Butterfly Prince

by Britannica Tany

  “Yes, she is.” He tilts his head to one side as though he were trying to rid himself of his thoughts towards Kael and then he tilts it up in search of Jenna’s face. My girlfriend is beautiful, the words were on the tip of his tongue and he could have said them aloud to emphasize his point, but instead he restrains from doing so. He jogs after Kael and takes him by his wrist. “I know exactly where you need to go.” Kael cocks a brow, allowing for Aiden to drag him along. “This place has the best food.” Aiden continues on with a crooked grin. Kael was skeptical, as a Prince he’s already had the best of the best. The most exquisite dinners and wines, expensive clothes, you name it, the prince had it. “I’ll drive you there.” Aiden says dropping Kael’s wrist to take out his car keys. “I don’t think…I can.” Kael murmurs, glancing back at the black car parked off to the side. No one would notice it and that’s how his father and mother liked it. Just like a ghost, Kael thought. “Why?” Aiden’s car beeps in the distance, the doors unlocking with a click. “My parents…are really strict…” Kael wasn’t lying, there was some truth to what he had said. Aiden stares at him, his eyes squinted. “But you’re an adult now and it’s time they let you do you.” He smiles continuing on to say. “Come on, Kael, let’s go.” He coaxes Kael forward with a sassy finger. “Come on~” He calls for him again, this time pulling him forward by the collar of his shirt. They go stumbling backwards; Aiden’s back slams against his car door and Kael pins his hands on both sides of Aiden’s shoulders. Now it looked as though he was pinning Aiden to the car.

  His feline eyes were wide and his lips were slightly parted. Aiden stares up at him, his heart racing faster than it should have been. Kael was close, he could feel his warm breath blowing across his face. “Uhm…” Kael starts, stepping back with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry.” He murmurs an apology, tugging his shirt down. Aiden blinks looking at Kael dazedly. Thumpthumpthumpthump—his heart beat was quick, tripping one over the other and Kael’s scent was lingering in his nose, tickling his throat—he swallows. “Well…” He clears his throat, resting a hand on the back of his neck. “That was a little…awkward.”

  “Yeah.” Kael agrees with a slight nod, his deep eyes resting on Aiden as though he were thinking over something thoughtfully. “I’ll….call my mom to see if I can come with you.” He says, Aiden’s heart skips a beat with excitement, chills coursing down his arm. He was eager, hopeful of spending more time with him. “Just send her a text.” Aiden says turning around to open the car door. Kael hesitates glancing back at the black car that had drove forward a few feet closer. He looks to Aiden, the elder’s ashen hair shining as though he were a clouds silver lining. “Fine,” Kael walks around the car to the passenger seat. “I’ll come with you.” This would be the continuation of his emergence, his soaring, his freedom—his chance to learn more about the world. Aiden watches him with sparkling eyes; Kael slides into the car, slamming the door shut. Nothing could happen to him while he’s out with a friend, a very good friend. Kael smiles at Aiden as the older starts the car. “Thank you.” He says sincerely, moving to buckle himself in. Aiden smiles softly at the steering wheel, clicking himself into his seat and driving off. Kael sends a quick text to his mother: out with a friend, will be home later, don’t worry. He turns off his phone, putting it away and looking up.

  ~*~

  Francis leans against the counter, his employee hat (that he was forced to wear) tilted atop his head, hung over his eyes, casting a shadow. He works in a gas station, a simple one down the street from the university. It was called One50, Francis didn’t exactly know why it was called that, he just worked here. It wasn’t fancy or anything with a café or a food market, just a little gas station he was forced to work at because Janus “Didn’t want him lazing around anymore.” Francis groans shifting from one foot to another. No one really came by here, there were frequent university students who would come through the door and greet him with a casual hey. He didn’t strike up a conversation with them because who had time for that? The people that came by were either too bubbly or didn’t want to be bothered at all. So Francis stuck to his usual stiff routine of greeting his customers with a thin smile and a respectful “how do you do?”

  The door jingles and he opens his mouth to say the usual greeting but stops midway when his eyes land on the ashen hair of someone he knew. He squints at the man and he gasps, pointing. “Aiden?” Aiden—who had just walked into the gas station looks up and his expression glows over when he notices Francis. “Francis!” He points back at Francis with bright eyes and winks. He goes to hurry over, but then remembers—“Aiden…this is a gas station.” Kael says a-matter-of-factly from behind him. Aiden nods with a grin.

