The Tears of a Prince

His mother was waiting in the throne room, his father nowhere to be seen. Even when he was a child Kai remembered the man traveling, settling affairs always outside the borders. The young prince had never wondered what existed beyond the tall walls of BloodBound in this little made up universe of theirs. It was the least of his concerns and it was also not a matter people talked about. Not his mother, not his siblings either.

Ash was following him close behind, still gripping on his shirt, terrified but at the same time in awe of the luxury that spread before him. The palace was still the same, dark tapestries with elegant designs. Dim lights and black furniture, his mother's obsession with roses going strong, vases with them in many different colors resting everywhere.

The throne in the room was exquisite. A piece of art, that's how many royals and guests had described it and his mother, the queen always took pride in it. The shining gold, the long sculpted feathers and the detail in the carved thorns. Everything seemed to be done with too much attention to detail.

It all felt so familiar but at the same time so foreign to him. No one was talking, the mood was already at the lowest level it could be and the prince could only stare and remember the good and the bad, reminisce about the hate he felt and the love. It was bitter, the taste that lingered in his mouth as he stopped in front of the double doors of the throne room, seeing a soldier get ready to announce their arrival. 

"The queen is ready to see you." He said as he returned, his face expressionless as his eyes grazed the handsome prince. 

Xan entered first followed by Lun and then Kai. He didn't really want to see his mother but he knew it was going to happen one way or the other so there was no point in avoiding it. 

The moment he stepped into the chandelier lit room he heard the clacking of heels and a small framed body jumped on him. Wrapping her hands around his neck, it was his sister Nelia, looking at her little brother with wide vibrant green eyes. 

"You're finally back. I'm so glad to see you" she welcomed him and Kai forced a smile, hugging her back. 

"I'm glad to see you too." He told her, keeping her in his arms for a while before he realized that his mother was looking at him.

"Don't hug him as if he came back from war. All this time he had been running away." Cecilia said, forcing Nelia to let go of her brother with her strict words. 

Kai scoffed, his blue eyes meeting her, filled with hatred as the queen grinned. There was no reason for them to pretend a tear wrecking moment, they hated each other. At least he hated her. 

Xan walked forward, getting up the small stairs that led to the throne and gently gave his mother a hug which she returned. She kissed her son on the cheek, leaving a small stain of her bright red lipstick before she wiped it off with her long pale fingers.

"You did good. I heard that their Alpha is dead. The one who killed so many of our people. I suppose this pack will not be a threat to us any longer."

"No mother." Xan replied. "They will actually be retrieving to the forest." He informed her and she shook her head satisfied. 

"I'm proud of you Xan. I knew you'd get the job done." She complimented him and the crown prince bowed only for Kai's second scoff to be heard and echo in the spacious room. Lun looked at him with the corner of his eye, Ash and John seeming as if they were hiding behind his frame.

"Why do you look so obnoxious?" His mother asked him, simply wanting to insult him.

"I got it from my mother. We're not so different after all." He joked, making the woman grimace in disgust.

"What are those?" She asked again, meaning John and Ash. 

"These are people. This is John, he is my friend. He came here with me and this is Ash, he will train to be my guard." Kai explained.

"Your guard? Since when do you want a guard?" 

"Since when you ordered a fucking murder party on me." He said, unable to continue any longer. Cecilia looked at him sternly, gripping the armrest of the chair as he whole body tensed.

"That happened way back I would never have you killed I…"

"I honestly don't care. I actually think ruining my life and putting a target on my back is way worse than simply killing me. But I am sure that must be me, reckless, immature youngest child." Kai said. 

"Kai, stop being so rude towards mother." Xan warned him, his eyes landing on him, a message reaching him. Don't pull this too far. He was saying but the young prince didn't mind. What was there for him to lose anyway? He wasn't actually living.

"Soran. Lun. Welcome back." The queen greeted them, wanting to change the subject. The two men bowed respectfully, their heads low as they greeted her. "John, you said your name was…" she talked again, looking at the terrified werewolf. "What are you?" She asked coldly.

"A werewolf." He stuttered, unable to look the queen in the eyes. The woman laughed, the sound as if it came from a supervillain in a movie echoed in the walls, reaching Kai's ears and making his blood boil. 

"How funny. You're telling me that you will have a werewolf live here. In BloodBound? Have you lost your mind?"

"Yes, I have. A while back actually." Kai said, raising his eyebrows, a grin on his face. "As I said he is my friend and he too will train to be my guard, so better send some servants to my room because I want to arrange their sleeping quarters. But look at the time." He exclaimed, staring out the tall window, seeing how the sun had disappeared, deep night embracing them. "It's so late. We have traveled a lot and we are tired so how about we stop this tearing family reunion and get some rest." He said.

The prince didn't wait for her permission. He simply turned his back on her and waltzed outside the room, unfazed by her annoyance. He heard hurried footsteps behind him, seeing the young boy who he had picked up from the street follow him.

"You really want me to be your guard?" He asked.

"You have to have a purpose right? I saved you, this will be the way you repay it to me." He said. "Is there a problem with that?" He asked him, seeing concern on his face.

"I am not strong. I am not developed well and I am weak. I don't think I could do a good job" he whispered, his face red from embarrassment. Kai laughed, patting his greasy head.

"Vampires age differently. With some food and good rest you will be looking like your age and even better in no time. Also, I will be training you so there is no way you will fail." He said, confidence in his words 

"I think I might have made a mistake siding with you. The queen doesn't like you" he commented, making him laugh again. 

"Well who could you side with? The ones liked by the queen do not save orphans off the street. They're the ones that kill them." He told him. Ash didn't seem to be sad about it though, he looked at Kai nodding his head.

"I guess you are right about that." He murmured before he stopped, making the vampire stop too.

"What?" He asked.

"I will protect you. With my life if I have to. Thank you for saving me." He said and dropped on his knees, bowing. Kai's eyes widened for a second. He was the third son, the third prince, actually the most insignificant in this family. No one had ever bowed to him like that, or heard such words. Many had attempted to but they had failed because he could see through their lies. Ash though, was different.

"Get up, you need a bath, you stink." Kai said, when he noticed John exiting the throne room together with Lun and Soran. "You too, come with me. We have things to do." He called the werewolf but not only John rushed towards him, Lun too.

"Kai." He said and the prince frowned. "You missed a very important part of the conversation." His best friend said. "Your mother is having a ball, for your return. The day after tomorrow." 

"She is not." Kai said, his jaw dropping. "That...that...gods please!" He said in desperation.

"I think you should refresh your etiquette a bit."

"Oh, believe me I won't be doing any of that. Bringing all those...it's fine." He said, trying to calm himself down. "My favorite hobby is making her miserable." He stated. "Come on you two. There are things to discuss.." He said, for a second in this whole chaos forgetting the constant worry he had about Philip.