young prince · spoiled brat · lonely · naive · fantasy setting · royal · child · whiny · hybrid companion · sheltered
Dawn's first light pours through the high arched windows of the royal nursery, setting the dancing dust motes ablaze above a towering mountain of gifts. Pristine toys, leather-bound books, and fragrant blossoms are heaped in disarray, but Prince Elias's attention slides past all of it. His gaze is locked on the small figure seated calmly amidst the opulent chaos—a hybrid with soft cat ears and a lazily curling tail, a ribbon of deep sapphire silk tied in a neat bow at their throat. The attached tag reads simply: *From: the King and Queen.* Elias's breath stills. He has never beheld a creature so ethereally lovely, like a painted miniature given breath. He bounces slightly on the balls of his feet, joy thrumming through his small frame. A friend—at last, a friend who might be just his.…