Bitten Ch. 01

~* Hey everyone! This is another magical world, but this time with elves, vampires, werewolves, and such! This story also becomes a slow burn. They figure out their feelings for each other for sure around chapter 3 but it takes until the end to get to the sex, though we tease it plenty in other chapters. Just a little warning before we get into the story! Love you all and enjoy! *~

Avanær was an ancient and proud country split into provinces according to the races of its denizens, each ruled by a leader of their own people (or by three royal families in the case of the fae, or a council for the werefolk). The oldest and largest district was Fyrie, known as the Fae world, with the next oldest right next to it, Arcasias. Arcasias was where the vampyres ruled over their people, with the King and Queen and their children who were next in line for the throne. There was a rather large human province, a werewolf territory, and a demon domain. The entirety of Avanær had treaties among their peoples, laying down what was allowable between the different races and how to make sure everyone got their needs met.

Blood was donated from all of the other provinces and shipped to Arcasias so the vampyres wouldn't starve or have to hunt humans anymore; though many among the vampyre elite eschewed werewolf blood, claiming that it tasted terrible, while Fae blood was reserved for the ruling caste only. Food was also traded between provinces, goods and crafts, raw materials, and more. They all worked together to make sure Avanær would prosper.

In the very middle of the disparate regions was a plot of land that was designated a neutral zone. It was still part of the country, but it didn't belong to any single race. It was known as Varsonia, and the Vedora School of Sorcery and Inherent Magic had been founded there. Almost every noble family sent their children there, starting from the age each race began developing magical powers or their race's abilities; grade school for most but generally puberty for the werewolf tribes. It was a large school, with wings dedicated for each level of schooling and set up to keep most of the races separate.

Of course, these classes were for magical creatures. Humans, mostly lacking in innate magical abilities and living such short lives, had their own schools within their district. Every other generation or so, the humans would produce a sorcerer and they were, of course, welcome to attend, but the School was the place for everyone with long lives to learn about their magic. That was why Rhys Draven, bastard son of Duke Jasper Draven, was finally attending. Normally, he would have been in the school much sooner, but he had been taught by private tutors out of necessity.

Rhys' mother was a princess of the Wood Elf conclave, but no one in this area knew that. What they thought, originally, was that she was some human that the Duke was keeping around. Now, with her not aging, it was clear she was something else but no one knew for sure. Most people figured she had some vampyre blood, making her a dhampyr, the same as Rhys. dhampyrs were generally looked down on in vampyre society, but they had their uses.

Rhys had been working on controlling his elven abilities so he wouldn't slip around anyone that he and his family didn't want to know about it. There were prophecies about elves mixed with other creatures, and none of Rhys' parents wanted to deal with how people would react because of how insular the different societies were.

Everyone would have expected that Duchess Iona would have hated her husband's bastard, but the truth was that she loved him as if he was her own. If it was up to his three parents, he would be the heir, but it would bring too many questions. Even Marius would have been happy to step aside for him, but Rhys didn't want the responsibility of being the next Duke of Dravenwood.

His parents were in a triad relationship. All three of them loved each other, and all three of them stayed in the same bed. No one outside of their home knew that though. Everyone else thought Alavara Caimaer was simply someone who took care of the children and home, and who the Duke slept with.

Rhys was Alavara's only child. The birth had been traumatic and difficult, and ended with a c-section which was almost unheard of where they lived. After that, she was left unable to have more, but she acted as a second mother to the others and her heart and family was full.

Now Rhys was back from his trip to learn advanced elven magic in secret by his Uncle, the King of the wood elves, and he was being sent to Vedora. His siblings were already there, and now it was his turn to go. He was all packed and waiting for the car to pull up and take him to the dorms where he'd be staying during the school year. He was excited to see his siblings again, as it had been a long three decades away learning from his uncle and cousins.

Rhys had been hearing various perspectives about the upcoming appearance of literal vampyre royalty at the School from his siblings during his "exile." There was a great deal of speculation about the return to the School of Prince Vasile Valravyn following his twenty year hiatus among the humans. Word had been spreading around the School that he had been trying to battle a Basilisk-blood addiction and had spent five of those years alone in the woods, meditating and praying to Shezmu to deliver him from the wrath of Hekate. Yet another tale explained his scruffy appearance with the claim that he had cast aside his wealth and position while among the humans and lived amidst the unwashed masses in the shanty-town outside of Poivin, the major human city.

