James

As soon as I'm changed into an elegant black suit with a matching dark bow tie, I am rushed away back to the parlour.

Once I step in I see Odessa lounging on a couch wearing a see through long sleeved black dress laced in the front with black material and a long flowing end of pleated black, all covered in an arrange of gleaming beads on the top.

She poses from the camera, her fingers up to her lips as she pouts.
It is a simple but elegant look that compliments her long flowing fiery red hair.
Fabio soaks up every moment, complimenting Odessa for her beauty. Seeing her here she is so beautiful, the perfect girl to be queen.

Once Fabio notices my presence in the room, he grins "Perfect time James! We need a few shots of the two of you together" Odessa shots up, glaring at me not impressed to see me here

I creep over as Fabio orders us to sit together and give a 'mysterious presence' in the room.

I sit beside Odessa, who slowly moves away. I cross my legs over and brush back my hair as Fabio snaps but he is not one bit impressed.

"Come on you two! You look as if you hate each other!" he moans.

"Well you can say that again" Odessa murmurs not looking at me. "Sit together and look as if you are enjoying yourself" Fabio demands. I squish beside Odessa who places a hand on my knee. We both look back at Fabio who is now pleased as he snaps away.

"Now laugh, say something!"

At first we are both hesitant until Odessa starts pulling her performance, giggling as if I've said the funniest thing ever.

Now it's my time to shine. "Odessa I honestly didn't mean what I did" I say through my teeth managing to still smile. As Fabio gets another film she snarls "Go to hell" before she starts laughing again, flicking back her hair. I garb her hand, which Fabio loves but she only glares questioning my action.

"Perfect! That's a wrap! Now the family portrait!" He yelps as he turns away. She kicks my leg with force. "How dare you act as if I've forgiven you"

I tense my body with the pain as I grumble "Odessa okay I've sorry can we just forgive and forget?"
She only gets up quickly roaring "Screw you James" before rushing away.

I only sit, rubbing my temples with frustration. I swear this day just gets better and better.

"James!" I hear a voice bellow, I turn to see Father. "How are you after our drinks?"

"Oh fine" I utter, confused at first until I realise, of course I had drinks with him.

He sits down beside me proclaiming "You were on fire last night!" I only let out a small laugh. He gives a forceful pat on the back joking "We should do it more often!"

I am taken aback. Is my father actually considering bonding with me?

Flabbergasted, I simply nod and smile until we are called by Fabio to follow him for the portrait.

As it is the first portrait without Gerard, I rather feel uncomfortable but I force myself to push that thought away. I don't like painful memories.

Keep moving- that's my motto. Don't dwell on things. Don't stay in one place too long. It is the only way to stay ahead of the sadness.

It isn't long until father and mother walk in hand in hand with the others. Herald and Ethan have their hands in their pockets, annoyed to be wearing a black suit for just five minutes. Rosa skips along loving her simply gold dress while Charlie plods along dressed in a miniature version of my suit.

Fabio smiles as two assistants pull out two gold cushioned slender chairs.

"Now the moment I've been waiting for!" He exclaims excitingly. "Your highness, let's get you and your beautiful wife sitting on the chairs. By god you have a massive bump my lady! Odessa, you stand behind your mother, place a hand on her shoulder, James you copy her action with your father. I'll get a snap of this first"

As I stand behind Father, I place a hand on his broad shoulder, trimmers forming, before I can even blink he snaps at us.

"Now where do I put these beautiful children?" He points Herald towards me and Rosa at Odessa. Ethan and Charlie stand in front beside Mother and Father. Every second Charlie turns his head around, amazed by what is going on.

Once we are all ready he flashes his camera again and again. By this stage my eyes are well adjusted to the burst of light. Fabio's eyes tear up as he finishes. "What a lovely family, you are just a pleasure to work with" He grabs a tissue and blows his nose, which must be a hard task with his bull ring. We all mumble our thanks as everyone leaves. I go to Odessa and grab her hand. "Look Odessa I'm sorry, please let me explain-"

Her only reaction is to punch me hard in the stomach. Once again I hug myself and endure the pain. "That's for celebrating with Father" she snarls through her teeth before walking away with Herald, Rosa, Ethan and Charlie.

My head is swelling, my stomach hits and I am in desperate need of a glass of water but once again I am rushed away by Father. "It's 12, which means the reporters are here. Well done on the photo shoot, just perfect the interview and we'll be on track" He smiles and pats me on the back before ushering me upstairs to the chamber room. Already there is a clamber of people around, all excited for the interview that is about to commence. It hasn't really hit me what is going on until we reach the chamber room to see the room packed with journalists. A podium stands in the centre with the Erivale flag displayed behind. I swallow a lump in my throat as Father whispers, "Good luck" pushing me out into the opening.

I feel like a deer caught in the headlights. They all stare at me with their sharp eyes, their pen and paper ready at their hands. I take a long breath before I start walking to the podium.

"Good day fellow reports across the world. As Prince James, the next heir to the throne, I welcome you to my home of Erivale. I hope to prove worthy of your time" I let out a shaky laugh, "Let's start shall we?"

Suddenly they start swarming me with questions left right and centre.

