16| The King and the Doctor

King Adonis

"And he did not realize that he was speaking to the King?" Apollo asked as he sat lazily on one of the wingback chairs in my office.

"No," I smiled and shook my head.

"I have never heard of someone denser in my life," Ezekiel chuckled, "Are you sure he is the botanical scientist?"

"That was what he said," I shrugged.

Apollo and Ezekiel looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Then that is shocking. Cloud Belmont is practically a genius. He is the youngest scientist to fill his position as the Royal botanical scientist. Isn't he a doctor in it?"

"He is but prefers to not be called by his title." Last night when I came back to my chambers I checked his file and was surprised he had a doctorate in botany. Cloud Belmont was practically a child genius and from the previous night's encounter, I wondered if I had really met him or an imposter. Someone that smart could not be that ignorant.

"Maybe we should send for him so we can make sure it was really him. Maybe the person who you met thought they could use the darkness to their advantage," Ezekiel commented.

"I think that's a great idea, but we have to have a valid reason for him to come here," I sighed and sat down on my chair. If I had to be honest my mind was filled with my chance encounter with the idiotic scientist. There was something about how he spoke to me that just played in my head. His carefree attitude was a breath of fresh air.

"Maybe you could say you would like for him to do research at night. I used to do that when I was doing research on marine life. No one would question that," Apollo sat up clearly in excitement. He had studied a masters in marine biology so he knew a lot about being in the field.

All of us were extremely educated, I had a masters in Economics, Politics, Business and Chemistry. Even as we spoke I was still studying a new degree in Environmental studies. As King I always had to be learning and evolving. I had to understand every factor of not only our country but our planet.

"I could send him a letter to make it look more serious," I nodded. With excited spirits we spent an hour drafting a letter to the scientist. We had to make sure it looked as professional as possible or he would detect that what I was asking him to do was complete nonsense.

Hours later when the sun had set I got ready to meet him. Normally at night I dressed down because there was no use to dress up when no one would see me. So that was why I did not think much of it when I walked to our family tree that night.

From a distance I could see the same man from last and that was all the confirmation I needed to know that it was in fact Dr Cloud Belmont. He was setting up his station and secretly I was happy to see him again. Maybe tonight he would recognise who I was.

"You're back," I stated making him aware of my presence. I stood a few meters behind him so that I was not too close to invade his personal space.

He sighed then turned around with a small scowl on his face. The moon was barely out today so the only light source that was there was his laptop which barely lit up his face enough. He might have thought I could not see him but I clearly could. "Back to bother me again?"

"I would like to think of it as keeping you company," I chuckled. By his response I knew he still could not see me or identify who I was. So instead of informing him I decided to use it to my advantage.

"Well I prefer to do my work alone," he rolled his eyes and focused on his laptop once again.

That was when I sat down a few meters away from him, with my knees bent so I could wrap my arms around my legs and hug them close to my chest. "Well then I volunteer as your assistant," I smiled.

"What is my assistants' name?" he asked.

"Ezekiel." He was so going to kill me for this when he found out but I knew if I told him the truth he would probably freak out and no longer be himself around me. I had to play my cards right.

"Do you work for the Royal family?" He looked over his shoulder. I could tell he was slightly disappointed he could not make out how I fully looked.

Normally at night I allowed my hair down which created the effect that I had curtain bangs which covered my face fairly well.

"Yes, feels like a lifetime," I sighed. Truly it was a lifetime. From the moment I was a little boy I knew that I had to be better at everything and smarter than my peers. It was draining at times.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I have been working here for the past two years and the only people who know my name are the guards," he laughed and shook my head. That surprised me.

"Surely that can't be true. What is your name?" Once again I had to act dumb like I had not just read his life file.

"Cloud Belmont," he chuckled knowing his name was unique.

"Cloud? That's unique," I smiled.

"Apparently to my mother when I was born I reminded her of a cloud. I still don't understand what that means," he shrugged.

"Well maybe if I could see your face in the light I could figure it out for you," I turned my head ever so slightly and looked at him for a split second.

