The atmosphere was thick-daunting, almost. Every pair of eyes in the room had something to stare at intensely. Eventually, Iris and the girl in front of him became the main focus.
With every fiber of his existence, the King did not think his son would greet the princess with something other than an unsatisfied frown. But he came through and surprised everyone when he introduced himself first.
Kai parted his lips slightly, a little shocked than most, as Iris began holding his hand out for the girl.
She took it with a kind, toothy smile; she was beautiful. She had long black hair that flowed past her waist, and the two braids that started from the front of her locks were tucked behind her ears, keeping the rest tamed and out of her face. She had a curvy body in which her plain white dress sculpted, and her skin was slightly pale.
Iris found himself lingering his gaze on her eyes, which also smiled at him with their light blue color.
"It's so good to finally meet you, Iris-or shall I call you something else?"
Iris gave her a small smile, "Iris is just fine."
The princess let out a relieved sigh and stood up straight. She had the aura of a royal, as all gave away some sort of sign-whether that be the way they stand, act, or talk. And yet Kai narrowed his eyes, suspicious of her already.
"Well, since we are off on a good start, Iris meet Don, Zoe's guardian."
Iris looked at the man his dad directed his attention to. He looked like he was in his early thirties and had no resemblance to Zoe-his hair was a dirty blond and he had brown eyes. He was going to mention this but his dad continued.
"He's not the King of their kingdom. They couldn't make it. Instead this is a very close friend they entrusted with her safety."
The man smiled and shook Iris's hand. "Pleasure."
The prince of Vridora nodded and glanced at the other male lingering behind them, who his dad was going to introduce next.
"And this is just her own body guard..uh-"
"Hyde," Zoe answered with a smile. "This is Hyde."
Arlo nodded and Iris studied him. He was a vampire no doubt, he gave off that same overconfidence without showing a single emotion. He had a build like Kai, almost exact, but it was questionable because the clothes he wore were a little thicker than their own.
"I think you two should get familiar with each other while us adults talk, yeah?" Arlo nugged Iris towards the door with Zoe and her guard following behind. He didn't give them the option to decline since they were already out of the dinning room and into the hall.
Iris cleared his throat and gestured down the hall. "I guess I can show you our gardens, if you'd like?"
Zoe smiled at him. "I would like that, however I cannot stay outside for so long-I know that sounds suspicious, I get that a lot, but ever since I was a little girl I've been..timid with nature. I'm a little bit of a book worm so I enjoy staying indoors."
"Oh."
"B-but I would like to visit your gardens."
Iris nodded, not paying too much attention to her short story, and started guiding them to the nearest back door.
While they did, Kai and Zoe's guard glanced at each other at the same time. Kai wasn't intimated by Hyde at all, despite his iris color being a peculiar dark red, he was utterly cynical about both of their guests.
When they made it outside, Iris took them to the garden with the weeping willow trees. They didn't visit the pond, but toured around the public areas.
"Amazing! You're kingdom is very beautiful," Zoe clapped her hands together, bewildered by the explosion of colors of the flowers and the decor.
"Thank you. I'm sure you've heard about the..incident that occurred a while ago, and I just want to inform that those activities never happen often."
"Oh, no worries! I've heard about this kingdom's reputation and I've been interested ever since. What happened..was tragic, but whoever did it must have had a good reason because I know that type of crime hasn't been carried out for over a decade-and that's very impressive."
Iris tilted his head in an interested manner, as did Kai. "Do you see vampires as our equal?"
"Probably more than I should. We lived in harmony, believe it or not, long ago. It's a shame we have strayed so far away from the equality we shared.." Zoe looked up from staring at the ground and fluttered her eyelashes. "Sorry."
"No, it's alright. I admire that."
Zoe chuckled and sat down on a bench they came across, the two vampires sheltered in the shade provided by the trees.
"If I understand correctly, you have a very strong liking for vampires, don't you?"
Iris flinched lightly at her words. "Um, what do you mean strong?"
"I heard you treat the vampire's here like they are humans. Like they are your friends."
"Oh. Then, yes, I suppose I do."
"Why, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, there is no real reason to treat them differently. Us humans are just as ruthless as they are."
"I see. I think it's charming that you like them."
Iris scratched his neck with a small smile, which the princess giggled at. She patted the empty spot next to her.
"Why don't you sit as well, while we talk."
For a second, the prince was tempted. Then he remembered why he hadn't in the first place. He took a step back from her.
"I had every intention to get to know you, to chat a while, but I remembered I had something very important to do. You have full permission to wander around and explore our mansion, but I unfortunately can't be your escort. I truly apologize."
Zoe stood up as soon as Iris started walking backwards and away from her. She couldn't get her words our quick enough, as Iris was pulling Kai with him out of their garden at a fast pace.
Hyde watched them with a tilt of his head before appearing right next to Zoe in a blink.
"Shall we walk?" He asked, glancing down at the visible displeasure on her face.