  “I know.” Francis looks between them, standing up straight and adjusting his cap until it lay atop his head backwards. When the pair reaches him he keeps his gaze focused on Aiden as though Kael wasn’t even there. “Did Jenna send you here to fetch her something?” Francis questions leaning forward on the counter, he wore a teasing grin. Aiden chuckles stiffly. “She didn’t send me…” Of course Francis knew this because he saw Jenna just a few moments ago. They had an entire conversation about her boyfriend and his new friend. Francis finally looks over at Kael and shrinks away from the Prince’s seemingly empty gaze. It’s like his eyes had been hollowed out. Francis swallows snapping his fingers in front of Kael’s face. “Anybody home?” He calls and Kael blinks, his cheeks flushing crimson.

  “Sorry.” He mumbles shoving his hands in his pockets. Francis’s eyes flick over to Aiden and he cringes at what he saw. The ashen haired man was staring at Kael as though he were the most intriguing thing on earth. Francis feels liking throwing up a little, but the urge is wiped away with the sudden need to punch him in the face and wake him up. “

  You have a girlfriend….” Francis says ever so softly, smiling quickly at Kael who was peering at him curiously. “Are you going to buy something or not?” Francis asks, the question was directed at Aiden, but Francis was still staring at Kael, his eyes menacing slits. “Yeah, Kael here,” Aiden nudges Kael in his side using his elbow, the brunette cracks a smile. “Hasn’t been here before, I thought I should introduce him to some gas station delicacies.”

  “Gas station…delicacies…” Kael murmurs glancing around the small station and cringing slightly. “Nothing like a little something sweet from our local One50.” Aiden smiles grabbing Kael by his arm and tugging him towards the refrigerated section of the little store. Francis keeps his eyes on them standing up straight with his arms crossed over his chest. Kael’s eyes flick across the frosted glass taking in the many different drinks and frozen treats, but there wasn’t much that could be classified as a delicacy. “You took me here as a joke, didn’t you?” Kael questions with a skeptical brow. Aiden looks back at him and grins. “So you found out, huh?” Kael glares shoving him hard in his chest. Aiden doubles over with laughter, falling back first into the freezer behind him. “Shut-up.” Kael grumbles because he was actually looking forward to eating something new. Aiden gathers himself placing his hand to Kael’s shoulder and looking into his eyes. The older wore a playful expression, his lips curled at the corners and his teeth peeking out from behind his lips. “I’m kidding, there’s really something I want you to try.”

  “What is it? A bag of potato chips?” Kael asks mockingly. Aiden chuckles and shakes his head. “It’s much more than that.” He moves two steps down to the frozen foods and opens the door where the ice-cream was located. “Have you ever had ice-cream, Kael?”

  “Of course….” Being a Prince he could request many things; on his birthday his mother would hire someone to make his ice-cream and bake his cake. “It’s a special occasion!” She’d exclaim, Kael felt as though his birthday were only a countdown, the ticking time bomb to when he’d take the throne.

  “Have you ever had this ice-cream?” Aiden asks as though he were a business man introducing his would be “best product to date!” Aiden takes out from the freezer a pack of ice
-cream that had a crispy brown fish on the outside of the box. Kael snatches it out of Aiden’s hand to read the label: SAMMY. It was an ice-cream treat that was made in the shape of a fish. He flips it over and reads the ingredients; vanilla ice-cream, red bean paste, su—

  “I’ll buy you one.” Aiden says, Kael looks up and their eyes lock.

  “Aiden…it’s just ice-cream.” He says; the ashen haired male nods. “But have you tried it before?” Kael blinks taking a moment to think it over and then he answers slowly. “No…”

  “Exactly!” Aiden takes it back out of his hand and reaches in the freezer for another one. “We’ll both have vanilla.”

  “But what if I like chocolate?” Kael tests with a grin, Aiden isn’t swayed. “We’re both having vanilla.” He says again this time flashing a quick smile. Kael laughs lightly and follows after Aiden towards the register. Francis blatantly asks, “Are you guys on a date or something?” Kael’s eyes widen, Aiden doesn’t reply as he places the packs of ice-cream onto the counter. He pats his pockets fishing around for his wallet. “It must be a date…” Francis rephrases, he turns to look at Aiden. “Is this your attempt at making Jenna jealous?” He eggs on, Aiden takes out a five dollar bill.

