Trapped In Hisstory

"Now that our dear Crown Prince is here, you have no more reason to be impatient right? How about we start this breakfast, the young princess must be hungry." 

"Wait a bit." the King of Antares said. "We are still waiting for someone."

King Leonidas and the Second Prince looked confused since they were already complete. Chance suddenly remembered that there was still one person missing as he looked at the seat in front of him. 'Clayton…' 

"The Second Prince, Clayton Howard has arrived!"

~~~~~

Clayton let out a snort after remembering the surprised expression on his sibling's faces. Even the guests from the Canopus Kingdom did not know that there was actually another prince in Antares, another child of the King.

Except for one. 'That king…' he thought, the king of the neighboring kingdom. 'I pretended not to notice nor care, but why did he bow his head slightly?' he thought, curious about the behavior of the Canopus Lion.

'Was he actually greeting me?' he thought but shook his head immediately, 'That is impossible, why would someone, especially a king, greet me?'

It might be that he already knew him, but that was not possible since Clayton was always inside the palace and never went out.

"Your Highness?"

It was not only the weird king's behavior that he had in mind, up until now he was still thinking about the reason behind his father's invitation.

"Your Highness??"

Thinking about it only annoyed him since he had an idea about what the panther was planning to do.

~~~~~

They strode forward to the door and Clifford opened it for him. Luckily, there were no knights guarding outside the Second Prince's chamber. There has never been guards since before since no one really cared if he had died, the Kingdom still has two legitimate children, Carmilla Howard and Charles Howard.

He smiled bitterly with his cold emerald eyes as he went through the door, leaving his room with Clifford following behind him.

Clayton has always been treated like a wind, a shadow of his siblings. That is why he kept wondering why the King who never looked his way, suddenly invited him to dine with them. "Tch, seriously. What the hell is he planning?" he muttered.

"It does not matter what they think! You are my son! You are still His Majesty's son!!"

"Do you understand? You are our son, how dare they treat you badly? They will get punished!"

"Son, my dear son. I will not let you stay on the mud, you are a prince. Soon, Your Majesty will realize your worth!"

"I will do anything...so help me as well. You must help your mother!"

"You trash! You think I wasted all those years raising you for you to be like this? Get His Majesty's attention!"

Clayton clenched his fist as her mother's voice kept drumming inside his ears. 'This is all His Majesty's fault.' he thought.

Why must one marry a person he does not love, have a child, then throw them both away? He thought.

He hated the King all his life, but now his presence, that never seemed to have existed in the king's eyes, was requested in a royal dining? 

Clayton let out a snort, "Do not make me laugh." he whispered. 'For someone who never took notice of me, requesting my presence must surely be because I would be part of the plan you are making.'

"I will not let you use me, Father." 

~~~~~

He clenched his fists, "That is right, I will not let you use me." he muttered.

But at that moment, someone at the back of his head seemed to be whispering in his ears. It was the words he did not want to hear, yet he cannot even make himself try not to listen.

"If father considers us to be qualified as a candidate to the throne...then would it not be the perfect chance…" the voice went louder, going even nearer to his ears, "to get back at your brother?"

Clayton froze and his surroundings darkened, leaving only him and the figure behind him in empty darkness. "Revenge..?" he muttered in a daze.

"Yes, would that not be great? To be higher than him, then throw him aside. Make him suffer." the voice continued.

He wanted to cover his ears but he knew that he would still hear it, after all, the voice that kept whispering was himself. His mind. His desires. The thoughts he buried deep inside him.

"You trash! You think I wasted all those years raising you for you to be like this? Get His Majesty's attention!"

Without Clayton even noticing, he was already laughing with tears forming in his eyes, "Mother, for the first time in my life, I received father's attention."

"But I know for sure that it was only his attempt to shake my brother, to warn him about the throne."

"In the end…" he whispered as he looked at his hands, "I was never truly noticed."

The voice continued to take control of his mind, "A smart kid like you can survive in the fight for the throne, as long as you plan, as long as you have the goal in your mind-

"Goal? What is my goal? To take revenge?"

"Of course!"

"No."

"What?"

"I do not want revenge. That would only make me dance in the palm of my father's hand." he said and stood up, "If I do not want to forgive them, then I would not. If I am still mad, then I will stay mad. But I do not want to do a thing such as revenge."

"And I will not let anyone control me. Not even my father, my mother nor my emotions."

A sudden clap pulled him out of his thoughts and his surroundings came back to his sight. He was flustered to see Clifford in front of him, with his face close to his. He suddenly remembered what he did earlier before they went to dine with the royal members. 

~~~~~

"Oh, I did try to get out earlier but…" 

"But what?"

Clifford looked away but the redness on his face was still visible even in the side view, especially his ears, "You suddenly stripped so I...I immediately closed the doors of the closet."

Clayton almost laughed, "What a shy little dog, we are both men so what is the problem?" he said. He shrugged, "Even maids, women, give the Crown Prince a bath. They see his body—

Clayton was cut off when Clifford suddenly pulled him closer, "This and that are different. They will not have any intentions when they see the body of the master they serve."

Clayton was silent for a moment then let out a snort, "Hah, are you saying that you will have such intentions towards me?" he said sarcastically.

Although the Second Prince was using sarcasm, Clifford did not even say anything to deny it. "H-hey, at least speak and deny it." 

"I do not wish to deny something that is not a lie." 

Clayton was flustered, his words means that he admits that he would have different intentions in his mind if he ever sees him changing. What would have happened if Clifford did not go back inside the closet, he thought.

"Clifford Hill, such a thing. It is not something to be embarrassed about if I change in front of you. Make those intentions, whatever it is, disappear."

"Then, if you were in my place," Clifford said and put his hands on Clayton's face, "If I was removing my clothes, would you have gotten out of the closet?"

Clayton gulped, he does not know why he was feeling strange, "O-of course, it does not really matter." the Second Prince answered.

'The hell? Did you just stutter?' he asked inside his mind.

Clifford remained still while staring at the Second Prince's eyes, "Then if I strip down right now in front of you, watch well and don't avert your eyes."

'What?!' Clayton screamed inside his head. Wondering if he was actually serious about removing his clothes or if he was just teasing him.

Clayton noticed his hand went to its chest and started unbuttoning his clothes. He did not believe he would really do it, maybe it was just the buttons then he would stop and admit that he was just teasing him. But even after a few moments, he was still not stopping.

There were only a few buttons left before his upper part gets exposed and Clayton's face flushed with redness, "I get it! I get it! Stop!" he exclaimed while holding both of Clifford's hands to stop him.

Clifford stared at him then laughed at his flustered face, "Now you understand my feelings, Your Highness." he whispered in the Second Prince's ears.

Clayton turned around so he could not look at his face anymore, especially from his exposed chest that sends strange feelings that he never felt before. 'I must have gone mad,' he thought.

"Fix that clothing of yours, we must go out now." Clayton ordered.

Clifford chuckled and smiled, "At once, Your Highness."

~~~~~

"Wh-what are you doing??" he asked, seeing his face near to touching each other.

"I was checking on you, since Your Highness is not responding every time I called you," he said.

Clayton hoped that he had the ability to hide the reddening of his cheeks, but he could only try to look away. He glanced at Clifford again and he expected him to feel shy, rubbing his neck as usual but his expression looked serious.

"Are you all right?" Clayton asked.

Clifford stared at him with a serious look on his face and put his hands on his face, "I should be the one asking that." he said and wiped the tears on his cheeks that Clayton did not even notice.

"For some reason, my heart aches whenever you cry," he said in a low voice. "I hope someday you will get the happiness you deserve."

"And I wish to be the one to make that happen."