A Prince's Love

Hunting

A black horse galloped through the woods leading three other horses. His owner was hunched over scanning the forest around him in search of dogs. The other hunters behind him kept their eyes out with weapons ready. The prince pulled on the reins making the stallion buck and neigh.
"Halt!" He shouted hearing the hunters were nearing him. The other riders stopped their horses drawing their weapons. They held their rifles up waiting for orders from the prince.
"What is it, Prince Arthur?" One asked. The prince held his hand up to silence them as he looked around. A faint barking was in the distance causing his attention to be drawn to it. Prince Arthur paused trying to decipher where it came from. The howling continued with a yelp mixed with it. Arthur looked to his right and tugged the reins in the direction of the dogs. The men put their guns away to follow Arthur in pursuit of what the hounds caught. They hurried to the dogs, but the forest grew thicker the farther they went. Arthur continued to follow the sound of the barking until he saw the greyhounds up ahead. The three sat around a dying buck who struggled to move his back legs. It yelped, wriggled, and cried in pain. Large bite marks leaked blood rendering the legs useless.
"Excellent work. You three get the antlers." Arthur reached behind his back to get an arrow from the basket. He aligned it with the string of the bow to take aim. He shut one eye shooting the buck in the head to put the animal out of misery. A smirk came to his lips as the men cheered and got out ropes. They tied the dead deer to a wagon after taking the arrow out of its skull. He smacked the reins and made his way home, for he didn't want the deer to rot before it could be eaten. As they trotted home, someone's singing voice caught their attention. They listened for a moment, and Arthur instantly knew who it was.
"You have to be bloody kidding me." He sighed turning to his men in an annoyed manner. They cautiously went for their guns, but Arthur stopped them. Although it would be hilarious to frighten the owner of the voice, Arthur wasn't in the mood.
"Take my prize back to the castle and prepare it for the mount. I'll return by dinner for the feast." Arthur then trudged to the source of the singing, which happened to be his least favorite person. A flock of birds flew away from the trees as Arthur came closer to Francis. The Frenchman's voice faltered slightly from the sounds of hoofs near him. He stopped singing afraid to see who had arrived.
"Funny seeing you here, temptress." He sneered causing Francis to look behind his shoulder and roll his eyes. He sighed in relief now knowing it wasn't a stranger. Francis thought someone had followed him into the forest, but it wouldn't be the first time. Many admirers had tried to surprise him by joining his picnics. Although, each one had been kindly rejected.
"I can say the same to you." Arthur furrowed his eyebrows and scoffed at the Frenchman. He moved his horse closer to the three trying to look high and mighty.
"What are you even doing out here? It's the middle of the woods!" Francis pursed his lips looking up to Arthur. He held up a picnic basket and pointed to his sons sleeping on the blanket. Francis got out a few strawberries to eat not wanting them to spoil.
"I was enjoying the peaceful forest until you arrived." The Frenchman held out the basket to offer Arthur some of the food inside. The prince wanted to take it, but his pride refused to allow it. He grimaced acting as if he was disgusted by the tempting food.
"No one in their right mind would accept food from you. Let alone tolerate that screeching you call music." Francis rolled his eyes and crossed his arms glancing up at Arthur. He ate what was left himself seeing the prince was being an ingrate. Arthur felt guilty for being so rude to Francis. He looked away in shame from his actions.
"I beg to differ. Why don't you come down and join us to see? Unless, you're afraid to be proven wrong." The prince pouted before getting off his stallion and tying him to a strong tree branch. He marched over to the three sitting next to Francis. He was careful not to wake the twins as they slept on the soft blanket.
"Give me something to eat, and sing for me while you're at it." Arthur laid down on the blanket accidentally putting his head in Francis' lap. He was going to pull away when he felt the man above gently run his fingers through Arthur's tangled hair. His cheeks turned red forcing him to avoid eye contact. The affection was a bit much for him to handle due to rarely receiving it.
"Get on with the singing, frog!" The prince demanded as he shut his eyes and sighed. Francis chuckled before beginning his song. Arthur mused his hair back to its normal mess after Francis smoothened it. 
