Cello walked into his home from the kitchen door and shut it behind him. A leather boot struck him in the face and caused him to fall backwards to the floor.
"Why aren't my boots shined?!" an angry voice bellowed. It was Adam who had thrown the shoe.
"I only just got home." Cello answered softly huddling into a ball to make himself small. He sat in a fetal position with his back against the door.
"From his walk," Draven said to Adam. He was sitting on a kitchen stool spreading strawberry jam on a biscuit.
"Where do you go on these walks?" Adam asked stepping towards Cello, who was still on the floor. He wore no shoes and his socks were holey. "Are these walks more important than shining my boots?" Cello said nothing. "What do you do on these walks?"
"Meeting someone, perhaps?" Draven teased with a mouth full of biscuit.
"Who could it be?" Adam kicked at one of Cello's legs. "Could it have been a man? Was father right about you?"
"What, that he's a fairy?" Draven laughed. Tears ran down Cello's cheeks as he looked away from both of them. He didn't dare look at them right now.
"Your silence says it all," Adam said to him. He kneeled in front of Cello, inches away from his face. "Now what will you do for me in order to keep your secret?"
"What are you on about?" Draven asked confused.
"Nothing." Adam told him, standing back up. "Just scaring him." Cello could feel Adam's gaze on him. His green eyes showed nothing but hatred. "My boots better be clean in five minutes or there will be hell to pay." Both brothers walked out of the kitchen leaving Cello a sobbing mess on the floor.
//
Prince Gabriel felt completely confused. Who was that man he ran into today? Why did he rush off at the sight of his guardsman? Why couldn't he get him out of his head? He had numerous questions dancing around in his brain that he didn't pay any attention to the conversations surrounding him. He was heading back to the castle by carriage. He decided to do some exploring today in nature just to get his mind off of recent events.
He shared the carriage with Jonathen and Patrick, his cousins from the island of Illium. They were visiting before they both headed off to university. It would be a while longer before they would be able to meet up again.
"Where'd you run off to?" Jonathen asked, referring to Gabriel's earlier disappearance. Gabriel was pulled from his trance when he noticed both of his cousins waiting for a response from him.
"Uh... I saw a family of deer and wanted to get a better look at them." He finally said. "They were... exquisite." He couldn't tell if he was referring to the deer or the man and his dog who he seemed completely enthralled by.
"A whole family?" Patrick asked. "I bet that was something. You don't see them too often on the island."
"It's the one thing I miss about living on the mainland." Jonathen added. Gabriel gave a sad smile at that. Not only were these two his cousins, but they were his best friends. They grew up together, trained and studied together. Now they were going off to university and leaving him behind. Since they were younger than he, they were able to continue their education before being thrust into married life and fathering children.
Gabriel had already attended university at an early age due to his overwhelming intelligence. Now he spent his early thirties defying his parents at every turn. They wanted him married and they wanted him married now. Not only was it his duty as a prince to wed, but he had an obligation to the crown to produce an heir. Luckily, he had plenty of time to run away from this responsibility, but he couldn't outrun it forever.
It's not that he didn't want to get married, but the women he had been set up with before just didn't seem right enough for him. They were either too possessive, too formal, too high-strung, or too inconsiderate for his liking. His parents thought that he was insane to deny so many women the opportunity of being his wife. He had told them that he wanted to wait until it felt... right. He didn't want to rush into a marriage with someone he didn't even like. That's not the society he wanted to live in or one he wanted to rule. His parents were dissatisfied, but they respected his decision. He was their only child, of course.
"What are you wearing to the party?" Patrick asked him. Jonathen immediately punched him in the arm. "Ow!"
"What party?" Gabriel asked. The other men looked at each other before speaking.
"Um..." they both stammered.
"What party?" Gabriel asked again. "I won't ask a third time."
"It's just a small gathering of family," Patrick answered immediately. Gabriel peered at both of them.
"And mutual friends," Jonathen added.
"And the nearby villagers." Patrick added on top of that.
