Phaulkin lead Xan through the halls. He didn't feel like going to dinner. Everyone stared at him. He would just have something sent up for him and the boy later. He felt something. He didn't know what he felt, but it was there every time they were near each other. He didn't even know this kid's name, for crying out loud, but. there was just. something about him.
"Where are we going?" Xan asked as they walked past by a large pair of French doors that led out into the courtyard.
"The library," Phaulkin answered flatly, like he was trying to suppress anything he felt or anything he was thinking that he felt was wrong.
"Oh. What are we going to do there?"
"I'm going to read. You can do whatever you want."
Xan paused for a second, "I guess I'll read, too."
Xan silently followed Phaulkin as they walked through the cold castle corridors. Night was falling and it was getting cold outside, which was bad for a castle that was designed to let in plenty of fresh air.
Phaulkin's polished black boots made soft, yet authorative, clicks as his heels hit the stone floors while Xan's feet were covered in dainty slippers that barely made any noise at all. Phaulkin's legs were much longer than Xan's, so the small red-head occasionally had to jog to catch up.
"What's your name?" Phaulkin asked as they walked.
Xan frowned, "Why should I tell you?" he replied.
The prince bit his lower lip, "I wanted to know. You do not have to answer me if you do not desire to do so."
"Well, I don't."
Xan could not help but think that if he had spoken that way to Phox, he would have been beaten or beheaded. He noted that Phaulkin was very attractive, though he would never speak these thoughts out loud. He would comment on how boys looked at home and he was constantly teased by his sisters. Boys weren't supposed to find other boys attractive.
Phaulkin's voice broke into his thoughts.
"I wish to ask you what you are thinking, but I know you will not answer my question."
Xan nodded, "Ye're right. Whot goes on in mah mind is none o' yer bloody business." The question had slightly caught him off guard, thickening his usually hidden accent.
Nodding, Phaulkin turned and pushed open a set of large, mahogany double doors. Behind the doors were four walls, with a very high ceiling above them, completely covered in bookshelves filled to the brim with books of every size and color.
A surprised gasp escaped Xan's mouth as he followed Phaulkin into the library. His eyes darted around the room as though he was trying to absorb it all into his mind.
"Do you like to read?" asked Phaulkin.
"Yes," said Xan, "But I have never seen this many books in one place before."
Phaulkin nodded, then walked over to a shelf and climbed up the ladder next to it with cat-like grace. He pulled a book off of the shelf and climbed back down, "Did you know that the Mengapor palace has the largest library in the known galaxy? There are two more levels, one below us and one above us."
"Wow," whispered Xan, "I had no idea."
"Most people don't. Most people only see Mengapor as a war country. We control nine planets other than this, you know. We have the strongest military in the universe to our knowledge. That's all people see. We are something to be feared." The prince sounded... bitter, like he hated the way his planet was viewed.
"Fayela is seen as weak," said Xan as he walked around the room and scanned all of the book titles, "No one sees the people, the art, the communities, the comradery formed between people just because they are your fellow human beings. They see our choice to ignore pointless technological advances and that we choose to work for a living instead of letting the robots do it for us while we do nothing. We like the harder life. Do you know how fulfilling it is to eat a meal of animals that you raised and nurtured yourself and vegetables and fruits that you've been tending to all of your life? That you were the one that put the food on the table, that all of it came directly from your hands."
"I would love to know," said Phaulkin, "I wanted to have my own portion of the garden dddsfor produce, but my father simply laughed and told me to stop being childish and go study. Phox never has to study." Again, the prince sounded bitter. This slightly surprised Xan, that he would show so much dislike towards his brother. Then Xan thought about his brother again and shrugged.
"My father was a carpenter," Xan said with a soft smile, "We lived right on the edge of this huge forest and we'd spend hours climbing trees after our chores, my sisters and I."
"I had a sister once," chuckled Phaulkin, "She died when she was 13. She was assassinated, actually. A poisoned dart shot her in the arm at the victory parade after we conquered Taklieru-kzaaan. She died within seconds."
"That's awful," gasped Xan, "If Tenki or Denki died, I don't dare to think of what I'd do. They mean the world to me."
Nodding, Phaulkin replied, "And she meant the world to me. Don't think about what you would do . You are much better off. I don't dare remember the things I did."
Xan turned away from the books he was looking at and stared at the blonde prince, who refused to lift his eyes away from his book. Phaulkin sighed heavily and slammed the book shut.
"Dinner will be soon," he stated as he walked over to the shelf to put the book back, "I must go and dine with my father. You will return to my quarters and I shall have a servant bring you something to eat."