Chapter Text
Talia
Talia Hale knew that she had been wrong. The war that had devastated the three kingdoms of North America was sitting squarely on her shoulders. Her own children had grown up in war because she could not see the error of her ways. It had started innocently enough, at least to her younger mind. Her country needed trading routes through the kingdom of King John, he would not allow it, and so she declared war, thinking she could win in the fight. Then the Yukimura’s kingdom was involved to help King John, as they had an alliance and agreed with the fight. For twenty years, they had fought. Now she can admit she was wrong, at least with how she went about it. The trading route she demanded would have destroyed parts of King John’s kingdom, torn apart towns, and been terrible for the Earth. He had every right to deny her. She had had no right to demand his approval. Now she sought to end this differently. Her kingdom could not withstand another year. The population was dwindling as more and more went to war and never returned. Buildings were crumbling after years of neglect. Her people were starving and the economy was terrible as no one in the entire world wanted to trade with them.
A peace treaty would be a good start to ending this. As she looks at her children sitting at the table, her eyes zero in on her eldest son, Derek, though he is not to become the king, he is second in line. He has very few offers for marriage he even acknowledges, though the requests for courting are an avalanche on her desk. He seems to have sworn off getting married. She contemplates an arranged marriage to help seal the deal. She could still try to control Zeilony through a marriage. She knows the heir of King John is a waif of an Omega, easy to manipulate. She definitely needs to speak with Peter about her plans. He has been urging her lately to come to some kind of change. Their people cannot take many more years of this.
After dinner, she pulls Peter aside and tells him she is planning to write King John for a peace treaty.
“Are you sure about this sister?”
“You said it yourself; we need to end this war.”
“I had meant a different fighting tactic, not peace.”
“Peace is a different tactic.” She heaves a great sigh. “This needs to end, dear brother. You had been on my side in the beginning, telling me we could win this. We have not and our people are suffering now because of it.”
“Yes, I did agree with the reasons for war in the beginning. But peace?”
“It is the quickest path to end this. I am also thinking of purposing an arranged marriage to ensure this.” Peter looks thoughtful for a moment, before giving a small nod.
“True, it could, and if we could get a Hale on their throne, we could garner more from that kingdom in the future. After all, the future king is an Omega. Not fit for a crown.”
“Their laws allow it. Their Omega prince will take the throne, but a Hale by his side could mean the future favors.”
“Who are you thinking of offering? Cora?”
“God no, I would not subject the poor prince to her. Besides, she has made her decision to go off with that Spaniard. I was thinking Derek. If rumors are to be believed, the prince prefers males, as does Derek.”
“Then we will offer Derek. But for this to truly work, dear sister, they will need to mate, bond, and sire a child rather quickly to ensure to the kingdoms that they truly want peace.”
“I’m sure King Stillinski will have no issues with such. It is a standard part of marriage agreements.” Peter gives her a smile and she knows she had her plan. She sits down at her desk to write the most important letter of her life, to her enemy of twenty years.
~
Stiles
Stiles had been born in the beginning of the war. His father had made sure he would receive every honor bestowed upon the first-born, regardless of the fact he was a born Omega. Traditionally, only Alphas and Betas were granted the right to the throne, but Stiles’ mother and father had worked tirelessly with the court to make sure Stiles would receive the crown. He began his lessons early, learning politics, kingdom laws, the art of negotiation, and various forms of diplomacy. He knew the kingdom had welcomed him and were accepting of him becoming king one day. The kingdom is quick to put down anyone who believes he shouldn’t have the throne, even to this day. After his mother’s death after an assassin’s bullet had failed to kill the king but succeeded in killing the queen, the kingdom seemed to rally behind their prince. Stiles took over his mother’s work of going out into the citadel and helping the poor and needy, garnering him even more respect from the people. Rude comments were not uncommon while he was in the citadel, but other citizens would reprimand those before Stiles could himself. A few hate groups were festering but once they could be found, the people were arrested and wither jailed or sent out of their Kingdom, mainly to the Hale’s or to some kingdom further south.
His father is always busy with the war, but makes time to be with his son, especially after his wife’s death. John has high expectations for his son, and is never disappointed. He had raised a strong leader who would one day lead his people into a time of peace. John has no expectations of Talia Hale, as she would begin a war over something as frivolous as trade routes. All Stiles knew of the Hale kingdom was what he has heard, and none of it is very virtuous.
~
John
King John receives the letter one morning, along with a messenger to bring back his response. He is very surprised by the letter, sent by Queen Talia.
To the most Royal Highness of Zeilony,
I write to you today in the hopes that we might come to a peace agreement. This war has ravaged both our countries for far too many years now. I understand where the fault lies in this. If His Majesty agrees, I would like to bring a delegation, including my family, to meet with you at your castle so that we may find a peaceful resolution to this matter. I understand any objections that you may have, but I believe all of the North American Kingdoms have suffered enough. I hope to hear from you shortly.
Her Majesty,
Queen Talia
King John is shocked. He has wished for peace. Talia alluded to herself being the reason for this war. John quickly writes his response, requesting the Yukimuras and a third party, the Queen’s son from the English Isles is involved. He knew the man can help broker peace. The Yukimuras will attend mainly for his own peace of mind and the Prince from the English Isles for theirs. He sends his letter back with the messenger before concluding his meeting in the chambers. He needs to speak with Stiles.
He finds him in the library, which isn’t very shocking. He is engrossed in a book, sitting by a fire.
“Son, I need to speak with you” He starts, sitting next to him.
“Yes father?” He asks, pulling himself from his reading, but still not sitting up properly. He most likely thinks this would be some small matter.
