A/N: Hi. Chapter two for you. It feels a little pointless to me, but whatever. The story will probably get better next chapter or the one after that.

Trigger warning: *spoiler alert* The King of Adarlan hits Dorian. It's not too bad, but I just thought I'd say so.

Chapter Two: Consequences

Dorian walked with his guards as slowly as he could manage without it being blatantly obvious what he was doing. That afternoon had been some of the most fun that he'd had in a very long time. It had been amazing hanging out with Chaol in the library without having to constantly be mindful of what he said due constantly being watched. Unfortunately, now he knew he'd pay for his actions, and he really wasn't looking forward to it.

"Can we hurry up, Your Highness? His Majesty is waiting," one of his guards spoke.

Dorian groaned. "My foot hurts," he lied. It wasn't a very good one, but it was all he could come up with on the spot.

"We can have that looked at afterwards," the guard told him. "but right now we need to get going."

"I can't go any faster," Dorian complained as the men around him began to pick up their pace.

The one that had spoken sighed. Dorian knew he should probably know all of their names; let's just say it was one of the many things he was working on. "Alright, Your Highness."

Dorian had tried to get his guards to not call him things like that, but no matter what he tried, they always refused. In the end, he'd given up and decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

When they finally began to approach the throne room, Dorian's heart rate began to accelerate. He'd never done anything that was this blatantly bad. Up until this point, he'd liked to think of himself as a good kid. Maybe not anymore, though.

He realized in that moment just how angry his father was going to be. He'd assumed his father would be upset, but he hadn't really thought about it that much. What ever happened though, he'd get through it. His father couldn't do anything horrendous, could he? He began to break out into a cold sweat. Yeah. He was a bit of an anxious child.

The doors swung open and Dorian marched in, head held high, determined not to show his worry. It was going to be fine.

Queen Georgina was not in the room—only the king was there.

"Dorian. I've been told that you've had an… eventful day. Care to explain it to me?" The king had his lips pursed and seemed to be more than a little angry. The average person wouldn't have been able to tell, but Dorian understood what that chillingly calm voice meant.

"I'm sorry, father," Dorian whimpered. "I really am!"

"Why, might I ask, did you do something like this? Go and escape your guards, who are only there for your benefit? Do you think yourself so high and mighty that you do not need such things?"

"No, no, not at all!"

"Did you simply want to rebel? Make me angry?" The king continued his questioning.

"That's not—Okay, look. All I wanted was a few hours where I didn't constantly have someone watching me. I hate feeling like I can't be me. I really am sorry." Dorian knew that his tone was getting dangerously close to something his father wouldn't like.

"No, I'm sorry. I completely understand. And so do all of the criminals out there, of course! They're just going to take a break because you wanted one."

Dorian flinched.

"Listen to me young man. I know where this is headed. You've had a taste of rebellion, and you'll want more, but mark my words—it is not even a little bit flattering. If you disobey me again, you'll seriously question why you did so afterwards. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Lord Dictator," Dorian rolled his eyes. He immediately regretted his decision to say this.

The king stood from his throne, raised his hand and slapped Dorian across the face, and hard at that. Dorian stumbled backward, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Do not disrespect me. You will call me father, Your Majesty, or king, because whether you are my child or not, I am still your ruler and you will act like it. Now get out of my sight and get these thoughts of disorder and upheaval out of your head. Next time I see you, I expect you to be back to your usual, compliant self."

Dorian nodded quickly. "Yes. Okay. Your Majesty," he added belatedly. He did his best to hide his face where tears threatened to start flowing.

After he left the room, the guard who had spoken before glanced around. "I'm really not supposed to say anything like this, but I think he overreacted. Is that why you were trying to put off going in there? Sorry… I didn't know about these things. I'm new."

Dorian sniffled a little. He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I know you're new. I was worried about his reaction, but I didn't actually think it'd be that bad. I mean, I've got anxiety and I'm a bit of a pessimist, but I honestly didn't think he'd be that upset."

"Well, that's fathers for ya," an older guard said. "They see you starting to tow your way out of line, and they think, 'Well, this is it. It's the end of the good behavior.' Just show him you're still a good kid and he'll be fine."

Dorian nodded distractedly. He wasn't sure he wanted to be good. He'd had a lot of fun being bad, but he didn't want another reaction like that. Maybe if he was a little sneakier next time…. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he arrived at his room in a lone tower far from other life.

Chaol was sitting next to his father, who was lecturing him about what he'd done. On and on the man droned.

"You must have known the prince wasn't supposed to be without his guards! Do you realize how much trouble you could be in with the king? How much trouble you may have caused me? I could lose my position here! You were completely irresponsible, and that is unacceptable!""

"I know, father. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"No, it most certainly won't! Especially since you won't be spending time with the prince anymore."

"What?" Chaol was shocked. It hadn't been that awful. He'd done worse.

"That's right! You could have cost me my job, so you don't get to see him or go without your guards ever again!"

"But father, I promise that I'll be good! I swear! Please, I don't care about the guards, but you've gotta let me be friends with Dorian! He's the only person I've met in this castle who's worth talking to."

"That's Prince Dorian," the Lord of Anielle corrected, though he made no move to address Chaol's request.

"Please," Chaol's voice broke as he begged his father. He wasn't quite sure why he was getting so upset. It was just one person. One boy. But it was a boy that over the last week and a half, he'd really grown quite fond of.

The lord's gaze softened ever so slightly. He grimaced. "Oh, alright," he sighed. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this. You can stay friends with him," the Lord of Anielle said defeatedly. "But consider yourself warned!" He quickly added. "And no more wandering around without your guards!"

Chaol nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He cried, before skipping off back to the library.

He knew Dorian would be long gone, but he did sort of want to do a little reading. He'd never been big on it, but Dorian seemed to be, so it couldn't hurt to try, could it?

When Chaol sat down, he noticed a young girl sitting near him. He'd never seen her before. She didn't look to be anyone special, but he knew that looks could be deceiving. He decided to get up and talk to her, as he was feeling a little lonely at the moment. He wanted to start making more real friends like Dorian. Now that he had one, he wanted more.

"Hi! I'm Chaol," he said, introducing himself.

She looked up, as though slightly confused as to why he was speaking to her. "Okay," she said in a distant voice. She had lovely brown eyes and dirty blonde hair.

He frowned at her. "And who might you be?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

"Does it matter?" she asked. "I'm reading, which is what I want to be doing, rather than talking to you."

He was surprised by her straightforwardness.

"Yeah…. Okay. But can I know your name?"

She shrugged. "Okay," she responded, turning back to her book and continuing to ignore him.

He went back to his original seat feeling a little bit discouraged and honestly sort of hurt. Maybe he really wasn't meant to have friends. Or maybe she was just mean.

He grabbed a book resting near his table and started to read it angrily without even checking to see what it was. He couldn't wait to see Dorian again. Someone who would actually care.

Chapter Release Date: September 30, 2017

A/N: Sorry if this seemed a little dramatic. I tried to write it the way an eleven-year-old or eight-year-old might think about these things. Also, the girl will come to be important in chapter… I don't know. I'm too lazy to check my story plan. I'm pretty sure it's around chapter twenty. Anyway… goodnight. Or good morning. Or good afternoon. Or whatever. Bye.