PeaceMaker

"HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS HAS ARRIVED!!!" a messenger announced as guards pushed open the doors of the meeting room.

Dominic hesitated for a moment, his feet seemingly planted into the ground as he looked forward into the room at the two lines of advisors. One on his right of his advisors and the other of his father's. A long sigh seeped out of his lips as his heart thumped heavily. 

There was this feeling of excitement rooting deep in him as he peered at the people who stood bowed in front of him, none of their eyes daring to look up at him. His heart skipped a beat as his hand trembled slightly. 

Attached to that feeling of excitement was the feeling of hesitation. Fear. Anxiety. All grappling at his feet, pulling him away from the room as his excitement urged him to go forward. He was scared. 

It wasn't that this was the first time he had done this, but this setting, the feeling in the room, and the fact that this was the first day of him back to his princely duty forced a heavyweight onto his shoulder. What if he forgot how to act in front of them? Let down his guard in their piercing gazes, show his vulnerability and lack of preparation before walking into this room. What if things had changed with them? What if they no longer respected him? What if they no longer saw him as his prince after a year of them not seeing him face to face. 

What if he was disrespected and had no way to return it? What if-

"Welcome back, your royal highness!" the voices of the advisors cut into his mind, snapping him back into reality. 

'Your royal highness,' Dominic thought to himself, letting the words sink in. 'That's right… I am the prince…' 

He raised his leg and took the first step into the room, freezing when he looked down at the ground where his foot had crossed the line which separated the hallway from the wooden floors of his office. Nothing happened. 

There weren't any explosions, or anyone that had called out a complaint, or any looks of scrutiny. Nothing. Nothing happened. 

A wave of relief washed over him and he took the second step into the room. Nothing happened again. And in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. Nothing happened. A bright smile spread onto his face. 

'It's ok,' he thought to himself as he settled his smile into a smaller one. 'Just like this. One step after another, nothing has happened for now. Nothing will happen later on if I keep going step by step. I got this.' He nodded his head as he reassured himself and continued forward to the end of the line of advisors. 

Boris stole a glance at Dominic before looking forward again, the feeling of relief washing over him as Dominic's smile remained in his mind. 'That's good,' He stepped to the side, entering the line of advisors, and bowed his head before Dominic. 'He's ok.'

Dominic turned around and looked down at the advisors, his eyes moving from one line to the other as he calmed his nerves. His eyes rested on Boris' head for a moment before nodding in self-reassurance again. 

"You may raise your heads," he replied and watched as they stood up straight, immediately turning to face him. His heart skipped another beat as another wave of anxiety rushed over him. His eyes drifted to the side slightly and made eye contact with Kalmin. 

His eyes were calm. 

Then his gaze shifted to Boris' whose eyes were pinned squarely on him. They maintained eye contact for a second before Dominic turned back to the rest of the advisors. 'That's funny…' he thought to himself as a smile slipped onto his face, 'it's almost as if I could hear his thoughts.' 

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Dominic chuckled as he made eye contact with every one of the advisors, "I'm glad to be back and even more glad to see your faces again. Thank you for patiently waiting for my return."

I'm listening, so speak. That was what his eyes were saying. 

Dominic grinned. "I've missed you all."

A ripple of laughter rolls through the room as smiles appeared on the faces of the advisors, many nodding their heads in reply. 

"Quite a sentimental greeting there, your royal highness," Anatinez teased.

"Well it's well deserved as I haven't seen you all in ages," Dominic chortled, "I think I'm allowed to show a bit of excitement once in a while."

The advisors chuckled in return. 

Dominic basked in the light atmosphere for a few seconds before sucking in a deep breath. "Well then, shall we begin the meeting?" he announced, making eye contact with Kalmin, "I believe there's a lot of things we have to discuss the changes in the kingdom, right Kalmin?"

Kalmin nodded his head, turning to the rest of the advisors. "Agreed."

"Then this meeting has begun, please take a seat everyone," Dominic grinned, turning around and sitting down at the head chair. He waited for the rest of the advisors to shuffle to their positions before nodding his head and allowing them to sit down. 

A second passed as Dominic looked around the room, taking in the faces of the advisors he hadn't seen for a year and his eyes landed on Feline who sat in her seat, her eyes looking up at Dominic. They exchanged a smile. 

"How does it feel to be back in that seat Feline?" Dominic asked, his head tilting to the side as he awaited her response. 

"... Exciting honestly," Feline replied with a chuckle, "it's been a while since I've seen many of these faces."

"Same for us," Helen retorted with a light laugh, "it's good to see us complete- well almost complete again."

Dominic flinched at her response, his eyes scanning the table until it landed on the empty chair at the table. "Someone's missing," he muttered, "no wonder it felt a bit quiet." He looked up from the chair, taking in the expressions on the faces of the advisors. They were unsettled. "Looks like something happened when I was gone?"

It was an immediate plummet of the atmosphere as people tensed up in their seats, their gazes scattering around the room. Amongst those, some of them looked up at Boris who stood behind Dominic, looking down at them with stoic eyes. 

Dominic traced their gazes up to Boris, his eyes immediately calling for Boris' attention. They made eye contact and immediately Dominic felt the deep sense of annoyance buried in his eyes. 'Something bad happened when I was gone, didn't it?' Dominic pondered, questioning Boris silently. 

He didn't even need to nod his head in order to respond to Dominic. He could tell by the emotions in Dominic's emerald gaze that he understood. 

Dominic let out a sigh before turning back to the group. "Seems like that's going to definitely be one of the topics in this meeting," he smiled slightly as he observed their reactions. "Well, it's a good thing that we won't have to start off with it."

He turned his body as his gaze shifted from the advisors to the figure that stood behind Boris. His head tilted to the side as his emerald eyes ran up and down the woman. "I see there's someone new in the room," Dominic commented. 

Adia raised her head and locked eyes with Dominic, a shiver running down her spine immediately. 'So that's the prince…' she thought to herself as the feeling of curiosity welled up in her, 'and those are his eyes…' It was almost like a threatening feeling of both the need to know more and the need to step back. It was overwhelming when those eyes pierced into hers. 

"Good Morning your royal highness," Adia greeted, stepping aside and bowing before Dominic. She raised her head slightly and caught wind of the expression in his eyes. They had softened as a smile formed on his face. 

"You looked up at me," Dominic commented, his smile brightening as he chuckled, his gaze shifting from Adia to Boris. "I think I know who brought you here."

Adia watched as their eyes met, her stomach flipping in excitement. 'It's like magnets,' she noted, appealed by the brightness of their eyes whenever they were on each other. 'It's like they're sparkling really…. Now I get it.' She smiled slightly, 'The reason why he always stared at the eyes in that painting. It was nowhere near the real thing.'

Dominic turned back to the table and flashed another smile. "Speaking of new people, why don't I introduce the newest members of the royal council?" he announced. 

"Newest members of the council?" Kalmin echoed, his head immediately turning to Dominic. 

"Mhmm," Dominic nodded. "Let them in!" He called out to which the guard in the room pushed the doors of the room. The advisors peered at the doors as they swung open. Dominic listened to the sound of footsteps as 3 people walked into the room and smiled at the confused expressions at the table. "Meet Litian, Axel, and Desilva. The newest members of the council."