The Royal Masquerade

“Daniel, the princess is around, let's go and greet her! Also, act like a man you are not.” Daniel's father's voice interrupted his unholy thoughts, and before he could protest, he was pulled to a corner.

“What is the matter, Timothy? Leave me alone, the princess just arrived, I am sure she wouldn't want to be seen with a messenger like you!” Daniel replied with a harsh voice, hoping his father would be offended, but the man didn't look angry.

“Come with me, half man!” His father said, taking his hand and leading him towards the princess.

Daniel knew what was coming next, and he turned to look at his confused brother, offering him a gentle smile, and telling him not to worry about him.

“Father, let's talk about this once again!” Daniel protested with a calm voice, trying not to gain the attention of others.

“There's nothing to talk about, now don't embarrass me, and your eyes should be fixed on the princess, not on her guard's prick!” His father warned as he led him towards the throne, and Daniel scoffed, wondering when his father saw him looking at a guard's prick.

Daniel's heart skipped, as his eyes fell on the person beside the princess, it was the king. The man he had called ugly and old.

It felt like a trap, and he couldn't help but blame himself for talking bad about the king.

“Your majesty and royal highness!” Timothy bowed when he reached the crown, and he released Daniel's hand.

Daniel froze once again, looking at the king with a surprised gaze, wondering what he should do next, luckily for him, his father pulled his arms, signaling him to bow to the epitome of power, and in a shocked state, he quickly bowed down.

The king, Lazarus, eyes were fixed on the young man in front of him, and his usual suspicious eyes squinted as he secretly scrutinized Daniel's features.

Timothy wasn't interested in introducing his son to the king because he knew the king hated gays, so he turned to the princess.

“Your royal Highness, with your permission, I will introduce my son, Daniel.”

Daniel knew he was supposed to look at the princess, but instead, his eyes were on the king, and the king's black gaze shifted to him. His wolf squealed, and as much as he admired the king's beauty, he couldn't help but feel a hint of danger in the king's eyes.

The king's eyes narrowed at him. “Feel free to introduce him to my little sister, she is getting old and needs to get married to a straight man like your son.” His voice was smooth but filled with heavy sarcasm.

The princess giggled like a sweet soul, and a smile appeared on her lips as she admired Daniel's beauty. Although he was dressed in a cloak, one could still see his face.

Timothy was happy, and he chuckled, happy that the princess liked his son. “He is as obedient as a dog, and please forgive him for wearing the cloak, my son is really shy around girls!”

The king and the princess smiled broadly.

“Well, at least he is interested in girls and not boys!” The king said with a gentle smile on his face, and Daniel's face immediately turned pale. Thankfully, his father was able to handle the situation.

“Oh yes, my son loves girls, and gay people make him sick. There was a time he avoided men like a plague, according to him, he could get infected by the unholy disease!” Timothy lied with a smooth voice, smiling like an angel, but his words didn't sit well with Daniel, and he cleared his throat awkwardly, giving his father a threatening gaze. Timothy understood what the gaze meant, and he laughed nervously.

“My son will make a fine husband for your sister, I raised him well, and he is loyal and faithful. Although he didn't grow up with me, I made sure I visited him every day to imbibe good qualities into him. It wasn't easy raising two sons alone, but I am happy I raised him well.” His father continued, looking at the princess, hoping his words were pleasing to her ears.

Daniel felt angry at his father's black lies, and he wished the floor would open up and swallow him. His father needed to stop talking and bite his tongue, he was trying too much, and the princess looked bored but kept a fake smile on her face. The king wasn't listening anymore. His eyes were fixated on him, and he stared with an intense curiosity that unsettled him.

It wasn't the type of attention he was used to, the king wasn't staring at him because he was awed by his beauty. He was curious about something else, and his piercing eyes were looking deep into his soul, but he didn't understand what the king was curious about.

“Daniel, how about you come to the palace tomorrow and have a private dinner with my sister, am sure she will like it?” The king asked with a gentle smile.

Daniel was taken aback by the king's question, he asked him formally, and the way he said ‘private dinner’ made his mind go wild. He turned to look at the princess, and she nodded in agreement. His father was also looking at him with a menacing smile, and he knew he had no other choice but to accept the king's offer.

“It will be a great pleasure to share a glass of wine with the princess,” Daniel replied with a conflicted voice and bowed down respectfully.

“Oh Daniel, you are so sweet!” Maria, the princess, praised Daniel, and he offered her a fake smile.

“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.” He replied, somehow happy that he would spend time with the mysterious king and angry that he would have to act like he was in love with the princess.

As they were discussing, a lord came to introduce himself to the king and princess, and Daniel and his father quickly excused themselves and left the king's presence. King Lazarus' eyes lingered on the boy, he looked both curious and anxious, it felt like his curse was finally coming through.

“You see, was that so hard to do?” Timothy asked his son with raised brows, happy that his plan worked.

Daniel didn't reply to his father, a lot of questions were passing through his mind, and he didn't want to act rashly and expose to the gathering that he was really an abnormal man, who had a werewolf.

Two greedy-looking men came over to their side, and his father greeted them happily. When Daniel was talking with the king, the men were watching them secretly. Daniel told his brother to stay by his father's side, and he excused himself to get fresh air, afraid that he might be unable to control his wolf.

King Lazarus stood by another corner of the room, he looked angry and curious, and his eyes were fixed on Daniel as he ran out of the ballroom. He arched his brows curiously, and his eyes landed on Timothy. He saw him and two other men adding a black substance to a glass of red wine, and he nearly burst into laughter as he read their minds.

Timothy's mind: ‘I will hand over this drink to the king, once he takes a slip from it, he will fall and groan in pain till he finally dies!’ He said to his two acquaintances.

First acquittance: ‘Don't forget the plan, once the king dies, you will send Daniel to console the princess, and since she's already smitten by his beauty, she will want to marry him to gain leadership of the crown. Once that happens, you will turn Daniel into your loyal pet, and you will force him to hand over the crown to you, and then we will all get promoted!’

The men looked excited as they executed their plan, unknown to them that the king and his four men were secretly listening to them.

“Ah ah ah ah! Humans are so draft, do they think that poison will kill us?” Xender, the mischievous-looking man out of the four asked, and burst into menacing laughter.

Lazarus felt pity for the plotting humans, and as much as he wanted to put on his evil attitude and kill them, he had other things to worry about, and the witch's curse sounded in his mind, ‘In the full moon, your fate will be sealed’. He began to feel uneasy, and his mind went back to Daniel and the mysterious way he looked at him. He quickly excused himself and went to his balcony, hoping to calm his mind down.

“Well, it looks like Lazarus won't be doing anything. I have to act and teach these humans not to mess with night creatures!” Xender whispered to the three other men who looked uninterested, lifeless, and bored of the ball.

Swiftly when no one was looking, he shape-shifted to Lazarus, looking exactly like him. A mischievous smirk settled on his face, and he gently went over to where Timothy, George, and the two other men stood, shining his teeth in excitement. At that moment, Daniel entered the ball hall, determined to not be smitten by the king who despised gays.

“Timothy, I see you've made a glass cup of wine for me!” Xender, now as Lazarus announced with a loud voice, and everyone turned to face him.

“Oh, yes your majesty! I was about to give it to you!” Timothy replied and bowed down, stretching the glass of wine to the king.

“Humm, it looks enchanting. How about you drink it and feed your son the remaining.” Xender ordered with a malicious smile on his face.