"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

I heard a faint mumbling while I lay in my bed, half asleep. I couldn't catch all of it, but I could tell it was the maids who were collecting my dirty clothes and replacing them with clean ones for the day.

"Poor thing...Prince...War..."

'What are they talking about? War? What about me and the war?' I thought, still feigning sleep as I rolled over. I couldn't help feeling that there was another warm body next to me, feeling it was just my imagination, I opened one eye and peeked. I saw black pajamas, then the sleeping face of raven haired man.

"WOAAAAH!" I yelled as I flailed and flew backwards, not realizing how far I was from the bedside I promptly fell on my butt. The maids could only giggle at the sight of me, making my already terrible morning attitude that much worse. "DO I AMUSE YOU?" I snapped, their giggling cut short as they shook their heads and turned on their heels, walking quickly from my room. I heard the groaning of the bed intruder as he awoke, rubbing his eyes and yawning before noticing I wasn't in sight.

"Prince...?" He mumbled.

"Down here"

He glanced over the side of the bed and looked down at me, smiling as I glared at him. "Sleeping on the floor isn't good for your back, you know." He laughed. That only made my irritation shoot through the roof.

"I'M ON THE FLOOR BECAUSE SOMEONE DECIDED TO SNEAK INTO MY BED LAST NIGHT!" I yelled, grabbing for a nearby book. I sighted one with a Maroon cover, then picked it up and threw it at him. He only caught it and smirked. "Violence does not suit you, Prince"

Upset from my failed attempt at hurting him, I could only pick myself up and dust myself off. "Well, two men at our age shouldn't be sleeping in bed together like that...it-it's weird" I felt the scowl on my face and quickly tried to soften it, glancing up at the younger man before me. His face now held a hurt expression, my chest tightened and all I could do was scurry from the room.

I stepped into the royal bath, ringing the bell on the side. Minutes later, a maid walked in and looked up at me. "I want my clothes to be in the dressing room by the time I'm finished bathing. Also, I expect breakfast to be ready. I received a mission from father to inspect the city today and I don't want to be late" I ordered before undressing and handing her the clothes that had hung on my body.

I sat in the bath, breathing in the steam and letting out a sigh. As I tied up my hair, I began to think about it's length. 'Maybe I should grow it out like fathers...' I thought to myself. 'Even though he only really wanted to keep it long since mom-' I cut my thoughts short, pushing it back to the farthest corner of my mind. "...Don't want to think about that right now" I said aloud as I stepped out.

After getting dressed, I walked into the dining hall to find my father sitting at the table eating. "Good morning, father" I said, walking over to the other end of the table where I ate. "Hiroki..." I heard my father call my name and looked up, his graying hair clearly visible. "You know...That my time will set soon as being king of Odecca...Well, you're fully aware you'll be king, correct?" I looked up from my food and nodded. "Well...Don't you think it's time for you to pick a bride already? I mean, I know we've been through this for years now, and why you've yet to pick a bride is quite puzzling. There are beautiful women in all of the other cities. I mean, the princess of Fanlane, the city of the snow, still wonders why she hasn't heard anything about marriage and you two have been on more dates than any of the others"

'I know the reason why' I thought, turning my gaze away from my fathers. I knew why I didn't want any of those princesses. "Well...I just haven't decided to get that far with her yet, that's all"

Before my father could ask any other questions, I stood up. "Uhm...Father, i'm going to go on that inspection of the city now" I said quickly. Stepping out of the room, I was ambushed by a pair of large hands wrapping around my chest. "Nowaki!" I was all too familiar with the sensation of him grabbing me like this, since he did it after every spy mission he had.

"Oh, how cold" he frowned. "I even rushed home last night to come see you..." I tried to shake free of his iron grip. 'Damn, this kid is strong' I thought, finally showing little resistance and letting him hug me all he wants. "Were you lonely?"

"Hell no! I'm perfectly fine without you!" I lied, pushing him off. I had to keep myself from wanting to say "yes" but I knew I wouldn't let myself lose to this brat. In the 14 years i'd cared for him, he had grown on me. Even though I wasn't supposed to get attatched, I could only find myself worrying about him more and more when he went down to Vody, even if his job was a spy.

"I'm going out..." I looked back at him. "Come if you want"

So, the 4th chapter is here! It will get much better, I promise. But, I thought of the idea for this story in the middle (So, I've got to build it up to where I started thinking of the story, so bear with me until then please!)

Thank you to Reficular, Jenny Blake, Shimaki-33 for subscribing! You're the ones keeping me going! Also, thanks to Shimaki-33 and Deedeeroki for adding this story to your favorites. You're great!

Next chapter: Nowaki: Discovery.