A Prince's Pride

*Milo*

Today is the day of the wedding. I've never been more anxious before in my life. When I approached Xion and told them I wanted to help plan the wedding, they were overjoyed. 

My original choice of flowers was kept and they now line the aisle in the throne room. The banners of House Heris are hung around the throne room which is decorated with red, purple, and gold drapes hanging from the ceiling. Golden rose petals are strewn about with silver flakes sprinkled between them. Small pieces of colored tape have been attached to the mullioned windows so the light cascading from them shines on the throne room in a rainbow of colors. 

"It's so beautiful," says Xion. They're standing right behind me, admiring the work of the many servants it took to make this happen. 

"It really is," I say. 

"There you are!" I hear from the throne room doors. I turn to see Aaron, Oswald, Delgara, and Exavier walking toward me. 

"Your Highness," says Delgara, "I would highly recommend you stop leaving Cromwell."

I've been playing this game where I distract Exavier so I can sneak away. I don't know how Aaron can stand Sir Oswald following him everywhere. It's infuriating. 

"Maybe my sworn protector shouldn't be so easy to lose," I say in a pretend admonishing voice. Exavier looks embarrassed, but Aaron and I would never let Delgara dismiss him. He's Aaron's best friend and a great guard. 

Ever since Zelda made me realize how I was behaving in regards to Aaron, we've been inseparable. I went to him immediately and apologized for my behavior. Whether he was drugged or enchanted, it doesn't matter. He didn't do what he did because of his own decisions. He knows I still think it was magic used against him, but we’ve decided to compromise on it. 

"Or maybe you shouldn't give him the slip," says Aaron, sounding exasperated. I don’t know why he’s so worried. Delgara and the rest of the Crown Guards have been working tirelessly to secure the throne room for the wedding. And the coronation. The thought that I will become a king today is still strange to me. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was a servant.

I just shrug.

"I think you two should get ready," says Xion. "The wedding is in two hours."

Aaron and I look at each other in near shock and both walk separately from the throne room, followed by our guards.

*Aaron*

As I stand in my room getting dressed, Pallenore stands behind the curtain, whispering to me. 

"Sir, what of the reports?" he asks in a dire voice. He's talking about the reports we've heard that the Red Hand is planning to attack the wedding. I've doubled security around the wedding, but that's as much as I'm willing to do. 

The Gods themselves couldn’t stop me and Milo from wedding today.

I haven't told Milo about the rumors and I've ordered everyone who knows to not tell him. I know what Milo gets like when one of our lives are at stake.

When I walk around the screen, Riley, who's standing in my room, gasps.

"You look amazing!" she says, looking at my royal suit. It's crimson and gold, with a chain of silver that attaches my shoulder to my waist. I know Milo is somewhere in the palace, wearing the same thing. 

*Four Months Ago*

*Aaron*

I'm anxious with anticipation. I've went around my room cleaning up and making sure everything is perfect. I’m just waiting for Milo to get here.

When he walks in and looks around, his face shows surprise.

“You cleaned?”

“Yes, my prince,” I say, bowing to him. This is the first time I’ve called him this.

“What’re you doing?” he asks. I walk forward and place a finger on his lips.

“I’m your servant, Your Highness. I’m here to take care of you.”

His eyes light up and I can tell he’s excited about the roleplay.

“Well, I think you’ve done a fine job so far. Servant, draw me a bath, please.”

I smile as I bow and head into the bathroom. I turn on the tap and test the water, making sure it isn't too hot. I make sure to add what I think is the right amount of honeysuckle oil to it. It's his favorite. 

Once it’s full, I poke my head out of the bathroom.

“Your bath is ready, my prince,” I say. He smiles at me and walks into the bathroom.

“Help me undress, servant,” he says. I can tell he’s ramping up the roleplay. I certainly would never call him “servant.”

Still, I go over to him and run my hands up his sides as he lifts his arms, pushing his shirt up as I go. When the shirt comes up over his hands and falls away, he drops his arms around me and he goes in for a kiss.

“My prince,” I say teasingly as I bend my face away from him. “This is highly inappropriate!”

