"Hiya!"

The royal stable was in a rumble as all the stable workers made sure to clear the path. The royal guards took their positions to secure the area the moment the neighing sounds of horses filled the entire field. Everything had to be perfect and safe the moment the horses were in sight and the prince's path had to be cleared too.

"Alpha B," the Prince's head of security said through his security wrist communicator device, he raised his head to the rooftop where some of the guards stayed in position. "Stay in position," he reminded them. "Confirm security status, I repeat, what is the security status from up there?"

"Clear."

"Clear."

"Clear general."

It was all clear, everything was ready for the Prince to make an entrance. Elijah took his position away from the path the moment the magnificent white horse became visible and the other two black horses rode behind it. The prince was coming.

The security of the Royal family always came first in Breton. The royal guards were trained to serve the royal family with their lives on the line. Each and every one of them were ready to die for the prince or any other member of the royal family if need be and that was why the security in the palace was never underemphasized.

"Hiyah!"
The prince's voice drew closer as they all bowed their head waiting in respect as the hooting sounds of all the horses drew closer. You could hear the laughter of the prince from a distance. It was always that way when he was out horse riding with his friends.

Everyone waited patiently until the horses were within sight. You could see how the prince stood out from the rest even as the horses came to a stop at the center of the field.

Prince Aiden-Cree, the only son of the thirty-second king of Breton and the apple of his parents eye. Prince Aiden was basically the apple of everyone's eye. He had become a symbol of national treasure from the day he was born. The young prince who was exclusively and undeniably good looking, was not only tall with an amazing body build, but was extra smart and had the biggest heart in the entire kingdom. He was kind as he was merciful, brave with the purest upturned hazel eyes you could ever imagine and the tiny beauty mark beside his right eye was everything. His skin was flawless and always stood out from others and each time he smiled, it felt like his beautiful dimples could end the world.

He had really healthy brow hairs and his jawline was chiseled. For a prince, his features were beyond amazing, every curve, every inch of him, perfection. His bow-shaped lips were the fantasy of every female in the entire kingdom, he was a fantasy, like a prince from a fairy tale but he was real.

He was real and the entire ladies in the entire kingdom fancied him a great deal. It wasn't just him but his Crown's circle, consisting of both his friends.

Everyone knew who they were. The Circle was the most powerful friendship group in the entire kingdom consisting of the prince and his best friends, Harry Fletcher, the son of the Mayor of Campraine and Asher Coleman, the son of the minister of war. Just like him, the prince's friends weren't lacking in neither looks nor the ability to get the attention of the people.

Being a prince meant that everything he did was mapped out for him on the day he was born. Aiden had everything in his life done according to the books to uphold his title as the king in waiting, even his friends.

Yes,
It was not a chance that Harry and Asher had become a part of Aiden's circle, friends to the throne. Like every other circle of the princes' before him, they were chosen based on series of tests and observations by the Queen.

The palace is a battle field, no one is your friend, everyone is your enemy.

That was all she brought him up to know so Aiden never ate the same food twice in a week, or wear the same clothes. He had no favourites because they were weaknesses the moment they were found out, and weaknesses were always death to the crown. But his circle, his friends, they were the only constant things in his lives.

Just like in the time of the previous Princes, Breton's Royal Family was built on a structure founded upon loyalty by the crown's circle. A title given to boys from two different powerful families, chosen to be acquaintances of the Princes, to teach them friendship, leadership, and help them get through the loneliness that came with the responsibilities of being a future King.

Unlike many Royal families, the Royal family of Breton believed that kings needed more than a crown, an ancestral claim, and a throne room to lead a kingdom. They believed that for a man to be king, he had to first understand what it was like to be a part of the people. To live like they lived, to find happiness and share in the sadness that they did, emotions that they could never feel or go through alone.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Harry tried to push back the bile he could feel rising up his throat as he slowly brought his horse to a stop while the stable staff hurried to help me get off it and take it in.

It was the longest they had ever gone horse riding and that was because Aiden kept insisting that they didn't stop to rest. Horse riding was the only thing that helped him clear his head and it was even better each time he did with his circle.

Aiden let out a disappointed scoff, mocking Harry as some more staff rushed to help him get off his. They did the same for Asher as well, just in time for him to take off his gloves one after the other, leaving his gaze on Harry.

"Man up Harry," Asher told him from where he stood. "There are a lot of ladies watching."

Aiden followed their gaze to where the court ladies were standing behind them with their heads still bowed in respect, not daring to raise their heads to look at them. He returned his gaze to them.

"Don't encourage him to slut around in the Palace Asher," he said as he slowly took off his gloves too, "You both would have gotten beheaded for that if my great grandfather was king." He let a smirk forge on his lips.

Asher cleared his throat and tugged his shirt just as Harry found his way towards them, taking deep breaths and struggling to catch his breath at the same time.

"Well good thing he isn't king isn't it?" Harry said as he reached for Asher's shoulder for support,

"We should use the cars next time?" Harry asked. "I don't think I'd ever be ready to climb a horse for the rest of summer. "Talking about the rest of summer," he went on. "Are you sure you're ready your Highness?"

