Standing next to Prince Faelix during such a glamorous event, like the ball we’re attending, was quite overwhelming. I was dressed in a frilly black long-sleeved crop top with a floor-length, sheer midnight blue skirt that flows gently with every movement of mine. Thankfully Prince Faelix insisted I also wear a pair of small black shorts underneath the skirt, though I couldn’t tell if it was out of possessiveness or out of concern for my comfort. I was decorated with glitzy bracelets, a chocker with dangly bits that tickled my collarbone, and earrings that were made up of silver chains. The jewelry all studded with sapphire and obsidian and moissanite. They were surprisingly lightweight and jingled with every movement as we walked and Faelix greeted guests and showed us off. Nalik and Syrion were dressed and decorated similarly, though Syrion opted for a shorter skirt and both wore less glitzy jewelry for a reason I was unsure of.

Seeing all the people, mostly Varyxan and Traylirian royals and nobles, made my body stiff and tense with anxiety that I tried to hide with smiles that hurt my cheeks. I could feel their eyes on me constantly, raking over my body in ways that made my skin crawl. Even Nalik seemed uncomfortable around all these royals and nobles, while Syrion just seemed tired of it all. Thankfully Faelix made sure to keep the three of us close by though and would pull us closer to him whenever he was approached by any of the other attendants. And as I look around at the other pets that were brought along being touched and offered to others while still smiling, some forced and others not. Seeing it all made me so very thankful that Prince Faelix wasn’t like the other masters. I couldn’t imagine being forced to endure the constant touching and feeling hands of strangers.

“Faelix,” A Traylirian man exclaims in a sing-song voice, his arms outstretched as he strides far too confidently towards us. “It’s been far too long!” He was at least six feet tall and dressed in colorful gaudy robes that did little to cover the emerald green and thin white lines of scales on his chest. “I see you’re keeping those pretty little gems of yours all to yourself, as always.” The look in his golden-slitted eyes made me feel like prey being stalked by a predator and the way his smile presented itself along his narrow snout, showing off his razor-sharp teeth, only added to the feeling of being stalked.

“Ah, yes, Prince Jurion. It’s good to see you again.” Faelix’s greeting was clearly very pointedly formal with the Traylirian prince standing in front of us, his arm around me tightening ever so slightly more than he did with any of the other attendants. I didn’t mind much though, the prince in front of us made me more than a little uncomfortable and like Prince Jurion would pounce on me I Faelix loosened his grip even slightly. “You’ve gained a new pet, I see. Congratulations.”

“Ah, yes. This is Lanym. He’s quite the pretty little thing, isn’t he? Your newest little additions are quite pretty too, especially that one with the red hair.” The Traylirian prince spoke with a predatory growl, low and creepy, and the glint in his eyes did nothing but enhance it. It made my skin crawl when our eyes met.

“He is very pretty, they both are. And I’m making it very clear now that my pets are off limits, so erase any ideas about or for them from your head this instant.” Faelix’s tone conveyed nothing short of seriousness as he spoke, and looking up to see his sharp, disdainful glare, it emphasized that despite his still present and polite smile.

The Traylirian prince chuckles and lets out an audibly dramatic sigh, “Oh, no fun as always, Faelix. When are you going to learn to relax and share your little pretties?”

“That’s simply not something that interests me, nor will I ever ask them to do such things.” He says through gritted teeth, clearly struggling to keep up his polite smile the more the other prince spoke to him.

I focus my attention on the tired young man standing next to the Traylirian prince, seeing the state of him made me feel a sharp pang of pity in my chest. His grey eyes were near lifeless and had a look of being a million miles away, his dirty blonde hair looked dull and greasy and uncared for. He was too skinny and I could see hints of bruises on the fair skin of his arms and legs and neck and torso that were barely hidden by the sheer pink fabric draped over his barely clothed body. He was dressed in nothing more than a tiny pair of shorts under the floor-length sheer pink cloak. He wasn’t the only pet that looked like that, but it was disheartening to see even now, especially so to see it so up close. It made was terrible to know that there were masters that were exactly as Mayvax told us they would be, ones that my other groupmates might get presented and given to.

