Chapter 1

The sunlight caressed the horizon as a new day came. The water full of life and gleaming as blue as the sky. The forests, full of lively, earthy tones. Golds, browns, reds, greens and yellows were all caressed by the hands of the rising sun. The town was not yet awake but few were up ready to start the day. Shoppes and markets ran up and down the streets. Pubs and eateries on the other side. This town that everyone called Divine...was under the rule of a young lord who lived in the castle, just on the hill. It's color a brown, ivy wrapped all around it. Some of the windows were stained glass. The fields full of flowers of different variety, Woodland creatures and all played amongst one another. But our story doesn't begin there, It starts in the castle, third level and in a room to the right. Where the young lord slept and dreamed his dreams peacefully....

" Young Lord..." A soft voice called from the outside. " You must wake, you have a meeting of the upmost importance to attend today and we mustn't waste another minute more"

The young lord turned in his sleep, " Mmm....Go away! The meeting can wait..."

Suddenly the door burst open and the young lord jumped from fright. " Since you want to be stubborn this morning I guess I must still treat you like a small child. Now...." the butler spoke and picked up the young lord, tossing him over his shoulder.

" Put me down this instant Marcurus! I demand you to unhand me or else!" The young lord flailed around, using his fists to punch at the back of his servant.

" Oh, Are we now addressing one another by first name? Sorin of Ceron." Marcurus let out a chuckle as the boy gave in to defeat. " I've already started your bath water. So get in it and clense yourself. You should be done by the time I finish...resetting your room. It's a shame you sleep so messily" He spoke as they entered the bathing room, placing Sorin down. " Chop, Chop...not another second can wait" With that, Marcurus left the room, closing the door but leaving a crack just in case the young lord needed anything.

" Stupid butler always forcing me to do something..." He muttered under his breath before stepping into the hot bath water. Letting his head sink in so all you saw was his eyes and above.

The young lord sat there for a moment, in the silence before he got up and started to clean himself. A though began to ponder in his mind. -I wonder if this meeting is connected to the last one....if so then that could definitely mean trouble-

Sitting back into the water as the shampoo that was in his hair was rinsed off with the showerhead. It was unusual of him to ponder while bathing but the though just bothered him too much for it to wait.

Getting out and drying off, Sorin went back into his sleeping quarters to see it, cleaned, everything back in place and his clothes laid out. "Marurus is really a neat freak...but I can't complain" He chuckled before getting ready.

His shirt was a cream color and his jacket, a satin baby blue color that made his golden brown eyes pop. The pants he wore were also a cream color, and as for his shoes....they were white. The young lord placed his back length hair into a bun and stuck two sticks into it to hold it into place. Patting the outer edges of his eyes with red paint to make his rather pale skin look alive.

"Alright....let's get the day started" He spoke before leaving his room and heading downstairs. There stood Marcurus at the door waiting. " The carriage is outside waiting. You go first I must go grab the basket of treats" And with that Sorin nodded and left whilst Marcurus ran to the kitchen to grab the basket.

The young lord sat in the carriage for a minute or two before joined with Marcurus and the basket. The servant knocked on the front of the carriage to signal the driver that they were ready to leave.

" You do know where we are going correct?" Asked Marcurus.

" Of course....the only place I wished we'd never return. Garbahan...." Sorin let out a sigh and leaned back. " It's not that I hate the land and the castle on it....I hate he ruler of the land. I swear..."

" Well, Young Lord, let's not have another altercation like we had at the last meeting. I can only imagine that Rubios is still upset about the whole thing. " Marcurus looked out the carriage window. " How about you take a quick nap. The trip there is rather long as you know"

Sorin sat next to Him and rested his head on his shoulder " For once that is the best idea you've ever had" He chuckled and closed his eyes, preparing for rest.

Hours later, it was noon and they had come to a halt. Rocking the carriage waking both Sorin and Marurus. From the front, the driver called that they had arrived at Garbahan.

Getting out of the carriage, Marcurus had grabbed the documents and Sorin had followed behind him as he was led to the big front doors. Sorin had knocked on the doors twice. Just as quickly as they had arrived, one of the doors had opened.

A female dressed in grey and white had opened the door. One of the maids most likely. " Hello sir Sorin of Ceron. Rubios has been waiting all morning and part of noon for your arrival. Do come in" The lady spoke, moving out of the way for them to come in. Sorin nodded towards her as they entered.

The interior of the place was dark and mysterious. Though that is was made Garhaban the kingdom it is today. There were few banners on the stairs and the candles were dimly lit.

" Rubios is rather excited for you to see his special guest he has for today. He hopes that maybe he can let him persuade you this time." The lady spoke as she led them to ballroom A. A small room with a long table. The chandeliers were silver with black light candles. The walls a dark grey with white patterns.

" Well, isn't this welcoming" Sorin spoke as they entered, Marcurus nudging him on his shoulder. They both took a bow as Rubios stood and went over to welcome them in.

"Ah! I see you guys arrived on time yes? I hope your journey was rather lovely. And uhm...." He turned his eyes, or should we say eye, to Sorin. " My My, don't you look....Ravishing today Sorin. I could just...." He took a deep breath in and out, " eat you up right now"

A look of cringe placed on Sorins face as he glared at Rubios. " We're here for the meeting, not for you to get all hard over me you creep....must I take your other eye as well" Sorin spoke. Rubios smiled with a chuckle. Grabbin his hand to kiss it.