  “Here…” Francis’s dark eyes flick down at the smooth bill and then locking gazes with Aiden he snatches it up. “Thank you.” He mutters sounding the least bit grateful. Aiden glances at Kael who was busy staring a hole into his phone. Was he waiting for someone to call? If so…who? There’s a twinge in Aiden’s heart and his eyebrows furrow at the chemical reaction going on in his chest. “Kael, you—”

  “Aiden, Jenna is waiting for you, aren’t you going to see her?” Francis’s voice returns and the cash register vibrates out a receipt. “After I finish eating this with, Kael.” He says quietly taking the bag from Francis’s hands.

  “Make sure you call her.” Francis says with a little more bass to his voice. Aiden nods walking towards the door, he opens it and the bells jingles above his head. Kael tosses a quick thank you to Francis before hurrying after Aiden. Francis stares after them watching as they trek it back to Aiden’s car. “You better put a leash on him.” Francis mumbles taking his cap off to run a hand through his black hair.

  Kael slams the car door shut and faces Aiden expectantly. “Are you ready for your senses to be awakened?” Aiden asks dramatically. Kael pulls a face, his lips frowning down, and the creases above his forehead deepen. “I’m tired of your dramatization of an ice-cream.”

  “It’s a special ice-cream…” Aiden starts slowly drawing out the ‘s’ in special, Kael peers at him intently. Aiden swallows—he was being swept away by the dark brown of Kael’s eyes—he takes out an ice-cream slapping it onto Kael’s lap. “It’s special because….” Aiden knew what he wanted to say, but the context in which his words were going to be said was unsettling to him. “Because…” He starts again only to stop. Kael begins to unwrap the ice-cream fearing that it was going to melt. “What is it?” He raises the fished shaped ice-cream to his lips. Aiden heaves a sigh and mumbles the hell with it. “It’s special because it’s our first ice-cream together.” He says in a single breath. Kael doesn’t seem fazed by his words and instead he bites into the frozen treat with a small smile. Aiden stares at him his heart beating rapidly. Well, that was embarrassing. He settles back into his seat and stares ahead for a moment. His foot taps against the carpeted floor and then he whips his head around to stare at Kael. “Aren’t you going to say something?” The brunette pauses mid-bite, his eyebrows raised. “Like what?”

  “You know,” Aiden gestures widely with his hands. “Anything!”

  “Why would I? You embarrassed yourself.” Kael was grinning, he takes another small bite into the fish’s tail and hums. “It’s good though.” Aiden stares at him watching as he ate, he looks at Kael with pure fascination and then he asks aloud. “Who are you?” Kael nearly chokes on the ice-cream, it slips out of his hand and falls to the floor. He coughs for a while, slamming a fist into his chest. “You alright?” Aiden asks softly, Kael holds up a hand and nods.

  “I was—” He coughs again. “I was just taken aback by the—” cough—“Question.” Aiden continues to stare at him.

  “Why?” He questions, Kael shakes his head, swallows and wipes at his eyes. “I just…it was odd.” He murmurs struggling to laugh it off because his reaction was a tad bit suspicious. Aiden’s gaze relaxes a bit and instead of asking anything further he punches Kael in the side of his shoulder. “Perfectly wasted ice-cream, way to go,” He pauses and his eyes glaze over with light as though he had been struck with an awe-inspiring idea. “You’re such a Stale Kael, Kael.”

  “What?” Kael asks caught off guard by the sudden nickname. Aiden grins. “I just thought it up, genius am I right?”

  “Dumbass, am I right?” Kael mocks and Aiden musses Kael’s dark hair. “You really shift personalities a lot.” Aiden mutters. “It’s something I’ve learned to do over the years.” Kael says with little to no emotion in his voice. “Maybe I should learn how to do that…” Aiden murmurs, Kael fixes his bangs and says softly. “Maybe you’ve already learned how to do it.” Aiden’s eyes expand and slowly he turns to face Kael and the question resurfaced again: who are you and this feeling—this feeling of...Aiden clutches his chest. “But I guess I like it.” Kael says abruptly. “Like what?” He looks to Aiden with a half smile.

