Moonlight and Memory

By: Keph

Note: Takes place after my other story "The Night Has Pleasant Times" Enjoy

It was day, but the moon was still in the sky. It was dim and watery, like a reflection of itself, a shadow.

Phelios was staring at the moon that morning. He couldn't take his eyes from it.

His hand absently reached up and brushed his mouth.

Could it have been true?

Last night, was it true that Duzell the Vampire King has sat beside him, spoke of life and love (for what is one without the other?), spoke of moonlight, laughed and leaned the distance between them...

"Prince Phelios?" Phelios started, swung his head and blushed. He had forgotten that his uncle was there. In truth, for a moment he had forgotten they were in the safety of the castle's throne-room and not on a moonlit field. "Prince? Are you alright? I called your name several times...did you not hear me? And your face...Do you have a fever?" The old man brought a dry palm to the prince's forehead, but the boy was laughing now. The old man didn't quite like that laugh.

"I'm fine, Anon. I assure you." Phelios took the old man's hand in his own. "See? Fit as a fiddle."
The old man sighed. The prince has hiding something, but he would tell him when the time was right. He always had. There were no secrets between them...not that that was necessarily a matter of honesty outright. Phelios tried to lie to him a few times and those times Anon tried not to laugh at the look of pure concentration on the boy's face as he struggled to keep his fibs straight. "Good." Anon said. "Princess Anne is waiting for you in the garden. She asked after your morning audiences you see her."

"The princess...?" Phelios said and his cheeks flared bright red.

"Phelios...you realize you're as red as a tomato?"

"No. No I'm not."

"Phelios..."

The prince touched his cheek and looked away. His voice came, nervous with laughter, "Maybe a watermelon. The insides that is..."

Anon's eye narrowed. "You sure you're alright, prince? You were out rather late last night."

"Was I?"

"And the servants said when you returned you seemed rathered frazzled and distant."

"That can't be right." The prince said, peering away towards the only window in the throne room. The old man had a feeling he was staring at something, but all Anon could see was a pale and fading moon.

"Phelios?"

"Uncle..." Phelios said, shaking his head. Something moved behind his eye and the old man had a bad feeling about it. Phelios was about to lie, but for some reason, this seemed an important moment, one that the old man knew that he would regret later. He had to say something, but what was there to say? Apparently what the prince had done the night before had him rattled, but what...? "I am fine. I assure you. Now. Who is my first appointment? Let's get this done. My future wife it waiting for me, I don't want the flowers to be jealous of her too long."
"The flowers...?" Anon suddenly laughed and when next he looked the prince in the eye, it no longer seemed so important to ask his nephew, his marvoulous, poetic, foolish nephew anything. Things were going so well in the kingdom and Phelios and Anne's marriage would only cement it. Nothing bad could happen. "Let me get my list, Prince. We'll get started right away."

"Of course." Phelios said, smiling, but although he was trying to imagine Anne, sweet, dear Anne among the roses, all that came to mind was cold moonlight and a man who was not a man at all. "Duzzell..." Phelios whispered, too soft for his uncle to hear, but the man who had just entered that throne room heard and the smile that grew on his lips was long and sharp.