Let us turn back time a little, back a couple days prior to the ending of our last tale, to the night of Princess Jern's return to Snjórland. Queen Helio had uncharacteristically fled from the dinner table without so much as a reason other than a need to -- in her words - "lie down". The guests were baffled to say the least and Gyllen had even sent Robert to go and see what ailed Her Majesty as he tried his best to resume his meal as calmly as he could. At some point, he finished the last drop of his wine from his chalice, only to have it promptly refilled by the attentive, neighbouring minotaur to his right.
"Ah! Please, Ms. Pasiphaë!" The prince protested. "One serving is more than enough to satisfy me. I am a tad of a...oh, what's that word Jern used...'light weight'."
"Ah, a couple more won't kill you!" The minotaur insisted with a smile before refreshing her own goblet.
"Well...perhaps just
one
more couldn't hurt..." The blonde mumbled before he brought it up to his face, interrupted on the way by Pasi clinking her own container against his with a "cheers" before sipping the contents.
A couple hours more passed. In that time, Robert had come back to update the prince on the status of his mother, though the blond could scarcely recall the report by the following morning, seeing how he had mainly occupied himself by quaffing cup after cup of fermented grape juice, slumping in his seat and slightly buzzed whilst eavesdropping on Jern relaying her stories of valour to Eir. They seemed to be fairly unbelievable and exaggerated tales of heroic deeds and high adventures. The number of handsome damoiseaux-in-distress she claimed to have rescued from dragons or evil wizards or whatnot within the short timespan of a single year seemed grossly doubtful. Still, the many fantastical sights and landscapes she vividly described to their mutual sister began enchanting Gyllen too...
Maybe it was mainly due to the current effects of the alcohol, but the prince quickly began yearning to escape from this tiny, lonely island he inhabited and see the rest of the world while he still had his youth, rather than spending his newfound adulthood within the the confines of the capital, anticipating the day he would be wed to a princess he never met from a kingdom he had never visited and shipped away faster than you could say: "Don't I get a vote in this?", and
that
was if he was lucky. The realisation depressed the prince. Sighing, he put an elbow on the table with his head in one hand, idly rolling the base of his chalice in circles around the table with the other as his blue eyes watered up. However, not a single tear had a chance to fall. He sniffed and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his robe, his despair swiftly turning into determination. Clenching at the stem of his cup with a sudden look of conviction appearing on his pretty face, Gyllen made a mental vow then and there for his own sake: "I will go on an adventure which shall satisfy me for a lifetime!"
With conviction set in his heart, Gyllen experienced minor appeasement for a time while he pictured vistas of unspoilt green meadows, shimmering desert, an endless blue ocean reflecting the sun in the cloudless sky, etcetera, etcetera, in spite of the young, optimistic fool not even knowing the first thing about international travel! Still, the dream was satisfactory enough for him in the moment, evident by his wide grin underneath his hazy, tipsy eyes. By the time he returned to the concrete world after running lengthy simulations of these imaginary journeys in his mind, he saw that nearly all of the guests, including his three sister and and the female minotaur, had left him.
"Gods, how long was I daydreaming...?" He thought to himself. Many remaining warriors laid face down on the tables, snoring loudly after having one too many pints to drink while the few still half-awake sipped away at the last few drops of ale remaining in their mugs. The band continued performing, although their tunes had become slower and more subdued to compliment the dwindling celebratory atmosphere.
"Oh! I love this song!" The blond announced aloud, listening in and recognising the composition that was currently being played after a few notes. He looked behind himself to see the ever loyal Robert standing guard over him, leaning on his pike, bored and tired from his uneventful duty. Uneventful, that was, until the prince broke the monotony and spoke directly to him. "Oh, Robert, darling~!" Gyllen beckoned him over. The guard quickly stood to attention - pretending he had been doing so the entire evening - as the prince addressed him.
"What is it, your grace?" The handsome soldier inquired.
"May I have this dance?" Gyllen requested in his groggy state. Robert blinked in bewilderment.
"B-beg pardon, sir?" The bodyguard asked, unsure if he had heard the prince correctly. The boy did not answer verbally but stood away from his seat and held onto Rob's wrist, dragging him to the centre of the hall along with himself, causing the soldier to drop his spear onto the stone floor with a loud clatter in the process. Gyllen undid the straps of the taller male's helmet in a rapid and precise manner (an ability he had acquired during his time with Min). He placed the headgear on a nearby table before leaning his face inwards to peck Robert on the lips, undaunted by their circumstance of being in a public area containing several people to behold his display of affection.
As a reminder for the reader, same-sex relations were not strictly outlawed within Snjórland's borders, but it was still not a subject many were comfortable acknowledging outside of the seedier nooks and crannies of the country such as the Monster District, where such things are slightly less taboo partly in thanks to the mixing pot of varying cultures and beliefs from all over the world leading to a greater tolerance for the dissimilar.