He could have sworn the fingers that gripped him were the cold hand of death. The icy touch nearly burning his skin through his clothes but when he looked the ghostly vision was gone and instead was his sweet maiden, Kamaria. He felt embarrassed almost instantly and gave her a sheepish weak smile as he lifted his hand, rubbing the back of his head he looked down. It wasn’t a very often quality of his to show such submissiveness but those visions were one to really get to him and every so often the regal prince slipped. ”Er- yeah. Just wasn’t expecting it was all. I was lost in my thoughts.” She knew very vaguely of what he dealt with primarily because he didn’t want to scare her. She didn’t know that he could hear dead people, see them, or even talk back to them. That was a sort of thing that a human didn’t need to deal with as it was his burden to bear. Besides that she had enough problems on her plate.

At her touch he turned to face her and drew in closer much more at ease. He steadied his breathing and focused in on her lovely face. She was the glue for him. Everything that tied him to this realm. ”no need to worry.” he encouraged her as he lift his hand and softly touched the side of her face. Leaning forwards he pressed his lips to hers before pulling just a tad back. She then spoke again and his head tipped. ”Okay. About what?” he asked. Usually when it came to a woman calling you for a meeting about wanting to talk about some things… it usually didn’t hold very good news. What more could possibly go wrong than what already was? His grey hued eyes cast over her face searching for some kind of hint as he let his hand drop back to his side. He knew he hadn’t seen her since they had found out about the child but that was truly no fault of his. He wasn’t avoiding her it was more like his mother had purposely kept him busy or Kai was already off with his father.

He only offered her a small smile when she said that she was there to talk about his troubles. He knew she was and he knew she would listen to whatever he had to say but he wasn’t one to really unload on anyone and though it was getting to the point of being hard to deal with, he wasn’t quite there yet. As she asked whether they could speak in his chambers, he gave another nod. ”This way then.” He said as he stepped around her. He walked more in front of her as was expected of a royal, stepping with purpose and poise. To be honest he was like any other person out there but when you were a Prince you were expected to act as such. His movements were to be made a direct decision and not show hesitation. It had become almost second nature learning to walk dignified at the tender age of 4.

Once in he moved more into the room and quietly turned to face her wondering what all of this was about. They have had private conversations before but none that required them to meet somewhere and then move elsewhere. Gray eyes briefly moved to the door that was shut quietly behind her but he knew well to keep things modest. Despite the appearance of being alone they were not always alone even in his private room. He stood patiently as she gathered the words she wished to speak and all reactions were telling him to take the defense, he didn’t. He was the prince and could see anyone he wished be it for fancies or common socialization. However, it was neither of the two. He had rescued the girl from being drug back to what he could only presume was a terrible fate of a whore. She had to have gotten free and stayed free for a reason… who was he to let such a thing happen when he had the power to stop it? ”You should know me better than that.” though she used soft spoken words and attempting to sound unassertive her words made him bristle a little. ”Her tattoo does mean what you think it is, yes, but I had helped her.” he was doing his best to remain calm.

It did look suspicious since when was it he left the castle walls? He knew this and he didn’t really feel like he should explain considering he should have her trust. ”Where have you heard such things?” it couldn’t have just been her seeing him let alone catch eye of a tattoo that was barely visible. ”And why would you believe it.”

He understood her worry and it was part of the reason his temper didn’t get the best of him. She was vulnerable because she didn’t necessarily ‘belong’. As much as he would like her to of course the fact still remained she was human and not an immortal. She wasn’t of royal blood and her position was as easily lost as it was taken. The king could find another to refill the spot in a matter of hours if he really wanted to. He also knew that the fact they were on shaky ground as it was for the matter of the pregnancy was enough reason to make his usually calm and stable woman lose all sense of reality. Her words caused him to soften his features and after a long moment he finally dropped eye contact and focused on the ground. His Princely stature was easily broken in front of her. Where he was to remain tall and above the people…. He saw her as his equal. ”I don’t hate you, Kamaria. I could never hate you even with our situation.” he spoke carefully. His words slow and steady as to not give whoever may be passing by reason to stop and overhear. It also made for a good way to cover up as it was a little harder to hear when his voice was low. His eyes moved towards her fingers that clutched the locket he had given her and a small tug at the corner of his lips was given. He was glad she kept wearing it. He knew it was risky but he also knew his father wasn’t that observant of a man sometimes. Something as simple as jewelry could easily be mistaken. Anyway, with as much of a hassle as things were, he supposed it was only a matter of time before he found out anyhow.