  “The nickname you gave me…”

  “Stale Kael?”

  “Yeah…it’s nice.” Kael rests his head against the window and closes his eyes. “Well…I thought you’d call me an asshole for something like that…” Aiden begins to say and Kael smiles to himself. “Then should I think of some more?” Aiden asks excitedly. Kael shrugs. “Knock yourself out, just don’t forget about the ice-cream.” At that Aiden glances down at Kael’s feet and shouts a slew of curse words upon seeing the ice-cream melting into the carpeted floor of his car. “It’s gonna stain, Stale!” Kael’s smile broadens. One. “Why the hell, you asshole, Kae.” Two. “I oughta punch that smirk off your face, you Whale Kael.” Three. Kael’s cool exterior cracks and he laughs sitting up and staring at Aiden with amused eyes. “Three nicknames.”

  “Huh?” Aiden’s right eyebrow raises way higher than the other one, he didn’t understand what Kael was saying since he was still focused on the melting ice-cream on his car floor. “You’ve made up three nicknames in less than ten seconds.” Aiden blinks, Kael’s words finally catching up to him. “You should make that four.”

  “Four?”

  “Stale, Whale Kael, Stael Kael and asshole.” Aiden stresses the ‘ss’ in asshole with a hiss, his tongue flicking out menacingly. Kael laughs taking the other ice-cream out of the bag and ripping it open. Aiden was still going on about the melted ice-cream and how it was going to make the floor sticky, he was also struggling to get down between Kael’s legs and wipe the mess up.But the longer he stared like that, he realized the predicament he was in and he swallows nervously. “Aiden.”

  “I can’t believe this.” He grumbles, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tears his gaze away from Kael’s belt buckle.

  “Aiden.” Kael calls for him again, gently folding the frozen sweet down the middle. “Shit—Kael can’t you move!” He jerks backward and glares at the brunette. Kael was holding two pieces of the ice-cream in his hands. “Here.” He thrusts one hand out to Aiden, he was offering him the head of the fish treat. “I don’t want that right now.” His expression was bitter. Kael smiles just a little. “Open your mouth.”

  “Are you going to feed it to me or something?” The tenseness in his voice had waned and was now replaced by an amused haughtiness. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Kael leans forward, placing a hand to Aiden’s thigh.

  “Y-you don’t find it weird?” Aiden stutters out because he wasn’t expecting that Kael would actually do it. “Why is it weird?”

  “I don’t know, I just…” Kael chuckles softly, his laugh sounding as tho
ugh he had all the answers in the world, as though he were older than Aiden. His laugh was both firm and assuring. “Just eat it.” He shakes the hand holding the sweet, Aiden looks towards it and finally decides to take it. Kael leans back in his seat with a satisfied smile. “Here’s to friendships and melted ice-cream.” He says turning his head and looking in Aiden’s eyes. Aiden stares back at Kael and in his mind he saw himself walking up a staircase. “Here’s to friendship.” Aiden declares with him and to Aiden, Kael’s smile was as sweet as the ice-cream if not sweeter.

  Aiden was walking up a staircase, his feet pounding against each wooden step—Kael’s brown eyes glimmer as Aiden stares into them—and before Aiden could brace himself—he tripped and fell.

  A Bodyguards Duty

  The thumping of the punching bag could be heard as Micah neared the room in which he and Aiden so often trained. The ashen haired male was out of breath, sweat running down the side of his neck and then gliding down his shoulders. His hair whips across his face and each time he lands a punch against the punching bag, another puff of air escapes him. Micah opens the door with a whistle, tossing his duffel bag to the side and applauding Aiden’s performance. “Nice work.” Aiden pauses, placing the back of his hand to his forehead and wiping away his sweat. He faces Micah with a crooked grin. “What brings you here?” He questions, his chest heaving in and out as he struggled to gather his breath. Micah walks across the room, rolling his sleeves up as he slips on his fighting gloves. “I have to get my hours in, ya know? Train a certain amount so I’m ready for the big day.” He says this with mock enthusiasm. ‘The big day’ was when they would officially take their place beside the Prince as his official bodyguards.

  “This asshole—whoever he is,” Aiden grits his teeth. “Better be thankful that we’re even protecting his sorry ass.” His words emit a chuckle from Micah.