Your Betrayal
A white crown weighs like stones upon his head, adorning beautiful auburn hair like snow on autumnal leaves. Every step he takes forth agonises his soul, every step forward one away from his freedom. Before him stands a man in black, a lavish onyx crown atop dark brown curls. Before him stands Dazai Osamu, the very man who was supposed to marry his sister.
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A few hours earlier
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Nakahara Chuuya storms through the palace doors, entering his older sibling's chamber with a scowl on his face. Blue eyes blaze with fury as he glares at the king and queen without a single fuck in sight. Not an ounce of respect present as he ignores his other siblings in order to revolt against the atrocious crime his elders have committed without consulting him even once.
"Is everything alright?, Chuuya-kun", his sister-in-law asks, green eyes glimmering with false concern. The honestly in her voice is too good to be true, the prince knows that well. Perhaps if she hadn't been hellbent on ruining his life since the past six years he would have believed her.
But Chuuya had been done with betrayals.
"–Onii-san, were you aware of this?"
Verlaine glances at the prince with a slight frown on his face, brows pinched in concern at the sudden aim of hostility. There's an odd expression upon his face that Chuuya can't quite place a finger on. He has never seen his brother so.. out of it before. It's almost as if he's not lucid, and that makes Chuuya's stomach turn.
Because what if he isn't?
Verlaine has always had the sharpest mind, his sharp aim never fraying amidst his words nor on the battlefield. He used to be called the Arch Eagle, a name bestowed upon him by their late father's dying enemy. An eagle from the arch nemesis's side, killing ruthlessly through the battlegrounds. A deadly beast unleashed upon them from the depths of hell.
The slightest amount of doubt treacherously spreads through his mind and into his eyes, he takes a glance at the black-haired woman sitting next to his brother. Chuuya can't trust her, and a part of him screams to investigate the traitorous thoughts that run through his mind, but his heart (oh his foolish, innocent, childish heart-) refuses to believe family can be foe, so he ignores those thoughts and continues with his complaints.
"Aware of what?, my dear brother", Verlaine asks, he sounds so much older and so tired for his age, it worries Chuuya to no end.
Verlaine is as oblivious as one can seem and as much as the prince wants to believe his words, he struggles to believe that the King himself wouldn't know about what was going on under his nose.
Verlaine might genuinely not be aware.
But injustice has no justification.
"I have been informed that Ane-san's marriage is not proceeding ahead, and her groom has been betrothed to myself?"
Chuuya's eyes are full of hurt, the sense of betrayal he feels is not new, yet disappointing all the same. His hands are tightened into fists as he grips his cloak in a deathly hold. The red of his hair contrasts well with his white attire, the sapphire pendant matching azure eyes.
Verlaine stiffens the barest amount and faces his wife in shock, Amelia just gives a small, nonchalant shrug in return as she cooks up a new story. Her smile pierces through Chuuya's soul as he stares with wide eyes at her defiance.
"Mori-sama deemed this alliance fit and more beneficial than Kouyou's marriage. He proposed it.. therefore I accepted, of course. I cannot refuse Mori-sama..", she places a hand on top of Verlaine's, who visibly melts under her touch.
It sickens Chuuya how henpecked Verlaine is.
"...You know that, don't you? dear"
The moment Verlaine purses his lips and gives a seemingly understanding nod, Chuuya feels the world shift around him. Disbelieving disgust blurs his vision and the voices around him become muffled.
Oh. Oh.
He can't believe it. Chuuya can't believe this. His own damn brother, his own brother thought there was nothing wrong in marrying him off to the man who loved his sister despite Chuuya not even knowing him. He ignores the stinging in his eyes as he urges Verlaine on to continue. To announce his so-called verdict. Because despite every sign pointing towards the conclusion.
Chuuya can't quite believe that his brother would force him into an unwilling marriage.
No matter how much he acts like a slave before Amelia, Chuuya refuses to believe the fact that Verlaine would willingly sell away his younger brother's life to someone he does not know only because his wife spoke a few words of sickening sweetness.
Kouyou stares at him with worried cherry-coloured eyes. She does not have much say in this either unfortunately, Chuuya is aware of that. If she did, he knows well his Ane-san would do anything for him. Kyouka is silent as always, and Atsushi has a stricken expression on his face.
"Verlaine Onii-san..", the prince breathes out, throat threatening to close up and be silent for the rest of his life. "You don't mean.."
Verlaine glances at Amelia before turning to Chuuya with a guilty smile. "I.. Chuuya, I believe this may be for the best", he thinks he's right and thinks he comes off as kind but the prince can't take it.