I jump and look up at my prince when I felt a light tug on my shoulder, “Let us go grab some food. I know you three haven’t had much to eat since we had lunch.” He says, leading the way over to the buffet tables lined up along the walls covered in small finger foods that were easy for guests to snack on as the mingled.

“You should eat too, Prince Faelix. I have no doubt you haven’t eaten much since then either.” I quickly add before he can try saying anything to dissuade us from trying to get him to eat. I had noticed in the last few weeks leading up to this ball, when he’s irritated or stressed, he tends to forget to eat even when he hasn’t for a most of the day.

My face flushes up to my ears at the low, breathy chuckle Faelix gives me in response, “Alright, Ivorix, I’ll be sure to eat something as well.”

As the night goes on, Nalik got swept away by one of the guards we run into regularly around our part of the palace, and he jumped at the opportunity to be whisked away by him as Faelix was about to tell the guard no. It was a surprise to both of us that he wanted to go with the guard, though Syrion informed us that the two of them had been getting quite close since Nalik had been brought in as one of Faelix’s pets. The two of them apparently sneaking around with one another while I was summoned to give Prince Faelix company on my own. It worried me, but he had yet to come to either of us upset so it must be a much healthier dynamic than the one with Mayvax’s guard. I could no longer find Nalik and the guard, but that was okay, Nalik went with him willingly.

Not long after Nalik left us, Syrion asked if they could retire for the night, letting Faelix know that they have grown tired and did not wish to be surrounded by so many people. Of course, Faelix allowed them to now that it was quite a bit late into the night and the attendants wouldn’t care much for them to no longer be present.

Then I was with Faelix on the dance floor, one pair of hands holding my hips as the other held my hands ever so gently, leading me through the steps of the dance that was being performed by everyone around us. I could feel the glares of nobles and young royalty on me as they dance with other nobles and royalty alike, while watching a lowly little pet such as myself be the one to dance with the young Prince Faelix, the prince of one of the most powerful races in the universe. I wasn’t sure how to feel about the situation until I saw another pair much like us dancing, though the master very obviously a Traylirian royal that had an oddly familiar woman with them, though I couldn’t place why she seemed so familiar.

Then they turned and I locked eyes with the woman, her light brown eyes widening along with my own as recognition sparks between us. Her once very big, fluffy black afro now cut short and dyed a beautiful mix of blues and greens that matched her master’s scales, her rich dark skin practically glowed with the shimmery, iridescent dust that shifted in the light. The both of us couldn’t help but stop and stare at each other in shock and I could see the confusion on her master’s face that likely reflected in my own before they seemed to realize the two of us were staring at each other. Her master said something to her, pulling her attention away from me before they start making their way toward us as Faelix gently coaxes me off of the dance floor.

“Prince Faelix, it’s lovely to see you again. I trust you’ve been well.” The Traylirian, who I can only assume is the young prince that had claimed my former groupmate the same day Faelix had claimed me, greets us with a rather gentle smile and almost soothing voice. “Seems our… pets recognize one another. This is Janik, she was under that one idiot of a handler. What was his name again, my dear?”

“Mayvax, my prince. His name is Mayvax.” It was the first time in years since I had known Janik to sound and look so relaxed, it was a relief to see she’s been treated so well.

“It’s lovely to see you again too, Prince Alryla.” Faelix greets far kinder than before, letting out a quiet noise of clear irritation at just the mention of our former handler, “That man is lucky I have no authority to punish him with how he dared to treat Ivorix in front of me. He had dared to lay hands on him while I was in the room, even his guards had enough sense to be mortified and apologize for his actions for him.” The angry glint in his eyes highlighted his irritation at the reminder of how our first meeting had gone. Even I still get upset with how things went that day.

Mayvax had always been so irritable, but not even I had expected him to grow so bold as to slap me and in front of the prince he should have known enough about to expect he would be offended by such a disgusting display of corrupt authority.

