too young to be courting, especially with you / aud

As awkward as Aela felt, Cato felt even weirder about this. Frankly, his mind was simply on Elise. Why hadn't she written back? It had been months, no, longer than that. He had finished his training months ago, and not a single word from her. He had written too, multiple times. Was she angry? Did she already get married? Were the rumours true? His mind was swimming with the possibilities of why she'd avoid him like this. They didn't leave on bad terms; they were both going off to do things they wanted to do. He had finished his training and she should still be in university right now, studying with some of the most famous fairies in the world. Literature too. Why would she be writing, spinning words of poetry for class without writing back to him? 

He seemed distracted, but his father didn't care. "You know how this will go. Just be your usual self, though she's a little too young for you to truly court at the moment. It's just an initial meeting, so she knows what to expect when she's of age. You'll be in their guard anyway, so just make a good impression, and you'll be set for your career the next couple of years." 

Cato simply nodded, pulling at the cuffs of his sleeves to straighten them out. 

They finally arrived. A tea in the garden, apparently, was where he was to meet his future wife, and...she was young. Way younger than he thought, especially with how the other nobles had described her to be. She was practically Cassian's age, from the looks of it. They were expecting her to marry him? It felt wrong, to even flirt with a child like that. What the hell did his father mean by be his usual self anyway; if she was at least sixteen, he could be his usual rakish self and flirt but...she was a child. The boy seemed stunned, but quickly shook it off. Right. He had a reason to be here. 

"Princess Aela," he gave her a bow, "it's a pleasure to meet you." 

As the fathers continued on their walk to discuss their matters, he sat across the girl, though the discomfort still seemed visible on his face. "My journey was well, your highness." Gods he felt almost dirty, trying to court a child. Wouldn't Cassian be a better fit for this, if the girl needed a playdate? 

"I believe our fathers wish for us to get to know one another," he cleared his throat, as the maids brought them their tea, "this may be rather impolite...but may I ask how old you are?" 

Twenty six? He felt a weird feeling in his stomach at that revelation, and gods, he wanted Elise to be here. This kid was literally the age of his younger brother, that brat. Why the hell did any of them think that this was a good idea? He was in a completely different point of his life than she was; at that age, she probably barely gave boys a second look and here Cato was, dreaming of a family with the love of his life–

He had to hide a grimace at that thought. "I'm....forty," it even felt wrong saying it, "to be completely honest, if you feel like this is a little...unusual, especially with our age gap, I'd agree with you, but I'm afraid I was told the same thing, that our partnership would bring a great alliance to the royal name and that my experience would...help you when you become queen."

It was weird, being so official with a kid. She talked like a delegate, that was for sure; she probably had more training than he did in that department, considering she was born to be a queen. Still, he didn't want to talk about trade deals; if he was to marry her...what, five years from now? He might as well know her a little bit, right? 

"You remind me a lot of my younger brother, actually. Except you're probably a lot more graceful than he is. You must be starting secondary school, no?" he asked, trying to be friendly, "I'm guessing schools here in Pyxis must be somewhat similar to the ones in Vela, though probably better funded and more grand than even our best." 

He should've guessed that a princess wouldn't really go to school the same way the other noble kids did. Must be lonely, he thought. It seemed like they were both in a position where their parents had left them little say in what they could do. Cato could empathise with her at least. His expression had softened, as if he was talking to Carina instead of some girl he'd have to marry later on. She was...sweet, he supposed. 

"I do," he replied with a small smile, "I suppose it's what I've worked for all of these years, and I get to travel and see the rest of the kingdom, so that's nice too. Pyxis isn't bad either; it's different from my home back in Vela but there's always plenty to see. It's good training for the future." His words were practiced, enough to seem convincing and yet just a little too dull to sound like he truly meant it completely. He didn't mind the guard at all, to be honest, it was practice, and the other guards truly were fun people. He just missed some things more than others. 

"How about you? It must be pretty busy being a princess," he offered, "what do you like doing for fun?" 

Cato nodded at her words. It was infinitely easier to talk to her when he stopped thinking of her as his future wife and as just another sibling. "Horseback riding, huh?" he hummed. He enjoyed that too, though he had always been a boat person more than a horse person. Still, he could appreciate those creatures, though more often while he was in a carriage than when he was on one. He didn't mind, regardless. It just wasn't his first choice of transportation. 

