"My Prince, please get down from there, we need to finish picking out the tablecloth for the ceremony—we haven't even selected the appropriate length!"

Bay ignored the older woman, a pout set on his lips as he sat atop the window ledge. It was several feet off the ground and was without a glass pane, leaving the event planner, who was left in charge of his care, moments away from a heart attack.

"I'm tired." He whined was a disgruntled huff. He had been running around the castle all day, listing off patterns, colours and other silly details that he really couldn't find himself to care for.

Yes, Cepheus had told him to be patient while they went through the traditional arrangements for the crowning ceremony but the nymph just couldn't wrap his head around the importance of a spring bunny napkin fold!

"We're nearly done with this selection sire, then we can move on to the centrepieces; don't you like flowers? I'm sure there will be an extensive range for you to choose from."

Bay slumped against the stoned wall, one of his legs dangling over the open ledge where a number of guards stood many stories below. He couldn't be bothered to care about peonies and carnations, even though they did remind him of the water lilies back home.

"But I don't wanna—"

"Bay"

As if struck by lightning, the nymph was suddenly sat ramrod straight at the sound of a familiar deep voice. The boy peered down and blinked at his mate's displeased expression: arms crossed, brows furrowed and a slight frown to his chiselled face; the older woman simply appeared relieved that he'd arrived.

"What are you doing up there? You're going to hurt yourself."

"I—"

"Get down. Now."

Bay pouted at the stern tone but the soft expression quickly set into a worrisome frown as he finally took in just how high he was—this certainly wasn't one of his brightest ideas.

"B-but I can't" He felt faint as the reality of his situation started to set in. Why hadn't he taken this into consideration when he climbed up the stone wall? His "supervisor" had left for the bathroom for only a few minutes and out of pure boredom and a bit of mischief, he decided to find out if he could make it to the top.

Cepheus sighed from below, it was a release of mild frustration to stop him from thinking too hard about the fact that his beloved was perched on a high ledge, that entire image reading the exact opposite of safe.

And an even bigger contributor to the vampire's stress, the boy had started crying.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't want to be u-up here anymore. I-I'll pick a napkin, I p-promise." Bay hiccuped and squeezed his eyes shut as he could no longer bear to see how far away from the ground he was.

The vampire's heart squeezed as he saw his mate become upset, but he pushed that to the side so he could focus on comforting the boy. Getting to him wasn't really an issue, but that knowledge didn't provide him with any more comfort.

"Baby blue, hey, look at me." A sniffle sounded and the nymph shook his head in refusal; the King sighed, knowing that he was too overwhelmed to listen.

"Okay" Cepheus mumbled to himself as he proceeded to unclasp the cufflinks from his black dress shirt. Walking over to the long table that was in the center of the room, he began unbuttoning his shirt which earned some flustered stuttering from the older woman that still remained in the room.

"M-my King, may I ask what it is you're doing?" She stumbled after him as he removed his shirt and folded it neatly on the table next to the silver pieces.

Taunt muscles rippled and flexed as he walked back to the ledge where the nymph was perched. But with each step, hints of black appeared to be protruding from his back.

Feathers were responsible for the deep obsidian shade. Thousands of well-placed and well-sized feathers emerged, parallel to the centerline of the vampire's back.

"Mea vita tua, et fidem eundem. Meus rex."

The woman's quiet muttering could be heard off to the side where she stood with her head lowered, not finding herself worthy of gazing at her sovereign's purest form.

Those were his wings.

Standing upwards of 6 feet and spanning out just as wide, they were sleek, broad and utterly magnificent. They barely moved as he walked, showcasing the power and control of what could only be described as weapons.

Sharp talons topped off each point, curving ever so slightly, their lighter colour a sharp contrast to the onyx shade below.

Once Cepheus stood right beneath the window, it only took a single contracting movement for the wings to come to life. Propelled upwards, the vampire was soon at his mate's height, where he was able to grab ahold of his curled-up form and press him close to his chest as he descended back down.

Bay, the poor thing, hadn't even realized what had happened until he slowly started to register the familiar coolness against his body's heat, and the sound of a heartbeat that certainly wasn't his own.

