~ Eighteen - Season I ~

“A woman?!” Benjamin asked in a sudden outburst.

“Keep it down, Benjamin!” I shushed him in a panic. I didn’t want the maids to turn our conversation into another source of gossip for them. I continued, “Yes, I met a woman in the Mortal Realm.”

He asked another, “And let me guess: you took a liking to this lady, didn’t you?”

All of a sudden, Gonzalo arrived. With him was a cart, containing the wine, and everything else that I asked for him to bring.

After a mountain of hesitation, I answered, “Well, I can’t say that I don’t.”

Gonzalo finally reached us and prepared everything for us.

“Is she a part of the upper class, working class or the lowest class of all?” Benjamin continued with his questions as our goblets were handed over to us.

“I cannot consider her as part of the lowest class of society. She does, however, work to support herself,” I said as Gonzalo half-filled my cup with wine. I could only drink this much because I never drank wine. Unless, of course, if it was for a special occasion.

“So, if I understand correctly, she is in between the working and lower class,” Benjamin replied as Gonzalo filled his to the brim.

Benjamin was a wine lover as he was given to drink as soon as he turned thirteen thousand years of age. As much as I would like to say that it was his advantage, I was thankful that I wasn’t allowed to drink until the right age of eighteen thousand years.

He then continued, “Well, brother, there is nothing wrong in loving someone. Age, race, or even their place in the hierarchy of society, none of those matter when it comes to the heart.”

As soon as Gonzalo left the room, I regained my composure and replied, “The problem in my situation is that I’m arranged to be married. And I’m uncertain if I should stop my feelings for this mortal or not.”

“That’s why I never agreed to a marriage arrangement,” he remarked as he took a sip of his wine. He explained, “I fought against my parents about that. When they saw that I couldn’t be persuaded, they eventually stopped harassing me with that.”

I took a piece of bread as I sighed. “Oh, how I wish I could do that with my parents,” I said as I ate the bread.

“I’m sure you’re allowed to do that, brother. You’re their son. You have the right to speak your mind,” Benjamin answered.

“If there is one thing that you should know, Benjamin, is that my parents are the total opposite of yours. I can come to an agreement with my mother. But, with James,” I stared at the bread and shook my head, “There is no chance for me to have that conversation with him.” I took a bite once more.

“Who is James?” Benjamin asked, confused.

Oh, I forgot! He didn’t know that I was told to call James by his name. But, haven’t I already mentioned this to Benjamin?

“My father, rather,” I corrected myself as I reached for another piece of bread.

“Wait,” Benjamin put his hand on top of mine, my fingers barely touching the pastry. We looked directly at each other as he asked, “Did you just call your father by his name?”

I nodded as I proceeded to get another piece from the bread.

“Why do you call him that way?! Are you out of your mind?!” he asked, confused and close to irritated.

“Brother, it wasn’t my decision to do so,” I protested. I continued, “He was the one who told us to address him as such. He demanded it from me and Elizabeth.”

“And you didn’t even oppose that decree of his?!” Benjamin asked another, still hysterical.

“I can’t handle an argument with him, Benjamin. You know, fully well, that our relationship hasn’t been on the best terms,” I said. “My relationship with James was never fully-built with a proper foundation, to begin with. We make a great team in terms of creating chaos. However, when it comes to getting along, there’s no hope in it,” I continued as I sighed after. I finished my wine and poured more, only filling my goblet again by half. I took a sip and added, “He was never a father to us in the first place. To call him by the word ‘father’ is unnecessary at this point.”

Benjamin sighed as he slowly shook his head, staring down at his cup of wine. “Dear brother,” he leaned back towards me, his voice in a more serious tone, “You and Uncle James were the best of friends when we were children. You used to go on fishing trips together when he wasn’t occupied with his duties. Anything that means ‘outdoors’, you two instantly connect.”

My brows furrowed. “I don’t remember anything like that. How come you have that sort of memory?” I asked.

“In my opinion, brother, I think the best thing to do is to fix your relationship with Uncle James,” he replied. He continued, “You may not remember much about your childhood. But, trust me when I say that your father loves you more than you know.”

I sighed. “I will try, brother.”

“I know you will,” Benjamin smiled a comforted smile.

Benjamin has always been there for me. He was my continuous support, ever since we were little. Even though our duties did not permit us to see each other all the time, he never failed to check on me through his mother and mine. Truly, a brother to me.

With one final sip and gulp of his wine, Benjamin said, “Now that my wine is finished, it’s time for me to head home.”

I nodded as I drank all of mine as well. “I’ll walk you to the stables,” I said as I stood from my chair.

“Aren’t you going to summon Gonzalo to clean everything before we head out?” he asked as he stood up as well.

“I have a dumb-waiter here that’s connected to the kitchen,” I explained as I pointed to the small opening by my bed. “I’ll clean everything myself once I return here.”

“If you say so,” Benjamin chuckled. He remarked, “I should have one of those built into my room and study. I’m very lazy when it comes to cleaning up.”

We shared a brief laugh and headed to the stables.

~*~*~*~

“Thank you very much for your short visit, Benjamin,” I said as he prepared his horse for the trip.

