A Prince's Pride

*Milo*

Aaron left four days ago. Reports say there's a blizzard around Luxom and that Aaron's forces haven't reached the capital city. I hope he's okay. By now, we had hoped our soldiers would have began laying siege to Luxom. 

I'm standing at the top of North Tower, but it's impossible to see any part of the Lower Reach from here. Even still, I have a feeling, almost like a sixth sense, that Aaron is okay. Almost like I can feel him. If I'm imagining it, or if it's part of my newly discovered magic, I'm not sure. 

Another sensation overtakes me, like a pull from behind. I turn and see Piper emerging through the door as she joins me on top of the tower, passing Exavier who stands guard nearby.

"I'm glad I've found you, Your Majesty. Are you ready for today's lesson?"

"Right here? Right now?" I ask. I try to keep a tone of annoyance out of my voice. 

It's not Piper I'm annoyed at. I still don’t trust her, but I’m making it seem to her like I am. I think it’ll make it easier to detect whether she or Phoebe is the one I should be wary of. No, I’m annoyed because I have yet to make anything remotely magical happen, other than sensing Piper and Phoebe when they’re nearby.

“Actually, I thought we could go out to the Crown Wood. Magic, as I told you, is woven into the very fabric of reality and nature. Being out in nature will make it much easier to commune with magic.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Your Majesty,” says Exavier. Ever since the attack on the palace during my coronation, Exavier has been growing more and more paranoid. He’s turning into Sir Oswald.

“I have to practice magic, Exavier. We’ve been trying for four days and I’ve done nothing.”

“That’s not strictly true,” says Piper. “You could feel me coming up the stairs before I said anything. This is one of the most fundamental abilities of a practitioner, sensing nearby magic.”

“I guess. It just feels like I should be able to do more. I can feel the power inside me now. I just…can’t access it.”

“It takes time, Your Majesty. Don’t worry, you’re doing well so far.”

“I still don’t think—”

“Hey, you!” I say, cutting off Exavier and talking loudly so the SOA I know is hiding behind the wall near the door can hear me. They peek around, their face covered. Aaron ordered security on me to be increased, so I’m followed 24/7. Not just by Exavier, but several other Crown Guards, three of which are waiting at the bottom of the stairs to the tower, and at least one SOA, who hides in the shadows near me.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” she asks.

“Go find Marcus and tell him to prepare horses for me and Piper to journey into the Crown Wood. And, yes, I know,” I add before the SOA can say anything, “that Commander Delgara will insist I don’t go. Tell him we can skip all the arguments and he can send me with however many guards he wants.”

“Yes, sire,” she says and turns to leave.

***

Maybe telling Delgara he could send “however many guards he wants” was a bad idea. Half an hour later, Piper and I are heading toward the city gates on horseback with fifteen Crown Guards, one of them Exavier, and ten city guards surrounding us.

The citizens move out of the way of our twenty-seven person entourage as we make our way down the streets of the Slums.

“It’s the King, Mother, look!” shouts a little boy, pointing at me. His clothes are worn and patched, but he’s clean and looks well-fed. A couple of my guards look at him, but none of them move out of formation. “Hi, King Milo!”

“Traven, no,” says his mother, coming over to him from the vegetable stand she was looking at.

“It’s alright, ma’am,” I say to her. She glares at me as she holds her son’s hand for a moment before pulling him aside to the stand.

“Oi, you got a problem with our king?” I hear the man tending the stand say.

“I have a problem with anyone who lives that kind of lifestyle, what’s it to you?” she says.

“All hail King Milo!” he shouts, and most of the citizens around shout it back. Those who don’t move off the street, seemingly melting away, including the woman. 

“Don’t worry about her, Your Majesty. Most of us are on your side!” says another woman. “Long live the King!”

A chant of “Long life the King!” rises up as we pass out of the city gates, dying down when we’re out of eyesight.

“Are you alright?” asks Piper, looking at me sadly. “She’s right, you know. Most of the citizens are on your side.”

“I just wish there weren’t sides,” I tell her. “I just wish…” I trail off, not wanting to finish my sentence. We ride in silence for a few moments before it’s broken by Piper.

