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Aaron arrived at his mother’s home for lunch. His brothers Kenan and Joel were sitting in the parlor playing chess while Saul sat on the balcony. Malachi was in the backyard, allowing himself to listen to Zoila’s nonsense about what she knew of gardening.

Going to the sofa he allowed himself to sit down and rest while watching his brothers play. They were playing to decide who would get to seduce a certain a woman. Ridiculous.

“Who is she?” Aaron asked.

“Kara.”

“Is she hard to get?”

“She plays hard to get,” Joel said overconfident again.

“And you both want her?”

Sometimes the brothers had the same taste.

“We at least want someone,” Joel teased, then turned to him. “How long have you abstained or did you slip?”

“I didn’t slip nor have I abstained. I just don’t eat whatever is served.”

“Oh, look who got a smart mouth. I guess spending time with the princess is doing something to you.” Joel drawled._.

“Maybe Kara is not hard to get. Maybe she just doesn’t want to be associated with you.”

“We are royals. Every woman wants to be associated with us.” Kenan said.

Aaron chuckled. “Right. I forgot. The holy royal blood. Who doesn’t want a taste of that? Maybe I should try my luck as well.”

They both laughed at him and then continued to play, not taking him seriously.

The aroma of food filled the room as lunch was being served. “So where is the princess? Or is she still sick?” Saul asked coming inside. He was set on upsetting Ravina.

“Sick or just seeking attention?” Kenan asked.

“It is hard to fight with women. They have all these hidden manipulative weapons.” Saul said sitting down.

Ravina wasn’t even using hers. If she was, Saul would have lost a long time ago. Aaron had wondered why she didn’t use all the resources she had. Was she perhaps…. Innocent?

She was so young so perhaps she was. Lucky Malachi or he would have been truly trapped if she had some experience. How scared she must be then… being here as a woman all alone. Surrounded by stronger creatures. Ones that had caused her loss.

Aaron knew when she arrived because of her scent. Humans smelled different, especially this one. He remembered the days when they had humans around and guilt struck him. He remembered being eager to go out and fight with his father. No, terrorize. Why did his brothers have the honor but not him? He felt excluded. Envied his brothers who were called brave by their people. That was until he knew what it meant to do such an act. It was nothing impressive or anything to be proud about. It was not the act of a brave but a coward.

“You want to please father? Go ahead. Tell me if you can sleep at night.” Malachi had told him.

Did he forget how much he hated it? How hard he fought to stop it, almost causing a war between their people.  Of course, he regrets it now after what happened with Amal. Father had a way to get into people’s heads and make them feel guilty and useless. Prove them wrong. It was such a powerful tool he used and he used it the most against Malachi who was the rebellious one.

They were not his sons, they were his weapons. The king with five sons by his side was something all the other leaders envied and feared. It was something no other leader had and still Malachi had them by his side. Something no other leader had. It made him a powerful king, all of them being the purest male breeders alive.

Ravina walked into the parlor, dressed in a mint green garment with minimal jewelry. She only wore a belly chain, a bracelet around her wrist, and another one around her arm.

“I see you have recovered from your illness,” Saul spoke.

“Do you know how to play chess, princess?” Joel asked her.

“Yes.”

“Want to play and bet something?”

“Are you alright with losing?” She asked sounding casual.

He chuckled. “I just hope my victory won’t ruin your pride.”

“Don’t worry. My pride is not so fragile.” She went to sit in front of him where Kenan sat before.

Aaron prepared himself to enjoy the show even more as they began to play. Joel was competitive and hated to lose and Ravina was calm. Unreadable. And he knew she was smart so it would be interesting to watch.

The beginning was hasty, with both of them striking but then it got more intense and Ravina began to use the queen in a very tactful way, surprising Joel many times and aiming to take out his queen first. Once she succeeded she smiled.

“You just lost your most powerful piece.” She said grabbing her queen, she made another tactful move to block him. “She takes the role of many, both defending and attacking.”

She was making a point.

“I see,” Joel said moving his knight back. His king was now mostly defenseless and he had to get back to find a way to protect him.

“Once the queen is out, the king is vulnerable.” She said moving to find an angle to attack the king.

Joel did his best attempts to block her attack but realized eventually that he was losing. Ravina fought off his useless attempts and then her queen got his king.

“You lose,” she said tossing his king aside.

Aaron was so immersed he didn’t realize his two other brothers were invested in it as well.

“Now you know the importance of a tactful queen,” she smiled.

Joel watched her with narrowed eyes.

“Alright. What do you want? What can I give you?” he asked.

Aaron was curious to see what she would ask.

“A stallion.”

“A stallion?” He frowned.

“Yes. A strong healthy black stallion.”

“Oh…” he nodded with a smirk. “Why a stallion? They are more….”

“Difficult? Aggressive? I heard that. I don’t mind. Dealing with difficult creatures is becoming my specialty.”

He chuckled amused. “I like that,” he nodded. “But why do I feel like you are talking about my brother?”

“Brothers.” She corrected.

He laughed.

Saul didn’t like the exchange between them so he stood up. “Let’s go eat.” He said and walked away.

At the lunch table, Zoila was overly friendly as usual, and Ravina who seemed to be in a less good mood was paying her no attention. Aaron wondered if she had even the slightest affection for his brother. She seemed completely uninterested but then, he shouldn’t be surprised. He wasn’t sure if Malachi was even attempting to seduce her because she had no reason to like him otherwise.

And now he got himself entangled with Zoila. Getting out of this would be difficult but he didn’t feel bad for his brother at this point. He could understand not wanting to be with Ravina but getting himself involved with a princess before sorting out his feelings was a stupid decision. This suffering would be good for him. A lesson. Enlightening. That was his hope for his brother. He had been the good one among them after all.

After lunch, she got hold of him in the hall while everyone went to have dessert. She gave him a signal to escape and they snuck out.

“I thought you didn’t want my brother to know,” he said.

“I don’t. But I really can’t do dessert as well.” She shook her head. “Do you mind?”

“No.” In fact, he was willing to play the villain. It was the least he could do for her.