"-I am not marrying that man!", Chuuya grits out, eyes resolute and unwavering. Beside him, Atsushi flinches at his loud voice towards the two rulers. Kouyou lets out a sigh and places a well-manicured hand atop silver hair, she wraps a reassuring arm around Kyouka.
".. I don't give two flying fucks about your alliance with Yokohama's kingdom but I am not marrying a man who does not love me."
The sunlit room was suddenly feeling like a chamber in hell, dark and gloomy. It was as if the whole mood had dampened, Chuuya was sure the flash of anger that appeared on Amelia's face for a split-second wasn't his imagination.
"Chuuya-kun, this is very important to our kingdom", she jeers, voice sharp and cutting deep. Verlaine stays silent but that's so typical of him, it's pathetic.
What about me?, Chuuya wants to ask. Am I not important?
He looks at the woman with a dark glare. "Amelia-san, respectfully.. I was speaking to my brother", his voice is calm and reminiscent of a deathly poison that's slow yet lethal.
Someone gasps, but the prince could not care less. He levels the queen with a steady, threatening look. He's aware of Atsushi's wince and Kyouka's wide eyes trained on his back, but if Chuuya doesn't stand against this type of injustice then god knows what will happen to his younger siblings in the future.
Verlaine just seems somber, lips turned down in a characteristic frown. A few minutes pass in a similar manner, Amelia arguing and arguing nonsensically with Chuuya until the blonde-haired man speaks up between them.
His voice has a sudden strength to it, it has the weight and power that a king's should have. "Chuuya, I believe your sister-in-law is correct. I would appreciate it if you will trust your elders' decision and proceed with this marriage.", it's the first time in six years Chuuya has seen his brother act this demanding.
And it's the first time he realises that no matter who it is, they will always betray you.
He doesn't want to believe it.
He doesn't want to fucking believe it because how could Verlaine do such a thing? how could he just order Chuuya to..
Kouyou lets out a small gasp and Atsushi sucks in a sharp inhale. Kyouka grips her brother's arm tight in order to stop him from revolting against their older brother's decision, but does nothing to stop her own eyes from tearing up. Amelia smiles coyly as she watches Chuuya's shoulders slump in resignation.
The prince has no other option, and he respects his brother too much to go against his order. (He will not acknowledge that his brother will exile him should he refuse.)
Chuuya just smiles with glistening blue eyes. His smile of bitter realisation breaks hearts, all three of his siblings stand there and watch as their brother smiles a smile of a thousand pains, they watch as he gives away his life like a begger giving up his alms to fill someone else's empty stomach.
Oh, his heart of gold, Kouyou cries for her brother's pure soul. What a bad sister she is, who cannot save her brother from a life of misery.
The prince doesn't waver, though.
"Yes.. yes I see now, Onii-san"
His brother ended up giving him the most hurtful betrayal, Chuuya supposes it is a memorable wedding gift.
____
The boy looks no more than eighteen, same age as the prince himself. He has dark unruly curls that reach just above his shoulders. One major detail Chuuya notices about the boy standing at the altar is that he's covered in bandages, clean, white, pristine bandages. From the middle of his neck to the palms of his hands, they cover one eye while the other reddish-brown and sharp, watches Chuuya's every move.
He doesn't hesitate while walking towards the altar, the prince stays silent as he approaches his fate he did not choose. A pair of beautiful, silver rings lay on a cloth-covered golden platter, there are diamonds embedded in both. The royal advisor is the conductor of this wedding, Hirotsu-dono. He adjusts his monacle and nods towards Chuuya, as the prince takes his place opposite his to-be-groom.
Chuuya's face is passive and somber, he keeps a neutral expression on his face while keeping his eyes trained on the ground. He can't face Kouyou while stealing the love of her life, he can't face the brother and sister he has failed in terms of guidance.
And even looking at Verlaine or his sister-in-law disgusts him.
"Today, we have gathered here to commence the ceremony of Prince Nakahara Chuuya and Prince Dazai Osamu's marriage."
Chuuya's shoulders are set and his posture is steady. Everything about the prince screams confidence but the way his fists are trembling the slightest bit by his sides, it's obvious to the trained eye that he is nervous. It may not count as a forced marriage as the prince is present of his own volition, but Chuuya knows he has no other option so he must go ahead with it anyways.
The obnoxiously lengthy speech by Hirotsu-dono goes ignored by Chuuya, the sound of voices turn into a dull buzzing sound in his ears. He can't really focus on anything except the fact that he is getting married. Chuuya, the prince who has never done anything he didn't like, who has been the epitome of freedom in this kingdom, is getting married against his wishes.
It seems like fate is playing a game with his life, and he can do nothing but sit and observe without any qualms.
