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patandpran · 5 years ago

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The Nuisance and the Handsome Prince - A Sarawatine Medieval AU - Chapter 4

Tine is an aspiring Squire who has been training his whole life to work alongside the Kingdom's finest Knights. Sarawat is a Prince who, on the outside, seems fierce and unapproachable. He is disinterested in any of his royal duties, namely his Knight training.

What happens when Tine is assigned to be the fierce and handsome prince's Squire?

Aka The Medieval AU that I can't get out of my head.

Read on Archiveofourown here, Read the prequel by the lovely @sarawatism here

In the days that followed, Tine started to feel like there was somewhat of a routine in place that he could get used to that followed as such:

Breakfast with Fong, morning training with Sarawat showing up late and earning an earful of threats from Head Trainer Dim, lunch with Ohm where the two friends would try to decipher the inner workings of the complicated relationships between members of the court, attending some sort of social engagement with the Prince that Tine always used as time to take stock of what they had learned that day, an evening meal with Fong where they recapped the day and Fong filled Tine in on the days gossip and each evening closed with a private training session with Sarawat where Tine was slowly starting to see subtle improvements in the Prince’s technique...

Tonight was no different with the arrival of a silver tray heaped with food and a folded piece of parchment containing the meeting place of tonight’s training session enclosed with the Wolf wax Insignia. Tine found himself looking forward to his time alone with the Prince, if only to know that it seemed to be the only time that Sarawat seemed to let his guard down and actually take his training somewhat seriously.

“Where are you slinking off to tonight?” Fong asked with an amused curve to his lips.

“Looks like we’re meeting at the stables.” Tine responded.

He had filled Fong in on his extra training sessions with the Prince. Tine knew it was a bit of a risk to trust someone he had known for such a short time but he just had a good instinct about Fong.

“Maybe you’re going for an evening ride.” Fong waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Tine felt his cheeks flush involuntarily at Fong’s teasing but covered it by giving Fong a playful punch in the arm. “I should go. Do you mind cleaning this up?”

“It is my duty whether I want to or not.” Fong remarked dryly and Tine gave him an appreciative nod before running off to the stables.

The need for discretion about their after hours meetings had been Sarawat’s request which is why the location changed every day. He did not want the news of him doing extra practice to be shared with anyone in the court as he wanted to keep up his aloof appearance. This confounded Tine to no end but he respected the Prince’s wishes.

When he arrived at the stables, it seemed like Sarawat had yet to arrive so Tine made himself busy with grooming the Princes horse. He almost leapt out of his skin when he heard a ruckus coming from a few stalls down. Without a second thought, Tine pulled out his sword and advanced upon the stall to investigate.

“Who’s there?” Tine called out as he neared the source of the sound.

A silence loomed before two sets of giggles erupted from the empty stall. Tine relaxed as he saw Sir Boss and Sir Man’s heads pop into view. From Fong’s gossip sessions, Tine had quickly learned that The Princes closest confidants were less members of the court and regarded more as court jesters with the type of ridiculous antics that they got up to.

They were surprisingly quite talented in their training but took little else in their lives seriously. Tine envied how carefree their lifestyles were due to the security of their families being members of the court. They had time to enjoy themselves because they did not need to busy themselves with chores and other housework like Tine had when he was growing up.

“Sir Man, Sir Boss.” Tine sheathed his sword and nodded at the two men in front of him. “What can we attribute your presence this evening to?”

“We’ve seen Wat sneaking away from his quarters every night and we knew we had to launch an investigation into his shifty behaviour.” Man explained plainly before Boss chimed in, “We thought he was trying to woo a maiden in secret but, as it turns out, maybe he’s trying to woo his Squire instead.”

Tine thanked the Gods that it was such a late hour and there were not many candles lit in the stables as his cheeks were quite flushed due to Boss’s suggestive comment. He was sure that Boss meant nothing by it other than to get a rise out of Tine.

“Sorry to disappoint but we are just meeting up for a training session.” Tine answered cooly and made his way back to Sarawat’s horse to finish the brushing regiment. “How did you find out about this anyway?”

“We overheard a rather loudmouthed caste servant talking about it on his way to the kitchen.” Boss answered and both he and Man made their closer to the stall that Tine was working in.

Tine silently cursed Fong’s loud mouth but continued to give all of his focus to Sarawat’s steed. In some ways, Tine hoped that Sarawat did not bother to show up because the situation was already humiliating enough.

“What are you two blockheads doing here?”

