A Friend in a Strange World Chapter 2

The prince came dashing into the room, closing the door behind him. He pressed his back against the door, sliding down until he was sitting, still laughing like he'd just gotten away with something. He didn't yet notice the person standing on his dresser. The prince couldn't have been more than 14, and the way he acted only added to that. He had spiky, seemingly unkempt blond hair and green eyes to go with it.

Oh boy... he looks like trouble, Cyril thought with a frown. I'm probably still facing a death sentence here... just this one will take longer. He pressed himself against the wall, closing his eyes tightly. Please let him be nicer than he seems he'll be...

The boy stood again, pushing himself up. He was relatively tall compared to the butler from earlier. He removed his cape and laid it on the end of his bed. He had on more simple clothing that weren't so dressy as was proper for a prince. He seemed to become a bit more calm, though he was still smiling. He laid in his bed with a sigh, now a bit bored and talking to himself. "No way they're getting me into that monkey suit again..."
After a moment, he sat up. Probably wondering what to do. He glanced down at his drawing book and decided to finish the pencil drawing he had been doing earlier until the maids came to try and get him to fix his hair for the ceremony later on. He knew they eventually would.

He stood and strode over to his dresser, grabbing a pencil...and that's about when his gaze landed on the human. Just sitting there. The prince stared for a moment, not really showing any obvious emotion...except probably surprise. "Um...hi. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Cyril gulped nervously. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Helplessly, he made a few incoherent gestures, slowly rising to his feet. He was now hoping that the butler might return to explain the situation. Was this the prince, or some other giant teenager? Cyril had never seen the giant prince before, so he didn't know.

The prince watched him amused, but still confused. Wait...hadn't dad said something about someone coming to hang out with him...?

He blinked. "Wait, you? But... I don't understand...you're a human. That can't be right..."

Though after noticing the human's seemingly nervous state, he smirked a bit. "Heh, sorry. Guess I should've been more attentive this morning when Arthur was explaining...so you're the human that volunteered, eh?" he asked, folding his arms as he leaned on the dresser directly in front of the prince.

I didn't volunteer, but... Cyril nodded slowly, watching the prince with wide eyes. Don't come any closer! Please!

The prince tilted his head curiously. "What? Can't talk?" he asked. “That’s okay...though might be a problem later. C'mon." The prince scooped up the human in his hand before walking back over to his bed to sit down. "I'm Prince Chase. Just call me prince...or Chase. It doesn't really matter, but I prefer people calling me by my name. Though Ella said that wasn't proper or something..."

Cyril gasped as he was just scooped up again. Would anyone think to ask permission, or at least give him a warning? Looking up at the giant who now held him, he nodded slowly, acknowledging that he'd heard and understood.

Chase smiled. "Good, you understand, I think. What is your name, then? You can spell it out."

Chase broke one of his graphite pencil's tips and handed it to the human, letting him down onto the large cushiony bed. He pulled over the drawing book and turned to an empty page so Cyril could write.

Cyril approached the page slowly. Glancing up at the prince, and then down at the graphite in his hand, he started to write, making it big enough that Chase should be able to read it. CYRIL After a moment's thought, he added KRISTIAN JAMESON to the end of it.

Chase read closely over his shoulder. "Cool name." he commented approvingly. "Cyril. Haven't heard that one before."

YOU HAVEN'T? Cyril asked, surprised. He made the letters a bit bigger this time so that the prince wouldn't have to lean in so close. It made him uncomfortable.

The prince blinked in surprise. "No, I really haven't..." Chase said, moving so he could look Cyril in the face. "Something wrong?" he asked, frowning.

Cyril looked away from him, shaking his head. From what he knew of these giants, even if he told him, the prince wouldn't do anything about it.

Chase was a bit confused by that and didn't really believe the human, but decided not to pressure him just then about it. Then he wondered something. He reached to poke the human. "Hm...are you hungry?" he asked, trying to figure out if he could cheer him up somehow. "I am."

Cyril flinched away from the poke, and then nodded slowly, turning to face the prince again.

The prince smiled. He moved to pick up Cyril again, but now that he'd thought about it, the human seemed not to like the contact. Was he being too rough? He stopped, wondering if he should. But then again, how else were they going to go? Chase sighed, putting his hand down instead. "Err, do you mind if I grab you?"

