Butterfly Prince

by Britannica Tany

  “Ssssh,” she hummed as his words became a jumble. “Just hush.” She closed his eyes for him before leaning down to embrace him as he sat at the end of the church pew. “I promise that I’ll stay by your side.” She whispered beside his ear. “I won’t ever leave you, not for a day nor a year.” She kissed the side of his jaw. “I’ll be here for an eternity.”

  That was what she had promised, but now…he no longer needs me, not like that anymore. He doesn’t need me in that way when he has Kael…

  Kael…the light into his darkness, such a darkness I was unable to shatter.

  Kael.

  Jenna wipes her eyes and looks to both of her friends with warm eyes. “Thanks guys.” She rises to her feet and smooths down her jeans. “I feel better.” She exclaims taking each of their hands into a high-five. “I think I could go for a few drinks later though.” She smiles sheepishly and they nod sympathetically, bright smiles lining their faces.

  Later that day….

  Aiden stares out of the RPA windows, his shirt sleeves rolled up as he watches the slowly descending sun. Tomorrow he would go to the castle to do his first ever rounds of the interior. He was both nervous and excited.

  I can see him again—is what first came to mind, but he shook such thoughts away because he didn’t want to face such emotions, not so suddenly after coming across Skye’s writing’s. She had written about Kael in her journal, each page was filled with what they had done together. They played a game called ‘butterfly’, they read tons of books, they ignored the bodyguard’s orders, ect, ect. He was jealous and yet….in some way…he was glad that his sister wasn’t entirely alone.

  That she had a friend in such a lonely place.

  “Aiden!” Micah calls and he turns away from the window and looks to the taller male. “Yeah?”

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think you can find those boxing gloves out the window.” He cracks and Aiden scrunches up his nose. “Ha. Ha. You’re so funny.” He mutters, the need to roll his eyes not necessary because the eye-roll was heard in his tone of voice. Micah laughs loudly. “I know, I could host a sold out show.” He places a hand to his hip and holds his head up high. This time Aiden rolls his eyes. “Don’t think so, smart-ass.” He replies tossing a pair of gloves towards Micah who catches them and promptly puts them on. “Anyways, how ya feeling?” he asks as he takes his place behind the boxing bag. Aiden rolls his neck a few times before replying. “Alright I guess.”

  “Alright. You guess?” Micah echoes and Aiden laughs lightly as he raises his fists towards the bag. “Yeah…I just needed a moment to gather my thoughts.”

  “Right, right, ‘cause gathering your thoughts will solve all your problems.”

  “Woow, look who’s caught the sarcastic bug.” Aiden mumbles with a snort and Micah shrugs. “Hey, I’m just trying to help.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m fine.” He punches the bag, it goes careening to the right. “But you want to see him?” Micah asks and Aiden’s only reply is a silent nod. “You want to tell him stuff, right?” Micah continues to question and this time Aiden kicks the bag with his left foot. “You want to hug and kiss him and spill your heart ou—”

  “Shut up, Micah, that’s enough.”

  “Pffft, it was just getting good.”

  “You’re such an ass.” Aiden mumbles punching the bag hard and he howls when the bag knocks Micah back. He stumbles back before he grips both sides of the bag and shoves it towards Aiden who ends up dodging and laughing some more. Micah pauses to look at his friend and says softly. “Good,” he runs a hand through his sweaty hair. “He’s smiling again.” Aiden takes his place back by the bag again and bounces on his toes.

  “One-two-one-two—hut!” Micah counts for him and Aiden glares grumbling something about this “not being football.” They continue this for a while, sweat lining their bodies like a second skin. And it isn’t until Gene flicks the lights off and calls out to them. “Shutting it down in ten!” that they begin to pack their things. “I think we’re ready for tomorrow.” Micah exclaims, excitement evident in his voice. “I think you are.” Aiden replies and Micah stops moving to stare at his friend. “Not mentally prepared to face that boy crush of yours?” he pesters and Aiden throws his sweaty shirt at Micah’s face. “Shut-it.”

  “Fine, fine, but hey,” Micah places a hand to his shoulder. “I say you shoulder sleep on it.”