“You know,” she says, “there would be sides even if you were a woman. There would be people who would think King Aaron could have married a prettier woman or who would want a queen from a higher house.”

“Sure, but I doubt a mother would have pulled her child away from Queen Elaine as though she were some kind of monster,” I respond.

“They’ll come around.”

“You sure do trust them, considering how witches have been treated since magic was made legal.”

Though magic has been legal in Midoor for a few weeks now, witches are still attacked and mistreated everywhere. 

“Witches have always been mistrusted. They prefer us to be segregated until they need something from us, then they come running and beg us to help them.”

I never really considered that before, but I was very young when King Theodore outlawed magic.

A few minutes later, we turn and start heading into the Crown Wood.

“Up here is a nexus of magic, a convergence of power. This will be the perfect place for you to practice your abilities.”

I tried to extend my senses, to see if I could feel the nexus she spoke about, but I got nothing except her own magic next to me.

“Don’t worry,” she says, “you’ll get it.” I don’t need to ask how she knows I tried to sense the nexus.

Piper leads us to a clearing in the woods I’ve never seen before. A small stream runs through the middle of the almost perfect circle of trees, the sun shines brightly overhead, and I feel a breeze drifting lazily around us.

I wasn’t sure if it was just the beauty of the place, but I thought I could feel something.

“A nexus” says Piper, “is a point where the elements meet in perfect harmony: air, water, fire, and earth. The breeze, the stream, the sun, the ground. Places such as these are what arcanists use to harness their power. You are not an arcanist. I feel certain you’re an incanter, but we won’t know until you find a way to commune with magic.”

We dismount our horses and the soldiers around us move into the trees, creating a circle. As I walk into the center of the nexus, I’m sure I feel it. It’s as though the ground is pulsing with energy.

“You feel it now, don’t you?” asks Piper. I nod my head. “Then let’s begin.”

“What do I do?”

“Move into the center of the clearing, over here,” she leads me to a spot, right next to the stream. A small piece of earth arches over the stream, creating a natural bridge. It looks like it was created by nature, but is too uniform somehow, and I suspect magic created it. 

I step onto the bridge and feel the wind as it lifts my hair gently. The warmth of the sun envelops me and as I take in a deep breath, I smell the dirt.

"Close your eyes," instructs Piper, "and feel the magic. Tune your mind to it."

I do as she says, closing my eyes and breathing slowly. The pulsing of the Earth becomes clearer to me and, as I stand and feel it, it begins to synchronize with the beating of my own heart. 

"Now, command magic to do something. Anything you can think of," she says. 

I take a deep breath and focus on the pulsing. Focus on the wind and the sun. Focus on the trickling of the water and smell of the earth. 

But I can't think of what to tell magic to do. 

"I'm not sure," I say. "What should I do?"

“Try doing something with the clearing itself. I can sense that you’re in tune with the nexus. You should be able to harness its power. Command it.”

Then, I know what I’m going to do.

“Bloom,” I say. I know instinctively that it didn’t work.

“Don’t just say the word. You have to feel it,” says Piper.

“Bloom,” I say again, knowing it didn’t work again.

“Bloom,” I say, a little louder. Nothing again.

“Bloom!” I shout, now feeling angry that I can’t do it.

“Bloom!”

I open my eyes and see that nothing has changed. Piper doesn’t look disappointed, however.

“It’s okay that you can’t do it right away, Your Majesty,” she says. “Magic is not an easy thing. Here, I brought some empty phials with me.” She reaches into the bag slung across her shoulder and pulls out a handful of small, clear crystals, then walks to me and hands me one.

“Try holding it above your head and command the nexus to fill it with warmth from the sun. It’s not as easy as commanding the nexus with ‘fill’. Let me show you.”

I take a step back, letting Piper stand in the middle of the bridge, in the exact middle of the clearing. She holds her hand out, palm up, with the phial in the middle.

“When enchanting a phial, you have to tell magic what you want it to do, how you want it to work,” she says. “For instance, to enchant this phial, I’m going to say, ‘Fill this phial with warmth from the sun. When held in a closed palm, let it warm them. Let it spread through their body, but never get hot enough to burn.’ If I’ve done it correctly, anyone who holds the phial in a closed hand, whether they are a practitioner or not, will be warmed by it until the magic runs out.

