Page 5 of Gilded Crown

Jari adjusted his pack over his shoulder as he strolled inside. He’d packed up his clothes and few possessions in the little shed he’d been staying in behind the shop. He didn't have much, but that had suited him just fine.

As he stood in the entrance hall for a moment, he made a face at the gold lion statue, still posed as if to attack. They needed to replace that with a big gold snake. He wondered if it used to be made of stone. Maybe Eurig had gilded it.

If Aurelius didn’t hiss and have him booted out on his arse, it was back to nice clothes and rubbing elbows with glittering pricks and snobs who all acted like their shit didn’t stink.

He went to the Crown Prince’s rooms to find them empty. Great. Now he had to go find Prince Prick.

“Is Prince Aurelius here?” he asked when he entered the library.

“No, I haven’t seen him. Wait-I remember you!” The elderly librarian lady shook a finger at him as she stood from her desk, and he could have sworn her orange hair fizzled with anger. “You checked out some books and never returned them! You need to bring them back right now!”

“Uh, I have them in my room. In fact-” Jari pointed behind him as he slowly backed away. “I’m going to go get them right now. I’ll be back. I promise.”

“You better!”

He hustled down the hall with his pack bouncing on his back. The books had last been in an inn room back in Zora since he and Aurelius hadn’t dared to go back and get their stuff. Damn it. They could be in a midden now for all he knew. That was the last time he was going in there and facing her wrath.

He asked a few courtiers if they’d seen the Crown Prince. They hadn’t. One finally said where he’d seen Aurelius in the Morning Room.

“What’s that?”

“That’s where you can have a snack or a small meal if you missed breakfast or lunch in the Hall.” The man raised his eyebrows as if Jari should have known that.

“Oh. Long table, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You use it in the afternoon too, so why is it called the Morning Room?”

The man rolled his eyes and walked away. Screw him too. Like Jari would guess it was called the Morning Room. Why not name it the Snack Room or something that made sense?

Thankfully, Jari remembered enough of the Palace’s maze-like hallways. Aurelius must have skipped lunch in the Hall and gone to that room to quickly eat something. When Jari had last been in there, many dishes had been laid out, and at least half of the food was probably wasted, but he doubted the royalty gave a shit. After all, rich people can stuff their faces whenever they want and not worry about the costs and stretching their dins for the month.

He was hurrying toward the partially open doors when he caught the voice of the other dangerous head of the viper inthis place. If anything, it was snider than ever, and Jari slowed. Seeing Zylem wasn’t high on his list of fun things to do.

“You remind me so much of Blake.”

“We’re identical quadruplets, you idiot.”

“No, no, it’s something specific about your mouth that reminds me of him. His lips were quite pretty when they were wrapped around my cock.”

Jari froze. He’d suspected something had been going on between Zylem and Blake, but he’d mostly forgotten about it. Ew. What the fuck?

“You’d fuck a dog’s mouth after it ate its own shit and puked it back up,” snapped Aurelius. “Move it.”

“How poetic. How about if you use that mouth to please your little brother? Since you’ve got no cock, you’re basically a pair of holes now.”

“Fuck off!”

“If you won’t turn that necklace-”

“Let go!”

“-you need to be useful in some way.”

Something scraped, and plates rattled. Aurelius appeared in Jari’s line of vision as he ran for the doorway. Zylem had slammed him down and over the long table with an arm twisted behind his back. Instead of fighting, kicking, or at least shouting for help, Aurelius seemed to have frozen. The back of his head faced the doorway, so Jari couldn’t see his expression.

“You’re not Blake, but you’ll do-”

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