There were as many rumors as people spreading them, but the man's reputation was nevertheless spotless, at least among vampyres. There was a faction in the School that had traditionally opposed the vampyre hierarchy, and even they seemed to like the guy.

Of course, Rhys understood how rumors were around royalty. He'd seen it with the vampyres, and he'd seen it with the elves as well. He'd been a fairly well kept secret at the wood elf palace to everyone except those who lived and worked within the palace, and the help gossiped all the time, especially around him because it was easy to forget he was there when he was quietly reading books. He wasn't going to make any judgments on the Prince until he met him. As an illegitimate royal himself, though, the title itself didn't interest him much. It wasn't going to be what made him hang out with the man.

The first person he saw once he finished all his paperwork, got his school ID, got his things stowed away where they needed to be and got into his uniform was his brother Marius. Marius came over and threw his arms around his brother's shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug before letting him go.

"Wow, look at you!" Marius exclaimed as he looked over Rhys. "You grew your hair out, I see, and you got taller. You'll have every man and woman falling all over you soon enough."

Rhys shook his head at that. "I doubt it. The dhampyr stuff always gives people pause. It's so good to see you though."

Marius grinned at him. "Come on, come sit with us for dinner."

Marius led him over to one of the tables. Vampyres could still eat food just fine, and even better if the food had been cooked in blood, which was a great delicacy in Arcasias. The table was covered in that exact type of food. It took some effort to not show his reaction on his face when he took in the blood sausages, potatoes, mostly raw steak, and other savory foods laid out on the spread. He was so used to the sweet fare of the elves now that the savory food of the vampyres seemed less appetizing. He briefly wondered if he was becoming a little too elven for this area now.

Most of those sitting at the table were his siblings, but Marius introduced him to their friends. He shook hands with each new person before he sat down next to Marius. Someone asked him, "Are you excited about the Prince coming back to school?"

"Should I be?" Rhys asked back, looking surprised by the question. "I'm just a lowly bastard dhampyr. What interest would vampyre royalty have with me? I'm nothing but a piece of gum on his shoe."

"You're touching his shoe?" Marius asked, pretending to swoon while everyone laughed.

"I'd only be so lucky!" Rhys joked, fanning himself as if that was making him hot all over. "I bet he'd just step around me, unfortunately. How could I ever get the attention of someone so important?"

"You could try asking for it," said a quietly cultured voice from behind him. In all the commotion from their conversation, no one had noticed the approach of the handsome Prince of the Vampyres. Rhys turned in shock to see Vasile Valravyn standing casually nearby, a crooked smile on his face which was reflected in the twinkle in his lavender eyes.

This was Rhys' first time ever getting to see the vampyre prince, since his schooling had been mostly private and he'd been gone for a while now. Vasile was easily six foot four inches tall, making him only about three inches taller than Rhys was. His raven black hair fell to his broad shoulders, matching perfectly with his pale and unblemished skin. Despite the rumors of his scruffy appearance, he must have shaved recently because all Rhys could see now was a very light five o'clock shadow. He was well built, which the uniform for the school easily showed off, though Rhys' uniform wasn't quite as well tailored.

He was a beautiful man, and even Rhys could admit that much. Still, he wasn't going to admit that out loud, even if his eyes did widen slightly as he took in the man's appearance.

"Surely it's not that simple, Your Highness," Rhys replied, his own teal colored eyes sparkling right back. "With all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds you, you could surely make better choices than little ole me. I'll just have to make do with checking you out from afar and drooling like all the other riff raff who couldn't have a prayer's chance in spending more than fifteen minutes with you."

Vasile had heard about the bastard son of Duke Draven before. He was interesting gossip because he was a dhampyr who was held in high esteem by his father and siblings, and rumors said that his stepmother was very fond of him, which was odd for a child born out of wedlock. He was also talked about because his looks were anything but vampyric. He was a tall man at six foot one and had deeply tanned skin that looked like it should belong to a human or one of the wood elves. His hair was a rich red color, just a couple of shades darker than ginger, and he kept it long down his back. Right then he had it up in two braids on each side that came down to meet in the middle. His eyes were also a very vivid teal color, like the pools of water in Fyrie sometimes were colored.