"Yes, but I really wanted to talk with him more. Doesn't he just exceed my predicament? He's very lovely."
"For a human."
Zoe rolled her eyes at her guard and picked up her dress lightly as she begin walking further in the garden on the peach colored tiles.
"For a prince," She corrected, and continued.
††
Iris had a plan.
That he failed to complete the second be laid his eyes on Zoe, the princess of Keotish, a kingdom over seas.
It wasn't a 'love at first sight' type of interest that made his body leap foward and out of his dread. But more like 'admiration at first sight." He was attracted to her for some reason.
Now, that doesn't mean he was suddenly up to getting married to this complete stranger, he felt nothing romantic towards her. He hasn't felt anything towards a woman before, other than respect.
Iris slammed his bedroom door shut and ran his hands through his hair while he ventured inside his dully lit room. Kai stood by the door and watched him pace back and forth.
"What was I thinking?!" He shot a frantic look at his guard. "Now they think I'm interested in her!"
Kai angled his head, "you aren't?"
"No! Well..maybe a little-no, no I am not," Iris stomped his foot down, proving a point even he was hesitant about. "I don't know what happened I just-I had to urge to be..close to her..is that weird? That's definitely weird."
The prince slumped down on the bed and hunched his back, leaning his elbows on his thighs as he covered his face.
"What's wrong with me?"
Kai furrowed his eyebrows and pushed off the door. "Are you conflicted because you have sudden interest in your to be wife, or because she's a woman?"
Iris looked up from his hands with a quirked eyebrow. "Romance with a woman has never crossed my mind and even she cannot change that."
Kai sat down next to Iris, narrowing his eyes at him. "Even she, you say that meaning...?"
"Wait, am I sensing jealousy here?"
Kai widened his eyes and scoffed, "I do not get jealous. I am simply saying-" He stopped when Iris's smirk only grew larger, and he sighed. "I'm not jealous."
Iris chuckled, "Shame. Jealousy looks so cute on you."
The vampire glared at Iris when he stood up, "Call me cute and I'll bite you again," His glare shifted to his hands where Iris grabbed to pull him up.
When they stood facing each other, Iris placed his palms against Kai's cheeks and grinned at him. "You're so cute when you're angry, too."
Kai sucked in his breath and the prince laughed. He begin letting his hands fall, but Kai was serious. He snatched Iris's wrists before they fell to his waist, and leaned foward.
The prince blinked in suprise when a pair of lips pressed against his in a fast motion that caught his breath. Not thinking, he parted his own lips to inhale that stollen air. He realized Kai was staying true to his warning when he felt a light sting come from his bottom lip.
Iris grunted in shock when the vampire nipped his lip but also used the opportunity to strengthen their kiss. He let go of Iris's hands to cup his face and squished their bodies together.
This was a totally different feeling from their first kiss. It was heated, or got heated quickly. They were both naive with affection, how to provide it and how to accept it.
Iris felt like his head was about to explode with exhilaration. He clutched Kai's shoulders, a child he was when he was in the vampire's arms. He didn't know what to do, the ecstasy took his common sense away and he was left speechless. He only did what felt right.
But everything felt right in the moment.
Despite saying their personal exchange of emotions would take a while to regenerate, Kai pushed forward and began breaking bricks they didn't know they had stacked up as protective walls.
Iris and Kai were breathing heavily when they tore their lips apart, but Kai wasn't finished, he was unsatisfied. His lips aimed for the prince's neck instead and Iris had to bite his cheek to seize an embarrassing noise.
Because the shirt he wore covered most of his neck, Kai kissed the skin directly bellow Iris's chin and jaw. He was also staying wary, because the second his lips neared Iris's neck, his pulse boomed in his ears, taunting him.
Iris had wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and he tightened his hold when the vampire nibbled the top of his ear.
When the sudden bliss from their heated interaction was dispersing into thin air, Iris pursed his lips and raised his hand.
He barely had to tugged on Kai's ear to get an immediate reaction.
"Hey," Kai leaned away with squinting eyes and a warning tone, but a playful smile wore his lips.
Iris chuckled and moved his hand to the back of the vampire's head and pulled him foward to plant a kiss on his smile.
He sighed as he backed away. "That was..something."
Kai fixed his hair with a fond gaze. "If arguments lead to that, dare I say we should bicker some more."
Iris rolled his eyes and slapped a hand on Kai's chest before turning around and started unbuttoning his shirt.
"I'm going to shower again, can you go tell my dad?"
"Sure." Kai cleared his throat as he forced his eyes to look away from Iris's bare back to the door.
He was gone within a minute and Iris was sighing when his neck was free. He healed fairly quickly and hoped this time nothing would be different.
Iris looked up when a soft knock came from his door, and not thinking twice, Iris wandered over to it.
He should've known better the second he turned his doorknob, realizing it was unlocked, but his mind was gravely delayed.
As was his reaction staring up at two identical hazel eyes like his own. Only Iris's stayed widened, while his dad's lowered to his neck.