eternal

love is war / qivan/tobi-q/kagenavan

presenting qq's 2021 adaptation of the
highly chaotic 2017 qivan saga written by
sittingonthefence, jirotaru, caramelchips,
pumpkinrice, littlemune, and StarFallerXD

just in case you guys don't know the order
of aristocratic titles: king/queen > crown
prince(ss) > prince(ss) > duke/duchess
> marquis/marquess > count(ess) >
viscount(ess) > baron(ess) (this is thanks
to my obsession with historical manhwas
and a bunch of deep googling done a while
ago just to get the order right)

···

it was more than just a fine day in the eastern empire: the sky was clearer than ever (perfect for cloud-watching, actually), the air was fresher than it had ever been, and the temperature was slightly cooler than usual. it was, all in all, a perfect day to go on a date.

crown princess qq sat in her carriage, which was headed towards sir navan's estate. sir navan was the heir apparent of a marquis, which made him a potential candidate for crown prince consort, and which was also why the king and queen allowed the pair to date.

i hope he likes this dress that i've worn today, she thought with a giddy smile. the dress in question was a simple pale yellow dress that only had two layers (considering how it was almost summer in the empire, it would only be obvious to wear clothes with less layers to prevent potential heatstrokes). it was adorned with simple lace work and ribbons that cinched around her waist, and had an off-shoulder design to expose her pale frame. sir navan had once made a casual comment on how he liked her fair skin and how lighter-toned clothes would make her skin glow even more, which affected that day's wardrobe choices (she had also paired her dress with a light brown sun hat and matching sandals).

the carriage came to a halt and the carriage door swung open. the coachman held a hand out to help princess qq descend from the carriage safely, to which she accepted before stepping off the carriage. the servants of the marquis bowed as sir navan's younger sister, lady charisse, stepped forward.

"greetings, your highness," lady charisse said politely, complete with a curtsey as she bowed her head.

"please, there's no need to be formal with me, charisse," princess qq said, reaching a hand out to hold lady charisse's hand.

lady charisse accepted her hand, "as you wish, your highness."

"is your brother here?" princess qq asked.

"he should be in his room," lady charisse said, "i'll guide you to the drawing room to wait and i'll ask for a servant to call for him."

lady charisse guided princess qq to the drawing room in comfortable silence. both ladies were not the best of talkers as compared to the extroverted sir navan who found it easy to befriend complete strangers. once they were both in the drawing room, lady charisse called for a servant to call for her brother, as well as to prepare some tea and biscuits. not long later, a maid returned with a slip of paper in her hands, "my lady, the young master wasn't in his room, but i found this on his work desk."

lady charisse took the slip of paper and scanned the text before handing it over to princess qq, "your highness, i believe you should take a look at this."

princess qq took the slip of paper and read the fine words written on it, which read, "my darling, i've found quite the secret rendezvous spot which might interest you. meet me there." followed by an address. a sort of uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach, navan is not the sort of person who would just disappear and leave me an address to go to. however, she masked her uneasiness with a smile and turned to lady charisse, "thank you for your hospitality, charisse, but i'll excuse myself now to find navan."