Rhys' nose was slightly turned up and he had only a hint of facial hair on his face. His lips were full and seemed to be curved up into a permanent smirk. It was clear by looking at the siblings he was with that he got most of his looks from his mother. The only vampyric thing about him was his sharper canine teeth and a look in his eyes as if he was sizing everyone up when he met them; a sign of a hunter.

Vasile laughed, a rich, melodic sound that surprised Rhys because it sounded nearly Fae in tempo. "I like you, Dukey. Feel free to invite yourself to my table any time," he said with an air of mischief.

Rhys stared at him for a moment while the others all laughed. He blinked a few times and then smirked again. "Oh come now, Princess, surely you could have paid someone to come up with a better nickname for me!"

A few of the people around them were shocked to hear Rhys speak like that to the Prince. Everyone turned to look at Vasile to see how he would react, though the prince could see Rhys' siblings thought he was hilarious.

Vasile smiled wolfishly at Rhys' cheeky response. "Does calling me Princess make it easier for you to imagine me in a compromising position, svetocher?" he asked, using a word for dhampyrs that full-blooded vampyres sometimes used, though whether or not it was meant derogatorily depended a great deal on its context. In this case, the word was said almost sweetly, like a lover's caress, but the look on Vasile's face was unreadable.

Rhys has been called that before, under less than pure intentions, but he found he didn't hate it when Vasile used it. He grinned in response, his teeth looking slightly sharper as the light glinted off of them, and said, "Oh no, I could easily picture you like that even if I was calling you Your Majesty and having to bow to you. But surely you already knew that. You have mirrors, and you could always just delve into my mind if you really wanted to. Dhampyrs have no protection against that."

Vasile's face twisted up in disgust at that, his lip curling into nearly a snarl. "We do not rummage around in the minds of the noştri, Dukey! I am shocked at your lack of decorum. Wait at least a couple of days before inviting yourself to my table," he said, that last part casually flung over his shoulder as he turned majestically and glided away.

Rhys watched him stride away, his eyes wide again, though he schooled his features soon enough. His mind was racing right then, because if the prince was being serious, then he had just said in a rather public place that a dhampyr was not much different than a vampyre. If he was being tongue in cheek, though, as Rhys was sure everyone would take it as, then he was just putting Rhys back in his place. Either way, he didn't know what to do with it.

He chose not to say anything out loud, though his siblings were watching him closely. When he looked back at the food, he found that it just didn't seem that appetizing right then. When he excused himself from his table to go back to the dorms, Marius followed with, wanting to make sure he was okay.

They came into Rhys' dorm room, where he had set up a small pot with a few sprouts growing out of it now. They were seedlings from Fyrie, one that would bloom with vibrant colors eventually. He opened up a box and pulled out a small honey cake that had been made back at his uncle's and popped it into his mouth.

"You know, you can't just subsist on sweets if you're back here," Marius warned him. "The more you stay away from blood, the less vampiric you'll look."

"I'll take some tomorrow, I promise," Rhys replied.

"So, that Prince, huh?" Marius asked him, changing the subject.

Rhys looked thoughtful. "He's a fascinating one. I can't figure him out or read him, which is probably on purpose. He can't give away his thoughts too easily, right?"

"Are you going to take him up on that invitation?" Marius asked.

"We'll see," Rhys replied with a grin. "It might depend on him."

For the first few days as school started, he did as Vasile told him, which was to not invite himself over. That was simple enough because the poor man was surrounded by other vampyres trying to get some time with him. Rhys liked spending time with his siblings, but other vampyres had never been his favorite bunch of people; especially the rich and noble families.

School started exactly as he had expected it to: with snide comments, askance looks, and giggling when he would be near. He could feel, every once in a while, someone trying to probe his mind to figure him out, but he had figured out tricks over the years to keep people out. While he was serious to Vasile that dhampyrs weren't immune to mind reading and mind control from vampyres, there were ways to get around it. He'd had enough vampyres trying to read his thoughts to learn his secrets that his mom had helped him come up with ways to keep others out.

