The sound of heavy and yet calm steps on the stone cold tiles, making it’s way across the room, only made the prince curl up even further.

Before Jae assumed the title as Knight Commander, his life was a lot less trifled by the responsibilities that came with it.

The Kings personal guard, is how most referenced the Order of the White Knights.

 ‘What a beautiful moon,’

He placed a hand on the wide cold stone surface making up the top part of the fence guarding the half circle shaped balcony. Not a single servant could be spotted across the garden area, almost as if a magic spell was playing on the illusion of peace.

A light shuffle of soft soles suddenly mixed in with the hushed rustling from the trees.

Jae turned his gaze to find the prince standing a few steps behind him.

“…”

“Care to join me, Your Highness?”

“If you drop the formalities,”

The prince sighed in an exasperated tone and gave Jae and oddly cold stare.

While dropping formalities where never up for discussion, the prince seemed to think differently in private times like these.

“One can never be too careful, even the walls have ears,”

“Since when has The King ever cared for the private endeavours of a locked up prince? It's not like my list of visitors has changed much over the last decade,”

A rhetorical question filled with spite cold enough to freeze over the garden, had it been a spell.

Jae frowned bitterly at the remark knowing full well that keeping up pretences would only prickle the prince further.

“Alright then, Aiden,”

Just the sound of his name made the princes’ lips curl up into a soft smile, revealing a satisfied gleam claiming it's victory.

“I know. I'm well aware of how much my father values hierarchy and ranks, but he has

never meddled with how I allow you to address me. This will not change even though you have assumed the late Knight Commander’s responsibilities,”

“Aiden,”

“I’m warning you, it’s one thing that my father has chained you up even more than before, but I won’t forgive you for turning your back on me,”

‘So that was the reason the palace was turned upside down’ Jae sighed inwardly.

“You know I can not reach you beyond this garden”

Jae bit his lower lip with a bitter aftertaste.

While the prince had been known as the quiet, timid, and shy little boy while growing up, it had taken such a rough turn over the last few months. 

Almost as if possessed and strangely desperate to keep Jae within arms reach, Aiden had grown awfully weary and anxious in his absence.

“The palace gets so cold when you are not around…”

Aiden looked up at the moon with a solemn and pleading glint in his eyes.

The emptiness lingering in the air and the moonlight embracing Aiden’s silhouette only enhanced his frail constitution. As much as his attitude could carry a threatening aura, it was nothing but hot air compared to the gentle heart that reached the servants in time of need.

‘Sure, they might still cower in fear of momentary punishment, but deep down they worry,’

Jae placed his coat over Aiden’s shoulders, both hands lingering with a weight that seemed to calm the princes’ nerves.

“You can always send for me, even when it is not an emergency,”

 A soft smile washed over his face as he pulled Aiden in close, wrapping his arms around the princes’ slender frame.

Aiden tensed up in surprise, wanting to give Jae at least another good scolding before even considering letting the issue go, but the sudden heat covering his entire back had him melting all the way down to his knees.

This was not good, Jae knew how weak he was to the sensation of physical touch, and it was incredibly insulting how it was used against him at a time like this.

“You know very well I can’t just send for you without good reason,” The prince murmured in a pout of annoyance.

Jae couldn’t help but chuckle at the response. In moments like these it seemed as if he could get a little bit closer to the softer side that Aiden seemed to hide away, deeper and deeper by the day.

Aiden pulled up his shoulders trying to curl up within the coat wrapped around him, nuzzling the collar where Jae’s scent was.

“Will you be staying the night?”

“I came rushing in order to settle a chaotic disturbance that had befallen The Magnolia Palace,”

Jae pulled a playful smirk in response and gave the prince a slight nudge from the pressure in this arms to insinuate his intention of staying.

“Excellent, the couch is yours then,”

Jae’s eyes widened in disbelief when the prince wiggled out of his arms and turned on his heel with the coat swaying like a grand cape behind him.

With a mere step and a half Jae reached the prince, swooped him off the floor and up into a bridal carry.

“Wait! What are you-“

“I did not come solely to seek forgiveness, Your Highness,” Jae mocked, sporting a playful smirk while heading straight for the bed.

While he knew the prince played it off as if he was gravely offended, it was merely a ploy to gain the upper hand whenever he felt utterly powerless.

With a knee on the mattress he let the prince down with a thin smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“However, I shall take the couch, since you offered,”

Aiden blinked with a rapid confusion growing by the second.

There were times where he couldn't fully understand Jae's actions. The hints that he had managed to pick up on definitely made for a very clear sign of bold courting, but then, just like one would blow out a candle the hints would evaporate like a trail of smoke.

"..."

"Did that startle you?"

Aiden felt a sudden heat rise from the pit of his stomach.

There was no way Jae could read him like an open book, but how else could the man poke at the most vulnerable parts of his pride?

Aiden turned over on the side just to hide his face in shame. This type of flirtatious jest pierced right through his heart.

 'Curse those rotten novels!'

Out of all the stories Aiden had overheard there was one in particular that the maids loved to gossip about in the halls.

A story so bold it never failed to send shivers down his spine.

Just the fleeting tales of glistening skin ripping into the silk fabric accompanied by elevated breathing was more than enough to send Aiden's heart flying.

How did these audacious servants manage to stay so cool headed?

Sometimes they even went as far as to chat about the fantasy of scandalous depictions of him and Jae sharing such heated moments.

 'Absolutely outrageous!'

Aiden pulled at the coat, curling up and turning over on the side away from the knight's piercing eyes. The loud thunder ramming away in his chest made him uncomfortably self aware.

Aiden couldn't fully grasp what had made him so overly excited, of course he was overjoyed to finally be spending time with Jae again, but what was up with this prickling sensation at the back of his throat?

While the prince seemed preoccupied, Jae had leaned down close enough to nuzzle the flyaway strands at the back of his neck, but the mere difference in the air from his breath was enough to startle him.

"Argh!" The prince yelped and scrambled to cover his neck assuming a vibrant pinkish tint over his cheeks.

“You really ought not to let your guard down, Your Highness,”

“Will you cut the formalities already, you crazy lunatic!” Aiden swung his arm out in retaliation which was enough to make Jae back off and give him the chance to make a break for the bathroom.

With a heart hammering like crazy, knees trembling Aiden dropped on the floor the moment he turned the key, barely managing to keep his breath steady.

The moonlight felt even more invading than ever, like it sought to uncover this unsightly and dishevelled side of him.

“Aiden...”

The sound of a light knock on the door sent the prince flying forward in surprise, startling his poor heart once again.

“I'll be retreating to the room across the hall for the night. It would be an honour if you'd at least accompany me for a meal in the morning before my return to the main palace,”

Aiden turned pale hearing the word 'return'. As much as he hated to admit it, this was just the way it had to be.

How foolish he was, getting all swallowed up by silly fantasies.

Utterly disgraceful.

“Aiden?”

“I'll go! If you promise to drop that annoying and pretentious way of addressing me!”

The long silence that followed felt like a cold paralysing blanket, stopping time, until a faint clang from the big wooden door broke the silence.

 'He left, just like that huh?'