A/N: Monroe is now going to be an adult in the next chapter so there will be a lot more mature content. This will include but not be limited to polygamy, slash (duh), hetero and femslash for background-ish characters (no details), bdsm, dom, swearing, violence, transformations, anal, oral, handjobs, minor2 (secondary characters have already been marrying at 15 years of age), rimming, fingering, toys, character death (most of that is over), pregnancy with background characters, etc.
I can say that minor1, incest and rape will not happen, but otherwise I can’t guarantee much else. I am sometimes a fan of mpreg but it definitely does not work in this story since they are so strict about royal breeding.
Also: love the two reviews I’ve received in the last few days. :D I will try to keep the updates coming fairly quickly, and I want this story done with by September since I’ll be returning to university. I did try to find out about changing the review settings so you didn’t need an account, but I don’t think I can. The forums only had one or two threads on it and they said that writers need a pre-2012 account to have that option D:
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The year passed by too quickly for Monroe.
He’d finally been invited to the council, and it was strange to interact with his Aunts and Uncles on a daily basis. He’d always been close to Josephine and Lillian, but there were others like Lyle and Chardon that he’d never really spent time around. Even in the council, Lyle rarely spoke unless it was to calm his husband down and Chardon mostly seemed to aim for battles and riches, not getting involved in domestic matters.
The young prince had been shocked two nights before his birthday, when Lyle had singled him out in the hallway, grabbing his sleeve. The dragon half of the duo was strangely absent and he was surprised when his Uncle spoke to him for what felt like the first time in his life. “Could I speak with you, Monroe?”
He nodded, surprised, “Yeah. Let’s go to my office.”
He’d been given a private study on his seventeenth birthday, just before the war had been declared, but he rarely used it. While he did attend the meetings, he was not an official member of the council yet and as such, he did not have paperwork to worry about. That would change soon, he knew.
His uncle was smaller than he’d realized, especially without Chardon’s arm around him. He had the same brown curls as the past King, but he was going grey. His eyes were a deep blue, matching the sapphires in his clothes. He was relaxed and calm, reminding Monroe of a librarian. He was a handsome man, and twenty years ago, he would have been beautiful.
“I am sorry I have never had the chance to talk to you before.” He said softly. “I know you’ve already spoken to tutors and physicians about marriage and sex but I wanted to make sure you knew the details people normally don’t talk about.”
The teenager flushed, but tried to laugh it off. “Like what? I’ve read books, uncle, I know about sex acts.”
“No.” The other man turned red. “Not about that. You and your husband can figure those things out together. I’m talking about the differences between the lords of each kingdom.”
“Like what?” He said.
“Normally you would have time to adjust to each culture.” He said, sitting on the window ledge. “That’s why we get engaged so young, so that there will be two or more years between choosing your fiancé and marrying him, so you can visit his family first and learn about your new home. You won’t get that opportunity.”
Monroe frowned. “I’ve been studying the four kingdoms all my life, Uncle Lyle, I know about the cultures.”
“Not the private household ones you don’t.” He said softly. “Like my home. I’ll use Caementum as an example. What do you know about families there?”
“They live in cave systems.” He said. “When they have children, they make it larger, and when the other children move out, the youngest starts a family there and takes care of the elders. It’s not unusual for close friends to share a cavern-“
“Do you know why?” His uncle interrupted, amused.
He shook his head, a little surprised by the man’s sudden pep. “No.”
“There are only so many caves. Rather than have to deal with wars over caverns, they often will share them. Sometimes, they will even share their spouse and marry the same person so they can live as a family.”
The prince blinked. “What?”
“It is not something most outsiders can understand.” The older lord prince said. “But it is very logical.”
His eyes went wider. “Do you and Uncle Chardon…”
“No.” He chuckled. “But our friends are in a three man marriage and it’s very common there.”
Monroe turned brighter red, trying to imagine being married to two other men. After a moment he had to shake his head and go sit down, trying to forget the thought.
Lyle chuckled again, seemingly amused by the younger man’s shock. “Another concept outsiders don’t seem to understand is that our males don’t trust strangers. It’s not jealousy, its territorial. They don’t want strangers near their home, near their mines, near their wives. Whenever there was a choice, historically a dragoness was married to a Lady Princess rather than a dragon to a Lord Prince.”
He frowned. “Why did you marry Chardon then? You had three sisters that could marry dragonesses”
Lyle flushed. “Josephine was going to marry into the dragons, actually. But before her suitor could complete the rites Chardon pleaded with my father to have me. Josephine did not like her dragoness so my father agreed.”
“So he loved you at first sight?” Monroe smiled, a little charmed by that idea.
