Prince Evero took a drink from the tea cup filled with the substance the east called coffee and cringed at the bitterness, Dorian laughed as he too took a sip of his cup.
"Bitter?" Dorian asked as he put the cup on it's floral holder.
Prince Evero placed his cup on its holder as he looked out the balcony where the blue sky expressed it's full colors, as the sun beamed across the capital city below them to the fields at the base of Somar mountain. Prince Evero shook his head "You and your fetish with the East."
Dorian smiled "The privileges of being part of the Andar coven"
The Andar coven was best known for the title as the wealthiest coven within the Sanguin Empire. The Andar coven was a coven based solely in the trading in the best of qualities of salt, fabrics and dyes, and human blood. Their few expeditions over the Somar Mountain ranges to the Dark Sea to Eastern land of the humans were well known. The Andar coven were one among the many covens that supplied the royals and rich of the Sanguin Empire with the coveted blood of humans. It was a commodity not given to the public for centuries after the Sanguin Empire almost fell at the hands of humans.
"Yes, speaking of that.. have you found my brother?" Prince Evero asked as he picked up his tea cup again only to put the cup down after taking a bitter sip.
Dorian sighed after taking a sip of his own cup "No. I have had no contact with our informant since before the last checkpoint at the base of the mountain."
Prince Evero's gaze wandered through the city streets below him and he sighed "Do you suppose he's dead?"
Dorian looked from his cup to see the sullen gaze of Prince Evero "More than likely."
Prince Evero's face went blank but upon seeing Dorian's gaze upon him he smiled "Good. One down and one to go."
Dorian looked at that smile for only a split second before it disappeared behind a teacup, as Prince Evero took a drink of the coffee looking out of the balcony. They sat in silence for a long time when Dorian said "You know he did it."
Prince Evero stiffly placed the teacup on the table "Yes."
"Then why not seek revenge for your brother?!" demanded Dorian.
Prince Evero looked at Dorian with a smirk "Why? They're both my brothers."
"Not by blood" scoffed Dorian as he drank his coffee almost making Prince Evero cringe at the pace he drank it.
Prince Evero looked back out the balcony "Dorian, all is fair in the royal courts when it comes to the throne."
Dorian shook his head "You royals and that damn throne."
Dorian was a sole heir to the wealth his father had accumulated within the Andar coven, so it wasn't a surprise to Prince Evero he judged it so harshly. After all he didn't have an impending doom hanging over his head from his own siblings. What a blessing Dorian's parents only had him, why couldn't Emperor have done the same courtesy for him?
Prince Evero smiled "What else was I born for Dorian?"
Dorian remained silent as he looked out the balcony, Prince Evero's eyes turned hard as he looked at Dorian saying "Dorian, everyone has a destiny they are born to. You are the sole heir to ruling the Andar Coven and as such you are destined to learn the trade of a merchant. My role in this life is to learn how to rule so that before the reading, I can wipe out the competition as a tribute to the people. As a show of my abilities and determination to rule over them."
Dorian sighed "Yes but he's your bro-"
"My brother? Have you ever seen me or my brothers, blood or not, treat each other as if we were brothers?" Asked Prince Evero but Dorian answered with a simple shake of his head.
"I do not regret my brother's death as they will not regret mine. For they would think as I do: That I have one less person to kill on my way to the throne." Prince Evero made a sinister smile before he looked away from Dorian.
Dorian shook his head "Is it worth it though?"
Prince Evero looked at his friend for a long moment as he tried to make sense of Dorian's question "What do you mean?"
"Is that throne worth butchering your own family?" Dorian's eyes turned a lighter blue as he showed the sadness behind them, making Prince Evero wonder if Dorian would understand him better if he had siblings to quarrel with over his inherited fortune.
Prince Evero smiled "I won't regret it as long as I get to live."
"You could always go to the East." Dorian suggested but Prince Evero laughed making Dorian raise an eyebrow.
"That worked out so well for the imperial crown prince." said Prince Evero sarcastically.
Dorian scowled "Well you wouldn't be traveling with just a few guards and servants. You're not that stupid."