“Keep in mind that simply saying the words isn’t enough. You have to imagine light and heat from the sun being soaked into the crystal.”

“You didn’t tell me that before when I tried to make everything bloom,” I say. 

“Incanting and enchanting are different. You must set parameters with enchanted objects. You must instruct magic on how exactly you want the enchanted object to work. With incanting, you can command magic with much less instruction. Think of it as commanding the object you’re trying to influence with magic, rather than commanding magic to do a particular task, as you must when enchanting an object.”

“Can you show me how it’s done?”

Piper nods and holds the phial a little higher and begins to speak. Just as when she healed Aaron, it sounds like a hundred voices or more are speaking with her mouth, the words clashing together and echoing so I can’t hear the individual words. The phial glows with a soft, yellow light, the center of it red. When I look up at Piper’s eyes, they seem to be glowing, their icy irises shining as though direct sunlight were hitting them.

She finishes speaking, and the phial stops glowing, though it’s no longer clear. It’s now yellow, with a small red center. 

“Try it out,” says Piper, holding the phial out to me. I grab it in my hand and close my fingers around it. Instantly, it grows warm and I feel the warmth spreading through my entire body.

“We should have made some of these for Aaron and the soldiers heading up to the Lower Reach,” I say. “Can we do that? Make a bunch of these and have them delivered?”

“You are the king,” she says. “If that’s your desire, we can get started right away. I have fifty phials with me now. Let’s see if you can do it.”

She hands me an empty phial and I stand in the center of the bridge again, holding it out in front of me. I close my eyes and form an image in my mind of the phial soaking in light and heat like a sponge, then open my mouth, and begin to speak.

“Fill this phial with warmth from the sun,” I say, and realize my voice sounded like Piper’s did, like a hundred voices are using my throat. At the last second, I decide to change what the phial does. “When it is thrown and broken, let the energy escape in a powerful eruption. Let it destroy everything in it’s path and leave only scorches.”

When I open my eyes and look at the phial, the center is red like the one Piper made, but the outside, where hers was yellow, is black.

“That’s a dangerous one,” she says. 

“You could hear what I said?” I ask.

“Sort of. Bits and pieces of it. You can never truly hear what someone is saying when they commune with magic, but you can feel the impression of what they’re trying to accomplish.”

“I think it could be useful,” I say, looking down at the phial. “Let’s make some warmth ones and some of these explosion ones. I bet Aaron will find a use for them.”

“As you say, Your Majesty,” says Piper. “Also, congratulations.”

I feel a grin break across my face. I did it! I performed magic!

An hour later, we make our way back toward the palace. I decided on forty warmth phials and ten explosion phials. All of them are in Piper’s bag as we make our way back toward Crown City. Exavier originally wanted one of the guards to carry it, but Piper’s the Advisor on Magic. She should be the one to handle them. Besides, she made most of them. I was only able to make four of them before I felt too weak and tired to make more.

Back up at the palace, I leave Piper at her room, feeling exhausted but elated at the progress I made with magic. Not sure what else to do, I make my way to Elaine’s room and walk in, surprised to find that Mirra isn’t here, though I see an empty bowl sitting on Elaine’s table where she’s writing more notes.

“Hello, Mother,” I say. She doesn’t respond. I glance over her shoulder at the notes. As always, they don’t make sense. One of the lines mentions Aaron honeymooning with Corianne in the Lower Reach. 

“Mother, are you okay?”

She finally looks up at me, but doesn’t say anything. Her eyes are glassy and she looks like she’s sleepwalking.

“Oh, Your Majesty,” says a voice near the door. I look up to see Zelda with a goblet full of medicine.

“Is she okay?” I ask.

“Oh, yes, she’s fine. I changed the dosage of the medicine in her food. She’s starting to revert to the comatose state she was in when King Theodore died. I’m still trying to find the right dosage.”

I’m not sure what it is, but I find myself suspicious about this. It’s been months. Surely, Zelda should have figured it out by now, right?

“Are you okay?” she asks, looking at me.

“Yeah, I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Worried about King Aaron, are you?”

“Yeah, mostly. And figuring out how my magic works.”

