Roi de Cœur

It was a day before they planned to set up the tests for the people that made their way to Hipparcos. From what he heard from Nita, the preparations were going well. Thanks to his natural charm and guidance and reassurance from Lord Nivelir, they managed to hire a few professors that were going to first oversee the tests, and later hold the classes for the crew they had gathered. His brilliant plans to plan out the lessons with Lord Nivelir were viciously torn to shreds by that pest of a Governor's younger brother blowing himself up like a complete fool. He supposed the cold shower of reality calmed him down, but he was cursing out the missed opportunities to be alone in the room with the man.

The idea of the two of them leaning over the papers together, their hands touching when Teo passes him a document - alright, perhaps he really needed this break from the man. But in his defense! Not only was Lord Nivelir the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his entire life (and yes, that firmly put Lord Governor in the second place), but he was also a diligent, brilliant man. He was highly educated, he was competent, he was clever, efficient, beautiful, smart, witty, and so, so cold. He carried himself with such dignified distance, looking down on the entire world. Why, oh why, did he have such a weakness for icy kings? Whenever he saw his serious and thoughtful face, all he wanted was to melt his heart. If this man ever smiled at him, Teo could die happy.

He almost got a heart attack when he first saw him, his large frame and broad shoulders, and that beautiful long hair. And then, Lord Nivelir helped him out of the carriage when they arrived to the Governor's manor, and he almost fainted. What a perfect gentleman! And then they'd go to the city and back together nearly daily, sharing a carriage. He would try his best to crack jokes and entertain him with his stories, he feared he made himself quite a clown before the man, but the most he got out of him was an acknowledgement of his presence. And then they'd begin to talk about business they'd need to handle that day, and despite the importance of their work, Teo felt as if his heart was being wrung like a wet cloth. But he made it through. They worked, and Teo hopefully proved himself to be of invaluable assistance. The last thing he wanted to do was bother the man. Which was one of the two reasons why he didn't bother to breach the subject with the man just yet - they had quite a lot of work to do and they couldn't be distracted by awkwardness of a rejection. He could take a no, of course, this spark of temporary obsession would easily be stomped out if Lord Nivelir wished for it. It wouldn't be his first time, simply cry into the pillow for a day and get up the next morning. He could give his heart away as easily as he could see it rejected, but what if he puts him on the spot? What if Lord Nivelir decides he doesn't want to work with him if he finds out he's in - dare he say it - love? And the second issue was that he had only met the man at that point, and he wanted to get to know him better before even considering asking him how he felt.

So why was it that every time he opened his mouth, Teo only fell for him more?

He was perfect. Teo wanted to spend more time with him, every second was a precious memory, and he clung to his every word, all to make sure that everything he asked was done perfectly. Lord Nivelir will not find a fault with his work. He promised himself. He had to work hard and ensure he is nothing but helpful, especially considering how overworked Lord Nivelir looked.

And then that skinny little idiot blew himself up.

And he got reassigned. To him. The idiot that blew himself up. For magic assistance. As if he actually could be of any assistance to a prim and proper alchemist. That was not how any of it worked, but he wasn't going to argue about it with a man who could literally see it through a divine gift. If Lord Governor demanded they cooperate, then fine. He could do it too. If Nita was assisting Lord Nivelir, then he would surely be fine. They didn't need his help. He could take it.

Working with that annoying noble brat was entertaining, at least. Riling him up was exceedingly easy, and when he wasn't doing that, he enjoyed his dry and rude wit. He was an educated man, too, and after several inappropriate remarks he learned how to get Teo to cooperate with him. They even exchanged some thoughts on the academic literature they both read. The honorable idiot didn't speak Franac, so he put himself to use and translated some papers he had for him. But still, his contribution was far lesser there than it could have been in the town. His people needed him (not really, they had Nita), and he needed Lord Nivelir. He was feeling useless, or at least mismanaged. His constant bouncing off the walls irritated Lilac enough to throw him out on several occasions, too. Hells, it wasn't as if he could draw a teleportation circle with him! Or to figure out where his experiments went wrong - well, perhaps he should study more on that specific topic. If not him, then who?

But that thought came to him too late, and once again he found himself wandering the hallways.

