~Never Apart~

~Chapter Three: Broken Dreams~

"Evening, son." My father said, I looked exactly like him- minus my brown right eye and my hair was longer in length. He was a blonde with gray streaks signaling he was getting old. His eyes were blue and he was six-foot tall. He looked just like a king.

"Evening.." I responded tiredly. I sat down across from my mother. My father was at the head of the table so the three of us made a triangle.

"How'd you sleep? You were out for quite a while." My mother pointed out. She was beautiful, always. Her long brown hair was kept back in a neat ponytail but some draped over her shoulders. She had gray streaks as well, but she didn't look a day over twenty.

"I slept fine.. I didn't mean to fall asleep, by the way. It was a complete accident."

"Well, you were supposed to be present at a meeting today to decide your future but since you were asleep, your mother and I decided it for you." My father, James, said as a servant began placing the food on our plates.

"Oh yeah? What will I be doing, then?"

"You'll be the commander in chief of our military. Isn't that fun?" My mother, Victoria, pointed out.

I groaned and slouched in my seat. "Yeah. That way, I'll be stuck in the castle forever because I seriously doubt you'll ever let me go out and fight the battles I'd be sending our men into!" I was upset, obviously. "My dream is to travel and explore the world, but none of you care about what my dreams are or what I care about." I then rose from my seat, looked at my parents whose expressions were shocked and disappointed. I've seen disappointment before on their faces.

"Son-" My father began, but I walked out of the Hall. Neither of them followed me back to my room.

I stormed into my room, slamming the doors behind me. I got out of my clothes and threw on some more comfortable ones, a sweater and some pants. I then plopped back onto my bed.

I then heard a familiar voice say, "My Prince?"
It was Damien again. He had come back. I sighed and sat up, "come in.."
He walked in slowly and shut the door behind him. He walked gracefully towards me. I couldn't keep my eyes off him..

"I heard your conversation between the king and queen.. I'm very sorry." He sounded sad. I didn't like hearing the hurt in his voice.

"It's true.. They've never let me leave the castle." I managed to look away from his eyes.

"Do you know why?" His tone was now soft and his expression curious.

I looked at him once again, now unable to look away. "No.." I said softly.

"Well, I'm here for you and I care about your dreams." He spoke so passionately, like my brother did when we were just kids. I felt my cheeks get warm and I pulled myself away from his eyes.

"Th-Thanks.." I kept my soft tone, mainly because this man had such power over me. He could do as little as look my way and I would be defeated. I hated that he could do this to me and we've only just met.

"Of course." He grabbed my hand, this time, I didn't pull away. I looked at his hand which was very masculine.. a hand a strong soldier would have. I looked up at his arm to his dazzling face.. I then looked into his eyes and noticed his every facial feature. He had freckles but you could only see them if you were really looking, like I was. He looked into my eyes since my other was constantly covered, and just looked at me as I did him. Maybe he was studying me well.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked, his warm eyes never leaving mine.

"M-Much better.." I saw him lean closer to me, maybe to study me closer to see if I was lying or not. Once he realized I was telling the truth, he let my hand go and straightened up.

"I'm glad I could help." He looked and sounded so confident. I didn't want him to leave. I would be alone again..

"D-Don't leave.. Please.." I begged. I felt foolish and I felt my cheeks grow hot.

He gave me a dazzling smile, showing off his straight white teeth.. "If you say so."
I managed a smile, a real one. "Thank you, so much.." My tone became normal and my expression was happy, pure joy. I've never felt so happy before.

"What a lovely smile you have, My Prince." He pointed out, making my cheeks grow more hot. He had so much control over me..

"Th-Thanks.." I stammered, not knowing what to say.

"Of course."

I looked at his hair, soft and brown.. "May I touch your hair, Damien?"

His expression became confused, concerned. "Sure?"
I lifted my hand into his hair, just like I thought. Soft. I moved my hand throughout his hair and he relaxed. I noticed his tense shoulders lowering. He let out a relaxed sigh.

After a moment, I forced my hand away, my cheeks hot. He looked at me again. But I couldn't name the emotion in his eyes. Awe? Admiration? I couldn't place it..

"Thank you, My Prince." He spoke softly.

I smiled, "Jake. Call me Jake when we're alone."

"Alright," he promised.

He left after I fell asleep again.