  “Sleep…”

  “Your mind can’t heal if you don’t close those pretty eyes of yours.” He teases with a friendly wink. Aiden—annoyed yet grateful—rolls his eyes with a grin and decides that he would get a shower and that he’d sleep. He’d think about tomorrow and he’d think about Kael…but it seemed that he had never stopped thinking about him.

  A Dance, A Waltz

  “Make your legs nimble, not so stiff.” Francis directs Kai as they stand in the center of his living room. Janus was out again and Jenna had come by earlier to drop off some leftovers from her place. Kai glances at Francis and says with a shaky voice. “This doesn’t feel right.” Francis squeezes his friend’s shoulder and says. “It’s just ‘cause you’re used to that ballet stuff.” Kai rolls his eyes. “It’s not stuff.” Kai defends and with a snarky laugh Francis kicks Kai’s feet out from underneath him and he goes toppling to the ground. He grabs Francis’s ankle and pulls the latter down with him. They lay on the ground out of breath with smiles lining their lips.

  “Okay, seriously, if we want to make this audition we’ve really got to start practicing.” Kai says seriously, pushing himself off the ground by the heels of his hands and to his feet. Francis reluctantly follows his lead. At the university there would be a performance put on by the students to appeal to the young ones of this generation. The only reason Francis and Kai were practicing as hard as they were was because the possibility of scouts being there was high. “Let’s start from the chorus.” Francis says, gliding over to the radio. Kai shoves a hand through his wet bangs and nods. A total of 2 hours have passed since they’ve been practicing. It was an on and off type of practicing; snack, joke around, talk and then dance—freestyling every now and then because they were bored of the one-two-one-two.

  “My lady,” Francis says thrusting his right hand out for Kai to take. He looks to his friend with unblinking eyes. “Seriously?” Francis nods, that playful gleam in his eyes and Kai was weak to that gleam. It made him giddy for no apparent reason and sometimes the gleam would slip down to Francis’s lips and he would smile that Francis smile. The one that made it seem like he was close to laughing and smirking. If Kai was gay—he takes Francis’s hand—he was gay for his best-friend.

  Their steps are slow and sensual before taking off with the rhythm of the song and breaking out into a pop style type of dance. Kai places a hand to Francis’s waist, his palm slowly sliding down to Francis’s hip where he keeps it and Francis was smiling because he knows something that Kai may not realize for himself. “Slower.” He commands, his voice husky yet gentle. Kai obeys, moving his hand to the mid of Francis’s back and doing a pop movement with his chest. Francis follows the same move after him and then he spins out of Kai’s grip, his black hair fanning out atop his head. By the time they finish they’re out of breath and panting against each other’s lips.

  “We…” Francis starts. “Should have recorded that.” Kai finishes for him and Francis chuckles, his eyes disappearing for a moment, his teeth showing brightly. Kai doesn’t quite know what comes over him or why he does it in the first place or even why he thinks Francis is beautiful, but in that split second—he was everything wonderful. Kai grips Francis’s wrists and holds them at his side as he leans forward and kisses his best-friend. Francis’s reaction is somewhat expecting, his dark eyes twinkling, his lips curling as Kai kissed him. His lips are warm and so are his hands as Francis realizes they’re now traveling up his shirt and gliding over his abs. He takes in a sharp breath, his eyes snapping to meet Kai’s, but they were closed, his eyelashes fluttering against h
is tan cheeks. And so Francis decides to close his own eyes and just enjoy the others lips against his. Maybe being friends for so long brought about this attraction or maybe it was there all along and that was why they became friends in the first place.

  ~*~

  Kael stares at his reflection, the crown glinting atop his head in all its striking glory. He received a call last night, it was from Jenna.

  “Kael?”

  “Je-Jenna?”

  “Should I call you ‘your majesty’ or do you prefer Kael?”

  “Kael, please.” She pauses, Kael can hear her intake of breath. “You need to meet him.”

  “What?”

  “I know…I know what I need to know.”

  “Jenna what are you—”

  “I’ve seen it all Kael…” She paused and it’s a long pause, a stuttering pause. “He’s in love with you.”

  Kael didn’t want to believe it, but the thought made him happy, unbelievably so. He places his hands against the marble sink and leans forward, his head hanging down.

