Lust and Propriety - 15. The Unwelcome Dignitary

The Head of Cha Borolan knew that it would be quite easy to manipulate a young, impressionable Unicorn prince to choose a mate that would benefit both kingdoms. The king himself was quite handsome. He knew how to soften his seductiveness until he was able to get what he wanted. Rathburn had managed it before with a certain set of violet twins. The prospect of a new plaything pleased him. If the Perazan Prince distracted him from his endless longing for Victor, then the yellow-eyed king would even reward him.

While the peach-haired Elder searched for his sire, Rathburn ran a hand through his long, olive-hued locks and trimmed beard. His healthy, shiny hair was always admired. He couldn't remember the last time he had to use his looks in such a manner. It had taken him years to win the previous Cha Borolan King to his side. As one of the few royals without an heir, he had been ideal. Gradually poisoning him to death took more patience than Rathburn thought he had.

Doing away with the Perazan Prince's parents, however, was much simpler. He had hired the Perazan King's brother to do away with his older sibling and spouse. The sly Unicorn Duke had even made it appear like an accident! With Cha Borolan in his hands, Rathburn only needed to claim the young Perazan Prince for himself.

On the rare chance that Winter did not find him amenable, he'd simply take the land of Peraza by force.

"My apologies for taking so long."

Rathburn's attention turned towards the pale prince as he walked into the living room with some red-headed attendant. He stood up and gave a bow. "That is quite alright, lovely prince," the yellow-eyed Unicorn responded. "You are worth the wait."

Hazeth barely managed to hold back a snort. Worth the wait? Yet, Rath-butt hadn't wasted any time to stake his claim over Prince Winter. The redhead reached out to drape his arm over Winter's shoulder as he sent the olive-haired king a smirk.

"What brings you to Peraza?" The gold-eyed Nightmare questioned. "Could it be that you've heard the announcement so soon?"

"Announcement?" Rathburn replied dryly, his yellow eyes narrowing as he studied Hazeth. "What announcement?"

"Prince Winter and I are officially mates," Hazeth explained as he motioned towards the snowflake crest below his own belly button. "We'll be holding a huge reception soon and we're planning on inviting everyone, yourself included."

Rathburn shot a glance at the blushing prince and frowned. His mind began to race. He had prepared to use force if Prince Winter had rejected him. but, he hadn't expected the little fool to have mated someone before he even arrived. No, it didn't matter that another person was now involved. Peraza would be his.

"Is that so?" Rathburn asked aloud. When the prince merely nodded with a reddened face, he made a quick hand motion to the two soldiers at the entrance of the living room. "Might I know how long you've been seeing each other?"

"It's only been a couple of weeks," Hazeth lied. "But, we knew from day one that we belonged together."

"Goodness!"

Elder Mason's exclamation drew Winter and Hazeth's attention. Two rows of soldiers marched right into the living room. The golden-eyed Nightmare immediately stood in front of Winter.

"Weapons in the living room?" Hazeth scoffed. "Such awful manners."

"This is not what a welcomed dignitary would do!" Prince Winter added.

"That's just it," Rathburn responded. "I feel quite unwelcome." He motioned the soldiers into action.

"My Prince!" Elder Mason cried out as he used his magic to force five of the soldiers closest to Winter aside. He was able to take another handful of soldiers down in a similar manner before he was restrained with chains that suppressed power.

Hazeth was able to take seven soldiers down with physical attacks before one of them managed to rush towards Winter with a club. "Win!" He yelled as he shoved the prince aside, taking the blow on the back of his head.

"ZETH!"

:::::

Hazeth gasped when he next opened his eyes. He had the most wondrous dream that the lovely Prince Winter had called out to him with an intimate nickname. But, as he began to move around, he realized that his head was on Winter's lap and that the stormy-eyed prince's hands were brushing aside the Nightmare's red hair. He shifted onto a sitting position and noted that the two of them were on the prince's bed.

"What happened?" Hazeth groaned as he rubbed his head. "How are we not dead? My head hurts too much for us to be dead..."

"Rathburn's locked us in here," Winter explained. "He wants to force us both to mate with him before killing us, to legitimize his claim over my kingdom."

"That creep's insane," Hazeth grumbled. "Besides, who would believe that both his lovers just suddenly died?"

"I don't think he'd care about speculative whispers concerning our convenient passing." Winter sighed softly. "Are you alright? My healing magic is weak but I was able to stop the bleeding." The prince took a shuddering breath. "You were so still."

