The Crown Of Tears

"I don't prefer women entertaining my bed, " Prince Angelus flicked the seductress's hand away.

He wondered around the city and found himself at Maroon Mountain Pleasure House. Angelus acknowledged that he won't achieve anything by fighting and losing his temper.

His enemies played their cards well, and he lost the first battle. Prince Angelus sought to recuperate, and a pleasure house offered him everything he needed to achieve that.

It had endless wine and entertainment, everything he needed to forget his troubles. Prince Angelus purchased a remote room in a secluded part of the pleasure house.

The owner sent him an escort to keep him company. A vixen worthy of putting Lady Isabella to shame. She wasted no effort or time.

"It's a good thing that I'm not a woman, " her honey laced tongue let out. "I'm Cassiel," he introduced himself to the prince.

Before Prince Angelus could question what she meant by her statement. The woman transformed into a man. Angelus's eyes went wide for a split second before he gained composure. He reached out for his dagger.

In a blink of an eye, he had gained feet in the room with his dagger on the man's neck. "Magic! " he exclaimed in disgust.

"Based on your attire and the way you carry yourself, I can tell you are a noble, " Cassiel analyzed the prince from head to toe. "A noble that prefers the company of men in bed and magic. What would you say is more looked down upon in Sevigoria?" he confidently asked.

Prince Angelus tightened his hold on the dagger and pressed it against Cassiel's neck. He was having the worst day ever, he to vent, and Cassiel wasn't helping his case by calling him out as a sinner.

"Who are you to judge my sin to be greater than yours, Sir?" Cassiel dared to question.

Angelus smirked at his stupidity masked in a suit of bravery. Cassiel tried to conceal his fear, but the cold sweat trickling down his forehead gave him away.

"A man loving another man is punishment my death. Magic in Sevigoria is punishable by death. From where I stand, you are as much a dead man as I am," Cassiel laid out the cards before the prince.

Angelus's lips curled up further. It was the first time that he met someone daring enough to call him a dead man, and it had his heart racing.

"I have money and a prestigious background to back me up while you're a lowly escort from a brothel. It will be your word against mine.... Not a fair play, shapeshifter, " Prince Angelus carefully brought the difference to light.

Cassiel panicked. His pompous attitude sent shudders through Cassiel's body. It was true that her couldn't compare with the prince's powerful background.

Once discovered, he wouldn't be able to hide his magic, but the prince could hide his preference by taking a wife or a female consort. He realized that he stopped losing the loss of the end of the fight.

"You won't report me. You won't be able to disclose how you discovered that I am a shapeshifter, " Cassiel took a shot in the dark.

Angelus sneered, "I can kill you right here. Saves me the trouble of a trial. "

Cassiel swallowed hard. The prince meant business, and there was no persuading him otherwise. He bit his lower lip and decided to try an alternative method.

"I am whatever I need to be to survive in a world won't accept me for something I can't change or deny about myself," he conceded in resignation. "I didn't choose to be born a shapeshifter and I can't change that about myself and neither can you deny your preference....we might not be on the same boat but it's the same ocean, " he made his case.

Angelus's stance wavered. His features frozen in a state of stone cold fury, as the truth Cassiel spoke washed over him.

"Think before you speak, shapeshifter, " he hissed. "The last person who didn't lose more than his tongu... "

"I spoke the truth, and you can't deny that. In the eyes of the people of Sevigoria, you'll never be a saint as long as you prefer the company of men in your bed, " Cassiel told him the bitter truth.

Angelus trembled, the knife from his palm, and dropped on the ground. The memory of his mother handing the man he loved to his sister to keep the king from his truth echoed in his mind. The truth pricked at his wounds and made them bleed.

Cassiel let out a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. Cassiel took a moment to compose himself.

Prince Angelus walked over to the bed. He sat downed with his legs crossed together. His hands rested on his thighs as his gaze trailed out the window.

The words Cassiel spoke were true. The world viewed him as a sinner no matter what he did or how he was. His subjects wished him dead when they've neither met him or known of him. He feared the torches and pitchforks they'd fetch for his doom when they learned his truth.

Cassiel recovered from his fright. He eyes snapped up at Angelus, watching the prince's sorry state. He felt his heart squeeze in pain. "Do you want some company? "

Angelus looked helplessly at Cassiel and nodded his head. Cassiel walked up to the bed and joined him.

"About how I acted earlier... "

"I get it, " Cassiel cut in. "I thought for a moment you were going to kill me. "

"I would have, " Angelus admitted. "I'd be killing a piece of myself. "

"I'm glad you didn't. For both of us. "

"There was a moment when you revealed your true self that I was relieved you're a shapeshifter. I guess it's meant I wouldn't be the weirdest freak in the room, " Prince Angelus disclosed.

"Maybe because you've never had room to be who you are, " Cassiel suggested. "Come here, " he invited the prince over.

Prince Angelus laid back on the bed on his side. Cassiel lay down beside him and spooned him.

"I know... I'm not what you are looking for. But I can hold you, and you can be however you need to be, " he invited. "The world isn't going to fall apart if you break down for a bit."

Prince Angelus intertwined their fingers and hugged Cassiel's arm. A sob escaped their throat, then another one and another. Soon, tears flooded out of her eyes and stained her pillow.

He let out his pain and frustrations. Cassiel held on to him tightly, resting his head on Angelus's shoulder. He let him cry it out.