Butterfly Prince

by Britannica Tany

  “Back to the castle…”

  “Alright.” Kael snaps his seatbelt into place, looking at Aiden from the window. He was standing there with is hands in his pockets and his bangs drooping over his eyes, swaying back and forth on his feet. As the car begins to move, Aiden looks up, plastering a smile onto his face and waving. Kael lowers the window and sticks his hand out. He waves back. Rolling the window up, he says to the chauffeur. “I change my mind…” The man looks back at Kael. “Take me to the greenhouse.”

  “You got it.” They drive off, Kael looks back watching as Aiden’s figure grew smaller and smaller and he touches his lips in a daze. Within minutes the driver pulls into the dirt parking lot of the greenhouse, he cuts the engine and walks around the car to open the door for Kael. He steps out, the wind bristling his hair. “Give me a minute.” He says, the man bows his head escorting Kael to the greenhouse doors before walking back and retreating to the car. Kael steps inside and reaches back to close the door. He stands in the middle of the plants and flowers and basks in the silence. “Breathe.” He inhales. “Breathe.” And exhales. He takes a step forward knocking over a brown pot in the process. He stares down at the frayed soil and broken glass, the two images blurring into one. He bends down to pick it up; the dirt is warm in his palm and he begins to squeeze and squeeze, ignoring the glass that pierces his skin.

  “Skye…” He calls her name quietly. “I’m doing it again…” He opens his hand and stares at the dirt that caked the lines of his palm. “I’m hurting you and your brother.” Kael takes in a deep breath. “I hate myself sometimes.” He flings the dirt aside and rises to his feet. He spins around and around calling out her name. “Skye, I’ll be the Prince to the world soon….soon Aiden will know.” Kael kicks over a sapling ad he screams. He screams and screams, tears coursing down his cheeks and dripping from his chin. “Ugh…” He hiccups, fumbling around and picking up the nearest vase, he throws it to the ground and stumbles around the greenhouse picking up and throwing whatever he could. “I like him.” He sobs. “I like him a lot.” He wipes his eyes and sniffs. “And that’s the problem…I want to be with him, but I don’t want to hurt him like I hurt you.” The wind whistles, whipping past Kael’s head and whispering in his ear.

  “You didn’t hurt me.” It said before whizzing away. Kael stops spinning, he places a hand to his chest and laughs. “If only you had told me then…” He clutches his shirt thinking why his parents never mentioned her name, why they didn’t want his memories to return. He breathes deeply, exhales and begins again. He pulls out every tree, tearing at the roots and ripping off flower petals—they flutter to the ground. He screams and screams and doesn’t stop screaming until his voice is hoarse, even then he breaks out into a broken cry, his eyes bloodshot, cheeks tear stained and hands bloodied and dirtied. A few moments later he stumbles out of the greenhouse. The chauffeur’s eyes widen. “Master!” he rushes towards Kael, catching him before he collapsed. “Take me home. I’m tired.”

  “Y-yes.” He carries him towards the car, opens the door and lays him across the backseat. Kael folds his legs under his chin and closes his eyes.

  8/25/15

  “Don’t stop until I say so!”

  “No, no, start again!”

  “No one’s resting until you get it right!” Janus bellows pacing up and down the workout room as the young men worked. Micah was practicing with his knife, Gene and Kai were busy tackling each other and Aiden was messing around with his gun. He kept turning the safety on and off, firing random bullets when he suddenly felt like it. “Does it fascinate you or something?” Janus questions, suddenly walking up to him. Aiden rolls his neck and cracks his knuckles. “In some way…it does.” Janus peers at him, Aiden places a single bullet in the gun and aims it in front of him. “This little thing has the power to take a life.” He murmurs, Janus nods. “It’s dangerous.”

  “Yeah.” He fires the bullet and then tosses the gun aside. Janus bends down to pick it up, he holds it in his hand and says to Aiden. “I heard from Jenna.” He begins, Aiden’s expression falls. “Oh.” He sneers. Janus lets out a breath. “I’m not as sensitive as Francis, but you hurt Jenna and take this as a warning,” He steps towards Aiden. “This Prince whom you hate, may just be the same person you’ve come to love.” Aiden blinks at his words. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” He questions, Janus shrugs, shoving the gun back into his hands. “You could take it like a grain of salt if you want.” He salutes Aiden before heading over to Micah and helping him with his position. “Stand like this.” He places a hand to Micah’s elbow. Aiden holds the gun, clears his throat and rips off his bullet proof vest. They trained for hours, every trainee, lining up in their bullet proof vests ready to take a bullet. “If one of these hit you, you have to be ready to bounce back up like nothing happened.” Janus tosses the gun from his left hand to his right.