Sorin pulled away quickly and wiped his hand off. Marcurus took the lead as Rubios led them over to the end of the table. A smile grew on his face as they finally arrived to his guest.

" Now that we're here, why don't I introduce you to someone very close to me. Lucian" Rubios spoke

As soon as Sorins eyes met Lucians white ones his heart leapt a bit. " Damn...." He spoke under his breath.

Lucian was a tall, slim built man. His eyes were snow white but his pupils black, his jet black hair fell to his shoulders with fallen curls and the tips blonde. His face was more square that circular making him even more attractive than usual. He also wore a black button down, leaving the top three buttons loose, and back dress pants as well as shoes.

Sorin's face was a bright red compared to his rather pale skin. " Well, I uhm. Nice to meet you...I'm....I'm" He kept stuttering as he forgot his own name. Marcurus saw that the boy was struggling and let out a giggle. " His name is Sorin, Sorin of Ceron"

Lucian turned his icy gaze towards him, his chin tilting down to look into Sorins eyes. " He's....a short and rather...attractive young boy" Lucian spoke with a thick Russian accent.

"I am not young, I'm in my early 30's. You can't be that much older to be calling me a young boy." Sorin spoke. It seemed that Lucians remark had gotten the boy started. And with a deep chuckle that came from his chest, a smile came to Lucians face. " My apologies. I'm 47 and you look younger than I thought. I'll stop if you want that"

Sorin's face got even redder than usual. " Y-Yea ok. Can we just get started with the meeting, I must make it back to my estate for dinner time."

Marcurus interrupted, " And, your parents are visiting later that evening. I hope you didn't forget."

" Oh....how could I" He rolled his eyes and made his way to a seat as the others also followed behind.

////

" Alright, now that we're done with introductions and whatnot, I called this meeting to talk about the proposal I made a few months back. That's how I got this scar afterall." Rubios glared at Sorin. " So, like we've discussed before, I would like to take your hand in marriage so that we can unite our kingdoms together. Of course you didn't appreciate that so hence why I brought in Lucian for this meeting. He's around or close to your age and I'd think he'd be better in bed than I am. So....what are your thoughts so far?" Rubios finished.

Sorin looked livid. " So you called a meeting, weeks before today only for us to get back on the topic of marriage to try and unite our kingdoms. Alright, let's talk about it. Yes, I agree Lucian would definitely be better in bed than you. He's not too young and not too old, he's attractive and so far I like him. But, that's not how marriage works. I'm not just going to marry a guy because you think that, since he's close to you that if I marry him our kingdoms will be united and everything will be sunshine and rainbows." Sorin took a breath after speaking for a long while.

" I mean....I do agree that our kingdoms would be able to benefit one another. You have recourses that take us years to get and we have all and any resources you may need. That's one thing I do trust in. But then again....the people of my kingdom wouldn't take the idea of me marrying so suddenly just to join kingdoms. It would take some time and careful planning" Sorin sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Lucian looked at him with interest as he spoke. Ideas popping into his head by the second. " Well..." He began, " I can definitely see where, Sorin was it?, Is coming from. I can also see where Rubios is coming from. But I do have a few suggestions to help the both of you. For starters how about, for you Rubios, you start the planning of a list of thing that would benefit both kingdoms so that they both could understand the reasoning as to why were coming together as one. As for you Sorin. Take me back to your estate tonight so that I can see first hand what it's like to live in Ceron. Maybe see if we can add extra things. Yes?" He looked between the both of them. Sorin and Rubios looking in awe and shaking their heads in agreement.

" Well...uhm that parts settled, We can end there but there is one more thing. Just a gift from me to you. And no you can't deny nor throw it away. For once I'm trying to be nice" Rubios looked at him after signaling the maid to go get something. Coming back with a black box with golden embellishments all along the box. " I know how much you are absolutely in love with the color purple so, I ordered something for you from the blacksmith. But don't open it until you arrive home alright?"

Sorin was a bit suspicious but ignored it after seeing the sincere look on Rubios face. " Alright, I guess so. Now, I must start heading out. I'm assuming you're coming with?" He looked at Lucian. Lucian shaking his head in agreement, got up and waited for Sorin and Marcurus.

" I hope you have safe travels back home, I'll be writing to you from now on and plan our next meeting three months from now." Rubios spoke getting up and leading them to the door. " I hope you do enjoy your gift" He said with a wink and opened the door.

Marcurus looked at him with suspicion and Rubios just smirked at him. Both Sorin and Marcurus left out the door. Lucian staying behind a minute more to speak with Rubios.

" Rubios...."

" Don't even Lucian. It's my turn to get back at him. I know the the guys he likes and I know how to get him to fall in love with you just like that." Rubios snapped his fingers and chuckled. A concerned look grew on Lucians face.

" But are you sure about this. The kids not that old and he hasn't done anything wrong. This isn't like you..." Lucian was cut off as Rubios hand had grabbed him by his shirt.

" You will not try and correct me, nor stop me. Do I make myself clear? He took my fucking eye, so I'll take his kingdom. Just by that piece of jewlery" He gave a laugh and let him go. Lucian breathing hard with anger, yet unable to do anything.

" You coming Luican?" Called Sorin. " Yes! Coming. Sorry for keeping you" Lucian called and ran over, Looking back at Rubios before getting into the Carriage.

Rubios stared at them as the Carriage pulled off. " This will be so much fun...Just to watch him fall as he made me..." He growled under his breath before slamming his castle doors.