Zelda purses her lips. “I don’t like that witch teaching you magic. I don’t trust her.”

“I’m not sure. She’s had several opportunities to do something to me, but she hasn’t. I really don’t think we have to worry about her.”

“As you say, Your Majesty. Will you make sure the Queen drinks this, please? I have several important matters to attend to today.”

“Of course, Zelda, thank you.”

She hands me the goblet and leaves the room. I glance at the door. Exavier’s back is turned. I look at Elaine. She’s writing furiously. I look at the goblet. It’s the same medicine, purple, with little things floating in it. Some overwhelming sense in me is telling me not to give it to Elaine.

I cross to Elaine’s balcony and step out onto it, then look down. The yard below is deserted.

I hesitate. This is medicine for Elaine. If I don’t give it to her, what will happen? Will she revert to how she was when King Theodore died? Will she get sick? 

I look at the goblet again and I feel something inside me. Something telling me not to trust it. But this is Zelda. She’s been serving the Royal Family since before Aaron was born. 

I find myself holding the goblet out over the balcony’s railing. Why am I doing this? Is this the right move? Whether it is or not, I hold the goblet out over the grass and turn it upside down.

I return to Elaine's room and set the goblet next to the bowl, then an idea strikes me. I close Elaine's door and return to her side before putting my hand on her head. 

"Make her well," I say, trying to invoke my magic, but it doesn't work. "Fix her mind and make her whole. Heal her of her mental afflictions. Just fix her!"

Nothing happens. 

I close my eyes and try to remember what it was like, standing in the nexus. If I got her there, could I fix her? Piper tried, but wasn't able to. Was there anything I could do? I force myself to relax, to feel the feeling of magic like I felt when standing on the bridge. 

I slow my breathing, focusing on my heartbeat. 

"Fix her mind. Heal her of her mental afflictions," I say, but it doesn't work. I just can't remember the exact feeling I had when I made the phials. I can't force my mind to go there. 

I put my hand up to my own head, trying to remember exactly how it felt when I was on the bridge. 

"Remember, remember, remember," I say to myself. I wonder if I can use magic to make myself remember the feeling. 

"Make me remember that which I have forgotten," I say, and this time I works. Kind of. My voice comes out as an echoing crash, but I don't remember the feeling of being on the bridge. Instead, I get a flash of hearing someone speaking. 

I wouldn't make a good leader for the Red Hand, they said. I'd overheard someone talking about being the leader of the Red Hand?

"Make me remember!" I say, holding my own head still, but nothing happens. I need Piper. 

I leave Elaine's room and make my way through the corridors of the palace, heading for her room. She opens the door when I knock.

"Your Majesty?" she asks. "Do you need—”

"Inside," I say, walking past her. We both cross to the middle of her room and I look at her. "I just used magic on myself and made myself remember part of something, but I can't do it again. Can you help me?"

"I can try. What was it about?"

"I overheard someone mention they were the leader of the Red Hand. I need to remember this."

Piper puts her hands on either side of my head and speaks, her voice coming out in a crash of echoing words. 

Something in my mind snaps and I remember. I overheard them talking when I was in the infirmary after taking Elaine's medicine. I remember their conversation, about letting evil coalesce in me and Aaron, about sacrificing us to Shevor. About them using drugs on Elaine. And about who the leader of the Red Hand is.

It's Zelda. She’s the leader of the Red Hand.

*Seven Months Ago*

*Milo*

Aaron and I haven't seen each other for nearly three days. The King, in his infinite graciousness and mercy, has given me an entire week of paid time off. I tried to resist, using the usual lines of how it's an honor to serve the Royal Family and all that jazz, but it didn't work. 

So Aaron agreed to follow through with one of the princely duties he never performs and is taking a trip to the southern border to meet with some dignitaries of Queen Allandra of the Southern Tribes. He invited me to come along, but the King forbade me from going, telling me to enjoy my vacation. How am I supposed to do that if I can't see my boyfriend?

So I'm currently on horseback, making my way south toward the border. It's a three day journey. Unlike Aaron, I won't be super comfortable, sitting in a horse drawn carriage, but my horse will manage. 

