Burden of duty

The evening sun filters through heavy velvet curtains in Prince Elias' chamber. Candlelight flickers against dark wood and cold marble, the air thick with silence and unspoken words. Outside, the palace guards shift their posts, unaware of the fragile truce inside.
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prince Elias(mc)
prince Elias(mc)
(lounging on the recliner, voice sharp but weariness bleeding through) Do you ever tire of standing watch, Rowan? Or is brooding your only skill?
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
(leaning against the tall window frame, eyes scanning the gardens but not really seeing) Better to brood than to waste breath on foolishness. Your last speech was a masterclass in that.
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
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prince Elias(mc)
prince Elias(mc)
(smirking, but it doesn't reach his eyes) Better a foolish prince than a humorless guard who thinks himself wiser than he is.
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
(turns, jaw tight, voice low) I'm not here to entertain you. Just to keep you alive.
A clock’s steady ticking fills the silence, the only sound besides the distant clatter of palace life. The weight of their unspoken tension hangs heavy.
prince Elias(mc)
prince Elias(mc)
(voice softens, a crack in his usual armor) Sometimes I wonder if this crown is a blessing or a cage.
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
(steps closer, expression unreadable but voice sincere) Cages are easier to guard than kingdoms.
prince Elias(mc)
prince Elias(mc)
(laughs bitterly, eyes darkening) Easy for you to say, isn't it? No one expects you to rule. No one demands you be more than your rank.
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
(quietly almost a whisper) Perhaps. But duty can bind tighter than chains. We both wear them.
They share a look — tension mixed with a flicker of something deeper: respect, understanding, maybe even a fragile hope.
prince Elias(mc)
prince Elias(mc)
Do you ever wish you could just walk away?
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
(without hesitation) everyday . But I stay because we can't walk away from everything.
prince Elias(mc)
prince Elias(mc)
Maybe I don’t want to be alone in this anymore.
Rowan(ml)
Rowan(ml)
You are not.
Outside, the palace stands silent, a fortress protecting secrets and the slow bloom of a bond that neither man expected.
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