•Crowns And Arrows• [Klance]

Lance And Keith, Sitting In A Tree

"I am your Prince, and you listen to me. Go back." He didn't like ordering people, playing the Prince card. But if Lance didn't go away now, Keith was afraid he'd spill everything.
He'd had to stop crying so abruptly, he hadn't had time to block his emotions, to be normal. He couldn't do this. He needed to be alone, gather himself. Get his head on straight.

"Go away." His voice broke. "Just go away. I don't want you here, and I don't need you. I can handle myself." He was the Prince, for God's sake. He should be able to take care of himself. And if he got attacked by an animal, killed even, that would be his own fault for not being strong enough.

Maybe he wanted to die. His father could pick a new heir, someone more suitable. And he could finally rest.

Lance kept following quiet for a moment, hesitating whether to stop or not. Despite every part of his body told him to obey, he couldn't just leave him alone, physically and emotionally, he would probably crumble again.

He took a deep breath and raised his gaze to him, the darkest bruises visible through his shirt, and knew he was about to make something stupid.
"No," he declared firmly. Ah shit, too strong.
All due respect, your excellency, I know you can defend yourself from most dangers around here, but... it's not the wisest thing to risk yourself in the open on this state, nor being alone when you're... going through a hard time," he said with more and more empathy.
He knew what loss, guilt, loneliness and impotence felt, how no matter how hard you tried, it would never be enough.

"You'd be surprised... We may have more in common than you think," he muttered, looking at the floor. "Please stop, there's nothing to run away from."

Keith stopped, let go of his horse and turned around. His feet took two quick strides and he grabbed Lance by the front of his shirt.

"You and I are nothing alike," he growled into the boy's face, anger seeping through every syllable.
Anger at Lance, for asking inappropriate questions, for getting involved in stuff that was clearly none of his business. At Lotor, just for being an ass. At his father, for hurting him. But mostly at himself.
He was weak, and pathetic, and every other thing his father said about him. He wasn't suited for the throne, to rule a kingdom. He should have died when his mother did. But he didn't. So he needed to let his anger out some other way.

He threw Lance back on the ground, towering over him. "What's going on with me is none of your business. You should never have followed me, and you should have obeyed when I ordered you to leave. You should know your place. I will not be spoken to like that."

And for a moment, he recognised his father's words coming out of his own mouth. His expression... It was exactly like the one he'd feared for years now.

But the fire inside him was not like his father's at all. His father raised his voice to be respected. Keith did it to be left alone.

"Go away," he repeated. He wanted desperately to fall down, to cry, to tell this boy everything that had ever happened to him. But he couldn't. He needed to be strong.

The moment rage emitted from those indigo eyes, directed to him, the hunter shrunk. Taken by surprise he hit the ground hard and felt every word going through him like spears, his horrifying, full of anger expression forcing his body to shiver in fear.
Genuine, non hidden fear, because for a moment he thought the prince would grab a rock and smash his head with it, kick him, punish him like the many times king Zarkon had personally punished his people in front of his eyes, even his own family.
They shared the same scary glance.

Why was he surprised, if they were father and son? Royalty? Could he have made a mistake by trying to make up for what he stole from them? It looked like it, since clearly... the prince on top of him was as cold blooded as the rest.