"James how is the economic situation of Erivale?"

"Tell us what happened with the new tax reform agreements?"

"What is your policy on the trade ships of late?"

"Is there a cure for the plague swooping across Erivale?"

My head is pounding with so much force I have to place a hand on my forehead. Thankfully a large glass of water is beside the podium so I gulp it down furiously. Once I finish I raise my left hand. "One at a time please I can't keep up!" I joke but it seems no one gets my humour.

"Ah yes you, the man in the front with the green tie"

The bald man, stares shocked to realise I have picked him but he asks "What is your opinion of how you dealing after Gerard's death?"

I feel sweat forming already, especially around my shirt collar. "Ah yes, the past few months have been extremely tough, I mean everyone would feel the same with the loss of a loved one, especially the next heir to the throne.."

A woman with dark skin pops up "Can you comment on your twin sister's state especially after the last few months?"

I rub my fingers across my sweaty palms. "Yes she has been suffering lately but I believe she is progressing just fine. She's a loving sister especially towards our younger siblings.."

She speaks up again. "But how could she seem alright if she attacked Prince Nicolai of the Southern Isles only a month ago? Do you think her conduct is acceptable?"

My eyes become blurry for a second as I conjure up to say. Should I admit the truth or keep things solid. "I believe Odessa's actions were not to be caught up with. She was giddy, I mean it was her first outing since Gerard's death and I believe drink got to her head, no further comment"

A man sitting near the back stands up. "James how do you explain Nicolai's injuries?"

"They were slef inflicted. No further comment"

There is a stunned silence then buzzing. My ears ring loudly.

A woman in a dark pink suit speaks. All I can hear is the ringing in my ears. "I'm sorry miss can you repeat the question?"

"Do you believe there is a chance of a queen with you as you rule over Erivale"

My tongue goes numb as my hands tremor. "Ah yes hopefully I believe so"

The questions fire at me for another two hours and I try my best to answer but deep inside I have the desire to just crawl into a hole.

* * * * *

I honestly want to sleep for an eternity after today. Dragging my lifeless body to my bedroom, I only kick off my shoes and flop onto my bed. I close my eyes but something flashes before me. I get up to see a bottle of wine, the wine Odessa gave me before our fraud.
Maybe a little sip wouldn't hurt..

Staggering, I clamber over to grab the bottle. Unscrewing the cork I take a sig and instantly my mind erupts with a sharp tingling sensation.

It seems like forever as I sit on the edge of my bed. I fight the urge to sleep to enjoy one more sip. Sliding off my jacket and fumbling to take off my bow tie, I look like a classy drunk.

I feel the earth rocking beneath me and my mind drifting in and out like the tide. That is until I hear an eruption of noise booming throughout. It slips past my mind as I think of my pounding headache to even believe it is anything suspicion. It is only until the door swings open that I am suddenly alarmed.

Xavier stands breathless.
"What are you doing?" he asked hanging onto the door. As I sit on the edge of my bed sipping out of the wine bottle I slur, "I felt like a drink."

"Didn't last night actions prove to be disastrous?" He questions but I only rub my temple.
"Honestly I can't remember last night" I groan. As I stare up I see a hint of despair across his face. I sigh. "What did I do last night?"

He parts his lips but we only hear the shouting of guards and sirens blaring. Suddenly it seems he remembers why he came to me in the first place. "Quickly! There's a rebel attack"

I can only groan "Oh come on, I just want to sleep!" as I fall back onto my bed.

"You can sleep through the attack but we need to get down to the basement!" Xavier orders as he pulls me up from the bed.
I grumble as he makes me stand up bare foot.

"Come on James!" Xavier smacks me and shouts, "James, I swear to god we must leave now-"

"That's when you're wrong," I groan, pointing at the chest of drawers.

"James I honestly want to kill you now-" but I interrupt him as I get up and use all my force to pull the drawers. "James stop acting silly-"

"Do you ever wonder why this chest of drawers never budged?" and finally with my last heave I pull and the drawer pulls back to reveal a flight of stairs.

Xavier stares bewildered. With his mouth open, I order him to grab a flash light from my press. He obeys and follows me behind shining the torch. When we are both inside I close the hidden passage door behind me.

"Why did no one tell me about this?" He asks, still shocked by this discovery.

"Only I know about it, not even father knows, well of course a few guards know, hence why they always check but still, sometimes I come down here to breathe"

We make our way down the dark passage, following each twist and turn in silence until we reach a tall door. With force I push it open to reveal the large spacious. With its dim lighting it glows a light red, as if it echoes the burning of fire in the distance.

It has bountiful supplies of anything I need. It even has a bed, a fridge and bathroom, just in case I need it and from time to time I come down here to enjoy the loneliness.

Straight away I flop onto the bed, still grasping the bottle of wine. I sip it enjoying the strong texture that tingle my taste buds.

Xavier walks around breathless, unable to fathom into words how he feels about this place. He feels the antique carpet on the floor and examines the table and chairs in the centre. He walks to the fridge and opens it, amazed to see food. He stops and admires the shelves filled with books, checking my collection. He stops and pulls out something, I can't really make out what it is with the dim lighting.

