On my mom's birthday I put on my best suit.
I get a haircut. I pretend she's coming home.
(content warning for death, length, and birthright spoilers)
@ofthelace ღ
He was roughly six years of age when his mother finally allowed the royal stylist to take a blade to his hair. She insisted on staying the entire time despite father’s reassurances that it would look equally handsome when finished. Siegbert remembers when his bangs were a curly mess that he could barely see past and also remembers crying at the loss of them. It’s laughable to recall now: Nohr’s future king tearing up in the barber’s chair after his first hair cut; the way his mother effortlessly scooped him into her arms after. “ I love it ” her voice had reassured him as she pressed a kiss to his bare temple. “ Now I can do this. ”
At seven his hair is growing faster than ever taking on the color of his mother’s hair with the texture of his father’s. The curls have started to settle in and her hands never stray far - tirelessly working through them in a vain attempt to smooth. He never minded. Even when he awoke up with bedhead that took his mother hours to untangle (which she never failed to). He knows it now to be a labor of her love for him.
Later that same year, his parents are busier than ever with war affairs. Aunt Kamui, if he can even call her that, is leading the Hoshidan army according to Uncle Leon. He picked up the name from Aunt Elise, but his uncle corrects him by saying she is no longer part of their family. It doesn’t make sense to a child his age. Still, he knows better than to question it. This Kamui had left Nohr before his birth and any curiosity he has is overshadowed by the pained face of his aunts when her name is mentioned.
His uncle is ruling Nohr as its regent king until Siegbert is ready to succeed the throne. But it still unsettles the young prince’s stomach to see anyone standing where his father once stood. There was a terrible accident that night Leon had informed him - one that cost them the lives of Nohr’s crown prince and his Queen and the second princess. Even Leon didn’t have the details, only that none of them would be returning to the castle. The empty seat next to the king’s taunts him. His uncle has yet to take a wife because he needs no heir and the stability of their nation is a greater concern.
It is late spring when his hair reaches unmanageable length once again. Strands of hair tickle just above his eyelids meaning it’s time for a trim. The Nohrian skies do not clear even this time of year but the accompanying rain is telling enough. His attendants advise against adorning a suit lest it be soiled by the falling sky water. The issue is not, however, pushed further when he gently asserts his orders. A brief stop to a florist in the morning precedes his hair appointment. The bouquet is prepared in advance at his request and easy enough to retrieve. He transfers them to a vase in the castle shortly after. In the afternoon, he returns to the same seat he has frequented since he was only seven. When the barber cuts the front a little too short and profusely apologizes, Siegbert realizes it somehow doesn’t bother him.
