“Sal, no!”

He snapped his hand forward and put his hand right above the man’s arm, which Sal would have happily chomped down on. Instinctively, he pressed his hand inside Sal’s mouth, hissing as those teeth pierced his skin but not letting go. He was sure if he did, Sal would take a big bite.

“Let go.”

Sal’s voice echoed in his mind. He blinked and looked at his serpentine friend. Sal had been actually speaking to him all this time. He hadn’t thought that they could communicate with their minds. Which he honestly should have realized before. The Leviathan was also a creature that belonged to nature.

“No.”

“Emi-”

“No. I cannot have you hurting Royalty. Do you have any idea how long it took for me to convince my father that you’re harmless? I told you to behave yourself.”

“But the fucker-”

“Sal, he’s just being a bastard. It’s annoying, but it’s nothing to get worked up over. It’s not worth losing you over.”

A pause.

Emilio heard something similar to a sigh in his mind. “Fiiiiine.”

He sighed in relief. “Good. Now get back into my sleeve.”

Sal let go of his hand and then slowly slid back up his arm, wrapping himself around his arm right beneath his sleeve.

“...lio, Emilio!”

He blinked and looked up before realizing that all of his “teammates” were standing, looking at him with wide eyes. Heck, he could even see a sliver of concern in the eyes of the Zahirian Princess and the Viridiani noble.

It was the Prince who had called him. “Emilio, are you alright?” He reached out to his injured hand, truly seeming concerned this time.

Emilio quickly retracted his hand. “I am alright, Your Highness.”

“Emilio… you just got bit by a Leviathan,” the Prince said slowly, as if spelling something out to a child. It was annoying. “A child it may be, but Leviathan poison is deadly. Are you feeling alright? Are you dizzy? Do you feel-”

He frowned, tuning the man out for a bit. Honestly, the thought of poison had not even occurred to him. Objectively he knew, Leviathans were poisonous. They had the ability to poison entire stretches of an ocean when they were grown, and their saliva could dissolve even the hardest of stones. But he had not even thought before he reacted and put his hand out for Sal to bite.

He looked down at the two teeth marks on the back of his hand. He knew Sal had held back the moment he snapped his hand out, otherwise, he could have taken a chunk of meat off his hand, instead of leaving these puny marks.

Did he feel anything? Did he feel weak or dizzy?

No, he didn’t think so. The poison could be slow-acting but… leviathans didn’t have slow-acting poisons. Their poison worked instantly, even that of baby Leviathans. So, why couldn’t he feel anything?

He took a deep breath and looked up at the man. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. But I am quite alright.”

“You are not.” The reply came immediately. Emilio opened his mouth to protest but the Prince held up his hand to stop him. “But I see that you will be as stubborn as always. Come on, I am taking you to the Hub.”

And without waiting for his response, the man grabbed his bicep - thankfully not the on below which Sal was settled - and began dragging him off.

“You guys continue without us,” he threw back at the group even as he walked a struggling Emilio out of the library.

“Your Highness, I am truly alright. There is no need to-”

“That will be for the healers to decide.” His grip on Emilio’s arm tightened. He didn’t look back, steadfastly staring ahead as he pulled Emilio along.

“Sal, calm down.” He whispered through his mind as he felt the Leviathan begin to get uneasy. “It’s fine.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Thankfully, it really was fine. The man had truly dragged him off to the Healers’ Hub and then marched him up the stairs, throwing the door open of one Healer Adron, who took one look at Emilio and let out a long suffering sigh as if asking the world what he had done wrong.

The Prince practically pulled him forward and shoved his hand right beneath the man’s nose. “Check for poison.” That was a command. And here he thought the Imperial Family had no power here.

The Healer was startled and looked up at Emilio, who gave a small shrug. He hastily ran a blue light over the mark and then up his arm, Emilio feeling barely anything more than a light tickle. Healer Adron checked once, twice, thrice, before shaking his head with a sigh of relief.

“Mr. Florian is perfectly fine, Mr. Aeloron.” He said.

