A Prince's Pride

*Aaron*

Milo's face shows nothing but fear. The last time the warning bells rang, it was when the Red Hand tried to attack the king and killed the orphans that led to my passing judgment on Cassandra. We get up and dress quickly, talking while we do.

"Let's get out there and find out what's going on," I say. Then, in response to the worried look on his face, I ask, "What?"

"Wouldn't the disappearance of the Crown Prince cause an alarm?"

A pang of worry shoots through me, but I ignore it.

"No, Riley is covering for us, remember?" I don't need to add that she's never let us down before.

"Wait a second," says Milo when we get to the door. I wait, confused, until he pulls the cloak from the floor and swings it over my shoulders. "We should hide that royal face," he says, pulling the hood up over my head.

"I love you," I tell him. I don't try to hide my worry.

"I love you, too," he says, kissing me.

BOOM!

When we walk out the door, we hear the first explosion.

Milo grips my arm in fear, but I'm not looking at him. I place a hand on the wall of his apartment.

"What're you doing?" he asks.

"I'm feeling for vibrations to see how close the blast is." I can't feel anything, so the explosion wasn't very close.

My eyes scan the city. Milo's apartment, which sits on the top floor of an apartment building in the Upper Ring of Crown City, is a great vantage point, save for the Grand Watchtower.

The Grand Palace sits at the northernmost point of Crown City, atop a high cliff. Semicircles of buildings and roadways, called Rings, cascade from it toward the city gates. A channel of water divides the Upper, Middle, and Lower Rings. On the far side of the city from the Grand Palace is the Slums. I'm assuming the explosions are happening there, but the Grand Watchtower, sitting in the center of the Middle Ring is blocking my view. They would be the ones who sounded the alarm.

I start off at a run, Milo right behind me. We go down the steps on his floor that lead directly to the street below. We aren't far from the palace. All I have to do is show my face to a guard and we'll be granted entry. I don't know how I'll explain to my father why I wasn't in the palace. Surely, by now, he knows my room is empty.

BOOM!

A second explosion sounds, but I still can't tell where they're coming from. I see a guard, his face hidden by a helmet, running down the street, and wonder why he isn't at the palace or going to the source of the attack, when I see the coat of arms on his chest.

It's Sir Oswald.

"Milo!" Sir Oswald calls, running right to us now. "Your Highness," he adds to me with a bow.

"How did you know—" Milo starts to ask, but is cut off by Sir Oswald.

"I helped him sneak out of the palace." He turns to me and says, "Sir, the King knows you're not in the palace. Riley said she'll make up an excuse, but I don't know what she's saying to him. We need to get up to the palace at once."

Sir Owald turns and we follow him. He's leading us through side roads and alleyways that avoid the main road.

"What's happening, Sir Oswald?" asks Milo.

"We're not quite sure. I saw a Watchguard running from the tower, but I was not there to hear his report. I was ordered by the King himself to find the Prince."

We're silent the rest of the way up to the palace. Two more explosions sound as we make our way there. When I see guards at the palace gates, I lower my hood.

"It's the Prince!" one of them shouts. "Someone run and inform the King that the Prince has returned."

I see a guard turn and run full out into the palace.

"Captain," I say to Erin Reynolds, the Captain of the Palace Guard, "what's happening?"

"It's the Red Hand, Your Highness," she tells me with a bow. "They've come to the city and are bombing houses in the slums. There are very strange reports surrounding their attack. The King is convening in the throne room and requests all guards to direct you there."

"We'll head that way at once," I say to the captain before turning to Milo and Oswald. "Follow me."

"Yes, Your Highness," chant Milo and Oswald in unison. I don't let myself feel begrudged at Milo's formality. This is a serious situation and I'm the Prince of Midoor.

When we reach the throne room, my mother gets up from her throne and rushes to me, hugging me. My father is behind her, looking angry and relieved in equal measure.

"I'm so glad you're alright," says my mother, kissing my cheek. She steps aside as my father comes toward me, but Riley steps between us.

"You're such an idiot," says Riley. "I know Milo is your best friend, but leaving the castle during a state of emergency was foolish."