Along we trot, stopping at two inns over the three day journey until I see it: Creole, the Midoorian city that rests on the border to the Southern Tribes. From there, the wild becomes wilder until it turns into a sprawling jungle, in the center of which is Kr'fait, the capital of the Southern Tribes. 

I can almost feel my horse as he sighs when we approach the stables and I hand the reins over after paying five silver crowns. 

Creole is an interesting city. I would know, as it's where I was born and lived until my parents died. In truth, all border cities are interesting as the cultures of both nations bleed together here. Still, Creole has a special place in my heart. Several people call out to me and ask me how I am as I walk the familiar streets of the city. 

"Oh, Milo! How are you, dear?" comes a familiar voice. I glance to the owner of a rose stall. Ar'aila Krimp is a middle-aged woman with brown skin and white hair who took me in after my parents died, before I left for Crown City the first time. She's from the Southern Tribes, but she married a man here in Midoor and collects rare roses from the jungle. 

"Hey, Araila, how are you?" I ask, stepping up to her stall. I was going to find her first, but her stall has moved. It used to be closer to the city's center. 

"I'm good. It's so good to see you. You don't send as many letters as you used to." She glances up and down the street for a moment before adding, "Is there a special man in your life who's keeping you all to himself?"

"Something like that," I say with a smile. 

"I hope Prince Aaron doesn't work you too hard."

"No, Aaron is very kind to me," I say, wanting to tell her everything, but I know I can't.

"I'm assuming you're here with him, since you're his servant?"

"Yes," I say, wishing I didn't have to lie. 

"Well, hopefully you can take some time off. Would you like a flower?"

"I'll take four of these," I say, pointing to four Emperor Roses. They're green in their hearts, which fades to blue on the outside, little golden dots across each pedal. 

"You don't have to pay for them," she says as I pull out my money pouch, but I push five gold crowns into her hand all the same. It's more than she charges, but she deserves it. 

"I insist," I say, knowing she's about to argue. She smiles sweetly at me as she tucks the money away. 

"I know better than to argue, but I'm doing well. A major wedding planner named Xion has been buying so many flowers and I've been delivering them to all over the kingdom. I'm the only one who knows where to find these, you know." She indicated a rose that looks like it's made of solid gold, the edges of each pedal crimson red. I know it's called a Sun Kissed Rose and it's extremely rare. 

"I want you to have one, and no paying this time. Give it to the man you love." I take the rose she holds out to me. Then she walks out from behind her stall and wraps her arms around me. 

Suddenly, I feel eighteen again, like my parents had just died and she was offering for me to stay. 

"Please write more often, Milo. I do so miss you."

"I will, I promise."

I leave her and head toward the west side of town, walking down the street I grew up on. I don't look at my parents' old house. I sold it after they died and a new family lives there. At the end of the street, I find a graveyard and walk right up to their graves. 

Two white marble headstones stand in the grass. 

One says George Trainor and the other days Grace Trainor. I sit on the ground beneath them and place two of the Emperor Roses each on their graves. 

"Hey, Mother, hi, Father," I say, looking at their names etched into the marble. "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit you guys in so long. I've just been so busy. 

"Remember how I told you I was going to be a servant for Prince Aaron? Well, I got the job! And Aaron is even better than I could have imagined. We've started dating. He's my boyfriend. I know you'd both like him, if you could meet him. He keeps insisting we're going to get married and I'll be king consort. I doubt it'll ever happen. Could you imagine me, king?

"I…" I swallow as a lump rises in my throat. "I miss you guys. I wish…" I wipe a tear from my face. "I wish you guys were still here. I think you'd be proud of me."

I lay down in the grass between their graves, the Sun Kissed Rose in my hand, staring up at the sky. 

A few hours later, I'm in the city center where I see Aaron's carriage parked outside a government building. Two Crown Guards stand outside, along with two Southern Tribe soldiers. I doubt I'll be let into city hall right now, so I sit at a patio table of The Rendition, a restaurant I used to go to all the time. 

"Hey, Milo," says Roxanne, a young waitress that I went to school with. "Your usual?"

"You still remember my usual?" I ask. 

"Damn straight. I'm the best waitress in Midoor. You know that."

"That sounds great," I tell her. 

