The palace of Bose was close enough to Pasifis for the humans to have no need for a camp, but the Ged and fae needed to set up temporary residence. The settlements of Ged, humans and fae moved to the edge of Gedagte for the contest to keep the ground clear and the Vers were hiding in the forests with the other Ver. The stars were appearing in the navy sky and the moon was slowly rising.

Roman and Remus were sitting with Patton as they watched the Council hurriedly sort out large tents and cooking pots.

"What's Goeie like?" Asked Roman, breaking the comfortable silence.

Patton smiled. "It's so fun! We roll down hills and we have these little doors that lead to our homes, all the animals are just so cute!" He gushed before catching himself. "But what about Bose? It must be so weird with no hills to climb!"

"I was about to ask the same thing," Said a familiar voice and the three turned to see Logan walking towards them. He sat cross-legged next to Remus. "At least Gedagte and Goeie both have roughly similar terrains, even if Gedagte has a more mountainous landscape."

Remus shrugged. "Bose is really cool. Riding horses around the fields is so much fun, you can just charge in a dead straight line."

"Oh, I love horse-riding but fae don't usually ride them. What about you, Lo? Do you ride horses?" Patton asked.

Logan shook his head. "No, the stone ground of the mountains do their hooves no good. We use golems to get us to places." He gestured back towards the Ged camp, where large, rocky golems were moving large carts and caravans around. "They pull our chariots."

"They look so cool. You should ride a horse, Logan, it's a lot of fun once you get into it," Roman suggested.

"I will keep that idea in mind and hope to do so before we leave," Responded Logan, the corners of his mouth upturning, yet he didn't smile. Not one Ged had smiled all day.

Remus cleared his throat a grin slowly forming. "What did you think of the Vers, though?"

Patton gasped. "Oh, I loved them! They are so cute and their horns are so beautiful! I love their markings, too. Ooh, those kleindraaks were so well-behaved too!"

"I wish I could have interacted with one," Logan mused. "It would have been fascinating to meet another elven race."

Roman thought, silent for a moment. "I think they're not trustworthy. They're far too shifty and reserved to be comfortable around."

Remus let his friends speak and then grinned. "I want the king in my bed!"

Roman hit his twin round the back of his head gently, trying to hold back a laugh. Patton tilted his head innocently and Logan groaned.

~('^')~

Vers had blindfolds on the next morning, even their king. The kleindraaks scuttled ahead of them along the ground or sat on their master's' shoulders, growling softly. Janus stood on a slight angle to the head of the Council of Fae, a young-looking, middle-aged female fairy, as they discussed what was probably politics.

Remus decided to take his shot.

He quickly walked over to the Ver king, waving of the fae and Janus turned to face him with a single growl from Krag. "Prince Remus, is it?" He asked.

"Aw, you remembered!" Taunted Remus, smirking brightly.

Janus raised an eyebrow. "Yes, why?"

"It just shows you care," Remus grinned.

"Then I shall desperately try to forget your name."

"Ooh, such a tease!" Laughed Remus, taking a step closer to the blindfolded Ver. Krag looked mildly amused, wandering over to rest in the fork in Janus's' horns instead of his shoulder. Remus knew instantly that Krag would not pose any sort of threat to his advances. Krag would probably help him, judging by the look in the kleindraak's' eyes. "I love your horns, can I feel them?"

Janus's' white face quickly turned red and he took a step back as Remus stepped forwards. "I'd prefer if you didn't." He said, brow creasing in annoyance.

"But I'd prefer if I did," Remus responded, wiggling his eyebrows. The king may not have been able to see but Krag did, the kleindraak snickering comfortably in the horns' bends. "You are a very, very pretty man."

"I really hope you are the only human who acts like this, otherwise I am going back to Verloor." Muttered Janus, pulling his head back as he sensed Remus reaching out to feel his horns. Janus held his hands out before him, pushing Remus back lightly. "Please, stop trying to touch my horns."

Remus grinned evilly. "Anything for you, gorgeous!" He cooed.

Janus's' face heated up again. "I don't have to deal with this," He hissed to himself, turning to leave.