  “Who wants to go first?” He asks looking down the row of young men, when no one steps up he calls on Aiden. “Of course.” Aiden grumbles, stepping forward and standing up straight. “I’m going to take several steps away from you—it’s not like I want to kill you.” Janus laughs, his voice hollow, Aiden keeps a straight face. “Now, attackers try to aim for the vital parts, the chest area so they can get your heart or from behind if they want to paralyze you.” Janus loads the gun, it clicks into place. “Some may aim straight for the head.” He stands with his legs 45 degrees apart and takes aim. “Brace yourself.” He tells Aiden. Aiden takes a deep breath; the others hurry to the side. Janus orders Aiden to take a few more steps back before he says again that he’ll be firing the gun. The second the bullet discharges, all color drains from Aiden’s face and the wind is knocked out of him. It felt like the way a shockwave would look, every muscle in his stomach rippled and tightened as though it were trying to prevent the bullet from getting through.

  “Just breathe!” Janus shouts rushing over to him and patting him down. Micah takes the gun from Janus, his eyes wide. “Holy shit.” He murmurs, switching the gun back to safety. Janus rips the vest off of Aiden to check if the bullet had penetrated his vest. If it did the royal family would have to provide the money to get better vests. But the bullet only grazed his skin. Janus lets out a relieved sigh. “Good, you did a good job.” Janus pushes him up to his feet and tells him to do it one more time, but on his own.

  “You’ve got to be kidding…” Aiden grumbles, rolling his shoulders and coughing. The wind had got knocked out of him in the process. They do this about forty-eight times in total before everyone’s got a pretty good idea of how to get back up after sustaining a bullet. “Nice work!” Janus claps, Kai slaps a hand to Gene’s back—he was still trying to regain his breath from the shock of the bullet—“I’m fine.” He shakes out of Kai’s grip. “That sucker hurt.” Gene laughs. “What were you expecting?” Kai shrugs. “Dunno, but it sure as hell wasn’t that.”

  “Now it’s time to get fitted!” Janus announces, Aiden blinks. “Fitted?”

  “Yes, the Queen has ordered in a special set of suits designed for you men.” A few sigh in awe, a rookie, Caleb, high-fives his partner. “One by one come into the room and we’ll hand you a case that has your suit in it, the shoes will come a little later.” Excitement bursts around the room and everyone begins to undress. Janus’s eyes stray over to Micah who was topless, his muscles flexing as he tugs on the zipper of his jeans. He looks up suddenly and their eyes meet. Instead of looking away, Janus flashes a quick smile, his deep eyes gleaming and he bows. He turns away to escort the other men into the room. “Woah, did you see that.” Micah hisses, gripping Aiden’s arm. Aiden sighs. “See what?”

  “The way he looked at me.”

  “Who?” Micah clears his throat and points to the room Janus had disappeared into. “Janus, he was checking me out.” Aiden pulls a thin smile. “Really?”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Pfft, looks like I’m not the only gay one.” He mumbles under his breath. Micah blinks,
following after him. “Wh-what’s that supposed to me?!”

  “Whatever you want to believe.” Aiden replies simply a haughty grin lining his lips.

  ~*~

  Kael sits at the head of the table listening as his mother droned on and on with one of her rich friends that lived in the Southern part of Melia. “It’s lovely out there, I would love it if the Prince came to visit.” His mother laughs. “Oh that would be wonderful!” She exclaims, side-eyeing Kael. “I’m sure my son would appreciate the fresh air.” Kael looks up at the mention of his name and plasters a smile onto his face. “Yes, fresh air would be nice.” His mother laughs some more, her eyes twinkling like the diamonds hanging from her necklace. A few minutes into the conversation and Kael’s mentally puking inside his mouth. All this talk about women and castle extensions and royal family travels. Kael didn’t want to hear any of it. If they were travelling he wanted to travel alone and to a place of his choosing. “My daughter just turned nineteen and she’s been looking into marriage.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Mhm, since her father’s Rosarian, she’s half Melian and half Rosarian; she’s very intelligent.” The country and the people of Rosary were always considered like-minded and intelligent of nature, so of course this woman’s mother would boast about her daughter’s ethnicity and background. “Really?” The woman—who went by Mrs. Yari nods—“What’s her name?”

