Ashes of Cinder

35

To an outsider, it would have freaked anyone out to have stumbled into such a place. But Blaise was no outsider. It gave him memories of his childhood.

Two little boys pushed a suspicious cabinet in one of the guest rooms of the palace. The team effort paid off, thus revealing a door hidden behind. They shared a look with one another, eyes filled with wonder, fear, and excitement. A silent minute passed and then the blond one went to turn the knob. The door squeaked open and the only thing that greeted them was darkness.

"I've never seen this in my life! When was this here?" the blond prince yelped, sweat beading his forehead. He cringed back nervously, not wanting to further discover this phenomenon.

"Are you chicken?" the brunet responded tauntingly, his lips curving up into a smirk.

"N-No, I'm not," he denied, cheeks flushing a pale pink. Scrunching his small shoulders upward, he attempted to look braver than he felt.

Young Blaise let out a giggle and shook his head. Getting closer to the unknown door, he whipped his head over his shoulder to look at his friend. "I'll go in first. Are you coming?"

Cameron pondered long and hard about it and eventually nodded reluctantly. The two went down the stairs to reach a dark corridor. "It's a bit hard to see down here. M-Maybe we should've brought a torch," the blond pointed out, sticking his body close to Blaise's for comfort.

"I can see just fine. And it's too much work to grab one, so lets just keep going until we find the end."

The prince widened his blue eyes in horror. His voice an octave higher than it usually was, he was desperately trying to hide his fear but was obviously failing. "Until the end?! That could take... forever. And w-what if there's something or someone waiting for us here? I-I'm too young to die!"

The green eyed boy gave his panicking friend a soothing side hug. "Relax Cameron. I'm the one going first, aren't I? And you're the Prince of this country. I'm your mere peasant, so if anything happens, I'll protect you. I'll throw myself at the monster like a hero and then you can run away!"

"You're making me sound like a coward at this point. I want to be a hero too," he complained.

Blaise sighed in dismay, but was overall content to see that his partner had calmed down a bit. "You're one spoiled Prince, you know that?" he teased. He then halted when something caught his eye. Bending his tiny legs to get closer to the ground, the boy behind him nearly ran into him. Ignoring the near accident, he curiously wrapped his fingers around a key that seemed eons old. "I wonder what this key is for."

What a sweet, sickening story. Blaise wanted to bury the faint memory away, locking it up in his cold heart. But it was a futile thing to avoid when he was already here.

It was also futile when his plan was going so well.

Leaning against the wall was a grown young man, his blue hues distant among the shadows. Slightly shorter than him within a few inches, he was not that far off in height. His blond locks fell over his forehead and he donned a simple yet expensive silk robe for the night. Unlike the first day they stumbled upon this underground passageway, he was fine staying here alone -- due to the numerous days he was forced to play hide and seek among the uncanny prison cells.

Blaise continued towards him and paused in his steps when he was meters away from his highness. At the sound of his footsteps, the other male turned to look at him, his eyes widening at the sight. "Blaise Wellington," he breathed out. "How did you get in here?"

"Key," he said curtly.

The Prince stiffened and Blaise could instantly tell that he was confused. He may have not seen his childhood friend since ten years ago, but he knew Cameron too well that he could remember a lot of things about the man. Cameron was a foolish man -- unable to hold onto responsibilities and unfitting to become a king. Despite him being the same age as Blaise, he was much more immature, so Blaise had always treated him like a younger brother. In addition to that, the Queen and King compared the two often... it was what led their friendship to a demise.

"Happy Anniversary, Cameron," he said, his tone light. Indeed, it was the anniversary of the day they discovered these passages. Midnight had struck, turning the 14 into a 15. The 15th day of the 10th month.

The blond haired male ignored his words. "You shouldn't be here," he murmured, his body slightly shaking. "Please. You have to leave, or else I'll have no choice but to call the guards."

Blaise let out a bitter laugh that lasted a full minute. When he stopped abruptly, his hues twinkled mischievously. "Guards? What guards? We're far from any human contact, in an underground tunnel that we've never told anyone else about," he stated, grinning. His pearly, sharp canines poked out. "You miss me, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't be here, reminiscing old times."

Cameron did not respond, his face twisting up in indecisiveness. He eventually subsided and took a deep breath. "Then what are you here for?"

"Just to talk," he said casually. "A talk has been long overdue, no?"