Fic: Outnumbered

[lonespark]

Fandom: The Dragon Prince
Rating: General audiences
Characters: Viren, Claudia, Soren, Callum, Ezran, Harrow. (Sorry, I forgot to include Bait, assuming they have him already and he's not away at Toad Camp)
Summary: Viren spends the day with extra children.

(For a prompt on twitter from tired_sunrises. I am still taking prompts.)

When Viren had agreed to watch the princes during the negotiations, no one had thought they would drag on for multiple days. It still hadn't been much of an issue, until both of the regular nannies had fallen ill. 

 

Viren prided himself on his resourcefulness, but also on realistic assessments and calculations. He was outnumbered four-to-one by faster, less predictable opponents. His only chance was to out-strategize them, with plans and backup plans.

 

Plan A was a picnic, and it had gone quite well at first. "Quite well" included Claudia accidentally giving Callum a bloody nose during a game of Troll Tag, and then crying about it in a way that seemed out of proportion, but minor casualties were to be expected. Soren had managed to cheer her up faster by donating half of his dessert, and all was well...until the rain arrived.

 

A little rain wouldn't hurt, and there was talk of collecting worms and possibly frogs. But the drizzle quickly became a torrent, and a cold one at that. By the time they made it back inside the castle, everyone was muddy and shivering.

 

The older three could at least be handed off to servants for baths and warm, dry clothes. Ezran, however, was shy around unfamiliar adults, especially in his current tired and uncomfortable state. He clung to Viren, wailing louder every time someone made a move to separate them, but still squirmed, and kicked, and yelled, throughout the clothes-changing process.

 

The experience dredged up Viren's memories of wrestling his own children out of soiled clothes.  At least this time it was only water.

 

By the time Ezran was dry, his feelings toward Viren had cooled, at least temporarily. He munched resentfully on a cracker, chanting, "Want Callum, want Callum now," until, mercifully, his brother returned. From then on he sat propped against Callum on the sofa, while Claudia read from "Tales of Myth and Magic," gradually drooping into a late nap.

 

Soren and Claudia tried to talk Viren into a shadow show. Viren contemplated his options.

 

"I will do that this evening if you behave for the rest of the day. In the meantime, you could make your own illustrations."

 

"Yeah! Then we can show them to the king when he gets back!"

 

"I love to draw! I'll go get my sketchbook!" 

 

Ezran flopped down hard as Callum stood up, but stayed asleep. Callum raced off and returned with his sketchbook and a large wooden box full of drawing and coloring implements.

 

The children dumped everything out on the table, but Viren made them put the quills and ink bottles back. There was still plenty of mess to be made, but hopefully of the less permanent variety.

 

"I need some red, so I can draw Callum bleeding on everybody," Soren announced. Viren mentally prepared himself for awkward questions when Harrow was presented with that work of art.

 

A great deal of paper was used up, and Claudia and Soren nearly came to blows over a particular shade of purple, but the chaos seemed well-contained. Even if the meeting continued, Harrow would be back soon for the night. Viren breathed a sigh of relief.

 

"Is this paint? I like paint! It's so bright..."

 

Ezran was awake again, and no one had noticed him climbing the shelf where Viren had stored the box with the ink.

 

The shelf wobbled dangerously, but Ezran jumped lightly away.  Just as he landed, the stopper came off the bottle of ink. Bright blue droplets arced into the air, splattering the wall, the table, and the corner of the sofa, with the largest volume ending up on Ezran himself. 

 

"Oops."

 

Everyone was staring at the scene, silent for the moment. Viren thought there were probably solutions, or at least responses, to be employed, but any problem-solving thoughts seemed locked away from his mind.

 

"Viren? Are you here?  Are the boys with you?" Harrow's voice was at the door, whereas Viren's voice seemed to have taken an extended vacation.

 

"Dad!" The princes rushed to their father. Harrow knelt down to hug Ezran, ensuring that the ink would stain all of his clothes, too.

 

"It rained so much, and it was cold-"

 

"I was bleeding a lot, but it was an accident-"

 

"The paint on the wall looks like the rain, doesn't it, Callum?"

 

Harrow said nothing as he collected his children and left.

 

 

Much later, the children were all in bed, and Viren himself was nodding off.  At least the demand for a shadow show had been forgotten for the moment.

 

A soft knock sent Viren to the door. He motioned Harrow in and sat beside him on the newly redecorated sofa. 

 

"It seems you had an eventful day."

 

"You could say that."

 

"I understand the children had a wonderful time."

 

"That's good."

 

Harrow patted Viren's knee.

 

"I'm very grateful for your help."

 

"You're welcome, My King. And..." He laid his hand over Harrow's, squeezing it gently for emphasis. "... you are also in my debt."

 

Harrow nodded. "That is true.  I owe you a substantial favor now. What form of repayment did you have in mind?"

 

Viren shrugged, yawning. "We can work it out another day."

 

"Alright. But maybe this will be a good start." 

 

The king pulled a small cushion onto his lap and tugged Viren down to rest his head there. He ran his fingers through Viren's sweat-damp hair, and his mage sighed contentedly.

 

Harrow pressed his fingertips against the stiff muscles of Viren's neck, massaging in circles.  Viren let out a soft groan.

 

"That feels amazing. Thank you."

 

"You're welcome." Harrow's other hand began massaging Viren's scalp. "Consider it a downpayment."

 

"Mmmmm..."

 

Viren made a few more appreciative sounds after that, but they grew fainter, and then stopped.  Harrow was tired himself, and he knew he needed to move soon to avoid the uncomfortable stiffness that would result from falling asleep in his current position. Still, he lingered, watching Viren's chest rise and fall as the mage relaxed more fully into sleep.  Viren's expression softened into something peaceful and sweet.  

 

Finally the king maneuvered himself to the end of the sofa and stood up.  He adjusted the pillow under Viren's head and found a blanket to tuck around him.

 

"Good night, Viren," he said softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
 

Comments

[oceanose]

Aa, this is so cute! Well done!

[lonespark]

Thank you!!!