A frown found its way on Aiden's face. He knew exactly what Harry was asking and why the entire field had suddenly been filled with an awkward silence. Aiden took a look around and could see how all the guards and staff stood still with their gazes buried on the ground like they weren't listening to the conversation he was having with his friends.

He slowly turned back to Harry and let out a weak exhale. He knew what it was Harry was asking, he just wasn't sure he knew how to answer it. Just like that, it was hard for him to smile again.

Maybe almost every nineteen year old would have felt the same if they were reminded that they were going to be engaged in three days, in front of an entire hall filled with people, probably even the entire country and what was worse? To a member of a family he loathed with everything within him.

"It sucks doesn't it?" Harry continued once he noticed Aiden's decision to remain quiet. "Who ever thought the journey to being a future king had to be so miserable?"

"Harry," Asher gave him a gentle push on his side with an elbow.

Aiden's lips curled into a faint smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes but seemed to carry the weight of his thoughts.

"You're right Harry," he said as he started walking away from the crowd around him, causing Asher and Harry to follow right beside him while the guards and court ladies formed a double file behind them.
"It is miserable." He went on, taking a walk down the breezy green field with his entourage behind him.

"I mean, you could always make a run for it." Harry suggested, his suggestion was so funny that it made Aiden let out a laugh at the absurdity of Harry's suggestion. It was short and sharp, a brief escape from the weight he carried.
Harry pushed himself closer to them so he could say the rest of his words in a whisper.

"Right here, right now, it's three of us and what? Nine of them? We can take them."

"Ahem!"

Harry raised his head the moment he heard the head of Aiden's security clear his throat from behind them, just as Aiden let a bright smile of amusement forge on his lips. He didn't need to turn around to imagine the look on Elijah's face as he glared at Harry.

Harry shrugged his shoulders,

"Well, I tried to help."

Aiden stopped walking and so did all of them. He slowly turned to Asher who happened to have been quiet throughout the walk. He hadn't laughed at any of Harry's jokes or reacted to them either. He still had the same expression on his face as he did when the conversation started. It was difficult to read.

"What about you Asher," he asked Asher who slowly raised his gaze to him, narrowing his brows wondering what exactly it was Aiden was asking him.
"What do you think about the Royal engagement? Do you think I should also make a run for it?"

"I doubt what I think holds any consequence." Asher responded, the expression on his face not faltering. "You're the future King and your engagement to Paris is more than all of us. It's an agreement between both families, a royal command . What I think, or how I feel does not matter."

Silence.

There was a cold chill in the air as both boys stood facing each other. The distant rustle of leaves and the soft murmur of the breeze seemed to fade away, leaving only the weight of their words hanging in the stillness. Their gazes locked, yet neither moved nor spoke, as if any further sound might shatter the fragile moment, at least that was what it was before Harry broke it with a loud Pft sound.

"Such a buzz kill." He said to Asher just as Aiden slowly sent his gaze back to him while Asher looked away and drew a deep breath. "You just can't help yourself can you Ash?"

Aiden let out a smile that reached his eyes once Harry spoke.

"You always need to sound so darn serious all the time. 'Hey look at me, I'm Asher and I don't know how to never not get my serious face on'." Harry mimicked him causing Asher to scoff.

"I don't sound like that."

"'I don't sound like that'" Harry Mimicked again.

"Cut it out!" Now Asher raised his voice a bit, warning him jokingly just as Aiden started to chuckle lightly as the situation just as Harry took a big jump away from Asher before he got a hold of him. He watched Asher chase Harry down the green field while Harry consistently made funny faces and mocked him as he did.

It was so funny, probably the funniest thing he had seen all day.

The crown's circle, a short escape from reality. A king doesn't have to be alone, who needed jesters at court when you had friends like he did anyway.

"Wait for me!" He announced to them and suddenly ran after them to join the chase.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"Your Grace, the prince; his royal highness has arrived."

Aiden waited for his arrival to be announced followed by the creaking sound of the door as it opened, giving him free access into the queen's chambers. His guards took their positions right outside as the door closed after him.

Aiden kept his head high and his shoulders broadened as he made his way into the magnificent bedroom just as he always did. Learning how to make an entrance was one thing all princes were taught the day they learned to walk. Aiden could see her, his mother attending to the flowers in the little garden she had made out a section of the balcony in her chambers. It didn't matter what she wore, how simple they were, anyone could tell she was one of royalty.

He watched how her face brightened when her gaze met his face home he slowly approached her. She walked away from the pots of flowers, making her way towards the little round table at the centre of the open space. Just like every other day, she sat on one of the chairs her head of staff had pulled out for her, and reached for the coffee mug the older woman had also poured out for her with her long fingers.

