The princess embraced her little brother tightly that which took Cleus off-guard. Opening her eyes wide when she remembered something, she let go of him and rushed to take the basket she had placed on top of the table.
"Oh! By the way, I brought you some sweets!", she said so excitedly. "Let's eat them together, shall we?"
"She says that, but she ends up eating most of them…" Cleus kept in his thoughts.
The reason why he doesn't want to 'guest' this person was because, even though she was the visitor, the one who received such a warm welcome was he.
But he never hated each visit she gave.
Althea Estelle von Fermielis, the First Princess of Dhara. Though being the first born of the empire, she was regarded as the second star as she was a princess. The birth of a son is more highly regarded than the birth of a daughter. But despite that, she held no grudge. If she did, the emperor would not have liked that.
She was beautiful, elegant, poised, and well-educated. It came to the point where she was made the model daughter all over the empire.
She is now twelve years old. Just a 4-year age gap between them; however, the two have been close for as long as they can remember.
The two sat and chatted. Well… most of the talking was done by the princess, though.
The princess stared at her little brother, who ate the biscuits with small bites, as if he were planning to save some for later.
"Silly boy, there are more biscuits in the basket. No need to budget it.", she chuckled, taking a handkerchief and wiping the corner of his mouth.
While wiping the crumbs from his cheeks, she noticed the boy's chaffed hands and touched his fingertips.
"What on earth have you been doing to have such hands? People would doubt you're a prince with this cracked skin on your fingers. Have you been digging or something?"
"Bingo", he thought, averting his eyes away from hers.
Her brows furrowed the longer she looked at it. She also noticed how thin he was. How could a prince of a great empire look so pitiful? No prince should be in such a state.
"No… No child should be in such a state.", she kept to herself.
"And your clothes… They are obviously too big for you!", she said, starting to seem angry.
What in the world are the maids doing?!, the princess fumed inside.
"I shall have a small talk with your maids-."
"N-No!", Cleus exclaimed, looking at her with terrified eyes. "No… P-Please, d-don't."
If she did talk to the maids, their treatment would get even worse. That's what a child would think.
Cleus doesn't want things to get worse. And he also thought there's no need to alter the way life's been going since things would soon end since he's leaving.
Althea looked at her brother with her palm in his cheek and with a determined look on her face, she told him…
"You wait for us, okay? Mother is doing her absolute best to take you away from here and live with us."
Cleus has no memory of ever meeting the empress. It has been thrice that her sister told him this but…
He doubted her words.
After all, what good would the empress get for taking him in? No. The first question would be why would she take him in? What is she trying to do?
The boy has met many of his stepmothers. Most of them looked down on him and even tried to assassinate him. And thus, he believes the empress might be the same.
Such thoughts would be treason so the only thing he can do is smile in his sister's face and nod his head.
"I promise that you'll be able to get out of this hell palace… I will do everything with all my power to convince the emperor."
Cleus couldn't help but sigh. She sounded so passionate in her quest, not knowing it would all be futile since he planned on leaving.
"T-Thank y-you, b-big sister.", he replied softly.
The princess left and bid a warm farewell, together with a tight hug, before she left the place. He stayed outside until all that was left was snow. No one even thought of telling him to get inside because he would be cold. Not that he bothered.
The prince thought deeply of her sister's words. He can't help but accept that it was an enticing offer. To be with the empress' side could protect him and not only that, but he'd also be closer and living with his loving sister. Though, he has no idea what the first prince would be.
But then, he can't shake off the consequences that the offer would bear. People would be threatened by him if such an event of his being adopted by the empress were to happen.
The future is wicked for a weak royal.
"Right… My suffering will only end when I'm away from this place."
The princess may be the last visitor he'll ever accommodate. Or so… he thought.
Night came again, and like a thief, he snuck out of the palace to get hold of his treasures.
"Big sister gave me a small brooch today. Though it is not ethical to sell someone's gift, it will serve a better purpose in my life if it's converted to cash."
Despite the cold, he couldn't help but smile as he strided along the snowy path, approaching the large tree, where he hid his 'fortune'. But that smile soon dissipated when he saw his treasures dug out. He immediately ran and went down on his knees when he saw it. He began to panic and wished he was probably mistaken, digging the hole deeper.
But it was of naught. His box was gone…
"No… No, it can't be… IT CAN'T BE!", he exclaimed with tears welling up in his eyes.
His heart couldn't help but ache. The boy has not sobbed this much since his mother's passing.
The cold weather became colder, and he wasn't planning on stopping his cries. He wanted to, in fear the maids would catch him, but the pain was unbearable. Just when he thought his suffering was going to end. It seems that it was only the beginning.
His life depended on this escape, but it seems he won't be living longer.
"Oh now… You're making me feel guilty.", a deep and playful voice spoke beneath the shadows.
The boy was startled and immediately looked up from where the voice came from.
But there was no one.
He was very sure that the voice came up from above, that he never lost sight of the branches of the tree.
"I know you are there! Reveal yourself!", he shouted, standing up with his head raised.
"To think you'd know where I am. How interesting.", the voice spoke once again.
Suddenly, a figure started to show, and a man came down slowly from the tree. To be exact, he floated down from one of the tree's branches and landed on the ground.
It was a very tall man. He had long black hair that went down his waist. The man was wearing typical yet expensive looking clothes. A grey vest over his perfectly fit white blouse. Black pants that complimented his long legs and black shoes to compliment the rest of the outfit.
The boy found it hard to admit but the man was beautiful. It was as if he was a sculpture that was given life by the gods. He's never met a man with such a perfectly structured face.
But what caught Cleus's attention was the man's hooded cape. A cape that usually only mages would wear. Not only that, but the man also had golden eyes. An eye color he has never seen before.
He wore clothes that did not befit the weather, but he seemed like he was very warm. As if the night were another spring day.
The man had his box full of treasures in his hand. The box seemed so big when Cleus carried it but in the man's hand, it was as if he was carrying a block of brick.
"To think a prince of a great empire would be a thief in his own house. Not that stealing is unusual for monarchs to do, but usually, when royalty steals, they don't bury it in a shallow layer of soil."
[Black Palace, 288]