Prince Evero smiled as he looked at his cup of coffee pondering if it was worth taking another sip when Dorian said "Prince Evero I am being serious."
Prince Evero looked at his friend's face to see the resolve behind those dull blue cat shaped eyes and he sighed "How did I ever get a friend like you?"
Dorian smiled as he leaned back into his seat pouring himself another cup of coffee which he downed quickly, Prince Evero had to stop himself from hurling "I think it was after you tried to catch a thief." Dorian commented.
Prince Evero had been around thirteen when he had first met Dorian who at the time accused a man for trying to steal his money. Prince Evero being the way he was at the time, raced towards the person Dorian said was the thief in an attempt to deter them from taking the money. However it did not happen like he had planned it would.
Prince Evero smirked "I remember that. Speaking of which, if my memory serves me right, that thief was you."
Prince Evero had only reached the man who Dorian accused of theft when he saw a few others following him, so instead he took hold of Dorian's wrist and they ran away. They raced through the streets easily before reaching a dead end.
"Hey climb up!" Said Dorian to Prince Evero who was glancing over his shoulder for the vampires pursuing them.
Prince Evero looked up the high wall and shook his head "I won't make it."
Dorian climbed up the wall and extended his hand down to Prince Evero "Come on reach!"
Prince Evero tried jumping for it but being a few inches too short said "Just go!"
Dorian scoffed "Hey this is no time to be a martyr."
Prince Evero laughed "Do you think I want to? Just get out of here!"
Prince Evero hid behind some garbage and waited as he heard the running of boots come down the alleyway.
"Shit!" said a whiskey voice.
"Where the hell did the Andar garbage go?!" squeaked another.
Prince Evero looked up at the wall Andar? He could feel the inkling of recognition to the name when a squeaky voice said "Hey who's hiding there?!"
Prince Evero gasped as he was roughly grabbed and brought out for the group of vampires to see. The leading vampire had a patch over his right eye while his left green eye glowered at him "Whats this?"
Prince Evero went pale as he looked to the vampire holding him hostage to see a bald vampire with brown eyes gleaming as he looked at him. The vampire squeaked "He looks rather pretty!"
The leading vampire nodded "That he does. You have a name kid?"
Prince Evero glanced around the alleyway looking for an exit but seeing none said "Findor"
The leading vampire scoffed but a fat vampire not too far away laughed "What a stupid name!"
Prince Evero's gut fell, it was the best he came up with.
"Well Findor you wouldn't happen to have seen where a brown haired brat about your size come by with a bag would you?" asked the leading vampire as he took a step towards Prince Evero.
"n-No." stuttered Prince Evero
"Really?" asked the whiskey voiced Vampire as he pulled out his knife "Lets make sure."
Prince Evero wanted to cry for help but all he could do was stare as that knife came closer and closer to his cheek, he wanted so bad to cry out but he had sent that kid off.
Then suddenly the voice he thought he would never hear again said "Hey asshole!"
The man holding Prince Evero turned to the owner and Prince Evero saw it was the Kid, he had climbed down during the interrogation without them noticing with his arms crossed and the bag next to his right foot.
"Let the idiot go."
Prince Evero would have normally objected to the idiot part but was he happy to see that kid.
"Oh if it isn't the little asshole who stole my money." said the leading Vampire.
Stole? I thought the vampires were trying to steal from the kid? he didn't voice his questions but instead remained quiet as the kid tossed the bag to the older vampire who caught it easily.
"Now you have your bag give me the kid."
"Not yet. You still owe me over four hundred parsecs" growled the vampire with the knife.
Prince Evero stared at the kid in disbelief parsecs?! That was a fortune!
"Yeah and I said I would get it to you, Tarvar. What? Are you getting cold feet?" said the kid making Prince Evero begin to wonder if they were going to take the kids life, as payment just to spite the kid's comments. But the leading Vampire named Tarvar tossed the bag to one of his goons.
"Nah I was thinking you need a reminder about how little time you have."
Prince Evero watched them beat on the kid and he tried to struggle out of the bald man's arms but the bald vampire shook his head as he whispered next to Prince Evero's ear "Not yet, my pretty."