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “I’m not getting into details, I don’t know everything, but he blames you and I do too.” She didn’t quite understand why she had called, her words sounded slurred, maybe she was drunk again. “But even though he blames you for Skye’s death, even though everything in me is telling me to hunt you down and curse you,” She sighed. “I won’t because there’s something stronger that’s telling me to push you two together.”

  “I don’t…like him.” She laughed. “You’re lying. Remember the time on the bridge when we were talking?” Kael did remember: “Kael…do you…like…him…?” Her words broke off, a pause and then another. Kael looks away from the sun and looks to her with a blank expression. A bird flies past their heads and then another, a flock following behind. A car drives past them as they stand on the sidewalk of the bridge. “Do you like Aiden…?” Kael reiterates her question as though he were asking himself. The wind blows and then it dies away into a flutter. Jenna was clutching her bag, her heart beating rapidly. “Jenna…” The brunette spoke with a gentle voice. “I can’t like him because you do.” Kael flashes her a sheepish smile and her heart drops.

  He grips the counter and bites his quivering bottom lip.

  “Jenna…”

  “Kael…talk to him.”

  “He won’t listen to me.”

  “He has ears, he’ll hear you, he may not decide to listen in that moment, but he’s heard you.” Kael shook his head. “He hates me.”

  “I do too.” He swallowed; her tone was final, unwavering. “Why’d you call me then?”

  “Because I had to, I’m doing it for my sake. I don’t like seeing him like that; so lost and gone—he’s gone Kael.”

  “I hurt him…he’s hurt me too.”

  “Get over it, the pain makes you stronger.” He laughed to himself.

  “Does it really? You blame me, he blames me, and I even blame myself for Skye’s death.” He took a deep breath. “But you both don’t know anything, you don’t know my suffering, my heartaches and fears.” She listened. “I like you Jenna, you were the first friend I made when I stepped out into the real world. I didn’t ask for all this, I didn’t ask to hurt you in this way or him—I only want to protect my friends.”

  “Protect your friends…” Her tone was incredulous. “Wasn’t Skye a friend to you? What good have you done by protecting her?” She didn’t mean to hurt him like that, to break him in that way, but she had done so anyways. Kael later convulsed on his bed from a panic attack, sweat running down his neck as his breath came out in short puffs. It was too much for him to handle mentally.

  He gathers himself and looks up into the mirror; his face seemed to have paled, the brown in his eyes a dimmer, rustier brown. He didn’t want to go to Aiden like this, but he was to see him anyways, the bodyguards were coming in to do their first rounds of the castle.

  ~*~

  Aiden forces the nerves out of his hands by continuously shaking them. Gene eyes him and then leans over to ask. “Anything wrong?” Aiden blinks, his cheeks flushing from being seen in such a state by someone younger than him. “Haha, nothing, just a little anxious to look around.” Gene hums, the sound low and contemplative. Aiden looks up, the white castle looming over his head. Kael was inside—it’s been so long…Aiden couldn’t stop himself from worrying. He clutches his hands together and takes a deep breath. Caleb looks up and down the row of young men and then nudges Gene in his side. “Where’s Kai?”

  “Ah, Janus allowed him to go home to practice with a friend.”

  “Practice?” Gene nods, Caleb scoffs. “Lee has a special spot for that one, eh.” He jokes with the bodyguard beside him. Gene looks straight ahead thinking: not special, but he’s protecting that little brother of his from the truth of his friend’s identity. It’s a useless tactic…because in the end…won’t it hurt more?

  Gene looks to the empty spot to his left, the spot that belonged to Kai and he heaves a sigh. “That idiot.” He grumbles licking his bottom lip and pushing all useless thoughts to the back of his mind. That’s how he survived in this emotional world; by not showing his emotions on his face. “Attention!” Janus booms, clapping his hands together and standing at the top of the stone steps, his hands folded behind his back. Aiden wills himself to calm down and to listen as Janus talks, but his voice sounds wobbly and muffled, all Aiden can think about is Kael. Kael laughing, Kael smiling, Kael asking him to shoot him. “Kill me!” Aiden’s body jolts and Janus’s gaze glides over to him with worry. “Get it together.” He says to himself, the sun reflecting in his brown eyes. But even as the sun shone in his eyes, he thought about how much brighter Kael’s smile was in comparison to the sunlight.

