Chapter Text
“You think you can beat me, Racer!?” Jack bellowed over the raging wind, giving the man beside him a challenging glare.
The man in question—Race—smirked, returning the look with one of his own. “I don’t think I can. I know I can!” He blew a raspberry at the prince.
Jack gasped in faux-offence. “You did not just do that. You are going down!”
“In history, maybe! Eat my dust, Kelly!” Race declared loudly. With that, he gripped the reins of his horse tighter and bounced them so she went faster, passing Jack easily. “Hyah!”
Not about to lose, Jack copied the action, and his own stallion sped up so he was a mere inch behind Race and his mare. He had to hand it to the castle’s horsemen: they raised healthy horses that were extremely speedy. However, Race was just as good, if not better—his mother had raised horses her whole life alongside her grandmother who did the same, so he had generations worth of knowledge. Translation: he knew how to properly care for his horses so they went fast.
The only sound in the air aside from their playful banter was the constant, rapid clopping of hooves. Jack was leaning forward so his head was just behind his horse’s ears, and Race was raised from the saddle, opting for the air as a better seat. He scoffed at the funny looking position before determinedly forcing his stallion to go faster.
That morning, Jack had woken up early—the sun hadn’t even risen yet, only a mere sliver of honey on a grey canvas at that point—and slinked out of the castle undetected. Quietly, he tiptoed to the stables, saddled up a horse (not his own, or else the staff would know he left), and took off riding.
It was a regular thing he did. Sneaking out, that is. He desperately needed some sort of escape from the constant grit of his daily life or else he’d go crazy. The first day he did it was memorable on it’s own; one day he waited until nightfall, navigated his way past the guards and through the castle until he was out, and simply wandered. That night was many years ago, and coincidentally, was the night he met Race.
You don’t realize how creepy it is to be silently stalking in the bushes until someone pounces on you from behind and holds a dagger (with a dull blade, but still a dagger) to your throat, demanding to know what you’re doing on their private property.
Needless to say, ever since that night, Race and Jack have been practically inseparable. The only reason they were ever apart was that Jack was a prince and actually needed to return to the castle eventually. Although, the times the two did spend together were memorable as they spent it on adventures and doing wild, extremely un-prince-like activities. For example, at that moment, they were horse racing.
Well, at first they were just riding. Race was the only one of his town friends awake when Jack rode up to his part of the village, which was a bit disconnected from the rest—meant for the poorer folks. They both needed an escape that day, so Race brought out his horse and off they went.
It didn’t turn into racing until Jack mentioned how the new horses at the castle that year were so, so fast, probably faster than any horse he’d ever seen. Which in all honesty, wasn’t a lie. But of course, Race saw that as a challenge, and off they went.
The sound of Race yelling broke Jack from his musings. “Woah! Slow down, girl! Jack, slow down!”
Jack pulled back on the reins of his horse, pressing his feet hard into the stirrups. Just in time, as the strong stallion scuffled to a stop just in front of a large tree trunk that obstructed the path they were racing on. The sudden halt made Jack violently lurch forward, but his hold on the reins saved him from going flying. From his high position, he could see that the log wasn’t just long, but thick.
Race dismounted his mare, keeping her reins tight in his hands. He experimentally pushed his foot against the log, the only result being a slight sway.
“Something tells me that this ain’t moving one bit,” Jack voiced both their thoughts out loud.
Race nodded. “Nope. Not an inch. Hey, you mind reporting this over to them officials at’cha castle? I don’t want me and Delilah’s riding path blocked.” Jack scoffed as he stepped off his horse.
“Yeah, and say what? I was out horse racing with one of my subjects when I definitely wasn’t supposed to and discovered a huge, fallen tree trunk in a backroad that I almost got vaulted over?”
“Somethin’ like that, yea,” Race’s expression was nothing short of snarky, and failed to conceal a snort at Jack’s unamused face. He leaned against the side of Delilah, his mare with a coat the colour of sand, and snagged a cigar out of one of the saddlebags. As he lit it with a match and inserted the tip into his mouth, he spoke again. “So, Jackie boy, I’s think because I reached the trunk first and didn’t almost get catapulted over, I won.”