He found it hard to answer her question. What could he say? Bully his siblings? Spending time with his girlfriend, the one that wasn't almost a decade younger than him? "I like going out to eat with my friends?" he tried to think, "the beach is nice too. My friends and I used to go shooting on the weekends or the local boxing competitions, though if you ever tell my father this, he'll probably murder me. They're not exactly respectable places to go, especially for nobility like us. It's certainly better than the ballets I have to watch because of my sister." 

Cato was surprised that she wanted to hear more about boxing. "Sure, but most of it is pretend," he chuckled, "a lot of them are scripted, but still, there's a few who don't. I always root for those ones, they win if they win, and they lose if they lose. It's plenty more fun when you don't know what's going to happen. It's pretty exciting though, but sometimes the blood and guts can be a bit much. Some of them take out their vendettas on that stage." 

He had an immediate answer for her next question. He smiled at her response, before offering his. "Seared peach and rhubarb's mine," he replied with a small smile, as his gaze turned wistful. It was something he and Elise shared, after all. They both agreed it was the best dessert in the city. Or perhaps even all of Lacaille. "There's a restaurant back home that does an excellent one. Probably the best pie you'll ever have." 

He gave her a small smile. "You really should," he replied, "They have an excellent view of the bay as well."

It was almost difficult to talk about home. It had been a while since he had left, and he missed it. He also missed all the places he had gone with Elise before they had left, and it felt like her presence just marked every location he'd bring someone else to. Even if he took his future wife there, it'd be weird, showing her to the places he had gone before–the carnival, the beach by his family home, the cliffs–where he had spent his youthful days with the love of his life.

"School's fine," he shrugged, "you get to meet a lot of kids around your age, which is pretty good I think. You can practice a lot of things like delegations or peacemaking with other kids and you get a view into how the rest of our generation thinks." A girl who never went to school like that must find all of this foreign, he thought. "Do you meet a lot of people your age, your highness?"

Cato was embarrassed to admit that he'd probably be one of those stupid boys making fun of girls at that age. After all, girls and their annoyance was boys and their humour at that age. He gave her a sympathetic look. "Boys are just like that at your age," he sighed, "trust me, they're years more immature than girls are when they're twenty or so, but they'll grow out of it. They just tease girls because it's fun to get a reaction out of them." 

He gave her a small smile. "Just ignore them, or pretend you're in on the joke too," he shrugged, "once they realize you're not hurt by their words anymore, they'll give up eventually." 

Cato took another sip of his tea. "You know, you'll probably meet some of my siblings eventually. They might be annoying and bratty, but I'm sure they'll be friends with you if you'd like." It wasn't as if Cassian had many friends either, and well, Carina was at the age where she assumed everyone was already her friend anyway, even if her idea of what friends were was kind of twisted in a way. The youngest of them was a mischievous little brat. 

He looked rather amused at the serious expression on Aela's face. It was amusing, to see a child so serious. His own siblings were always messing around, breaking things and playing pranks on each other, only ever serious when their father was around. It was a bit weird, really. To have a child barely half his age speak to him like an adult. 

Cato couldn't help the chuckle that left his mouth. "My brother's name is Cassian, and I think he's probably your age. My sister's name is Carina, and she's a couple of years younger than you I believe," he mused, "though you're probably more mature than both of them by a mile. I shouldn't speak ill of my family, but they're both mischievous brats. They'll play pranks on you if they could, but hopefully you won't mind it too much. That's just how they are." 

As the parents came back into view, Cato's posture also shifted into the more formal one expected of their meeting. Giving a bow to the king as he approached, he was at least relieved that Aela didn't seem too weirded out. He would've thought otherwise, but it seemed like her training meant that in any situation, she was still polite. Always a princess, he supposed. 

"It was lovely, your majesty," Cato responded, "and of course. Princess Aela is excellent company; she'll do wonderfully as queen one day, I'm sure." He didn't lie about that either; she was poised, graceful, everything a queen should be. She was just missing what Elise had, that spark in her eyes, the playfulness in the way she teased him, the connection they just naturally had...

"I'm sure they'll make a perfectly fine match," his father's voice sounded jovial, "they seemed to have gotten along well. My son's experience and leadership will pair well with Princess' Aela's poise and knowledge of how the kingdom runs. They'll certainly be a fitting match for the gods."