Cyril frowned, not liking the prince's choice of words. Why did he have to say grab? Why couldn't he have just asked if he could pick me up? he thought, since grab sounded far rougher. But he sighed and shook his head, knowing that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. Closing his eyes tightly, he prepared himself to be handled roughly again.

Chase bit his lip, eyeing the human. "You...are not being completely honest with me, are you?" he said sadly. He sighed. "Well, okay..." Chase lifted Cyril carefully by his shirt and set him in his other hand. He at least hooked his cape back on before opening the door to his room and heading out.

There, that wasn't so bad... Cyril thought with a small smile, daring to open his eyes again.

Chase trotted down the stairs quickly, before strolling down a large open corridor with huge open windows. Beyond them, the harbor could be seen and people working rushed around inside and out. "There's a ball tonight. Special occasion. My brother's 16th birthday." he explained.

Cyril nodded, watching them with some interest. Then a question occurred to him. Pointing to the scene outside the windows, he held up all ten of his fingers, closed his hands, and held up six more. Then he pointed to the prince holding him and raised his eyebrows, his face a question.

Chase watched him, trying to understand. "Sixteen what?" he asked, confused. He thought a moment. "...Wait, how old am I?"

Cyril nodded with a small smile, glad that he'd gotten the message across. He pointed to the giant again, still raising his eyebrows.

"Two and a half years younger. I'm 13 right now. My birthday is in the winter." he explained.

Cyril nodded slowly. Thirteen's not so bad... Pointing to himself, he held up all ten fingers before closing his hands and opening them again to show another ten. Then he held up a single finger.

Chase was getting better at understanding. "10...10...1. You're 21, huh? I must seem like just a kid to you, then." He walked into a main room...and it was huge. Even by giant standards. It was lit up by the huge window inside that allowed sun in. A large chandler was down on the ground to be lit and raised later that evening. A huge buffet table went along one wall end to end. Chase smiled and made a beeline for it. He set his friend down on the table. "Take what you want. With all this food, they won't mind if we get some." he started, before leaving Cyril to get his own snack.

When they entered the room, Cyril could only stare around himself in shock. Whoa... this place is amazing... He stumbled a little when he was set on the table, but turned to give the prince a thumb's up and a grin before turning to find something good. It took a bit of walking, but he soon found the dessert table. By that time, he had accumulated a bit of food already, which he ate as he walked. Selecting a delicious looking cream puff that was just small enough to hold in both hands, he dug in.

Chase popped up from seemingly out of nowhere near Cyril, his hands filled with cookies for the most part and a sandwich he was holding with his mouth. He smiled a bit when he saw Cyril at least enjoying the food. Chase set down some of what was in his hand and used the free hand to take out the sandwich so he could talk.

"I see you found the puffs...yeah, those are pretty good, but nothing compared to the desserts they're making in the kitchen now. Though they hide it until it's time to party because they don't want me getting into it." he stated, rolling his eyes as if that were ridiculous.

Cyril grinned up at him. Nodding towards the cookies in Chase's hands, he raised his eyebrows again. Kid sure likes the sweets...

Chase smiled. "You tried one of these? They're pretty good as well. Hey, after this, instead if going back up, I could show you around! There's a lot I could show you-"

"Prince Chase! There you are." an exasperated voice sighed.

Chase turned to see his butler Arthur approaching him. He didn't look very pleased. "I've been searching for you, young sir. Have...oh. I see you have found your present after all." he stated, seeing Cyril on the table behind Chase.

Chase nodded. "Yes. I was out doing my lessons earlier. When I- err, came back, I saw him in my room."

The butler nodded shortly. "Very well. But now that you have your playmate, your father expects you to start doing better in your studies."

The prince sighed. "I know."

So that's why he was here... he was a bribe. Cyril resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and wondered for a moment if he would be thrown out if the prince failed to keep his end of the bargain. Not liking that idea, he resolved to help the prince with his studies if he had to in order to stay.

The butler nodded. "As long as we have an understanding, Prince Chase." he nodded. Then he noticed the sweets and frowned. "You know your father-"

"Yes, I know, but I only had one." he prince stated, starting to get annoyed.

"That does not look like just one. Save some for the guests, alright? And make sure your human isn't underfoot later on. There's a box in your room that has some things for him."

Chase frowned. "Cyril. His name is Cyril. Shouldn't you be helping Allen?" he asked.

The butler got the hint. "Very well. I'll be going. Though do be cautious where you leave Cyril. We don't want another...incident." the butler was obviously going to say more, but he looked to the human standing and listening in the table. He had decided against it.

