The Frigid Heart (ONC-2021)

Lovesick and drunk

Planet Proxima Centauri-B.
Terminator zone, Base camp.
▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️

His long black royal fabric dangled in mid air, its edges flapping like flippers. Legs folded, hands tucked in lap, the prince's body levitated on the thin black plate of levitar, gently rocking him to and fro with the midnight air.

"I see that my lovesick boy has finally mastered riding Levitars." A deep voice broke the serene silence of the balcony.

Matthias's balance shook, yet he flung his arms and attained the zen mode back again, a wicked smile was stuck on his face. "I see that you haven't changed a bit after years of exile in this god forsaken wasteland."

"Well, I'm still your father's advisor and your friend. Logically speaking, I am the same." The advisor leaned on the ledge of balcony of the highest chamber in the camp. Even at the nightfall, the ground down below buzzed with droid workers carrying objects like fire ants.

Matthias held his fist out for a bump. "I'm not the same though, I took the oath. So..." Matthias shrugged pursing his lips, "and I am not a lovesick boy anymore. Gosh, stop saying that! You'll ruin my reputation among these centauran girls here."

"Truth be told Matt, you still are." The advisor  teased the boy, shaking him out of balance yet again.

"You see, I am more mature now. So I'm just gonna walk out with princely elegance pretending you never said that."

Just as Matthias hopped off the levitar and turned around towards the stairs, he heard exactly what he was avoiding to hear the most.

"Tell me you don't spill love puddles in that royal tab of yours. Yeah that one, that transparent slab in your pocket."

Matthias suddenly became aware of the tablet in his pocket, which he deemed useless on the surface of Proxima B planet except that it had hundreds of poetic scribblings and her photos. "I did a mistake. God, how I still weep every night for her. We were never meant to be together, never."

"But you could have, if you had tried. Instead you broke her heart."

"Thanks for the guilt trip, Butler. And for the insomnia tonight and some depression for a few weeks." Matthias smiled, gulping a lump of emotions down his throat.

"Alright, lover boy. I apologise. It came,  you know? She being my niece and all that."

The prince nodded, his face still sore with raw anger and guilt. "I'm starving. Do we get real food here? Or is everything a dehydrated piece of shit?"

"Come on, I'll treat you." Butler put his arm around the prince and took him to the stairs leading down to the hallway, which in turn led to a maze of mini metallic hallways. Then a vacuum capsule of some kind and they landed in the cafeteria cum bar.

A bunch of drunkards sat at a corner, their hands calloused and dirty red from the soil and wind. A group of women sat at another corner gossiping about everything and anything, their eyebrows raised once they noticed the charming Prince and the advisor walking into the bar.

There were loners, some drunk to death and yet some, sane and social. They nodded, raised their glasses to the royalty walking into the bar.

"Uh. My father would not...never approve of this, Butler." The prince whispered, trying to act graceful. "Oh boy, does he already know I'm here? He has his spy eyes everywhere."

"Matty, chill. You are not a kid anymore, you took the oath remember? Man up."

Matthias straightened his back. As Butler's iron fist jabbed a hard hit to his back, a gush of air whooshed out of his lungs. With that, Matthias blurted, "two shots of bad blood, please."