His limping due to the peg leg was annoying as usual, but the fancy marble floors made it echo. This was a lovely place and all, very rich, opulent, and plunderable, but he'd still prefer it if he were home. The usual rags he wore were unfit for this place, and the nicer clothes Lord Governor provided for them felt like a prison. They weren't uncomfortable or restrictive by any means, but it was the idea behind them. You are in our lands, you must be one of us... or something. Honestly, he was attributing too much to a simple shirt and pants. He even continued to walk around barefoot. Why not, the servants found him a piece of trash either way. Why should he bother with a shoe? It would've been the same, and it wasn't worth the blisters.

He found his way outside and carefully avoided the main gardens. Lord Governor was meeting a noble guest there today. The purpose was negotiation or something, that must've been the lady he called for to teach Nita and him the noble etiquette. There was no need to have her faint at the sight of a miniature cripple before the negotiations are done. After they're finished, though, it will either be too late to say "no", or it would have already been said, and that meant the gloves were off.

Not that he wore them.

The amount of help they had received from Lord Governor was frankly shocking. He never expected to see him go to such lengths, or to do it as quickly and efficiently as he did. Of course, a lot of his contribution was limited to ordering Lord Nivelir to do it for him, but he clearly gave them his most competent man. Not to mention that impressive display when dealing with Captain Lotus - fighting both her and her second in the duel was highly unprecedented. And he won! If nothing else, it certainly dispersed his concerns about his competence, and upon arrival to Hipparcos, he also swiftly killed his worries about his management of the situation. After all, nobody died yet. This was an incredible feat in his eyes. If Lord Governor later planned to betray them, he was investing much more into the charade than what he would earn from turning against them. By this point, Teo was reasonably sure the man wasn't stupid.

He made his way to the training grounds, curious to see who was there today. Despite their suspicions, he managed to get on polite terms with Guard Captain Hexkey and a few of his officers. He was there to leave a good, decently civilized impression of the pirates, so that when - not if - shit breaks out the guards won't kill first and ask questions later. Somebody had to do it. Nita was too busy moping around how nobody here liked her, and Ekliptik was definitely doing something, but whatever it was, he wasn't privy to it.

His dismay about Hexkey's lack of presence quickly turned to barely contained fawning.

Lord Nivelir...

The man was practicing alone, elegantly wielding his rapier. The weight of the thin blade disappeared in his hand, lost in his strength and expertise. His fast and precise movements cut through the air like lightning, simple at their core, with the end result being powerful and efficient. There were no useless flourishes, no unnecessary movements - his swordsmanship was made for a quick and efficient takedown of the opponent. This was simply the kind of a man he was, and his skill with the blade proved it.

His outfit was now fit for training, in fact it was barely much different from Teo's. The usual stylish and almost gaudy outfits he preferred were replaced with a simple shirt and trousers. Unlike him, however, the man wore shoes. His sleeves were rolled up above the elbows, to not bother him in his movements, and Teo was trying his best to ignore his imagination running wild, pondering how those arms would wrap around him. His finely defined muscles were on par with Nita's and he briefly wondered which of them would win an arm wrestling duel.

Lord Nivelir stopped his training. And then, his beautiful, strict face that looked as if it was carved out of granite by gods themselves turned to him. What a man. Teo briefly pondered punching himself to calm down. Franacs had some sort of a saying about distances and yearnings, he couldn't remember what it was, but it seemed distance did nothing for his poor fluttering heart. But, no. He will not let it show. There was no need for this man to know how hard he had fallen for him, especially not before he at least tries to find out if he had a chance those feelings would be reciprocated. He refused to become a nuisance in his life. He gave him his finest charming smile, hiding his emotions that threatened to boil over. The chill of this man was burning.

