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"I swear, if I am stuck in here for another day, I will scream."
Vexx arches an eyebrow at my outburst in amusement, craning his neck to look at me from where he sits on one of the sofas. "Bored, Prince?" he asks with what I can only describe as a sincere mock concern.
"Bored, stir-crazy, tired-- yeah. Something like that," I say, letting myself fall back onto my plush bed with a muted thwump. I look up a moment later at the sound of his chuckle, apparently entertained by my attitude.
"Well, what can you expect?" Vexx says as he stands and walks to where I gracelessly lay on the edge of the bed. "Being such a rebel and evading your personal guard only to go sneaking off the palace grounds- that's bound to land a little prince into a heap of trouble," he says, voice snarky.
I reach up to the head of my bed to grab a pillow only to launch it at Vexx, who by this point is laughing at the whole situation. "Evading my personal guard. Right," I say while rolling my eyes, yet can't stop my own quiet laughter. Vexx throws the pillow back to the top of my bed and sits down next to me. Placing his hands behind himself he leans back and rolls his head to the side to look at me, his trademark smirk gracing his lips. My breath catches in my throat and I have to take a second to ensure that I don't sound like a total fool when I speak again. "So, what is our escape plan today?" I ask, knowing Vexx is often full of devious ideas.
Vexx squints and purses his lips, and I pick up on what he's about to say just a second before he speaks. "We should probably stay on the grounds for the time being. Just not to provoke more suspicion." I sigh but nod because I know he's right. "But," he says before I can start to respond, "that doesn't mean we have to be stuck in here."
"Oh?" This time it's my turn to quirk a brow. "Do tell," I say, sitting up so that we are nearly shoulder to shoulder.
"But where is the fun in that?" he says, a proud look on his face. Once again, I roll my eyes in response. "We should wait until nightfall though."
I bump my shoulder with his, a smile on my lips as I think of whatever adventure he could have planned. "Until nightfall then," I say, before standing up fully and turning to face Vexx. "I can't wait."
The rest of the day goes by slowly, only sped up by the banter Vexx and I share which is broken up only when Vexx is called to give a daily report and when I am called to a rationed solo dinner. By the time night falls, I am back in my room, dressed, and ready to take the evening head-on.
An hour after sunset, Vexx is back in my room and waving me towards one of my windows. "Come on, my prince. We haven't all night." Grateful for the lack of light to hide my blush, I help open the window and follow Vexx out onto the terrace. The wind brushes at my ankles and lightly blows my hair back, subconsciously I grip tighter onto the edge of my windowsill, Vexx notices. "You trust me?" he asks, holding out a hand to help steady me.
"Always," I say, grabbing onto his hand. Holding on to whatever ledges we can, I follow him as he climbs the side of the castle. The climb up isn't terrible as long as I focus on making the same moves he does rather than the ground below.
After about ten minutes of climbing, we make it to the roof of one of the wings of the building. Beyond, I can still see many floors that rise above us, but they are a good ways away, Looking around, I get a good idea of where we stand in the limited light. "Are we above the grand hall?" I turn to Vexx in question.
"Yep. Not so bad a view from up here. Don't you think?" He says, his classic crooked smile on his face as his gaze shifts from the dull lights of the Districts to me.
"Yeah," I say as a breath escapes me. Looking at the world beyond, I try to make out landmarks that could point to places we've escaped to, but with the dull lights of the Districts, I can hardly make out anything except for which District is which thanks to the coloring of the lights.
Feeling another breeze at our backs, Vexx and I sit down on the roof and bask in the nice temperature of the night. "You did well with the climb, Prince, I'm impressed," Vexx says, bumping me with a shoulder. I scoff softly in response.
"Right, I admit I'm not looking forward to the climb down," I say, closing my eyes as another warm breeze hits my face.
"Ahh, don't worry about that, There is a little passage we can take from the other side of the roof. I scouted it out today." My eyes snap open, and I look at him with what must be the most entertaining expression because he starts laughing.
"Wha-"
"What's an adventure without a little danger, right?" My mouth slightly hangs open, and Vexx chuckles again before ruffling my hair a bit. "You are too fun," he says softly.
"And you are going to be the death of me," I say, regaining my senses as I lie back on the hard roof.
"Let's hope that never happens," Vexx says quietly before shaking a thought from his head. Leaning back beside me, he puts an arm out and I take the opportunity to use the juncture of his arm and shoulder as a pillow of sorts as we look up at the endless sky.
A few moments pass where all I hear is his breathing and all I feel is the occasional feeling of a heartbeat-- probably mine-- as we enjoy the night and each other's presence.
"There, see that?" Vexx asks. Pointing up with his right hand to one of the million specs in the darkened sky. I move my face closer to his to follow where he points. Near the tip of his finger is a little speck that stands out.
"Yeah, the slightly yellow one?" I ask, squinting slightly.
"Yeah, that's it." His left arm slightly tightens around me, pulling me into him. "That's Teranium. Ever hear of it?"
I nod into him. "It's a desert planet, right?"
When he speaks, it almost sounds like his voice is far away, as though he were caught up in his own memory, "Yeah, beautiful, I guess, if you like dry heat and sand."
I shrug, "I might, who knows? Maybe you can take me there one day?"
"Ahh yes. Teranium. The best location for a first date, full of drug dens and arenas," he laughs softly, and I can almost hear him roll his eyes.
"It can't be that bad, can it?" I ask, and by the look he gives me, I can figure that he isn't a fan of the planet. "Okay, then what about..." I scan the sky briefly before pointing at a small light just above us and to our right, "that one?"
"That one?" Vexx asks, taking a moment to try to identify it before I feel his chest heave in humor. "As much as I would like to take you to Botulin, I don't believe you are toxin-proof."
"Okay, then where would you take me? If we could travel through the stars rather than be literally grounded, where would we go?" I ask. I always ask this, and he always responds. He never gives me the same path. One night we are traveling through all of the system's natural beauties, another night we decide to fly through dangerous asteroid belts and crash land on undiscovered planets.
Vexx breathes deeply. "Well, First I'd like to show you some of the places here, on Goldis." His voice rumbles in his chest and I lean my head in to hear. "Despite all the flaws here, there are some nice places. I'd take you to the silver District; I'd like to show you where I grew up. Then, you and I would find a path that could showcase some of the places I've been, intermingled with places you want to go. Maybe we'd get into some fights. You and I could be partners in crime." He says the last bit with a smile on his face, and I can feel each of us relax into each other.
"Well," I say, trying to ignore the twinge of sadness in my gut that says we'll never have the opportunity, "then I better start packing. It sounds like you and I have a long journey ahead of us."
"Hmm. Indeed we do." Vexx looks at me then, a small smile gracing his features. I brush a few stray hairs out of his face, smiling when he leans into my touch.
The smile quickly breaks into a yawn as the comfort of the moment coaxes me to relax slightly too much.
"Do I bore you, Prince?" Vexx says, and he is smirking at me again, like always. I shake my head only for another yawn to escape me. Chuckling at my struggle to fight the yawn, Vexx rises to his feet and puts a hand out to me. "Come now, Sweet Prince. We have one more little adventure before we can get you to bed."
I take his hand and with one more look at the lights of our surroundings, and then follow him as we make our way through a maze of hidden halls before making it to my room unseen.