- Love.
The flame in the cup sparkled, shimmering with all the shades of blue, blazing red for a second and returning to its usual color, so that after a second to catch fire again in scarlet. Turned to sky blue, the fire finally went out, and Shaw, squeezing his rosary in his hands, bowed his head slightly before the river king.
- Congratulations, Your Majesty, you have won.
The audience was applauded by the King of the Central Lands, who rose from his throne, but King Stephen did not seem to have heard or seen anything. He watched only one man - the young prince, who went to the cup, and then a few steps closer to Strange, putting a coin in his palm.
- Congratulations on your majesty's victory," Prince Charles looked back at himself and did not take away his hands when the river king's fingers held her back.
King Stephen rose from his chair - and only after that bowed, touching the back of the palm of his hand with his lips, briefly and gently.
- You gave me the answer, Your Highness," Strange smiled a little, noticing the scarlet lips of the heir to the Central Lands. - And only you.
Charles wandered the garden, trying to cope with his own thoughts. Between the trials was the day of the break, this time a full-fledged, royal residence was being prepared for the next mission, and it was more difficult than swinging a sword or tense curves. Everything was much more interesting. But it didn't make Xavier any easier.
Half of the Tournament was over, three of the six trials had passed, and he physically felt the clouds condensing over his head. The winners of the first three tasks were the people he liked or at least, in theory, could get along with them. But the remaining three trials can change everything. Or not to change. In any case, as wonderful as kings and princes were during the trials, he was still a prize to them, almost a thing, even though Hank says that some people are in love.
The prince sat down on the bench, breathing down his palms on the book he had brought with him. He could reread "The King of the Past and the Future" endlessly, the story of the brave King Arthur and his knights without fear or reproach always seemed to give him energy and self-confidence, but now there was no strength even to reveal it.
Charles did not understand himself. Whether he wants to connect his destiny with someone else's participants in the Tournament, or whether he is still sharply against it simply because it is not his decision. Everything mixed up in his head. Principles and deviations from them, requirements and own desires. Was he ready to make concessions to himself because of his sympathy for one of the kings and princes? Damn it, was he ready for anything at all?
Each new trial made him worry more and more about the participants, all their falls, wounds, concentrated faces and hot looks... The prince didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him. The last thing he wanted to do in the world was to make his heart shrink, but was that the reaction to believe he fell in love?
Xavier leaned back on the bench and covered his eyes, trying to imagine each guest in turn to understand what he was going through, but the experiment failed at the very beginning - the thought of King Strange immediately came to his mind after the third test, and the prince flashed, shaking his head unsatisfactorily. So much to yell that he is not a girl, but to react exactly as it is expected of him. It's a shame. He shouldn't blush from everything, but, on the other hand, who prepared him for this?
Of course, he knew that he would become a prize, he studied the stories of the Seven Kingdoms, he read so many books, he mastered so many skills ... But who prepared him for the attention of seven adult men, with one of whom he has to share a bed? They did not seem to be embarrassed by the fact that he belonged to his own sex, and this made him even more furious. Freedom and free manners, but, hell... Charles took a hard breath. He never wondered if he liked men. Frankly speaking, he was so absorbed in various activities that he didn't think much about girls either. And it would have been better not to stand at a crossroads now and not to get confused with his own worldview.