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PRINCE CAVAUGHN DELORENTES (Crown prince of the Kingdom of Crysauralia)

Age: 22

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Brooke was feeling better now, but she still wasn’t in any condition to do any full out playing and determined that my wedding with Ashton should be postponed until she felt better.

We didn’t have any objections there. I read her stories and Ashton played her favorite airplane game with her. After she had a snack, she fell fast asleep.

“Aww, I want a daughter too,” I cooed as I watched Brooke sleep.

Ashton looked from Brooke to me then to Brooke then to me and backed way.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing,” he shrugged innocently.

He grimaced. “Jackson would not shut about these meeting reminders. They’re like spam messages in my mind. He’s going to give me hell for this, but I’m blocking him.”

I laughed at that. “Brooke’s asleep now, so you’re free to go.”

He nodded. Kevin had very unwillingly gone on ahead to the meeting and warned Ashton not to touch me. Brooke had wanted both me and Ashton to stay with her and to avoid a tantrum, he’d decided to stay until she fell asleep.

“I’m off,” he said, heading through the door.

“We still need to talk,” I reminded him as he left.

I was sitting in Brooke’s room and decided to get a start on my homework. That way, when I got home, I’d have more time for... wait for it… books!

I was so absorbed in my calculations, that I almost didn’t notice a figure by the door until he had entered the room. I stood up hastily, shielding Brooke with my body.

A young man entered the room silently.

“Who are you?” I asked as he stopped right in front of me. He had jet black hair and green eyes that looked all too familiar.

“That’s what I should be asking you. You’re in my house.”

“This is the palace,” I protested.

He extended a hand; his voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Prince CaVaughn DeLorentes, nice to meet you.”

I was speechless. I accepted his handshake and curtsied. He was the crown prince and Ashton's older brother.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to see my sister.”

I stepped back cautiously as he looked at Brooke. Now I knew why his eyes were so familiar, they were just like the king’s.

His eyes snapped to me. They were calculating. “Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Elizabeth Donaldson,” I answered, just remembering that I hadn’t introduced myself.

His eyes lit up and he moved closer, taking me in from head to toe. “You’re betrothed to Ashton.”

“Uh, yeah,” I said, taking a step back. This guy was a bit intense. “I didn’t know you were here, I’m sorry about that,” I said awkwardly.

“Don’t apologize. I figured you didn’t know,” he stated simply. His electric green eyes roamed the room.

“Are you looking for Ashton?” I asked.

“No.”

“Ah, okay.”

I was standing by awkwardly so I went around him to where I was sitting before. His eyes followed my every movement and I considered the possibility that he could be a robot.

He watched Brooke for a while and then bent down hesitantly to stroke her cheek. After a moment he straightened up and was about to exit the room.

“You can wait here until she wakes up, if you want,” I offered.

“I know that. I live here.”

“Ah, okay.”

It was difficult building a conversation around this guy. But to my surprise, he sat down beside me.

“The king mentioned that you were back. How did you meet Ashton?” he asked.

“We go to the same school, and we share a best friend.”

“Do you like him?”

That was quick. My face heated up. “Um... I’m getting to know him, but I don’t think we can say that we like each other.”

“I see. You do know that if you accept Ashton, you will become a princess of the kingdom right?”

“I’m aware,” I said, uncertain of where he was going with this.

“Can you handle it? The task of being a princess I mean. It’s a big responsibility.”

“I- I… I’m considering it,” I said honestly.

He looked displeased with my answer. “So you don’t want to do it.”

“That’s not what I said,” I protested. “I said I’m not sure. This is new to me. I have to think about this carefully. As you said, it’s a big responsibility.”

“Yes,” he replied. “I’m sorry you have to be making this decision.”

I didn’t know how to take that.

“I understated it. You won’t just be the princess,” he said. “You’ll be the queen.”

I stared at him. “What do you mean? You’re the crown prince. Even if I marry Ashton, I wouldn’t be the queen.”

“It’s my fault,” he sighed, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. “All of this is my fault.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“If it wasn’t for me, you would not have to be making this decision right now.” He paused. “I’m twenty-two, that makes me four years older than Ashton."

“I know,” I said, closing my book. “You’re the next in line to the throne.”

“You’re wrong. Ashton will be the next ruler.”

I remembered how the monarchy worked here. The next ruler was usually the first born child. Then, if he was older than Ashton, why was Ashton the one who was going to become the king?

“I’ll answer your questions,” he said lightly.

“You can read my thoughts?” I asked uncertainly.

“No, but it’s pretty clear what you’re thinking. Why is Ashton the one who’s going to become the king, right?”

I nodded.

“It’s not that he wants to do this, he’s being forced to. Because his older brother is unfit to rule the kingdom.”

“You can’t… rule?”

“No. I was diagnosed with a rare illness a few years ago. There’s no cure and there is no telling what kind of effects it will have. Because of it, although my sense have awakened, I can’t shift into my Origen form.”

I stared at him in disbelief. A rare illness? He just said it so casually.

“I’m so sorry,” I gasped. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you should know. As it stands, it’s too much of a liability for me to take the throne. I could die at any time. Besides, the government would love to use that as an opportunity to try and dismantle the monarchy. It would cause a civil war.”

