The Prince Forth & The Pauper by ARIE78 (Completed)

Chapter: 18. An Encouraging......

~A week later~

Forth sighed. A week had passed since the accident and here he was trying to act formal in front of guests while his fiancé fussed every two seconds over the wound that he had unwittingly caused.

“Beam, will you stop that? I’m trying to greet guests.”

Beam looked up at him from where he had been checking on Forth’s bandages for about the 20th time in as many minutes. He pouted as he pushed Forth’s shirt back down to its proper placement. “I don’t know why we’re doing this now anyway, it’s not like you’re completely better. You should have postponed this.”

Forth tutted and put his arm around Beam’s waist, pulling him closer, before wincing slightly at the pain the action caused. “The invitations were already sent out to the royal dignitaries of other kingdoms and some were already on their way when the accident happened. We couldn’t just send a message and say ‘sorry, it’s been cancelled’ now could we?” He let go of Beam to shake someone’s hand who came over. “Welcome.” He smiled as the person left before turning again to Beam.

“But why couldn’t Aug-”

Forth sighed and put his finger on Beam’s lips. “Shh, I know what you’re going to say. ‘Why couldn’t August and Wayo be the ones having the engagement party? And you already know the answer. The public still haven’t forgiven Wayo for what happened last week, even if we have. He’s going to have to gain their trust before he can think about getting married to August.” He smiled and ruffled Beam’s hair. “So that leaves us...unless all this argument is because you don’t actually want to marry me?” He dropped his hand from Beam’s hair, feeling slightly put out.

Beam sighed, shaking his head and gently put his arms around Forth’s waist, trying his hardest not to hurt him. “Of course I want to, stupid.”

“Look at you two, so cute.”

Both Beam and Forth turned to the voice, jumping slightly at having forgotten they were meant to be greeting people. Beam quickly let go and stepped back, so that Forth could greet him, still unsure of what he should do and leaving the greetings to Forth.

Forth’s face split into a grin. “Liam! It’s good to see you again.” He walked forwards, giving him and awkward hug so that he didn’t hurt himself too much.

“It’s good to see you too Forth, but I’m much more interested in meeting the person who won your heart.” He peeked around Forth when he was let go and smiled at Beam. “Is this shy person the one?”

Forth laughed, smiling properly instead of his usual smile when greeting guests, showing his friendship with the other prince. “You just want to embarrass him, don’t you?”

Liam grinned. “Maybe.” He walked over to Beam and bowed before taking his hand and giving it a light kiss, a symbol often used on the bride to be. “Congratulations, on your wedding.”

Beam blushed at the sudden formality and the indecency of being thought of as the bride. He pulled his hand away but not suddenly, not wanting it to be seen as rude, having had another talk with Kit on proper etiquette. “Thanks.” He looked away from Liam, not knowing what to do now.

Liam laughed. “I didn’t mean to offend you, I was just joking.” He smiled down at Beam, taking his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. “I just wanted to see what kind of person Forth had fallen for. We’ve been friends since we were young but I’ve never seen him in love.” He whispered this in Beam’s ear as he looked over at Forth who had been called over to greet someone else. They watched as Forth was drawn into a conversation and blushed slightly, his hand behind his head as he played with his own hair but at the same time shooting glances over at Beam every so often to make sure he was OK. “See? I’ve never seen him like this before. You’ll look after him, won’t you?”