expatgirl

And so, when Castiel went missing, all those years ago, after some of the most intense fighting in living memory, everyone knew he was dead. He was a ferocious fighter and a brilliant tactician but there were none left alive after Azazel and Crowley joined forces.

So Dean wept in private over Castiel and in public over John, and put Sam's education above all things, doing what his father had failed to do when Queen Mary died. Sam was the second son and so had a chance for freedom Dean knew was never his.

And Dean plays the part—he courts many, many women, throws legendary parties, travels relentlessly around the kingdom quelling rebellions and hunting down brigands and those who sympathized with Azazel and Lucifer.

But now it's five years on, and the kingdom is impatient, as kingdoms always are. Sam has finished his education, a prince and a scholar, with his warrior days behind him. Rumor has it he's seeking the hand of a merchant's daughter, from Leahy.

(In the past, a match like that would be unthinkable, but then again, Sam is the second son, and the War, which took so many, many lives, made people somehow more pragmatic and more romantic.)

Five years. John can be officially buried—though, of course, his body was never found—as Castiel was, the year previously, in the quiet corner of the Milton family's churchyard, close to the river, where he and Dean spent so many happy hours. He visits Castiel’s grave before he goes on one of his campaigns (each one more dangerous than the last, each time, more reckless), and after, beaten and bloodied but still alive.

Per custom, the week after John's burial is Dean's coronation. They build the King's Pyre in the square and burn John's robes in lieu of his body. He was a harsh man and king, born and died in war, but his sacrifice ended it, an so the people revere him, if not love him. (It's a sentiment his sons share.)

The kingdom mourns. Hunter-kings from other countries pay their respects, queens and empresses send gifts, and every flag flies at half-mast. The palace is draped in black, and remains that way until the last of the smoke from the Pyre clears.

And now Dean faces the real question. He'll be King—for real, actual King—and he'll be expected to marry. Those foreign dignitaries aren't solely here out of respect for John; they know Dean's reputation as a warrior, Sam's as a negotiator, the kingdom's wealth.

He'll have a year, at most, where he can wave off the question with excuses about settling into the role. But he's been acting in John's place for so long now that people will see it for the lie it is.
Rating: T
Pairing: Dean/Castiel

Read more of Gallantry or: The Knight and the Missing Soldier by clicking here.