Here's the next chapter! I own nothin', enjoy
Sebastian would have laughed at how easy Alec was, if it weren't that the existence of trusting fools made Sebastian nauseous. The prince had invited Sebastian into his palace, and in doing so signed his own death warrant. Sebastian almost felt bad.
But he didn't.
Alec had been leading Sebastian over a field and through a small wood to get to his palace, and Sebastian's feet started aching. Alec really had been an idiotic nine year old to walk this hellish route to see me nearly four times a week.
The forest opened up to a clearing at the point when Sebastian was wondering if Alec was actually luring Sebastian into a forest to kill him. The sun had half-dipped behind the mountains in the distance and bathed the land in a soft pink light. The clearing was a green hill that sloped gently up and was split into two halves by a stone road leading to the palace. A garden blooming with cheerful flowers lined the road and led to a giant, opened arched doorway. Guards were in their respective places all around the palace, and a horse stable was far behind the palace in the distance.
Sebastian was jealous. His palace was dingy and dark. It was closed off and heavily guarded, nothing like the cheery, friendly look of the Lightwood Palace.
Alec must have taken Sebastian's angry silence for awe, because he said softly, "Don't think the open doors are a welcome for all visitors. My family holds Rome in high regard; I grew up learning their language and history. The way we use the doors is in honor of the Temple of Janus: closed in times of peace, open in times of war. The King is dead, so the doors are open."
Sebastian nodded and tried to look comforting, because of Alec's mention of King Robert. Sebastian knew that no matter how composed Alec was acting, he was hurting inside. The more Sebastian helped him through the pain, the faster he would win over Alec's trust.
"Will the guards stop me?" Sebastian mentally applauded the nervous shake in his own voice. His acting was superb. Alec placed a comforting hand on Sebastian's shoulder, and Sebastian leaned into his touch.
"Don't worry, you're with me. They won't question anything if I don't want them to. You'll be fine." Sebastian sent him a grateful look, and Alec led him inside.
The first person Sebastian saw when he walked into the grand palace's entrance hall was Hodge Starkweather. The man jumped when he saw Sebastian and his glasses nearly fell to the ground. In a quick movement, Hodge fixed them and regained his composure. Sebastian sent him a depreciating look.
Alec saw Hodge fumble, but didn't think much of it apparently. "Sorry about him, Seb, he's a basket case. We try to ignore him, most of the time. Hodge, this is Sebastian. Sebastian, this is Hodge. Sebastian is going to be staying here," Alec said. His tone implied no argument, and he got none.
"Is that your heir, Your Highness?" Hodge asked Alec, like it was the most reasonable explanation for Seb's appearance.
That's not what I was expecting, Sebastian thought, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He knew his mother wanted to to gain control of the Lightwood Kingdom to restart trade with the Morgensterns, but he had not expected the power to just fall into his lap.
"No, Hodge. I haven't found one yet."
So much for that.
"That's a shame, Alexander," Hodge sighed. He shook his head slowly and then moved on. "I'll be speaking with the council tonight personally to discuss who they see fit as an heir. I hope we will be about to assist your decision."
Alec nodded and said, "Thank you, I appreciate all the help I can get." Hodge nodded and turned away, apparently considering himself dismissed. Alec took Sebastian by the hand and led him away from Hodge and down a hallway lit by crystal chandeliers and up a spiraling staircase. "I have two choices for you. You can have your own bedroom, if you want? We have forty-eight guest bedrooms, so you have a good variety of choices to take your pick from." Alec smiled, and Sebastian could see the affection in his eyes as clear as day. Sebastian smiled back and bumped Alec's shoulder, more so that he could inch closer to the prince then to be chummy.
"What's my other choice?" Sebastian asked. Alec's face gradually got more red, until he was looking and moving away from Sebastian. "Hey, none of that, come back." Sebastian pulled Alec closer and swung his arm over Alec's shoulders.
"You could stay in my room," Alec muttered. Sebastian's delighted grin made Alec perk up a bit, and suddenly the boy jabbed Seb in the ribs playfully. "Quite teasing. I know you're about to make fun of my blush."
"But it's cute." Sebastian pouted and pinched Alec's cheek lightly, earning himself a nice shove. Sebastian stumbled a few places away, but was right back at Alec's side in no time. "I want the second option. We can talk for hours and hold hands like we used to." This also got a blush out of Alec, and Seb was getting unreasonable joy from teasing the prince.
Alec's blush disappeared when they stopped at a door and Alec led them in. "This is our bedroom then, so make yourself comfortable."
"I don't want to go to bed yet," Sebastian whined, letting his head fall to Alec's shoulder. He knew he was laying his affection on thick, and flirting was not in his original plan, but Alec was hot. Sebastian figured if he was going to be here for a while, he might as well get something out of it.
"We could take a walk, if you want," Alec suggested. "If you are going to be staying here, you should know your way around the palace grounds."
Sebastian perked up and shooed Alec out of the doorway and back into the hall. "That sounds lovely," he said, smiling softly at Alec. Alec shrugged and closed his door.
Once they were outside, behind the palace, the sun had vanished from the sky and crickets had begun chirping in the bushes nearby. Sebastian took Alec's hand and they walked through the gardens in silence. Alec led Sebastian to the grand fountain in the center of the garden and they sat on the edge. Seb wrapped an arm around Alec's waist and they both looked up at the back side of the palace.
"It's very pretty," Sebastian said, admiring the cinnamon-brown stone walls that seemed to touch the sky, and the two towers raised on either side of the palace. Alec's bedroom was in one.
"I know it is. Over there in the left tower is the greenhouse. It's my favorite place in the whole palace, even though I have allergies. There is a little porch you can see everything from," Alec said, sounding sort of wistful. Sebastian nudged closer to the prince; he figured he was thinking about his father. "My dad and I used to go out there when I was really little, before Max died and he didn't ignore me. He would let me sit on the porch railing while he showed me the land all the way out to the mountains. He would tell me about how I was going to rule the whole thing someday."
"He sounds like a great man," Sebastian said, despite all of the horrible things said about King Robert Lightwood back at home.
Alec chuckled, and it sounded like it hurt. "Oh, he was a great man. He never got the hang of being a good one, though. Still, he had his moments."
Sebastian didn't try and get any more out of Alec. He didn't know what King Lightwood had done to make even his son agreed that he was not a good person, and he was not going to pressure Alec into talking about it.
Once they were back in Alec's room, Alec was asleep in moments. Sebastian took the time to take off his own shirt and tuck Alec under the blankets. Before climbing in beside the other prince, Seb made sure to hide his dagger between the two mattresses of the bed.