Chance slightly opened his eyes, half awake. He could feel his surroundings vibrating which made him furrowed his brows, dizzy from the wake caused by the quaking.
His neck became stiff from putting his head onto the same spot for hours, but he did not move as he was thinking about something. He realized that he was not leaning onto the carriage because it was less harder than before.
He raised his head, confused then looked up to see that it was the shoulder of the Valorian knight. His eyes widened as he processed the embarrassment for leaning onto his knight, 'Crap! Alec?!' he said in shock and distanced himself away from him. 'I slept on him!'
He directed his face at the window to hide his embarrassment. 'But wait, why should I be embarrassed?! Charles wouldn't be like this!'
He turned to Alec and squinted his eyes, "Why are you even on this side?" he asked, but the knight doesn't even seem to be bothered at all."Your head was about to drop to the side, so I caught you and lent my shoulder for you to sleep on." he answered.
Chance averted his gaze, 'Gosh, I know he is the closest I have but I'm still uncomfortable with him.' he took a glimpse on the knight's face but what remains is his blank expression. 'Blank face!'
"You did not have to do that. Besides, is that even part of your duties?" Chance said while looking at Alec.
The knight turned to him and stared. Despite the expressionless face, there was a hint of seriousness in his crimson eyes as he says, "If it is for you, then it is my duty."
Chance does not know how to respond and just stared back at him. The knight's hand made its way to his white hair then went down on his face. "You are my duty."
Surprised to hear those words, Chance pushed his hands away with a bit of a force, subconsciously. "Oh, Iā" he muttered after realizing what he had done but Alec cut him off, "I forgot that you do not like to be touched, Forgive me." he said and bowed his head before returning back to his seat across Chance.
There was another awkward silence inside the carriage that went on for minutes. Chance, who was peeking outside the window, took a glance secretly in the corner of his eyes at Alec. The knight was sitting up straight, gazing down at his feet. 'Is this guy really Charles's best friend? How was he able to put up with this awkwardness?!'
Alec caught him staring, making him look back outside. Who knows what goes on the knight's head, It is something no people could tell.
The light in the sky fades as the sun slowly disappears. Chance could not help but to be in a daze, sunset and dawn were one of his favorite things he loves to look at. The brilliantly red and orange color calms him down as he didn't like the bright daylight and even the night.
He liked the scenery, they were going along the sea side path to the kingdom where carriages mostly go through. The glowing circle in the marmalade sky, illuminated a quivering path across the water. The most beautiful thing to witness with his own eyes.
He snapped back from his daze and when he turned, he could see the Canopus palace from afar. "We are almost near."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Glory to the new king! Glory to the new king!" the people inside the ballroom shouted while raising their glasses.
The people were loud and the room was filled with cheers and chattering. The noises of their laughter was accompanied by the musicians dancing in the middle. "Your Majesty! It is delightful to see you have taken over the throne you deserve!" the Duke of Canopus greeted with a bow.
"You know how to use your words well, Duke Jarvis." the king of Canopus smiled and sipped from his glass while eyeing the duke.
The duke pulled someone and put him in front, "Your Majesty, this is my son, Jasper Cameron." he introduced the man with a chocolate brown hair and is 3 inches taller than Chance. His hazel eyes matched with his hair, he was a mix of handsome and cute and looked like a human chocolate ready to attract people.
He flashed his charming smile and bowed his head, "Greetings, Your Majesty. I am the son of the duke from the Cameron household." he stated. "I hope for more glory to come to your name, King Leonidas."
Leonidas just gave him a smile. 'At least this one is true unlike his fake father.' he thought. "Go on and enjoy the party. You cannot spend the whole celebration in front of me, right?" the king smiled.
Jasper bowed and walked away as soon as the king said so. The duke was left in front of his majesty and felt something weird in his tone. The king was smiling, but the way he said it felt like he was not liked so he also gave respect and went away.
The king snorted and sipped from his drink and turned to the man sitting by his side. "I wonder when your son, the crown prince, will come?" Leonidas asked.
The other king put on his usual serious face, "I believe he will come soon." Despite the serious expression that made him look grumpy, King Leonidas paid no heed since they were used to that face.
Leonidas smiled and changed the direction of his gaze unto the ladies and gentlemen dancing. There were two thrones inside the ball room, One which is higher, another one was also fancy, but not bigger than Leonidas' seat. To show that they are both Kings, but one owns the kingdom.
"I am getting quite tired of waiting, Cadell." he muttered while keeping his smile. "It is a very special day so I hope waiting for him will not waste my time." he added.
King Cadell rested his cheeks on his fist, with the elbow on the arm of the throne. "The night is still young. As you grow old you will realize you shall have patience. Wait for him."
'I am afraid I am not old enough to realize it, old man.' he thought and rose up from his seat. "I shall take a walk first while your son is not here yet." Leonidas stated and walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance walked around the halls in panic. 'I can't believe I got lost!' he screamed in his mind.
After they arrived at the palace, a servant told them to come in. The last thing he realized, Alec was no longer behind him.
'I don't even know this place. I can't even remember the way in my palace, let alone here!' He walked and walked and walked, but the halls and things he keeps seeing look all the same. 'Goddamn palaces!'
There was a double door at the end of the hall where he thought that was where the ballroom is. But when he opened it, he found his way into the big garden, lit up by the moon and the stars. He liked the middle of daylight and nighttime. He does not like the night for it was a time for research that makes him stay up late. But one thing he liked about night was,
The stars.
He heard a fluttering sound of a cape and saw someone looking at the sky. Despite the dark night where he could not see anything clearly, the man's blonde hair seemed to be glowing by the reflection of the stars and moonlight.
The man sensed someone in the garden and they looked at each other. Chance felt scared to move, the appearance was nowhere near scary but the aura makes him tense up. The golden eyes of the man shone and he smiled, "Nice to find someone in here besides me. Tell me, what is your name?" he asked.
"Charles Howard." Chance answered immediately, as if obeying a master's command.
The man smiled in amusement, "Charles Howard, I see." the man approached him and gazing down at his face. "You are also a guest at the After Coronation?" he asked.
"Yes."
His smile grew even bigger as he stared at him. The man tapped his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I will be looking forward to seeing you again. Enjoy the party." he said and walked away, leaving Chance dumbfounded.
'So mysterious, I wonder who that was.' Chance thought.
In amidst of staring at the stars he remembered things that happened to him from the day he came in this century. 'I'm meeting a lot of mysterious people here. The people in Charles's life.'
Distracted by the scenery of the night sky, he stayed in the garden sitting, did not bother looking for the ballroom.
While sitting, he felt a hand on his body that made him jerk. He turned his head and saw a man he could not see. "What do you think you are doing here? You are supposed to be at the ballroom." the man said.
Chance squinted to see who it was, curious about what he looks like. "I will just stay here for a short while." Chance responded. "Who are you?" he asked.
Even without seeing his face, he could tell that he was smirking. He heard a mocking snort from him, "Have you forgotten who I was?"
"Seriously, who are you?" Chance repeated.
The man held him at both sides of his waist and carried him, making Chance rise up from his seat. The man supported Chance with both hands on his back, making the two of them one inch away from each other.
With their faces so close, they stared at each other. The light of the sky reflected on the man's face, revealing who it was.
It felt as if time had stopped.
Once again, their fate has intertwined.