“Pft— Cha— What?!” Jack scoffed. “That was never discussed!”
“Uh, duh, I communicated it to yous telepathically, didn’t ya’ get it?” He cocked an eyebrow, biting down on the end of his cigar. “First person to reach the ginormous fallen tree in the middle of a common walking path for our part of the village because this kingdom don’t give a shit about the poor areas, wins.”
Jack definitely didn’t miss the venom in Race’s voice and winced at it. However, he didn’t say anything back, because he wasn’t all that wrong. While Jack undoubtedly cared for all his subjects (he didn’t even like using that word), rich or poor, the castle staff and various councils definitely did not share the sentiment. Whenever he mentioned anything about the needs of the citizens, especially the less fortunate folk, the staff gave him a pitiful smile and an empty promise of fixing whatever the issue was. Besides, his mother was the one with that kind of power.
So instead, Jack changed the topic. “Well, hey, Delilah was fast today. Faster than the wind!”
Jack picked the right thing to say, as Race’s expression immediately brightened at the mention of his prized horse. “Of course she was! My baby girl is always the best horse around. Aren’t you, Deli-ly, aren’t you? Oh, yes you are!” His speech devolved into high-pitched baby talk, and he cupped Delilah’s muzzle and jaw with his calloused hands. The laugh Jack let out was teasing, but affectionate.
“Certainly gave this horse 'ere and my loudmouth a run for our money.” Jack looked over his shoulder at his horse, a tall and strong stallion named Thunder with hair and a coat darker than night. Thunder flicked his tail at him.
“Course we did, Delilah don't mess around.” Race gave one last nuzzle to his beloved mare before directing his attention to Thunder. He stared at him with inquisitive eyes, his right eyebrow slowly rising up his forehead. After a moment, he walked up to and inspected him in a very hands-on manner. Finally came his judgement, in a voice so judgemental it nearly made Jack laugh: “Christ, what are them castle-folk feeding these here horses? Darlin’ is more malnourished than our oldest during the winter!”
Jack knew Race didn’t expect an actual answer, too caught up in his own world to hear or care, so he simply shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t watch the stablehands.”
“Poor boy, he’s probably starving,” It was clear Race was six feet deep in a horse bout, and Jack had learned to just let them pass, so he stepped to the side. “What an angel, I’m so sorry. I’ll get you some good food, baby.”
The Prince watched as he quickly shuffled over to Delilah’s saddlebag, rummaged through it and pulled out a bag of oats that he had no doubt was homegrown. He offered a handful to the stallion, of which was accepted. Jack gagged when horse tongue touched Race’s hand, and made a mental note to not touch his hand until he knew it was washed.
“Here, lead him over here,” Race pointed to a direction past the trees, grabbed Delilah’s reins and walked over to a creek Jack hadn’t even noticed was there. He obeyed, and once presented the water, Thunder gladly leaned down and lapped it up, Delilah following suit. Jack sighed and fell to the ground, sitting on the edge with his feet dangling just millimetres above the water. “Seriously, tell whoever’s in charge of the horses to put more fibre in their diet. Baby boy is way too thin for his age!” Was Race’s final statement before copying Jack and collapsing, lying flat on his back.
Jack looked over at Race with an amused expression, lips tugged up. “You think they’d listen to me?”
He covered his eyes with a hand. “Excuse me, Your Highness, for thinkin’ that the people who serve you would listen to you. Ain’t that theys job? To obey you?”
“I know nothing about the care of horses, Racer. I just know how to ride them, and how to handle them if they get out of control. There is no way they’d take me seriously,” Jack rolled his eyes. “‘Sides, didn’t ya’ hear the news? I’m no longer a bachelor. Everyone’s too focused on the wedding to give a damn about the horse’s diet.”
“Wedding?” Race spoke the word like it was foreign.
“Tch, you didn’t hear? I’m getting married to Katherine Pulitzer.”
“As in Princess Katherine Pulitzer? Daughter of King Joseph Pulitzer?”
