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Erebus walked into the hallways, decorated with gold and riches, even the wealthiest dream of, expected for a kingdom of this power and size. His steps echoed through the silent halls, not a single servant in sight. Strange.
Yet Erebus couldn’t help but scoff at this place. Not because he wasn’t impressed (not that he’d admit it), he was just bitter .
This was all his father’s doing–his father, a ruler of a failing kingdom after going to war with this one, one of the most powerful kingdoms there was–a ridiculous idea in Erebus’ idea, but who was he to say? He was merely a forgettable prince, not even the crown one–a pawn for his father’s plan: to marry the crown prince and secure peace after many years of chaos.
Erebus, when he heard this, was aggrieved . Being married off like this? And he hadn’t been sure that his father even remembered who he was or even known him. His hands curled up, forming fists. Just thinking about it made him annoyed.
Not to mention about the prince who he was (forcefully) engaged to: Prince Jupiter. Before leaving his land for here, Erebus managed to hear whispers of rumors about the Prince. How he was nothing like the current ruler, Emperor Sun, how he preferred staying inside the library than meetings and parties. Just rumors filled with gossip and questions.
His train of thought trailed off after reaching the end of the hallway, now in front of a door. Someone was waiting for him.
“You must be Prince Erebus!” he cheerfully pointed out, perhaps too cheerful for Erebus. “I’m Io!” the servant named Io introduced himself, “one of the servants for Prince Jupiter.” Io gave him a wink, which Erebus scoffed out.
“Greetings to you…too,” Erebus grumbled out, not really meaning it. His eyes were on the large door. “I suppose this is where the library is?” he asked, one brow arched.
Io nodded ecstatically. Just how much energy could one person have? “His highness is inside the library, waiting for your welcome actually! Good thing you’re here!” Io would’ve gone on, but due to Erebus’ sharp scowl, he shut his mouth and instead opened the door for Erebus.
Immediately, Erebus’ eyes widened.
This library was perhaps the largest he has ever seen. It smelt like cedar wood and fresh black tea. Stacks of bookshelves that were taller than Erebus by a ton, all with books organized by color, day of publishing, author, and much more. There must’ve been a copy of every book in the world inside this wonderland, and Erebus didn’t even think of how many books there were.
Io chuckled–or what sounded like a chuckle–making Erebus snap out of awe, clearing his throat. “You seem to enjoy this!” he commented, “we do have the best library in the world, not to brag or anything.”
It sure sounded like bragging. “So does Jupiter just stay here?” Erebus asked, not using the crown prince’s official title. Never expected him to be such a nerd. After all, he was the heir to such a powerful kingdom. Shouldn’t he be on the lines of battle, fighting those never-ending wars than being here? Reading all day?
Speaking of the devil, there he was. The crown prince in all his glory, walking towards them.
If Erebus did lie, he would’ve said that Jupiter was plain. But if he was not lying, he would’ve said Jupiter was somewhat attractive–tall, the long hair tied into a small ponytail, well tailored with his suit, and the almond brown eyes locking in with Erebus’ icy dark blue. Erebus forced a small frown on his face, crossing his arms as the crown prince headed their way.
“Io, what’s going–,” he stopped mid-sentence, obviously caught by surprise by Erebus’ presence. Io bowed his head slightly to Jupiter, for respect, while Erebus just stood his ground firmly. Jupiter rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to come so early,” he gave an awkward laugh.
Erebus nodded his head slowly. “My father wishes for this to go quicker,” he informed, raising a brow, “has he not informed you of this?”
Jupiter shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Su–The Emperor usually keeps to himself,” he quickly corrected himself, fumbling over his words a little. Despite how he hovered over Erebus, the crown prince was….. normal , almost nothing like an heir or a prince at first glance. “My sincere apologies, your highness .”
Erebus was caught by surprise by the title. “Your highness”, huh? Coincidentally enough, he has never been called that before–yes, despite being a prince, he wasn’t a high ranking one, just one not anything special.
“It’s fine,” he replied curtly, “and also, mind with the title? Erebus is just fine. There is no need for formality.” Erebus might’ve sounded a little too rude. He thinned his lips, waiting for Jupiter to be offended.
Instead, Jupiter nodded attentively, letting out a small breath, almost a laugh. “Now that you say it, I feel the same way,” his hands grabbed the books firmly, more tightly now. “After all, we are soon to be wedded .”
Erebus felt a shiver down his spine when he heard that word. Wedded. Engaged. Marriage. It was all so new–why did he have to be one engaged? There were so many other princes that his father would have assigned this task too, but him?
Erebus bit the inside of his cheek. Now is not the time to complain. He had a job to do.
Jupiter turned his head to Io, who was busy picking at his nails and jolted. “Io, mind boiling some black tea for us?” He glanced at Erebus. “That is, if you don’t mind black tea.”
“Coffee,” Erebus instructed the servant, “black.” He wasn’t a black tea fan, or any tea fan. Erebus preferred coffee to anything else, actually: tea, heck, even water too. Uranus had often pointed out this bad habit but was usually shut down by a cold glare from the prince.
Io nodded his hand and gave an unnecessary, dramatic salute to the two princes before marching his way outside and into the kitchen.
This action engendered an eye roll from Erebus. “Must he be so…extra?” he muttered coldly under his breath, not aware that Jupiter could hear him.
“I enjoy his company, actually,” the crown prince replied, and Erebus looked at him with bewilderment. “It’s refreshing after being around some other servants….”
Huh, he didn’t seem like the type to give out snide remarks, but Erebus let it slide. “Whatever,” he found the nearest wooden chair and sat in it without asking for permission. He let out a tired sigh.
Jupiter followed, sitting on the chair next to his, on the other side of the table. Io quickly followed that movement, like coming out of nowhere. That was quick, Erebus thought as the servant handed him his black coffee and Jupiter’s black tea. He headed out soon after, probably not going to see him for a while.
Erebus took his time with his coffee, savoring every slip–but that had a downside to it. He abruptly put the mug on the table, his tongue burning up as every second passed. He should’ve been more careful.
Jupiter furrowed his brows. “Too hot for you?” he asked the oblivious, and Erebus could only glare at the crown prince, which only brought a laugh to him.
He muttered under his breath. A moment of silence came between the two. The only sound was Jupiter’s small slips of his black tea. Erebus had decided to wait patiently for his coffee to cool down–even too hot for him. So he decided to cross his legs, asking Jupiter questions.
“So,” he started, a loud smack coming from his lips. “This is your library?”
Jupiter gave a shrug, taking another sip of his tea before responding. “It’s actually the whole palace, but I’m the only one here, since Su–the emperor decided to build it for me, when I was younger, of course.”
Erebus tapped on the table, nodding along. “Must be nice, huh?” he looked at Jupiter, a small smile crawling up his face, not happy but something else, like mocking. “Having this whole library to yourself?”
“Yes, it is,” Jupiter politely agreed. He placed his tea down on the table, next to Erebus’ coffee. So close that you couldn’t even see the difference between the two drinks. “Say, would you like a tour? I promise you there’s more than old books.”
Erebus caught onto that hidden playfulness in Jupiter’s words. That caught his interest. “Oh?” he said, folding his hands together. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises?”
Jupiter scoffed at that. “I’m full of many things,” he explained, a smirk on his face. “You just have to see closer.”
Erebus smiled, now intrigued and amused. This crown prince was something else, something that Erebus hadn't figured out yet, something that interested the prince more than it should. “Very well then,” he began, standing up, and Jupiter did the same. “Don’t mind if you do.”
This was going to be more fun than he had expected–perhaps there was nothing to complain about afterall.