"And every eligible woman in the kingdom?" Gabriel asked. They both nodded. "Mother!"
//
"Mother, I said no!" Gabriel exclaimed. "I've had enough of these balls." Patrick and Jonathen snickered at their cousin's outburst while sitting together on opposite ends of the French canapé sofa. Queen Moira gave them both a stern look and they stopped their giggling immediately.
"Darling, we only want what is best for you." She said walking towards her inconsolable son. They were all in the tearoom basking in the sunlight that poured in through the many windows. King Yusef was sitting down on his favorite chaise lounge reading a book while his wife and son bickered. He knew exactly how this would play out and preferred not to get involved.
"What is best for me is to decide for myself who I want to marry," Gabriel told her. "These dances, salons, and soirees all feel so forced." He crossed his arms over his massive chest. Even though he was standing his ground, it was always a losing battle with his mother. He had no clue why he felt to argue now.
"Well, if you just let someone get close enough to you," she began, "we could have been done with this years ago! And you know I'm right. Right, dear?" She looked towards her husband.
"Your mother's right, son," his father said not looking up from his book.
"You always say she's right, father," Gabriel told him.
"Because she is," he said back to him, still not looking up from his book.
"And that's why I married him," his mother smiled at her husband who still refused to show them his eyes. "And that's why I want you to get married too." She put both of her hands on her son's arms who uncrossed them and sighed heavily.
"You only want grandchildren," he said to her.
"Did someone mention grandchildren?" King Yusef finally looked at them both and began to perk up.
"Now you contribute to the conversation," Gabriel shook his head.
"Well, you can't blame us for wanting a little one-" she began.
"Or five," her husband interrupted.
"-running around the castle." She continued. Gabriel sighed heavily again.
"I just want someone to know the real me," Gabriel said. "I feel that they see the crown and they don't see me at all. I don't want that." The queen thought about what he said for a moment. It made sense to her. She could understand her son found it difficult to know if someone truly wanted to be with him or if they were hiding behind a mask. And then she came up with a brilliant idea.
"A masquerade ball!" She squealed with excitement.
"What?" All the men in the room asked at once.
"It's perfect!" She began to explain. "Everyone wears a mask. No one will know who you are. You'll finally get to find someone you can connect with before she even gets to know your name." Gabriel thought about this for a moment. It did make perfect sense. All of the other gatherings had him in full regalia so it didn't feel genuine when he was shown so much attention by the women. If he didn't wear a crown and wore a mask instead, maybe he might meet someone he'd like to get close with.
There would literally be no obligation for anyone to speak with him and those who may approach him would have wanted to. Everyone in the room looked at Gabriel for any signs of approval as he thought everything over. He came up with different outcomes in his head. Best case scenario, he meets someone and makes everyone happy. Worst case scenario, he could hide in the crowd and wait for the ball to be over. This gave him an idea.
"I'll do this, mother," he began. His mother smiled widely at him. "But if I don't meet someone this time then you let me choose how I do it on my own." Her smile faded. She looked to her husband for support.
"He drives a hard bargain, Moira," King Yusef began, "but it's the least we can do."
"Then we'll have to make sure you get your chance this time around." She began walking out of the room with preparations on her mind. Invitations needed to be sent, the caterers needed to be confirmed, the music, the decorations, all of it needed to be completed soon and she was determined to make it so in a short amount of time.
"Promise me you'll at least try this time," King Yusef said walking over to his son and hugging him. "Remember, we just want you happy." He followed the path of his wife out of the room.
"That went better than I expected," Jonathen said aloud. Gabriel slumped down on the canapé in between him and Patrick.
"Yeah, and this is the last one they'll make you go to," Patrick added. He began eating more cookies after the King and Queen departed the room. He didn't want his eating to distract him from the argument Gabriel was having with his mother. He wanted to be fully entertained.
"I mean, we all know how you've had enough of your balls," Jonathen cackled with Patrick joining in. Gabriel rubbed his temples and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in the process.
"I absolutely hate you both," Gabriel told them chuckling.