  ~*~

  Francis is out of breath as Kai’s hands move to his back, his warm fingers pressing into Francis’s spine. “K-Kai, I don’t think you know what will happen if you continue—” Kai kisses his jaw—“To touch me like this.” Francis was quickly losing it, the color in his eyes crackling like fire, his body arching into Kai’s every caress because he was attracted to him; physically, he had always checked Kai out once, twice, three times whenever they changed or showered in the locker room during their high-school years. Mentally Francis always felt a comfort around his friend.

  “Mm, I think I do.” Kai murmurs against the skin on Francis’s neck. The house was silent, the stereo playing softly in the background as they prodded and stretched each other’s boundaries. Kai tugs at the band on Francis’s jeans, his nimble fingers working quickly. “Hey, hey, be serious,” Francis places a hand up to prevent Kai from kissing him any further. Kai blinks, his lips swollen red. “Are you just horny or do you really want to….” Francis trails off, his eyes doing the work for him. Kai grins, moving both his hands to Francis’s hips. “I think I’m just horny.” He jokes, suddenly moving to dance with Francis around the living room. Francis’s eyes widen and then he gets annoyed. “Stop playing, we gotta practice.”

  “We will.” Kai says smoothly, his hand dipping down to the back of Francis’s jeans. His eyes bug open and he stares at Kai with skeptical eyes. “Are we going to become friends with benefits?” He questions, his brown eyes casting over nervously. Kai outright laughs, his lips taking over his entire face. “Benefits?”

  “Yeah, cause if we’re only messing around then…” Kai pulls Francis close and lightly bops him across his nose. “You said you were gay, right?” Kai asks and Francis nods not exactly sure where this was going. “And right now, in this moment, I’m saying that I like you.”

  “Wait…what?” Kai nods, dipping Francis back like they were doing the salsa.

  “So let’s just make-out and start dating afterwards.” He adds before pushing Francis against the couch and crawling on top of him until he sat on his lap in a straddle. Francis was confused, surprised and a little bit turned on by his friend’s sudden dominance. Kai on the other hand was nervous as all hell. He didn’t intend to
take it this far, but his body was leading him and his heart was telling him what to do, how to touch Francis, his sensitive spots; just underneath his chin and the dip underneath his navel. “Okay, wow.” Francis murmurs, his hands finding their way to Kai’s hips where they settle. Kai looks down at him and smiles shakily. “Uhm, I guess we kiss now?” Francis grins, a chuckle escaping his lips. “Being the gay one, I’ll lead you the rest of the way.” He leans up and takes Kais lips between his.

  ~*~

  Aiden looks around, the luxurious appearance of the castle still a shock to him. The chandeliers were what really caught his attention. They were like crystals or the rain at a stand-still, glimmering and gleaming above him. And the velvet red carpet seemed to span out for an eternity. “Listen up,” He directs his attention back to Janus. “Today I’ll be assigning each of you to a group of three to watch after a specific area of the castle.” Aiden’s fists clench at his sides. After a moment of walking up and down the row of men to check their uniforms and equipment, Janus stops in front of Aiden. He pulls him aside and whispers in his ear. “You’re assigned to walk the halls with me.”

  “Why? Is it because of the relationship I had with Kael?” A smile curls Janus’s lips at Aiden’s absurd question. “Hardly. It’s because you’re to be his personal bodyguard. I think he told you this.” With a sympathetic smile Janus steps back and takes his place in front of the eager men. “This is only a simple look around, so that you can get a feel of the place.” The men nod. “Now,” he claps his hands. “Hop to it!” They disperse. Micah steps beside Janus being that he was assigned to their group. Aiden, Janus and Micah—quite the trio. Aiden speaks not a word as they walk down the hall. Micah whistles with his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking between the two inquisitively. He glances towards Janus and their eyes meet. Micah nearly chokes on his own spit, he doubles over, bringing a hand to his mouth as he coughs. Janus looks at him a warmth filling his eyes and a smile tugging at his lips.