The prince and the empress

Part 3

After almost ten hours of traveling across the Gardenia empire, they finally reached the royal capital, which was surrounded by impressive stone walls and had to get permission to enter from the guards that were in front of the massive wooden gate.

Through the glass window of the carriage, he could take in his surroundings. All the houses were made out of sandstone with dark wooden lining, and all of them were adorned by a variety of flowers and fruity trees-the most prominent being the gardenia, which at least one was present on every window or near the main doors. Some houses were so near each other that left no room for alleyways, while others had wider ones. He passed post offices, churches and cathedrals, and small shops, and every single one of them was so greatly maintained that looked as if they were new. Even the people strolling the busy streets of the capital seemed clean, clothes shining with flowery patterns in bold color, bringing more life to the town.

The young prince had to admit that the balance between nature and man-made buildings was outstanding compared to his own kingdom, where nature wasn't exactly as much displayed. But not only that, everyone seemed to glimmer with joy, as they had nothing to worry about and nothing could ever harm them. He could read their expressions as the royal carriage caught their attention, and he envied how at peace they looked, how comfortable they were living their lives with such carefree attitude, waving their hands at him while also offering welcoming smiles -unlike his kingdom where everyone tensed up whenever royalty was spotted on the streets.

After twenty more minutes, they had finally reached your castle, and Midoriya promptly opened the door of the carriage for Shouto, which skipped the wooden stairs, far too giddy and eager to see you to properly care about manners and act like a prince.

The soldiers that escorted him were quick to take position next to him, while the ones that were guarding the gates of the castle bowed in front of the young prince. Shouto nodded, acknowledging them, and the guards moved aside, opening the massive gates, letting him enter the palace.

Once he entered, greeted by the enormous filed or fine grass that was your front garden, Kirishima and Bakugou greeted him: the first one with a smile while the latter with a scowl that Shouto eagerly returned.

Bakugou snorted, turning around, almost offended by the prince's presence at the castle, while Kirishima bowed, asking forgiveness for his comrade's hostile behavior. Midoriya too bowed also stumbling for an excuse regarding Shouto's not so nice greeting.

It was obvious to Kirishima and Midoriya that there was some bad blood going on between the young prince and Bakugou, but they didn't quite know the reason -although Kirishima had a slight idea but wasn't completely sure about it.

Bakugou had two main reasons that could excuse his harsh behavior. The first was that he was suspicious of the Todoroki heir, while the second reasoning was that he was in charge of your protection, and it was expected of him to prevent any harm done to you. He had made an oath to you years ago, promising to always protect and shelter you from any pain until death.

Prince Shouto, on the other hand, was straight out displaying his discontentment with the knight, constantly replaying into his mind how he had the audacity to touch you -something that was supposed to be only his pleasure. Shouto, for two long years, had refused the touch of any other woman that was not you, and he truly expected you to do the same. However, he couldn't deny that the knights were just doing their jobs, but still... it bothered him.

"Please, follow us your highness" Kirishima interrupted, starting to walk toward the door. Bakugou opened it, eyes narrowing as he kept looking at the prince. He snorted once Shouto passed him, and the latter returned once again the antipathy. Kirishima and Midoriya sweatdropped at the exchange, slightly concerned about their behavior, but refused to say anything – fearing that it'll burst into something far more displeasing than just glares.