Usually it was by pulling up a mental image in his mind and just blasting it out to anyone trying to read him. Other times it was by singing a song in his head over and over again. It worked even better when he had a music video to go with it because the images along with the music drowned out whatever else he might be thinking of.

If Vasile had been serious earlier, then he should have talked to some of his noble subjects about not rummaging around, but he didn't say that out loud.

On the fourth day of term, Rhys came into the cafeteria to see the normal amount of people already trying to get Vasile's attention. He knew his time limit for staying away was at an end, but he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do. Vasile was fun to joke with, and there was something there that excited Rhys, but at the same time, he was the royal heir for a race of people that generally looked down on his entire existence.

He caught the prince's eye for a moment before Rhys turned away to search for a bottle of straight blood. Marius was right that he needed to get some into himself. He needed to get used to blood again. The little bit he'd had back in Fyrie wasn't enough. His uncle had brought blood in for him to drink, out of necessity, but it was truly the bare minimum.

He found a vending machine full of synthetic blood, but couldn't even force himself to consider it, so he went through the line at the counter. While he was waiting, Vasile joined him. When he noticed the tall, dark, and handsome fellow lurking behind him in line, he rolled his eyes, saying, "Don't you have people to fetch things for you, Your Malevolence?"

Vasile laughed melodiously and responded, "Probably, but that bunch over there were getting on my nerves and no one there knows what I like. What're you in line for? A pint of B-Minus?"

"Oh please, everyone knows O negative and any type of AB are the best flavors," Rhys teased. "I'm sure your menagerie over here would happily learn your tastes if you only graced them with the chance to. You look like you prefer the rarer types, maybe even those less human. I've heard the fae are very sweet in flavor."

Vasile nodded to himself in response to his answer, as if confirming that Rhys had at least tasted enough blood to be able to distinguish the good from the... not so great. "Fae blood is very rich. Too rich for me, at the moment. I had to be careful among the humans not to be seen casually consuming my usual fare, plus I was trying to blend in, so I went as long as I could between rations," Vasile said.

Rhys looked at him in surprise at that, as they had essentially been doing similar things for a long time, though for different reasons. He gave a nod of his head that said he understood. "I've been away myself, and have only taken strictly what was necessary. It's difficult getting back to it now that I'm here again. I'm sure that's different between us though. Dhampyr diets vary differently from yours."

Vasile shrugged in response. "Not so much that it matters. We're both drawn back to blood eventually and tolerate most human diets besides. The only real difference is that vampyres can risk Fae cuisine with impunity, though deals with the Fair Folk are still binding," he answered, casually demonstrating his knowledge.

Rhys noticed that he had left out werefolk diets, though. Rhys couldn't help but smirk a little at the mention of fae cuisine, which he had been eating since he was very young. He wondered, briefly, what Vasile would think if he knew it was a normal part of his diet, but he also knew not to give someone he didn't know well that kind of information.

"I should expect that the crown Prince would have tried fae cuisine at some point," Rhys commented. "It must be nice to get to try just about every race's cuisine at some point. A good learning experience. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so I imagine I'd probably like what the Fair Folk eat."

Vasile gave him a look, partially confused and alarmed. "Has no one told you that the human side of your bloodline makes you vulnerable to the restrictions regarding the food of the Fae? If you eat of it within their domain you become bound to them forever," he informed Rhys. "In fact, almost none of their food is sweet. Most of the Fae dislike the taste of sweet foods, with the exception of the ones whose ancestors subsisted on nectar."

Rhys grinned at that before turning back to Vasile with an innocent wide eyed look. Of course, Vasile was wrong about the sweet tooth part. Milk and honey were used a ton in Fae food, though they did love their savory delights as well. He could see why some of the Fae may have told the vampyre prince that though, if only just to mess with him, and Rhys was not above that either. "Bound to them forever? You're right, that does sound troublesome. Though, who knows, I've been told neither my human side or my vampyre side want me. Having someone who wants to keep me despite that could be fun. Forever is so subjective anyway, when one could be killed tomorrow, after all."