“I certainly share those sentiments. I don’t know what he had done to my poor Janik that day, but she was so terrified when we had finally found her. I nearly struck him down right then and there when he tried berating her for hiding away, my personal guard had to stop me from actually doing so.” I found it a nice surprise to hear yet another prince despises our former handler. I’ve already heard the many quiet grumblings from Faelix and Ryliar and even Syrion, especially when Nalik and I talk about things he had taught us and the fearmongering that he instilled in us and his apparently bullshit reasons behind teachings.

As the princes spoke, it was made very clear to me that Prince Alryla was nowhere near as unsettling at their brother had been, nor did Faelix treat them with the same disdain. It was interesting to see the stark contrast of interactions. But I saw nothing bad about it. It was nice to see Faelix with an acquaintance from outside the palace, or perhaps they were actually friends, if the subtle smiles he gave the other prince was any indicator. It made me wonder if he saw me as a friend too, it would be nice to have him as a friend. He was so kind and gentle with me and always seemed to enjoy having me around or even just being around me. Though his kindness and gentleness towards me felt different than how he currently is towards Prince Alryla.

When he was following me through the garden or sitting with me and the other two for a meal or even just sitting with me alone in the garden, he always made this warm feeling bloom from within me and made me feel cared for in a way that I had never felt before. I felt especially so when he was ever so gentle with me during our lessons together.

Though now was not the time to be thinking about such things.

Janik and I smiled and talked about everything we’ve experienced since we were claimed and taken in to our prince’s respective palaces. She told me about how she had the chance to travel through space on her master’s personal ship to their home planet. Her five groupmates were all of many different species and gender, and they were all very sweet and apparently had a knack for decorating one another in fun little ways, then showed me a beautiful work of art that ran up her thigh to her belly button. When it was my turn to talk about how things had been going here, it was nice to see her smile and hear her laugh at the ridiculous antics that Syrion and Nalik got into together and telling her about how lovely it was to walk through the gardens whenever I liked. We talked for hours before our respective princes told us it was time to turn in for the night and that we’d be able to talk again soon enough.

I gave her a quick hug before we parted ways, “Tell Nalik I miss him too. I think I saw him sneak off with a guard earlier, but I wasn’t sure if it was actually him until just now. I can’t to see you again soon.”

“I will tell him. He’ll be sad he missed you this time, but that’s his bad for not staying longer. I can’t wait to see you again soon too.” I assure her with a smile that I hope conveyed all the care I felt for her.

Faelix leads me away once we finally parted ways, one of his large hands at the small of my back as we walk out of the still lively ballroom and through the halls of the palace.

As we get to the point that forks off to the different halls leading to our separate rooms, Faelix pauses for just a moment before leading me down the hall that leads towards his bedchambers. I didn’t want to question this decision though, so I stayed quiet about it. I didn’t want to risk worrying him or making him back track this new decision.

Upon entering the main room of his bedchambers, he leads me into the room that held his bed, allowing me to see the large bed covered in plush pillows with sleek midnight blue pillowcases with equally sleek duvet and sheets in the same color. The black metal bed posts were taller than he was by at least a foot and they were connected by a canopy shrouding the bed in blue-black curtains with little pinpricks of lights the softly twinkled like stars in the night sky.

He was ever so gentle in leading me to the bed and sitting me down to slowly remove all the jewelry I wore, setting them down atop a large dark dresser that I could barely see in the dim lighting of the room. Then he was kneeling before me and unlacing the ribbons that held my gladiator styled sandals firmly in place. These acts by themselves felt so intimate, only feeling more so as he gently rubbed the soreness of standing for hours from my feet. He continued to undress me until there was nothing more to remove, though he did nothing more than gently massage the tightness from my muscles, effectively turning me into putty in his hands. Then we were just laying side-by-side under his wonderfully soft covers with his arms wrapped around me in a warm embrace, our body flush against each other in a manner that they never had been before. It was a lovely way to drift into sleep, even despite the lack of my companions to hold me as well. The feeling of his two pairs of arms almost tricking my mind into thinking they were there. Little did I know that, in this moment, they didn’t need to be there for me to feel comfortable. I simply felt like I belonged right there, in his arms, and sleeping in his bed.