There's the excuse she made. She told our father I went to make sure Milo was okay. He knows how close of "friends" we are. I nod to her, both giving my thanks, and acknowledging that I understood what she's done for us.

"Your sister is right," says my father. "I understand that Milo is important to you, but you'd have done better to send Oswald. At least you had the sense to dress the part of a vagrant. Oswald, escort my son and his servant to his bedchambers so he can get dressed."

BOOM!

I can tell the explosions aren't getting closer to the palace and I don't understand what's happening. Why bomb the Slums?

Fifteen minutes later, I'm dressed in nicer clothes and am standing in the throne room. My father, mother, and sister are sitting on their thrones, overlooking the people of the court.

I'm staring out the throne room window, which overlooks the whole of the city. Columns of smoke rise from the Slums. My heart goes out to the citizens there. They are already so poor, they live in free housing provided by the Crown. Despite the name, the area is not as decrepit as one would think. True, crime is rampant there, but they are allowed free water and enough food ration credits to not starve. As the wealthiest of the Five Kingdoms, we provide for our people.

Everyone's attention is drawn to the throne room doors when they're thrown open.

"Your Majesties…Your Highnesses," says a guard, bowing to the Royal Family. He's short on breath, his hands on his knees. "I have…a report."

"Catch your breath, sir," the King says. The guard looks thankful as he breathes deeply, clutching a stitch in his side. I'm both thankful to my father for his kindness regarding the guard's wellbeing, and wishing he'd let the guard continue.

"Thank you, my king," says the guard after a few moments. "I have a report from the Slum Guards. The Red Hand is raiding homes, ordering the citizens there to evacuate before bombing their homes."

The throne room is silent, and I know the same question on my mind is being asked by everyone: why are they evacuating the citizens before destroying their homes?

"They are all wearing masks," continues the guard. “We've been able to capture some of them. So far, we have found no citizen casualties, but there are a fair few of the Red Hand. The displaced people, by your order, have been moved into the Lower Ring. The Red Hand appears to be retreating, but—”

BOOM!

"—bombs are still detonating in empty houses," finishes the guard.

"When the attack has commenced, the Small Council is to convene in our chamber," says the King. I nod at him to say I'll be there.

Over the next hour, three more explosions erupt in the city before the City Guard reports the Red Hand's departure. The King has ordered those captured be placed in the dungeons and I leave Milo in my room as I head for the Small Council chamber, Oswald behind me. I want him to stay with Milo for protection, but know that isn't possible.

When I enter the Small Council chamber, I find my father sitting with his Council, who bow to me as I take my seat next to him. He looks graver than I have ever seen him.

"General Pallenore has a sound theory for why the Red Hand targeted the Slums and, moreso, why they evacuated the residents there. General Pallenore, you have the floor."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," says General Gregory Pallenore, our Master of War, who is an older man with dark red hair braided into three strands running down his head, his beard bushy and full. "I can only see one reason for their actions. Firstly, their reason to evacuate citizens. They see the Crown as enemies of the State. They believe the actions of the Royal Family are unbecoming of what their gods would want for Midoor, and they need more numbers to swell their ranks. Were they to start taking lives en masse, they would garner no favor with the majority of our citizens.

"As to their reasoning for bombing the Slums, it seems obvious to me that they intend to force the Crown to relocate those citizens permanently into the Lower Ring, which is already heavily populated. If we were forced to do so, it would thin our resources."

Clever bastards, I think. And I know they had a smart idea. The people of the Slums would see improved livelihood were they to move to the Lower Ring, but it is true that it would cause tension among the Lower Ring residents. It could become problematic far before the Crown can permanently resolve it.

"It doesn't matter how much it thins our resources," says my father, "I will not abandon my citizens, whether they are my own noblemen, or they are from the Slums. Relocate those Slum citizens who have had their homes destroyed to the Lower Ring. Assure the Lower Ring citizens that it is a temporary measure while we rebuild the Slums."

A swell pride blooms in my chest. I glance at the other Council members, who all nod. None of them expected my father to answer differently.

"I will begin preparations for the induction of the Slum citizens to the Lower Ring," says the Master of Law, Tyson Dellrie.

