Modern Prince

Chapter Seven: Jitters

Bright lights and the sounds of whirring machines assaulted the prince who blinked nervously at the two gloved hands in his mouth. 

"We're going to rinse out and dry this tooth before we put in the crown," the dental hygienist said, spraying water over the molar she was working on. "You're doing great, Hon."

"Dank you," Varian said, his hands gripping the edge of the chair while his eyebrows furrowed.

"I'll go grab the dentist then. Why don't you pick a show you want to watch in the meantime?" Handing him a remote that he took in both hands curiously, she left the room.

Hugo scooted his chair up right next to him. "You okay? You're looking kind of pale."

"Oh Hugo..." The prince looked over at him with big, sad eyes. "I have yet to have a tooth extracted but I have seen what happens to others who have had such a procedure. I am not ready for this. There is always so much blood and screaming—"

"Woah, hey. It's not getting extracted. It's just a crown and some fillings. They're artificial covers to protect the tooth from further decay. It may be uncomfortable but there won't be blood or screaming. I promise. You'll be just fine."

"Oh but, look at all those strange devices and tools. To think they will be in my mouth..." He placed his free hand over his heart and allowed his eyes to close for a moment.

"I'll be right here next to you. Why don't we choose a show, yeah? What have you been watching lately on your phone?"

He blinked in thought for a moment. "There is this movie depicting wartime in the Middle Ages as you call it, with very accurate battle scenes. It is fascinating to see a rendition of what war near my time period would look like." His hand subconsciously went to the remote then he looked down. "What is this contraption anyway?"

"It's for picking movies. I have one at home. We've just never gotten around to having a movie night. We really should..."

"I have only ever seen what the sorcerer named YouTube has shown me."

He chuckled. "It's just like that. What's this movie of yours called then?" Taking the remote from him, Hugo pointed it at the ceiling.

"Warcry or something of that sort. There is a screen on the ceiling?" A small smile crawled over his face as he gazed upward. "How did they manage that?"

"They mounted it, I think. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Cool. Yes, I rather like this modern word. It is quite cool."

He chuckled. "Found something called Warcry. This look right?" They both stared at the title cover.

"Yes! That is the one! Oh, show me how to skip through it to the scene I am at."

He pointed down to the arrows on the remote, grinning. "You know, you sound a lot like my grandpa when I'm helping him with tech."

"Are you suggesting I am elderly?"

"Well, you are five hundred years old..."

Varian shoved his arm, making him giggle.

"Alright, how are we doing today?" The prince jumped slightly as the female dentist approached. "Oh, didn't mean to scare you! I'll just have you lie back, and I'll get you some headphones, and we can get started!"

"Yes, I wish for this affair to be over with as soon as possible," he replied gravely, laying back while fast forwarding the movie.

"Found something you like then?" she asked sweetly, looking up. Her face fell slightly. Varian had stopped at a particularly grisly scene with a man's arm being sliced off and spraying blood onto the opposing man's face while similar gore happened in the background.