"And then mother beat him with a score eight to two!"
Iris nodded his head with an intrigued smile. He waited until the girl he dined with to turn her head so he could glare up at the Lord for punishing him.
"Iris, you play polo don't you?" The girl whipped her head around, her bun bobbing with her chest.
"Ah, no, not anymore." Iris cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Unfortunately."
"That's a shame. Mother loved it when you joined us."
"Yes well..things change. Anyway, Rose, not to rush you or anything but I have a tight schedule-"
"Oh, you mean your paperwork? Isn't that vampire of yours doing it?"
"You mean Kai?"
"Who?"
"My "vampire"."
"Oh! I didn't know he had a name."
Iris watched Rose lick her spoon clean with narrowed eyes. He knew he told her Kai's name before. Perhaps all the products in her makeup is finally getting to her head and faltering with her memories.
"Why wouldn't he have a name?"
"Our servants have numbers. It's easier to keep track."
"Well, he's not a servant. And I'm certainly not like you," He muttered the last part under his breath, making the peppy princess tilt her head.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. But I have other things planned."
"I'm sure they aren't anything I can't accompany you with." Rose giggled as she reached out and held Iris's hand.
"Um, they aren't...but it's the fact whether I want...you to or not." Slowly Iris pulled his hand away and chuckled nervously.
"What?"
"I'm just going to be stuck in my office all day."
"I don't mind being stuck with you. You have plenty of books in there."
"That's nice but, I mind."
Rose's smile faltered but Iris spoke up before sadness could overwhelm her.
"I mind that your...entertainment will be greatly disappointed. I don't want to serve you anything but happiness and sitting around while I give you no attention what-so-ever isn't what I want you to experience."
Lie.
"Can you understand that?"
Rose bit her quivering lip, her pink-tinted lipstick stayed loyal on her mouth.
"But I won't see you for another week."
Iris stopped his smile and forced a frown upon his face. "You can count on me missing you. Come, let me walk you out."
"Iris, I can't stay for just a little longer?"
"The longer you stay the more I'll miss you." Iris thought to himself how corny but good that sounded. That'll definitely make her leave.
Rose sniffed but nodded her head. Before she left the mansion doors she turned around and hugged Iris. Her arms barely fitting around his torso.
"Goodbye, Iris!"
The prince smiled at her and waved. "I'll see you next week?"
"You can bet on it."
Damn.
"Great."
Iris and Rose waved at each other until Iris shut the door. He instantly gripped his thighs that refused to stop aching with soreness. The foyer of the mansion was the quietest area and it felt pleasing to listen to the ticking of the wall clock and not a yapping mouth; that in all good terms just loved to talk.
He groaned as he stumbled to the stairs.
"Does my young highness need help?"
Iris stopped trailing his hands along the wall and glanced behind him to see a woman leaning against the door frame to the coat closet-which was a whole room itself. If not for her fangs hanging out of her smile, he wouldn't have known she was a vampire. Even though she shared the same brilliant overconfidence Kai had.
"Oh, hey, Sage."
"If I didn't know better I'd say you disliked Miss Rose." The vampire leaned off the frame and stalked closer to Iris, who scoffed.
"If you didn't know better? You've known me for as long as Kai has."
Sage smiled blankly as him when she was beside him. She looked him up and down before continuing forward.
"I've known your name for as long as Kai has. Everyone knows he's the only one can read you like an open book. Your dictionary is so boring, you know."
Ignoring her smart remarks, Iris ignored her entirely as he passed her to get to the stairs.
"I was serious about my help though. I heard you two training when I was on patrol. Kai doesn't take "ow" for an answer does he?"
"Unfortunately, no. But he does when I fake it good enough." Iris grinned over his shoulder at Sage, who shook her head with a chuckle.
"Of course he does. Hey, tell him I said hi, okay? My shifts won't be meeting up with him anytime soon."
"I will. See you around, Sage."
The vampire waved once then watched Iris climb the stairs like he were rock climbing; cautiously.
††
The stitches of sunlight beaming out from the cracks of the curtains extended throughout the prince's office. Dust particles were captured zooming in and out, glowing and dying like a star.
The ink shaped in Iris's signature glittered when a sunray struck it every time he'd stack a paper on top of another. A yawn escaped his mouth and he quickly covered it with the back of his hand.