"Where are those citizens currently?" I ask.

"We have set up emergency tents, which were originally meant as medical centers for the wounded," says Zelda Offrand, our Grand Physician. "As there are no wounded, we're using them to house those people until more a permanent solution is put into place."

"Another win for us," says Pallenore. "If we show the citizens we care about their well-being, the Red Hand will be hard-pressed to gain the support they need to make a more devastating blow against the Crown."

"Yes," agrees my father, "we must continue to aid the Slummites however we can. Yora, how soon can we begin construction on new Slum buildings?"

Lorraine Yora, our Master of Coin, thinks very hard as she consults a large book in front of her.

"I believe we can begin right away, Your Majesty, but with the decrease in revenue from the Lower Reach's embargo, we will be required to pull—”

My father silences her with a wave.

"I don't need to hear the minor details of your plan," he says. "Please see that it is done."

"There is one other thing the Small Council needs to be aware of," says Pallenore gravely. "We received word this morning from King Zannir. Midoor and the Lower Reach are now in a state of open warfare. Soldiers have already been spotted on our side of the border. We've sent correspondence to the train stations to prevent travel across the border."

"We will make a public announcement to the whole of Midoor tomorrow. Let's let our citizens have a night off from bad news," says my father. "In the meantime, let us return home. Pallenore, please fortify the city border and tell the Watchtower to be on high alert. Also, being preparation for war."

Pallenore nods his understanding at my father.

"As for you, Aaron," my father says to me, "I want an extra level of security for you over the next couple of days. It's equally possible that bombing the Slums was a diversion to sneak some members of the Red Hand into the city and I will not have my family's life endangered. For the next few days, I would like Milo to sleep on a cot in your room. Do you think he would object?"

I don't like the implication my father is leveling at me. True, he will treat all of his citizens with respect, but his belief that the lives of the Royal Family are more important than anyone else's has always been a bother to me. However, I'm not going to let the fact that he would have Milo be a human shield for me get in the way of a few days of uninterrupted Milo time.

When I reach my bedchambers, it's to find Milo sitting on a cot in the corner of my room, but he isn't alone. He's talking to Lady Corianne.

"Corianne!" I say, trying to sound pleased to see her when I truly wished for Milo to be alone.

"Your Highness, I'm glad to see you are well," she says, curtseying.

"Same to you," I reply. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your arrival?

"I was just checking on you and Milo, who told me the King ordered Milo to stay with you as an early alarm." Typical of my father to deny me the chance to break the good news to Milo myself. "What a dreadful way to use a servant."

Behind her back, Milo gives me a mischievous smile. Clearly, he's as happy about it as I am.

"Still," I say, trying to come up with some way to be political and non-revealing at the same time, "it will be good to have a friend so close during these unsure times."

"Yes," says Corianne in a short, clipped voice. "That's precisely what my mother said when she suggested to the King that I come and live at the palace for a spell. Your father agreed."

I can tell she's annoyed. She's trying to play it off as a lady annoyed to removed from her home, but it's coming off wrong. Most ladies would kill for the chance to stay in the palace.

"I hope you find your stay comfortable," I say.

She smiles and curtsies again.

"I'm sure your staff will take care of me," she says.

Later that night, my family and I are having dinner with Corianne. Milo's brow is furrowed and, when my father asks him, he says he's just worried about the day's events, but I know better. Corianne is sitting right next to me and Milo is serving us all.

Corianne looks upset, too, and she repeats Milo's sentiments when Riley asks what she's upset about. Riley is having the time of her life, looking between me, my boyfriend, and the woman my father expects me to marry. She makes eye contact with me and a shit eating grin cracks her face. Riley loves drama.

The end of dinner can't come quickly enough and I'm happy when my father suggests that none of us leave our rooms tonight. Milo and I shouldn't be disturbed.

When Milo and I enter my room, I pounce. I don't mean to, but I accidentally slam him against the door. Thankfully, it's only Oswald on the other side. Milo's arms wrap around my midriff and he hugs me like he'll never let me go. Our tongues dance as he clutches me.

I pull back and look at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just…" he trails off. "I'm glad you're okay."

