Time passed quickly, a week turning into a month, and a month into four. In a way, it didn’t pass quickly but rather uneventfully. Adrian had fallen into a routine with Cassius that was slow, steady, and at times monotonous. Their days had been long and filled with reading, writing, and history lessons.

As much as Adrian would like to say that he hated the hours spent studying every day, he’d be lying to himself. It was difficult but rewarding. His reading skills were still mediocre at best, so he listened to the stories Cassius told. Cassius called them history, but they often felt more like fantasy.

They were often about a war before their time. All old history seemed to be about war. Apparently, they were currently in an unprecedented time of peace, yet Adrian couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever get a chance to play soldier.

It wasn’t that he had a desire for blood and violence, Cassius just had a bad habit of going off on tangents that involved talking about the tactics and weapons used. His face would light up and minutes would turn to hours and, at the end of the day, Adrian always left with some level of desire to try out at least one of the weapons mentioned.

“When’re you going to teach me how to use a sword?”

They were on another break. Adrian had been struggling through a text about manners and etiquette when Cassius had finally mercifully set him free.

“Probably not for a few more weeks,” Cassius answered easily. “You need to gain more weight first.

Adrian nodded. Cassius had been shoving food toward him every chance he got, but the weight came slowly. He doubted he could push him to reconsider, but maybe he could get out of finishing the text.

“Why do I need to know manners and etiquette anyway? I haven’t seen anyone else here but you and Darrius.” It was true. He hadn’t seen anyone else in the royal family but the two princes since he arrived. Apparently, the king was on some trip, but there had to be others.

Cassius didn’t look up from his own book, taking advantage of the break to sneak in a few pages, “Your speech leaves much to be desired. Moreover, it would be best to practice now without prying eyes.”

Adrian sighed; he had a point. Adrian found himself acknowledging that on a daily basis. Logic seemed to be Cassius’s strong suit.

“Fine,” he submitted, “I’ll finish reading, but” he smirked, sure of himself, “You’re one to talk when it comes to weight. You’re just as thin as I am.”

“I am not malnourished. I prefer not to eat meat.”

“You should eat it anyway. You’ll stunt your growth.”

“I will have to pass.”

“Then I won’t eat it either,” Adrian shot back. It was childish to say, but he wanted to leave the conversation with at least one strike in his favor. No one liked losing to someone younger than themselves, even if it was likely only by a year or two.

Cassius stared at him, clearly unsure of what to do, and closed his book. “It might be worth checking to see if I still dislike it…”

Adrian didn’t bother hiding his satisfaction. Victory was so rare; it was always good to savor the taste.

When lunch was delivered —they’d taken to eating in Cassius’s room— there was a thick slab of beef on the prince's plate.

Cassius stared at it as if it were the animal’s live head itself resting on his plate.

Adrian rocked back in his chair, eyebrows raised in surprised. He hadn’t expected Cassius to take the challenge so seriously.

“You doubted me?” Cassius asked curiously. Before Adrian could answer, he spoke again, voice dripping with dry sarcasm, “You wound me.”

Adrian watched him cut into the steak with care, using the correct knife and fork as expected. Cassius ate the small piece and after a few bites, it was evident he still didn’t like it.

“Well, now you know,” Adrian teased.

Cassius seemed determined though and, bit by bit, he managed to eat the whole thing. His thick eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were in a kind of pout, it painted an expression wrought with triumph and frustration.

He gave Adrian an almost challenging look, “Your turn.”

Adrian stared for a moment before eating all of his own meal. It seemed that Cassius had ordered more than usual to be brought, so it took a while.

Over the course of working through the small feast, Adrian noticed his dining partner growing progressively paler. Before he could mention anything, Cassius stood, walked over to his bed, and collapsed on it.

Adrian grabbed a glass of water and walked over to him. “Here,” the cup felt like a peace offering.

He took the glass and drank it down quickly before speaking, “Sorry, I should not have eaten so much at once.”

“How weak is your body anyway?” Adrian sat on the edge of the bed with an easy, albeit teasing, smile.

Cassius rolled on his stomach, “Contrary to what you have seen,” he pressed a pillow to the back of his head and suppressed a groan, “I have never had episodes like this before.”

Adrian chuckled and set the empty glass on the nightstand, “Hey, I’m not the one that chose your lunch.”

“And yet, you and food seem keen to make my life difficult,” Cassius moved the pillow just enough to sulk in Adrian’s general direction.

