章 63: Chapter 63 - Black Stripes

Fortunately, someone came looking for Gigi so she left shortly after, leaving Faun all alone. He wondered if he could still get a chance to explore the palace now that he had gotten some time to himself. Just as he placed the tray of brownies in the oven, there was a knock on the door, making him jump in fright.

"Faun? It's Ash," One of Declan's bodyguards called out.

"I'm also here," Cade's quieter voice could be heard scolding his partner.

"Where else would you be?" Ash turned on the other, unimpressed.

Faun just sighed, his chance to do some exploring was gone. Maybe he was being too ambitious trying to make a move the very first time he was allowed to bake, of course Declan's bodyguards would be extra watchful of him; he needed to show them that he meant no harm.

"Come in," He invited them in, busying himself up with cleaning.

"Do you need help with that?" Ash immediately offered as they made their way in.

"It's fine, thank you." Faun demured.

He was resigned to not getting anything snooping done the first time so he didn't mind that both bodyguards spent the rest of their time here, it was almost like they were sent to keep an eye on him.

He could never get used to the collar on his neck but it became less intrusive as the hours went by.

After his brownies were ready, he offered them to Ash and Cade, wondering if it was right to offer some to Gillian as well... The lines had blurred a long time ago, what did it matter if he offered her brownies or not? He couldn't eat them anyway.

So he decided to ask the bodyguards about it, "Um, Gigi was here earlier and I don't know if you could take some brownies to her." He said hesitantly.

Ash shoved the rest of the brownie in his hand into his mouth, almost looking rueful at the thought of sharing the confectionaries with more people. "The Princess?" He repeated with his mouth full.

Cade had more decorum eating the brownies, he smacked his partner upside on the head, "Like there's any other Gigi in the palace." To Faun, he shot an apologetic look, "Of course, we can do that. Do you want to go back to your room now?"

Faun really didn't want to go back to being cooped in there but he didn't have a choice. He half wished he could go with them to give Gigi the brownies, anything to stay outside a little longer.

-*-

Gigi was seated in a lounge watching television when a maid came looking for her, holding a tray of brownies.

"His Highness, Prince Declan's bodyguards said to give this to you." She curtseyed, a faint dusting of blush on her face as she placed the tray on a side table.

Gigi's sea blue eyes sparked to life at this, her gaze fixed on the covered tray, "Thanks."

She didn't expect to get to taste Faun's cooking but even more than that, it made her heart swell that they seemed to be getting along so well.

She reached for a brownie, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes, and bit into it, stars literally exploding in her eyes from how unexpectedly good it was. She already had high expectations from how good the brownies smelled but getting to taste them and have them surpass her expectations was another thing.

She immediately gobbled down the first square of dense and rich chocolate brownies, reaching for another almost right away.

The door swung open without a knock but Gigi was too far gone to pay attention…

"Gi- what's that smell?" Allan strode in, he had wanted to fish for information about the hybrid his brother brought back because he knew that if there was anyone who could have access to the hybrid it would be her.

"Brownies," Gigi said shortly, uninterested in sharing. "They're all mine."

Allan ignored her and reached out to swipe a brownie anyway, managing it without getting smacked. "When did you become a hog?" He teased, studying the confectionary intently.

"Bold words for a thief," Gigi scowled at him, cradling the entire tray close to her.

Allan bit into it, a pleasantly surprised expression on his face at how good it was. "Did you order this to be made? I might need an entire tray for myself too."

Gigi just ignored him, refusing to give up who had given her the brownies.

Allan had no intention of giving up, he was very persistent. He also wasn't sidetracked from his initial goal, he was just trying to bring Gigi's guard down.

The door opened a third time, however, Declan stepped in and immediately went stock still at the figures in the room. He had been heading to an entirely different location but then he had caught a whiff of a scent so familiar, he didn't know when he followed it till it brought him here.

"Declan! Hi! Want some brownies?" She immediately offered.

Allan shot her a dark look at this, "You weren't this excited to give them to me."

"I don't remember giving you at all," Gigi deadpanned.

Declan on the other hand was frozen at the doorway. There was no mistaking it, that was definitely Faun's baking. He wanted to try one so bad but at the same time, it hit him that although Faun had baked enough to give his sister, there was none for him.

"No, I'll pass." He said quietly, his words tasting bitter in his mouth.