The Nightmare took hold of both the prince's hands, lifting one of them to the side of his own face. "Hey, I'm ok. I'm still a little tender, but your magic did plenty," He insisted. "My magic is useless in a fight. But, with enough time to cast it…"

The redhead urged Winter onto his feet, not letting go of his hands, as he glanced about the room. "We're on the second floor…" He glanced down. "What room is directly below us?"

Winter frowned then replied, "A sitting room, I believe. Why do you ask?"

Hazeth thought for a moment before changing their spot on the floor. He then gently tugged Winter into a protective hug.

"Now," the Montcroix warned. "I'm going to need you to trust me and do your best to avoid screaming…"

"Screaming?" Winter asked, looking offended. "I can assure you, I won't be screaming. It seems more likely that I'll make you scream, loudly…wait, that came out all wrong. What I meant was-"

The redhead then allowed his power to radiate and encase them both. Their bodies became transparent as they steadily sank through the floor and hovered down onto their feet in the sitting room below.

Winter didn't scream. He squeaked and clung to Hazeth like a monkey holding a tree during an earthquake.

Hazeth kept a tight hold on Winter when he heard the sound of footsteps. He held onto their transparent forms as two of Rathburn's soldiers walked past the living room. He urged the prince beside him to duck down behind the couch before releasing the transparency spell.

"I can only cast that spell a few times, and not for very long," Hazeth whispered. "So, we have to choose wisely. I suggest we escape to Zirao Zion for some reinforcements."

"The children!" Winter hissed in response, his thoughts immediately of the most vulnerable subjects in the castle.

The red-head gave a sharp nod before casting the spell once more over them both. He kept Winter's hand in a tight grasp as the two of them dashed down the hallway towards the wing where the orphans slept. Four soldiers stood guard up and down the hallway, but once the royals walked through the door of the first room, they found the bunk beds undisturbed.

"Now for the hard part…" Hazeth murmured. "Getting these munchkins to keep quiet and link hands until we're in the woods."

"I know who to get first," Winter told him, rushing towards little Magda and whispering her awake. He spoke to the younger Unicorn in hushed tones, then left her to return to Hazeth as the child scurried to each of the others and spoke to them softly.

Hazeth and Winter helped the younger children into boots and coats. The older kids did the same. All were silent except for their small feet tiptoeing around the room. In no time, all the children were lined up before them. They looked frightened but no one cried. They stood bravely, absolute trust in their eyes that Winter and Hazeth would save them all.

"I've never cloaked so many people before. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it in place. But, as long as we keep some kind of contact like holding hands, we should be fine," Hazeth stated quietly.

He lifted Gregory with one arm and held the hand of another child with the other. Winter held the rainbow-haired Magda in one arm and the hand of the last child in the line. The Nightmare gave a firm nod.

"Follow me. Remember to keep as quiet as possible and make sure not to let go of each other's hands," the redhead insisted.

Hazeth had expected the initial gasp or two when the children followed him through the first wall. That was why he chose to start with an empty hallway. After that, the noise level was kept to a minimum.

The Montcroix royal even let out a sigh of relief when they managed to make it out of the final wall that led out to the snow. They only needed to get to the woods without being seen by the soldiers on patrol. Had Rathbutt brought his entire army?

Soldier after soldier marched past them in two rows. Though the sounds of their armor clanging and their and feet stomping were consistent, the Unicorn knights neither counted nor sang. Hazeth had been to many countries where soldiers kept their rhythm with chants. The men under King Rathburn were quite unenthusiastic. The redhead imagined that they performed their duty reluctantly every time.

A sharp throb in his head reminded him of their situation. As soon as the last few soldiers began to turn the corner, he ushered the entire group forward out into the snow and towards the nearest portal. He paused behind snow-covered bushes until everyone else caught up. A sudden sound alerted him to trouble.

Prince Winter had tripped, letting go of the chain. While Hazeth was able to hold the transparency spell through the group, the break meant that he couldn't conceal his future mate. Even worse, the child that was in his arms had fallen face down into the snow, and her rainbow hair was easy to spot from a distance.

"Win!" Hazeth hissed as he caught some movement from a few soldiers.

In a moment of desperation, Winter threw himself over Magda. The soldiers were a few yards away as they looked in their direction. The Perazan prince kept his hand firmly clasped around the little girl's as he held his breath.

"Could have sworn I heard something out there."

"Please, it was probably just some arctic fox. Let's get going. It's way too cold to keep still."