"Well I work here during the day as well," he shrugged and looked back at my laptop.

"I wish I could, but I'm often away during the day. Maybe one day I will come to see you," in reality I was always travelling and barely had time to have fun. The chances of me seeing Cloud outside of a work environment were extremely slim but hopefully one day I could make the time to do just that.

A part of me wondered why I wanted to see the mysterious scientist so badly. I barely knew him but a large of me wanted to know more about the man with witty comebacks and not a care in the world. He decided not to respond and continued with his work.

Therefore I sat there with him, not uttering a word. It was intriguing to watch him work. After a few minutes I finally asked him a question that repetitively popped up in my head. "Have you ever met the King?" I asked out of the blue.

"No, but I know he is a busy man. I don't think he would have time for a small scientist like me," Cloud Belmont was a huge deal in the science community. I wondered why he thought he was unimportant for me to meet.

"I think that should change. Every employee is important especially those who keep the Palace running," I knew I sounded upset but it was the honest truth. Without them there would be no Palace. There would be no Royal family. I knew there were a lot of employees I had not met but I always tried to make them feel like they mattered by making sure they had all the necessary resources to do their jobs well.

"I think the King does a good job keeping this country as wealthy as it is. Think about it. He has sacrificed his whole life to serve us from such a young age. Sometimes I feel sorry for him, he never had the opportunity to live a normal life and experience the things you and I have. It takes a lot of courage and dedication to not act out. Sure I have my opinions, but I think it is admirable."

"It's the first time someone has said it like that," I looked at him for a few seconds and shook my head. No one had ever said that to me. I knew he did not know it was me but it still counted, "You are truly special Cloud."

"Thank you," he laughed.

"I have to go, but please make sure you do not leave too late. You need to rest," I stood up and it seemed it was only then he noticed my attire. I wore loose grey sweatpants and a large hoodie. I normally wore no shoes at night because my mother always insisted one had to feel nature and not find it to be an inconvenience.

That seemed to calm him since he would have never suspected a Royal to dress like this. To the public we made it seem like we were always dressed in the finest of silks and cotton, but in reality I had seen Iris look like a hobo more times than I had seen her look like a Princess.

"I will. Enjoy your night Ezekiel," he smiled brightly finally relaxing around me.

"Same to you Cloud," and with that I walked back to the Palace.

When I entered our chambers Apollo was already waiting for me in black sweatpants and a matching tank top, "So how did it go?"

"It is him. He did not recognize me though. He has not spent enough time in the dark for his eyes to accustom to the lack of light," I sighed.

"So what do you think about him?" he smiled clearly excited. Apollo always did this to me when I met someone knew. My sexuality was no secret to him and Ezekiel. They knew I was fully bisexual and always hoped I would meet someone soon.

As King it was also my responsibility to get married and produce a new heir to the throne. Right then it seemed Apollo had a better chance at succeeding with Maria to produce the next King or Queen.

The only person in my family who had no idea was Iris. At the time I figured I was into more than one gender our parents had just died and she was still so young I was afraid with all the events that occurred, me 'coming out of the closet' would just send her over the edge.

"He's cute," I shrugged. Of course I was attracted to Cloud. He was extremely attractive despite his lack of fashion sense. He dressed like someone who had just stepped out of an 80's movie but it worked for him. I could not imagine him to be dressed up and proper.

"Ah! This is big news Adonis! You have a crush," Apollo clapped his hands as he followed me to my bedroom.

"No I don't. Just because I think he is cute does not mean I have the hearts for him," I rolled my eyes.

"It definitely means you have the hearts for him," he smiled evilly.

"Oh shut up. I'm not that easy Apollo."

"I never said you were, but you barely find anyone interesting this is big news."

"It's average news. Nothing more is going to come out from this. I will allow him to continue working for a few weeks to make this seem legitimate then end it."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night big boy," Apollo dismissively waved his hand then left me to go back to his chambers. I frowned as I watched his retreating back. I knew he would not let this go that easily. He was planning something in his tiny evil head.