I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, not even letting go of the bottle.

It is 11:49 when I open my eyes again, my mind distracted with the fact the mattress is hard and the pillows are too soft for my liking.

Xavier is staring at me. His eyes are clearly wide, even surrounded by those wire rimmed glasses. I notice his hands grasped to a pencil as he presses hard on the book propped on his knees. His hands stop moving.

"Can I see what you're drawing?" I ask.

He blinks which isn't the reaction I was hoping for. He gingerly passes over his sketchbook.

It's a portrait of a boy and an amazing one at that. The face is drawn darkly in pencil. A very detailed face. It has a strong jaw line, a prominent nose, two long arches for raised eyebrows, dark hair with one curl hanging loosely. The guy is smiling, no smirking. The corner of one side of his mouth is obviously curving upwards. But the eyes. The eyes were coloured in darkly but there are little white circles that make them shine mischievously.

I swear I've seen this face before. It's clearly not a self portrait. And then it hits me.

"You drew me?" I ask pointing at the drawing.

Xavier turns bright red. "Yes it is you, I-I-I'm sorry if you don't like it"

"No!" I exclaim, crawling forward to him. "I think it's amazing. You're a great artist Xavier. I mean if it is me, it's a perfect drawing. I've never seen a sketch with so much attention to detail. I've never had someone draw me before" I finish with a smile.

"Thank you" Xavier says softly but soon he stops and looks down, twiddling with his fingers.

"What's the problem?" I ask.

He looks away as he says "I'm so confused.."

"About what Xavier?"

"I'm so confused about everything, this, you, us, I mean I thought I'd just leave but then last night it happened and now I am so conflicted"

"Whoa calm down -" I breathe and then I say it. "What happened last night?"

He now turns, looking directly into my eyes. "I don't think you'll like what I have to say.."

"Oh Come on! It can't be that bad! I mean I didn't strut around naked or anything-"

"James, you kissed me."

Now I stop. I recollect what he has just stopped. My heart beat speeds up. No matter how hard I try nothing escapes from my mouth.

There is an awkward silence as we both sit gathering out thoughts when Xavier says, "You were drunk though so it wasn't a big deal-"

"It is a big deal Xavier" I finally snap staring at him. He only looks down at the drawing.

"I mean, I kissed you Xavier, I don't normally go around kissing the staff of the palace"

"Someone told me that's why your previous maid left"

"Xavier stop trying to change conversation, this is serious"

"Well you're the one making a big deal out of a simple drunk kiss" He snaps back, his eyebrows sliding together.

"Well actually you kissed me first, remember?" I roll my eyes. "And besides, whenever I get drunk I don't normally start kissing people"

I can't help but scratch my neck. It was just a kiss, one tiny, little kiss. But now as I sit here, all the little details come back. His touch,his taste, everything. I never expected Xavier to kiss me like...that.

Less than 24 hours ago, those lips were pressed against mine. And that tongue. I can remember it now. I can remember the taste, a hint of strawberries. Or it's persistence, mapping out my mouth while I clung to his shoulders in my drunk state, that kiss rendering me senseless to all but Xavier.

My gaze shifts to his hand, his long fingers. Less than 24 hours ago those hands were cupped at the back of my head, fingers splayed through my air, easing me back into more. Just thinking about it now made me weak in the knees.

Xavier now lifts a brow as he cautiously eyes my staring, but I can see his dark eyes darken further. The way his gaze keeps flickering, ever so slightly down the length of my body.

"Xavier, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?" Xavier's breathless tongue gives me a boost of courage

"If I asked you to kiss me, but in my sober state, would you?"

"Yes" Xavier says it as if he's been holding it in since it happened.

I only nod, gathering my thoughts. Then Xavier asks "Would you kiss me again?"

That's when there is an awkward silence.

"Xavier honestly I'm as confused as you are, I mean never in my life have I had feelings for a man but with you, I feel something, something inside of me stirs whenever I'm with you, something that has never occurred with any woman, but I just don't know what to say about this"

"Oh" Is all he murmurs. I know I have hurt with what I have just said so I proceed to apologise "Look I'm sorry-" He only swats his hand away.

"Its fine James, I understand" He knees are up close to his chest.

"I think we should leave it just that, nothing else"

"But what about us? I mean, will there be awkwardness between us? I mean I'd love to have you still as my butler" I don't dare to mention what I overheard yesterday in case it would cause more uproar.

"I would too, I thought you hated me so I went to your Father to request a transfer" I try my best to act surprised. "So, what did he say"

"It will take some time but I can cancel the request, I'm sure he wouldn't mind"

I don't bother to mention how usually Father would get mad with nonsense like that so I simply nod. "Okay then, that settles it, we're just friends"

"Friends" Xavier nods, looking a tad bit disappointed with my agreement.

I stare down at my watch, It is 1:28.

"Xavier we've been down here for four hours!" I exclaim, quickly getting up from my comfortable position.

Xavier only sighs as he gathers his sketchbook.

I don't say anything as I swing open the door up to the stairs. It is only until we both reach my bedroom do I speak up. "Thanks Xavier for considering my position, it means a lot"

"Anything for you James"