Vasile laughed his melodious laugh at that. "You amuse me, Dukey. By the way," he said, holding out his hand, "you can call me Vasile. Do you have a name or do you actually prefer that I call you 'Dukey'?"

The look on Rhys' face showed that he was surprised that Vasile had offered to let Rhys use his given name, but he took Vasile's hand all the same. "Rhys, though I would never think to limit what you can call me. Does everyone here get to call you Vasile, or am I like a special little pet or something?"

Vasile considered that question with a wistful smile before answering, keeping Rhys' hand in his for a nearly uncomfortable amount of time. "I wouldn't dream of keeping a pet against their will, so unless that was an offer..." he said with a laugh before letting go of Rhys' hand. "Almost no one calls me by my given name, now that I think of it. Even my parents generally refer to me without using it."

"It might be an offer, depending on how well you treat your pets," Rhys teased with a smirk, turning back to the line as they had reached the area where they could order. He asked for a bottle of O negative, and asked for a bag of blood candies. They were candies made of sweet typed blood that Rhys had always loved. After Vasile got what he wanted, and they had paid and were turning away, Rhys said, "Well, I'd hate to keep you from your adoring public. Maybe some time I could find you by yourself. I don't like to flirt with audiences around."

Rhys ran his tongue along his teeth, and Vasile could see a drop of blood appear on it. He got just the faintest whiff of it, and it smelled rich and sweet, but then Rhys was gone before Vasile could respond, making his way out of the cafeteria and outside into the overcast day.

Vasile shook his head, not bothering to suppress the smile that came to his lips as he walked over to a vacant table and sat quietly as he drank his AB-Negative, even when the gaggle of sycophants came over asking why he hadn't come back. He could tell that a few of those sycophants disapproved of the attention he was giving to the bastard dhampyr but he refused to let their opinions shape his choices. He couldn't quite place why he was fascinated by Rhys, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Later that night, a little before the sun was going to set, Rhys made his way to the middle of the campus, where there was a beautiful field with benches placed around the walkways. He had brought with him some grapes, peanuts, ground meat, and seeds that were not his fae ones, to feed to the crows and ravens on the campus. As soon as he started to put out the food, he was surrounded by them trying to get a taste of what he had brought.

Dhampyrs could control animals, and he had used those powers before, but his elven abilities made it so he was able to talk to animals as well. His love for them made him only use the dhampyr control when absolutely necessary. All other times, like now, he just spoke to them as if they were friends. It made him look odd but he'd never been afraid of that, and it's not like anyone could tell he could hear their responses.

It helped that his responses to the birds made it sound like he was just talking to talk. When one of the crows mentioned how much he loved eating apple slices, Rhys said, "I'll bring some apple slices next time. I think quite a few of you will like that."

One of the crows flew off as if something had startled it. Rhys watched it fly away, his brows furrowed for a moment since the other crows hadn't reacted to anything, but then he went back to talking to the crows and giving them food. Animals didn't tend to gossip about other animals, so they went back to talking about the foods they liked and the shiny things they had seen recently. Rhys, as half fae, also happened to like shiny things, so he was more than happy to show them his own and give them a few, before promising to look at the ones that had been too big for the crows to take with them later.

It became part of his schedule after that, taking time to come down before the sun set to feed the crows and other animals that came around, and talking to them. Sometimes they would bring him shiny things that they had found, and Rhys had started keeping them in a jar in his room.

He would see Vasile around a lot, and sometimes they would talk, but any time a group formed up nearby or with Vasile, and Vasile noticed that Rhys would dip out and find somewhere else to go. It made it seem like, other than his siblings, Rhys was incredibly uncomfortable around vampyres.

Vasile began chasing off his crowds of well-wishers in an effort to give Rhys an opportunity to sit and chat, but it seemed like the more he tried to get rid of them, the harder they tried to stick around. He was finding it very frustrating and, understandably, didn't want to ask his parents for bodyguards at school, but a workable solution was evading him.

