The Tears of a Prince

Carriages had been prepared. After the signing of the treaty which surprisingly went well and without any problems the queen led everyone to the entrance of the palace bidding them all farewell with her usual stoic expression. She didn't reconcile with Kai, not this time even though the prince felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe next time or the time after that, maybe never, no one knew but Kai for once felt like he had said everything he wanted to. 

The young prince had been placed on a carriage together with Philip, Ash and Olivia and the truth was he couldn't wait to get to the rift. The only sound he could hear was the rhythmic galloping of the worse as it headed out the main village. No one was talking, the werewolf and his guard had just started a very intense staring contest while Olivia, like the shy girl she was all did was steal glances from Ash and when she believed someone had caught her she would snap her head to the side and look out the window. 

He sighed, his head touching the wall of the carriage.

"Are you alright?" Philip asked him, finally focusing his attention somewhere else. 

"Yeah, just a bit worried. About everything that is going to follow but I am okay." he explained.

"Don't worry, I will protect you." Ash told him, making the prince smile sweetly. 

"I don't know why you will need to do that when I will be here." Philip stated, a frown on his face as he looked down on him.

"Because you have done such a great job up to now that you have all the rights in the world to say that." Ash insulted him, making the Alpha clench his fists. Kai could sense the upcoming conflict, it had been bottling up inside them for a while now and he had zero intention of intervening. If they wanted to fight at this point they should, get it all out and not bother him anymore. 

Their little clash though did not end because Olivia stepped in, looking at everyone with innocent eyes.

"Will it be dangerous?" she asked. This was her first time leaving BloodBound. She seemed nervous and obviously did not enjoy the fact that she was sitting right next to Ash, the so called walking time bomb. Kai smiled at her, wanting to soothe her worries a little bit. It was his idea to bring her along and now, looking how anxious he was he felt a little bad, thinking that she could simply be useful and not considering if she wanted to do that or not. 

"It will be fine." The prince told her. "We will stick together and nothing bad will happen. Ash will be with you." 

"Why me?" The vampire exclaimed, annoyed. He didn't care if Olivia was offended by it. He simply stated openly his dissatisfaction about it, making her pout and look away. Kai noticed it, the poor girl, she liked the worst possible candidate. 

"Because it's an order from me. Do you need another reason?" he asked him and Ash sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Seems like Kai will be protected by me after all." Philip boasted, raising his eyebrows and teasing Ash in the most childish manner. Kai looked at him, rolling his blue eyes, thinking that such a reaction was truly unbelievable. 

"Kai will protect himself, thank you very much. Now all of you should just sit silently here until we get to the rift. No fighting." he told them, looking at the two men with a strict expression. 

No one spoke afterwards and the prince turned his head, looking outside the window as he left the familiar kingdom behind for the second time. Not as a runaway but as someone who was planning to save it. Things did really seem to change, for the good or the better he wasn't really sure but as he watched the buildings disappear, as the people on the streets were left behind by the rushing carriage and the rift slowly seemed to get closer and closer Kai realized that he didn't hate his home, he never had. It was gloomy and filled with pretentious people but his family was here, his best friend and it had been a haven from the cruelty of the human world. He could still clearly remember his days at the academy, all the fun he had with them. 

When the carriages stopped and the galloping ceased a momentarily silence started. Those few moments until everyone was out, ready to step back into a whole different world. Kai couldn't stop thinking, he couldn't stop hoping that at the end of the day he would end up saving this place.

"Philip…" he called his lover, both of them the last people on the carriage. 

"Yes?"

"I want to save this place." he stated looking at him with his vibrant blue eyes and Philip smiled, caressing his cheek. 

"And I will help you every step of the way." he said, making the young prince smile. Kai nodded, hugging him and resting his head on his chest. Just for a little while, calming by the way Philip's heart beat on his chest. Philip was warm, his scent felt like home and Kai closed his eyes, feeling the man pat his head, leaving a soft kiss on it.

"Come on, everyone is waiting." Philip urged him, opening the door of the carriage. "After you, your highness." he joked, winking. 

Kai would keep feeling worried, anxious every time he thought of the Bloody People but this time, he didn't feel so weak. He knew he had people around him, supporting him and most importantly he had Philip, right by his side, feeling his fingers entwine with his, slowly as he found the strongest support, with no words needed. 

Some times it was impossible for him to fathom how he could love someone this much. 

...

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!