F O U R

Not a gleam of sunlight escaped past Kai's blacked-out windows in his room. There wasn't a glow that could wake him or a chirp of a singing bird, but there was a choir of loud consistent knockings on his door, that with each thud the sound drilled into his skull with annoyance.

"What?" He croaked, his voice naturally deeper and low in the mornings. He rolled over from his stomach to his back while gripping his head.

He didn't get a response from the other side, but the door opened and a hesitant Iris poked his head in before entering.

"I'm sorry to disturb, but do we not have training? It's not like you to sleep in this late if we do." Iris stopped at the foot of the bed and crossed his arms.

Kai sat up with a droopy head, "Your schedule is lenient today, sir. Sorry, I forgot to mention." In the midst of leaning on one arm and rubbing his eyes with the other, Kai paused all of a sudden. "Late? What time is it?"

Iris tilted his head down at his watch. "Um, thirty past ten."

Maybe it was the darkness, but Iris didn't seem to see how wide the vampire's eyes grew to be.

"It's almost eleven?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't care to wake me?"

"Well, judging by my knowledge of vampires lacking the need to sleep, it doesn't take a genius to notice one that wants it. You looked...at peace, so I decided against it when I came in here the first time."

Kai listened to him with narrowed eyes. "Which was?" Iris glanced at his watch again.

"An hour ago."

Kai sat up straight to run his palms down his face with a heavy sigh. "You honestly confuse me, Iris."

"I'm sorry? Well anyway, what are my plans today?" He spoke as he watched the vampire slide out of bed and walk past him to his closet. Literally everything was black, Iris thought he could use some color sometimes.

"Besides the work you need to finish, nothing. Your list is checked off."

"Then, yours is too? You don't have to do anything if I'm going to hibernate in my room all day."

"Mm, lovely offer, but I have to decline. Imagine the King or Queen walking in and I'm not by your side-I'm using your shower." Again, Iris watched Kai walk past him but he followed close behind.

"You can sleep in my room then," Iris suggested, no hope or pleading in his voice, just a suggestion. "I'm bringing my work here."

"Fine," Kai suddenly turned around, making Iris stop quickly before he hit him. "I'll rest on your bed. Is that alright?"

"Peachy."

With a nod-a nettled nod-he turned back around and entered the prince's bathroom and shut the door with a thud.

Iris rolled his eyes and made his own way to his office to pick up the stacks of unfinished papers.

††

"No tax coins for the Caamals, duly noted." Iris signed the request and placed it on a messy stack. "Ugh, decline." He wrote his name with ink, then stamped the yellow tinted paper. "Is this Kingdom truly that stupid?"

"You know Iris, it's kind of hard to sleep when you keep talking to yourself."

"Shut up, Kai."

Without looking up, Iris could tell the vampire was glaring at him from his bed. He laid with his hands behind his head and legs extended out. He was pleasured that Iris had the day off because that meant he could relax. The only time he got up was to check the door because Mr.Focused was a little too focused on his papers and didn't hear the knocking. He had to sign, approve or disprove requests given by local townsfolk. The King handled the more law forced requests until Iris was ready for them. For now, he had to deal with reading about a little girl's entreaty about her cat. His instincts told him to decline because he hated cats, but he knew better than to let his own opinions silent the peoples'. So he read it thoroughly.

But declined anyway.

When the ticking of the clock in the room became loud and the center of sound, Kai turned his head towards Iris to see him staring at a paper with an unreadable expression.

"What is it?" The vampire asked, interested in what not only stalled the prince's groans of annoyance but his full-on attention. Iris flinched his eyes off the paper and shook his head.

"Nothing. Just, just some more pointless questions." Clearing his throat, Iris placed the paper more harshly on his stack and returned to another. Kai eyed the frayed paper and glanced back up at Iris. Then finally he closed his eyes again.

"Was it another royal asking for you to meet his daughter?"

The room fell in silence, and the clock conquered and invaded their ears.

"I presume the King gave it to you on purpose?"

"I just-I don't understand why one has to marry someone they do not love."

"It's to strengthen the family names and tie their royal needs together. To form allies."

"Do you support it, Kai?"

The vampire opened his eyes but did not look at Iris. He pondered for a second before answering. "No. But if you hadn't noticed yet, when can we ever act with our hearts? It's all about what's right for Kingdoms, what gets us out of economic stress, and what pleases sick desires." When he did turn his head, Iris was watching him with burning intensity. "Or that's just my silent opinion."

Iris nodded slowly and looked back down. He hadn't realized Kai thought so deeply about it. He appreciated that. "Thanks for telling me that."

Kai sighed and rolled around, making his back face Iris. "Don't sound flattered." Easy mood killer.

"Yeah," Iris smiled, "sorry."

They both perk their heads up when a fist hastily knocked on the door. Kai barely sat up before it shot open.