Adrian observed his expression. During their short time together, he’d taken it upon himself to gauge the prince’s moods and emotions. It had helped pass the time on their slower days and they both seemed to enjoy it to some extent. Though slight, the emotions were there. He wondered if it was on purpose or if Cassius was just emotionally stunted. Adrian was inclined to believe it was the former.

Cassius noticed Adrian’s assessing gaze and moved the pillow to give him a better view and waited expectantly. Adrian was often right about his guesses, but, then again, Cassius never really tried to hide anything from the older boy in the first place.

Adrian took in his thick furrowed brow, and the way his thick lashes and heavy lids obscured most of his eyes. His lips were pursed but their fullness did very little in adding to his somewhat pained expression. It was times like this that Adrian noticed just how foreign Cassius seemed to him. His complexion was closer to the ivory his mother dangled around his neck, and his hair was a color he’d never known possible. Even within the confines of the palace where olive complexions and waxen blonde and auburn hair reigned supreme, Cassius was very much the only of his kind.

Adrian shifted his gaze lower. Cassius was wearing his usual hooded tunic and loose pants that left one to wonder if he had any figure at all. He joked about the prince’s stature, but Cassius’s height wasn’t far of from his own with the younger’s eye level meeting just past his lips.

Cassius titled his head, a question in his eyes, and Adrian wondered how long he’d been staring. He wasn’t even sure why he’d been staring so long in the first place.

Adrian cleared his throat, “You don’t look happy,” he diagnosed.

Cassius’s expression turned deadpan. “I wonder why,” he responded blandly.

“What’s your problem with meat anyway?”

Cassius shrugged, “The texture, I think. It has...” he grasped for a descriptor but found nothing, “I have never been able to eat it, even as a child.”

Adrian thought on his words and couldn’t help but chuckle, “I could never imagine not eating something because I didn’t like it.”

Cassius quirked an eyebrow and rolled on his side, “Surely, you have something you dislike.”

“Oh yeah, lots of things,” Adrian agreed, “I hate peppers, pears, and boiled eggs.” He looked to Cassius who was clearly confused, “But we also never had any money. So, you either ate what was given to you, or you starved.”

He nodded, “I would likely starve then.”

Adrian shook his head, “You say that, but trust me. If all you had in front of you was a hunk of meat, you would scarf it down without hesitation.”

“If I am ever given the opportunity to test that hypothesis, I will be sure to give you the results.”

He rolled his eyes, “Like you’ll ever starve a day in your life, prince.”

Cassius’s eyes became less focused, “Then I will lose myself in a desert and find an oasis.”

Adrian crossed one leg over the other, “Why a desert?” He leaned back and tried to keep his gaze anywhere but Cassius's face, less he actually get caught staring.

“It is the only place where one can be lost. At least, that is what the novels I have read have led me to believe.”

“Trust me,” Adrian shut his eyes, “There are plenty of other ways to get lost.”

The room fell quiet as both found themselves thinking rather than sharing. Neither seemed sure if the other would understand what they felt.

Cassius’s voice was low but cut through the silence all the same, “It is a true wonder that you have yet to grow tired of seeing the same person every day. Even Darrius has to take a break from me sometimes.”

Adrian highly doubted his brother would ‘take a break’ if Cassius didn’t force him to. “I’m your retainer. I’m not supposed to tire of you, right?”

“I would bear no grudge if you did,” he replied quietly.

“Cass, my days are filled with interesting conversations like the one we just had. When I was in Senoho, I was alone more than anything else.” It would never cease to amaze him how easily Cassius could cut himself down, “What do I have to do to prove you’re not as boring as you think you are?”

“You do not have to prove anything. This is just how I think.”

Adrian frowned. He was in no position to change that. He doubted anyone was. Still…

“Is there anything you want me to do right now in this moment?” It was a question his mother would ask her clients when she knew they wanted something but were too afraid to ask, and, at some point, it had become his as well.

He watched Cassius take apart his words and try to make sense of them. The prince’s understanding of people was deeply flawed, that much was evident. It likely stemmed from him always knowing what they were thinking. Adrian wouldn’t try to interact with people if he knew their true feelings either.

“You must be tired of wearing my clothes.”

“What?” he looked down, “I don’t really care what I wear.” It was both the truth and a lie. Cassius and his taste were completely different but, in Adrian's life, he never got to choose his clothes in the first place.

“Shall we go into the city tomorrow?”

Adrian sighed; he would never understand how his mind worked. He did however want to leave the palace. They’d been outdoors a few times, but he hadn’t seen the city beyond the first night he’d come, and it’d been too dark to see anything then. “That's fine with me.”