He did, at one point, send a small entourage of footmen to follow Rhys around with a red carpet and flowers to put before him on the ground in an effort to joke back about Rhys' comments about the pomp and circumstance around the prince. Rhys got a good laugh the first time they laid down a line of flowers or the carpet for him to walk on, and it was one of the only times Vasile got to see Rhys light up despite people around them watching him in confusion. If anything, their confusion or jealousy over it just made Rhys laugh more.

It seemed that if he wanted to actually spend time getting to know Rhys, he would have to figure out places where they could be mostly alone. Even in the library, people would gravitate toward the prince while Rhys would gravitate towards a secluded area to sit and read or study.

It bothered Rhys too, but he also didn't want every single thing he said or did to be analyzed by people who looked down on him. Vasile seemed to be one of the few who didn't, but he also wasn't getting much of a chance to talk to him. Vasile finally landed on a solution and decided to join a book club. The club focused on a featured story each month and everyone was expected to participate to retain membership, which caused even the most hardcore of the sycophants to begin to find something else to do with their time. Any time someone sat with him at lunch, Vasile would make sure he was reading and mercilessly shushed anyone who would talk.

Rhys couldn't help but snicker the first time he saw Vasile hush someone. Rhys didn't want to be part of the club but he did notice which books Vasile was reading and took time to read them himself. Sometimes he would read out loud to the crows at the end of the day, just to kill time. The crows enjoyed listening to him as they ate. One of them in particular started bringing him shiny things whenever he read poetry.

After about two weeks, Vasile's table at lunch was practically a ghost town, unless someone from the book club or Rhys joined him. Vasile was prone to expositions about whatever he was reading if he found a point interesting or had an argument against it. It really didn't matter who was there, or even if anyone was. Most of the time, Rhys would join with his own book to read, sitting next to Vasile comfortably, with just a little bit of room between them. Sometimes, when he asked a question about what Vasile was reading or had an argument to what Vasile had said, he would invade Vasile's personal space a little. Just a little bit, to cause tension between them, before he would go back to keeping a little farther away.

After a couple of months of this, midterms had snuck up on them. They both had gotten so entrenched in their routines that they hadn't really taken any time to explore the grounds of the school. Vasile had joined a fencing club that met once a week after classes but they were only doing drillwork, so there wasn't any sparring to watch. Vasile did well in his classes, but it was clear that he was more interested in the extracurricular activities available. Chances were pretty good that he had been tutored privately prior to attending the school.

Rhys was incredibly focused on his studies. He was majoring in Interspecies Relationships, which could lead to jobs where he worked with various races of people. He had chosen it because it made the most sense to him. He had a connection to two homes and two people already, and he knew he could do a good job of fostering good relationships between people if given the chance. He wanted to become an Ambassador eventually, though he'd likely have to reveal that he was half fae if he did that. He could worry about that later though.

The closer midterms came, the more Rhys was letting himself explore the grounds of the school though. He would follow the various animals around to find hidden nooks where he could read and study away from people. There was an area over by the woods, where an older tower of the school had fallen down. They rebuilt one side of it, and planted flowers around it, but left the rest of it alone. He could slip through the crumbling wall and sit among the plants in the shell of the tower. He just had to be careful to lean against the stone parts because there were some iron poles that were exposed and he learned the hard way how much they hurt early on.

Of course, he could be easy to find for anyone who knew to look for a collection of animals. There were times that the crows, squirrels, cats, and such would follow him to his little hide-out, looking for either food or just to talk to him as he studied. They would even help him. The crows would play games with him to help him study, with them listening to what he was reading then playing games for shinies to help him memorize things.

Rhys had been blessedly alone for a few weeks before his safe haven was intruded upon. He made his way into the tower one day and Vasile was simply there, leaning casually against a portion of the wall near where Rhys usually sat, reading. As far as intruders went, Vasile was definitely the least objectionable, though. Rhys stopped at the entrance, staring at Vasile for a moment, before he carefully made his way over and sat down next to him and pulled out his own books.

Vasile acknowledged his presence by adjusting his position and glancing up before going back to his reading with a small smile. Rhys briefly glanced over at him, giving a chuckle, before he began studying. Of course, soon the area became covered with crows around them, cawing happily as they looked for food. Rhys reached into his pocket to pull out seeds and nuts he had brought with, throwing them out for the crows to pick at.