Tears brimmed in Winter's eyes as he quickly rushed back over to the group and linked hands once more. He felt in his heart that the spirit of his parents had a hand in helping save Magda in that moment. For, if they hadn't allowed his hair to grow so long, it wouldn't have been able to camouflage them.

Hazeth let out a sigh of relief and urged them all further away from the palace. A few minutes later, they finally reached the portal. The Nightmare finally let go of the concealment spell and placed Gregory back down onto his feet. The little boy immediately rushed towards Magda, clinging tightly to her form.

"I was so scared they'd catch you!" He whispered as he hugged her.

"I was scared, too, to never see you again," Magda responded.

Prince Winter smiled down at them. "Now then, have any of you ever crossed through a Portal before?" He asked. When the children shook their heads, he held his hand back out. "Then let's link hands one more time and walk through together, alright?"

The kids didn't hesitate to clasp hands once again. Magda elbowed Gregory on the side when his grip was far too tight on her hand. But, she conceded to thread their fingers together in a different hold, instead.

"Follow me," Hazeth insisted when he felt they were all ready. A soft breeze rolled over each of them as they walked through the portal, followed by a tickling of their noses. One of the children sneezed when she made it to the other side.

"Welcome to Zirao Zion," Hazeth proclaimed as he began to tug off his scarf. "We can take off our coats now. It's much warmer over here."

The redhead hadn't thought his statement through when, moments later, he was hauling over eight sets of coats of all sizes. But, he didn't even grumble about it. The entrance gate opened for them before they were so much as three feet away. Hazeth caught sight of several familiar faces along with several new faces.

"Allie, Fin, allow me to introduce my future mate Prince Winter Maestri of Peraza, and several of his youngest citizens," Hazeth greeted with flair.

"Future?" Magda questioned indignantly as she pointed at the redheaded adult. "But you two kissed! We all saw."

"Yes, what I meant is that there are still things to plan, like ceremonies and paperwork...you would like to participate in the wedding as a flower girl, wouldn't you?" Hazeth immediately appeased.

Magda made a show of thinking it through. "Alright, but I want a rainbow dress," she conceded. "And Gregory will walk with me!"

The little boy in question felt his heart beat pick up in his chest at the very thought. If anything bad happened while walking Magda down the aisle, it would surely count against him whenever the two of them married in the future. So much pressure!

The rainbow-haired girl gave Gregory a kiss on the cheek when she saw him beginning to pale. "Think of it like practice, Gogo. Just practice," she added.

"What's happened?" Alistair asked, urging the children toward the large stone home before relieving Hazeth of some of the child-sized coats weighing him down.

"Well, as we all suspected, Rathbutt- Rathburn...had his sight set on Peraza," Hazeth explained. "The slimy slut went and decided that he didn't care if Prince Winter already had a mate. He'd force us both into a mating and then kill us to get what he wanted."

The redhead frowned as he felt another throb of pain at his temple. "He damn near killed me before he got a chance to rape me," He added as he rubbed his tender head. "Though he had been aiming for Winter, I've a feeling he knew I'd jump in to block it. Man, I need a healer."

Winter was immediately by his side and fussing. "Maybe you should sit until a healer can see you." The prince stole the rest of the coats and shoved them into Alistair's arms. "You shouldn't be walking. I'm so sorry about all of this, you getting tied up in my mess." Winter worried his lower lip between perfect white teeth. "I'll have to carry you. We can't wait for the healer to come here." Winter turned away from Hazeth, pulling his long silver hair over his shoulder and out of the way. "I'm sure I can bear your weight."

Hazeth didn't hesitate to slide an arm over the fair prince's shoulders, relishing in the close contact. "Then, by all means," He responded. "King Fin, do you know of any?"

"Yes, follow me. Healer Nigel is an excellent all-around healer," Finian offered as he led the way. "And one of my closest friends. Al, love, why don't you take the children to the kitchen for Vilas to make them a snack?"

Alain peeked at the group from behind Alistair's legs. He hadn't seen so many kids close to his age before. At least, not at once. "My Uncle Vilas makes the yummiest snacks!" He admitted.

"Snacks!" The children whooped as though fleeing for their lives was inconsequential in the face of possible treats.

"You're safe here. Go on," Winter said when the kids looked at him for permission. "Behave, be respectful, say thank you, and wash your hands. Not necessarily in that order."

"Yes, Prince!"

"We will!"

"For snacks, I'd do anything."