Unexpected

[🍋 slight smut warning in the beginning]

When I opened the door to Cain's room I didn't really know what to expect. However, I didn't expect to see anything of this magnitude...

It was ... an orgy. There was no other way to describe it. Everywhere I saw naked male bodies caressing each other. In the middle of it was Cain. He alternately kissed two men in his bed while they masturbated him with their hands. He hadn't noticed me yet as he was too distracted in his lovemaking.

I stood there petrified. I didn't know what to say or do. I would have preferred to close the door in embarrassment, so that I would no longer hear these lewd noises. Or just to shut out the horrible feeling in my stomach this sight gave me. But Cain had called me here. I couldn't just walk away without being punished afterwards.

"Oh Chris! There you are. Welcome. Do you like it?" Cain asked me with a mischievous grin when he saw me. His eyes were deep red, telling me it wasn't really Cain who I was talking to.

"W-what?"

"Do you like my little present to you?"

"Present?" I was confused.

"Yes. I thought you might like doing it with multiple guys. After all, you just threw yourself around Leopold's neck, even though you knew you belonged to me." His words sounded dangerous.

I suddenly realized that Cain must have seen me outside with Leopold. That the shock of blond hair I saw in the window was his. I inevitably started shaking.

"Cain, it wasn't what it looked like, he-"

"Enough," he interrupted loudly, making me flinch, "I've had enough of your lies and intrigues."

"I-I didn't lie!" I said indignantly, my cheeks turned red with anger.

"Oh really? Then prove it to me by coming to me right now and letting me properly fuck you while the others watch." He said bluntly, leaving my mouth hanging open.

I couldn't stop the anger from boiling up inside me. I knew it wasn't Cain talking to me right now. Still, I got incredibly angry with him. I put up with his behavior a lot. But this went too far.

"No." I said with a shaking voice, tears of anger pooling in my eyes and blurring my vision. I clenched my hands into fists.

"What?" Cain asked, clearly provoked.

"I said no."

"No? Nobody says no to me, Chris."

"I do. You just heard it yourself. I will go now. And I won't be back until you let me talk to the real Cain."

"Oh, so you're really asking for it, huh? Do you like to play hard to get?"

"No, I prefer to play 'grown up'. This is going too far, Cain. I'm leaving now." I said as I turned to leave.

"Ah and you think running away is grown up or what?!" He yelled at me angrily, as I ran down the hallway hastily.

I just wanted to get away from here. I wiped the tears from my eyes with a quick movement and walked back to my room.

I just wanted to be alone.

…

It was only when I closed the door to my room and took a deep breath that I realized that I had rejected the prince himself. And that openly in front of his subjects. As if that wasn't bad enough, I had also released myself from his presence without his permission. I had disregarded several royal edicts of the court. And I treated him like he was my boyfriend. As if he were on the same level of the royal hierarchy as me.

"What have I done?" I whispered ruefully while ruffling my hair. I paced nervously up and down in my room and feverishly thought about how I could somehow still salvage my situation.

"You did your best...well...at least you tried." I suddenly heard Isaya's voice behind me and I tripped over my own feet in shock, landing on the floor with a painful thump.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She apologized halfheartedly.

"It would help if you didn't suddenly just appear behind me! You could have knocked like a normal person." I complained as I got up and brushed the dirt off my clothes.

"Nah, that would be boring." She just said with a small grin. I just rolled my eyes as an answer.

"What do you want here? Do you want to offer your condolences on my failure?" I asked dejectedly.

"No. I've realized that there's no point in saving Cain." She said dryly. For a brief moment I thought I misheard.

"What?"

"We won't be able to free Cain from the curse in time. It's over." The finality in her voice worried me.

"W-what do you mean?"

"The queen set a trap for me and I had to tell her she was going to give birth to a boy in less than a couple of weeks. She immediately sent me out of the room and had her guards called. Presumably the order has already been given to kill Prince Cain." She sighed.

When I didn't say anything, she continued: "Besides, Cain's alter ego is getting more and more out of control. I don't think you can save him anymore. All we've done is make him more or less obsessed with you. This is not good. You should get out of here as soon as possible, while you still can."

"So you mean I should flee?" I asked in disbelief.

Isaya just nodded slightly, "But escaping the palace is no easy feat. It takes a few days to prepare - if not a week. You should really spend this time preparing for your escape rather than trying to save Cain. You'll only get caught in the crossfire."

"Caught in the crossfire? So you mean that I..."

"… That you could most likely die? Yes, that is exactly what I mean. The queen knows that Cain has someone he cares about more than anyone right now. And of course she will shamelessly exploit this weakness of his. She doesn't care who gets hurt on her way to power."

"But...I have nowhere to go..." I confessed, honestly smitten.

It was the truth. I had nowhere to go. All I knew was this palace and this city. All my friends were here. And somehow… I didn't want to leave here either. This place started to feel like home, despite the initially unfamiliar surroundings. I didn't want to go. It felt wrong.

It felt wrong to let Cain down. To leave him to his horrible fate.

"What about the Prince of Ildrega? The one who left this evening? Didn't he say that you can always go back to him?" Isaya suggested, which made me cringe a little.

"Prince Leopold? No, I don't want to go to him, he's... wait a minute... were you overhearing us?!"

"Of course. As if I would miss the palace gossip at any point."

I sighed in annoyance.

"Anyways... Why should I go to him?! He's even crazier than Cain!" That wasn't really the truth, but I disliked Leopold much more than Cain. If I had a choice, I would always choose Cain...probably...

It wasn't that I hated Cain...no, not at all...

It was more like ... It was difficult to put into words…

Cain was cursed. That's why he was acting so strange sometimes. His cruelness had a magical source. But Leopold … Leopold was apparently always like that! I couldn't really imagine living with him.

"He seems to like you a lot. Maybe you can have a comfortable life with him." Isaya tried to convince me.

"That's nonsense! He dropped me at the first opportunity!"

"But only because he was afraid that Cain would do something bad to you if he found out that Leopold cares so much about you! Are you that dense or what?" The magician almost seemed to be angry. Despite this, her features remained calm. She seemed to control herself.

"I will not go to Leopold! Under no circumstances." I replied defiantly and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

Now Isaya's patience seemed to have snapped:

"And I will not let a friend of mine stay here and die! Not again… never again…" She said the last sentence very quietly. It left a queasy feeling in my stomach. She sighed again.

"Listen to me, Chris. You of all people should understand how horrible it is to lose someone. Or even die yourself! Would you like to experience all that again?"

"… No…"

It had been a horrible feeling that I didn't want to experience again. Dying itself was even less of an issue. But I knew what it felt like to lose a friend who was important to me. And I knew how bad I felt when I thought back to who would be grieving for me in my old life.

"It's not like I don't get it, Isaya." I mumbled.

"So you finally agree with me?"

I hung my head in discouragement, "…Yes."

"Good. Then I will prepare everything for your escape. It will probably take a few days. Meanwhile, just pretend everything is the same as always. I'll get back to you then. Pack up everything you need." She said and then vanished in smoke in front of me before I could change my mind.