Empire 《Mikayuu/YuuMika》

⥈ Chapter Seven ⥈

Prince Mikaela arrived back at his castle just as the sun reached its summit in the cerulean sky. He climbed off his horse and led her to the stables, feeding her some oats that rested in the palm of his hand. He smiled at the strange feeling of the horse's mouth on his hand. After she ate the majority of the oats in his flattened palm, he stroked her muzzle. In response to the affectionate gesture, she attempted to eat his hair, but he knew it was her method of telling him she wanted to eat her rations for the afternoon.

After giving his horse the company she deserved, he returned to the throne room of his castle to greet his mother. By her side stood Ferid, as per usual, who left a sour taste lingering in Mikaela's mouth. He ignored the mischievous eyes of the royal consort and told his mother about the new knight they would be housing for the meantime and the word of his descent from an ancient royal line.

She nodded her head in understanding before Mikaela excused himself to spend the afternoon in the library. And, oh, what a place it had become since he was younger! Mikaela felt pleased by the new additions in the library and placed them on the bookshelves where he felt they belonged. He had read nearly every book in that library except for the ones he deemed as boring or not worth his time. He felt sympathy for the many authors that slaved away on those copies of books for his consumption, but he never gave them a second glance. He told himself he would read them someday to extinguish his guilt.

He ran his fingertips appreciatively over the spines of the books on the shelf that he placed his favorites upon. He could spend the rest of his life in that library if he so wished. He could remain there until the ends of the earth in the books' companies and never lose interest it seemed. It was where he felt the most at home. It was where he could be what he wished to be.

"Mikaela-sama," came a cocky voice from the doorway which made Mikaela either want to sigh or groan.

"Hello, Ferid-san," was his response in a courteous tone that took much effort to compose. "What might bring you here?"

"Your new knight came to see you," he responded with a grin that Mikaela wanted to slap off his face. "I would think you would enjoy to speak with him, after all you knighted him without any further permission."

"That is right." Mikaela resisted the urge to simply denounce the bluntness of the man who had came into his domain—uninvited, might he add. "Would you be of great purpose and send him up here for me?"

"Of course, Mikaela-sama," said Ferid in a steely voice. "Would you like some tea, while I'm at it?"

Oh, was he really testing his patience now. Mikaela turned to face the books as his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "No, thank you, Ferid-san."

The object of Mikaela's irritation chuckled before leaving the room in dramatic strides. Oh, the amount of restraint that kept Mikaela from pushing that man down the stairwell increased every single day. Perhaps Mikaela should bring two or three books with him and return to the location where Yuuichirou and he met. Maybe there he would finally have some peace.

A slight knock at the door brought Mikaela from his murderous thoughts. He turned from his books to behold his childhood friend.

"Yuu-chan." Mikaela smiled at him. "Are you settling in fine?"

"Yes, yes, thank you," Yuuichirou returned. "I would very much like to thank you for the kindness you granted me earlier, Mika... Err, I mean, Mikaela-sama."

"Mika?" The prince grinned. "Is that your embarrassing nickname for me?"

"No, well, I mean..." Yuuichirou scratched the back of his head. "It initially was. I was sitting in Shibuya and I thought Mika was the beginning of Mikaela, so..."