She leaves to put my order in while I watch the town hall. 

It's long after I've eaten my oven roasted garlic chicken breast with roasted potatoes before Aaron exits the town hall. He's with a young man, our age, and he's laughing. I recognize him at once. 

Krayden Shenri, the son of Queen Allandra. Like Araila, his skin is dark and he has stark white hair, as do all Southern Tribal natives. Some say their ancestors spent a lot of time in the sun, causing their skin to darken and their hair to bleach white.

 Their laughter subsides and they shake hands solemnly before breaking out in laughter again. I assumed Aaron would have walked straight to his carriage, but Prince Krayden points at a nearby tavern and leads Aaron over to it, Sir Oswald and the two Southern Tribe soldiers behind them. 

I watch as they enter the bar and the door shuts behind them, though the two soldiers stay outside. I'm not sure what to do. After a brief moment of indecision, I get up, cross the town square, and enter the tavern after them. 

Aaron and Prince Krayden are at the far end of the bar, ordering drinks. Oswald has obviously cleared a spot for them to be secluded, which makes sense. I stay to the other end, peering around the people sitting between me and Aaron to catch glimpses of him. 

"The Prince is even more handsome in person, isn't he?" says another familiar voice. One that makes me jump. 

Victor Hall, a tall, dark-skinned man stands behind the bar, looking at me. His jet black hair is tied in a bun behind his head, his piercing hazel eyes fixed on mine. He's grinning, showing his slightly crooked teeth, though they don't look bad, but rather he looks charming. 

I feel my face blush and I'm thankful for the dim light in here. Having my ex-boyfriend looking at me when my current boyfriend is just a few seats down a bar from me is a new sensation. 

"You look good," says Victor when I don't say anything for a moment.

“Umm…thanks,” I say then look down, realizing he’s pushing a drink toward me. 

“It’s your favorite drink, right?” he asks. 

I pick it up and take a sip. It’s a perfect Midoorian Sunrise, sweet and orangy. I nod at him.

“Thanks, how much do I owe you?”

“It’s on me, don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks,” I say again and take another sip.

“So what do you say we get out of here and I can take you back to my house?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I say. “I’m kind of with someone.” And he’s right fucking there, I don’t say.

“Figures. A guy like you is probably never single. But, hey, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Goodbye, Victor,” I say and stand up from the bar. 

I immediately realize this wasn’t the best idea when I hear my name from the other side of the bar and look to see Aaron staring right at me. He waves me over and I pass Oswald, who gives me a questioning look.

“Hi, Prince Aaron,” I say to him with a bow.

“What are you doing here? Oh, Krayden, this is Milo, my servant.”

I bow to him and say, “Iss dyahi anduo krethda alaha, Prince Krayden.”

“You speak Ur’alian?” asks Prince Krayden. Though they live in the Southern Tribes, the name of the people who live there are called the Ur’ali with Ur’alian being their native language, though English is widely used over the entire continent of Pensia, which houses the five kingdoms.

“Yes, I stayed with a Ur’alian woman after my parents passed, before I became His Highness’s servant. She taught me, but I’m not very good.”

“What did you say to him?” asks Aaron.

“He said it was a pleasure to meet me,” Prince Krayden answers for me. “Please, have a drink with us. I hear the Heris Royal Family treats their servants as friends, something we do in the Southern Tribes.”

“I already have a drink,” I say, holding it up.

“So you do. I assume you are from around here, then?”

“Yes,” I answer. “I was born in Creole.”

“So you’ve spent many days around my people, I suppose?”

“A fair bit of time.”

“Have you ever played Grengi?”

Grengi was a game similar to chess, except the pieces were flat discs, called chips, that could be stacked and moved around the board in different ways. You won by absorbing the other player’s chips. It’s extremely complicated and takes a lifetime to master.

“I have, but I’d rather not. I’m horrible.”

Prince Krayden laughs and this and says, “That’s part of the fun.”

One of Prince Krayden’s soldiers comes into the bar and whispers something into his ear.

“Alas, we do not have the time, Milo, but I will challenge you to a game one day, mark my words.”

“I look forward to being beaten by you, Your Highness.” I bow to him and am surprised when he bows back.

