Part I - THE PRINCE

CHAPTER 2

Ewan Correa and Aldric Ingram differed in a number of ways.

Where Ewan was tall with broad shoulders and a build to rival a mountain, Aldric was slimmer and of more average stature. Ewan’s brown eyes contrasted sharply with Aldric’s grey ones, and though they both possessed dark hair, Ewan kept his cut close to his scalp while Aldric wore his long and in his eyes. Furthermore, Ewan’s mother hailed from a town bordering the kingdom of Azmosir and had passed along the region's characteristically dark complexion to her son. Meanwhile, Aldric had inherited the olive skin tone signature of most of Aguki’s more central districts.

However, their contradistinctions continued beyond just their physical appearances.

Ewan Correa was as strait-laced and inflexible as the sword he wore down his back. His mannerisms were honorable but stiff, and his candor tended to put him at odds with most people. Aldric, who was accustomed to bending the rules and lying to avoid confrontation, found Ewan’s austere demeanor unbearable most of the time.

“You snuck out again,” Ewan said while crossing his arms over his chest. The motion stretched the fabric of his shirt tightly across his shoulders and biceps making him appear even larger than he already was. The smile on Aldric’s face threatened to fall as he took in Ewan’s defensive posture and stern scowl, but with a subtle grimace, he manage to hold the expression in place.

“And you are stalking me again.” Aldric’s laugh thankfully didn’t sound forced, but it had certainly taken a considerable amount of effort to pull off.

With one last goodbye to Santana, Aldric pushed past Ewan and into the streets. The morning was more alive than before with most shops now fully open and attending to customers. Aldric dug into his bag of cinnamon rolls and pulled one out with a greedy flourish. He motioned for Ewan to take one, but the young, soon-to-be-knight just glared even more intensely. Aldric simply shrugged and popped the delicacy into his mouth.

“You can’t keep doing this,” Ewan practically growled as he marched after Aldric. “You’re about to be officially inaugurated into your position as Crown Prince and people are going to know your face soon. Disappearing like this without protection puts the entire kingdom at risk.”

“Ewan, you really need to chill.” The playfulness of Aldric’s tone wavered for only a second before he smothered it with another bite of his cinnamon roll. Food was always a good distraction when dealing with Ewan; it kept him from saying or doing something he shouldn’t. “Today is my last day of freedom. After tomorrow’s party, my face will be plastered on every newspaper throughout Cinthra and her four kingdoms, and my little adventures will officially be over. So can’t you just let this go and allow me the pleasure of anonymity today? You have in the past.”

Aldric halted as Ewan stepped in front of him. The urge to glare in annoyance was hot and quick but stemmed with a calming breath. He took a deliberate step back and away from Ewan, but the latter didn’t seem to notice the movement or how close he’d stepped to the crown prince either.

“Things were different then,” Ewan began with a slight stutter.

“They were different because you were seeing Harpreet,” Aldric said as he finished off the last bite of his pastry. He licked his fingers with a cheery, innocent grin smeared across his features as he watched Ewan’s mouth gape and his composure falter. Aldric allowed himself a small smirk as he cocked his head to the side.

“Forgive me, your Highness,” Ewan said immediately. He bowed his head low and took several steps away from Aldric, having seemingly come to his senses. He continued to hang his head as he spoke. “I have overstepped. I am just concerned that you are putting yourself at risk. The king and queen have asked that I be extra vigilant in surveying your movements this weekend since we are to have a number of visitors from across Cinthra.”

Aldric almost wanted to commend Ewan on his attempt to redirect the conversation.

“It’s alright. You’re forgiven,” the prince said after a long pause.

As Ewan raised his head, Aldric eased his most charming and forgiving smile onto his face. He relaxed his shoulders and dug into his bag for another cinnamon roll. He took a large bite and chewed slowly, his eyes roaming over the tightness of Ewan’s jaw and the furrowed stress of his brow.

Then, with a touch of sublet vindictiveness, Aldric added, “You do know that she’s arriving today, right?”

The alarm that flashed across Ewan’s face was answer enough.

Aldric almost felt bad for bringing up his cousin as he watched the other boy’s expression twist in pain. But then he recalled the night he had found a heartbroken Harpreet, crumbled in Rhiann’s arms and crying uncontrollably, and the guilt dissipated like smoke in the wind.

“Let’s head back, shall we?”

There was no further conversation as they redirected their steps towards the palace. Aldric took his time, though. He stopped by several stalls, buying snacks and chatting with the locals, and Ewan remained silent the entire time.

When they eventually passed back onto the palace grounds, they parted, much to Aldric’s relief. He rolled his neck in irritation as he watched Ewan’s retreating form. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss the old Ewan. Though the two of them had never been great friends, Ewan had at least been tolerable when he’d been dating Harpreet. He’d been more relaxed and had permitted Aldric a considerable degree of independence, an independence that he severally missed.

The commotion of the palace staff drew Aldric’s attention back to his surroundings. He moved out of the way as he watched a group of men shuffling by carrying a navy blue couch between them. Behind them came a trio hauling a blue and silver rug. Several different servants maneuvered after them, all with a variety of furniture pieces.

It took Aldric approximately five seconds to conclude the strange shift of events. And, as if on cue, his mother blew into the courtyard in a flurry of baby blue silk.

