sic semper tyrannis

alea iacta est

Kaveh would be crowned king on New Year's Day.

The coronation would take place on the steps up to the Akademiya and the palace, extending down into the wide plaza where a countless number of people would gather to watch the placing of the crown onto their new king's head.

But, for now, the prince rushed through his dresser, plucking out clothes he thought might be appropriate before discarding most back into the drawer. A few were set out on the bed, though much more were simply thrown onto the floor. Not even a consideration.

Alhaitham watched from his desk, only half paying attention to whatever book he'd been reading. More often than not, and especially now of all times, he found it more interesting to just watch Kaveh. In the past week, he'd been allowed to do almost whatever he pleased which had meant exploration of much of the castle.

He'd been able to go where he pleased before, of course, but that didn't include the multitudes of rooms dedicated only to his parents. Their bedroom was large and contained a great deal of Mora, sparkly jewelry, dozens of what appeared to be important Akademiya documents stored away on shelves, and, of course, some of the most expensive cosmetics they'd ever seen.

Kaveh took the majority of it all back to his room with Alhaitham's help. Most of the jewelry and make-up was left discarded on shelves, but the Akademiya documents were interesting. Of course, it just made their appearance even more disgusting. There were lists of how many boys had been stolen from the desert, how many died before adulthood, and records of torture. The only thing perhaps non-incriminating was the distinction of who went to which side of the school.

It came with only a simple promise: to see them ruined in due time.

But now wasn't that time. Right now, Kaveh stood back with a huff, crossing his arms, and glaring at all the clothes he'd picked out for his coronation. He sent a glance back at Alhaitham, tilting his head to one side.

"Haitham," he called. "Come help me pick what to wear."

"Help you?" Alhaitham echoed. He closed the book, setting it on the desk, and slowly made his way over.

Most of the things Kaveh had picked out were shades of red and gold with splashes of white, black, and gray mixed in between. Between shirts with frilly collars and cuffs or pants with intricate gold lining and designs spanning the sides, Alhaitham had little to no idea what to go with.

"Pick whichever one you like most," he said. He shrugged as well, making Kaveh pout. It obviously wasn't the answer he wanted.

"I like all of them," Kaveh mumbled. He put a hand to his chin as if to consider, glancing over the collection again. He murmured a few more things to himself under his breath, picking up one of the shirts and glancing down the designs on the arms.

It was white and lacey, meant more to be an undershirt to anything else, but he nodded to himself and placed it into another pile.

"I suppose I can do that one," Kaveh said, turning back to glance at Alhaitham once more. "And then I can put something over top of it. Maybe a coat and then a cape? Oh, I could wear boots too... Or just fancy shoes."

He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "See, Haitham? This is why it's so difficult! There are too many options and I have to pick something that's guaranteed to make a good impression. What if I pick something wrong? That'd be too embarrassing!"

Alhaitham hummed to himself, taking one of Kaveh's arms and slowly pulling it toward him. He allowed his grip to slip until he could take Kaveh's hand in his, then lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it.