Quickly, Remus grabbed his arm, pulling the king back to him. "No, my love, please! Don't leave me without even a goodbye kiss! How could you do that to my heart-?"

"Remus, leave King Janus alone!" Yelled Haphul, storming over. "Janus, I am terribly sorry, he's very... impulsive and he doesn't really think before his actions. I believe his brother must've set him up to this."

Remus pouted, ignoring Krag's' purrs of laughter, and Janus shook him off. "But, father-"

"No, Remus. Do not bother our guests, go find that fae fellow you and Roman were talking to yesterday," Instructed Haphul. "Or the Ged, he looks like he will set a good example."

"Yeah, a BORING example!" Protested Remus. "You let Roman talk to whoever he wants, why can't I?"

Haphul sighed loudly. "Because Roman can behave himself-"

"Yeah, well, I can behave and I don't have to be the perfect crown prince to do so!" Shouted Remus angrily, making both Kings jump back in surprise. "Stupid, spectacular Roman..." He growled crossly, stamping off.

There was a very awkward silence once Remus took his leave and Haphul swallowed guiltily. "I-I'm sorry about him, he often acts up like this."

Janus tilted his head slightly to have his blindfolded gaze off by a few inches. "It's fine, he wasn't causing me too much trouble. I'll go to my people again, make sure Virgil is handling them well. He can get quite overwhelmed sometimes." Janus bowed stiffly before walking away.

~('^')~

Roman watched, wide-eyed, as the golems from Gedagte moved around large fencing and long poles. He'd been watching them work for a while now, fascinated by the robotic yet fluid way they moved, the way the stone bent and cracked but did not break under the strain of work.

Before him, golems were slowly assembling a large, large tent, which would be used later that night to house the first inter-racial ball in eighty-thousand years. It was an easy mix of dark scarlet, white and gold, the colours of the Bose symbol. He could see, inside, tables being set up, large barrels of wine being rolled in, silverware and glass being carried inside gently. It was beautiful, watching the golems bring this alive so quickly and Roman let his gaze wander to where more golems were building the areas of competition. There was an arena being assembled for sword-fighting, an archery range and a wrestling pit. At least, those were the only ones set up.

Roman's' mind began to drift from preparations and to the bet he'd made with Remus yesterday. All his twins' desserts for a year if his first love was a female. Obviously, she would be. And she'd be a Ver. Sure, Roman had only seen a handful of Vers, only one or two being female, but he was sure he'd find himself attracted to them soon. Both were rather pretty but, annoyingly, neither caught his eye. One would soon. He liked the one who had magenta markings by her eyes the most, though. She reminded Roman of someone, but he couldn't place his finger on who.

Concentrating, Roman tried to summon her to mind. The Ver with magenta markings was on the smaller side of most but she wasn't short. Her hair was black and straight, however, it ended in light brown ringlets and her kleindraak was a pastel pink. Her horns, though, were just normal. They didn't split like the person's' he struggled to remember, or have any colour buried in the grooves. But Roman was sure that he'd soon like her and prove his brother wrong.

Suddenly Remus sat heavily beside him, making Roman jolt. He looked at his twin, about to make a sarcastic comment when he saw the look in Remus's' eyes.

"Did father tell you off again?" He asked quietly.

Remus was silent for a moment before angrily hissing, "I don't get it. He only ever tells me off. Is it because I like boys?" Remus turned to face his twin and Roman felt his heart shatter.

His brothers' face was contorted in fury but his eyes were confused, lost and sad. They were watery but Remus wouldn't cry. Haphul had accepted Remus when his youngest son came out but there had been a change in behaviour that only Remus had noticed at first. But Roman saw it now. Roman saw how his father would pull Remus aside when they got into trouble or commented on Remus's' manners while Roman was slouching and complaining. At first, he believed it was because he was crown prince and his father was just giving him special treatment and he'd grow out of it. Now he wasn't so sure.

Roman just wrapped his arms around his brother. They stayed like that for a moment in silence until Roman whispered, "Fuck him, Remus. You're my brother and nothing's gonna change that."