“Queen Talia of Lobo has requested of me a meeting to sign a peace treaty.” That gets Stiles’ attention. He sits up straighter.
“Really dad?” He asks, forgetting himself for a moment. “She really wants peace?”
“That is what she has told me. “
“It could be a wonderful change for our people. This war has been tough on them.” John knows the war has been tough, but the Kingdom could be much worse off, like he hears it is in Lobo.
“I’m glad you see it that way son. We need to prepare a ball, for their arrival. They wish to come in peace and we must try to make this as joyous as possible. I will need you to plan the celebration ball.”
“Why me?”
“Well, one day you will be king, and will need to do this anyway. Think of it as part of your training. I am asking the Yukimuras of the North to join us in the talks and the Prince of the English Isles to be our neutral third party. I am also thinking of inviting the Argents, as they have helped us greatly over the years.”
“Are you sure it is wise to invite the Argents to the festivities? They do not have the greatest relations with the Hales, especially after that fiasco with Kate Argent.”
“I understand what you are saying, but the Argents are one of our greatest allies right now. They disinherited Kate for what she had done.”
“Alright father, I will do as you wish. Any theme in mind?”
“Joy and peace. I am off to speak with the respective families about the negotiations.” He stands and leaves.
~
Stiles
The Yukimuras arrive with much fanfare. The kingdom rejoices in their arrival, as they were close allies with the Stillinski Kingdom, and much wealth has come from trade agreements with them. Stiles sits next to his father, as he watches the entourage proceed into the great hall. He sees his friend Kira, the heir of the Yukimura Kingdom. He smiles at her parents first as his dad greets them. They all exchange the proper greetings, expressing their hopes for peace.
Stiles waits patiently for the formality to be over and as soon as the parents move off to discuss the business of the trip, Stiles is out of his chair and hugging Kira.
“I’ve missed you.” Stiles says into her hair.
“You too. You need to come up for a vacation soon. We redid that cottage you liked so much.”
“What did you do to it?” He whines pulling back and giving her a teasing look.
“Nothing like that! I took your suggestions to my mother. She agreed. It’s amazing. When are you coming up?”
“Hopefully soon. With peace in the future, I’m sure getting up there will be easier, less fuss.”
“We can hope.” She agrees with a grin as they move to Stiles’ sitting room off to one side. It used to be his mother’s and he kept it the same way, as a way to stay connected to her.
“Have you heard anything about the peace talks?” Kira asks as they settle down, tea waiting for them. Stiles thanks the servant who brought it to them.
“Not much. Only my dad’s hopes that it will truly end. He mentioned that Talia alluded to knowing this whole thing is her fault, which it is. So there is hope they actually mean peace.”
“Have you ever met a Hale before?” Kira asks as he pours a little milk into her tea.
“I think maybe, a few years ago.” Stiles says, sipping his unaltered tea. He grew up on it, so he was used to it. He thinks back to the one time he thinks he met a Hale. “Remember a few years ago, when there was that rally that was on our borders with the Hales, for peace? “
“Sure. A bunch of kids our age staged a rally that straddled the border in hopes of creating peace.”
“Well, I went for a few hours, incognito.” He rushes to add at her look. “I know what you’re going to say. You know what it’s like to be the only child of the ruling party. However, I had to go, to show my own support. I met a guy, a few years older than me, and everyone called him a Hale.”
“And how did he react to you?”
“He called me some names, mainly Omega related. But nothing I haven’t heard. Pretty much sums up the Hale feelings about Omegas. Worthless to them.”
“They’ll see how wrong they are when they meet you.” Kira tries to reassure.
~
Derek
On the flight, his mother pulls him aside. He sees her wave off his uncle, her advisor, and it piques his curiosity.
“Derek, can we talk?”
“Sure mom, what’s up?” She frowns a bit at him for his informal language, but he shrugs it off. He is never to be King, so he has been given more leniencies when it came to his language.
“As I am sure you are aware, we are going to try and broker peace with the Stillinskis.”
“I am aware that is why we are on this plane.” He says slowly. Really, his mother could talk for an hour before getting to the point.
“Well, I am hoping to suggest an additional term to the standard peace agreement with King Stillinski.”
“I know it has to do with me coming along for this trip. Just get on with it mom.” He says rolling his eyes. He would much rather be out with Boyd and Erica than this trip.
“I was hoping to have you marry his son, Prince Stillinski?”
“The Omega?” His mother gives him a sympathetic look.
“Yes, he is an Omega. Sadly, they have laws in place, making sure he will receive the crown, but I think that you can have some influence still. I think it will do our countries good to allow a marriage between kingdoms.”
“No. This isn’t the old times mother. We live in a society that prides itself on finding our true mates.”
“Normally, yes I would agree with you but, well, I need this peace treaty to last son, and if a marriage is what we need, we should explore that further.”
“Still no, mother. After everything that has happened I thought you would agree that I need to find my true mate, not just some random person.”
“Derek Aaron Hale.” She says in her best alpha voice. “If you are called on to help your kingdom, you will marry this boy.”
“And if we are unhappy? You would trade my happiness for peace?” He can see his mother deflate a little.
“If this boy repulses you enough that you do not desire marriage, I will not bring it up to King Stillinski. But-” His mother makes sure she has his attention, “if you find him appealing a little, you will do your duty, for your country, to end this war for the foreseeable future, and marry him.”
“Only if he agrees.” Derek puts out there. He won’t take part in any kind of dubious affair to please a few monarchs who will die in a several decades. He doesn’t exactly agree with his family on their views of Omegas, but he can’t exactly say no when his mother uses her Alpha voice.
“Only if he agrees.” His mother concedes.
“Fine.” Derek huffs out.