If you asked anyone in the kingdom of Pisces what they thought about their ruler, you would find a variety of responses. "He's too nice," Some would grumble, rolling their eyes more like exasperated parents than subjects. "He needs to get it together and stand up to the other kingdoms," Other would huff. However, not one single person would ever trade their prince for anyone else because for all of his flaws, all of his issues, he was the best monarch the kingdom had had in ages and had long since proved his ability to rule, quelling rebellions and shedding blood for his kingdom. That didn't mean, of course, that they couldn't complain, and they all knew that the Prince wouldn't have it any other way. He liked to hear what they had to say and, if the sources from the castle were true, he liked to complain about them too with the same sort of loving exasperation.
It was early now, much too early for the Prince of Pisces, who enjoyed sleeping in as much as he enjoyed skipping out on paperwork, to actually be awake. However, as the sun rose on his kingdom, the Prince rose with it, combing out his long, blue hair and pulling it into a neat ponytail as he set about in his morning ritual, bathing, dressing, and finally making his way down to the dining hall, spooking maids and servants by the mere fact that he was awake and alert before ten o' clock, causing cooks to scramble in the kitchens to prepare his meal, grumbling about their time schedule being off, and generally causing a state of chaos for everyone. Well, everyone in the castle save one.
"I suppose it's to much to ask that you not go out looking like that?" The exasperated voice of Moira, the head maid of Pisces castle, rang out in the dining hall, a large but cozy room with huge windows overlooking the sea, thin lips pressed tightly together in a gaze of motherly disapproval. There was no mistaking the person who she was talking to, the room's only other occupant, who simply looked up from his morning tea, lips pulled upwards in a winning smile.
"I haven't a clue what you're talking about," Prince Marlin "Call my Lin" Pisces replied impishly. In most countries, the response towards any criticism towards a ruler would be much less amiable and much harsher, but no one in the world could accuse the Prince of Pisces of being a cruel ruler. Besides, this was Moira, once his beloved nanny and now his beloved maid who could and would still give him a stern talking to that would make him mope around for hours before begging for her forgiveness.
"Linnie, don't play coy with me," She shot back, hands placed firmly on her hips. The Prince relented, a pout crossing his face before it dissolved into an amiable smile.
"Moira, please don't be cross with me. I have a very good explanation for this," He gestured down at his clothes, a simple white shirt paired with an oceanic blue colored jacket and trousers and simple black shoes. It was simple, plain, and clearly unbefitting for a man of his stature, and Moira couldn't wait to hear what excuse he had drawn up this time.
"Well, the thing is that I don't want anyone to know why I'm going," He continued with a little prompting in the form of a stern look. "If I dressed all formally, then I might worry everyone. They might think I'm going to talk about the, ah, war."
"Well, you are," Moira said, but with less harshness than before.
"Oh, yes, you know that, and I know that, but you know how rumors are. People might be worried that I'm actually going to go choose sides and get all of us involved in this ridiculousness. I'd rather they assume that I'm skipping off work to visit a friend," He hummed, twirling the end of his low ponytail as he took a last bite of his strawberry scone.
Moira sighed because of course that's what he was doing. Marlin might be silly and a flip-flopper when it came to making decisions, but he always had the good of the kingdom in mind when he acted. He was nothing like his father or grandfather, which was a wonderful thing indeed.
"Oh, fine," She huffed, nearly breaking her stern expression at Marlin's responding grin. "But you'd better hurry- you shouldn't be late."
"Of course, Moira, my dear," He cooed, jumping to his feet and pressing a kiss to her cheek as he made his exit. "I'll be back in a heart beat, try not to miss me!"
Moira sighed again as he vanished behind the door. Oh, she hated that boy. Well, not really, but there was no need to tell him that. It might put ideas in his head and goodness knows he didn't need any more of those.
It didn't take very long to make it to the Scorpio kingdom, even if Marlin's horse-riding skills were a little rusty. As expected, his appearance was largely ignored because as odd as he might look with his long blue hair and startlingly pink eyes, without any additional princely garb or procession, he was labelled just another oddball come to do whatever it is that strange people do.
The guards of Vincent's castle were far less ignorant, although most probably agreed that he was indeed a strange person, because they allowed him to make his entrance with only a slightly confused stare.
"Announcing his majesty, the Prince of Pisces!"
Marlin could only wrinkle his nose as he made his entrance into the dining hall. It lacked much color and was all dim lighting like this was one of those secret, intense meetings in the books he so enjoyed. Well, it was a secret and intense meeting, but it didn't need to be so cliche.
"A bit dramatic, isn't it, Prince Scorpio?" He teased lightly, nevertheless glad to see one of the other sane rulers that made up the Land of High. "You don't need to impress me, you know, my dear." It may be off-putting at first, but whenever Marlin spoke, it was to be expected that "my dear"s, "pet"s, and, above all else, "sweetie"s were to follow unless expressly asked otherwise.