"Do you feel ready for midterms?" Rhys asked as he kept his eyes on his books.

Vasile put his book down, carefully marking his page with a bookmark made of a pressed vervain flower encased in resin. "Yes, my tutors assure me that I am well-prepared. I do struggle occasionally with the social sciences but I've been exercising my powers for over a century. And you? Are you ready?" he answered.

"I believe so, yes," Rhys answered truthfully. "I'm as ready as I can be anyway. I don't have fancy tutors to help me out but I've been working hard so I think the outcome will be satisfactory for all who care."

"'For all who care'?" Vasile repeated, "Why do you talk like that? Do you believe that no one cares? And would you like some fancy tutors? I could arrange that if you feel you're struggling or would just like the security of knowing."

Rhys looked askance at Vasile in both surprise and some concern that the prince would actually arrange that. "No, I think I can handle my schoolwork without that being necessary. Besides, I'd hate for people to think you're playing favorites. So many are vying for your attention, wanting to be the next Vampyre Queen.

"As to how I speak, it's not that I think anyone wouldn't care. My parents care, and my siblings wish to see me succeed. I'm sure the higher ups here are watching me in case I fail as well. As a bastard who is trying to find a place for myself though, I've learned to speak very politically. My whole life is about walking a line between what people expect; whether that be negative or positive things based on my parentage. The dhampyr will surely fail, so I will prove them wrong."

Vasile looked impressed by his responses and considered them carefully before answering. "It's not favoritism, I'd offer the same for anyone else who had bothered to try to be a friend instead of merely seeking my favor. I thought it went without saying but perhaps not: do you recall me ever being seen with tutors or there being any hint of their presence on campus before now?" he asked.

Rhys turned his head to look at Vasile properly now as he considered that. "Now that you mention it, no. I haven't seen anything like that. I've mostly seen you reading and going to your extracurriculars. I'm surprised the royal family knows how to do things discreetly. I thought your entire life was supposed to be about pomp and circumstance."

Vasile ignored that for the moment, choosing to address the rest of his point and the rest of Rhys' statements instead. "Exactly. The tutors are the pinnacle of discretion. If you do decide you need them, let me know and I will arrange it. I am definitely impressed by your tenacity and desire to prove yourself better than an accident of birth. Perhaps you understand better than most that I had no choice in being born a prince or 'heir' to an immortal," he said.

Rhys' expression softened at that, the joking look leaving and his aqua eyes turning warmer and understanding. "Yes, I probably do understand that better than others out there. You didn't ask to be born the heir, any more than I asked to be born to my own circumstances. I had no choice in my conception, and neither did you. We just make the best of it."

Vasile smiled warmly and picked his book back up. "Besides, it's not all sunshine and rainbows being royalty, you know," he said as he began reading again.

Rhys didn't doubt that, knowing the things that Marius was having to learn to be the next Duke, as well as what he had seen of his cousins at the palace in Fyrie. He'd had to learn his place too in the royal Caimaer line. "No, I suppose it's not," he commented. "You handle it with grace though. I can certainly see why you are in such high demand."

Vasile scoffed at that without looking up. "None of those whom you've observed seeking my presence would care for it if they actually got to know me. They assume I am as vapid and favor-seeking as they are," he responded.

Rhys looked thoughtful at that, tilting his head to one side as he gently petted the feathers on the chest of one of the crows. "You aren't though. It's true that they might be let down by that later. I rather like that you aren't like that. Every vapid and selfish vampyre I've ever met has been a bully towards me. I'm glad to see the crown prince isn't like that."

"Oh, I haven't been crowned yet," Vasile responded. "I have to survive to 200 for that, and graduate from this school."

"You know what I mean," Rhys replied, gently elbowing Vasile in the ribs. "I have no doubt you will do both with flying colors too."

For a brief moment, Rhys could see the idea of staying here to watch it happen. To see Vasile crowned as the prince next in line for the throne. He got a sad look on his face at that, knowing that he would likely be leaving Arcasias before that happened. He'd likely only return here to see his siblings every once in a while, but his plan had always been to get out of here and travel around as an Ambassador.