"Lord Secretary! How do you do?" he greeted.
"Hello Officer," Lord Nivelir greeted in return. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, Honorable Alsop en la Dale has ordered me to take a break from work," he lied. By omission. "I was taking a walk and thought to perhaps greet some of my acquaintances from the guards. Unfortunately, they weren't here, but I must say I was captivated by your skill," he rambled.
"Is that so?" he said. Picture of politeness, but distressingly distant, ignorant to Teodolit's silent begging to be seen. "Thank you for the compliment, then."
"You are quite welcome." Don't stop to talk, don't let him get away, no! "Have you been trained by a Master?" he asked curiously.
"Of course," he said.
"How come you've picked a rapier as your weapon?"
"It felt like the best choice for me. There is a certain elegance to it." It seemed Teo's hopeful look managed to get him to continue. Showing off with a few elegant swings, he said: "My family has always preferred mastery with longswords. They are heavy, large, and say a thousand words before you even unsheathe them. But they leave out the possibility for finesse. One large swing from a longsword can cut down several men, but a rapier can aim precisely at the source." The blade sang as it flew through the air, glistening in the sunlight. He was completely taken by his words. "I believed that it represents the sort of a man I would need to become if I wanted to stay by Lord Governor's side as his assistant. Since there was no Master of this blade in my family, they had to look for one elsewhere. Highly unconventional, but so is Lord Governor."
"It suits you perfectly," Teo said. This was the first smalltalk that this man was responding to. He needed to keep him going. "You must have known quite early that you wanted to work for Lord Governor. How did you meet?"
"When we were children. We later attended classes together. We were friends and coworkers for many years, serving in several different positions. He was simply the sort of a man that you feel the need to follow. Impossibly charismatic, he has you wrapped around your little finger before you even notice you had a completely different goal altogether. It is my personal delight to see him at work. I wanted to be a part of his success."
It seemed that they both agreed on Lord Governor's outrageous personality, although Nivelir spoke of it with fondness. It also appeared that Lord Governor enjoyed the privilege of Lord Nivelir's wistful smile as he was reminiscing. Perhaps Teo should grab a shovel and dig a hole to bury his envy into, before it is noticed.

Ah, no! He was leaving!

Lord Nivelir gave him a polite nod. He took several steps back from him, and continued practicing. Teo was trying his best to not get heartbroken over those few extra meters of distance. With this man, it was as if he needed to cross an entire ocean. He needed to keep talking. He needed to think of something new to say. Or, swords! Lord Nivelir liked to talk about swords!

"L'épée est comme l'aile d'une hirondelle, comme un éclair qui va frapper, et ne s'en va que pour mieux toucher."

Oh gods, did he say it out loud? Lord Nivelir stopped in the middle of a strike and turned to him, eyebrows raised curiously. He didn't speak Franac, did he? Teo's face turned red. He made it awkward, he didn't want to confuse the man. "I- I must apologize-"
"There is nothing to worry about. I believe I recognize the quote," he said. "Very impressive. I am curious to see what your results will be tomorrow."

Teo's heart felt like it would burst. He gained Lord Nivelir's approval - and suddenly he felt the weight of expectations for tomorrow. He needed his result to be stellar, he needed this man to look at him again.

He was completely hopeless.

"Lord Secretary," he said. "Would you give me the honour of sparring with you? I would enjoy seeing your prowess first hand."
"Certainly not. With that leg of yours, whatever skill you may have will be dangerously handicapped."
Alright, just because he was in love, it didn't mean he needed to take this nonsense. "Fret not. I will make sure I go easy on you," he replied.
Ah - no! Was that too rude? Lord Nivelir made a small step back, visibly shocked. Was he angry? Will he tell him to leave? No, it seemed as if he only gave him something to think about.
"I apologize," he said.
"Ah - it's alright. I am just a bit- it's not-" Teo stuttered. He took a deep breath. "It's not like I am unaware that my leg is missing. But despite that, I am still me, and I have been working very hard to reach my position. So it's not - I am not just a cripple. And I have enough skill with the blade to think it would be entertaining for us to spar." There.
Lord Nivelir was silent for a few moments. "Well, after a speech like that, I certainly cannot turn you down. It will be an honour to spar with you, Officer."
"Oh, I didn't mean to put you on the spot - it's alright if you still don't want to - "
"No, you are right. It was improper from me. It will only be a friendly spar, there was no need for me to react like that. It is not a competition, nor a duel. You may take a wooden sword from one of the racks. I will, too. I do not want to risk injuring you unnecessarily."

It worked! Lord Nivelir officially wanted to spend time with him!! Of his own will!

He didn't shame him into this, did he? No, he probably did not. Lord Nivelir gave quite a speech too. Or, was this just a plot to humiliate him? No, no. Not Lord Nivelir. He spent enough time with the man to be certain he wouldn't do such a thing. He will certainly manage to defeat him, he didn't doubt that, but he wouldn't unnecessarily embarrass his opponent. He may be naturally distrustful of people, but he wasn't paranoid. They both simply wanted to spar. A friendly game.

He approached the racks and picked out a piece of wood that would fit him the best. It was just a simple stick, really. It had neither the hand guard nor the shape of the blade, it was probably meant to be used by the very beginners or children. In his case, it was long enough to use it as a walking stick. It will help him with his balance during the spar.