People had loose lips.

Her next set of words though caused a bit of a boil in his blood as she said his mother had pretty much cornered and in a lack of better words ‘threatened’ her and their unborn child. Though it were true that it was also a fair chance it was not his the situation didn’t sit well with him. Kamaria was his. She then continued on to say that his mother knew of the two of them. The only sign of movement that came from the immortal prince was a tick of his jaws. He held the highest respect for his mother as a son should however as an adult man he also had to draw a line of what his mother could and couldn’t do. She was queen, sure, but if she cared for the future she would tread carefully. Getting pregnant again would be the least of her concerns. ”I’m glad…. But I will be talking with her.” It was all he had to say on the matter. His mother would hear what he had to say and she would either like it or don’t but the matter was if she had any hopes for a future and her bloodline to carry on…. She would damn well listen to what he had to say.

She moved towards him and took his hand which he made a move to entwine their fingers. His eyes stayed on their hands looking at how perfectly her hand fit in his. It was almost like a perfect match to a puzzle piece. Grey eyes lift though when she said she was thinking of leaving. ”Don’t be dumb.” his words came out in a less than amused tone. ”Leaving would be detrimental if you went alone. However, I think you should let me see what I can work out.” no offense to Kamaria but he was her son and he was sure he could probably get by with a little more than she could. His mother could be cold-hearted, terrible to read, and a calculative wench but she wasn’t blind to her own kin. ”Just… let me try.” He lift their hands and turned to where the back of her hand faced him and he pressed his lips into it. ”Please. It would be harder out there than it is in here….”

She took his words wrong and he did everything he could to keep from bursting at the seams. He was stressed and tired and those hellish vision and voices did nothing to soothe it. ”I said don’t BE dumb not that you are.” he corrected though his tone lacked amusement. She was touchy and her patience was thin because of the situation and hormones. This was something he was still trying learn. He sighed quietly. ”Just forget it.” He let his hand go of hers. He knew she didn’t want to stay because she was being used and it was understandable. Unless Justus was completely out of the picture there was no hope for her here. He sighed quietly and turned his back on her. ”I understand, Kai. I can’t make you stay and I can’t make you stomach being around the king neither but it's unsafe out there with you being pregnant and with the ---..” his jaws clamped shut. He wanted to see what he could work out with his mother and possibly his father but she had to give him a chance to do so.

She spoke about him being tired and he glanced at her with gray eyes. ”Price I pay for being a prince, hmm.” He was shutting down. This entire situation was out of both of their control and he hated it. Eyes followed her as she moved to rustle the bed a bit but he didn’t move towards it. He didn’t want to lay down not without her in it. Most of the time he wasn’t in bed because most of the time he would pass out sitting in chairs. He didn’t like sleep and especially didn’t like sleeping alone. Her soft voice beckoned him again and he simply shook his head no. ”I can’t.” Falling into bed was like falling into a trap that he wasn’t willing to toss himself into. His hands retreated to the pockets of his pants as he moved to lean back against the desk that sat behind him. ”Not without you in it.” He reasoned. He knew she wouldn’t and so that meant he wouldn’t either…. Besides… it was a lot easier than telling her he didn’t want to specifically because of terrors.

He could be uncharacteristically cruel and he knew it. Sometimes his good intentions tended to be covered by his untactful way of speaking. It was unlike him to be so careless and throw such abandon against the wind but he was steadily getting beat down by the pressures of his problems, her problems, and the want for control. ”Sorry for my words.” he said finally. ”I wasn’t intentionally trying to be an asshole.” He sighed and lifted a hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose exhaustion coming to surface. ”I worry about your safety and more than anything I worry one day you will just be gone.” it was a hard thing to stomach when it came to be so bare but with Kamaria he knew she needed to know. He had to be open with her. It was how they fell into this position of love in the first place. ”Losing you would be the death of me.” he said with a sort of finality to it. He wouldn’t remain alive without her. He refused to. ”Don’t hold it against me, Kai… I’m not trying to be cruel.” He hoped she would understand and take into consideration he was stressed over her welling being as any love would be. Unlike Justus, he did care, he cared more about her well-being than his own. ”I would sacrifice everything if it meant for you to be well taken care of.” His head bowed as his hand dropped to stabilize him on the edge of the desk as a woozy dizzy feeling started to hit him. He needed to rest and she was right but he refused to.