With a short bow, the butler turned and walked away. Cyril huffed, taking two cookies off the stack he had originally had and putting the rest down on the table. He held a hand out to Cyril absently. "C'mon. Let's go, then."

Cyril stepped into the prince's hand, waiting to be picked up. He decided that when they returned to the room, he would have to ask what the previous incident had been. Though it didn't sound good at all, he wanted to know. He also took most of his own food with him, figuring that he wouldn't be attending the ball.

The prince lifted him and started walking again, back the way they'd came. Chase sighed, calming down a bit. "Sorry about that, Cyril." he muttered. "Some adults are rather careless is all. We can do the tour later. Let's see what he was talking about up in my room. 'Accommodations?'"

Cyril shrugged. He hadn't seen the box, and so he had no clue what the 'accommodations' were either.

Once upstairs in the room again, Chase noticed a box next to his bed for the first time. It was quite a bit taller than Cyril and wide. He exchanged a look with Cyril before going over to it. He opened the window to let light into the dim room. Then he moved the big box from his bedside table to the floor, kneeling. Chase set Cyril down to free his hands before opening the box. He simply glimpsed at the contents of the box...and frowned.

Noticing the frown, Cyril went over to the paper and picked up his bit of graphite to write. WHAT'S WRONG? He rustled the paper loudly to catch the prince's attention, a puzzled expression on his face. What could be the matter? What was in the box?

Chase noticed, but didn't say anything for a long moment. But he figured that Cyril would want to at least know... He sighed, pulling out the items slowly, one by one and setting them out on the floor. A dish...blanket...newspaper? What did they think Cyril was? Some sort of pet? A dog or something?? Chase scowled at the things at the bottom, continuing to pull them out. There was some weird case at the bottom...and a cage, both of which Chase held in his hands, examining them quietly.

Cyril snorted. THEY THINK I'M A DOG, he wrote with an eye roll. At least Chase seemed disgusted by these things. If the prince had thought of him that way too, he was sure life would be tortuous. When he saw the cage, Cyril added, OR A RABBIT. WHAT'S THAT CASE THING?

Chase set the cage back in the box, closing it so he wouldn't have to look at it. Just the sight of it irritated him greatly. He opened the case, tilting it down so both he and Cyril could see. It seemed to be a kit for grooming or something...
Chase sighed, setting it down and rubbing his forehead. "This is unacceptable...I'll get better." he stated. "Don't worry, we won't use these things."

Cyril actually laughed, however. THAT COULD ACTUALLY COME IN HANDY, he wrote, pointing over at the kit. DITTO WITH THE BLANKET. IT LOOKS WARM AT LEAST.

Chase smiled at him warily. "Huh. If that's what you want...but let me at least get you a proper bed or something." Chase shoved the box under his bed with the things they definitely weren't using.

Cyril shrugged, mainly indifferent. Walking over to the blanket, he pulled it up over himself, smiling as he discovered that it was indeed rather warm, as well as far bigger than any blanket he'd had before. He made himself comfortable, closing his eyes. I could fall asleep right here... he thought drowsily, wondering if the prince would let him.

Chase smiled. "If you're tired, I'll leave you here. I have to get ready for the ceremony in a few hours, anyway, and I'm assuming you've had a long day." He scooped up his older friend easily in his hand, moving him so he was on the bed rather than the floor. "I'm going now. I'll be back in awhile." he stated, heading out of the room.

Cyril responded with a yawn and a wave, eyes still closed. Though he still didn't enjoy being picked up, he was too tired to care and was soon sound asleep, bundled up in the blanket.

It was a few hours later into the afternoon before anyone came into the room. Chase had yet to come back at all due to being too busy.
In the low light, someone did come in, opening the door...though it wasn't Chase.

Cyril, however, was still sound asleep, so he didn't notice. He would be easy to miss, too, if the person wasn't paying close attention, as he was completely wrapped up in the blanket with none of his skin showing and slept perfectly still without making a sound.

It was a good thing too- the giant had been searching for him, but unable to see the human at all. Footsteps could be heard approaching quickly down the hall and the figure turned quickly, leaving the room loudly, closing the door behind him. But he wasn't fast enough, as who ever had been after him caught up.

"Allen, I told you not to! Where is he?" Chase's voice stated from behind the door, clearly not happy.

"I didn't touch him. I didn't even see him in there."

"Liar!"