Chapter 4

“WHAT happened?"

Nanatiling nakayuko ang mga ulo ng mga gwardiya sa palasyo. 

“Hindi po talaga namin alam. Nakita ko lang po siya at napagkamalang magnanakaw. Pasensya na po talaga, mahal na prinsipe. Hindi ko po sinasadya. Hindi ko alam na siya pala ang—”

“It’s alright.” Sebastian sighed. “You may now go back to your post.” 

Agad namang nagsisunod ang mga ito saka nagsibalik sa kani-kanilang posisyon. Sebastian then took off his armor at ibinigay iyon sa kanyang secretary.

“Where is he?” Tanong niya rito.

Pormal na yumuko si North, ang kanyang sekretarya saka nagsalita, “In your room, sir.”

Tumango lamang siya at walang imik na naglakad papunta sa kanyang silid. Slowly, he opened the door at naglakad papasok. He went near his bed and there he saw his bride, sleeping peacefully and calmly.

Sebastian sat near him and stared at his sleeping face. He unconsciously raised his hand, caressing Kai’s cheeks. Napatitig lamang siya rito. 

Sebastian was silently appreciating Kai’s features when his gaze stopped at Kai’s lips. He gulped.

Muli ay nanumbalik sa kanya ang nangyari kanina. Ano na lang kaya ang mangyayari kung hindi agad siya nakabalik kanina? 

He doesn’t want to think about it anymore but he couldn’t stop himself from worrying of what could’ve happen if he wasn’t there to stop the beast.

Ngunit bahagyang natigilan si Sebastian matapos mapansin ang biglaang pagnginig ng katawan ni Kai.

“N-No. . . no. . . someone. . . please. . . h-help me.” Kai suddenly muttered in his sleep with tears pooling on his face. 

Shocked, Sebastian immediately caressed Kai’s hair and whispered near his ear. “Shh. . . It’s alright. You're safe now. It’s alright.”

Sebastian sighed in relief when Kai started to calm down. He leaned to kiss his forehead and then whispered, “I’ll always protect you, Kai.” 

“Mhmm.”

Sebastian smiled at Kai’s sleeping response.

Once again, Sebastian caressed his hair to his face then kissed his forehead. He pulled himself out from the bed and walked towards the bathroom as he was taking his clothes off.

As the cold water runs all over his body, biglang may alalaang dumaan sa kanyang isipan.

“Are you alright?”

Little Sebastian stared at the little boy who approached him. Sebastian blinked twice.

“Uhmm. . . I was asking if you’re—”

Ngunit hindi na natapos ng bata ang sasabihin ng biglang umiyak ang batang Sebastian.

Gulat na napaatras ang batang lalaki saka siya tinitigan. Huminga ito ng malalim at muli siyang nilapitan.

“I’m Kai. Ikaw? Anong pangalan mo bata?”

Sebastian stared at him with his teary eyes. He wiped off his tears and sniffed before handing his hands towards Kai.

“Sebastian.”

Nakangiting tinanggap naman ito ng batang si Kai. 

“Eh, bakit ka umiyak kanina?” Bigla ay tanong nito.

Mabilis na napaiwas ng tingin ang batang Sebastian nang sabihin iyon ng lalaki.

“I’m lost.” Sebastian muttered shyly. Mahina ang pagkakasabi nito ngunit hindi iyon nakatakas sa pandinig ng batang si Kai.

Ngumiti ito sa kanya. “Then, do you want to come with me? I’ll take you to our house na lang while we wait for your parents to get you.”

Little Sebastian stared at the beautiful boy in front of him. He had never seen a boy so pretty in his entire life.

Kumikinang ang matang tumingin sa kanya ang batang Kai, “So, do you want to come with me?”

Wala sa sariling napailing na lamang si Sebastian sa alaalang iyon. Sebastian stared at the bathroom’s ceiling while the water’s running on his hair down to his abdomen.

If he could turn back time, he'll definitely go back to the time when they first met. If only he could..

KAI groaned when the sun’s ray touched his face. He covered his face with the pillow beside him. 

“This smells nice,” Kai muttered.

Nakangiting bumalik siya sa pagtulog ngunit ang ngiting iyon ay mabilis na naglaho nang biglang bumalik sa kanya ang alaala kagabi.

Agad siyang napabalikwas ng bangon nang maalala iyon. 

His eyes scanned the whole place. This isn’t the same room like last time. Then his eyes stopped at the man who’s in front of him sitting on the sofa with legs crossed and on his right hand were papers while the left was holding a reading glasses. Kai stared at his face. 

Oh. He’s sleeping.

Slowly, he moved away from the bed and took a step near the man who was sleeping. Nang makalapit dito ay isa-isa niyang kinuha ang mga papel na hawak nito saka iyon inilagay sa maliit na mesa. He then took his glasses off from his hands and placed it on top of the papers.

Muli ay napatitig siya sa binata. Is he the Sebastian they were talking about?

He can’t stop but stare at the magnificent man in front of him. Kai bent a little to take a closer look at the man. He can’t stop but admire the man’s face and built. Kai saw several handsome men but never did he met a man so gorgeous as the man he’s looking at right now.

“How are you feeling?”

Nanlalaki ang matang napatingin si Kai sa mukha ng lalaki. Their eyes met. Kai’s face flustered in embarrassment!

Oh God.

“Ah. . . I. . .”

