The Raven

Twenty-One

Wishing that this beautiful moment between the ruby-eyed boy and himself could last forever, Prince Henry is reluctant to disconnect their lips from each other. Unfortunately, both boys need oxygen to breathe, so they would eventually be forced to separate. As his lips part from those of the boy he loves, Henry is overwhelmed with feelings of joy and contentment. He stares down at the boy lying beneath him, his eyes grazing over his every feature, capturing the expression of sheer bliss on Caleb's face and committing it to memory. His dark hair is mussed, splayed out over the equally dark sheets on the bed in a frenzied mess. His crimson eyes glow with happiness, sparkling like literal rubies caught in the sunlight. His plump pink lips are parted and swollen in a just-been-kissed kind of way, and his pale cheeks have a rosy hue. Henry smiles brightly at him when their eyes meet, another wave of delight flooding through him. Placing soft kisses all over Caleb's face, he gently asks, "Do you think you could turn into your shadow form and leave the tower?"

"I could," Caleb replies dreamily, his mouth saying the words before his brain can catch up; his mind is still stuck in the haze of their delirious kissing session. His face scrunches slightly as he tries to focus on the topic of conversation, pushing through the arousing fog debilitating his senses. After a moment of thought, he says, "But it would be incredibly precarious. What if I get caught?" After a short pause, he quietly adds, "What if... What if Mother finds out?" The raven bites his lip at the thought, nervousness prickling inside him. He certainly would not want to anger his mother in such a way, nor does he want to know how she would punish him if she caught him.

The prince immediately catches the fear tinging the raven's voice and caresses his cheek softly with his fingertips in an attempt to soothe the other boy's worries away. "I will protect you, Caleb," he says; although his words are quiet, his voice holds firmly. Caleb can see his blue eyes swirl with undeniable sincerity as they stare back at him, vowing to do everything possible to uphold his promise. "I will always protect you from anyone and anything for the rest of my life; no one will harm you as long as I am around."

The raven studies the blond boy's face, noting that the conviction and intense earnestness expressed in his facial features match that of his tone of voice. This reassures Caleb immensely; it comforts him in a way that he did not know was possible. With Henry by his side, he may just have the courage to defy his mother's wishes. He can see himself finally doing the things he wishes to do instead of being blindly obedient to the woman who never actually cared about him in the first place. Smiling up at his charming prince, he says, "I would like to give it a try."

Caleb's reply sends a wave of pleasantness through Henry's entire body, the prince's smile so wide and genuine that it reaches all the way to his eyes. "Tomorrow?" he asks hopefully, his voice sounding almost too eager, in his own opinion. He mentally cringes at the embarrassing need and excitement in his voice, blurting out the first thing that pops into his head in order to distract himself and, hopefully, Caleb from his little slip-up. "If you want, you could sneak down in your shadow form and meet me in the garden; I know how much you love it. Once there, you could even shift into your raven and fly around."

Henry watches as his love's eyes twinkle with uncontainable excitement. He knows how much his precious Caleb would love to fly above the garden; he has listened intently to all of the boy's dreams, hoping to someday make each of them a reality for him. The prince hopes to give the raven-haired beauty everything he has ever wanted, to fill his heart and his life with the greatest possible amounts of joy and love; making Caleb irrefutably and irrevocably happy would easily be considered his grandest achievement in life.

To Caleb, it seems as if all of his dreams are somehow magically coming true. It is practically unbelievable how quickly everything is falling into place. While there is a feeling in the pit of his stomach warning him to remain guarded and be suspicious of how perfectly everything seems to be coming together, he cannot help but revel in the happiness he is currently experiencing. He will worry about the consequences later.

Soaking up both the excitement of tomorrow's adventure and the affectionate feelings pouring out of the two boys and filling the room, Henry is utterly lost in the emotions that are overtaking him. Removing himself from the incredibly tempting position over the other boy, he squeezes in beside him on the much too small bed and pulls him to his chest. With the raven's head resting on his chest, Henry gently runs his fingers through his long, dark hair. Softly, he whispers, "I love you so much, Caleb. I am going to find a way to get rid of Princess Elaina and this ridiculous tradition and marry you." Caleb lifts his head to meet the prince's eyes, and Henry holds the gaze unwaveringly. "I will never let my mother force me to marry anyone else. It will be you and only you, now and forever."

The raven cannot help himself, his love for Henry urging him on. Wordlessly, he leans forward and reconnects their lips. Henry lets out a surprised gasp but hurriedly returns the kiss, winding his arms more securely around his ruby-eyed raven until there is once again no space between them. Caleb's long hair falls around them, shielding them like a curtain from the outside world; neither of the boys notices, however, as they are far too consumed with the fantastical feelings engulfing them to care about anything else.

After several minutes, Henry hums in his throat before mumbling against the raven's lips, "Caleb." The dark-haired boy pouts as their kiss is broken, his lips chasing after the prince's in search of more. A chuckle escapes Henry, and he says, "Caleb, if we do not slow down, things may escalate into something we are not yet ready for."

Slowly, the raven blinks his eyes open, locking eyes with his prince. As his lust begins to ebb away and Henry's words start to make sense in his clouded mind, Caleb's cheeks tint a light shade of pink. Utterly embarrassed, he buries his face into Henry's shoulder. His reaction causes the prince to laugh again, his hand comfortingly rubbing Caleb's back as he hides himself from view; Henry cannot help but think that his raven is the most adorable thing he has ever seen.