"À la claire fontaine, m'en allant promener, J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle que je m'y suis baigné. Il y a longtemps que je t'aime jamais je ne t'oublierai. Sous les feuilles d'un chêne, Je me suis fait sécher. Sur la plus haute branche, un rossignol chantait. Chante rossignol, chante. Toi qui as le cœur gai, tu as le cœur à rire. Moi je l'ai à pleurer. J'ai perdu mon amie sans l'avoir mérité. Pour un bouquet de roses que je lui refusai. Je voudrais que la rose fût encore au rosier, et que ma douce amie fût encore à m'aimer." Arthur felt his eyes growing heavy as the song relaxed him. His emerald eyes locked on to Francis' sapphires for a moment. He grumbled turning so his back faced Francis. He took out some cheese from the basket nibbling it.
"Is that *yawn* the best you can do?" Francis chuckled and combed Arthur's hair with his fingers once more. The prince gave up trying to keep it messy and allowed Francis to style it. He finished the piece of cheese before reaching for another snack. 
"Afraid so. I do wish I could sing in the theater like I used to." Arthur quirked an eyebrow. He was slowly coming back to consciousness from eating. He shifted onto his back taking a bite of the bread in his hand. Francis played with the blond hair making Arthur smile.
"You preformed?" He asked fighting back another yawn. Having his hair played with made Arthur tired once again. Francis ran his fingers through the coarse strands brushing out the knots. Arthur pushed his hand away muttering about how his hair didn't need to be fixed.
"Yes. I had so much fun. Sometimes, they would let Alfred and Matthew join the plays." Arthur weakly smiled imagining the twins dressed in costumes. His eyes went over to the still sleeping children making the smile grow. He took Francis' hands out of his hair setting them on the blanket.
"You must really love them." Francis chuckled and glanced at the twins happily nodding. He fixed Alfred's hair to keep it out of his face. His eyes lingered on the child's sleeping face as he snored softly.
"With all my heart. I'd do anything for them." Arthur chuckled and looked up at the trees that swayed gently in the breeze. He thought about what his father used to tell him about his mother. Francis reminded him so much of his mother from the soft expression to the caring attitude.
"You remind me of my mother. She was a lovely woman who cared about all of her children." Arthur slowly sat up to stretch and crack his back. He pulled his watch out from his pocket checking the time. He saw it was nearing their lesson time making him chuckle. He grinned at Francis causing the Frenchman to raise his brow. Arthur showed him the time on the watch amused by Francis' widening eyes.
"I believe my tutor is stalling, is he not?" The Frenchman laughed and quietly stood up. He brushed away any mess on his clothes to keep them clean. He picked up the twins setting them by the basket to free the blanket.
"Your first assignment is to figure out what I was singing." Francis folded the blanket while Arthur groaned. He placed the blanket on top of the basket to keep it from falling out and tangling in the horse's legs. He handed it to Arthur so he could lift the twins with both hands.
"How should I know what you were singing? I was half asleep!" Francis smiled and picked up his sons. He tried to mount the horse while holding them, but his foot kept slipping. Arthur put the basket down going over to Francis. He held his arms out for Francis to hand him one of the twins.
"You're going to drop them. At least let me hold Alfred." Francis gave a nod handing him the still sleeping boy. Arthur took the child into his arms allowing Francis to get on without struggle. The blond smiled and took his son back sitting him up front with his brother. Arthur got the basket deciding to keep it with him so Francis wouldn't have to hold everything. He untied his horse from the branch after mounting him.
"Thank you. It's always tough with these two when they sleep." Arthur got on his horse and ruffled the stallion's mane gently. He tied the basket to the side of the horse before taking the reins. He smacked them gently so the horse would start off slow.
"It's not a problem." Arthur muttered staying at Francis side. The two horses began trotting back to the castle as Arthur worked on his assignment. He repeated a few lines trying to understand what they meant. Francis was no help since he refused to give any hints.
"Hm... the first part sounded like clear fountain, and then there was chanting? No, singing. There was a bouquet of roses, and something else about roses." Francis kept a protective arm around the twins as they went to the castle. He plucked a couple of flowers from the trees placing one behind Matthew's ear. The white flower fit perfectly with the strawberry blond hair making Francis smile. He put the second in Alfred's pocket since his hair wasn't long enough to hold the plant.
"That was well for a beginner. I'll sing you the whole song in English one day, but for now we'll work on time." Arthur groaned and put his head down in defeat. He got out his watch holding it up for Francis to see. The Frenchman twirled the chain connected to it for a moment before pushing it away.
"Can't I just point to a clock or show my pocket watch?" Francis shook his head making Arthur groan once more. He stuffed the watch back into his pocket murmuring incoherent words. He gazed into the forest watching animals frolic freely without a care.