“The one and only. S’posed to be good for us, combining our wealth and all. But I don’t like it one bit.”
Race rolled over so he was on his side facing Jack, head resting in a hand. “Jack Kelly, a prince who sneaks out to race horses with a poor peasant, opposin’ a royally arranged marriage? Would’a never thunk.”
“Shut up,” Jack shoved Race without looking at him, causing his aim to be incredibly sloppy and nowhere near his target. He chose to ignore the snickering that followed. “It just feels like this is gonna change things, you know? Mama said it’s gonna be her and Pulitzer working out most things, so who knows what else is going to be decided for me without even having a say. It’s like, do I not have control over my own future anymore?”
Surprisingly, Race nodded, his face turning thoughtful. He liked that about him, the way he could turn from cocky to genuine in a split moment made it easy to befriend him despite their huge social class difference. A silence followed, and Jack stared out on the creek solemnly, the sound of slurping horses being his coming of age background music.
Eventually Race speaks, removing the cigar from his mouth as he does. “Well more things will prob'ly be done without your say-so, because you’s a fancy prince and all. They probably think what they’re doing is best, and that someone high up like you won’t be bothered to think twice. Yea, you may not be able to make some decisions, like gettin’ married. And that sucks. But you can control what you do with those decisions. You know what I mean? Like, choosing what to do next.”
Jack considers his words. The following silence was comfortable, not strained, and the Prince released a long breath as he lay down to join Race on the ground. Race absentmindedly stroked Delilah’s legs as he stared up at the sky, the first clouds of the morning beginning to form.
“Race? Even if I get married, we can still do stuff like this, right?”
“O’course, Jackie. I don’t care if yous get married ten times, you better still make time for me to kick your ass in these games.”
“Shut up. I’ll win next time.”
“Doubt it.”
No more was said between them, as the morning sky that was blooming with colour became much more interesting. Rich oranges and yellows boldly streaked across, meeting and intertwining with wispy off-white clouds. The horses sat down as well, resting on their legs and lowering their heads.
It was peaceful. Honestly, Jack couldn’t remember the last time he felt this relaxed. He felt like he could stay out here all morning, all day even. His mind started to fall hazy, so with the rising sun providing a serene ambience, Jack closed his eyes.
Suddenly: “Prince Jack!”
The abruptness of the voice makes all four on the riverbank startle, each with varying degrees of surprise. Race, who never fully let his guard down, only flinched a bit, while Jack nearly fell into the creek. When he hastily looked over his shoulder to see who called for him, he’s incredibly thankful he didn’t completely fall in; David.
David rode up on a horse of his own, and Jack could tell from his expression alone that he has been searching for him for a while—an awkward but guilt-inducing cross between desperation and frustration. He can feel Race looking at him, and didn’t need to turn to know it was the equivalent of Oh, Shit.
When Jack spoke up, his tone was a lot more embarrassed than what he intended for it to be. “Heeey, Davey!”
Just as regular as it was for Jack to sneak out of the castle, it was regular for David to come searching for him. Every single time. If Jack couldn’t be found, the staff went to David, asking where he was, and bad things happened when the crowned Prince couldn't be found. In fact, he’s come after him so many times, he’s memorized the places he frequents the most and saves time by checking them first. However, Jack was far away from any of his usual places this time, which he was then realizing might be a bad thing.
Is it just Jack, or are David’s hands shaking as they hold his horse’s reins? Jack almost felt bad. He half-heartedly rises from the ground, dusting off his pants with his fingertips. Race mumbled a greeting to David that was paired with a two-fingered forehead salute, but either he didn’t hear it or he did and didn’t acknowledge it.
David closed his eyes and took in a breath through his nose that made his shoulders rise. Finally, with a tone that was dripping with exasperation came, “Your Highness, I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”
“And I am so glad, you’re my knight on a white horse, Dave,” Jack shot back with a wink, making a point to pet the white stallion he’s on. Success came in the form of a barely there flush spreading on David’s cheeks, but there was also the way he sighed, and how he hears Race muttering how all of them castle horses must be underfed. He clears his throat. “I know you must have missed me so much. Your dedication is flattering, really.”