He turned around quietly and walked down the hallway; he had been on the way to another conference that was orchestrated merely to waste precious time that he didn't have.

Declan didn't think that it would be easy to lift the ruling on hybrids even if he were King but he didn't expect it to be this difficult however. Even as the Prince and heir to the throne, the tasks in front of him seemed insurmountable.

The old geezers that made up his father's court always had some historical event or the other under their sleeves to stall. It was almost like they believed that if they dragged their feet on the matter enough, he would give up.

Meanwhile, Declan was slowly running out of patience and fucks to give. It had been well over a week since he started on his mission and he hadn't made any more progress since the first day he made the petition to his father.

His current route was clearly taking him nowhere, it was best that he try an alternative approach to getting the court to agree to end the genocide of hybrids.

The fact that he had to go through this length to even get them to listen to him was terrifying. They were convinced that they were upholding tradition so no amount of evidence on how harmful said traditional practices were, was going to change their minds.

-*-

Faun was up at dawn the next morning, unable to sleep fitfully. It was already difficult enough getting proper sleep with his current situation but now that he was making plans to escape, he was even more jittery.

There was a knock on his door just as he was about to set out and ask to be taken to the kitchen again, it made him jump slightly, startled at this.

Faun was rooted to the floor when the door opened to reveal Declan, the very last person he had been expecting to see.

At the sight of his mate, the collar around his neck that he had started to forget about burned like a brand, his eyes going wide in shock.

Declan had foregone the three-piece suits he had taken to wearing, instead wearing a simple white dress shirt which was a couple buttons undone and made him look less severe and intimidating.

Faun dropped his gaze to the softly carpeted floor, waiting to hear what Declan had to say. As he waited, an ugly thought reared its ugly head - he feared that Declan had come to put a stop to him baking for whatever reason.

Declan knew that Faun was waiting for him to speak and he also knew that silently standing there was discomforting for him but he hadn't been able to get the brownies out of his thoughts from the day before.

He now wished that he had taken up Gigi's offer to try the brownies, although he knew that they would only burn a hole through his middle. He had spoken to her privately and learned that she had approached him - it broke him a little how nice his mate was, even when he didn't have to be.

"A hybrid is coming to the palace today, would you like to see them?" He asked tentatively, willing to accept whatever response Faun gave him.

Faun whipped up his head, fiery red-gold curls bouncing as his slanted eyes widened for a different reason. "Yes," He forced himself to say calmly.

Faun could sit and think about all the ways agreeing to that could be a bad idea but nothing was enough to sway him from seeing his kind. He had been surrounded by werewolves for over a week now, he would give anything to see another hybrid.

Declan let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding in; he nodded and turned around, "Come with me."

Faun hesitated only slightly before following after Declan, the air in between them very tense as they left his chambers.

Fortunately, they didn't walk very far but they left Declan's wing which meant that it started to get a bit crowded, servants scurrying around, throwing hidden looks at the fox hybrid trailing after the Crown Prince.

Faun stopped hearing his heartbeat in his ears when he was ushered into a room, away from the prying eyes of so many werewolves.

Another duo was waiting for them in the lounge room, a frail-looking werewolf with thick glasses sat on a classily decorated sofa with a white tiger hybrid sitting right beside the werewolf with his legs tucked under him, a black-striped white tail swaying unconsciously behind him.

The werewolf rose to his feet with a polite smile at the appearance of Declan, a walking stick in hand to support his weight, "I'm honored by your presence, Your Highness."

Declan forced himself not to check up on Faun who remained close to the door, wondering how his mate was taking the sight in from of him. "Drop the formalities," He said quietly, "Why don't we take this conversation to the next room."

The frail werewolf bowed respectfully and sidled closer to the tiger on the sofa who sat very still, a collar connected to a leash wrapped around his muscular neck.

"Luca, stay here and make nice with Prince Declan's hybrid, I'll be right back." The frail werewolf softly said, scratching the white tiger's ear and handing him his leash before leaving after Declan.

Faun was frozen at the door, his eyes fixed on the tiger not even paying attention to Declan on the other werewolf as they went through a connecting door.

"Just going to stand there all day?" The white tiger, Luca drawled, stretching out like a cat on the sofa, his ears twitching.

After coming to the palace filled with werewolves, Faun had taken to hiding his ears and tail but now they popped free subconsciously as he stared wide-eyed at the tiger.