The Crown Of Tears

Waves of fire pooled in Angelus's lower abdomen. Fireworks exploded in his head, his body rippling as he reached the pinnacle of pleasure. His vision fading to black.

He plopped on the bed and rested his head on the pillow. Taking a second to process the intense moment.

Cassiel struggled to catch his breath. He took sharp intakes of air to stabilize himself. Time seemed to fly whilst they entertained each other.

"For someone who's never touched a man before. You sure are ferocious in bed, " Cassiel complained.

Prince Angelus drew his lower lip between his teeth and refuted the urge to retort Cassiel's statement. He didn't know the right thing to say after what transpired between them. This was a new territory for him.

It soothed his pain and cleared his mind of dark thoughts. Prince Angelus buried his head in the pillow. He thought the best response to Cassiel was silence, Angelus didn't trust himself to say the right thing if he opened his mouth.

Cassiel snuggled up to him, their bare bodies grazing each other under the covers. Angelus curled up in his arms and buried his face at the crown of Cassiel's neck.

"This inauspicious day brought me a wonderful gift, " Cassiel merrily let out.

"How's today inauspicious?" Angelus asked.

"Today is the anniversary of the birth of Sevigoria's crown beast, " Cassiel joked. Prince Angelus's eyes darkened at the male's statement. "The people of Sevigoria hate this day. Even the king can't bring himself to celebrate this day..."

Cassiel bit his tongue when Angelus angrily teared away from his embrace. Prince Angelus glared at a point in the wall, his rage flaring.

"Is something wrong?" Cassiel asked. He reached out to touch Angelus's arm. The prince avoided his touch and got up from the bed.

He sought his clothes and started getting ready to leave. For a moment, he forgot who he was and what day it was. It was the anniversary of his birth, and instead of feeling happy, he was taunted by his subjects.

"Did I say something wrong?" Cassiel inquired. His eyes furrowed together in worry.

"I am Crown Prince Angelus Tiberius Rathmore of Sevigoria, " He introduced himself. Light drained from Cassiel's face, his body grew pale as he processed Angelus's identity. "I don't feel like spending the rest of my birthday with a shapeshifter that calls me a beast, " he added.

The beautiful moment with Cassiel stained with his foul words. Angelus buttoned his shirt up. He was fuming mad.

"Everyone who feels that the day I was born is inauspicious will rue the day they were born, " He swore angrily.

"You are the prince, Angelus? " Cassiel questioned. His eyes ran up and down Angelus's frame.

"In the flesh. "

"Forgive my insolence, Your Highness, " Cassiel clasped his right hand over his heart and bowed his head to show respect. "I apologize, darling. I had no clue that I was in the presence of royalty, " he set down from the bed.

He slowly made his way to Prince Angelus. Cassiel trailed a finger up Angelus's arm, his eyes flattering seductively at the prince.

"Anyone can claim to be the prince because no one knows what the prince looks like. How can I trust that you truly are who you claim to be? " he playfully asked.

Prince Angelus released a frustrated sigh. He inserted his hand in his pocket. He took it out and presented it before Cassiel's eyes, his fingers adorned with rings with Sevigoria's regal emblem on them.

Proof that he was from the royal family. Cassiel could tell instantly that the rings were original, and the regal emblem was hard to duplicate. His eyes lit up at the news.

"I'm sorry, Angelus," He apologized intimately.

Prince Angelus's eyes went wide for a split second as he registered Cassiel calling him my his name. Only his family members dare to call out his name without attaching his status to it. It unnerved him to have Cassiel act carelessly with him.

"I could have you beheaded right now, mind your tongue," his eyes grew dark with acrimony.

"Hmm," Cassiel raised an eyebrow at his threat. "This day didn't just give me a gift. It brought the world to my feet. I'd like to believe that my presence has given his highness an unforgettable gift as well," Cassiel daringly circled his hand around Prince Angelus's neck.

"Do you want to die. Let go! " Prince Angelus glarred daggers at him. Ready to incinerate him if he continued to push his tolerance.

"If it's by your hands, then I'll happily die, " Cassiel twinkled his eyes entrancingly at the prince.

"Speak of what transpired between us to anyone, and I'll send you to your maker, " Prince Angelus removed his hands and pushed him away. "I'm leaving, " he bid his goodbyes.

Cassiel grabbed hold of his arm, halting him from leaving. Angelus snapped his head back to stare at Cassiel, displeasure written all over his face.

"The king plans to appoint Prince Augustus as the next in line for the throne, " Cassiel let out.

Prince Angelus tilted his head to the side and sighed. "You listen to far too much gossip. It'll do you well... " he paused as Cassiel let go of his arm and walked away to the wooden cabinet situated by the window of the room.

Cassiel retrieved a document from within the cabinet and brought it over to Prince Angelus.

Prince Angelus took the piece of document from his hands and read through it. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the content of the documents.

His heart stilled as he took note of the royal seal at the bottom of the document. All the signatures of the officials of the palace were present in the document.

It was a summons to abdicate him from the position of crown prince and elect Augustus to replace him. Prince Angelus felt weak, his knees gave out, and he fell to the floor. It wasn't his week, everything and everyone was working against him.

He was constantly taking punches from every side of his life. His family, his subjects, and his kingdom, his stars failed him in all ends.

"H.. How do you ha... How do you have this?" his voice betraying his emotions.

"One of my courtesans brought it to me after entertaining the royal advisor. It's a copy of the original agreement, " Cassiel replied.

"Who are you?" Angelus shot his head at Cassiel.

"Cassiel Stormborn, the owner of Maroon Mountain pleasure house, " Cassiel revealed his identity to the prince. "The courtesans of my pleasure house entertain the rich and powerful men of Sevigoria. They scout information and bring back useful trinkets, " he added, admitting to running a pleasure house of spies.

Prince Angelus dropped his gaze to the sheet in his hand. He failed to understand why the world was against him. He'd never offended anyone to the extent that they'd work to take everything from him.

"I'm sorry I treated you harshly before, " Angelus recognised his mistake.

"Don't sweat it, Angelus. I could've just as easily hurt you, ' Cassiel got down on one knee and patted Angelus's back.

Prince Angelus smirked, "We'll it's cute that you think that. But trust me, It would've been the worst mistake you ever made."