Sebastian's eyes were half closed and when Kai tried to move away from him, he immediately pulled him closer to his body.

Kai’s face was totally red. He was aware of how sexy his smell was but smelling it up close is something he wasn't ready for. The combination of mint and musk linger on his nose. It was intoxicatingly tempting. Their lips were centimers away from each other and one wrong move, Kai knew what will happen.

He tried pulling away from the man’s embrace but he was too strong compared to his fragile body.

Sebastian pulled him closer and whispered on his ear, “How are you feeling?”

Kai gulped. 

“I-I’m fine.”

Kai saw how Sebastian sighed in relief. “That’s good to hear.”

“Yeah.”

Kai tried pulling away from Sebastian’s arms yet again, he failed.

“H-Hey, cut it out will you!” It was awkward but Kai felt something familiar the moment their skin touched.

But instead of pulling away, Sebastian hugged him tighter. 

“Please don’t make me worry like that again.”

Agad na natigilan si Kai sa pagkawala sa pagkakayap nito.

Using one of his hand, Sebastian caressed Kai’s face and made him look at his eyes.

Once again, Kai gulped the moment his eyes met the man’s beautiful green eyes.

Sebastian breath was making him crazily flustered. 

‘What the hell is he doing?’ Kai thought, confused.

Sebastian leaned forward and when their lips almost touched, a knock on the door made both of them frozen.

Nahihiyang naiiwas ni Kai ang kanyang mukha sa lalaki saka agad na bumangon sa pagkakahiga sa katawan nito.

‘What the fuck am I doing with him? Keep your cool, Kai!’

Sebastian cleared his throat, “Come in.”

Immediately, the door opened. “Your highness, your father has arrived.”

Sebastian nodded. “Okay. We’ll be there in a minute.”

“Yes, your highness.”

After the servant left, the silence between them remained.

“My father wants to see you it's the reason why he’s here.” Pagsisimula ni Sebastian.

Kunot-noong tumingin si Kai sa kanya. “Me? Why me?”

“Because you are my bride?”

“But I didn’t even agree to be your bride in the first place!”

Sebastian stared at him. “You are my bride.”

“No, I’m not! And besides, we’re both men. Ano na lang ang masasabi ng ama mo?”

Now Sebastian’s confuse. “What do you mean by that? Of course he’ll be thrilled about you being my bride.”

“W-What? No!”

“Hey…”

Kai sighed, “Look, I think this is a mistake. There must be some mistakes going on here and besides—”

“You are my bride. The whole kingdom already knows about you. We will be married soon and you can’t change that, Kai.” Nakangising sambit pa nito.

Both Sebastian and his father seems to enjoy their conversations together and Kai was sitting there uncomfortably.

The presence of the king and his son is too intimidating for him to handle. Kung kaya’t wala na siyang ibang ginawa kundi ang itutok sa pagkain ang kanyang atensyon.

“How are you two doing lately?"

Agad na napaangat ng tingin si Kai nang biglang magsalita ang ama ni Sebastian.

Sebastian looked at him and smiled. “We’re doing fine, Your Majesty. We are starting to know more about each other. Right, Kai?”

“Ah..Yes?”

Seryosong tumingin ang hari sa kanilang dalawa. “That’s good. Soon we will be planning your wedding and I want everything settled.”

Muntikan ng masamid si Kai sa kanyang pagkain, mabuti na lamang at mabilis na umalalay sa kanya ang prinsipe.

‘How can he say that? Is that even possible? I m-mean.. hindi ba siya galit o ano?’

Tumango si Sebastian, “Yes, Your Majesty. We'll start planning out some preparations for our wedding.”

“That’s good.”

After the long talk with the King, they finally decided to end the night and bid each other goodbye.

Kai and Sebastian remained silent while walking through the hallway. Nagpumilit si Sebastian na ihatid ito sa kanyang silid. 

“This is my room. I’ll be going in.” Tumitig siya kay Sebastian, “G’night, mister prince.”

“Mister prince?” 

Nakataas ang kilay na tumingin si Sebastian sa kanya and Kai just shrugged it off. Akmang papasok na sana sa loob si Kai nang bigla siyang hinawakan nito sa balikat.

“Hey, I have a name you know.”

Kai just looked at him blankly. “I know, mister prince.”

“I’m Sebastian, the third son of the king.” Sebastian introduced himself and held out his hand.

Kai looked at him confusingly when Sebastian signaled him to accept his hand. Walang nagawa ay mabilis niya itong tinanggap.

“Kai. You already know that anyways.”

Nakangiting tumingin si Sebastian sa kanya, “I just want to introduce my name formally since we weren't able to do it the last time and we'll be married soon.”

There he goes again..

Kai sigh heavily while leaning his back on the wall before directly looking at the prince in front of him.

“Look, I told you already. I don’t want to be your bride. I will never be your bride because I don't want to get married. And I still need to go back.” Seryosong sambit niya.

But Kai stood frozen the moment his eyes saw how the emotions on Sebastian’s face slowly faded.

Sebastian sigh before avoiding his gaze.

“I understand. Goodnight. Have a sweet night, Kai.” Sebastian’s voice were cold, “I’ll take my leave now.”

At mabilis naman itong tumalikod sa kanya ng walang lingon-lingon. Deretso lamang ang pagkakalakad nito papalayo sa kanyang silid. As the silhouette of that man slowly disappears, ganun na lamang ang naging paglunok ni Kai.

What the hell?