"You can open your eyes now Blue."

The low rumble almost had the boy preening against the vampire's chest.

Wait, his chest?

With wide eyes, the nymph pulled away from the comforting embrace, his jaw dropping to complete the shocked expression.

"H-how did you—H-how a-are we? Y-you're, y-you—" Bay's mouth opened and closed as he gasped and spluttered his words while gazing at the vampire's wings in complete amazement; a slight whine of disapproval soon took over when the sinful beauties disappeared into his back.

While Cepheus was amused at his mate's reaction and certainly glad he was well, his jaw ticked in annoyance at everything that had just happened.

"Don't you have something to say to Miss Margarete? An apology for your behaviour would be an appropriate start."

Deep pink rushed to the boy's cheeks as he was called out in front of the woman who now sat in a chair with an expectant pull to her brows. 

"Um...I-I'm sorry Miss Margarete for being difficult." He whispered with his eyes downcast in embarrassment. He made sure to sniffle for good measure, which wasn't completely forced since he was still slightly traumatized from his own doings.

"It's alright, Prince Bay. Tomorrow's a new day so we can start off fresh, I'm sure you will need quite the nap after today."

Bay wanted to sigh in protest, knowing that they would be back to picking out tablecloths and silverware instead of doing something fun. But he was smarter than that and bit his tongue with a nod, knowing that he was already in enough trouble as is.

"I'll leave you to it, my King. Thank you again for the privilege."

The further the woman walked away from the room, the more nervous the nymph became. Cepheus had never really been angry with him before, so it was hard to gauge how he was really feeling.

"My sweet, sweet beloved." Bay shrunk further into his shoulders despite the seemingly mundane words—it was the deep, darkly tone in which he spoke that left a chill running down his spine. "what am I going to do with you?"

Bay kept his head down, hugging his arms to his chest while he stood in front of his mate, seeking mercy from the unknown.

"I-I'm sorry—"

"Yes, I'm sure you are." Cepheus clipped back.

Ouch

"I'm working very hard to finalize meetings so that everything gets done in time for the ceremony. Do you think I want to be sat around those miscreants discussing trade deals and treaties? Do you think I have the patience to deal with all of their petty complaints?"

Bay shook his head frantically, a slight quiver to his lip as his mate's temper simmered to a rolling boil. He wasn't shouting, not yet, but the nymph considered this to be worse with how each syllable was coated and dripping in subtle rage.

At seeing the boy shake, the King paused, a guilty sigh passing his lips as he wiped a hand down his face; he didn't mean to upset the boy more than he already was, he was simply overworked and exhausted. His anger was displaced, and it shouldn't have been.

"I don't mean to be so harsh, my love." Cepheus portrayed his remorse through a gentle caress of the boy's face and a much softer tone. "My point is that I do these things not because I like them, but because I have to. You will also have to do the same from now on, you're a Prince—my Prince. And above all else, I don't like to see you behaving in a way that puts you in unnecessary danger. Okay?"

Bay nodded, although with his eyes lowered, still not able to face the vampire but this time out of shame. What he did was incredibly immature and insensitive to his mate's feelings.

"You can look at me Blue, I'm not mad. I know it may seem like it but I'm not—you know I just worry about you."

With a light whimper Bay slowly lifted his head to meet the soft, genuine eyes of his mate. Before Cepheus could utter another word the nymph was throwing himself into his strong chest, making sure to squeeze as tight as possible.

"I really am sorry." The boy murmured quietly.

"I know baby."

It was quiet for a short moment, before Bay spoke again, although this time in timid curiosity.

"D-did we really fly?"

The King chuckled, his hand lowering to pet Bay's hair and lightly scratch his scalp.

"We did"

~

"Blue, come here."

Bay stumbled over from the kitchen where he was conversing with Isobel and a few other servants that were preparing breakfast. He had been told many times by the group that he wasn't to be involved in such trivial matters—they couldn't stress enough how inappropriate it was as a Royal, most importantly, as someone who was mated to the King.