“I just can’t help myself,” he says. “You’re irresistible.” I’m not sure if this is part of the roleplay or not, but it turns me on so much, I kiss him anyway. I run my hands down his side, pushing his pants down as I go. They slide down his legs and gather at his ankles.

“Better get in your bath before the water gets cold, Your Highness.”

I grab his hand and pull him over to the tub, helping him climb in. He lowers himself slowly with a soft moan as the water warms his body.

Next, I grab the sponge and dunk it under the water before scrubbing his shoulders.

“You’ve never told me how good this feels,” he says, breaking character. He bends forward so I can rub his back with the sponge and he lets out a soft groan again.

I can see through the water and he’s already hard. When he leans back against the tub, I move forward and plant my lips on his. He kisses me back and I can somehow feel through his body how relaxed he is.

I drop the sponge as our kissing becomes more passionate and run my hand down his stomach. As my fingers dance across his skin, he lets out a gasp into my mouth, then another when my hand closes around his cock.

“That’s not the sponge,” he says.

“It would probably be easier to find if you got out of the tub, my prince.”

He smiles and stands as I grab a towel. His hair and face are still dry, but I’m done with the bath part. I just want him in my mouth. I don’t take too long drying him off, though I drop to my knees to run the towel quickly over his legs.

Before he can realize what I’m doing, I grab his cock and suck it down into my throat.

“Oh, Gods,” he groans as I bob back and forth, twisting my head from side to side. I wrap my hands around his ass and squeeze his cheeks as he starts to thrust in and out of my throat. I work as much saliva into my mouth as possible as he thrusts, running his hands through my hair.

I let him fall out of me with a gasp of breath and look up at him. His eyes are full of lust and love as he puts a finger under my chin and pulls me up to kiss me. His hands grope over my body, pulling my clothes off. Next thing I know, I’m naked and walking backwards, my mouth connected to Milo’s as he pushes me into my room.

“Let’s go out onto the balcony,” I say. “I want you to bend me over the side and fuck me.”

I expect him to argue, but he doesn’t. Instead, he turns me around and marches me out onto the balcony. He bends be forward over the railing and I think he’s about to slide right in, but he drops to his knees and plants his face in my ass.

“Oh, fuck yes,” I moan as his tongue finds my hole. I grip the railing as my body shudders in pleasure. He snakes a hand through my legs and grips my cock, stroking it as he works my hole. I can barely move, my head sticking out into the open air, gasping as he works his magic.

Too soon, he leaves my hole, but I know what’s coming next, and I want it so fucking bad. He lines his cock up to my hole and starts to push. Thankfully, there’s enough saliva that he slides right in and comes to rest against my body.

He brings his hand up to my head and turns me so I’m looking at him. We stare into one another’s eyes as he starts to thrust slowly, making love to me. I bend my head back farther to kiss him and my tongue slides into his mouth. His thrusting becomes faster as we kiss and I reach down to stroke my own cock.

When Milo pulls his head away from mine, he bites my lower lip. I let out a hiss of pleasure that seems to excite him. He puts a hand on my back, pushes me flat against the railing, and starts to lay into my ass.

As he thrusts, I feel his cock slide over my prostate and my cock starts to gush precum, which drips onto the balcony. I start moving backward and forward so our bodies slam into each other on every inward thrust he gives me.

I try to contain my moaning as much as I can, but it feels too good. To help me, Milo reaches forward and clamps a hand over my mouth. I’m gasping through my nose as he fucks me, our balls slapping together in the open air on the balcony.

“Take your prince’s dick, servant,” he says in a growl I’ve never heard before. “Your hole feels so good on my cock.”

“Fuck…me…my prince…” I gasp around his hand.

Milo gathers a fistful of my hair in his hand, puts one of his feet up onto the balcony’s ledge, and somehow fucks me harder than before. This angle makes his cock slam into my prostate with each thrust and I’ve never jerked my cock harder than I have at this moment.

It’s pure, unadulterated, passionate, bliss. I feel my orgasm build as my balls tighten, drawing close to my body. I can’t help the moan that escapes my mouth. It’s loud and sounds almost pitiful. It rockets through my body and I explode in my hand, shooting great streams of cum from the balcony and out into the night. I don’t stop rubbing my cock as Milo picks up the pace.