The smell of jasmines, which were her favorite flowers filled the air. Her almond shaped eyes shimmered with the sun. It was a wonder how Aiden and Vanessa shared so much than just a mother-son relationship with one another. They were a splitting image of each other, so much so that it was possible for Vanessa to be mistaken as his older sister, not just because they looked alike, but because of how young she was.
Not that no one had seen it coming, it was a tradition in Breton for Queens to begin their duties as soon as the wedding ceremony was over. It was very duty of a Breton Queen to produce a royal heir as soon as possible and Queen Vanessa, just like the Queens before her, had become a queen at such a young age. At nineteen, she had already birthed Aiden, just two years younger than the king's mother when she birthed him.

"Mother."

Vanessa slowly dropped her coffee mug back on the little tray, taking her time.She raised her head to him and let another smile spread across her face as she watched him.

"Forgive me." He lowered his gaze on her. Vanessa looked around to make sure he was talking to her. She wasn't quite sure she understood what it was he was asking her forgiveness for and it made her want to frown in confusion so badly but she held on. She narrowed her gaze to him again.

"And what would his highness be needing my forgiveness for?"

"I'm about to go against all due diligence and etiquettes as a prince, again."

Vanessa pouted, a soft hum escaping her lips as she tilted her head slightly in thought. A multitude of ideas swirled in her mind, each vying for her attention, making it difficult to settle on just one. Her eyes drifted for a moment, lost in contemplation, before she finally refocused on him, a hint of decision forming behind her gaze.

"Which one of them?"

Aiden let out a really loud exhale in exhaustion, letting his shoulders slump under the weight of the day. Without a moment of hesitation he hurried to his mother's side and sunk himself on the chair next to hers, and sought her embrace immediately. The servants quickly averted their gazes with their heads still bowed trying to mask the smiles tugging at their lips. As the personal servants of the Queen, the ladies loved seeing the Prince warm up to his mother like that.

"Just one minute," he said. "Let me be like this for one minute."

Vanessa let out a weak exhale. He had shocked her at first but she had started to warm up to him. She leaned closer so he didn't have to strain so much, slowly raising her hand to his back and rubbing it gently.

"Long day?" She asked him.

"Mnn." He responded, still leaving his eyes shut and remaining in her embrace.

"Well, I don't think you have the luxury to be exhausted right now." She went on.

"Don't do it." He told her.

"You still have your etiquette classes in an hour, and then you have community service with the children at the orphanage today."

"Mother," Aiden groaned in frustration of the fact that he just wanted to be without being reminded about his responsibilities and there she was, bringing it up in the middle of a very emotional moment.

"you're also going to give that speech at the graduation ceremony of the elementary class of Breton's school for the gifted by five and then you'd be joining your father and I for dinner with the prime minister and your future Queen by seven."

Aiden pulled himself slowly from her embrace and let her go. She just had to ruin the moment didn't she?

"I heard Paris got you something thoughtful as an engagement present." She pushed herself closer to him. "You should also get her something as well, be just as thoughtful."

"Mnn." His answer was still the same. "He was too lazy to have the conversation she wanted to have with him. Anything but that conversation."

Vanessa exhaled.
She knew what was coming next. She could sense his mood and could see the look in his eyes. She knew him too well to not know what it was crossing through his mind. She slowly reached for his hand on the table.

"You're going to have to accept her Aiden, sooner or later you'd have to see her not just as your Queen but as the mother and future of this country. The Vutrons and royal family have worked hand in hand to preserve the country that is Breton and everything that we are. It is time for both families to be united in order to fight the common enemy, in order to protect your claim to the throne that's being questioned by the followers of the Castrophes. It is said that the female child which was born on the night of the Luna eclipse eighteen years ago would be the one to bring the reformation and restoration of Breton, to bring the royal family back to its glory. There has only been few records of children born on that day and just one female in the entire country, an extra ordinary occurrence, it's Paris."

"Oh God." Aiden reached for a biscuit from the tray. "Here we go again."

" It was a magical night, the first in three hundred years, we were blessed to witness it. This is fate  playing itself out and making things so easy for us."

Aiden clicked his tongue and let out a shaky breath. Just when he had thought he had heard enough of it, here his mother was, telling him that he was never going to get away from the thick cloud that hovered around his head.

He dropped the biscuit he had barely eaten back into the tray, suddenly losing his appetite just as a thick frown carved on his face.

He hated it, he hated the conversation and he hated the excuse of spirituality the royal family and court always brought up to defend this sham of a marriage he was about to get into.

There was no such thing as magic or special eclipses. There was no one that was going to save Breton because the only enemy of Breton were the Vutrons, the same family that his parents were willingly offering the throne to on a platter.

"You have to open up your heart to her Aiden just like I did with your father. It might be hard at first but at least, it would be less miserable. Summer break would be over in a few weeks and the royal academy is going to be open again. Being in school again, could help you two learn more about one another."

"Yeah, sure." Aiden said lazily. His voice was flat and lacked enthusiasm, his eyes dull with disinterest that Vanessa could see.

She managed to force a smile on her face, to at least brighten up his mood.

"Have tea with me."