_Long time no see
Prince Cargan
~~
He woke up to Emelda beside him. The smell of lovemaking stung the air hard.
That energetic woman, she had him all through the night and seemed to not get enough still.
Of all his wives, there were some certain ones amongst them whom he had known whenever it was their slot to have him, they would drain him until his soul was tired.
Emelda was a part of that group. He feared her agility in lovemaking and how professional she was about it.
The likes of Fiana could only initiate lovemaking but they got tired just after two or three rounds.
It was such kind of group he liked not the group Emelda belonged to amongst his wives.
Not that he had no energy to handle them. That wasn't it, with such a body and his body cultivation being at the world-defying saint body level, he could go on and on making love to hundreds of women without getting tired.
What was tired was his soul.
This cure— if there was ever one, they needed to find it quickly.
He had promised himself he would sacrifice his own cure and give it to Fionn if the cure couldn't cure them all. Fionn deserved to be cured first. Among them all, he suffers the most.
But if the cure could cure them all– which he prayed should, then it would be satisfying to see them all rid of the curses that had made living a hell game for them.
He had a plan B though. He believed there was no cure because if there was one, through their nine hundred years of living, they would have found it.
His plan B was to look for the only object that could end their immortal lives and take his own life. It would be fun to cheat the heavens in its own game.
He did not want to disturb the sleep of the woman so, he silently got out of the bed and walk out the door.
He would have his bath in the bathroom in his study.
"Good morning your eminence." Celio curtsied as he stepped out.
He was only in his pants and was shirtless. He knew Celio wouldn't like that.
It was what made him set a smile on his face as he returned Celio's greeting. "Morning to you Celio. Did you have enough sleep?"
"Yes, your eminence. I did." the latter replied.
He was tired of reminding his friend to address him informally when they were alone so, he let Celio have his way.
"Your bath is ready in the study your eminence," Celio informed him from behind.
Abruptly, Cargan halted. "How did you know I would have my bath there?" he asked.
Although he already knew the answer. He just wanted to ask still. There was some kind of pleasure he feels whenever Celio answers him anytime he asked irrelevant questions.
"I figured you wouldn't want to disturb high house mother Emelda's sleep so I did the calculation. You always read a book every morning so, the study would be your destination." Celio answered.
This same question, he had asked Celio yesterday, the day before, and the day before that.
He asked every morning as a habit and Celio would obediently provide answers without question.
"What are the updates with the workout race?" He asked, he wanted to know.
Celio answered, gazing at his watch. "They should be about to commence the race now. You will watch the tape in the evening, your eminence."
Cargan only nodded. There was no going against Celio's words.
If Celio said he was watching the tape twenty years later, then he would.
.
He was in his study now and had draped himself naked after removing his pants. Celio was present but the young man would do anything but look at him in his naked state.
As always, his bath was already prepared with the herbal bathing leaves such as lavender and the like.
His white wine was sitting on a stand in front of the tub too.
As he enjoyed his bath like a woman, he sipped his wine too.
Soon, he was out of the bath and his clothes were already laid on the study desk.
Celio came over to help him get dressed and just as he was about to sit and dive into the newest book on the shelf, the study door burst open.
Who the hell had such guts?
Barge in without knocking or a prior notice?
Who in the world could even walk into his study without fixing an appointment with him?
The figure that entered in shabby clothes was Fionn.
"Brother" he smiled, sliding off the cap on his head.
If there was a better word for surprise, the way he felt now should be named after it.
Fionn was sick and he wasn't expecting him to walk about like this. Not come to his high house, not before their brotherhood meeting which would take place in two weeks and some days to now.
"Your eminence." Celio bowed to acknowledge his brother whom the both of them had not seen in months.
As always, with his usual youthful demeanor, "What's up Celio?" his brother had casually said.
Something non-expectant of a prince. Not from the god of ice.
More reasons why his heart bleeds for Fionn. Among them all, he was the plainest yet he suffered the most.
"Cargan. When does your body want to grow? You look the same as the last time I saw you." Fionn removed his hands from the pocket of his coat and outstretched it to receive Cargan in his arms.