The things we do for hate

Masquerades, Meetings and Musical Numbers

And Look, an extra long chapter to make up for the last short one. Enjoy!

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'Kit, better be here.' Derek mused to himself, subtly watching the night's festivities from the safety of the upper floor balcony, the music from the orchestra on the stage permeating throughout the air.

He had purposefully made this party a masquerade so he could escape the ever-watchful eyes of others, he had purposefully worn an outfit made entirely of black as no one ever saw the prince in it, even if it was his favorite color, hell, he had even gotten Louis to dye his hair with black walnut powder, so his normally honey chestnut hair was now midnight black. What for? So he could hang out with his best friend and for once avoid all the work and socializing associated with having a crown. But the damn runaway was nowhere to be found. It was almost 9 and the prince was still scanning the colorful crowd of masqueraders for the auburn brown hair of the typically foul-mouthed teen or the dark and blond heads of his sisters. He tried to ignore the thought at the back of his head that Kit might have disguised his own head or the fact that he was someone that wouldn't be found if he didn't want to be. And by his countenance earlier that evening, Derek was probably the last person he wanted to see.

Dejectedly, the Prince turned away from the ball and went to gaze out of the large window, watching many more 'fashionably-late' carriages pull up in front of the doors, thinking of when he had first met the young fireball. It was earlier that year, and he had just escaped court for the night and had taken a stroll around the gardens as he was apt to when he need to clear his head. It was there he had found the crumpled up heap that was the young boy, starving and barely conscious, wrapped in a cloak 3 sizes too big, "I-is this the Acerbian Palace?" He managed to groan before succumbing to his hunger. When he awoke, Derek found out that he had run away from his home in order to escape an undesirable match with a horrible girl. Though Derek himself was in the middle of a betrothal since he was a child, he could empathise with the boy, even if he didn't condone running away from duty. Kit even made the joke that Derek had a switch that went from 'duty-bound, straight-laced Prince' to 'rebellious, indifferent Player' in 2 seconds. The Prince found himself chuckling, when he thought of Kit's reaction when he wouldn't let the runaway leave. You couldn't blame him afterall; there was no one his age in the Palace, and he had never had a friend, only books, councils and courts. It was a trial to keep delaying his departure, whether it be poor weather excuses or the promises of new foods to try the next day, but he managed it for the first 3 weeks. Then Nicolette and Isabella knocked on the palace gates and gave him a legitimate reason to keep his new pet that is, blackmailing him with the continued wellbeing of his siblings. He never would harm them, but it gave him an excuse, and so he took it and literally ran, even if Kit hated him with his entire being. He had a companion.

'An absent one,' He thought, strolling back to the balcony in hopes that in the few minutes that he had left his perch, Kit had shown up. No such luck. Instead the heir to the kingdom of Acerbus found himself admiring the artistic pastry his friend had practically conjured up. He had every ounce of faith in the boy, especially after seeing the dishes he came up with for his sisters, especially since he didn't trust anyone in the kitchen to make their meals. Kit was paranoid like that. Derek had even managed to get him to include him in their little dinner parties to the chagrin of his kitchen staff. They soon warmed up to the trio especially after Kit shared his recipe for clam chowder with the head Chef, Alphonso. Now the two were thick as thieves. Anyway, he knew that anything the boy made would be delicious. He couldn't wait to try it and especially find out how he managed to get that waterfall to flow so magically.

'Some birthday part-' The thought was interrupted by the entrance of a grand court, one that oozed royalty, the Prince found himself craning over the balcony in order to see them better. There was no question to whom the man leading the unknown party was, decked out in scarlet and gold robes, a full lion's mask disguising his identity with no success, this was the most powerful king in the region, Reino I of the Kingdom Animus, where the royalty is said to be descended from the gods. He strode with purpose, in such a way to make everyone in the room instantly stop what they were doing, to bow respectfully. He evoked that sort of fear.