AS YOU WISH
synopsis; in this tale of romance, revenge, and treason, you, a beautiful commoner, are set to become the princess of aobajousai. will your one true love be able to save you in time?
pairing; kuroo tetsurou x reader
content; princess bride au (heavily based on both the movie and novel), medieval au, torture, mild violence, drama, fantasy/adventure, murder, minor character death, fem!reader
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02 ; THE GROOM
PRINCE OIKAWA WAS A MAN of great renown. There wasn’t a person in Aobajohsai that couldn’t recognize him in one swift glance; he walked through the kingdom with a swing in his dainty hips, which contrasted his mighty barrel thighs and broad, sinewy shoulders. His steps were surprisingly soft, and if he wanted to become a ballet dancer, he would probably find surprising success. But Oikawa didn’t want to be a ballet dancer. He wasn’t even in much of a rush to be king (considering he practically ran the kingdom anyway, what with his mother and father being too old and senile to do it themselves). Everything took second place in his affections, save for one thing.
Tracking was his love.
He made it a habit to never let more than a few days go by without tracking something down or training his hounds. It started when he was a young boy, with his parents’ two Irish Wolfhounds—off he would go with them, chasing rabbits through fields to add the stew that the palace cook was making for supper. Before long, he started studying other tracking sports, from fox hunting to coonhunting to even scenting out other humans, and became a talented tracker in each field. Once he was determined, once he focused on a target, the Prince was relentless.
For a while, Prince Oikawa traveled the world, acquiring hounds from the most prestigious lineages and persuading masterful hunters to mentor him. As his skill increased, he took to training and breeding his own dogs, creating Aoban pedigrees that had a name in and of themselves. Unfortunately, travelling consumed time, and the time away from Aobajohsai became increasingly worrying. Oikawa’s father was growing old, and as the only male heir to the throne, it eventually became time for the Prince to return home.
Instead, he took to roaming the Aoban countryside on weekends, accompanied by Count Iwaizumi on the horses he trained. (The Count always was a better horseman than the Prince.) Sometimes they paid visits to the far corners of the kingdom, but more often they stuck to day trips near the castle.
Prince Oikawa was walking out of the barn, two horses in hand, in preparation for one of these trips when news of his father’s health taking a turn made its ultimate intrusion. The sun hadn’t been up long, dew still heavy on the grass, when Count Iwaizumi made his appearance.
“There you are!” the Prince chided him, “You’re running behind, you know?”
(Other nobles of Aobajohsai might have gotten in trouble for such tardiness, but the Count was an exception. After he and the Prince grew up side by side, Iwaizumi was the only person that could raise his voice or lay a hand on Oikawa without consequence.)
“There is news,” Iwaizumi did not bother apologizing.
“Of?” Oikawa handed off the Count’s horse.
“I have the report of your father’s annual physical.”
A pregnant pause.
“He’s dying.”
Prince Oikawa sighed, a frown creasing his otherwise flawless cheeks. He wasn’t surprised by this news—the king’s health had been questionable for years now—but it certainly wasn’t how he would like to have started his morning.
“Well, I guess it’s about time I get married then, huh?”
“Looks to be that way, sire.”
Four of them met in the great council room of the castle: Prince Oikawa, his greatest confidante, Count Iwaizumi, his father, the aging King, and his evil stepmother, the Queen.
(She wasn’t really evil. In fact, she was actually one of the most beloved people in the kingdom, and had been married to the King since long before he began mumbling. Prince Oikawa had been but a child then, and since the only stepmothers he knew of were the mean ones from fairy tales and bedtime stories, he had decided she must be evil.)
“Alright,” the Prince began once they had all been assembled. “I must marry soon, so we have to pick a bride for me.”
“Yes,” the King said, “I’ve been thinking it was about time we found you a bride.”
(In actuality, he mostly just mumbled it, like, “Yesss, I’ve beennn thumbleee about temmmm wefumbbble bridddde.”)
“You couldn’t be more right, dear,” the Queen patted the King’s shoulder. She was the only person that could decipher his words during these little episodes.
“What did he say?”
“He said whoever we decide on will be getting a wonderfully handsome prince for a lifetime companion,” the Queen replied.
“Ah, well thank you, Father. You’re looking quite well yourself,” Oikawa chuckled back.
“It’s the new miracle maker, I’m sure of it,” the King piped in, wiggling a finger. (It came out mumbled again: “I’ssss the nmumble mumble.”)
“What did he say?”
“He said a man of your importance shouldn’t marry just anyone.”
“I suppose,” Prince Oikawa rested his chin in his hands before sighing.
“What about that Ushijima?” The Queen suggested.
“It would be a good match politically,” Count Iwaizumi admitted, though he knew how much the idea revolted Oikawa.
