Deceitful Lottery (MxM)| Y.E.P.1 series, BOOK 1 - 4

20. Chapter - Refha

Almost jumping out of his skin, he yelped when someone grabbed him around his shoulders and turned him around, his front coming face to face with firm chest of another person. Strong lean arms hugged him tightly, a gentle voice whispering nonsenses he didn't understand until his heartbeat slowed down, and the shivering running through his whole body stopped.

"I told you not to look," Azka said, the tone of his voice much harder than ever before. Frowning, he didn't know what more to do for the little human. The shivering stopped, and he wasn't so cold anymore, but he could still feel negative vibes coming off of him in huge waves. He was shaken up by the experience, and the prince could only hope it wouldn't make him scared of their world even more.

"I won't repeat my mistake the second time," Rey mumbled, his fists unconsciously clutching at Azka's shirt. He was sure he would never be able to fully forget about the creature, but the sudden sense of safety he felt while holding onto the alien made him feel a bit better.

And extremely embarrassed.

He stepped back, looking away from Azka and everyone else who was watching, feeling his cheeks grow hot.

"Are you alright?" the prince asked, trying to reach him again but failing when Rey moved out of his range.

"Yeah. I will be, I guess. A nap would do me good right now, though it could backfire too. I wouldn't really appreciate a nightmare about this," Rey grumbled, his eyes glued to the floor. Looking anywhere else was too risky because his eyes would automatically look in the direction of the creature to see if it finally disappeared.

"It can be done, of course. I believe Niel will be resting for some time as well, so taking a nap for an hour or so should not be a problem for anyone." Azka smiled, and taking Corey gently around his shoulders, he started to walk again.

*****

The room was simple but sufficient enough, with the one exception that made Rey a bit uncomfortable.

"Only one bed?" he turned around, inspecting every corner of the room to make sure one more time. Sleeping in one room and in one bed were two very different things, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yes, they do not really have this many visitors at one time, so we will have to do with this. I hope it will not be too much of a hindrance for you. I am a calm sleeper. You will not even know about me, so if that is what you are worried about, do not be." The prince came over to the bed and sat down, smiling softly at the nostalgic feeling that overwhelmed him for a second.

"This is the room I stayed in while studying here. It has been so long I almost forgot how comforting it is." He closed his eyes, taking in the atmosphere, recalling few memories from back then.

"Comforting? You don't like it in your home? In the palace?" Corey walked up to him and sat on the opposite side of the bed, looking at the alien prince with confused eyes.

"I cannot dislike the palace; I grew up there after all. But being here was strangely freeing. I was not the heir to the throne here. I was just Azka'rah, the boy who was supposed to study and help around. At home, I get special treatment and it gets tiring after some time. Not to mention all the duties." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"But let us not talk about this. It probably seems like I am too spoiled to be satisfied with anything."

This time, it was Corey who shook his head. Lying down, he looked at the ceiling for a second, turning his eyes back at the alien again.

"You can't really compare the seriousness of your troubles to other people's troubles. Everyone perceives specific problems differently, so what might seem as the end of the world for me can be ridiculous to you. I can actually quite understand what you were talking about. People have high expectations of you because of your status, and one gets fed up with that at times. I have a friend back at home who is somewhat in a similar situation. She might not be anyone important, but her family and few other people expect too much from her. It's like she isn't her own person but their puppet so they could brag about knowing her in the future.