"...Son of King Mori Ougai, Prince Dazai Osamu, do you accept Nakahara Chuuya as your lawful husband?"
Chuuya tenses his jaw and looks up at the other boy. Not a single muscle in Dazai's face changes as he speaks, his single uncovered eye staring into Chuuya's crystalline blue.
"I do", he accepts his part in the marriage.
"Brother of King Paul Verlaine, Prince Nakahara Chuuya, do you accept Dazai Osamu as your lawful husband?"
He can feel the blood rushing through his ears, breathing momentarily faster than normal. It's all or nothing, he either sacrifices his freedom and life, or he sacrifices his ties with his family, and Chuuya refuses to leave Kouyou, Atsushi, and Kyouka alone to suffer.
He sucks in a sharp inhale before tightening his fists, the feeling of nails digging into the palms of his hands keeps him coherent, but the pain is nowhere as strong as the ache of fresh betrayal in his heart.
".. I do."
The applause that follows Chuuya's acceptance feels nothing less than mockery, a slap on the face. Dazai is looking at him like he's nothing more than a pebble in his path, a stepping stone towards a goal.
The remaining ceremony continues smoothly, they exchange rings with a heavy silence and expressionless faces, no one really notices except ones who care.
Verlaine and Amelia are joyful as they sit with their child, Kyuusaku. While Kouyou and Kyouka stand with similar expressions of somber silence, Atsushi looks like he has been crying. Chuuya doesn't recognise any of the members of Dazai's family, but it is easy to guess who his siblings are.
It takes a few hours for everything to be completed before Chuuya has to leave for Yokohama. It was established before the marriage that the prince would have to live in Yokohama with the royal family, and he would be allowed to visit his home occasionally, but he was now the son-in-law of King Mori Ougai, it was not an easy title.
The lights are dim and hazy in the background, his focus is on the tears in his Ane-san's eyes. Chuuya tries to give what he hopes comes off as a reassuring smile, but with the way Kouyou's face crumbles and she wraps her arms around him tightly, he knows it didn't work.
"Oh Chuuya, oh my dear brother, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, lad- please forgive me!", she cries as she holds him tight. Though Chuuya feels he is the one who owes an apology to her, he doesn't say it.
"Please don't apologise to me Ane-san, you did not do anything wrong", he sighs, the red-haired boy tries to keep himself together while wiping his sister's tears.
Kouyou looks up at him with teary eyes, "..If only I had-", she starts until Chuuya intervenes mid-sentence. "No. Ane-san, if anyone is at fault, it's not you. Please.. just take care of yourself and Atsushi and Kyouka, I can handle this"
The princess hesitates before she wipes her tears and nods. "We'll take care of ourselves, but Chuuya you must make sure to be safe and healthy too"
The boy nods before he turns to his younger siblings, Atsushi barrells into him and buries his face in Chuuya's shoulders. The fourteen-year-old lets out a guttural sob, holding his older brother tightly.
"Please, please don't go, Chuuya-nii!", every hiccup and every tear from his brother's ametrine eyes hurts Chuuya's very soul, but there's nothing he can do except whisper reassurances with a heavy heart and a suffocating smile. The weight of the ring on his finger feels heavier than the crown on his head.
"Kyouka?", Kouyou's voice distracts him from his thoughts. Chuuya glances at the girl who's muffling her sobs with a hand over her mouth, his heart shatters hearing the young girl's cries.
Kyouka has always been a quiet child, her tears have been silent, slowly trickling down her cheeks like raindrops on a glass pane. Kyouka has been a girl with small smiles that crinkle her eyes, emotions have never been as vibrant with her as with Chuuya and Atsushi.
Seeing her cry so openly, hearing the gut-wrenching sobs leave her throat, it brings Chuuya's guilt back all the same, if not worse. He can't help but feel like a failure, failing everything he's ever lived for.
With all that is within his reach right now, Chuuya blinks back the tears in his eyes and pulls all three of his siblings into a tight embrace. Only god knows when they'll meet again.
After Chuuya bids farewell to his family, some kindly and some coldly, he is seated next to his new husband. They both sit in the back seat of a sleek black car, but not a single word has been exchanged between them. They drive away silently and the prince tries to ignore Atsushi's sobs and Kouyou trying to console him, it doesn't work.
He bares a glance at the black-haired boy next to him. They've both avoided any interaction with eachother from after the ceremony. There's no emotion other than cold indifference in the other's eye. It doesn't alleviate Chuuya's worries anymore than that perhaps.. Dazai feels the same as him.
He has married someone he does not love, so maybe Dazai feels like Chuuya does.
Compelled. Obligated.
Betrayed.
The silver ring on his finger shines under the moonlight.