Prince Evero cringed but just as the beating started it stopped and Tarvar nodded to the bald vampire who reluctantly released Prince Evero. The vampires laughed as they walked away and once they were gone Prince Evero turned to the kid who was already sitting up smiling at Prince Evero "Hey Saint"
"Me? You're the one whose face got beaten." Blood was slowly dripping out of the kid's nose as his eyes began to swell up along with his bottom lip.
The kid laughed stupidly as he held out his hand "I'm Dorian."
Prince Evero laughed as he took the kid's hand and helped him stand "Evero"
"Not Findor?" Dorian raised his eyebrow and smiled making Evero blush in embarrassment "Its the best I could come up with."
"Idiot." laughed Dorian
Prince Evero chuckled as they began to walk out of the alleyway with Dorian putting his arm on Prince Evero's shoulders as they came to the end of it "Thirsty?"
Prince Evero smiled "Yeah."
Dorian nodded as he turned left towards the vendors selling their wares dragging Evero with his as he went "Then to the pub we go."
Prince Evero nodded but stopped as he quickly looked at Dorian "Wait I don't have money!"
Dorian winked as he took out a leather pouch from his shaggy shirt, its contents jingled softly "I got it covered."
Prince Evero shook his head "What about paying that guy? Travar or something…"
Dorian shrugged it off "Its Tarvar. But it doesn't matter I'll pay him back tomorrow."
Prince Evero's secret visits to the streets increased until he basically resided at the Andar mansion taking on the title of Dorian's friend Evero. The royal family didn't even notice his absence until the death of the Emperor, then his loving childhood was taken from him as he was locked into the Palace life for the last two years.
Dorian smiled "Yeah we both ended up in that alleyway didn't we?"
Prince Evero laughed "It must have knocked some sense into you, because the Sinra Coven are no longer after you."
Dorian shook his head as he downed another coffee cup "Don't even start. I lost so much allowance to those assholes"
"Well if you hadn't spent it all on the booze at that bar, you would have paid them off faster." Said Prince Evero as he smiled at Dorian's thoughts on paying a debt as wasting his allowance.
Prince Evero laughed at Dorian who scowled playfully at him, Prince Evero smiled as he said "See, I don't need brothers. I have you."
Dorian's traces of a smile faded but he nodded sadly "Yeah, you got me."
Prince Evero and Dorian remained in silence when Dorian asked "So will you?"
"So will I what?" Prince Evero said as he looked at Dorian.
"Go East. The whole of the Andar Coven would take you over the mountain on one of the runs, it would be easy." Said Dorian as he leaned heavily on the table to look Prince Evero in the eye.
Prince Evero shook his head "What would I do?"
Dorian shrugged "Anything. Travel, gamble, live I don't know. Maybe even a family?"
Prince Evero looked at Dorian surprised "With a human?"
Dorian smiled "What don't want to have weak blood running in your offspring?"
Prince Evero laughed "I'm having kids now huh?"
Dorian nodded with his nose stuck in the air "Yeah then I would be an uncle."
Prince Evero laughed hard, making Dorian chuckle as he drank another cup of coffee. Once the quiet chuckles fell silent Prince Evero sighed "Sadly, I don't see myself having a wife, let alone a child."
Dorian looked up at Prince Evero in surprise "What? Why not? Isn't everyone wanting one of those money and time consuming monsters running around their feet?"
Prince Evero scoffed in disbelief "You want kids?"
Dorian shook his head as he sipped his coffee "Hell, no. Money is meant to be spent on alcohol and women."
Prince Evero glanced at Dorian with his eyebrow raised "What about the time?"
Dorian smiled as he wagged his eyebrows up and down "Time is meant to be used for making money to spend on the alcohol and women."
Prince Evero smiled shaking his head "As expected from a Pimp."
"Hey! Don't disrespect the life I lead. You just wish you could swing like I do." Dorian said in his defense but Prince Evero just laughed "Not really, to be honest It's a wonder you haven't caught a disease. Besides I only spoke the truth. Speaking of alcohol where's the morning whiskey?"