He returned to the place where Lord Nivelir was waiting for him, holding a simple light wooden sword. Basic sword shape, you couldn't exactly make a wooden rapier after all. Or, if you could, it sounded like a recipe for the opponent to die from splinters.

Lord Nivelir curiously observed his posture as he confidently walked over with his newfound walking stick. He put his free hand on his hip, holding onto the stick like a fancy nobleman would. He tipped his imaginary hat to the man, happy to play a fool again. Unfortunately, not even this managed to get a smile out of him. Behind his idiot grin, Teo's heart was cracking like a porcelain cup. He hid the pain away, focusing on the duel that awaited. He was a short man, and Lord Nivelir was taller than Lord Governor. His fine muscles proved he was also considerably stronger. Not that Teodolit was a weak little man, he was still a proper sailor. But their strength simply could not compare. Even at his best, Teo would still be physically weaker. Of course, normally he would overcome those differences by fighting incredibly dirty. But this was a friendly fight and he didn't intend to really strike at the man.

The tall man began to circle around him, looking at his relaxed pose with interest. He couldn't resist it, he had to play with him at least a little. He tightly gripped his stick and gave him a bright smile. "Lord Secretary, I fear there is a distance between us."

"A distance I'll be happy to close."

In two decisive steps, the man was upon him, with the sword aiming directly for Teo's arm. Teo's heart skipped a beat, he thought he would faint as he violently swatted the sword away with his stick, stepping forward towards him and expertly slipping past him, leaving him unbalanced and perfectly placed for a strike into his back. A strike which Teo intentionally didn't take, trying not to turn to his daydreams. He wanted to... to close the distance? Was this flirting? Lord Nivelir's face was cold and unreadable as ever - were his feelings noticed? Reciprocated? The man had recovered from the mild shock of Teo's sudden burst of agility. He was a sailor, keeping balance even with his leg was a necessity of life. Being underestimated was always entertaining. Lord Nivelir was learning quickly and put distance between them again.

"I see now how gravely I have underestimated you. I must apologize again."

A compliment! Another, entire compliment! Oh he was so, so happy. This was the best decision of his life. He would duel him a thousand times if it meant he would notice him. I am here! Witness me!

"Appearances can deceive anyone, Lord Secretary," he said brightly.

An ingenious idea occurred to him.

Along with a sudden, deep determination to turn it to reality.

"En garde!" Lord Nivelir shouted. Teo barely had the chance to defend himself, nearly falling over when his sword flew towards his chest. He managed to dodge it and hold himself from falling by grabbing onto Lord Nivelir's shoulder. He quickly regained his balance and slipped away out of his reach, helping himself to walk with the stick.

"Are you well?"
"Quite," he said, unfortunately visibly shaken. "You caught me by surprise. Nobody's fault but mine."
"You got out of the way before I had the chance to strike again," he tried to encourage him.
Teo let out a laugh. Lord Nivelir had the same chance to strike him as he did in the first round. They both simply decided not to. They were holding back, interested in nothing but showing off.

Properly on guard again, he was ready for his mission. Lord Nivelir struck at him again, aiming at his wooden leg. Teo perfectly dodged it, and then bounced on his leg helplessly for a few moments, before falling straight into his arms. Lord Nivelir, the perfect gentleman as ever, caught him. Absolute success!

Teo's heart was beating in his ears as he was looking up at the beautiful man that was leaning over him. His cold face showed mild concern for his well-being, and his strong arms easily held him in a pose similar to two dancers. How he yearned to truly dance with him, beneath the starry sky and the light of the moons, in a garden full of flowers that he'd tend to just for him.

"Votre froideur me guéris de la fiévre présente en mon sein," he dreamily said.
"Vous ne devriez pas m'affrontez si vous étes malade," Lord Nivelir replied.

Teo almost fell out of his hands, but he was safely caught again. This man could speak! Teo was cursing in Franac in front of him! Yelling at pirates! Whatever his opinion of him was before he opened his mouth, it had to have tanked days ago. And he was such an idiot, too. He basically confessed to - wait, no. What was that response?

Did he tell him to see a doctor for his heartache?

He stared at him in utter disbelief.

This wasn't a rejection. Or an acceptance of his feelings. This wasn't flirting, either.

It finally dawned to him. This was no icy king.


Teo simply fell for the densest man in the world.
"Incroyable."