The three young men looked up to see the Prince walk into the table after he asked his question. He was leading a horse that Tine was not familiar with into the stable and Tine wondered what the intention behind it was. Sarawat’s question inspired both Man and Boss to fall into a fit of laugher so intense that Tine worried for their health.

Sarawat shook his head at his idiotic friends and continued toward Tine, “Sorry to keep you waiting but I had to collect my brother’s horse so that we could ride together.”

“Oh.” That was all that Tine could put into the words as the situation was just too bizarre for him to navigate.

“Don’t worry, Tine.” Sarawat faced out toward his friends and passed the lead for the horse to Tine. “Sir Man and Sir Boss will not be joining on us this evening. In fact, I don’t remember inviting them along in the first place.”

Man and Boss shared a look of mischievousness between them before Man blurted out, “We chose to invite ourselves. I am not about to apologize for being worried about a friend’s wellbeing considering his rather out of character behavior.”

Sarawat shot a glare toward Man and Boss before mounting his horse. He nodded for Tine to do the same so Tine followed the silent order of the Prince. “You two will not follow us or I will have your heads.”

This inspired Man and Boss to fall into another fit of laughter which distracted them for long enough for Tine and Sarawat to take off into the night on their horses. Tine could heard the echo of the Prince’s closest friend’s laughter from over a mile away as he followed Sarawat into the chill of the evening.

Sarawat had his horse at a quick clip and Tine’s own horse seemed to be struggling to keep up. Tine wondered if this was due to the fact the the Prince had such a strong connection with his steed while Tine had only met the horse he was riding mere moments before. Tine called into the wind, “Wat, where are we going? What skills are we working on tonight?”

“We’re not training tonight.” Sarawat yelled in response, his hair whipping in the current of their gallop. “We’re doing something that is entirely foreign to you, Tine, we’re going to have fun.”

Tine tried not to be deeply offended by the accusation but he understood where the Prince was coming from. He was all business and while he had sometimes let his seriousness slip slightly, Sarawat had really only seen the determined and focused Squire side of Tine and nothing else. He understood why Sarawat might have the impression that Tine had an ‘all work and no play’ approach to life but Tine was going to show Sarawat that he was wrong.

Tine leaned forward and gently clicked his heels to the horses’s side to encourage his horse to catch up with Sarawat’s. He quickly passed by Sarawat and began to increase his speed incrementally.

“Are you trying go race with me, Tine?” Sarawat questioned, a twinkle of amusement in his tone.

“Wat, don’t you know if it is not considered a race when you know who is going to win?” Tine called back to the Prince and encouraged his horse to go even faster.

“Good thing I am a born winner!” Sarawat cried out and seemed to accept the challenge without a second thought.

Tine heard the hooves of Sarawat’s horse getting closer and tried desperately to get his own horse to keep up the speed they had set but the steed seemed to be slowly losing momentum. It did not take long for Sarawat to gain on Tine and Tine chanced a look over at the Prince and his breath was stolen away.

Sarawat was completely in his element. The Wolf Prince was riding under the full moon in all his lupine glory.

Tine couldn’t look away as the image was so entirely captivating. It made Tine even more aware of what a waste it was for Sarawat to be so disinterested in his royal duties and yet, the contradiction was exactly what made Tine so drawn to the Prince. He wondered how different the world would be when Sarawat took the throne and hoped that his predictions were right about the future king. It made Tine momentarily question his mission of vengeance but Tine’s commitment to his cause would always overpower a fleeting sense of contradiction.

The kingdom was corrupted. The attack on Tine’s father had proven what he had always instilled in Tine. Question power - challenge authority. Just because Tine was so immersed in the world of thrones and crowns did not mean that he would change his plan to burn it all down to ashes to make up for what the royal family had done to his.

The realization made Tine bring his horse to an abrupt halt. Sarawat surged on and as much as Tine had enjoyed the moment with the Prince, he could no longer engage in this kind of exchange with him. It had to be business from now if Tine was going to turn the Prince into a strong enough fighter to become a true Knight. Tine needed the promotion so that to could also rise to the station where he could challenge the Head Knight. Without a shift in class, the proposition of a match would never be taken seriously and, without that, Tine could never avenge his fathers attack.

It took a moment for Sarawat to realize that Tine was no longer beside him and when he did, Tine took off back toward the stables to put distance between the two of them. He could not explain to the Prince what was going on without revealing his secret.