Dorian took another swig of coffee as he sighed "My allowance has been cut. A quack of a doctor convinced my mother the alcohol and women was shortening my immortal life span."
Prince Evero laughed at the irony. Even Dorian's mother was concerned about her son's party life, but as he watched Dorian chug the last of his cup of coffee he showed his teeth in disgust "That's why the coffee this morning?"
Dorian nodded "Yep. She was willing to buy the caffeine to wean me off the liquor."
"Ahh" Prince Evaro motioned to a servant and they disappeared into the back room as he watched Dorian pour himself another cup.
"Is it working?" asked Prince Evero
Dorian shook his head lifting the cup so Prince Evero could look at the black liquid "This cup of coffee looks like urine from my grandfather's sever liver failure and it tastes like dirt."
Prince Evero smiled as a servant came with a tray of whiskey which had the color of light brown making Dorian begin to drool as he glared at the whiskey "Are you mocking me?"
Prince Evero looked at Dorian surprised "Why would I?"
Suddenly a vampire entered the chambers only to stop short of the table and bow "Prince Evero"
Prince Evero motioned for the servant to come close and following the command the servant leaned in close to Prince Evero's ear "Your Highness, there is rumor that Prince Hagar has fallen ill with a fever."
Prince Evero looked up at the servant "Are you sure?"
The servant nodded as Dorian poured himself another cup of coffee, which Prince Evero had thankfully missed the previous cup being drank.
Prince Evero nodded as he handed the servant two silver shillings "Thank you. Return to where you belong."
The servant bowed and disappeared from the room leaving the two vampires alone again, Dorian spoke first "You seem cheeky"
Prince Evero hadn't realized he had been smiling but now that Dorian had mentioned his mood, he could feel his joy etched upon his face. He glanced out the balcony as he asked "Dorian, do you ever feel fate is on your side?"
Dorian shrugged "Mostly in gambling."
Prince Evero nodded "Well it seems that my brother has fallen ill with the fever."
Dorian smiled "Serves him right for killing the imperial prince, let's hope it kills him."
Prince Evero smirked "Yes lets. After all how fitting would it be that my competitor died from a simple fever?"
Dorian shook his head but said "It would be fitting."
Prince Evero poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a swig washing the taste of the foul coffee from his tongue.
"Do I get some of that?" asked Dorian as he watched the cup in Prince Evero's hand come away from his lips.
Prince Evero lifted the clear glass "This?"
Dorian nodded without looking away from the glass "What else is there to drink?"
Prince Evero turned his gaze back to the world beyond the balcony "No."
"What?! Why not?" demanded Dorian
Prince Evero had to hide his smile with his whiskey glass as he said "I wouldn't want all your mother's efforts to go to waste."
Dorian's nose flared as he growled "So you were mocking me!"
Prince Evero made a fake innocent smile "Why would I ever do that? I just wanted to drink."
Dorian growled as he poured himself another cup of coffee when Prince Evaro took a sip of his whiskey as he said "Ahh such a wonderful taste."
Dorian smiled through his teeth as he took a sip of his coffee "Ahh such a great taste, you should drink it."
"I have, so I'll take a pass on your offer." Prince Evero took another sip from his whiskey glass.
"You didn't even drink it!" Dorian protested as his pointed at the cup filled with coffee.
"I had a taste and that's enough for me." Prince Evero smiled as he looked at Dorian "Besides I would not wish to take your drink away from you."
There was a long stretch of silence when Dorian smiled "Shouldn't you offer me a glass? After all I offered mine."
"Oh how I wish I could, but I have a feeling you would actually accept it." Prince Evero smiled as he took another sip of his glass.
Dorian's smile fell flat "You are such a prick."
Prince Evero laughed and the two of them eventually joined each other in the amusement of their banter, yet Prince Evero couldn't help but think back to Dorian's questions.
"Is it worth it though?- Is that throne worth butchering your own family?"
Prince Evaro knew the throne was worth it. It had to be. Otherwise what was his purpose in living if it wasn't?