The older lord Prince just shook his head in disbelief. “You poor boy, you have no idea what dragon lads are like. He wanted me because I was already his. He had saved me from a troll, and he couldn’t bear the thought of another man getting close to me.”
The prince’s smile fell. “Oh. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, boy.” The silver haired man smiled, passion in his voice. “We did fall in love before the wedding. They love their wives and husbands just as strongly as any other man.”
“Are you saying all this because you want me to marry a dragon?” He asked after a moment. It would be the first time one of his Aunts or Uncles tried to sway him, but he didn’t suppose it would be the last.
“No. Or well, yes. I do want that, but that’s not why I wanted to talk to you about all this. You need to think about more than just how handsome you spouse is and how fast you can get into their bed. Every kingdom will give you a different lifestyle. You’ve been around Mer. They don’t hide much, mostly because they have little to hide. There you will have a long, uneventful but happy life. Shifters are overprotective, they don’t mind being friendly but if someone upsets their mate, they can get violent fast. You will be expected to help with farming, and the winters can be dull and hard.” He then gave Monroe a knowing look. “Then theres the fae. You’ve never been to their lands, but I’ve heard you are considering them.”
Monroe flushed. “Considering marrying one of them, yes. Did Henri tell everyone?”
“No. But it was obvious someone had ravished the boy and then he asked if he could be your suitor.” He chuckled. “Fae are pretty little things but you’d have a lot on your hands if you chose Alston. Fairies get jealous over the littlest things, are full of insecurities. You will deal with politics and scandal on a daily basis. You would be in charge of his well being, not vise versa, and you would have to learn to protect him, both from physical and social attacks.”
He tried to picture working so hard for a husband. “But he’s so beautiful.”
His uncle nodded. “That he is. The question is how much you value such fragile beauty. In twenty years, will he still be worth it?”
The prince laughed, “Uncle, it is obvious how little you care for the fairies.”
“I do not hate them.” He said. “But you would not be able to survive in that court. You are young, strong and brave but you are naïve.’
Monroe’s eyes narrowed, but he decided to ignore the insult, knowing on some level that he was right. “So… If you’re giving me this conversation does that mean Henri is going to let me chose my spouse?”
“To an extent.” He said. “He might. But there’s a lot at state, young one. Once you marry, the old council will retire. You will the King’s advisor, as well as any spouse you chose.”
“Just the two of us?” He frowned, “How can we run four kingdoms with only two advisors to help the king.”
Lyle smiled. “Your brother has a solution to that. Don’t worry.” He stood, heading for the door. “Things will be clearer on your birthday.”
He already knew a possible solution, but his mind wanted to deny it. Instead he just headed for his room, going to bed.
The day before his birthday, he awoke to maids trying to rouse him from his bed, the seventeen year old rising in surprise. “What is happening?”
“The king has summoned you to the council chambers to meet with your suitors, your highness.” His old nanny smiled at him gently, holding up a soft violet robe. “Come, we only have twenty minutes before you’re expected.”
He felt strange as he prepared, being dressed in white and gold. Two of Geneva’s handmaidens were there to fix his hair, the curls mused by his uneasy sleep. They cleaned his nails, but soon the time was up and he was lead out to the hallway.
Geneva met him outside the council chambers, smiling at him softly. “You look so mature today, Monroe.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her forehead. “Do you know who is in there?”
The woman flushed, then nodded. “King Henri told me who he has chosen last night.”
“Then is it already decided?” He asked softly. “My fiancé is inside there?”
The Queen squeezed his hand. “Yes. Don’t be scared.”
“I’m not afraid.” The man said softly, but he’d begun to see it in her eyes that something was wrong. She was worried for him. “Should I be?”
The older woman just kissed his cheek. “You’ll be alright, my little brother, you’ve got the blood of kings within you.”
He didn’t feel the fear until he finally pushed open the heavy council doors. Inside, the King stood at the council’s table, surrounded by his advisors. His brother looked hard, his eyes cold. It almost reminded Monroe of his father. It was the same look Joseph had worn when he was sober.
It was the look of guilt.
“Enter, Prince Monroe.” Henri said sharply. “There are visitors here for you.”
He was glad for the order, since it meant he could force his legs to bring him forward, to the center of the room. His eyes were glued on the council though, and he was aware that his face was growing pale. He’d noticed the other figure on the far side of the room, but he had not made more than a glance, not wanting for it to be finalized. Not wanting to know without a doubt that things had been decided.
Monroe had never courted. He would never court. He would be joined to the man beside him and that would be it. He would never know the touch of another man.
He stiffened when he heard a deep voice murmur to him softly. “The rumours of your beauty have not done you justice, my Prince.”
He turned to see a complete stranger beside him, looking at the Prince like he was a slab of meat.
