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“Kanade-sama, it’s time for your meeting with the Treaty.”
“Ena,” Kanade sighs, faux-disappointment apparent in her tone, “you know you may simply call me ‘Kanade’ if you want.”
Ena closes Kanade’s bedroom door behind her and rolls her eyes. “I know, I know. You know that I have to at least keep up the image of being respectful to you, right? What if someone was walking past?”
“You are respectful to me,” Kanade points out.
Ena shakes her head. “You know what I mean! I’m your personal guard, and everyone here would execute me if they heard me talking to you like this.” She walks over to where Kanade is sitting on her bed and places her hands on her hips as she towers over the acting ruler. “Kanade, you know how the Otori family gets—that Crown Prince of theirs is super punctual, so we need to start getting ready now!”
Kanade stands up with a soft smile, causing Ena to stagger back slightly. “But what if I don’t want to get ready yet?” She brings a hand up, revealing a carnation grasped between her thumb and pointer. She tucks it behind Ena’s ear and says, “Here, I got this from my mother’s garden.”
Ena’s face is as red as a tomato as she hisses, “K-kanade!”
“There’s no one here,” Kanade reassures her. “No one can see us, and you locked the door, right?”
“Kanade.” Despite her bashfulness, Ena fixes Kanade with a stern look. “You need to get ready for this meeting with the Treaty. All four of the other nation representatives are going to be there, so as the Queen, you have to–”
Kanade interrupts Ena the best way she knows how—by cupping Ena’s face and leaning in, planting a soft kiss on her lips. Ena melts instantly, just like how Kanade knew she would, one of her hands coming up to cup Kanade’s face in return—and when Kanade pulls back, they spend a moment gazing at each other softly. The sunlight shining in through the window is filtered into a soft purple color by the see-through curtains that are still closed.
“...I’m not being difficult without reason,” Kanade promises quietly. She leans into Ena’s hand and her eyes flutter shut as she lets out a deep breath. “You know what this meeting is about, right, Ena?”
Ena purses her lips and her eyes flicker to the side. “...Yeah. I do.”
Kanade has always been fated to end up in this position, but the death of her mother and the incapacitation of her father only sped the process up. Kanade’s adopted older sister, Megurine Luka, could have been chosen as the Heir—but the public would not accept someone not of royal blood to be chosen. Kanade, as her parents’ only blood daughter, was chosen to become the acting Queen when she was 13.
Kanade is 17 now, with her 18th birthday coming up soon—and once her 18th birthday hits, she’ll be eligible to marry someone into the royal family. This meeting with the Treaty of Worlds only serves as a way for her to meet some prospects from other nations; she knows that Wonderland’s Prince Tenma Tsukasa is her age, and Vivid’s head knight, Commander Shinonome Akito - Ena’s estranged younger brother who was transferred to Vivid - are the main two that the Senate is trying to set Kanade up with.
And honestly, in another world, Kanade could see herself following that life. Kanade has known Tsukasa since they were both young, and he’s a wonderful man who will no doubt be a wonderful spouse and King. Meanwhile, Kanade has met Akito in passing a few times, and he seems like a perfectly respectful man. Plus, he’s Ena’s younger brother.
But as good as those two may be, neither of them are who Kanade truly wants. They pale in comparison to Ena, her dear personal guard who is kind, and creative, and smart, and so unique.
…But Ena is a woman, and no one would allow Kanade to marry a woman.
“We could run away,” Kanade says quietly. “I…I might not be the most athletic person, but we could find a way. Luka would help us, and–”
“It’s okay, Kanade,” Ena whispers. “You’re the Queen of this nation—we can’t run away, and that’s okay. I’ll still be by your side, no matter…” her eyes dim, “...no matter who you end up marrying.”
“I want to marry you,” Kanade says sadly. She sits back down on her bed, Ena joining her to her left. “I know that we’ll stay together—you were sworn in for life. I know that we’ll be together forever. I just wish I could show our love to the world.”
“I wish that too,” Ena says, taking Kanade’s hand in hers. “I wish that more than anything.”
But it’s just a wish. A naive wish that could never come true; not in this world.
“We’ll be together, and that’s all that matters,” Ena says.
Kanade can only nod. “You’re right. That’s all that matters.”
“You may now kiss the bride.”
Kanade is wearing a white dress that drags behind her, a white veil, and her hair tied into a braid. Her makeup is done perfectly, and the whole nation can probably agree that at this moment, she’s the most beautiful person in the world.
At least, Ena thinks so. She watches as Kanade’s veil is lifted from her face before two hands cup her face, bringing her in for a kiss. The crowd cheers; their Queen is now married, and bonds between nations have been strengthened.
Out of the entire room full of smiling faces, Ena can only feel a deep sense of dread in her heart. She’s not insecure in any way; this is Kanade, the woman she’s been in love with since the moment they met, and Kanade is very vocal in her reciprocation of those feelings.
And yet. Ena finds herself wishing that she had listened to Kanade all that time ago. She wishes they could have run somewhere far away from anyone else, where they could be together happily.
It’s fine, though. Ena is still at Kanade’s side, where she swore to be until the day she died. They’d make it through this together.