Royals and Spider Lillies.

Chapter One

'Festival of Dragons - hosted by the royal family on the hottest day of the year.'

Rhys Drach - "Fire Dragon"

The bustling streets of his hometown does nothing to soothe the nerves in Rhys' mind, to worried about the festival going off without a hitch and the strange bubbling feeling of unease in his throat. He felt as if something were wrong, something was missing or worse- he had missed a detail in his mother's request for this year's set up. His azure eyes flicking about the decorations, the food, the guests and even the performers telling the tale of the Drach families heritage. "Hey- Rhys, man.. stop worrying about the damn decor and maybe try to focus on the fact you're spilling your cider." Finneas, his best friend and the only guard that was off duty for the occasion says wearily- trying to steer Rhys away from spilling his drink further. His hands guiding the taller boy away from other patrons and to a nearby bench. 

"Sorry it's just... ever since my eighteenth birthday I've had this feeling of unease- like I should be looking for something." Rhys mumbled, sitting down and holding his head with his elbows against his knees. The shorter boy sighs and pat the taller' back, his tan skin a contrast to the white suit jacket Rhys was wearing, the royal families' colors of White, Gold, Red and Orange subtly appearing in the prince's outfit. "I know dude, you've said it like six times already. Just try to unwind a bit, I'm sure it's nothing."

Finneas words do little to sooth Rhys' mind as his head fills with this buzzing sound that makes him bring a hand to his forehead, groaning softly as it only gets worse before suddenly stopping- as if it had never been there. Finneas looked to the side and groaned, his arranged wife calling his name as she glares daggers at him from across the way. "I hate to go but- Mara is getting impatient about this show that's going to be on. I'll see you later." 

With that, Rhys was left alone- his body yearning and begging for something he knew not the name of but what it was- physical contact of some sort from some being his body just assumed was out there. He stood up and began walking closer to where his mother and an interveiwer were, both of them not noticing the pained and drained expression on Rhys face until his mother spoke up, her emerald, green eyes scanning her son for injuries. "Rhys...? I thought you'd be with Finneas by now." 

He shook his head, going to speak before another noble interrupted him to speak to his mother, their voice annoyed and snobby that Rhys had taken his mother's attention. "Ms. Drach! Please do tell; Is it true Rhys Drach has yet to choose a female to be his bride?" 

Rhys felt the annoyed growl in his throat bubbling before his mother snipped the rose in the steam cleanly while also subtly threatening the man. "My dear Kino... I hope you aren't pushing and prying into a prince's life?" His mother's gaze was an icy blue as she spoke with a sweet tone, anyone with eyes would notice the clear hostility in it. "I believe this interview is over."

His mother turns her back to the interviewer and to her son, gently cupping his cheeks with a soft sigh as she spoke in a tone you could only describe as 'worried but pissed' as she spoke to Rhys. "Darling, you're paler than your aunt May! What happened...?" Rhys deflates further at her question, already defeated and now feels even worse that his mother noticed his state. "You aren't ill, right? You know your sister was hoping to watch the entertainment with you!" 

Rhys nods and groans softly as the buzzing from before returns, his hand rubbing his temples gingerly. "Yes mother- I won't miss the show but after it I think its best if I call it a night." He speaks softly to her; she was at her prime of her old age, but he could tell that soon enough he'd have to take over the throne- his father already out of the picture. His mother nods and before she can speak another interviewer approaches her and she smiles while readily agreeing to the interview- she loved how simple red-bloods were and always loved hearing their minds come up with all sorts of questions for her. 

Rhys took the note to leave, not wanting to disrupt his mother's fun. He turns on his heel and begins to walk when something small but soft smacks into his chest, looking down and beginning to speak past the intense ache in his scull; Rhys is met with curly red hair and bright green eyes. "Sorry about that are you...." The buzzing had gotten so loud it hurt, but the woman before him looked about ready to faint. 

"I'm okay, sorry for not watching where I-I was going your highness." The girl takes a step back as if Rhys had burnt her, her eyes fluttering softly as she grits her teeth and presses her hand to her temple. "Apologies but- I have to see one of the nurses stationed around here.. have a good evening, Prince Rhys." Her words had barley registered in Rhys mind before the girl was done, her figure whisking past him and when he turned, he couldn't find her. It was strange because now that she was gone, his head was no longer buzzing nor was it throbbing. 

***

It's been two hours since his encounter with the strange girl, Rhys stands next to his sister- the petite blonde excited to see the towns folk put on a show to show their talents. "Marina, please settle down; you're jumping now." With his words his sister settled down, but her leg bounced- knowing it was a losing battle Rhys didn't say anything. "Sorry but I'm nervous- I mean the models we're sending up are wearing my designs! I designed those!" Marina whisper-shouted at Rhys, her hands wringing and playing with the hem of her shirt as her eyes flicked around the people gathering in the courtyard. "Sister," Rhys starts only to get cut off by Marina speaking again, just as she begins to his head throbs and the buzzing begins again. "Sister, allow me to speak please." 

He all but grumbles his words which makes his sister close her mouth with an audible click from her teeth, her oceanic blue eyes looking up at him. "You fought tooth and nail to get these designs approved- if anyone thinks of them anything short of magnificent needs to see the local eye doctor." He chuckles out despite his pain, his head all but quiet. His sister sighs and nods, biting her lip as the first model begins to walk across the stage, clad in a skintight, floor length deep green gown- gold accents and spiderweb patterned silk laying a top layer above the green. He recognizes the model to be Mekyla, Marina's best friend and long-term crush. 

His eyes instinctively skate away from the stage and to red curls sitting a few rows ahead of them, the buzzing in his head quieting before becoming an uproar that makes him lightheaded. The girl must've felt his gaze as she turned around to face him, her green eyes reflecting the sun as they made eye contact and the buzzing ceased completely- instead Rhys felt it being replaced by his fangs suddenly popping down from his gums and digging into his bottom lip while he clenched his jaw. Silently cursing his ancestors and their weird interest with the dragons and crossbreeding. 

He grits his teeth, a small trickle of blood hitting his tongue and sending a wave of disgust through his body, he hated the metallic taste. "How many models are there again?" He asks, his mind anywhere but the show as his eyes held the girl's eyes. "The last one just walked off stage, what did you think about them?" 

His blood runs cold with both shock and guilt, shocked he had zoned out and onto the girl, guilty that he missed his sisters' designs. "Y-Yeah, they were great- you did amazing as always." He praised, hoping she hadn't noticed he hadn't seen the designs.