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Levi took in a breath, forcing himself to even out his breath. “Yeah, my parents definitely wanted my brother and I to be like the princes. The names are really common in my country, they have been for years.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t have a second brother though,” he reluctantly lied, hoping to try and throw Cadmus off the trail. “Not like the princes do.”
Cadmus laughed and it was almost real. "You Widonians have the silliest traditions," He said, like he believed Levi entirely. His eyes were bright, the same as they always were, even though now that he was listening for it it was easy to parse out Levi's little lie. "Whoever heard of naming your kids after the princes?"
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Levi was still on edge, although he attempted to conceal it with a smile. If Cadmus and Fiori—especially Fiori’s uncle—knew he was the prince of their enemy country, things would be…bad. They could imprison him, hold him for ransom, even kill him. “Yes, indeed. It’s more common in Widona than other places.” He twirled the silver ring around his finger.
That half-real smile confirmed everything Cadmus was worried about. Levi was lying, and he wouldn't be doing it if he had nothing to hide. The only question was why? He had to know FI was opposed to the war, everyone did, so why was he keeping it a secret? What did he mean to do before he was found out.
He laughed again, trilling and only the tiniest bit too high pitched, and shook his head. "Yeah, I bet. It's the cold, makes you lose all your naming creativity. WHat's that ring you've got there?"
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“Oh,” he swallowed, looking down at it. “It’s a family ring, passed down generations… jewelry is also an important part in our culture. Everyone wears a lot of it.” The last sentence was another lie, a small enough one he hoped would be believable.
Levi trusted Fiori enough to know he wouldn’t hurt him, but he didn’t know him enough to be certain that he would be so easily freed if they knew he was the prince. He was also frightened of the regent. If he found out, surely he wouldn’t be as war-neutral as Fiori.
"Really?" Cadmus took Levi's hand, holding it up so he could inspect the ring. "That's some high-quality shit you've got right there, silver through and through. I know Widonia's wealthy, but y'all can't be that wealthy." His voice was teasing, his smirk playful and gentle. He'd had this freakout before and he'd have it again so it was easy, by now, to keep all his fear for Fiori locked up inside.
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“Hah, yeah…” he laughed a little bit, pulling his hand back out of Cadmus’. “It’s several years old, but we keep it polished so it looks as new as it can. Not every family in Widona has it but… the wealthy families. I’m from a wealthy family.”
Cadus let him, watching the ring for a few more seconds before his eyes flicked up to Levi's face. "It's pretty, d'you have any for your hair? I know Widonian boys usually decorate theirs with bits of metal, you'd look really nice like that."
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“Ah, yeah, I usually do. I lost them when I first got here, though, along with my other piercings.” He gestured to the irritated marks on his face—his lip, and nose, and ears. “The ring is the only thing I kept.”
Cadmus hummed, reaching up to Levi's face slowly so he could run a finger over the places the piercings used to be before he even knew what he was doing. Levi always seemed so sweet. It was hard to remember he was dangerous. "Yeah, I had a couple piercings before I got here, but they closed up. You should probably get your hands on some jewelry if you don't want yours to go the same way."
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Levi closed his eyes, and grimaced a little bit when Cadmus touched his face. “Yes, I thought about that, but I’m hoping to be freed to go home before they all close completely. My nose may need need pierced again by the time I get back.”
"I've got some jewelry," Cadmus offered before he could think about it, mentally cursing himself. Levi was an enemy. A hazard. A bad guy. You weren't supposed to share your shit with the bad guys. "If you need it, that is." His hand dropped from Levi's face. "The ones in your lip are about to close up, I can feel it."
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“Really?” He blinked with surprise, “The ones in my lip usually last longer than that…huh,” he lifted his hand to feel his lip. He winced a little bit. It was still painful. “And thank you, I really appreciate it.”
"Not in this weather they don't." Cadmus smiled, glancing back at the arena. Two women were duking it out, no trace of Fiori left. He squashed down the little spark of worry in his gut. Fi would be fine, he always was. He had to be. "And it's fine. We're… friends. This is what friends do."