"My apologies for the intrusion, my prince, but your father has just sent the first-class guards to take care of intruders on the borders."

Iris sat up and immediately looked behind him at his window, which had partly pulled back curtains to let in the young-hour light.

"What border? How long have they've been gone?" Iris erupted with questions and demands at his father's, one of them, secretaries while marching up to him. He was joined by Kai as they walked down the halls in an unsettling atmosphere. Battles were no laughing matter, even if the vampires came out victorious.

"It must have been important having to send the first-class guards," Iris muttered his way in his father's study, a wide room with a dangling chandelier right over a circular table.

The King sat with papers scattered in front of him. He looked up with a pensive stare. "Yes well, Finch's army deserves our first-class wrath."

Iris scoffed as he sat down opposite his father, feet away due to the perimeter of the table.

"They're still shooting arrows at us?"

"We got a year of silence, they continue, it's an act of war on their part."

"Should we continue as well?"

"What else can we do? Our families just don't see eye to eye, it'll cause our kingdoms distress."

"Well-"

"Adduce a treaty."

The King and Iris looked over at Kai who had spoken out of order. The vampire looked down with worry and realization. "I apologize."

Before words could rumble out of Arlo, Iris turned in his chair so much so it showed his interest, and quieted his father.

"Which would be?"

Kai glanced up from the floor to Iris then the King, asking silent permission. Once Arlo sat back, Kai stood straight.

"It's not much as your families have a bad history, but your trades are disturbing them. I've looked into their distress, and as far as I can see they don't dislike us but who we are trading with, which is the nearest West kingdom."

"So how is attacking our borders fulfilling what they want?"

"Which borders are they vandalizing?"

"The...west."

"They have traveled from their North position all the way to the West to attack our borders when the enemy they loath is in fact hours away. Why is that?"

The room was weighed in silence, and both royal hearts thought deeply.

"Perhaps, a wake up call to us?"

Kai unlinked his fingers from his back and moved them in front of him. "Basically. They're weaker than us, thus weaker than the Kingdom we trade from. I'd say in modern terms they are jealous. We stopped bargaining with them, we lost half our supply support, but from the West, we got increases in the army. If we weigh these needs-" Kai used his hands to show them a simple visual, "Finch knows we need not more army support, but what they originally have given us. I believe they think it's time we set things back the way it was before." Kai cleared his throat. "Sir."

As he concluded his speech, Arlo had engaged himself in deep, reflective thinking. He rubbed his chin, felt his stubble, and raised his eyebrows; bewildered.

"I'll be damned, that's the most sense I've heard anyone talk in a long time. How did I not see this?"

"It took more than just linking pointless fights if that helps, sir."

The King laughed and stood up. "You talk good military."

"I appreciate that, sir. But I'm just experienced."

"This treaty, what did you have in mind."

"Well, as in adduce I mean...recite if you will, the one we gave when we seized trading with Finch. We reverse payments maybe? With both parties, sir."

Kai tensed when the King slapped his hands on his shoulders and slightly shook him with laughter.

"You know I've always favored you, Kai."

"Thank-"

"Oh! I should alert the generals right away about this!" And like a switch had turned itself on in the King, Arlo flung away from Kai and rushed towards the doors. "Boys you have been heaven's help, thank you! You can return to your room."

"Wait, dad-"

The King's footsteps were heard marching down the carpeted corridors until they took the noise and brought confused silence.

In the large study, only Iris and Kai remained.

Turning slowly in his chair, the prince glanced up at Kai like he was gawking at his childhood hero from a book.

"Wow."

Kai looked back at him and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Saying I'm impressed would be an understatement. How'd you know all that?"

"Let's just say I have curiosity and a lot of free time on my hands."

"You really do talk good military. No wonder my dad picked you as my guard."

"Personal guard. I like the little details."

Iris shook his head with a chuckled filled with humor and amazement. "What would we do without you? What would I do without you?"

"Well if you had to ask, you'd be dead. Your little soul is easy to save but even easier to get in trouble. As for your family-"

"Your family." Iris stood up and once in arms reached, lightly tapped Kai's knuckles with his fingers. "You're not just a guard or a servant you know."

"No," Kai caught Iris by surprise when he swiped his hand out and took the prince's in his. "I am a vampire guard. See, little details." Internally, Kai smiled at Iris's frustration, "Iris, I'll only ever be your guard. And that's okay, it's what I agreed to do. Nothing means more than you saying I'm accepted into your family, but I don't let that much joy outshine what's real."

The prince furrowed his brows as he switched his gaze from the vampire holding his hand to his navy blue eyes.

"Which is..?"

"We're foes. We'll always butt heads. I think being apart of your family is a little too...impossible."

"I don't like that word." Iris instinctively squeezed Kai's hands. "Let's just say not yet, okay?"

Kai didn't have the heart to say he still disagreed, but he smiled at Iris and nodded slowly.