The Dark Prince's Desire

 "I love your hair." The blonde woman remarked as she rocked slowly on the porch swing.

Back and fourth her body rocked, her pink summer dress nipped in just right to fit her small frame.  He was transfixed; his head moved to follow her movements. He didn't mean to stare as intently as he did, but he couldn't help taking in every little detail.  That was his warriors' instinct taking over; Darkos was trained to size up his prey.

  "Really?" the warrior ran his hand lightly over the metal shards that formed the crest of his helm. "Thanks."

  That was the first time they had met.  Not enough time however to have a decent conversation, but the town was in danger...not to mention the fact that he had just fallen from the second story window just prior.

  Although he was part insect and had wings, Darkos was never able to use them for flight. A trait that, perhaps he had inherited from his father.

  If anything, it seemed blood was the only thing that father and son shared. In truth, the only reason that Darkos continued on a violent path was to gain his fathers' approval. An approval, he realized, that was never to be obtained.

  He never wanted any of it.  The continuous fighting and destruction got tiring, he was stressed to the point of breaking.  Things had to change.  He would fight for good now and switch sides, even if he had to defy his father.  It was for the best.

  After the chaos was under control in the town, and everything started to settle back to normal, it seemed like an appropriate time to try and make proper introductions.

  He stayed hidden of course, as best he could at his current seven-foot height. Smuggled into the house, then stashed away in Archibald's study; Darkos waited patiently for Arthur to return.

  Laughter and exuberant conversation resonated upstairs; the family was all together at the dining room table sharing tales of the days events.  Every so often a waft of food would travel into the study, and Darkos was reminded of the fact that he hadn't eaten in quite a while. His stomach grumbled loudly in protest. "Damn it, I'm going to starve up here...", the words slipped through his razor sharp teeth. 

 

 "psst ."  

 

 The noise came from behind the door. 

 

"Darkos?" A young voice whispered.

 

  The insects' senses perked up. Arthur. He was actually glad that the boy had wanted to be his friend. Maybe then, Darkos hoped, he could finally have a normal life. "Yeah?" There was a small amount of eagerness to his voice.

  The door to the study opened slowly, just wide enough for the thin boy to slip through before shutting it quickly . "You must  be hungry." Arthur stated. Turning around revealed a large salad bowl in his hands filled almost to the top, complete with salad fork and spoon.  "I wasn't sure of what you usually eat in Necropolis...so I brought a bit of everything." The young boy grinned holding the bowl outwards to the large warrior.

 

  "Wow, thank you." Darkos took the offering with a wide sharp-toothed smile. "You must have read my stomach..."

  Arthur chuckled. "Well, when your stomach's full enough you can come downstairs and meet the rest of the family."

  "Sure...but...", he paused, remembering that his species in particular wasn't exactly welcomed among humans.

  "Don't worry.  I've told them of how you saved me, and that you're actually good hearted...despite your appearance." the boy reassured.

  "Did you tell them about...well...the other stuff I did?" Darkos fiddled idly with his fork; he hoped his past wouldn't be brought to attention just yet... or ever.  

  "No..." Arthur paused, noticing a look of concern in the warriors golden eyes. "I'll leave that to you." 

  Darkos looked at the boy with new admiration. "Thank-you my friend." 

  Arthur smiled. "Any time."  He turned for the door, "Oh...I almost forgot...I'll be back in a minute..." The boy slipped out of the room once more, his footsteps thumped quickly downstairs. 

  Darkos shrugged and took a large fork full of what he assumed was meat, and stuffed it into his mouth eagerly.

  His eyes widened. "Oh my god." the warrior glanced around the room to be certain that no one was watching; he tossed the flimsy utensils aside and started shoving food in by the handful.  A deep moan rumbled in his throat as his senses were engrossed by intense flavours.  There was definitely nothing like this in Necropolis.  Honestly he wished he could savour it more, but he was too hungry to slow down.

  He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice when Arthur came back in the room.  He was busy licking a sticky and tangy sauce off of his long fingers when he spotted the boy standing there.   Darkos stopped mid-lick and froze. 

Arthur tried to keep from laughing, "I take it that you like grandpa's barbecue."

"Is that what this is?" Darkos pointed a clawed finger towards the now-empty bowl, "Remind me to get the recipe for that."

"I didn't think that you'd be finished so quickly...I just went back to get you a drink."  He held a large mason jar filled with red liquid. "Its fruit punch."

 

   "Thanks again...  I really do feel bad about trying to kill you and your friends ya know."  Darkos stated for the hundredth time today; he stretched out one of his long arms and carefully took the glass.  "If I could do things again...well, knowing what I know now---"

  

  "It's ok Darkos, I know It's not your fault." Arthur placed his arm over his new friends' shoulder. "If others can forgive you then surely you can forgive yourself." 

 

  Darkos sat quietly in thought, inadvertently leaning his body towards the boy until the two ended up in a sort of lopsided hug.

  Realizing that his head now rested on Arthur's chest, Darkos began to well up with emotion.  A slow sigh escaped the warriors' throat as he was relaxed by the soft rhythm of the boys heartbeat. 

  "You're beyond your years kid." 

 

  "Well, I am over a thousand years old you know..." 

 

  Darkos grinned. "Nice try, but that's only true when you cross worlds. I admit you're smart for your age though." 

 

  "Wait, you mean to say that I gain age when I become a Minimoy?" Arthur puzzled. "I thought that time was just measured differently." 

 

  "It is...but..." Darkos grumbled, "Ah, how do I explain this?" he sighed, "Our lifespan is also really long in comparison to a humans. So if you travelled into our world without age-shifting...as a Minimoy you'd be...well, nonexistent." 

 

  "So...Selenia is only relatively the same age as me...but we're really not the same age?" 

  

 "Yeah that's pretty much it...but as soon as you cross over, it all gets taken care of." The large insect finally took a swig of his drink and beamed happily. "Hey, this stuff is good!" 

 

  "How old does that make you...relatively?" Arthur looked over Darkos and tried to determine his age, it was difficult, age guessing had never really been his strong suit.

 

  "Huh?" , he was caught off guard, no one ever really asked how old he was.  Darkos gulped down the rest of the drink to try and avoid the question. 

 

 "Its ok if you don't want to say just yet." 

 

  Darkos sat staring blankly into the empty glass, "Thirty....two." he replied without looking up.

 

  Arthur nodded, that seemed about right.  There was still something that was bothering him, "Umm...there's something that I've been meaning to ask." he started nervously, "Why didn't you turn..Er..human?"

  Darkos paused, his eyes stared blankly into space. "No clue, but there's always more than one way to skin a silk-worm." 

 

"Um..right." Arthur cringed slightly, "Are you ready then?" he asked. 

 

  The warrior snapped out of his current thought and stood, he stretched out to his full height and towered over the boy.  Darkos bore a wide razor-toothed grin. "It's show-time!"