He had woken around six to train, that session ended at around twelve. Then they'd spent half an hour fixing Kai's collar, then Iris played the good prince dancing in Rose's palm for two hours. He was exhausted but we can't leave out the fact he has been signing papers for over five. Hours. Twenty. An. Hour.
If not for Kai's organization, he would be searching through his several stacks for the five hours then spent another lonely ten signing. He was grateful. Tired. But grateful.
When his yawns refused to stop he decided enough was enough and that he'd finish the rest tomorrow before his training. He made up his mind as soon as he rested his head over his arms that rested on his desk. Sleep was a desire need no matter the position.
Thus, Iris didn't care he was falling asleep at his desk; it was sleep.
The quiet ticking of his clock was a lullaby that sped up his drowsiness and forced his conscience to darken until not even the strongest feeling of stress could prevent him from falling asleep.
Iris mistook the several, soft, knocking on his office door for the clock on his desk, which sounded louder with his head down and his vibrant dreams awake. Neither did he wake at the muffled voice nearing him.
"Iris?" Kai stood next to the sleeping boy with furrowed eyebrows. The first thing he did was make sure he was actually breathing before attempting to wake him up. His efforts were deemed useless. He sighed when even shaking his body didn't work. And if that didn't work, it was best to let him sleep.
Kai sighed again as he studied the intimidating stacks of papers that still needed to be signed. He looked at Iris's peaceful resting face and shook his head.
"Iris, you have to help me out okay?" Kai whispered into his ears when he bent down. He didn't get a response but the prince's breathing patterned did change. While remaining bent, Kai slowly scooted the chair back, forcing Iris to have to pick his head up drowsily. "Okay-"
The vampire was taken by surprise when Iris sat up and flung his arms around his neck and clung to him lazily. Without putting too much thought into it, Kai continued to move the chair until he could fully bend down to slide his arm under Iris's legs to pick him up. He wasn't surprised to notice he had already taken his shoes off.
"You're such a handful," Kai muttered as he looked down and observed the light-haired brunette in his arms. Securing him closer to himself, Kai moved around the desk and to the door. He turned the light off with his hand holding up Iris's head and shut the door with it, too.
The prince's office was five doors away from his room, so it wasn't a travel. The second floor, which they were in, hardly needed maids and servants to look after, so it was quiet besides the distant voices from downstairs and a few upstairs.
In the room, Kai gently laid Iris down on his bed and stared at him with curiosity. It would be a kind gesture to at least change his shirt, but he didn't know if that was overstepping his boundaries.
Boundaries which he's past countless times but he over thought these things the most.
Deciding it wasn't a big deal, Kai stopped Iris from rolling over to unbutton his shirt. He got a pout in protest, which Kai found unusually cute. He froze at the fifth button.
Cute?
Kai shook his head as he continued. He must be tired as well. Cute wasn't a word to describe the prince.
He must have been really tired if he wasted time simply gazing at Iris's chest, which rose and fell to his breathing. He brought a hand up to scratch his head. Iris had a build worth praising, he wouldn't deny that, but why think that?
Who was he kidding? He thought that all the time. Was it a bad thing?
The prince's sudden groan made Kai flinch out of his thoughts and watch as he rolled over with a yawn. He hugged a small circular pillow to his chest and curled his legs up.
Too late now to change his shirt. Kai ran his hands through his night-shaded hair before tugging the edge of the duvet out from under the pillows and moved it around Iris. He forced his legs under the covers before letting it fall to blanket him up to his shoulders.
With another sigh, this time a tired one, Kai patted Iris's side before heading towards a door opposite of the bathroom one, where Kai's room was connected to. It wasn't near as grande as Iris's but it was a room with a bed and enough space to pace out his worries and concerns and energetic mind.
Doing the same as the prince had done, he simply kicked off his shoes, unbuttoned his shirt and flopped onto his bed. Of the liberated vampires in the world, Kai was jealous of a lot of things they got to do. However, during times like these, he was jealous that they got to sleep all day and conquer the Earth at night.
While feeling his eyes get heavier, Kai remembered he forgot to inform Iris about how they didn't have training tomorrow.
But maybe that was a good thing.