oh i see my profile. nevermind i get it

why

Josh's weapon was flung from his grasp as Magnus threw him backwards, but the king didn't seem to care. "Shut the fuck up!" He hissed, eyes blazing as he threw himself bodily at Magnus, his anger winning out over common sense. "Dad picked me! It's my crown!"

"When he realized how scared Thessia and I were- foreigners in this country, still in the midst of Bandrel and Valendale's war... yes." Fredericson let out a short chuckle, getting choked-up as he remembered that day, so long ago. "He didn't even think twice. Didn't ask your mother- she always said yes to his insane ideas, anyways. He wanted you to have the best chance at life- and what better choice than having the crown prince of Valendale as a father?"

Magnus angled his sword to deflect the strike, and in one smoothe motion, he had rotated his sword around the blade and swung upwards, throwing the weapon and Josh backwards.
“A crown you did little to earn,” Magnus retorted, eyes narrowing as he circled the man. “Everyone knows it should be your brother on that throne, and yet here you are, pretending.”

“Was the plan for him to adopt me all along?” Terrence couldn’t help but ask, more out of sheer curiosity than any real bitterness.

Josh rolled onto his stomach and used his arms to push himself up, glaring up at Magnus through the mess of curls that had fallen in front of his face.
"At least I have a crown!"
He pulled himself to his feet, quickly jerking his head to the side to knock his hair out of his face before he was coming at Magnus again. His swing at the foreign prince's thigh was far too aggressive for a simple sparring match- he wanted this to hurt.

Fredericson crossed over to Terrence's side and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I miss him too." Kana had made two Mason-Becketts that Fredericson had lost. He'd lived with them since childhood, was treated like their brother rather than their servants' child- rather than a Bandrelian child. Even after the war had taken the eldest Mason-Beckett son away- Kana still looked at him with that same brotherly affection, even though it was Bandrel who took Terrence away.
"He was so excited when he found out about you," Fredericson suddenly said, pulling his hand away from Terrence's shoulder, "asked us a million and one questions. 'Is it a boy or a girl? What are you gonna name it?' I'd never seen him so excited for anything- and I'd known him most of my life."

Magnus blocked, though just barely. With a hiss, he locked both his ankles around Josh's legs and heaved, knocking the other man to ground along with him. He took advantage of the momentary distraction to roll up and away, flicking his hair back from his face. There was a gleam in his eyes that hadn't been there before as he regarded his opponent.
"It's no wonder they call you the Child King," Magnus called out tauntingly, brandishing his sword with an air of calm and confidence as he sized Joshua up, determining the best approach. "Not much to show for that crown, hm Your Highness?"



"I know," Terrence murmured, a sad smile crossing his face as he gripped the edge of the windowsill, staring out at the twinkling lights of the city beyond. "It's times like these, with all of this...uncertainty and doubt where I...I really miss him."

Josh let out a sharp gasp as Magnus elbowed him and quickly whirled around, sizing up Magnus for the briefest of moments before hooking his foot around the other man’s ankle to knock him off balance, at the same time swinging his blade to attack again.
“Do you count yourself among the Bandrelian children, Prince?” Josh spat, mocking the man’s lack of kingly title.