But the boy ignored their complaints, much preferring their company, rather than what was offered by the quiet four walls of his room.

"Even while I shouldn't after your naughty streak yesterday, I thought you would appreciate some time out of the castle." Cepheus started as Bay came to stand in front of him. " We've started planning the guestlist for the ceremony and while your family will obviously be receiving invites, how would you feel handing them off yourself?"

Bay's eyes widened and a breathtaking grin lifted his face— his entire expression was the epitome of joy.

"Really?! I can give the invitations to them myself?" He squealed in disbelief. The sound of a pan dropping made him flinch and turn around, the startled look of one of the cooks making him smile sheepishly, knowing his outburst had been alarming.

"Yes, really." Cepheus reaffirmed more calmly, although with a soft smile on his face. "Zain and I will escort you of course, and he'll stay along the border of the falls to ensure your safety; I'll be sending a few other guards as well."

Bay stood on his tiptoes and kissed the underside of his mate's jaw, the only area he was able to reach.

"Thank you." He cheesed, although quieter this time.

The King lightly grasped Bay's neck and leaned down to capture the boy's lips in a kiss, the soft and sensual moment causing the nymph to grip onto the stronger male.

"Go get ready, I'll be waiting down here."

Bay resisted squealing again and went to detach himself from his mate, but he was pulled back into the vampire's chest, soft lips pressed to his ear.

"Make sure to put your plug back in, yeah? Does my little boy think he handle that?"

Bay's nether region twitched at the question but his cheeks heated as he realized that he would be placing it himself, rather than having the dominant male do it for him.

"Y-yes." He stammered; the flustered tone put a small smile on the vampire's lips and he gave Bay an encouraging pat on his bum to send him on his way.

The boy stumbled his way out of the kitchen, turned down hallways and ran up stairs to find his way to the King's quarters.

Making a beeline towards the closet, the boy's clothes were immediately discarded to the floor as he searched for his favourite pair of white shorts—the same pair his mama sew together herself with special cotton from behind the falls.

As the nymph bent down to pull them up his legs, a short "oh" passed his lips as he almost forgot to do what he'd been told.

Releasing the shorts, he walked over to the island in the middle of the closet, and hesitantly reached towards the drawer that was specifically meant to hold his "toys" as Cepheus liked to call them.

The drawer had a diamond studded handle, something that the King put in place the other day.

Bay pulled it open and quickly grabbed the clear glass looking droplet, trying not to focus on the other other items that were in the container space.

Holding it gingerly, the boy's heart raced, knowing that he was going to have to...touch himself to slide it in.

Bay settled for kneeling on the floor and bent over so that his but was in the air and his back was slightly arched.

The nymph's breathing was heavy at this point, aroused at his own position; as his hole grew wet with slick, he knew that it would slide right in.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Bay whispered to himself as he lined up the plug.

He soon gasped as he applied slight pressure, feeling it get sucked into his body and he welcomed the familiar full feeling with open arms.

A throaty whine sounded from the shaking nymph as he pushed it all the way in, till the flat circle pressed against his cheeks and the bulb rubbed against his prostate.

Slightly panting now, he stood up and wobbled over to the bathroom to wash his hands and...cock, that was dripping with a bit of pre cum.

Eyeing himself in the mirror for a moment he took in his flushed cheeks, wide eyes and parted lips—he laughed.

"I did it!" He giggled before fluttering out of the bathroom, careful not to be too boisterous as to stimulate pleasure within him.

Quickly pulling on his shorts he treaded down the stairs on light feet, allowing the mate bond to pull him in the direction of his mate who was waiting alongside Zain at one of the castle doors.

"And?" Cepheus inquired as he stopped his chatter with the guard.

Pulling Bay closer to him he trailed his hand down his back, all the way to his ass before subtly pressing against his hole to feel the plug.

"Good boy." He hummed, taking note of how the boy's legs shook as he did.

"I-I'm ready." Bay murmured shyly, not wanting to address anything about what he'd done somewhere so public.

Cepheus smirked knowingly but placed a guiding hand on the small of the nymph's back so they could get on their way.