Abyssal (ManxMan)

Getting Ready

Marius barely stopped himself from reaching out a hand and ripping out his grandfather's servant's heart when he saw him approaching.

He knew even before the blond beauty opened his mouth exactly what he'd been sent to do. Or ask.

It seemed that his grandfather would not relent until he got to see the Astrian Prince.

"Good morning, sire. His excellency invites you and the-"

"No," he interjected.

The blond flinched. A drop of sweat dribbled down his face. He looked just about ready to flee.

Good.

After a moment's hesitation, the blond bowed and went away.

It happened again the next day.

Before Marius could open his mouth, he heard something shatter. Reluctantly, he glanced over his shoulder to see that the Astrian Prince had broken yet another drink glass. He was starting to regret showing the halfbreed how to move wine through the air and into a glass.

The tiny hairs on Kai's neck stood on edge all of a sudden.

He turned around to see both the King and that same blond servant staring at him.

He turned right back around and pretended not to have noticed. Maybe he'd work on his powers later.

Marius' pinned the servant with a withering look.

"I... I... will let his excellency know that you're not available today either." He whirled around, ready to bolt to the door.

Marius closed his eyes. "Wait." He was going to regret this, he was sure. But he also knew that his grandfather was not going to stop until he laid eyes on the half-breed. He understood the sentiment perfectly. Even Marius had been consumed by an otherworldly obsession and had wanted to lay eyes and hands on the Astrian Prince since the moment his grandfather told him about the Spirit of the Sea all those millenia ago. His grandfather had dangled the notion of peace -true, everlasting peace- in front of him when he was a young, headstrong prince in an empire ravaged by war, and he'd swallowed it like a starving fish. It had been his ray of hope.

The servant tentatively turned around. "Y-Yes, your Majesty?"

"Tell my grandfather to expect us tonight."

The servant looked downright relieved. "I will, your Majesty! Thank you, your Majesty!"

"Leave."

He was gone in an instant, running back to report to his master. Marius dreaded the night already. He'd held his grandfather -and the entire Palace for that matter-for as long as he could, but the Astrain Prince's presence in the Black Palace had all the nobility's unwavering attention. Like hawks, once his court got hold of a tidbit of gossip, they would not relent until they'd pecked it apart and devoured it whole. And this was no ordinary whiff of gossip they'd gotten a hold of.

In an effort to humiliate him into submission, he'd caged the half-breed in the yard. He never thought it would take this long to acquire the Spirit from him.

Marius turned to Kai. "Let go of that glass. The staff is complaining."

Kai sighed and tossed the all the way to the bed. It bounced off it and shattered across the marble floor.

A small frown marred his otherwise smooth forehead. "You said you were going to teach me." He was practically fuming, his mounting impatience evident. It was the human in him; generally, merfolk were a lot more patient.