"There might not be a clock near you, and you won't have the watch with you forever. Now, to ask 'what time is it', you would say 'quelle heure est-il'." The prince cleared his throat and repeated. He pressed his thumb against his Adam's apple like Francis had done before. He was too embarrassed from last time to ask Francis to do it.
"Quelle heure est-il?" Francis gave a short nod and felt Alfred stirring under his arm. The young boy opened his eyes and began crying. Francis stopped his stallion and tried to shush his wailing son causing Arthur to feel bad for him. Francis brought Alfred close trying to comfort him the best he could.
"May I?" Arthur came closer and held out his arms. Francis handed his son over hoping he would calm down. Arthur held the sniveling boy hushing him quietly. Francis saw Matthew was waking up, and he knew he would cry like his brother. He picked up the blond kissing his forehead softly.
"Thank you so much." He whispered before rocking Matthew to help him stay asleep. Arthur looked at Francis' arms and copied the position. He slowly rocked the child carefully watching his facial expressions. Arthur was relieved to see Alfred's tears were stopping. Alfred wiped his face finally calming down from what made him wake up.
"It's alright. No need to cry." Alfred settled down and tugged Arthur's green cloak to get his attention. Arthur looked down to the sniveling boy who was wiping away a stray tear. He looked into the sorrow filled eyes feeling his heart ache at the sight.
"I had a bad dream." Arthur adjusted his arms to keep Alfred's head upright. He ran his fingers through the honey blond hair tickling Alfred. The child laughed trying to keep his hair out of his face.
"What was it about?" Alfred pouted and looked away. His small fists clenched the hem of his shirt as he remembered. A few parts were quite vague, but he could recall most. He wiped his nose avoiding eye contact with Arthur for the time being.
"I was lost in the woods, and it was dark, and I saw a big, mean monster! It chased me around and said in a scary monster voice, 'I'll eat you!'! I tried fighting, but I saw it had Papa and Matthew in his hands! I wanted to save them, but the monster killed them before I could! Then he went after me, but I couldn't move..." Alfred sniffled and wiped away tears streaming down his face. The prince hummed and reached into his satchel searching for something. Once he found it, he gave Alfred a soft smile. Arthur had been fascinated by the mythical creatures roaming the woods. He spent years studying and practicing magic without anyone knowing.
"I don't normally give these out, but you need it for a dream that awful." Arthur pulled out a necklace with a small, violet colored gem hanging from it. The cord was a navy blue mixing well with the amethyst. Alfred touched the cool gem tracing the patterns with his finger.
"This should keep you safe incase your dreams worsen, or if what you see isn't only in your head." Alfred gasped and put it on with a large grin. He stared at the beautiful color before giggling. He gave it a kiss for extra luck wanting to be fully protected. Arthur laughed at the excitement in the young boy.
"Thank you! I'll wear it forever and never lose it!" The prince chuckled and sat Alfred in front of him. He put an arm around him just like Francis had done. Alfred held onto the arm playing with the fabric of the sleeve. Arthur patted Alfred's head giving his cowlick a soft flick.
"Anything to keep nighttime terrors away." The four found the castle and entered through the garden allowing the twins to play while the adults put the horses in the stables. Francis used an open stable for his horse to rest in. The other horses didn't mind the new addition to the barn animals.
"That was sweet of you, Arthur." The prince blushed and tried to get rid of it by focusing on putting his stallion in his spot. He tossed in an extra barrel of hay to keep him strong for the next ride.
"Well, it was only to prevent him from soiling himself while I held him." Francis gave a smug look at the prince and fixed his ponytail. He put a hand to his hip raising his perfectly shaped brow. Arthur pouted trying to ignore the Frenchman before him.
"Oh? It wasn't because you felt sympathy for my poor baby?" Arthur opened his mouth the retort but nothing came out, so he shook his head and rolled his eyes. He marched out of the barn glaring at Francis who hadn't followed just yet.
"Can we get back to the lesson? I need to know what the hell people are saying!" Francis giggled and stroked his stallion's mane before leaving the stables. They made their way to the front gate with the twins in tow. Arthur reached into his pockets silently summoning candy. He secretly passed it to the children while Francis talked.
"If you wish. Time can be a tricky thing to learn, which is why I'm going to need your pocket watch." Arthur reluctantly handed it over. He shyly moved closer to see what Francis was going to do.