Carla Ingram’s golden hair, braided in a crown around her head, shimmered in the sunlight as she hiked up her fur-lined cloak. The high collar made the sharpness of her cheekbones appear even more prominent. She had a frazzled glint in her eyes as she barked orders left and right.

“Mother,” Aldric pitched his voice a few octaves higher as he walked towards her. With an exaggerated spin, Carla turned towards her son and with a snap of a finger rearranged her features. A radiant smile blistered across her face and she practically ran in his direction. Several staff members stopped in their tracks to watch the exchange and Aldric did his best to restrain his embarrassment as he caught a few snickering behind their hands.

“There’s my darling birthday boy.” Her voice was still far too loud as she enveloped him in a hug. Aldric had to bend considerably so that Carla could get her arms around his neck, but he kept the discomfort from showing and was relieved that she let go relatively quickly, though her hands didn’t leave his face. She grabbed his head tightly and practically squeezed his cheeks. Aldric had to resist ripping her away.

“Mother,” he repeated, gently pulling her arms down. “What exactly is going on?”

Carla’s brows furrowed together in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

Aldric swallowed his sigh and gestured to the furniture. Realization seemed to suddenly dawn and Carla stepped away with a loud clap of her hands. She laughed loudly before her features fell back into something more serious. She began walking and Aldric followed, remaining quiet as she started directing again.

“Everything just looked so hideous,” she said with a wide gesture of her hands. “I’m going for a winter wonderland theme, and the red and gold accents were ruining my vision.”

Carla continued elaborating on her so-called vision, going into excruciating detail on her last-minute remodels and the additional changes she was making to the ballroom for tomorrow night’s celebration. Aldric blanched as she informed him she had ordered a large-scale ice sculpture of him to occupy the banquet table, had added ten more people to the orchestra, and planned to finish the night with a thirty-minute fireworks show. The last two he could at least semi-accept. They were over the top, yes, but not nearly as embarrassing as his mother’s first party suggestion.

They entered the palace entryway just as Aldric finished formulating his counterargument. The trick when dealing with his mother was never to outright deny her anything.

After formulating a subtle refusal plan, Aldric halted Carla’s walking with a gentle grasp of her hand. Carla spun automatically, smiling widely as Aldric gripped both her hands in his and brought them to his chest. He squeezed affectionately and gave her his most grateful smile.

“Mother,” he practically cooed. “You’ve been working so hard these past couple of months.”

“I want tomorrow to be perfect,” she insisted, her eyes misting. “My baby boy will be all grown up.”

“I’ll always be your baby boy,” Aldric said, the words tasting like bile as they left his mouth. “I’ve been so grateful for all the work you’ve been putting into my birthday that I haven’t noticed how much of a burden it’s been for you.”

“What? A burden? Not at all,” Carla started to say. Aldric cut her off with a swift shake of his head.

“I’ve been so selfish allowing you to carry on this way. All the stress that I’ve caused you.” The parched crack of his voice was a nice touch to his speech, and Aldric used the break to straighten and clear his throat. The Queen of Aguki opened her mouth to try and refute his words once more, but Aldric plowed onwards. “I’ll concede on the fireworks, mother, but I don’t need the other things. I want you to relax and enjoy the event with me, and I know if you’re worried about all these other things you won’t be able to focus and be present with me. Can you do that for me?”

Carla timely burst into tears and lunged for her son as soon as he finished speaking. Aldric automatically enveloped her into a hug as she buried her face in his chest. She was so small in moments like this, but still, the feelings of guilt for manipulating her never came. He knew permitting her to do whatever she wanted would only give him even more humiliating moments to look back on.

“I just want everything to be perfect,” she repeated through a series of sobs.

“And it will be,” Aldric soothed, running a hand over the top of her head.

Carla cried for a few minutes before she started hiccuping. It seemed to take her considerable effort to finally collect herself, and when she did her makeup was smeared and streaking down her cheeks. Aldric wiped away a few of the lines and placed a kiss on her forehead. His smile was genuine, at least, when he took a step away from her.

“And also, mother, stop making the staff run all over the palace.” He added a slight laugh at the end of his words to soften his delivery. “They’re supposed to be celebrating with me, too, and instead they’re changing out curtains.”

Carla chuckled a little as she tried to make her appearance presentable again.

“You’re right,” she admitted with a shake of her head. “I’ll go and tell Edward and Lydia that the staff can go once they finish cleaning. I’ll also make sure to cancel the ice sculpture order and orchestra additions.” Carla looked up at him with a sad, lopsided smile. It seemed she expected him to be upset by these subtractions, so Aldric did his best to look melancholy but content. His relief threatened to spill onto his face, though.

With a final hug, Carla disappeared down the halls to find Edward, the chamberlain, and Lydia, the palace secretary. Aldric’s head lulled back in exhaustion once she was gone. He ran a hand over his face and allowed his features to finally relax once he saw that he was alone in the palace corridor. Immediately, his eyes hardened into an unpleasant squint and the smile on his lips dropped into a scowl.

Aldric decided before he had to deal with anyone else, to head back to his rooms. It was still early in the morning but a nap sounded great. He’d close his eyes for a few minutes, maybe go to the kitchens for a snack, and then ultimately join his father and the council for the big afternoon meeting. Then afterward he’d contemplate sneaking outside to join the citizens. The night before his birthday may be theirs to celebrate, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t partake at least a little bit in the festivities.