He turned around and put a hand on my shoulder. “It is my pleasure, dear brother. In fact,” he turned back to his horse and continued, “I should be the one to thank you.”

“Why?” I asked as I moved to the other side of his horse, baffled.

“You don’t know how bored I am at home. My mouth will dry soon enough without anybody to talk to,” he complained.

I snickered at his exaggeration. “You have Helga and Helen to keep you company. Don’t you talk with them?” I asked.

Helga and Helen were Benjamin’s older twin sisters. They were a bit, for a lack of a better term, humongous and annoying. Elizabeth and I got along with them quite well. However, I never truly spent time with them. As for my sister, she preferred to stay by Mother’s side whenever we visited Eastern Sun.

“I prefer to lock myself inside my study than to speak with them,” he groaned as he locked his horse’s saddle in place. He looked up to face me and continued, “All they want to talk about are lavish parties, dresses, and obsess about what the Winroe brothers do every day!”

My head tilted slightly. “The Winroe brothers?” I asked as I tried to recollect who they were. The name sounded familiar.

“They are the twins that my sisters met when we visited the Northern Skies,” Benjamin said as he did a final check around his horse. He explained, “They befriended someone from that kingdom. And whoever that is, that person sends daily reports to my sisters about the Winroe brothers. My sisters have even done methods to keep the maids away from the two princes.”

“It looks like your sisters have found husbands for themselves,” I snickered as I let a joke slip.

“And I’m the one who is suffering with what they’re doing,” he replied as he briefly pointed at himself. “They bother me on a daily basis, asking me to befriend the boys.”

“Have you given it a try? The princes can be great people to talk to,” I suggested.

“I don’t want to befriend those twin princes!” he protested, clearly frustrated.

My brows furrowed. “What’s wrong with befriending people? That’s your forte,” I asked, baffled as to why Benjamin didn’t like that idea.

“It’s because of their language and accent! It’s hard to understand them with that thick accent of theirs,” he replied.

“You lost me there quite a bit, Benjamin,” I said, clearly expressing my confusion.

From my perspective, I didn’t see anything wrong with befriending the twins he mentioned. Even though I preferred to live as a recluse, I was open to making new friends. Growing as a royal, I was confined to a specific circle here in our kingdom. To be able to connect to people outside our kingdom would always be a relief.

He continued, “I don’t speak their native language! I overheard them fighting once when we last visited their home. And I had no idea what they argued over.”

“Perhaps, they can speak our universal language, Benjamin,” I replied as an attempt to give him a different perspective. “All you have to do is try,” I added with a smile.

“They do speak the universal language. However, because of their thick accent, I can’t connect with them fully!” he proceeded to complain even more. He added, “I understand how difficult it is to learn a different language. But, if you heard for yourself, you will wish you could’ve just kept your mouth shut.”

“Have you tried telling your sisters that you didn’t want to do what they wanted? That’s the easiest solution out of your misery,” I replied.

“I did that, but they whine even more and complained about it to Mother,” he groaned as he rolled his eyes. “And once my mother intervenes, she will scold me and force me to befriend the Winroe brothers.”

This was why I was always grateful to have Elizabeth as a sibling. She could be annoying at times. However, she never tortured me the same way Benjamin’s sisters do. “Then, what do you plan to do?” I asked.

A smirk appeared on his lips. “I always tell them that I will. But, when they ask if I already did it, I always give them excuses as to why I haven’t yet,” he said, so proud of himself.

“What do you tell them?”

He explained, “Most of the time, I use my royal duties and responsibilities as an excuse. In reality, those don’t really take all of my time. I’m the only one who makes my routine as full as possible. I can only be thankful to the gods that my sisters never complained whenever I mention it.”

I replied, “How are you coping with your obligations, if I may ask?”

Benjamin huffed as he thought at the top of his head. “Every day, it’s almost the same thing,” he said. Counting on his fingers, he continued, “I have my royal gatherings, my daily reports, weekly reports, monthly reports, as well as yearly ones. But amidst all that,” he then smiled as he looked back to me, “I still enjoy everything that I do. What about you?”

“I don’t want to speak about mine at the moment, if you don’t mind,” I smiled, politely declining his question. I added, “I’m currently out of sorts at the moment. And you’re aware that whenever we have the chance to speak to one another, I avoid anything that involves our titles.”

“Of course, brother, I respect that,” he nodded. “Well,” he then mounted his horse, “I have to go now, dear brother. It may be the end of another day, but I can already sense the humongous piles of reports, dumped on my desk.”

“Take good care of yourself, brother,” we shook hands before I stepped away.

“You as well, brother. I shall see you soon.” And with that, he rode out of the stables.

“Your Highness?” Gonzalo suddenly came from behind me.

“Yes, Gonzalo?” I turned around to face him.

He bowed quickly and said, “His Majesty is asking for your presence in his study. He said he has something to tell you.”

I groaned. I thought this day would end on a lighter note because of Benjamin’s visit. But, by the looks of it, there was a possibility that it could be ruined by James.

I simply nodded and walked ahead of Gonzalo.