The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 17: Breakfast

"A... ball?" my hands fidgeted in my lap, twitching at the notion of even having to dress up and be around people. The air was warm, the summer breeze just barely brushing the hair on my arms. Caiden, clearly hearing the disgust in my voice, shrugged. He brought a grape to his lips as he looked around him. About 30 minutes ago, Caiden barged into my room, startling Iban enough for him to screech, and jump around before scattering out of the room. It was the first time that he had slept in my room in a while, so I was quite bummed about it. However, I couldn't even say anything about it, because Caiden seemed so excited about the letter I had left him a few hours earlier. So, to please him, I quickly got out of bed, got dressed, and made my way out into the garden area where he wanted to eat breakfast. We waited while the maids brought out food and drinks before scampering off, only leaving knights to guard us a couple of feet away.

"I'm... not sure about that. Doesn't it seem a bit too excessive?" I admitted. Caiden turned to look away from a butterfly to looking at me, then down at his breakfast.

"Well, if you think about it, it's a good idea." He muttered. I rose a brow, he looked away for a moment before looking back. "Well, the last time someone summoned demons, it was at my inauguration. So, something just as big would need to happen if this person wants to summon more demons."

"Well, of course, that makes sense." I nodded. He tilted his head in response, his hands fidgeting with the few grapes left in his dish. "But you're forgetting that the mages were present before. And they typically only come down for a huge ceremony. In fact, I know that none of the higher-ranking mages would come for a ball." Caiden let out a small huff. It, unfortunately, was the truth. In the many years that I had been around Romand, I had seen him turn down invitation after invitation regarding balls, parties, and ceremonies. The only time I had seen him, and the others come down was during the Yowen ceremony where the Princess there got married. No other major ceremonies have taken place since I started living with Romand that he wanted to attend.

"Well, that's obvious. The only time they really come down is if something important happens to the royal family, which is only me. So, what will make the mages come down for me, given the most important thing just recently occurred?" I frowned and shrugged.

"Your wedding, your birthday, or your funeral." He nodded, moving his index finger around the rim of his teacup.

"And, as it stands, my birthday is not anytime close and I don't have any big plans to go and die, so that leaves only one option." I watched him, a sly look on his face as he glanced back at me.

"So... you're going to get married?" I asked incredulously. Caiden shrugged.

"I've actually been pestered to get married since I came back," He muttered,
"it's not like people will say no." I opened my mouth quickly.

"And to who? There's no one here that fits the standards to be the Queen." Caiden shrugged in response. I, however, needed to protest, so I continued. "It's not like you need to get married anytime soon. You just became king, that means you have time to figure out what you want to do, figure out diplomatic structures, and more. The people can wait, there is no reason to–"

"Don't you want to figure out who is behind the summoning of the demons?" he asked, interrupting my rant.

"Not–!" I froze, my sentence sitting on the tip of my tongue before making a swift U-turn back down my throat. Not at your expense. I wanted to say. However, I stopped myself from speaking, because I had no idea why I thought this way. Out of my 40 some years of existence on Earth, and my 20 plus years of existence in this world, never have I ever wanted to make sure someone's life wasn't full of misery like I wanted to do for Caiden. And for the life of me, I had no idea why. I didn't want him to marry someone just because he wanted to please me or someone else. He had suffered enough.

I don't want him to end up like the me on Earth.

Caiden let out a soft laugh and shook his head, an endearing smile on his face as he watched me. For the first time since I came here, I looked at him. I mean, really looked at him. Looked at the way his pink hair bounced and swayed lightly as he turned his head to stare at me. Looked at the way his green eyes sparkled underneath the sunlight. Looked at the way his worry lines melted as a smile covered them up, genuine happiness brightening him up.

He couldn't end up like me.

"Alan," he started off, happiness and gratitude in his tone, "thank you so much for thinking of me. It's one of the first times anyone has." His tone was soft at the last statement. "But I'll be fine, I promise. So, let's do it. Just... just trust me." My mind raced, thinking about the conversation that we had last night. About how he struggled to have trust in people, and how he disliked when I kept things from him.

Wasn't he doing the exact same thing now?

However, despite seeing how much of a hypocrite he was being, I couldn't bring myself to hate his statement. He was the King, and I was just his bodyguard, if he so chose to keep something hidden from me, then there wasn't any reason as to why I would protest the idea. Plus, if wanted me to trust him, I would blindly put my faith into his and see where it took me.

"Okay." I muttered before sighing long and hard, "I'll trust you." He smiled and nodded.

"Good! Now, let's plan this ball."

~~~~~

Hey guys! Saph here! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wonder what's going to happen at the ball? Also, how did you guys feel about Alan? Is he perhaps being a bit overprotective? Or, what about Caiden? How do you guys feel about his marriage announcement? 

So many questions!

As always, thank you all so much for reading, don't hesitate to let me know how it's going or if you have any questions or concerns. If not, I'll see you next time!