Nikolai walked through the extravagant halls of Castle Tolvaj toward his chambers, with Aurora floating gracefully behind him, her arms wrapped around him. Servants were cleaning the priceless treasures and artifacts that decorated the area. Nikolai often stopped to talk to all the servants to make sure they were doing okay; he was on friendly terms with all of them.
As he walked the halls to his chambers, the servants smiled and greeted him. Nikolai smiled back and stopped to briefly chat with them until Aurora leaned down to whisper in his ear that they needed to be going. Nikolai then said goodbye to the small crowd of servants that had formed and made his way to the section of the castle that held his chambers.
Nikolai's chambers consisted of several rooms, including his bedchamber, his own small library, and a large bathroom with a massive bath. Then, there was the massive training hall where he spent most of his time when he was in the castle. He was the only one of his siblings who didn't have a guard or any magic defenses outside of the entrance to his section. When his mother and father had asked him why he requested the removal of them on his twelfth birthday, he simply pointed to Aurora and asked them if they thought there were any defenses available that could top her protection. His parents had reluctantly agreed to his request after he said that.
Smiling at that memory, he then walked through the massive archway that led to the giant metal door serving as the entrance to his bedchamber. He kicked the massive door open with a thunderous bang that could be heard through the entire castle before shouting at the top of his lungs, "Nightshade, I'm back!"
Suddenly, as fast as a bolt of lightning, a small, pure-black creature jumped into his waiting arms and began to rub its face on his chest while cooing happily. It was a jet-black tiny cub with small wings and red eyes. No one was really sure what kind of creature it was, with the best guess being that it was a Doom Tiger with a genetic mutation making its fur black and its eyes red, instead of the purple fur and gold eyes common to its kind.
Nikolai smiled warmly and hugged the little tiger. "Did you miss me, ya adorable bastard?" he said while petting it. The little tiger purred happily, then jumped up onto his head and yawned before settling in for a nap. Within seconds, it was snoring softly.
Nikolai chuckled and turned to Aurora, who hovered behind him, smiling gently in amusement. "Well, I suppose I should call the maids to help get me ready for this bullshit party," he said with a sigh.
Aurora giggled and said, "I can't wait to see you give a speech. I imagine it will make an impression, one way or another." Nikolai ignored her teasing and called for a servant to inform his maids that he was ready.
The next three hours were absolute torture as his maids enthusiastically moved all around his chamber, picking outfits and accessories for him to try on. They constantly chatted amongst themselves about ideas and how handsome he looked, ignoring his complaints and laughing at the sarcastic quips he mixed in.
After what seemed like an eternity to Nikolai, they were finally finished with him. He was dressed in dark black formal wear that perfectly fitted his muscular frame, featuring deep purple trim and red runestones as cufflinks. The family crest was emblazoned in gold on the chest pocket, paired with a purple pocket square. His long black hair flowed freely down his back, combed neatly.
Aurora nodded in approval. "Very handsome," she said with a small smile as the maids bowed and left the room, chatting happily.
"Thanks," Nikolai said. He then patted Nightshade, who—somehow, through all of this—had remained sitting atop his head sleeping peacefully. Nightshade purred happily at the touch and continued sleeping. "I'm amazed the maids managed to put me through all that torture without waking Nightshade up," Nikolai said, more to himself than anything.
Aurora went back to her usual position of hugging him from behind with her arms around his neck while hovering in the air. Then, she asked slightly playfully, "So, have you written your speech yet?"
Nikolai immediately grimaced and said, "Fuck that shit. I'm not going to waste valuable training time on something I don't give a shit about."
Aurora chuckled elegantly in amusement. "Oh, in that case, I'm really looking forward to the party now," she said, her eyes shining with anticipation.
Before Nikolai could formulate a witty response, the door opened and two people walked in arm-in-arm, dressed in full royal finery. The man was tall and broad-shouldered with long, wild blonde hair and handsome features complimented by bright green eyes full of warmth. The woman on his arm was tall and beautiful, with fair skin, jet-black hair that hung loosely down her shoulders, and mysterious deep purple eyes. Her beautiful face wore a calm smile, and her eyes shone with warmth and affection as she looked at Nikolai.
This pair was none other than the Emperor and Empress of the Tolvaj Empire—Nikolai's mother and father. Nikolai smiled and then said in an exaggerated manner, "Your Royal Highnesses, thank goodness you've arrived! I must tell you all about the brutal torture the maids have just put me through. I mean, just look at this ridiculous outfit they have forced me to wear. Observe the cruel tragedy of a warrior forced to dress like a noble prince!"
Nikolai covered his face with his hands and shook his head in mock terror. After a moment or two, he opened his fingers slightly to peek at his parents and saw them struggling valiantly to keep straight faces. Then, he uncovered his face, put his fist up, and placed his other hand on his hip. In his best noble hero impression, he declared, "I demand justice!"
His parents burst out laughing, unable to contain themselves any longer. Nikolai joined in, as did Aurora, who giggled elegantly behind her sleeve. With all the commotion, Nightshade woke up. Upon seeing the happy atmosphere, she flew around the group excitedly, making happy noises as if trying to join in the laughter.
Nikolai hugged both his parents after the laughter died down. Then he stepped back and smiled at them. His father then gave him a stern look. "I hope you're ready for your official debut into noble society. And I trust you've prepared a speech?" he said.Nikolai looked his father dead in the eye and said, "Absolutely not. I'm going to wing it."
After hearing this, his father put a hand over his face and shook his head in exasperation, while his mother simply giggled behind her sleeve.
After a moment, his father sighed. "Well, at the very least, that means this will be interesting," he said in a half-resigned, half-amused manner.
Then he straightened himself and became slightly more serious. "We've come to escort you to the Royal Hall. Remember not to enter until you are announced. Formalities must be observed, after all," he said.
Nikolai sighed in an exaggerated manner and then said, "I hate all this stuffy bullshit. Why can't we all just party together without doing it in a way that makes it exhausting and pretentious?"
As his mother and father stifled a laugh at his response, Aurora chimed in with a gentle tone, "Just bear with it tonight. You are a prince, after all.
And it would make things easier on your mother and father when dealing with the other nobility if you could act like one every now and then."
After hearing her say that, Nikolai thought for a moment, sighed, and said to his parents, "I will do my best to be on my best behavior today."
His parents looked at each other and chuckled. Then, his mother said, "I'm sure you will."