guilty at killing these as he had with the anak.
“You’re not half bad kid.” Lady Min said. “You do this often?”
“No, I’ve never done one of these before.”
“He was one of His Majesty’s guardsman.” Duke Ferind said. “Wandered all over the continent using that gun.”
“Really? You land anything exciting?”
He answered that he took down a Zu on a hunt during that time, and then got roped into giving out the whole story, which he embellished since he had been knocked out a third of the way through, but they were entertained through their next two hunts.
He was tired and surprisingly sweaty when he managed to make it back to the castle after it had gone dark. Luna was out working late on something, and Noctis was under the sheets playing games on his phone when he walked in and got changed.
“How was it.” Noctis asked as Prompto found some clean boxers to wear.
“Long.”
Noctis was silent when Prompto landed in bed, so he wrapped his arm around Noctis’ waist and tried to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep.
“So we’re working on the final draft of that bill.” Noctis said.
“Hmm?”
“The mistress one.”
“Great…”
“We’ve figured out a title. Inamorato, it’s apparently used on some farm village somewhere. Technically you’d be Inamorato to the both of us.”
“Cool.”
“But, if you were accepted into the position, which it’s looking like you would, you would have to quit your job.”
Prompto opened his eyes to see Noctis pointedly focusing on his game.
“What?”
“Because being an Inamorato is a fulltime job, and some feel like it’s unbecoming for the King and Queen to have a mistress still doing menial labor. You could still do jobs at court, or something like that. Host galas, organize fundraisers or something. But it’s expected that the Crown be able to support you, it’s kind of a big deal.”
Prompto sighed. “Great…”
---
The bill was approved, and soon after he was approved to take the title. But he hesitated in submitting the form to the courts and sealing his fate.
Being a guard was his last line to his roots. It’s what began this entire thing. Giving it up felt like letting go of a childhood toy. What would he do with his time afterwards? Sit around playing bridge? Organize board meetings? What did royal mistresses do anyways?
He sulked about it for days, sitting at some random park bench in the palace or under the shade of a tree just to brood.
Dame Vienna passed him by a few times, but didn’t speak until a week after the deciding vote. She noticed him nursing some iced tea on a bench in the garden and took a seat next to him.
“You look like someone shot your puppy.” She said. “Mistress life not treating you well?”
“I’m not a mistress yet.” He said, “Technically.”
“Why not?”
“A few parts don’t seem that great.”
“What parts?”
“The part where it’s apparently my job, my fulltime job. I thought it’d be more like marriage, not a contract.”
“Well, marriage is a contract. Just less restraining.” She joked, though she seemed to take pause when he didn’t laugh. “You could volunteer for me. It’s normal for a mistress to volunteer on personal projects.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Doing what?”
“Anything. I’ve been hiring people to work on new projects. But His Majesty has been giving me the cold shoulder. If you’re around he might be more amenable. I have a group working on medical research for the military, you could help them with that. Get resources, tools, note progress. Stuff like that.”
Prompto thought about it for a moment, turning it over in his head. He had never been squeamish when it came to gross medical stuff on T.V, but this also wasn’t a show to watch.
“I don’t know anything about medicine.”
“You could learn.”
He sighed, “Sounds as good as anything right now.”
“Great. Our research building is downtown.” She pulled a pen out of her purse and wrote the address in his palm. “You start Monday.”