He stared up into the ceiling with a longing gaze. I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling with him too.

“Even though I’m the oldest, I won’t be able to lead the kingdom the way I am,” he chuckled drily. “The king’s very decisive too… he realized that I wouldn’t work, so he turned to Ashton instead. You can imagine Ashton didn’t take it that well.”

“I thought being the king was an honor,” I said softly. “Why doesn’t he want to do it?”

“Yeah, well Ashton had gotten used to his carefree life and he was still very young. Naturally, he doesn’t like rules and limitations. He didn’t want a life where he would have to take on such a large role. Our father was even harder on him, so he started to rebel. He would throw wild parties and drink and sleep around,” he paused and glanced at me. “Sorry.”

“That sounds like the Ashton I know,” I admitted.

“Yeah,” his brother agreed. “If the king told him to train, he would party. If he told him to find his soulmate, he would date girls he knew weren’t his soulmate. The king’s had enough of that now, and especially since Ashton found you, he’s been keeping him on a tighter leash.

“So Ashton might be a bit harsh to you, since he’s trying his hardest to rebel against what is now his destiny. But even though he doesn’t want this, I know that he still cares for the kingdom,” his brother sighed. “He must hate me though.”

“I’m sure Ashton doesn’t hate you,” I said, looking at him. “How could he hate his brother?”

CaVaughn looked at me. “Aren’t you sweet.”

His voice still held traces of sarcasm. Yeah, he was Ashton’s brother alright.

“I’m serious,” I said. “He doesn’t speak badly of you. I’ve never heard him blame anyone for this. As much as he might be struggling, I’m sure you’re suffering because of this too.” I looked down. “Not being able to lead the kingdom that you love so much must be difficult for you.”

CaVaughn stared at me. He didn’t say anything. His vibrant eyes seemed to go right through me.

“Ashton is an idiot,” he stated, “But he is a good guy too. I know that the only reason why he’s going along with this is so the responsibility doesn’t fall on Brooke in the future. He doesn’t want her to endure what he has to,” he looked at Brooke, who was smiling happily in her sleep.

“I really am pathetic,” he sighed.

“Don’t beat yourself up over something you can’t control,” I murmured. “You can help them in your own way by supporting them.”

“You’re quite the optimist, aren’t you?” he said, but a smile played on his lips.

“Without hope, what else do we have left?”

“If you do decide that my idiotic little brother is worth your time…” he looked at me with a sad smile, “Please help him to lead the kingdom well.”

I let out a shaky breath.

“No pressure though,” he added quickly. “It’s hard enough living with the fact that Ashton has to do this because of me. I can’t bear to trap you in this too.”

“Ashton has his friends to cheer him on, so don’t worry about it too much.”

He thought about this. “How’s Jackson doing?”

“Um… he’s good I think. He’s very level headed and he helps Ashton to plan meetings and stuff.”

He smiled. “I’m glad that they’ve become friends. Ashton didn’t get to choose his friends.”

“What? Really?” I asked in surprise.

“He didn’t get to have a lot of friends growing up, but since he was given this role, our father chose his friends for him. That’s why he’s surrounded by those nobles. In the future they would have to interact, so the king thought it was best that he spent most of his time with them.”

“That’s… kind of sad.”

“Ashton hated that, of course,” CaVaughn grimaced. “And they didn’t like him very much either. But over time they got to know and trust each other.”

“I never would have guessed,” I murmured, while trying my best to imagine a time when Kevin and Ashton didn’t like each other.

“But you know Jackson well?” I asked.

“Jackson used to be my best friend. We’re the same age,” he shrugged. “But after our father switched heirs, Jackson was drafted into being Ashton’s advisor instead. We’re not allowed to contact each other anymore.”

“That’s crazy!”

He shrugged again. “I don’t mind though, because he’s helping the future king and the kingdom. Kevin and him are the closest ones to Ashton.”

“I would absolutely hate that,” I said with a pout.

“But that’s why Ashton’s rebellion is not that strange, if you think about it. His whole life has been rearranged and planned out for him, and he doesn’t have much of a choice in these matters. And what the king does to him...” He trailed off.

“Origens can’t get drunk easily,” he continued. “After Ashton's first party he was almost completely passed out. That was a time I felt the guiltiest, because that night he had been trying so hard to forget everything going on around him. He was depressed and no one could help him.”

I frowned as I let what CaVaughn said sink in.

I’d only seen the confident side of Ashton. Ashton always seemed so free and unhindered. A lonely and depressed Ashton seemed like something from my wildest imagination. But I knew that it was very possible. Anybody could feel like that, no matter how popular they were.

“If it’s possible for his soulmate to be by his side, he’ll be able to be happy,” CaVaughn said to himself softly.

We sat in silence for a while. I told CaVaughn about all the friends that Ashton had been able to make at school. He smiled when I described the ‘Ashton daze’ to him.

He told me about how Ashton was when he was younger. He had finally dropped his intense and sarcastic attitude and we were able to talk comfortably.

He looked at his watch after an hour of talking.

“I should get going,” he said, standing to his feet. “It was great talking to you, Elizabeth,” he said with a genuine smile before slipping through the doors and disappearing.

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