Unfaithful

The Arrangement

  (Updates will either be really consistent or really sporadic. Depends on my motivation.)

 Hajime Hinata was accustomed to a life of luxury. 

   Of course, that's to be expected as you're raised as first in line to the heir of Jabberwock. It's a lovely kingdom really, and quite large too-spanning thousands of miles with lots of beaches, markets, and year-round great weather. The only problem was that it was engaged in a feud for nearly a century with the Kingdom next door but finally, finally they were just beginning to make up. Hajime didn't think much of it of course, the country's politics weren't exactly his problem yet and even when he did have to do something, he made his sister help a lot.

   Chiaki Nanami was his step-sister.

   A few years after Hajime's father died, his mother married Chiaki's father. He and Chiaki were longtime friends beforehand and everyone thought they would end up getting married. But then of course their parents married and they settled for being close siblings. 

   Other than talking with Chiaki, there wasn't much to do in the empty much-too-large palace. He'd spend his days wandering around aimlessly trying to find something to entertain himself with. Needless to say, Hajime Hinata was bored all of the time. 

   But on a rainy Saturday afternoon, some excitement was about to find him once again. . .

   Hajime sat on a chair, looking out a wall-length window, watching raindrops race each other down the glass. Now he was too proud to admit it, but he secretly rooted for certain raindrops to win. Chiaki had perched himself on one of the arm's of said chair, twirling her fingers through his spiky oak-colored hair idly as his mother approached, both looking up at the sound of her soft footsteps. 

   Both were surprised; they didn't often see her unless it was evening or mealtime as she kept herself quite busy during the day. And yet here she was, standing in front of them awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs nervously. 

   The Queen was a shy person in general but tough in business deals when it really mattered. She was a really gentle, kind, supportive person-some of her most adored qualities. The entirety of Jabberwock absolutely adored her and would probably sacrifice all of their earthly possessions to her if she asked nicely. Seeing her so hesitant and awkward was worrying; something really big must have been going on.

   "Hey you two. . ," She greeted them in her soft, soothing voice, "Do you guys have a couple minutes?"

   Hajime blinks. "Sure. Is everything alright?"

   The elegant lady scratches the back of her neck nervously. "So as you know, we've been trying our best to patch things up with the neighboring kingdom, right? And we've been trying to find a way to make sure we never fight like that again; we want to unite our two lands. . ." She begins, trailing off glancing out the window.

   Chiaki tilts her head to the side. "Where are you going with this?" She asks slowly, but she really didn't need to ask; Chiaki could already tell where she was going with this. 

   ". . .They have-the rulers there that is-have a son and a niece. A contract has been drawn up-Chiaki you will marry the son and Hajime will marry the niece." She explains. 

   Hajime is on his feet in an instant, getting all up in his mother's face. "You want me to do what?! You can't just force me to marry someone I haven't even met! Are you crazy?!" He seethes.

   Chiaki grabs onto his arm and tugs him back, giving the Queen some room to breath. "Are you sure this is going to happen?" She asks. 

   The Queen nods. "Positive. It's one-hundred percent settled. We're going tomorrow to stay at their castle for two weeks to get to know each other. Their names are Sonia and Nagito, they're really nice people. They-"