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“Friends,” Levi echoes with a growing smile. “I never expected I would make friends in this situation,” he seemed to relax a little bit more. “I’ve been proved wrong the last couple of days.”
Cadmus laughed and wished he could keep the hint of bitterness out of it. "Well, I'm glad you see it that way! And anywho, I'm sure you'll be on your way home in no time, Fi's not keen on slaves.
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“I’m looking forward to it,” Levi beamed. Levi had the natural air, sometimes wavering, composure of a prince. Particularly now, where despite his small size, his shoulders were back and his back was straight. His eyes held a softness to them at the thought of going home soon. “A weeks away from home is a week too long,” he said with a puppy-like grin.
Cadmus swallowed down his worry, his self- doubt, all the other shit clouding his head, and nodded. "Yeah, I bet you've got lots of people waiting up on you." He cracked a small smile of his own, eyes crinkling at the corners. "I mean, who wouldn't miss that smile?"
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Levi laughed at that, “A lot of people,” he humored, but paused when he thought about what actually might be happening back home. They most likely weren’t waiting for him, just grieving him. And Johan would be the prince regent in Levi’s absence. He could only imagine how Johan was leading the country.
Cadmus rolled his eyes. "Please, everyone just has to be mourning while you're away." He laughed softly, eyes flicking across Levi's face. "I bet your house doesn't even run while you're away. And you're gonna have a real disaster on your hands when you get back, especially with that brother of yours. He's a little demon, ain't he?"
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Levi’s lip twitched, but he passed it off as a smile. “Yes, I’ll have some things to work through when I get back. My brother is likely running the household, and I don’t know what he would do. He’s unpredictable.”
Cadmus laughed. "From what I've heard, he's a lot more than unpredictable. Your demonling's a real piece of work, Fi'd love him." His lips ticked up in a smile and he shrugged. "But anyways, let's talk about nicer things, yeah? What're you gonna do when the fighting's done?"
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Levi laughed a little bit at the comment about his brother. It was true, but still a touchy subject for him. He moved on eagerly when Cadmus suggested it “Tonight? I have no idea what goes on after the fighting. So I don’t know.”
Cadmus nodded, doing his best to think carefully about his reply. "Well, Fi offered to take me down festival row– that big street lines with all the little shop station thingies that you saw on the way in– you could always come with. Might be a good time to get you some bling."
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“Oh, right,” his expression brightened, “I was looking forward to visiting the shops. I would love to join you,” he accepted with another smile. “I haven’t seen much of the style of jewelry here yet.”
"It's all very dangly, and lots of it's glass." He leaned a little closer, voice dropping to a conspirational whisper. "I've got this really nice set I cold loan you for the festivities tomorrow. Tharis bought it for me, it's this gorgeous blue glass necklace and earring pair, and they're just beautiful."
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His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open, “Oh, damn, are you sure?” He leaned closer with interest. “I’m not even sure if I have some like that at home.” From how Cadmus described them, they seemed high end. Did Cadmus really trust him that much to loan them to him? “I’m flattered.”
It wasn't so much a trust thing as an insurance thing. Glassware jewelry left an impression, he'd be able to find Cadmus wherever he went by asking for the boy with the glass necklace. "Yeah, they're kind of… specialty?" He shrugged, face breaking into an even wider smile. "I'm sure you'll look great in them."
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“Wonderful. Thank you so much. You might have to might me to give them back when we say goodbye before I leave,” he laughed in hopes that Cadmus would take it as it was meant to be: a joke. He couldn’t wait to see them. They didn’t have much glass jewelry in his home country, let alone blue glass.
Cadmus' answering laugh was uneasy, but he shrugged off the discomfort like an ill-fitting jacket until his smile was as sunny as ever. "Bold words from a guy who knows my boyfriend," he teased back. "I'm sure I could convince Fi to snatch them back for me if I begged long enough."