Then he said, "I'm sure before I even know it, one of my siblings will mail me a newspaper or send an article about your crowning."

Vasile looked over at him. "Are you planning to leave the country after graduation?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," Rhys replied with a nod of his head. "That was always my plan, since I was very young. I wanted to graduate from here in interspecies relationships and do ambassador work all around the other countries. If I was going to stay here, there would have to be an incredibly compelling reason to stay. You may view me as one of you, but most of your noble subjects view me as an abomination that shouldn't exist. If they only knew..."

Vasile assumed Rhys was referring to something beyond his knowledge and therefore none of his business, so he left that statement alone. "Ambassadorships are very noble careers to choose. Should you require assistance upon graduation, please let me know. I would gladly endorse you," he said, his eyes on his book. Rhys noted that it was one of his Social Science textbooks.

Rhys was annoyed that he couldn't read what Vasile was feeling about that. Realizing that he was annoyed with that showed that he cared more about what the prince thought of him than he had originally thought. He realized now that it was possible if he kept getting to know Vasile, it might become harder and harder to walk away from the country. It wasn't like Vasile could just come with him.

Instead of going that direction though, he said, "You know, I'm pretty good with social sciences if you ever want help understanding them. Though I'm positive your tutors are top notch."

Vasile looked over at him, hope dawning on his face. "Truly? My tutors say I have enough of an understanding to pass but I don't believe them," he said.

"Truly," Rhys smiled at him, which seemed to light up his face and make him even more ethereally beautiful. "I took an interest in those fields at a young age and love it. I'd be happy to help you out. Meeting in the library is still too public, so we could study here or we could meet at the dorms. I'm positive you have your own room, just as I do."

Vasile lit up at the prospect. "While the weather is nice, let's meet here. I rather like this secluded hideaway you've discovered. On poor weather days we can certainly meet in either your room or mine. I'm in the North wing, at the end of the hall," he offered.

"I'm in the West wing, third door on the left," Rhys replied. "But for now, out here works fine. Let's go over some of the stuff that is giving you trouble."

He moved closer to Vasile, so that their shoulders and legs were touching, giving him a chance to be able to look at the book that Vasile was leafing through. Rhys hadn't been pulling Vasile's leg when he said he was good at these concepts. He had been reading people for so long, trying to figure out their motivations and thought processes, that he had searched out books on all of this a long time ago.

Being this close to Vasile just added to the tension forming between them. This little bit of contact was electric, and it made Rhys want more. Vasile had spent most of his life convinced that he had no choice in much of his future and there was never a time in his century and a half that he wished for a different circumstantial birth than today. He was acutely aware that not only was he predetermined to succeed his father, who was immortal, but that his mate would no doubt be chosen for him. Not that a State marriage truly kept him from pursuing dalliances, but he preferred commitment from his romantic interests.

Rhys' life wasn't anywhere near as planned out. Who he chose to marry was his own, but it did complicate things that the person he had taken an interest in finally couldn't choose him. On top of that, both of them knew that Rhys' time here was on a time limit now, and he wasn't sure that being a paramour of the vampyre prince was a good enough reason to stay in Arcasias. In fact, it felt like an awful reason to stay. To just be there as the prince's something on the side.

Not to mention that there were crucial things about Rhys that Vasile didn't know yet, and he wasn't sure if he should ever tell him. Maybe if they were something, something serious, he would want to, but as it stood, he should keep his mouth shut. He couldn't give way to fantasies about the prince choosing to be with him over anyone else. Those daydreams would never come true, and he wouldn't be that pathetic as to entertain the idea.

Neither of them gave in to any of their wants, and they left that small clearing without doing anything more than just studying. As the sun dipped below the sky, they packed up their things and parted ways, with Rhys heading back toward the west to his room. They continued to meet like that up until midterms, which proved to be a good idea because Rhys' help made it so Vasile did more than just barely pass those particular classes. So they made plans to continue their studying together after midterms, which both of them seemed to want to do anyway.

When they made the plans, Rhys wondered if he might be making a mistake in all of this, but he also didn't want to stay away from the Vampyre Prince at all. It was like being pulled in two different directions, and he was just following the path that felt the best right then.