Joel Waters-Baker

The entire party would be unbearable, Joel thinks, if not for the knowledge that as soon as he's able to slip away, he's going to be meeting Spencer in the library. If isn't that the party itself is terrible, just that Joel has never been particularly good at them and nothing has changed, not in his entire life.

He's thirty years old as of today and his mother has made certain that nearly the entire kingdom knows it. The party is a bright, cheerful affair with plenty of eat and even more to drink, decorations draping the palace and making the entire place sparkle. It's beautiful and everyone is happy and Joel, with less than a week to go until the ball, is as happy as any of them because he's been making plans. There's a part of him that still feels incredibly guilty given what Caden has offered to do, taking a bride in his place so that he and his wife will take over the throne when it becomes necessary, but Joel is beginning to think it might not be the only solution.

That Spencer, if he's willing, may just be able to be the one ruling by Joel's side when the day comes.

He hasn't spoken plainly to his parents about it and they've still invited about a dozen princesses to his party tonight, but in their defence, the invitations had been sent out a month ago, long before Joel even knew Spencer existed. When he's with his mother, though, when he speaks about Spencer, she smiles knowingly and pats his hand sweetly and asks what sorts of flowers he thinks he might like when he gets married. She doesn't ask if he's settled on one of the princesses, she doesn't press for details, she just looks at him and it's like she knows. This is the best case scenario, that Joel can be with Spencer and still fulfill his duties to his parents, and he doesn't want to get his hopes up too high, just in case there's nothing to be done and he must pass his responsibilities along to Caden, but he feels good.

He feels truly happy.

When it seems like he might finally have an opportunity to slip away, his mother catches him by the wrist. "Don't go too far," she says to him before she presses a kiss to his cheek. "There are to be fireworks still and I have a feeling Spencer won't want to miss them."

She's been doing that, too. Going out of her way to find things she thinks Spencer might like. For tonight she'd gone to one of their personal tailors and had them create a jacket and tie for Spencer that are both comfortable and are just the right shade of dark blue to bring out his eyes. He looks wonderful and Joel finds himself distracted by the thought of him as he smiles at his mother and nods.

And then he's wandering carefully down the hall, smiling at guests, greeting them when they greet him, but all the while headed straight for the library. Straight for the man he's been waiting all night to see. This is the only birthday present he wants and he pushes open one of the heavy doors of the library, then slips inside and shuts it carefully behind him.

"Spencer?" he calls, his voice low. The room is large and empty, just barely lit by a few oil lamps here and there. It's Joel's favourite place in the entire palace and he can't imagine a better place to spend his birthday with the man who's quickly become his favourite person.

Spencer has been in the palace for four days now.

The ball is in nine days.

And Joel is no closer to having made a decision of what he wants to do. In nine days he'll be expected to choose a bride or his brother will and Joel has no idea what might happen. He's more confused and conflicted with every moment that passes because he thinks he knows what he truly wants. No, he knows what he truly wants, but he has no idea how he's going to be able to broach the matter with his parents. They want him to choose a princess, they want him to start a family, respectable and presentable and able to take over the thrones when and if necessary.

But the more time Joel spends with Spencer, the more he realizes what he wants is right there. All of it is within that man who cannot speak, who seems to be in pain every moment he's walking, a man who can't explain where he's come from or who he is, but none of that matters. Joel looks at him and he just knows. Their time together is spent mostly in silence, but Joel has never been much of a talker. Caden has always been able to put his thoughts into words better than he has and he's often relied on his brother to be able to understand what he's feeling.

This is all so new, but he still knows if there's anyone he can talk to about what he's feeling, it's Caden. Even when he can't explain what he's feeling, Caden has always been able to figure it out and after Joel leaves Spencer with a promise to see him in just a little while, he goes to find his brother.

Who is, of course, reading in the gardens.

As he approaches, Joel smiles despite himself. With everything going on, he hasn't been quite so prone to smiling lately, but its difficult not to, finding his brother in what must be the most familiar position he's ever seen him in.