Prince Kaiser Kaladan lounged against a long table full of various fruits and deserts, his black eyes scanning the huge crowd in his home. The smell of alcohol was strong and drunken laughs sounded as couples danced to music.
Kaiser watched through heavy eyes, it was already past midnight, and the party showed no signs of slowing. His feet ached from countless dances and his social battery had already depleted. In other words, he was not in a good mood. His brother, Ahren, was having the time of his life it seemed. The boy was barely 18, and he was disgustingly drunk. He swayed on his feet and his cheeks were rosy. The young lady he was dancing with scurried off, looking rather disturbed as Ahren stumbled, nearly spilling his glass full of wine.
His parents did nothing about it of course. He vividly remembered his first time getting drunk, when he had just turned 19. He couldn't even recall how many drinks he had. He thought it was fun at the time, but the next day was probably one of the worst days of his life. He hadn't touched alcohol since.
Kaiser soon grew tired of standing and found an abandoned seat. Many chairs and benches were set out along the walls of the ballroom, many of them left empty. He took the opportunity and sat down quickly, struggling to keep his eyes open.
His clothes were suffocating him in the stuffy room, a heavy tunic and trousers making his skin clamy and his hair stick to the back of his neck. He wished he would have put it up instead of leaving it unbound.
He felt himself start to drift off, and what could have been seconds or minutes later he received a hardy slap to the side of the head. Kaiser jolted awake at the contact, glaring up at his brother who smiled down on him drunkenly. He barely refrained from punching his teeth down his throat, as he didn't want to start a scene. Ahren mumbled something he couldn't understand, his stupid smile spreading wider as he swayed precariously. His eyes were clouded as he continued to mutter inaudible sounds. He deserved what was coming for him tomorrow.
For his own sanity, Kaiser turned Ahren around and pushed him in the other direction, hoping a pretty girl would catch his eye and he would leave him alone. He settled back into his seat and watched from afar, trying his best to keep his eyes open.