He had hoped that would have been the drop of the subject of him going to bed. He rarely used the thing. It made him too comfortable with its inviting pillow top, warm blankets, and the way it made his bones feel relaxed after a hard day. The problem with it though was just that, if he got too comfortable if his body got too relaxed and he had a terror it was like he was stuck in sleep. It got tougher and tougher to wake up because of how exhausted he could make himself. Gray eyes watched as she fiddled with the locket and he gave a small crooked smile before allowing his eyes to drop to his feet remaining leaned back on the desk and his hands to keep him stable. He was glad she liked it and seemed to find comfort in the object that she quickly turned to it to fiddle with.

His head felt heavy and woozy. He knew what it was because he had felt it before. It was his lack of sleep catching up with him as well as the mere stress he put on himself. His incessant worry for Kamaria, for the child, for the future. He had quite a bit on his plate and unfortunately, the weight didn’t seem to the be getting any lighter. The sound of her heels heading his way caused his eyes to rise and meet with hers. She almost moved in slow motion as his reaction time was quite slow. Exhaustion could really mess with the bodies functions and brain. No less he fought through it and attempted to play it off like a champ. She wrapped her arms around him and rest against his shoulder and he quietly turned his head towards her planting a kiss at the top of her head towards her forehead. Her words put him at ease and yet at the same time he couldn’t help the sinking feeling he was getting. ”Only for a few minutes.” he tried to reason. ”A prince can’t lay around all day.” it was a pathetic jab at a joke. Primarily he just didn’t want to lay down. He moved with her from the desk and could feel a wave of dizziness hit him. His body felt heavy and if it wasn’t for Kamaria leading the way there was a good chance he would have been swaying. The real challenge was when she left his side and crawled at first. He started to lift himself up onto the bed but it was like all muscle function left him, his knee missed and the weight fell heavy. Half on the bed and half off he passed out.

Darkness enshrouded him but he could feel a presence…. A dark presence. The shadowy figure stood off in the distance in his mind. The longer he stood there watching him he noticed the figure was moving in on him and within seconds he quickly face to face with the man. His hands outstretched for his neck and a force to bring him to his knees taking control.

Gray eyes open but the held a blue tint and soon he shifted to where he was no longer leaning on the body. He brushed himself off with a sort of stiff sophistication and steadily lowered a glare towards Kamaria. ”Oh look at what you have done with yourself.” he tsked shaking his head as he crossed his arms. His voice sounded wrong. It was lower and far deeper than his usual tone. ”Little Kamaria getting herself into trouble…. As usual.” His tone mocked her a little but had a very condensing tone.”How is it I was the golden child and got shafted my turn at life and the problem child ruins her life and remains alive.” his tone soon turned malicious and hateful full of jealousy at the idea. ”You don’t deserve it, you know.”

The spirit that had a hold of him was a strong one because of his weakened state mentally being unable to hold up a fight to keep him from taking over. Once his hands were around his throat and a push downwards to submit, Ezra could do nothing to fight back and simply fall to his knees. The weight of the body felt weird to the spirit but at the same time, it fit like a glove. He just had to get used to the weighted gravity of it. He felt the smooth fingers of Kamaria next to him and just as smoothly as he slid into the body, he stood. A towering sophisticated upright stand as he adjusted the clothing on him smoothening it out in a very mechanical manner. His bluish eyes overcast the grey ones that were the Prince’s natural color. The very hold on them was filled with enrage, demeaning jealousy.

A sort of snarl erupted from him that was neither animalistic nor human. It sounded unnatural the very way his face seemed to contort Ezra’s features. ”Wrongo.” He purred. ”I’m hurt little Kamaria that you don’t seem to remember me.” his tone floated effortlessly now as if it were a lyrical note. She begged him and he was enjoying every second of it. Yes, this is how it should be. She should be scared, She should fear what was coming next. She stared at him so confused and lost but then it was like a light went off in her head. Ah, there’s a good girl. He could see it now. ”Not yet.” he answered but then it was a like a wolfish expression crossed his features as he now leaned on the bed. She cared about this vessel so then maybe he could use that to his advantage. His weight was heavy on the bed indenting it as he scooted towards her, looming right into her with no sense of personal space. ” But I will if you don’t fix this.” He demanded. ”My rightful place is here! It’s not yours and you will give me your place.” he snatched her wrist with bruising force as he tugged her towards him finishing the space between them. ”And if you care for the vessel as much as you play as you do. You will heed my warning and do as I command. You will figure out how to trade places.”