  “Arisa, but she allows those close to her call her Ari.” They start laughing again and laughing and laughing. Kael slams his hands on the table and stands up, his chair scraping back with a piercing shreeeee. They stare at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry.” He announces. “I’m just a little tired.” He flashes a meek smile, his bangs shielding his eyes. “Oh? Did you not sleep well?” Mrs. Yari asks, Kael nods. “I’ve been so busy and restless since the day is approaching so soon.”

  “Aah,” She nods. “That’s understandable.” Kael bows his head and smiles at his mother. “If you need anything let me know.” She says to him, Kael nods before backing away and walking to his room. Candles lit the hallway and flickered against every portrait within reach of the light. “Kael!” He jumps at the echo of Skye’s voice and breaks out in a run towards his room. He bumps into one of the servants, he grips her waist preventing her from falling back. “Is everything alright, your majesty?” She asks. “Yes, I’m fine, sorry for bumping into you.” He bows deeply and her eyes widen. “N-no need to bow to me your majesty!” Kael lifts his head and smiles. “I’ll be in my room.” He gently brushes past her, she turns around noticing the bandages on his hand. Last night when Kael reached home, he was escorted inside by a few other bodyguards, his mother was waiting at the head of the steps, her eyebrows creased with worry. “What happened to him?!” She screeched. “He went inside the greenhouse and came out like this, your highness.” They wiped the blood from his hand and drenched it with alcohol to get rid of any infection. They dried it and then wrapped it up in cloth. Kael steps into his room, pushes the door shut and breathes deeply. He breathes in and out, in and out so that a panic attack wouldn’t flare up. “It’s alright, you’re getting better.” He says to himself.

  It was only mid-afternoon and there was still things to be done, like meeting a few more royal figures and celebrities, taking interviews and choosing what silverware to have at the dinner table. “It’s silverware.” Kael mumbles, trudging over to his bed and falling face first into it. He groans and throws a mini-hissy fit, his legs kicking out. He rolls over onto his back and heaves a sigh. “…tired…” He hums, his eyes slowly closing and closing—closed. “Kael…” Aiden’s voice appears beside his ear like a cooling mist, Kael turns and their eyes meet. “I’ve dreamt about you too, Kael.” There were hands roaming up from his thighs to his hips. “Aiden, what are you doing?” Aiden’s fingers press into Kael’s thighs and he grunts. Kael could feel something hard pushing into his knee. “I just want to touch you.” Aiden pulls the zipper down on Kael’s jeans and kisses his hipbone and then the dip between his hip and thigh. Kael shudders, lifting himself up by pressing his elbows into the mattress. “Aiden, stop.” He huffs, his mind numbing and the back of his neck prickling with goosebumps. But Aiden doesn’t stop, his palm cups the front of Kael’s boxers and the younger’s eyes widen, his heart hammering in his chest. “Th-this isn’t right.” He pants, his hands fisting the sheets. “It’s alright, I only want to touch you.” Kael’s lips part as he gasps, Aiden’s hand massaging the bump in his boxers. He presses down harder and harder until white spots shown in Kael’s vision. His voice hitches and he struggles to push Aiden off as something rises up in him. “Aiden, get off.”

  “Let me hold you.” Aiden whispers, his voice whisking into Kael’s ears and ghosting down his spine. Kael can’t stop it and his hips buck up. “Oh god!” he exclaims, shooting up, his eyes snapping open. “Oh my god, oh my god.” He murmurs out of breath and he immediately looks down. Thankfully he hadn’t stained his expensive pair of silk pants, but they were slightly strained. He wraps the blanket around his entire body and trudges towards the bathroom. He stares at his flushed face in the mirror and shakes his head. “That was just…no, Kael.” He runs the shower water cold. “No, that was not okay.”

  He spent the remainder of the day trying to get his mind off of Aiden. He helped his mother organize a few things, sat down with his father and bitterly discussed what it would be like after his face is shown to the public. “You won’t be looked at in the same way.”

  “I know.”

  “Friends will become strangers.” Kael squints at his father. “They all don’t have to become strangers.”

  “It’s inevitable, son.” With that Kael excused himself and spent his time in the kitchen, snacking away on whatever looked appetizing and edible.

