the wolf and the lamb » kageyama x reader

27. Red Like Roses

Chapter Twenty Seven: Red Like Roses

"Be careful with the knife, sir. We are moving, and it's a sharp blade," Sugawara murmurs, leaning across the carriage to take the penknife from Kageyama. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees something float to the ground; releasing a soft sigh, he bends down to pick it up.

It's a rose petal, black as the darkest night, slightly stiff to the touch in some places and soft like satin in others.

"Give that to me!"

The butler starts at the king's sudden command, so surprising was it amid the rumbling of the carriage wheels underfoot and the crinkling of the paper in Kageyama's hand. "A-At once, my lord," Sugawara says, handing it to the king, who gingerly places it back into the off-white envelope.

Kageyama lets out a huff of air and shoves the letter towards his butler. "Look at it."

Sugawara looks over the poem scrawled across the textured page, lips silently forming the words as he reads each line carefully. He looks up to see the king gazing at him intently.

"What do you think?"

"'Cat has your tongue' is a strange way of putting it," he mutters, bouncing slightly in the seat as the carriage goes over a bump in the road. "Is this all that was inside, beside the rose petal?"

"As per usual."

"Hm. Let's analyze this, then, my lord."

"What do you mean?"

"As in, what was it about? What did it feature?" Sugawara cocks his head and holds the paper out at arm's length, turning it slightly to catch the dappled light streaming in through the carriage window.

"It talks about a long journey, always being there for someone, and staying with them no matter what," Kageyama frowns, face sullen as he stares intently at the paper, then at Suga, then back at the letter.

"Yes, true, but what about literally?"

"Literally? It talks about a long journey on a road and cats holding tongues and lying in messy beds. What's the point of thinking literally, though? It's a love poem. These things are always sappy and dripping with metaphors," Kageyama scoffs, rolling his eyes. He crosses his arms, leaning against the side of the carriage, even as he's jostled side-to-side because of the gravelly road outside. "I need to fix the roads," he mutters to himself.

"The past two poems were metaphorical, but the place it referred to was mentioned rather literally, right?" The butler closes his eyes and purses his lips. "So what place requires a long journey and is related to cats?"

"It's Nekoma, right?" Kageyama remarks offhandedly, staring out the window. "Their national animal is a cat, and they're not exactly five minutes away from the castle," he says. "Sugawara, we're going to Nekoma."

"Right now?"

The king looks at Suga like he's gone crazy. "No, in a month."

"Really? Wouldn't that be a bit, I don't know, late?"

"Are you daft? Of course not! I mean right now."

"My lord, it's a bit late-notice to go today... what would we say?"

"Send them word that we'll be there tomorrow, then. Say that we have an urgent issue to attend to and that we cannot delay any longer."

Suga sighs. "And what exactly would we say this 'urgent issue' at hand is, sir?"

"Something... I forgot something there. Long ago." The carriage lurches to a halt and both men peek out the window. The spires of the Karasuno castle fly a flag with the trademark black-and-orange crest in the sky high above.