That earned a snort from Race, and David looks away from Jack at the rising sun. Okay, tough crowd. He decided to redirect. “So tell me, Davey,” Jack absentmindedly played with the reins of the horse he’s on. “What ever so important duties do I have today that you came to fetch me for?”
“None immediately this morning. But at one o’clock sharp, you and Her Majesty have a meeting with King Joseph and Princess Katherine. Don’t you remember?”
Realization hit Jack like a raging bull. He groaned. “Right. That.” A pause. “Say, Dave, you are looking extra wonderful this morning. You think I can stay—”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Pleaaaase?”
David sighed. “No, Your Highness. I’m not coming back out here later. Come on.”
Jack gave a defeated huff that turned into a grunt as he mounted Thunder again. After giving a goodbye wave to Race, he maneuvered his horse into a trot. He felt a cold pang reverberate in his chest as he watched Race return the wave and go back to basking in the morning sun; a feeling he desperately tried to pretend wasn’t jealousy.
The ride home to the castle was silent, and unlike before, Jack couldn't really place it as comfortable or tense. He meant to ask, but when they arrived back at the castle, staff pulled him off before he could say anything. With every minute that passed, a knot of dread in his stomach grew, and forced it away at lunch by eating until he was full.
It couldn’t be that bad. Perhaps he was overthinking it.
———
Jack was definitely not overthinking it. It was just as awful as he thought it would be.
The meeting was held in the smallest of the castle’s several meeting rooms, but the “smallest” was still a huge size that intimidated him from the get-go. A long and thin mahogany table stretched the length of the room, fancy velvet and dark oak chairs spaced evenly apart.
Jack and Medda arrived first, valet and lady-in-waiting-less, dressed in finer, cleaner clothes than usual and seated at one of the rounded ends of the table. Medda sat at the head, with Jack on the very first seat to her left. From there, they waited patiently.
Their guests arrived about five minutes later, surrounded by guards and various other staff from their own kingdom, making their entrance unmistakable. The former royals rose to greet them, and each noble gave a half bow. This was the first time Jack had seen either since a Christmas ball several months prior, and both had seemingly matured since.
Princess Katherine was a resplendent vision, dressed in a violet dress with bell sleeves, pale yellow accents decorating the skirt and arms. A silver tiara with multiple shining gems rested upon her head over copper coloured curls that fell freely to her shoulders. It didn’t take much to recognize that she was certainly beautiful, and the refined elegance in every movement she made only added to her enchanting aura.
Then, there was King Joseph, who had an equally enchanting aura—but the difference was that while Katherine’s felt like a dreamy spell, his felt like a dizzying hex. He was dressed finely in a crisp jet black suit, the silver embroidery on it making him look like a million dollars, and a similarly decorated cape fell to his ankles. A tall, golden crown thats metal weaved into intricate patterns and held priceless jewels sat on his head, overtop his dark champagne blonde hair. Jack elected to ignore the grey hairs peeking from under the crown.
As soon as Joseph’s eyes flicked over to Jack and the two made eye contact, Jack felt sick. They didn’t have the best track record, per se; there was an incident at an event once that, ever since, has made the King constantly look at him like he insulted him and his entire bloodline to his face. It’s a long story, but it involves miscommunication and a barrel of cold water. Definitely not Jack’s proudest moment.
Finally, when all of the monarchs took their seats at their respective ends of the table, Medda was the first to speak. “Good afternoon, Your Majesty, Your Highness. It’s wonderful to see you.”
“It’s wonderful to be here, Queen Medda,” Joseph smiled kindly. Something about the way he spoke irked Jack, but he kept his mouth shut. “I’m so glad that you agreed to my proposal of Katherine and Jack’s marriage.”
So it was his idea? Jack cursed mentally. Who was he kidding, of course it was. Mama would never think of such a horrible idea. Perhaps he was biased, but he had also heard from some commoner friends of his that Joseph didn’t have the greatest reputation among his citizens. It only made sense.
“But of course. It’s in our best interests to combine our resources, as then together we will be the second biggest and wealthiest kingdom in the country.” Medda said.