Tine heard Sarawat calling after him in confusion but he had to ignore the pull that he felt toward the Prince. Tine was shocked to find his eyes filling with frustrated tears but he attributed their presence to the wind whipping in his face. Tine left Sarawat yelling after him, his only goal to keep moving away from the Prince and the power he held over Tine.

The Prince was left alone in the night, wondering why his Squire had seemingly begun to let down his walls before quickly throwing them back up. He was left behind.

…A wolf howling in the wind.

*********

Sarawat was colder than usual over the next few days during their scheduled training sessions and Tine had yet to receive another message from him at dinner. Fong regarded Tine sympathetically every evening that passed without a letter but Tine played it off as if it meant nothing to him. It was better this way anyway. Tine overheard Sir Man and Sir Boss giving the Prince a hard time about the encounter in the stables but with one sharp look, the teasing came to an end and was never brought up again. Sarawat and Tine’s interactions were brief and not many words were shared between them. Tine tried not to take it personally considering he was the one that had caused the wall between them to be erected in the first place.

One morning, before training, Tine was tending to the Prince’s horse when he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. He turned, expecting to see Ohm or even Man or Boss to give him a hard time about one thing or another. Instead, Tine was faced with Lord Mil shining a broad grin at him.

“Squire Tine.” Mil addressed Tine and Tine had to fight to keep his composure. The Lord continued, “I just wanted to check in with you. It seems like the Prince has been treating you a bit coldly lately. Did something happen between the two of you?”

Tine was at a complete loss of words but Mil was patient enough to wait for him to find his thoughts. The Lord seemed genuinely interested in Tine’s response and despite his instincts to punch Mil in the nose, Tine got himself together and answered, “Lord Mil, I appreciate your concern but the Prince and I are just fine, despite whatever rumours seem to be circulating…”

“I know the Prince well. He is probably just being stubborn because he is not getting what he wants. I think that it is good of you to be pushing him the way you are. He needs someone that doesn’t just tolerate his behaviour.” Mil remarked, taking out his hard and practicing some sword handling skills. “I know that we are not as familiar with one another but I have heard quite a bit about you from my own Squire and I saw your skills during the Squire Trials. You are quite talented in your own right.”

Tine didn’t know how to process a compliment coming from the person who was supposed to be his enemy. He so wished that Ohm was present to interrupt the interaction but his friend was nowhere to be seen, probably sent away by Mil to collect materials for that very reason.

“T-thank you.” Tine managed to choke out despite his better judgment.

Lord Mil seemed satisfied with this response and held out his sword in a manner that suggested that he wanted Tine to take it. The last thing that Tine wanted to do was hold the very weapon that his father had forged that inspired the attack in the first place. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and started to back away slowly from Mil, earning himself a concerned look from the Lord.

“Tine, are you feeling all right?” Mil asked as Tine clamoured backward, dust kicking up in his wake. “Are you dehydrated? Do you need water or something else? I can call a servant to fetch some…”

This was too much to handle. He had been able to tolerate Mil’s presence when he was at a distance but without someone or something to serve as an excuse for his escape, Tine felt like he was utterly drowning. The worst part of it all was that Mil seemed to actually being quite a decent person despite his relation to his evil father.

“Why don’t you just give him some space, Mil?”

The Prince’s voice cut into Tine’s awareness and even though his vision was blurring slightly due to how overwhelmed he felt, he was incredibly thankful for Sarawat’s presence, even though the tension between them was still so high.

Sarawat had inserted himself between the Lord and Tine in an effort that was perplexingly protective. Tine had never anticipated that Sarawat would act in such a manner, especially considering the unresolved conflict between them. Tine found himself at a crossroads about how he should feel but was innately comforted by the Prince’s intervention into the matter.

“I didn’t mean any offence.” Mil expressed in a seemingly innocent tone and quickly put his sword away. “I’ve never known a Squire to be afraid of Knight’s sword.”

Tine shivered at Mil’s response. He so wished that he had the courage to stand up for himself but because of the complexities of the situation, his head was reeling too much for him to properly form a response.

Sarawat studied the expression on Tine’s face momentarily before turning back toward Mil and spitting out, “Maybe it is the Knight and not the sword that he is afraid of.”

#2gether #Sarawat x Tine #sarawatine #stilll 2gether #Brightwin #bright vachirawit #win metawin #my writing #tine x sarawat #2gether the series #2gether fanifc #thai bl #gmmtv #fanfic #the nuisance and the handsome prince

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