Prince Ushijima was from Shiratorizawa, the country that lay across the Aoba Channel. (They put it differently in Shiratorizawa; Aobajohsai was the country across the Channel of Shiratorizawa, according to them. The two countries had a history together, spending centuries warring each other. There had been the Rice War, and then the Tuna Fish Discrepancy, which nearly sent both nations into bankruptcy, the Fern Fiasco, which did end up running them fiscally dry, but it was followed by the Great Emerald Boom, during which they both got rich again.)
“He’s a handsome young man, I think we should bring him over for a discussion,” the Queen said. She was always the peacemaker in the royal family, a diplomat through and through.
“No, absolutely not!” cried Prince Oikawa. If it had been any other person, had Ushijima had a sibling or something, perhaps he would have mulled it over, but that wasn’t the case. Oikawa simply could not marry Ushijima.
“There’s no other heirs in any neighboring countries that would benefit us,” Count Iwaizumi reminded him, though he knew it wouldn’t change the Prince’s mind.
“I’ll marry a commoner before I marry that Shiratorizawa filth!”
“Boo, no Shiratorizawa filth!” the King chimed in. (“Booo, numble shumble zumfle!”)
The room quieted for a moment; they seemed to be stuck. Finally, the Count perked up.
“Maybe you can marry a commoner.”
Dead silence again.
“Look, your people have been a bit tense with us nobles the past few years,” the Count continued. “You could bridge the gap by marrying a commoner.”
“A commoner as the princess, what a fun idea!” the King said. (“Commumble as theprimmmble, whumble fum idea!” His words were becoming a tiny bit clearer; he seemed to be coming out of the episode).
“What did he say?” Oikawa still asked.
“Whoever it is must look the part of a noble. They should at least look nice,” said the Queen.
“Of course! I’ll find a commoner so beautiful that when you see them, you stop and stare, and say, ‘Wow, that Prince Oikawa must be some kind of fella to marry someone like that.’ That’s what I’ll do! Search the country, no, search the world!”
Count Iwaizumi furrowed his brow in thought.
“No, I think she is already found,” he said. An uncharacteristic smile crossed his face.
The next day at dawn, the two young noblemen reined in their horses at the hilltop by your farm. Iwaizumi rode a massive black gelding, stout and bulging with muscles. Prince Oikawa rode one of his whites, leaner and elegant. His mare made Iwaizumi’s mount seem like a lowly plow puller.
“She delivers milk from her family’s farm to the market square in the mornings,” Count Iwaizumi told him.
“And she’s truly-not-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-without-question beautiful?” Oikawa asked.
“You calling me a liar?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Oikawa chuckled.
“She was something of a mess when I saw her,” admitted the Count, still grinning in amusement. “But she was still one of the most beautiful people I have laid eyes on.”
From the bottom of the hill, you appeared, turning your horse (whose name now seems quite ironic) onto the path to the farm. Even from this distance, Oikawa knew Iwaizumi was right.
“I must court my princess, now.”
“Good luck,” the Count teased, unknowing that the Prince might actually need it.
And so the Prince rode on, maneuvering his horse quite expertly down the hill until he was at your side.
You blinked curiously when he approached. You had never seen such a man, riding such a brilliantly shiny horse and wearing such extravagantly crafted clothes.
“Are you Miss (y/n)?”
“I am. Who’s asking?”
“Your prince,” Oikawa grinned a dazzling grin. “I’ve come to ask for your hand in marriage.”
Marriage? You continued riding, with one eyebrow quirked incredulously.
“I’m sorry, sire, but I refuse.”
“You can’t refuse.”
“I just did.”
“But refusal could mean treason, and treason means death,” explained a very confused Prince.
“Kill me then,” you told him.
“But…” the Prince trailed off. For the first time in his life, he was left dumbfounded. Speechless. Shellshocked. He had not been prepared to be turned down, not even slightly.
“But I’m your Prince! And—” Oikawa was beginning to stumble over his words. “And I’m not that bad. How could you rather be dead than married to me?”
“It’s nothing personal, sire,” you soothed his ego. “But marriage involves love, and love has never been particularly kind to me, so I’m sworn to never love again.”
Prince Oikawa’s brows furrowed, creasing his otherwise flawless forehead.
“Love? Who said anything about love?” he said. “Look, here’s the deal. There must always be a male heir to the throne of Aobajohsai. Once my father dies, there will only be a king: me. All I ask is that you marry me so that I can provide a new heir to the throne.”
You stared at him silently.
“You’ll get to be the richest and most powerful woman in the country, and give away turkeys at Christmas and meet people from foreign countries. You could even provide us nobles insight to better help commoners like yourself. So won’t you be my wife?”
You paused again, looking back over at your family’s humble little house. Your father was growing older, and milking the cows everyday was becoming difficult with his aching joints.
“I won’t ever love you.”
“If that is what you wish,” Prince Oikawa said.
“Then by all means, let us marry.”
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