  8/26/15

  Flashing lights that came from cameras and journalists from around the world seeking to be the first to print an article about the famed Prince, were flickering about the entire entrance of the castle. There was a red carpet rolled out as though this entire thing was a Hollywood hoax. Kael was sitting in his room, a smaller crown resting beside him on his bed and he wore a thin golden robe over an all-white suit. On each of the cuffs was a golden lion. “It’s actually happening…” Kael murmurs, he runs a hand down his face and rises to his feet when there’s a knock on his door. “Your majesty?”

  “I’m coming!” He calls, he glances down at the crown and picks it up. He lifts it and eyes the topaz jewels and the single crescent shaped one that was placed in the middle. With a sigh he places it atop his head and walks out.

  ~*~

  “Today’s the big day!” Micah announces as he ruffles Aiden’s hair. They were in a single black van on their way to the castle. Aiden was anxious, his palms sweaty and his lips moist from licking them. Janus sat in the passenger seat. He didn’t need to be at the castle since it was his job to direct the new bodyguards on where to go. He looks at Aiden’s reflection in the mirror, their eyes meet. He flashes a smile before directing his gaze ahead. The castle was coming into view. It was glowing with yellow-orange lights. Aiden gasps and Micah gasps beside him.

  “I’ve only read about it in articles…” Aiden starts. “It’s hella huge!” Micah exclaims pressing his face against the window so he could get a better view. Aiden clasps his hands together and he looks at the countless windows that lined the exterior of the castle and he whistles. “Get used to it, you’ll be seeing it for the rest of your life.” Janus says from the front of the van. They pull into a spot away from the onlookers, parking the car under a tree. “Everybody out!” Micah’s the first to get out, his feet sinking into the dirt. Aiden slips out from behind him and stares up at the large estate.

  “Wow…” He sighs. “It was humongous, like a place you’d see in fairytales! It’s all white and it glows, Aiden!” Skye had exclaimed after her first day at the castle. “No lie…” He murmurs, smoothing down his suit tie and following after Janus. They walked in a unifo
rmed manner. One-two, one-two. The air of excitement grows once they finally reach the fray of journalists and young students writing an essay for their classes. “Stay alert, this’ll be your first test on how to deal with a huge crowd.” Janus points to the doors and directs them to follow after him. “Stay in a tight line!” The crowd looks to them confused, somewhat annoyed as the men push through them and up the stairs. The doors were open, but only a select few were allowed inside; a couple journalists and reporters from the local news channel. Aiden looks around; the doors were brass and looked to be almost a mile wide. Micah lets out an excited noise as they finally step inside. It was quiet and empty. Lights were lit and chandeliers glimmered like diamonds on a tight rope. Women in aprons and chef hats hurry past them, trays of food in their hands. He remembers something Kael told him when they first met: “Were you locked away in a castle all your life?”

  “You have no idea.” He tilts his head and continues walking. “We are to wait until the king and queen come.” Janus says. “Stand against these walls in a single line.”

  “Yes sir!” They all line up, their hands placed stiffly at their sides and they wait for the Royal family to arrive. Janus appears in front of Aiden and says the words from yesterday. “Brace yourself.” Aiden rolls his eyes. “What, are you going to shoot me again?”

  “No, but it’ll feel that way.”

  “Wait, wha—”

  “The King and Queen are entering!” An elderly man in a suit announces and they all straighten up. The few reporters that were in the castle flock at the end of the stairs. “Your highness, your majesty!” The King and Queen bow their heads respectfully. Aiden glares at them, his fists clenching at his sides. They slowly make their way down the stairs and the King is the first to appear in front of the bodyguards. They all bow their heads and keep them down until the King orders them to look up. “You’ve trained quite a few fine men.” The King compliments Janus. “Thank you, your majesty.” The King’s eyes stray over to Aiden and they stay on him for a moment. It looked as though he were smirking. “Oh my! What handsome young men!” The Queen exclaims clapping her hands together and patting Kai’s shoulder. They talk with Janus for a few minutes and introduce themselves to the bodyguards. Where’s the Prince? Why won’t he hurry up and show his face? Aiden clenches his fist tighter, Janus glances at him from down the line and he frowns. “The Prince is entering!” The same elderly man announces and everything quiets. The cameras stop flashing, the chatter dies away and Janus says nothing as a leather clad foot appears from the top of the stairway. I can finally see you. Aiden touches the side where his gun is placed and takes a slow breath.