“Exactly. It’s… genius,” Joseph’s tone was cool and calculated, as expected of a king. It made Jack want to punch him in the face. As if reading his mind, his eyes moved to inspect Jack for a moment, which made him swallow nervously and sit up straighter. To his surprise, the king addressed him. “Prince Jack, aren’t you thrilled for this opportunity?”
No, Jack almost answered in reflex, absolutely not, are you mad? He had to bite down on his tongue to keep the words from escaping his throat. All three were looking at him expectantly, so he smiled his perfect prince smile and nodded. “Of course. Anything to improve the welfare of our kingdoms.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Medda smile proudly at his answer, which almost made it all worth it. For Joseph it took a moment—and Jack picked up on that hesitation—before he grinned, and when he did, it was slow and coy. “Wise words. You’ve raised a fine young man, Miss Medda. Katherine, you’re just as excited, aren’t you darling?” Hearing her name made Katherine blink suddenly, as if she was lost in a trance. Nobody else noticed though, as she recovered with grace.
“But of course,” Katherine gave an alluring smile. “The interests of my kingdom always come first, and this will enhance it immensely. I am overjoyed to be doing this.”
Talk about a model answer.
Joseph’s smile remained triumphant. “Excellent. I’m happy you two are looking forward to it so greatly,” His eyes returned to Medda, “So, Queen Medda, how do you suppose we effectively combine our resources in a way that will prove longevity?”
Then, several minutes of talking between Medda and Joseph passed that covered the bare basics of just how they’ll go about everything, how they’ll combine their land and money. Their conversation was punctuated with frequent “Mhm,”s, and “I see." There were also many “Yes, but”s, which Jack knew was the polite way for royals to disagree with each other without affronting the other and causing a civil war. He pretended he was coughing to stifle a laugh.
Just as Jack was about to tune out and act like he was paying his utmost attention (a craft he had mastered through years of trial and error), his name was brought up.
“Jack, Princess Katherine,” Medda rose from her seat, the skirt of her basil green gown sweeping in circles. Joseph did the same. “I’m going to give King Joseph here a look around so we can better assess the situation and come to more efficient conclusions. You two stay here, talk! Decide what decorations you’ll want for the ceremony, okay?” Though it ended in question, she left no room for response, as almost immediately after that she left the meeting room with Joseph in tow. Then, Jack and Katherine were alone.
It was surprising they were alone. Jack did a double-take around the room, and there were shockingly no staff in sight, not even guards. He presumed there were some guards outside the doors just in case, as he learned the hard way that there is always at least one guard near at all times. There weren't any close enough to hear them, though. His eyes went over to Katherine, only to see she was already looking at him. When they made eye contact, she cracked a lazy half smile.
“So, Jack,” She said simply. Jack gave a short laugh.
“So, Katherine,” He copied. A bit of silence passed before he cleared his throat. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that neither of us are actually interested in the other romantically, and are being forced into this marriage because our parents think it’s the optimal decision.”
Katherine wasted no time replying. “Yup. No offence Jack, but you are so not my type.”
Jack barked a laugh that immediately made him slap a hand over his mouth, conscious of any staff lingering outside the doors. They would definitely hear that. “None taken. I’m just glad the feeling is mutual.”
The two had met before on multiple occasions, at various banquets, parties and balls. They clicked easily, Katherine being the only person to match Jack’s sharp tongue, and stayed close during gatherings. More than once Katherine has gone to dance with Jack to avoid an old duke asking for one, and Jack has stayed close to Katherine when naive princesses would make heart-eyes at him.
“Tell me, Jack. What colour theme should we have for our wedding?” Katherine asked in a grand voice, giggling at Jack’s scoff that followed.
“I dunno. Personally, I was thinking maybe brown and… green. You know, real classy colours.”
“How lovely, I was thinking the same thing. And in the reception, the only menu should be only apples. They’re my favourite fruit.”
“Anything for the bride,” Jack clicked his tongue and winked, laughing when she glared at him. “What! I’m saying that as the groom, I must serve my bride—”
“You’re awfully close to a beating, Kelly.”
