-the castle of Maia's homeland, gates-
Jessen eyed the castle wearily. He had been traveling for two weeks, and he was quite tired of sitting in a saddle. He just wanted to lay down in a bed.
Also, he had a limited number of servants with him, and his lover was not one of the "essential" servants. Because he wanted to keep his preference for males a secret, he had not been able to take another servant to his bed instead, even though he knew there was at least one who would have been quite willing. Because of that, he had not had sex in two weeks, and he wouldn't until he returned home. That, and the two weeks of traveling had combined to put him in quite a foul mood.
The king, his father's friend, met him at the gates. He looked overjoyed to see Jessen, and his mini-troupe of "essential" servants. The other king was almost opposite of his father: tall, thin, and hairy where his father was short, fat, and balding. He rushed forward to Jessen as he dismounted.
"Prince Jessen, it's so nice to see you here!" he exclaimed. "Our kingdom is proud to have you."
Jessen nodded, mumbling something about being glad to be there. He knew he was being rude, but he was too tired to really care. The king seemed to notice this, and he called one of his servants over to him.
"Show Prince Jessen to his rooms," he said, then he turned to Jessen. "Perhapes you'd like to rest up before dinner?"
"Yes, thank you," Jessen said. The servant bowed to him and indicated that he should follow her.
He followed her to a set of rooms much like his own in his father's castle. A few of his servants followed, and he groaned when he saw them. Once inside, the servant who had shown him to the room scurried away, and he sent away all of his servants except for one.
He headed for the bath and shed his clothing once there. As he slipped into the warm water, the one servant remaining took his clothing away. She would leave new clothing out for him soon.
Once he was done bathing, Jessen dressed in the clothing set out for him. It was formal wear, heavily ornamented and far from comfortable. It was for dinner, which he knew would be a big thing because of his arrival. He would also be meeting the princess, and for that he would be expected to look his best.
He had a little time before dinner once he was dressed. So, he sat down, reveling in the comfort of the huge stuffed chair that was sitting in one of the rooms he had been given. He was almost asleep when one of his servants came to get him, announcing that dinner was soon.