The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 42

Prince Casimir walked down the castle halls with a small smile on his face. He was reluctant to part with Logain, but it was time for him to head to the dining hall where his parents would be waiting for him. Though he couldn't spend more time with the warlock for today, he knew he would see him again, and he was satisfied with the time they did get to spend with each other. Logain left the castle, blushing intensely after what they had done in Casimir's room. Thinking about the state he left him in only made Casimir smile more.

They didn't have sex, but they got close to it. Casimir did the same thing to Logain that he did in the barn. The prince would have liked to take things further, but he wouldn't go against Logain's wishes. The warlock wasn't ready, so Casimir would patiently wait until he was. Even if that took years, Casimir would wait. He wanted to do this relationship right.

Casimir shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about this before he reached the dining hall. He couldn't have such scandalous thoughts floating around his head while he was having dinner with his parents. He could think about Logain later. Logain did promise to visit him again, after all. He also told Casimir that he would be staying nearby for a little while. Logain might have enjoyed his peace and quiet in his home away from the kingdom, but the warlock did own a small house in the capital as well. With how long the warlock had been alive and by the odd jobs he accepted, it wasn't surprising that Logain had enough money to own multiple houses. At least he would be staying nearby so that they could still see each other often. Casimir didn't know what he would do if Logain decided to go back to his home outside of Ambria. The prince would have to bother Sebastian to take him there, and knowing Casimir, he would want to see Logain as often as possible.

The prince pushed through the doors to the dining hall. His mother and father had already arrived and were waiting for the rest of their children to show up. Unsurprisingly, Oliver was the first of the royal children to attend. He had his arms crossed at the table and wore an impatient expression, as usual. The second prince always showed up on time. Casimir knew Oliver had done this in an attempt to change his parents' minds about him being the heir to the crown. If Oliver showed the initiative, unlike Casimir, then they might second guess who should rule the kingdom. Personally, Casimir didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Oliver could have the crown. He never wanted it anyway, but his parents were set on him ruling this kingdom, most likely because of his divine powers. Oliver had a sliver of the queen's power but not nearly as much as Casimir.

Prince Casimir took a seat across from Oliver and shot him a smirk. "Always on time, like the good little dog you are."

If their parents weren't within earshot, Oliver would have let his mouth run wild. He glanced at their parents while biting his tongue. When they weren't around, the second prince had a foul mouth. Some of the things that he said shocked even Casimir, which the crown prince always found humorous. The boys might not have gotten along on most days, but Casimir always found it fun to pick on his little brother. Oliver had quite the temper on him.

Finally, after thinking about what to say, Oliver retorted, "At least I'm punctual, unlike you. If you're going to be ruling a kingdom, how do you expect to get anything done if you're always late? Were you off sleeping with one of your flings again? Now that you've returned, you must have gone back to your old ways."

"I'm not even that late. Arthur, Emmet, and Selene aren't here yet either. Are you going to bark at them as well once they arrive?" Casimir rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to say something about Logain. Logain wasn't a fling to him, but he didn't want his family to know about him yet. Selene knew, but she would keep it a secret.

"They should be scolded as well. All of us have responsibilities as the royal family, and we should act like it," Oliver said. "One of our responsibilities is finding a proper spouse. I would suggest you take this part a little more seriously."

"And what if I already found someone suitable?" Once again, his thoughts drifted to Logain. There was no way his parents would ever approve of this relationship, but he would try once the time came to convince them.

His question made Oliver let out a laugh. "One of your men don't count."

His comment poked at a nerve, but Casimir had to remain composed. He smiled at his brother and said, "You'll eat your words, Oliver. I bet you're even gayer than me."

Oliver stopped laughing and shot his older brother a glare, but he didn't say anything in response. Once again, he held his tongue. As much as Oliver wanted to curse at Casimir, he wouldn't disgrace himself in front of the king and queen. He was surprised their parents even let them bicker for this long. Usually, their mother would have cut in by now, but she seemed to be in deep conversation with their father. Whatever they were discussing was more important than telling their children to keep quiet.

Eventually, one by one, the other royal children arrived. Emmet and Arthur, the twins, entered together as they usually did. The twins were the third and fourth of the royal children, younger than Oliver by only a year and a half. Lastly, Selene entered, the only sister in the group, and the only one who was married. She was the only one Oliver didn't bother about marriage, even though he wasn't married himself. Being the last child, she didn't obtain as many divine powers as the rest of them. Her divinity was barely noticeable, but it was there.

Once all of the royal family was in attendance, food was served, and it didn't take long for small conversation to start. Casimir didn't listen to most of it. It was boring, casual conversation about each of their days. They didn't talk much about what happened with Casimir in the throne room. They all knew how that went, and no one wanted to discuss the church. While they currently held a good standing with the church, that didn't mean that any of them liked them.

After they were finished with the small talk, the king cleared his throat. It was time to discuss the most important news he needed to share with his children, especially Casimir. "Let's get down to business. Prince Casimir's disappearance has caused quite a stir in Ambria, with many worried that he abandoned his post. Well, since he is back safely with us, your mother and I discussed holding a celebration. It'll help to calm the people's hearts and resolve any doubt they might have harbored."

"Casimir's return is not the only importance of this celebration," Queen Lillian added. "We will be holding a ball for Casimir to pick out his bride. There will be plenty of eligible ladies attending for you to choose from, Casimir. Once you choose someone, this should also help to ease the church off of you. The High Priestess has been persistent in trying to push Amaris on you, so this will give her a reason to back off."

When Casimir heard this, he dropped his fork. This wasn't the first time his parents attempted to force him to find a bride, and it wouldn't be the last. He looked his parents in the eyes, seeing the silent command. If he didn't pick someone on his own, then they would choose one for him. They didn't have to say the words for him to know what they would do.

He couldn't stay quiet about it. "No. I won't pick a lady as my bride. Ambria doesn't have a law against gay marriage, so why am I being forced to marry a woman? There's nothing in our law stating that a man and a woman must sit on the throne together. In fact, why can't we do what Rasea has done in the past? The Western Kingdom once had two women ruling together, so why can't we have two men? It's not fair that I have to give up my happiness because I'm the crown prince."

"We're not Rasea. While yes, that kingdom has had same-sex couples rule, it was also met with a lot of backlash. You also need to produce a heir for this kingdom to continue to thrive in the future and to keep the bloodline strong," the queen said firmly.

Casimir gave a dry laugh. "Produce a heir? Well, that's not going to happen. Have one of my siblings take up the mantle instead of me."

The prince didn't want to hear any more of this conversation. No matter what he said, his mother wouldn't listen to him. Not even his father came to his defense, even though he looked sympathetic to his son's plight. Casimir stood up from the table and turned to leave.

As he walked away, his mother called out, "The ball will be in a week."

He didn't grace her with a response as he left the dining room.