Milo doesn't know that we were never in any danger here in the palace. I'm not going to tell him tonight.

"We're fine," I say softly, holding him in my arms and whispering in his ear. "And even more important, we have the room to ourselves."

He smiles at me and pulls me into him, kissing me passionately. I pull back, grab his hand, and pull him back to the bed, but he takes control. I prefer it this way. My entire life, I've been groomed to lead an entire country. Every once in a while, I like to be the one following orders.

Before he lays me down, he pulls off my shirt. I make sure to flex my abs and he glances at them with a smile.

"Show off," he says, looking at them.

"Only for you," I say. He kisses me, his tongue snaking into my mouth again. I push against him, my head lifting off the pillow, his hand running down my abdomen. My cock jumps to attention at his touch. I groan into his mouth as he runs his fingers to my waistband. He drags his finger, very lightly, against the skin at the waistband on my pants. I shudder, and he smiles.

I reach my arm down to grab his cock, but he grabs my arm, stopping me.

"Let me take care of you first," he says. I lay back down and lift my ass so he can pull my pants off. My hard cock points straight up at the ceiling, starved for his touch. He grabs it and starts stroking.

He kisses my neck, then my collarbone, then the center of my chest. He licks here, and trails his tongue across my pec to my my already rigid nipple. His tongue slides across it and I shiver in pleasure as he circles the skin, then bites. I gasp and my cock twitches in Milo's hand as he pulls at my nipple with his teeth.

He breaks away and smiles at me before he kisses down my body again, stopping at my cock, which he lets go. He stands and pulls his clothes off, exposing his hard cock. He climbs onto the bed and settles himself between my legs, taking my cock back in his hand.

"Just relax, Your Highness," he says in a seductive whisper, "let your servant take care of you." I normally don't like when he's formal, but when his tongue touches my cock, I forget all about that.

He licks up the underside of my cock, from my balls to the head, his tongue swirling over the tip, spreading the precum over the top. His eyes still boring into mine, he swallows me down, right to the balls. He bobs up and down, his throat working my cock like it was it's job. I involuntarily start thrusting into his throat, moaning his name.

Soon, much too soon for my liking, he pulls away from me and retrieves my bottle of lube from my bedside table. I don't know what he has planned for me, but I'm excited. He moves back between my legs and pulls them up and apart, leaving my feet planted on the bed. He lubes up his fingers and slides two in, finding my prostate immediately.

My eyes roll themselves back into my head as he begins to massage, rubbing circles around it. My cock begins to leak precum as he milks it out of me. I reach for my cock, but he swats my hand away.

"Let me take care of you," he repeats. His fingers go to work again, his other hand rubbing my abs where precum has dripped onto. I'm gasping and writhing as his fingers wiggle inside me. I want his hand on my cock, but I know I won't get it. He keeps his fingers inside me, but moves to the side of my body and kisses me, soft and gentle.

I push into his mouth, wanting things to become heavier, but he seems intent to keep them slow. When I try to kiss him harder, he presses into my prostate. The shudder that overtakes my body forces me back into my pillow, my eyes rolling back into my head. When I can see again, Milo is hovering over my cock. He winks at me and swallows me down, his fingers still working furiously.

He's fucking my hole with his fingers in a way nobody ever has, his throat milking my cock. My body is convulsing and twitching and I can't stop. The sounds Milo is making with his mouth are pushing me over the edge. I know Oswald can hear them, but I don't really care about that. In fact, I don't care about anything except the orgasm swelling inside me.

At the peak of pleasure, Milo presses hard into my prostate and the dam breaks loose. I feel like I'm falling apart in his hands and only him touching me is keeping me together as I feel my cum fill his mouth and him swallowing every drop as if it were the Elixir of Life. I shudder in ecstasy as he moves back up to me and kisses me.

"Your turn," I say, when we break apart. I'm going to ride him harder than I ever have. I climb on top of him and slather his cock with lube from the bottle. I position myself, push his cock into my ass.

I start riding him, hard and fast, and I can see in his eyes how much he's enjoying it.

"Sorry to disturb you, Your—" says Corianne, then stops when she sees me on top of Milo.