NOVA
"The vows you took the moment you became our fellow Heir" Kassian stammered out quickly, glaring at his smirking friend "The vows we all took in the beginning of our lives."
"I don't remember agreeing to any vows when I was dragged here" I growled out "And that would have been a pretty big detail to miss, don't you think?"
"Metaphoric vows" Phoenix said dryly, with a small smile curving at his lips "The vows that are implemented on all the Heirs the moment they're born."
"What the Fuck?" My mouth dropped open "What vows?"
"The ones you have to follow" Atlas said with the biggest and smuggest smile I've ever seen in my entire life "The ones your bound too."
"I thought I didn't have to follow those rules."
"You aren't following the engagement rules" Phoenix's lips twitched "But you have to follow all the other Heir rules."
"Nobody told me about this!" I growled "What's the other rules?"
All three of them shook their heads, wide smiles gracing their stupid faces.
"Explain these rules" I growled, frustration lining my tone "Just exactly how many are there?"
"Not many" Atlas said, that shit eating grin still gracing his lips "The first one being that Heirs can't date other Pack members, regardless of the Pack."
"What?" I gasped "I'm not allowed to date anyone?"
"No." Phoenix scowled.
"Or go on dates?"
"Nope" Atlas grinned "You're stuck being single and alone, with us, forever."
"Hell no" I reared my head back in shock, turning to the other two "You're telling me you three never dated anyone?"
They shook their heads.
Atlas shrugged "Nobody was ever interesting enough."
"Why date and get to know someone, possibly fall in love, when it'll end the moment I graduate?" Kassian said next.
My eyes found Phoenix "Fenrir's don't date."
My mouth dropped open "You were engaged."
"So?"
"So you had to have gone on some dates with her" I gawked at him "You've literally been engaged since you were children. You grew up with her. What makes you think I'd believe for one second you two never went on a single date together?"
"Have you met her?" Atlas grumbled "Even if we were allowed to date, she would be the last person in this universe anyone would willingly want to take on a date."
Phoenix ignored him.
"Heirs can't date" he reiterated "It's because we're hold at a higher standard than the rest of our Pack Members. It's considered disrespectful to date someone, or even fool around with someone, when our betrothed are out there waiting on us."
"So you can't date pack members" I frowned, my mind whirling "What about everyone else?"
"What do you mean?" Kassian asked, cocking his head to the side "Whose everyone else?"
"Members from the other Factions" I said "Like the humans or the witches or someone else?"
All three of them blinked at me for a second before bursting out in laughter.
"Holy shit!" Atlas guffaw, wiping tears away from the corner of his eyes "Imagine us with...with one of those Coven Weirdos."
"Or Vamps" Kassian chimed in, making Phoenix's lips twitch up "Remember when Fynn tried to get with one of the newly turned ones?"
"The one that said he smelled like a wet moldy rat?" Atlas roared with laughter "Right before she threw him across the bar and into that giant speaker?"
"He always loved doing stupid shit" Phoenix chuckled lowly "I swear he thinks that since he's a Halve, he's somehow invincible."
"Yeah, laugh it up" Kass said with a roll of his eyes "You two aren't related to him and don't have to deal with his shit on a regular basis."
"Yeah, I wouldn't wish him on my worst enemy" Atlas snorted, clapping his best friend on the shoulder "I swear, those genes must clash against each other in that brain of his, making him do the most stupidest and compulsive things at the most inconvenient times."
"But somehow, he always manages to survive."
I cleared my throat, redirecting the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"So, what you're saying is, it is possible to date someone from another faction?"
Phoenix shook his head "Wolves don't mix well with the other groups."
"Why not?"
"For one, humans are fragile and couldn't handle our prowess" Atlas said with a smirk "Witches choose to only intermix with their own kind"
"And, Vampires and Wolves especially don't like each other" Kassian added in "That's probably the only thing those shows and books of yours got right."
"Why don't they like each other?"
"Besides the obvious?" Kassian snorted "The list for why they do like each other would be shorter."
"Because two predators can't coexist peacefully together" Phoenix said simply "Why do you think their territory is so far away from ours?"
I blinked at him "I didn't know it was so far away from us."
"You idiot" Kassian smacked Phoenix's arm "She hasn't explored the territory yet, therefore she doesn't know the directions of the other Factions."