“Fuck my ass, Prince Milo,” I say to him. “Use your servant’s hole.”

He thrusts in and out, in and out, gasping for air. I can barely hold myself up as I lean against the railing of the balcony. 

“I’m so close,” he says. I reach a hand back and push him off me so his cock leaves me, then I drop to my knees and open my mouth for him.

He starts stroking his cock, looking down at me with those lust filled eyes.

“I’m cumming,” he warns. He puts his cock close to my mouth and he explodes into it, though one rope shoots across my face, thankfully missing my eye. He’s cumming more than I’ve ever seen, filling my mouth with that salty deliciousness.

*Present Day*

*Milo*

I can't tell if this suit is actually uncomfortable or if I'm just uncomfortable in it. Still, Elaine starts crying when I walk around the privacy screen in Riley's room that hides me. 

"The spiders won't dare come near you in that. Isn't that right, Theodore?" She looks to empty air and smiles as if someone only she can see is talking. "I'm happy, too, dear."

Time seems to leap forward in great dollops until it's time for the wedding. I’m led to one of the corridors leading to the throne room. I know Aaron is in the corridor on the other side of the palace. A wave of anxiety overtakes me at the thought of marrying Aaron. I feel as though I’m in a dream, about to wake any moment.

“Prince Milo,” says Exavier behind me. I turn to see him wearing a full suit of armor. Though it’s sturdy and protective, it looks regal in a way. 

“What is it?” I ask him. I can’t help but smile because today is the happiest day of my life. And I mean that literally, rather than the corny way some people talk about their wedding day. Does everyone feel this on their wedding day?

“I was sworn in to protect you and I swore allegiance to you above all others, so I feel I have to tell you something, but the King has forbidden me from it.”

“Does what he told you concern my life?” I ask.

“It does, Your Highness.” 

“Then tell me. I will deal with the King.”

“Sir, there have been reports that the Red Hand is going to attack your wedding.”

I look at him and I feel my resolve waiver. This would be an opportune time to take out the Royal Family. When I decided to forgive Aaron for sleeping with Olivia, not that it was his fault, I also decided to dive fully into my royal duties. I am a prince of Midoor and I will accept that responsibility. It is my place in the world. This is the life I live and I won’t turn my back on it.

“If the King thinks it’s secure,” I say, “then I don’t care what the Red Hand does.” And I truly don’t. I won’t let anything ruin this day for me. Not the Red Hand. Not the Lower Reach. Not Piper Dylan.

Today, it’s just me and my soon-to-be husband.

I stand and wait for the cue. A servant stands at the bend in the corridor before me. I hear the music start and although I can’t see them, I know the wedding march is starting.

When it’s time for me to walk, the servant, a man named Darrel Cabb, waves me forward.

When I walk around the corner, I see Aaron in his suit for the first time and I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight. His brown hair, which has grown in the last few months, is perfectly sculpted on his head. The blue in his eyes seem to shine as bright as the gold outline of his suit, which I know mirrors my own.

We walk down the corridor and meet in front of the doors to the throne room.

“This is it,” he says. “We’re finally doing it.”

“I know about the Red Hand’s attack,” I say. I don’t want to keep anything from him ever again. He looks worried, but I can tell he’s trying to ignore it for my sake.

“Delgara has assured me—” he starts, but I put a finger to his lips to silence him.

“It doesn’t matter. If they attack, we’ll take them down. Nothing can stand in our way anymore.” 

He smiles and I return it. I want to kiss him, but I decide to wait. To save it for when we’re husbands.

As the music swells, we turn to the throne room and I lock my left arm in his right one. We begin the walk down the aisle and, true to my word, I don’t think about the Red Hand. I don’t look at anything but Grand Master Carr standing at the bottom of the dais.

We reach her and break apart, standing two feet away from one another. I look to Elaine, who is sitting on her throne. She doesn't look insane today. Her hair is weaved into elegant rings which cascade around her head. She's wearing the purple and silver dress she wore when King Theodore died, but she looks happier than I've ever seen her as she gazes at us.

