Among Royalty

XV

It was as if the world stopped for Aldrich. He couldn't understand what his father just told him. But as soon as he came to his senses he started shaking his head.

"Dad, do you even realise what you're saying right now?.. I-.." Aldrich sputtered out.

"Son, I know you have had a lot of dreams, and you had no intentions of settling down at the moment. But there have been a lot of rumours. Its for the betterment of everyone." Robert explained.

"Why Zion, dad? I don't want to drag him into this..." He said.

Of course, he really liked the other king, but he can't do this to him when he just revealed that he liked Adrian.

And they even kissed! Of course they can end up together. Why do I have to barge in and destroy it for them..?

"I suggest Zion as he himself doubts if people would accept him as a king belonging from the community. And he is also a royal of a super kingdom. It'll bring a lot of good to both the kingdoms if they were to merge. And it wo-"

"DAD!!" Aldrich suddenly slammed his hands on the table, standing up completely alarmed.

"I don't think you understand how this can affect him. He just told me about this guy that he liked a lot...i-
I can't do this to him, dad.." Aldrich sounded very broken.

"You said the elders had a problem with me marrying a man, right? What's the guarantee they won't say anything about this?" Aldrich asked, looking for excuses so that he can back off from the marriage. Just for Zion.

"He is a royal too. They'd stop saying anything because of it. And as for Zion, do you think I don't worry about how he feels?.." Robert asked.

Aldrich stayed quiet, a lot confused on what to do.

"Think about it, I'll give you time. If you approve we'll go to their kingdom for a talk." Robert said.

Aldrich nodded, a bit calm now. Stepping out, he headed towards his room, wanting some time for himself.

Of course, I like the guy. Hell I would have jumped at the opportunity if it weren't for him confessing his feelings to me just a day before.

And Adrian... They look so good together.

He was very conflicted. If he accepted, he could be with the guy he loved, and it would be a lie to say he didn't think about that moment. But if he did that he knew Zion would be shattered. He didn't even know if Zion liked him back.

But if he declined, he would most probably be single for the rest of his life. And he knew even if he would be with someone, his photographs taken with Adrian will be viral.

Who even sent them to the elders?!..
There's a mole among us..

He made a mental note to look into it once he came to a decision.

He drifted off to a dreamless sleep, his mind swirling still with these thoughts.

___________________

Aldrich was in his office, finally dealing with all the work he had to do since he came back. There wasn't much, but still he liked to be acquainted with it.

He was deciding on taking a break, about to stand as he heard a knock on the door. It opened to reveal his father.

Coming inside, he sat on the couch nearby and placed a leg upon the other, dragging his hand across the armrest.

"How are you doing?" Robert asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm holding up well." Aldrich replied. And he was. Now that he thought back, he definitely over reacted.

"Great." Robert replied.

Another moment of silence passed, the duo in their own thoughts.

"I talked with Edward." Robert said. That perked up his son's interest. It would be better to know what Zion's father had to say in this matter.

"He said he had no problem. But we can't decide upon anything until Zion approves of it himself."

Of course, dad... If Zion were to say yes I wouldn't even have thought...

"He's calling us to stay at his before coming up with anything. He says it will be better for Zion too if we were there when he would talk about this with him." Robert said.

Aldrich nodded his head. He had no idea what Zion's reply would be, but he thought it would be better to not keep his hopes high.

"What did you decide?" His father asked. And that was a question whose answer he was still not sure about.

"I.. I honestly don't know, dad. Now that uncle Edward said, I wanna see what Zion thinks." He said.

Robert smiled, and stood up, dusting his pants and getting ready to leave. As soon as he went, Aldrich slumped in his chair.

I'm sorry, Zion...
I'm sorry..

Everything would change between them now, even if Zion would decline.

The elders were supposed to help you, and suggest the clearer path. But for Aldrich, the elders get quite harsh, swaying their minds regarding him. And it was all because of Trevor.

Trevor was Robert's elder brother. He loved fame and money, and could do absolutely anything to gain it, except actual hard work.

When their father had to descend from his throne, he thought of choosing Robert as the next king as Trevor, frankly, made it very clear that he was not interested. He said he had more clear ambitions than looking after a bunch of people.

But later, when he saw how the kingdom grew under Robert and how famous he became, he wanted the throne for himself. He was married at the time, and as he saw people neglecting him, he started taking it out on his poor wife.

She did not say it to anybody, keeping the violence all to herself. She was scared of what the media would say, what the people would say, but after handling too much of him, she decided to go for a divorce.

The news was a huge shock for everybody, but she was strong enough to reveal her reasons, and everyone agreed. Trevor spent a few years in jail, but then surprisingly, got bailed out. No one knew who was responsible for doing that.

By the time he came back, Aldrich took the throne, and that infuriated his uncle even more. And ever since, he tried his best to take down Aldrich, or at least make him seem bad in the public eye.

Aldrich was a hundred percent sure the leaking of his pictures somehow included Trevor, and that he had something more of value that Aldrich was sure Trevor won't hesitate to reveal in the media itself. He just didn't know who helped him from Zion's kingdom.

______________________

A/N -- this was so bad-
I'll try to make the next few a bit more interesting, and they would revolve around Adrian and Zion.
I'm not well so I cant promise better chaps tho..

And I would love to have ur feedback 😌