Phoenix was about to say something else, when I interrupted him.
"If the Vampyres are so dangerous..." I raised a brow "Then why did that Fynn guy try to get with one?"
"Fynn's a special case" Kassian sighed "A very special case."
"How?"
"It's not my story to tell" His lips pursed "But if there ever was an exception, Fynn's name would be written all over it."
"Okay..." I looked towards the other two "How about the Fae?"
"The Fae?" Phoenix's nosed wrinkled "What about them?"
"Those pompous assholes?" Atlas snorted "They haven't left their Dome for over a thousand years."
When I shot them a confused look, Kassian shot me a sympathetic smile.
"The Fae are...unusually unique creatures" He explained slowly "They don't really interact with the outside world and, like the Covens, only mate with their own kind to keep the bloodlines pure and strong."
"Bloodlines are a big thing with the Fae" Phoenix chimed in "The stronger the bloodline is, the more powerful their family line becomes."
"Those pointy ear bastards look down at us" Atlas added, reaching behind me to grab a water "And all because of that damned bastard Dark Princeling."
Kassian snorted "You believe in that old story?"
"You don't?"
My eyes toggled between the both of them "What old story?"
"An old tale our parents used to tell in order to scare us when we were younger" Phoenix said, waving off my question "They didn't want us wandering off near the Vale alone."
"Why not?"
"Because we'd be kidnapped by the boogyman" Atlas said in a creepy tone, wiggling his fingers across my neck "He'd take us back to his lair and keep us locked away forever, never to be seen or heard from again."
I shot him a look "Really?"
Atlas shrugged "That's what my dad used to tell me and my brothers."
"I think our versions differ from yours" Kassian snickered "My mom and dad never told me that he'd kidnap you, only that he'd use his powers of madness on you, driving you to the brink of insanity and fracturing your mind into a bazillion little tiny pieces."
Atlas blinked "I honestly don't know which version is worse."
"Both of them are fucking ridiculous" Phoenix said, turning towards me "The Dark Prince is just a myth told by Pack parents in order to get their younglings to listen to them. He doesn't exist and even if he did, he'd be long gone by now. The Fae live long lives but not even the strongest of fae could survive being alive for over two hundred millenniums"
"As for the others" he continued "Nobody really knows why the Fae keep to themselves other than the fact that they're self entitled pricks that look down on those who don't possess anything that can help them enhance their own power. They think we're savages because of the animals we have inside of us, they see us as ravage beasts that can't control our urges or instincts. They don't understand that the only difference be us and them is the side of the Vale we life on"
"I don't know about you" Phoenix murmured, those blue eyes never leaving mine "But I'd rather be single for the rest of my life than be with someone that judges someone else based on where they come from."
~~~~~~~~~
I knew that the logical thing for me to do the moment I stepped out of the shower would have been to either A)Continued studying or B)Called it a night and went to bed.
I did neither of those options...because apparently I lacked any kind of logic or rationality.
It's just...something about the guys words bothered me.
My mind kept whirling about one thing.
Or should I say person?
I grabbed my tablet and typed in the name that kept swirling around my brain.
The Dark Princeling
I crossed my fingers, hoping that despite the school disabling the chat and call features (no doubt due to the three doofuses I lived), hopefully they didn't disable or limit my ability to look up anything on the web.
"YES!" I whisper-shouted when there was immediate search results "Thank god!"
I clicked on the first link I saw, quickly skimming the words on the page.
When I found nothing substantial, I exited the page and clicked on another link.
This one was a little more detailed, but not by much, and very vague on who or what the Dark Princeling even looked like.
The third link I clicked on however...it was perfect.
Just what I was looking for.
The author and owner of the website, Faction Facts, broke down everything and anything related to Myths regarding the individual factions.
And you wouldn't freaking believe how many crazy myths or legends each faction held.
I scrolled through the alphabetized list of myths, my eyes eagerly trying to find the myth relating to the Dark Princeling.
"Bingo" I clicked on the link and was immediately taken to what looked like a whole ass fan page dedicated to the mysterious fae.
"Holy cow" I whispered when detail after detail popped up about who and what the Dark Prince was.
And boy...did this myth not disappoint.