The Prince

Part 1

"Dad, it's too early." Skye Dealer-Cook moaned, pulling his duvet over his head to block out the light and his father.

"Come on Little One, it's your first day of a new school year! How exciting is that?" Jackson shook him again.

Refusing to give up his warm spot, Skye kept his eyes closed in the hope that his father would leave the room. Over the past holiday, he'd become really overbearing.

"Little One... Are you going to wake up for your Pappie? Skye?" He gently shook Skye to try and make him move. "Skye!" He yelled loudly, yanking the duvet away from him.

"Ugh, Dad what's your glitch?" He finally sat up annoyed, watching as his father stood with his duvet in hand, grinning.

"It's the start of a new school year! Why aren't you excited?"

"If you think being sent into a nightmare of a social experiment is fun, then why don't you do it? I want five more minutes of sleep." He grabbed his duvet and pulled it over his head.

"I'm going to stand here until you get up." Jacskon informed him.

"Okay, fine!" He threw the duvet off himself, sitting up. "I'm up, happy now?" He miserably looked at his father who was standing in his dressing gown like a wound-up ball of energy, ready to let loose.

"Yip, I am." Jackson laughed, closing the door as he left.

Another year, he sighed looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He stared at his face for a while as if looking for something. With a frustrated sigh, he wiped his hand over the mirror as if to wipe away what was in front of him.

Hopefully, this year will go by quickly and quietly. Throwing on his white shirt, tan trousers, and wine-red blazer, he left his room, hoping his dad wouldn't be in the kitchen to ambush him.

The whole of the summer holiday, his dad's been more eccentric than usual. His whacky behaviour, which was always a lot of fun and the cause for great laughter in the house, seemed to have gotten out of hand. Besides that, he seemed to have become very clingy, sticking to Skye like glue when he was at home.

"Dad, do you think you can put a shirt on? I haven't had breakfast yet." He grumbled, taking a seat at the counter.

"When it's your house, you can do what you want, but if it'll make you happy..." Jackson pulled his robe from the chair and slung it over his shoulders.

"Why are you half-naked anyway?" His eyes followed Jackson suspiciously. "Oh, I understand," he chuckled when Josh, their butler for the past few years, entered the room.

Josh was your typical muscle jock, with the perfect tan and bright, white smile that would leave you dazzled. His dads were still not seeing eye-to-eye when it came to Josh. Raymond refused to let him go only because Jackson insisted on it and since then Jackson only grudgingly tolerated him.

"Hey Skye, I didn't expect you for another half hour." He said in surprise, immediately getting Skye's breakfast ready.

"Yeah well, I've got Dad to thank for that."

"Hey now, I was only trying to help out this morning." Jackson gave Skye a pained look. "You're going to be away the whole day. This is a big adjustment for me, you know?"

"Dad, you're going a bit overboard. It's not like I'm leaving home for good... no matter how much I want to."

"I'd move out if I were living with him as well," Josh remarked under his breath as he set Skye's food down in front of him.

"I heard that." Jackson sourly pointed out, sitting next to Skye.

"Good, at least you still have your hearing." Josh let his comment hang as he moved off to get some juice, leaving Skye spluttering into his plate.

Their love-hate relationship had devolved into a battle of words and snide remarks. Raymond seemed oblivious as Josh was the perfect embodiment of a butler and had everything running smoothly. Jackson however, didn't like him one bit and would have him out without a second thought, but his mother-in-law, Gillie wouldn't take too kindly to that, he was her pick after all.

"Anyway, I guess you'll be sitting about all day in your dressing gown and annoy Josh when you get the chance," Sky grumbled.

"Hey, I'm writing my masterpiece! You have no idea how many hours of thinking and contemplation go into each chapter, there's so much to put in." Jackson defended himself. "And I don't wear my pyjamas all day. Sometimes I change into something else..." He looked like a petulant child.

"Anyhow, are you excited about your first day?" Jackson asked after a brief pause.

"Dad, please. You make a fuss out of this every year even though you know how much it annoys me. Can we let this year be different, maybe start a new tradition where you treat today like any other day?" He wasn't very hopeful that he'd sway his dad, especially now that breakfast had passed.

Grabbing his bag, he quietly snuck toward the front door, hoping that he'd make it without an audience. Gently placing his hand on the doorknob, he slowly started pulling the door open but jumped when his dad's voice boomed behind him.

"Thought you were going to sneak past me?" Jackson grinned, holding his arms open. "Come and say goodbye properly."

"Dad, can we not do this now, I really want to get to school on time."

"Well, if that's the case, then I will drive you, let me get my keys quickly." He dropped his arms and turned to the nearest table.

"No, wait." He quickly stopped Jackson, knowing that the send-off at school would be ten times worse than what he'd experienced at home. "I'll take the bus, you have a lot to get through today."

Okay, come here." He raised his arms again, smiling broadly as Skye stepped into his embrace. "You're going to have a great day, Little One," Jackson whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek and tightening his grip.

"Okay, Dad. Okay, I think you can let go now. The bus, remember?" He said after it looked like Jackson was in no hurry to let go. He ignored the 'Little One' comment, even though he was as tall as Jackson

When he was finally freed, he waved to Jackson with a smile and stepped outside, making for the shortcut to the bus stop through the wooded area in their yard. He'd explored every part of it and even had a tree house there when he was younger.

"Skye, hey buddy!" He turned around when he heard a familiar voice call his name as he walked up to the bus stop. "I see you've managed to escape your father's claws."

"Oh, hey Archer. You're early and you have a packed lunch. What's the occasion?"

"Shut up! My mom decided that this year I'll be having balanced meals at school so got up early so the cook could prepare me this." She lifted her backpack, turning it around to see if it was open. 

"I notice that your dad didn't drop you off." Since she'd befriended Skye, his dad had always been larger than life. She'd always admired his ballsy attitude and the fact that he showed his affection to Skye so easily, and even with all his eccentricities, Skye could always depend on him.

"It was touch and go there for a moment, but I got through the tentacles and reached safety." He chuckled.

"At least your Dad knows you exist. I think my mom woke up this morning and realised she had a kid for the first time." She grimaced. "So how was your trip with your grandfathers?"

"Oh, you know, the usual trekking, maiming and killing. Although, they did let me drive the whole time!" That was the most exciting part of his holiday, sadly. Driving around in the jeep with his grandfathers whose age didn't seem to dampen their thirst for the outdoors and adventure.

"Does that mean that you'll be getting a car?" Her face lit up with excitement. "That would be so awesome. No more taking the bus, going out whenever we want, wherever..."

"That's not what we'll be doing with the car I'm not getting. Dad's already stopped my grandma from getting me one and has threatened Other Dad with divorce if he even thought about getting me a car. So, sadly there will be no joy rides."

"Ah well, another year of dreaming. Come one, if we shove the little ones to the side, we can still get a seat," she laughed, pulling him along.