I wish my parents could be here for this.

Riley sits in the throne beside her in a gown of gold, her brown hair back in a simple ponytail. She gives me a thumbs up, her smile wide, her eyes full of tears.

“Beloved guests, families of the happy couple, citizens of Midoor,” says Master Carr, projecting her voice over the crowd. “I am happy to welcome you to the wedding of His Royal Majesty, Aaron Heris, King of Midoor and His Royal Highness, Milo Trainor, Prince of Midoor.

“Love is the energy that binds us together. Whether friends, relatives, or lovers, the power of love weaves between us like a web, connecting us into eternity as a cohesive whole. These two before us have chosen to strengthen that web, binding themselves together forevermore. The betrothed have chosen to write their own vows. Your Highness, if you will…”

She looks at me expectantly and I turn my gaze to Aaron. Neither of us know what the other is going to say in this moment. I take a deep breath, look Aaron in his eyes, and begin to speak.

“I was in a dark place when I met you,” I say. “I moved to Crown City with no family, no friends, no future. It wasn’t long after I met you that I realized what my future would contain. Even when all seemed lost between us, you maintained that this day would come. I have to admit that I had my doubts, but you’ve provided every time you said you would. You’re my world, my life, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. I love you.”

I turn back to Master Carr, who I see has a tear in her eye. She doesn’t it wipe away as she turns to Aaron.

“Your Majesty?” she says.

Aaron looks back to me and looks me in the eye as though peering into my soul.

“I never thought this would happen,” he says. “That I would find love. I had always thought my future would be decided by tradition. Marry a woman, father a child, never satisfied. When I met you, everything changed. I thought the future was lost. I thought I was lost, but you found me. You pulled me up and the light of your love brought me back to life. I told you once that I would give up everything for you. My crown, my legacy, my life. It’s meaningless without you.”

I don’t realize he’s done with his vows until I’ve been standing here, looking at him for several moments. I don’t know how I resist crying, but I manage it.

“As Grand Master of the High Court,” says Master Carr, breaking the silence, “I ask the both of you now. Do you, Aaron Heris, take Milo Trainor to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“I do,” says Aaron.

“And do you,” says Master Carr, “Milo Trainor, take Aaron Heris to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“I do,” I say.

“Then with the power vested in me by the High Court of Middor, I pronounce you, King Aaron Heris, and you, Prince Milo Trainor, husbands for life. You may now kiss your groom.”

When we kiss, it’s like fireworks are exploding around us as the crowd cheers. I'm vaguely aware of the Red Hand's potential attack, but it's far from my mind. We break apart and Master Carr starts speaking again.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” says Master Carr, “I am pleased to present to you, for the first time, Aaron and Milo Heris, wed for life!”

The crowd cheers even harder, then quiets when Master Carr starts speaking again.

“We will now coronate Prince Milo as a king of Midoor,” she says. I hear a murmur ripple through the crowd as I step to the bottom of the dais and Marcus Rhodes walks forward with a crown on a pillow. 

This crown was made specifically for me. It’s made of silver and in the middle of the band, a broken ring of sapphire has been pieced together and cast in resin. 

I bend my knee and kneel before Master Carr.

“Do you, Milo Heris, Prince of Midoor, swear on your life and soul to uphold the laws of Midoor with a fair and just hand?”

“I swear it,” I say.

“And will you, to the best of your ability, guide and protect Midoor from those, within or without, who would seek to disparage the ideals of our great nation?”

“I will.”

“And will you, for so long as you shall live, uphold the traditions of Midoor, as set forth by the Heris Royal Family Charter, lest you, by your grace, find those ideals to be odds with current states of affairs?”

“I will.”

“Then it is my great pleasure to officially declare your ascension to the throne. Marcus, please bring me the crown.”

Marcus walks down the steps and holds the pillow out to the Grand Master. She places the crown on my head and turns toward the crowd.

“Rise, now, Milo Heris, King of Midoor.”

As I stand and turn to the crowd, they break out in applause.

“Long live the King!” they shout in unison. “Long live the King! Long live the King!