Sᴏʀᴀxx Oɴᴇ-Sʜᴏᴛs

Aʀʀᴀɴɢᴇᴅ

A/N: Another royalty AU. Buckle up, y'all, 'cause this one is long.

Sora sat there, a slight breeze ruffling his hair, his legs swinging off the edge of the tall castle. He looked down at the kingdom below him, with everybody rejoicing. There was music and partying in the street, and battered soldiers had just returned to their families, glad to have escaped with their lives.

Sora went up the roof of the castle when he needed to think about something, and you could say that he had quite a bit to think about this time. He took deep breaths to stop seething with anger, but it did little to calm him.

The biggest decision of his life had just been made for him, not by him. He had no say in the matter, but he knew that if he did anything to stop what was coming, he would be shamed, and countless people would be disappointed in him, not to mention potential blood on his hands.

In his kingdom, a war had just concluded, hence the relief that people were expressing and the party in the streets. However, the end of the war took a toll on Sora himself, the last person that it would be expected to take a toll on.

Sora was a prince, which meant he was very well protected, while also not responsible for dealing with any issues with the society or government that they were facing. That was all his parents. He wanted to help when they both got very stressed out, but they told him he couldn't, and that he was too young.

"Too young." He found irony in that statement. If he was too young, then why did his parents just arrange a marriage for him? One that he opposed greatly?

He knew the answer. He knew that the marriage was the only way to unite two kingdoms and bring an end to a devastating war. Still, he was upset. For starters, he had never met the boy he was to marry. Second, he had no heads up about the whole thing. He had just heard about the decision from his parents, who announced it to the kingdom, and they were overjoyed. Not about the marriage, but more that the war was finally over.

If Sora had a choice, he knew deep down that he would have chosen the marriage rather than his people going through more hardship just because he couldn't sacrifice something for them. However, he was still upset that he hadn't been asked if it was okay, and the decision was made for him.

Still, he couldn't help but smile when he spotted the children going up and hugging a parent that was in the war. No matter how upset he was, his people would always come before his own needs. He knew that.

His smile dropped when he thought about the fact that he was to meet his husband-to-be the next day. The kingdoms would be united, and they would have peace at long last. He knew he just had to be nice to this spouse he had never met. If he avoided arguments, then it would likely be okay.

Right?

~

Miles away, another kingdom was celebrating. Their music was blaring through instruments, and another boy had been forced to attend the party. He was the prince of this kingdom, Prince Jaxx. However, he didn't feel like being the center of attention, and made sure to slip away and into the castle when his parents weren't looking.

He made a beeline through the long hallways and into his room, shutting the door behind him. He sat on his bed and put his face in his hands.

He questioned how he even got into the predicament he was in. Apparently, he was going to marry someone that he had never met before. Granted, it was to end the war that left his kingdom—and the other, for that matter—in shambles, but he still wasn't too happy.

He was glad that the war was over. Of course he was. But marrying someone he had never met? An arranged marriage that his parents decided for him? He felt like both kingdoms could have handled making a deal much better than that.