Page 37 of The Kitten and His Prince

Rainier made a slight face. “You know I’m not hugely into tea, and they probably have nothing but sweets.”

“I’m sure they’d have something you’d like,” she said as Inky slunk to the floor and headed for her skirt.

“I’ll pass, but thanks,” said Rainier. “I have to go out and do something.”

“Why not stop on the way with us?”

“I don’t feel like having breakfast.”

Natalie gave him a suspicious look and giggled a second later as Inky crawled under the edge of her skirt. The only thing that could be seen of him was his tails poking out.

“I guess my dress is a tent,” she said. “Mother and Aunty want to go on a ride before lunch, so we’ll see you then, right? We’ll probably be leaving for home around two.”

“I’ll go for a ride with you. What’s Mum doing this morning?”

“I think she’s just doing office work. I have to go find Mother.”

“I’ll see you later.”

Natalie carefully stepped around Inky who appeared quite miffed to have his hiding spot taken away.

“Sorry,” Rainier said once the door leading out of the antechamber closed. “She’s usually good about staying out of my rooms.”

“Is she also mad about you having someone here?”

“She doesn’t care. It’s Mum with the problem. Oh, before I forget.” Rainier rushed back into the bedroom and returned with a folded piece of parchment. “I want you to have this. Since I said that you’ll always be able to come to me if you need it in the future, this is what you’d show the gate guards, and they’ll let you right in. I doubt Lance will come back for you years from now, but keep that just in case, okay? Even when you’re not my pet, you’ll still be one of my people, and that doesn’t change.”

Felix unfolded the parchment to see Rainier’s signature and the royal seal. Above it, Rainier had written that he could come in at any time for any reason. It was straight and to the point, and with the signature and seal, a guard wouldn’t dare argue with that.

The Prince seemed to like him a lot, and his attitude and pampering showed that, but this proved Rainier didn’t discard his lovers without a second thought.

“Thanks, Rainier.” Felix stood to hug him. "That means a lot to me."

“I want you to always be safe.” Rainier kissed his forehead.

***

Felix had heard that a few prisons in the fairy realm were quite cruel, and whippings for petty crime was considered normal. Fortunately, Glasswood wasn’t like that, not that Felix planned on committing a crime.

“Why are some Kings and lords so cruel?” he asked as the carriage carried them through Rosewood, and he sat next to the Prince. “I’ve heard of a couple of places where they sentence people to a lot of lashings for stuff that doesn’t really warrant that. Or I don’t think it does. Elirim is like that.”

Rainier made a face. “Some people make laws like that because they think if they have the power, they should use it, and it’ll force the people to think twice. It doesn't always work like that. I can see why King Ray of Elirim doesn’t like thieves because if you work for and own something, nobody should have the right to take it. But I also think he’s an asshole and ignorant.”

Felix couldn’t help the laugh that burst from him. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear a Prince call a King an asshole.”

Rainier snorted. “He is. Even people who steal food out of sheer hunger are whipped, and I think they get about thirty or forty lashes. What good does that do? If the person steals again because their situation hasn’t improved, a second offense is worth more. And they're still poor.”

He moved his head slightly to gaze through the window, and Felix studied his face. “Laws are basically formed from the opinion of whoever’s in charge and not what's generally right, huh?”

“Pretty much, yes. If you’ve been put in charge, you should try to think of what Elira would do because she would be as fair as possible. That’s what my Father said.”

It was more of a matter of luck when it came to what sort of ruler a country had.

“Why do you think he did this?” asked Felix. “You said he was sort of like a friend.”

“I’m going to ask him because I honestly don’t know.”

The prison was rather dull when they came in, not that he expected a fun-looking place. A few of the cells had a person or two. A pair in one cell were playing cards on the floor, and they paused to stare at the Prince as they walked down a hall.

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