The Prince frowned. “Are you sure?”

The man nodded in response. “Yes, I am. You have seen yourself that I have triple checked. He has not been poisoned. Now, if I may ask… what happened?”

“His pet Leviathan bit him,” the Prince almost growled out.

“Sal did not!” He snapped, finally wrenching his arm out of the Prince’s grip, which had loosened during the examination. “It was an accident. He did not bite me. And I am fine! Aren’t I, Healer Adron?”

The healer - who had never seen him lose his temper like that - could only nod.

He turned back to the Prince. “See?” He finally stepped away. “Now, if you are done dragging me around, I believe we should go back to the group.”

“No,” Healer Adron spoke up. “Even if you are not poisoned, you are quite stressed at the moment. I believe it would be best for you to rest tonight. Get a good night’s sleep since you have classes tomorrow.”

Before he could respond, the Prince spoke up. “Thank you, Healer. We will be on our way, then. I will make sure he gets some rest.”

And once again, he grasped Emilio’s arm and pulled him along, and Emilio followed with a tired sigh.

It was only when they were out of the Hub that he finally dug his feet into the ground and pulled against the Prince, who paused at the resistance and looked back.

“Are you satisfied now, Your Highness? Could you please let go of me?”

The man finally seemed to realize how tightly he had been gripping his arm. Letting go, he turned around fully to face Emilio, not a shred of remorse on his face.

Emilio clenched his teeth before taking a deep breath. “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Since Healer Adron suggested that I rest, I should head back to the dormitory.”

Just as he took a step back, the man stepped forward. “Not so fast, Emilio.” He leaned in closer. “You were bitten by your own pet Leviathan. How are you alright?”

“I do not know,” he replied. “Maybe Sal is not poisonous.”

The Prince scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

It was a ridiculous notion. The notion of a non-poisonous Leviathan was as ridiculous as the sun rising in the West … or a Laik somehow getting the ability to speak to animals.

Emilio sighed and shook his head. “I truly do not know.”

The young man stared at him for a long while before he shook his head. “Nevertheless, your Leviathan sought to attack me today.” Emilio’s breath hitched. He had hoped the man would have at least let it slide considering that he had saved him. “And has harmed you. It is dangerous. I must ask the Archmaster to take-”

“No!” The word was a strangled mixture of panic and anger. “You can’t! Sal has done nothing wrong!”

The Prince paused. Emilio could see a soft, small smirk curving the boy’s lips. He shivered, realizing that he just had an outburst of emotion in front of the Prince, the very man he had determined that he would give no leverage over himself. Gods, he hoped it would not come to bite him in his ass.

But knowing his luck…

“Oh? You say that … despite knowing that your pet has tried to harm the Crown Prince of Aeloron.”

Emilio took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. After a small moment of deliberation, he decided to set aside his pride. He bowed at the waist, going ninety degrees and then tucking his chin to his neck for good measure.

“I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness. It was my fault.” He started. “When Your Highness reached for me so suddenly, I was startled. Sal is very in tune with my emotions so he reacted, thinking you were a threat. Sal was only trying to protect me. I stopped him before anything bad could happen. Please be considerate and forgive us, Your Highness!”

He had always known there would come a time when he would have to grovel in front of those higher in rank. He didn’t mind doing it. What was the pride of a useless Laik worth, especially when compared to the safety and happiness of his loved ones?

Nothing.

He stayed like that, waiting for the Prince to speak. The boy did not speak for a long moment, allowing Emilio to marinate in his own anxiety.

“Well, since you are asking so nicely, I can be considerate.”

He did not rise up. One, he hadn’t been given permission and two, he was pretty sure there was a catch.

“But I have a condition.”

And there it was.

Emilio saw a slender hand enter his vision and watched as two fingers pressed under his chin, lifting his face. Emilio straightened just a bit, looking at the boy from his half-bowed position, feeling dread curl in his gut as he stared into those cold, blue eyes shining with mirth.

“Go out with me.”