Kael's eyes widened at the noise. He felt the cold air seep through his torn clothes and hit his exposed butt, raising goosebumps on his skin. His hands immediately shot back to hide his modesty.
His face turned red in embarrassment and he timidly looked up at the man in front of him, who was tilting his head curiously, trying to peep on his back. Kael took a step back and growled, "Don't peek"
Eros chuckled at the little boy's behavior. "What's new to see? You crawled naked in front of me when you were a baby. I must admit that the mole on your right butt cheek is indeed pretty," he said thoughtfully.
"Shut up!" Kael turned beet red at his comment.
Eros raised his hands in surrender. "Now call me uncle, I might consider lending you my robe," he said, relishing in the boy's helplessness.
Kael looked at his arrogant smirk and bit the inside of his cheeks in frustration.
My modesty came first. I can deal with this man later, he decided. With a puff of his cheek, he called him in a low voice.
"Uncle…," his call was almost inaudible.
Eros picked his ears with his pinky finger, as if he hadn't heard him clearly. Kael gave up his stubbornness and shouted loudly.
"Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!. Is that enough? Don't address me as your 'niece' again and now give me your robe," he stretched out his right hand to get the robe while his left held the torn fabric in place.
Eros stood there unmoving and looked at the little boy with amusement. "My dear niece, have you forgotten that you are a raven? Now morph and follow me," he said and took his hawk form and flew into the night sky without waiting for the boy whose jaw was wide open in shock.
"You!" Kael's lips trembled and his eyes welled up with tears, but he stubbornly held back and didn't let them fall. He let go of his torn clothes and morphed into his raven form. His small body shrunk in size and tufts of feathers emerged, covering his fair skin with a layer of black feathers much darker than Eros.
"Caw Caw!"
He flapped his feathers aggressively and flew towards the sky. Eros, flying in front of him, felt the sudden weight slam into his back. His balance wavered for a moment before he studied his position and flew towards the castle.
"Screee!"
His head tilted to the side to see a little raven sitting above his body with his legs spread wide.
"Hmph!" Kael turned his raven head to the side, its thick bill tilted upwards and continued to enjoy the free ride without tiring out its little feathers. When they returned to the castle, to their great surprise, a girl in her late teens stood there waiting outside Kael's room with worry etched on her face.
It was only after she saw the little raven sitting on the big hawk's back that she breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes narrowed at the raven who lay flat on the hawk's body, trying to merge his tiny black self into Eros' feathers.
Eros transformed into his human form before catching the small raven and placing it on the floor in front of the girl. "What are you still doing up, Naeris?" he questioned the young girl, who turned to meet his eyes with a polite smile on her face.
"Greetings Uncle Eros. I came looking for my brother to ask something, only to find him missing from his room," she informed, shooting a glare in her brother's direction.
"Our little prince, Kael, went out to get some fresh air. But unfortunately, he forgot the way back to the castle. As a dutiful uncle, I searched for him anxiously throughout the entire capital and found him crying near the capital's port and brought him here on my back," Eros explained in his dramatic voice that shows the effort and fatigue he went through to find her brother.
The raven glared at the man with its shiny black eyes.
"My apologies Uncle. I will reprimand him," Naeris said and looked at the little bird on the floor that was standing with its head down.
"Morph!" She ordered her little brother.
The raven hopped with its little feet reaching behind Eros and hid its body from the girl's view. Kael shifted back to his human form and only peeked his head out from behind Eros, casting a pitiful glance at his sister.
"Get inside your room now," Naeris said and was about to get him when Kael clutched Eros's trousers and said immediately.
"I will sleep with uncle tonight!," the words escaped from his mouth even before he could control them.
Eros raised his eyebrows and looked at him with interest. On the other hand, Naeris eyes were filled with doubt. She knew his little brother's dislike for their uncle and always looked like an active volcano ready to erupt.
It was indeed surprising that he was asking permission to sleep along with their uncle. Before she could speak further, Eros interrupted her.
"Let him be. I will take care of him. You should get some sleep"
Naeris hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded her head. She wrapped the shawl around herself tightly and retired to her room to rest. On the other end of the corridor, Silas, who was searching for the young prince at the request of Princess Naeris, watched his majesty standing in front of the prince's room.
As he approached, his eyes fell on the shiny, chubby exposed back of the little prince standing next to his majesty.
" -_- "
He was taken aback by the sight and blinked to make sure his eyes weren't betraying him. However, the long tear in the fabric remained, exposing the young boy's soft butt to the air. His eyelids twitched. Yesterday he was complaining about his majesty being impudent, but now the young prince himself was roaming around the castle in such indecent clothing. Nevertheless, he acted oblivious to it and walked silently towards them.
"Your majesty," Silas bowed to his king.
Kael immediately turned around, covering his bottom with his small hands. But the scenery had already been revealed to the audience, who clearly showed no interest in the pair of small buns. Eros looked down at the little boy's back, who was in the process of safeguarding his dignity from others but was failing miserably. He sighed and removed his outer robe and threw it carelessly over the boy's head.
The robe was big enough to drown the boy under its large expanse. Kael grabbed the end of the robe and tied it around his neck, leaving the rest to cover his bottom. He sent one last glare at Eros and stormed towards the direction of his uncle's room.
He didn't want to share a room with his uncle, but he was sure his sister would come back to check on him. Left with no choice, he decided to grit his teeth and pass this night in the company of his uncle. As he walked, the length of the robe swept the floor behind him, but he didn't care.
As soon as Kael was out of their sight, Silas pulled a scroll from inside his robes and handed it to his majesty. Eros took the scroll from his hand before reading the message written on it. A frown marred his face as his eyes scanned through the message.
"Who?" Eros asked his advisor.
"It came from the House Dunesworn, your majesty," Silas informed.
"Isn't he the trusted aide of Jamal? The mouse was hiding just under the cat's nose. Isn't that interesting?" Eros ran his tongue over his canines, testing its sharpness. He handed the scroll back to him and said, "Ask Rook to deliver this to Jamal," he said simply and walked towards his room.
Silas bowed, wishing his majesty good night. He knew very well that his majesty disliked dealing with small rats. Sending the scroll to Jamal is enough for him to realize that someone is betraying him, and it will keep him busy for some time away from the chaos he has been creating until they return to Dusthaven.
When Eros returned to his room, he was greeted by the sight of his nephew standing beside the lamp table donned in one of his shirts, which reached below the boy's knees. Kael, who hadn't noticed his uncle's arrival, looked at the long sleeves that completely hid his hands, a grin breaking through his lips as he began to flap the excess sleeves like a wing and played with it.
"Do you like my shirt?"
Kael immediately put his hands down and turned back to climb on the bed before occupying the right side. He didn't respond to his uncle's question and pulled the blanket up to his neck. His eyes fell on the other blanket that was folded neatly and placed on the pillow. His nose scrunched up in disgust at the bright, vivid colors painted on it.
He wondered where his uncle had bought this blanket.