“Now, now, don’t bring out the, ‘Kelly’, Kath. Not in the castle. My point is—”
“I will walk across this room and slap you.”
“Try it.”
She did try, actually—she arose from her seat, hand on the table as leverage. Alas, she only took a single step before there were several light knocks at the door. Both the prince and princesses' heads twisted to look at lightning speed, Katherine sitting back down and crossing her leg neatly. Yet, as the door opened and closed behind the new visitor, it wasn’t at all who they expected. It was David, with Sarah close behind.
Jack’s face twisted into something suave. “Davey! You must miss me a whole lot to come running into my meetings. Don’t worry, I missed you too.”
It hadn’t even been ten seconds since he entered the room, but David found himself blushing a light red that he tried to hide with his hand. Sarah was next to speak. “Don’t let it get to your big head, Jack. We were sent here for damage control.”
Jack blinked. Katherine choked on a laugh. “Damage control?” He asked incredulously.
“Her Majesty walked by us in the hall, and requested we come here to keep an eye on things,” David jumped in, putting his arm in front of Sarah and glaring at her.
The way he narrowed his eyes at her made Jack’s grin widen. Despite being siblings, Sarah and David were near opposites. Sarah was friendly with him and wasn’t afraid to tell him exactly what she thought (provided they were alone and she wouldn’t get fired immediately), while David was prim and proper, using the title Your Highness ninety nine percent of the time.
The Jacobs family had been working for their royal family for generations; and currently, there were three of them. Sarah, David, and a younger brother that Jack didn’t meet often but loved to play with when they did, named Les, of whom was a knight in training.
“My own mother doesn’t trust me to peacefully talk with another royal alone?” Jack put a hand on his forehead for dramatics. “Ouch. I’m wounded.”
“It’s not that—”
“It’s exactly that.”
David sighed defeatedly, not having the strength to argue with his sister. Deciding to redirect, he turned and bowed to Katherine, who was silently watching the exchange. “Greetings, Your Highness Katherine. I’m David Jacobs, Prince Jack’s personal valet, and this is Sarah Jacobs, Queen Medda’s lady-in-waiting.” When mentioned, Sarah curtsied, much to her brother’s relief.
Katherine’s eyes lingered on Sarah for a fleeting moment (a moment that Jack did not miss either, and recorded mentally) before she looked at both of them and nodded politely. “It’s great to meet you both. I sense we’ll see each other often in the future.”
For the next ten to twenty minutes, the group discussed the wedding in small bits and pieces, seemingly too distracted and exhausted for a lengthy talk. After what felt like forever to Jack, Medda and Joseph returned, seemingly satisfied with whatever they did on their perusal of the castle.
“Oh, it’s great to see everyone getting along,” Medda nodded to Sarah and David as she entered the room, both bowing low in greeting and not rising until both she and Joseph had passed them. “Princess Katherine and Jack, is everything going smoothly? No issues?”
The two exchanged a brief, heavy glance.
Jack lied through his teeth. “Nope. No issues at all, Mama. Everything’s perfect.”
“Well then, on that note,” Joseph declared in a loud voice he probably used for speeches. “Katherine and I must be going. I hate to cut things short, but I have a meeting with some men later this afternoon that I cannot miss.” His gaze rested on Jack for a few seconds too long, and it made him feel ill. He shoved that feeling to the side and did yet another half bow as a farewell, as did Medda.
“We look forward to seeing you again. May your horses be swift and careful,” Medda waved a regal queen’s wave. Jack decided to nod, not trusting his throat enough to speak at the moment.
The King and Princess made their exit, which left the Queen and Prince to their own schedule. While Medda got to it immediately, Jack hesitated, walking slowly in the hallways, legs filled with lead.
Though he joked about it at the time, he really was feeling incredibly uneasy about his future being out of his control. First a wedding, and who knew what was next. A nagging voice in the back of Jack’s mind fed him negative thoughts that made him drag his feet, and didn’t even pay attention to David telling him to walk properly.
His future was in the palms of King Joseph Pulitzer, and that thought alone was enough to make him need to rush to the bathroom.