Syri skidded to an immediate stop when he heard a deep voice that was too familiar to him. The zeta held his breath before inching his way to the end of the corridor and peering around the corner to see the prince conversing with a female with light silver hair and a beautiful pale green dress that matched her light eyes perfectly. Syri stopped breathing as he set eyes on the tall man standing in front of the girl with his back turned toward him. Syri realized how much he had missed listening to the prince's deep, soothing voice and found himself eavesdropping on the two's conversation, not for the sake of knowing what was being discussed but only to hear the prince's voice one more time before continuing on his way out of the castle and away from the prince once more.
The zeta was quite a ways from the two in discussion, so he figured he could linger for a moment more before his scent would reach the sensitive nose of the true blood. The zeta's heart pinged when he saw the female smile up at the prince. Oh, how he longed to be able to smile up at the prince freely. A sad happiness filled the zeta as he watched the prince and young woman interact without a care in the world. Syri would never have been able to smile and laugh with the prince freely without major repercussions.
Watching the prince gaze down on the girl softly sparked mixed emotions in the zeta. Seeing the prince gaze at someone gently made Syri happy that the prince had moved on and had found love, but it also caused his heart to ache. However, besides the emotions, seeing the prince gaze down at the female aided Syri in solidifying his reasoning for leaving the prince's side. The prince would not have been able to smile down at Syri without consequence, and Syri could never allow himself to be the reason for the prince to be punished.
The bowing of the two in polite goodbye brought the zeta out of his deep thoughts and reminded Syri that he needed to get a move on. The zeta began to slowly back away from the edge of the corridor, but light footsteps behind the pink-haired caught the zeta's attention, and he whirled around without knowing who was approaching and placed his hand on the stranger's mouth. He could not risk exposure when he was just about to leave.
Wide brown eyes stared at the zeta in shock as the pink-haired kept his hand over the man's lips, stopping him from making a sound. Syri's eyes widened when he recognized the man to be the white-haired who had stared at him continuously while he served guests in the banquet hall. Without a word, Syri grabbed the white-haired man's wrist and began leading him away from the corner around which the prince and female had just parted ways.
To Syri's relief, the man did not resist his pull and remained silent as the zeta hurriedly led him to a secluded corner. The zeta's chest rose and fell slightly as he turned to face the perplexed white-haired male only to be stunned by the sight before him. The man's brown eyes were glistening with tears, and he was gazing down on the zeta fondly.
The man's expression took the zeta aback. "Are-are you alright?" A slight smile came to the man's lips at the zeta's kind inquiry, and he stepped forward and brought the pink-haired into his embrace.
Syri's eyes widened at the man's sudden movement. He was on the verge of apologizing for abruptly dragging the man into a private corner in the palace, but he was currently too stunned to speak. The man's embrace was soft and gentle, and Syri swore he could hear the tiniest hum escape the man. Syri's lips parted in great confusion when the man turned his nose into his neck and smelled his scent gland. A sigh escaped the man before he said, "I found you. I finally found you...Syri."
Syri lifted his arms to push the man away as he responded with, "Excuse me?" 'How does he know my name?'
"I've been looking for you everywhere. I can't believe I finally found you." A smile covered the man's face as he gazed down at the zeta fondly.
Confusion filled the zeta as he looked up at the white-haired. 'He is gazing at me too fondly to not know me, but I have no recollection of him previous to the banquet.' "I'm sorry, I don't think I follow-" The zeta's response was cut short by a deep voice calling his name. Syri's heart fluttered at the appearance of the deep voice, and he swallowed as determined footsteps sounded from behind. 'Oh, shit.'
"Prince." The white-haired greeted the prince of Crimson Night respectfully as the true blood approached the two. "I fin-"
The prince ignored the white-haired and voiced the zeta's name once more as he reached out and took the zeta's hand, spinning the pink-haired to face him. The zeta immediately turned his gaze to the floor and entered a low bow as was custom when a royal addressed a worker. "My prince, I apologize for discarding my duties; I will return to-"
"I had important matters to discuss with this worker," the white-haired spoke up, stepping in front of the zeta and shielding the pink-haired from the true blood. Jae knit his brows as he watched Aki separate him from Syri. The true blood's jaw clenched as he looked back and forth from the zeta to the beta, pressing his tongue into his cheek when the zeta continued to avoid his gaze. "I apologize for taking up his time, however, this cannot wait. I must-"
"Well, it will have to wait." The words were barely out of the true blood's mouth before he reached behind the beta and grabbed the zeta's wrist. "Come with me." The prince's tone was serious as he turned from the beta and began walking away with the zeta in his grasp.