“Ashan dehara,” he says, then bows to Aaron and follows his soldiers out of the bar.

“What did that mean?” Aaron asks me.

“It means, ‘goodbye and farewell,’ sort of. It’s the most sincere form of departure in his language.”

“Well, enough about that. Why are you here?”

“I followed you. I wanted to see you. And I went to my parents’ graves.”

“I forgot you were born here. Maybe you can show me around the town?”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Your Highness,” says Sir Oswald. “We are due to depart in—”

“Six hours, I know,” says Aaron, cutting Sir Oswald off. “That’s plenty of time to do some sightseeing. Things are good between Midoor and the Southern Tribes. Queen Allandra has agreed to sign a peace treaty and is interested in increased trade with us. She’d rather export her fruit to Sandalia through us because Sultan—”

“Your Highness, that’s classified information,” warns Oswald and Aaron clamps his mouth shut.

“I guess I’ve had a bit too much to drink. Krayden brought Daeli with him to the meeting.”

“That’s extremely strong alcohol,” I say, though he probably already knows that.

“I have an idea,” says Aaron, “let’s go get a hotel room.”

“Your Highness, I—” but Sir Oswald doesn’t get to finish what he’s saying. Aaron pulls on me and I follow behind him into the square. He ducks behind a group of men leaving the tavern and we circle around to an alleyway, losing Sir Oswald entirely.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing you. I thought I wouldn’t see you until the end of your vacation,” says Aaron. He grabs my hand and notices the Sun Kissed Rose there. “Is that for me?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

He takes it and sniffs it. A dreamy look crosses his face. The Sun Kissed Rose lets off a scent that’s slightly different for everyone. When I smell it now, it smells like him. Some people say the rose is magic, but that’s ridiculous.

“Take us to a hotel. I need you so badly right now,” he says. I smile and lead him through a set of alleyways until we’re on a main road. There’s a large hotel here which is far too expensive for me to afford, but the Crown has hefty coffers.

We check in and the man at the counter seems delighted to have the Prince of Midoor with him. 

It’s all I can do not to run up the stairs as we make our way to the penthouse suite. We unlock the door, step inside, and shut it behind us.

“We have to be quick,” says Aaron as he pulls his shirt off, me following right behind him. “Oswald will surely check here first, so let’s make this a quickie.”

We’re naked in moments and crash our bodies together, kissing passionately as our limbs tangle around one another. We don’t have a lot of time, so I pull Aaron over to the bed and push him down onto his knees.

“Make sure to make it nice and wet,” I say, holding my hard cock next to his face. He devours it, sucking it down into his throat and coating it with saliva. 

I don’t want him to stop, but Oswald will guess where we are pretty quickly, so I only let him slather my cock up before pulling him up and pushing him backwards onto the bed. I take just a second to spit a glob of saliva onto his hole before I push myself inside.

It’s utter pleasure, being inside him. I start fucking him hard and fast and watch as his face grows slack with ecstasy. I spit into my hand and start stroking him, causing him to moan my name softly.

“Fuck, Milo, fuck my hole!”

Getting Aaron off won’t be an issue; he doesn’t last very long anyway. It’s me we need to get off quickly, and there’s one surefire way to do that. So I stroke his cock, my hand sliding over his member so quickly, my hand is a blur. Aaron is gripping the sheets, trying not to call out. 

“Gods, your hole is so fucking tight, Aaron,” I gasp.

“Don’t stop, please don’t stop!” he begs. I increase my speed, thrusting faster and harder.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Your Highness?” comes Oswald’s voice through the wood.

“Just a…minute!” Aaron calls back, pausing to let a moan escape inside his mouth.

“Hurry it up!” Oswald whispers urgently. “There are more guards coming up here!”

I jerk Aaron off harder and he stares into my eyes. I can almost see it before it happens. He lets out a groan, almost like a growl, as his cock swells in my hand and shoots his load all over his perfect abs. As his ass convulses on my cock, I’m sent overboard.

I dive headfirst into an orgasm that rockets through my body, starting at my cock and echoing through my entire body, pushing the cum out of me as I thrust deep into Aaron.

We scramble and barely get our clothes on, Aaron’s stomach still covered in cum, as the door opens.