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In a distant kingdom far away from where you call home, there lived a young prince in charge of a dark land. He loved his kingdom, and all of the beings living within. However, he felt as if there was a disconnect between the other kingdoms and his own, that others saw it as “evil” or “demented”.
The prince wanted to change this. One day, he called his seven lords to his chambers. Brothers having been cast out of a former kingdom, the prince took them all in and gave them a place to reside and feel appreciated. He brought up a plan to invite a resident of a neighboring kingdom to live with the lords and experience their culture, being able to spread a good word when they returned.
The lord of blue agreed with the prince’s ideas. The lord of purple thought it was an ordeal too troubling. The lord of pink fantasized about who the resident would be. Everyone had to agree to stop the lord of red if they ever wanted to taste them. Overall, though, everyone agreed that it was a fine idea to put into action.
Everyone…except one.
While silent about the issue, the lord of orange did not like the idea at all. He saw it as not a troublesome venture, but as one that would most likely cause him ridicule. This being from another kingdom would see how weak and antisocial he was, leading to word being spread about him when they returned. He didn’t care about the reputation of the prince’s ruling grounds, he cared about the little good reputation he had!
To him, it felt like his fears were coming true. The resident of the neighboring kingdom arrived, and all of the other lords besides himself were all over them. The lord of yellow kept clinging to the resident, saying that he was responsible for them as “they looked at him first”. The lord of green had to deny allegations from the lord of purple that he would go into a fit of rage if he was compared to the lord of blue. Meanwhile, said lord of blue simply nodded his head.
The lord of orange watched as the resident was swept up by everyone’s attention. He hadn’t said anything since they had been summoned, and they had not said a word to him. However, at multiple points he had seen the resident looking at him, unable to take their eyes away.
An occurrence like this happened while the lord of pink had them in a tight hug. Noticing the diversion of attention, he saw who the resident was looking at. Giggling, he told them to not worry, as the lord of orange may be quiet, but it was charming…at least to some. The resident responded with only two words.
“…I see.”
The lord of orange heard that short conversation, and he couldn’t stop replaying it in his mind. That was all they had to say? No, they were developing the ugly, disgusting picture in their mind about who he truly was. He didn’t have to say a word of his own for it to happen; it was obvious! It was right in front of their face!
That night, the lord of orange tossed and turned, terrified of what the resident would say to the others who lived in their kingdom. He would become a laughingstock! He was desperate for something, anything, that would be able to save his dignity, that would put any rumors to rest before they even began.
Thinking that, he sat up stiff. Putting rumors to rest…it gave him an idea, the perfect plan. He just needed his true friends to help him out.
~*~*~
Within minutes, he had gathered everything he needed. His two precious pets had given him the biggest hand in the process. A bird with a topaz gem around its neck in the shape of a fish, one that he had affectionately named Henry, had taken the role of fetching a hair from the lord of purple's tail. Using his own innate magical abilities, he was able to fuse it into an essence and pass it to his other pet, a serpent named Lotan.
The essence was only powerful enough for one use, but it was all he needed. The lord of orange only needed to utter one sentence to his reptilian friend to have it slither off in search of its target. It only had one command to fulfill:
"Find the resident."
~*~*~
Cries could be heard the next morning all through the castle, lamenting the horrible fate that had befallen the one from another kingdom. The lord of blue called for every guard to surround the castle, the lord of pink was sobbing on the chaise, it was absolute disarray for everyone of the royal Court. No one could figure out what had happened to them or why they couldn't wake up.
No one except the lord of orange.
He was able to feign ignorance of the situation, but he knew exactly what happened. His beloved Lotan had carefully bitten the resident in their sleep, part of the essence allowing the marks to heal, sending them into an eternal slumber. Despite seeing his fellow lords in a panic, he himself breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way he could be humiliated further…
That is, until the others were discussing ways to lift the spell. The lord of orange began to sweat; he had forgotten this would have inevitably happened. He remembered what the only way to end the slumber was…as much of a cliche as it was, he had selected the kiss of true love as the only antidote. It was mainly out of haste, but in hindsight he knew it would serve to silence his thoughts and confirm them with himself.
If one of the others kissed them, they would wake up, confirming their love to anyone but him.
After suggesting this, every other lord took a chance at waking the resident. Some were eager to be first, others begrudgingly came forward. Even the prince was willing to give it a try. Regardless, everyone wanted to release them from the captive slumber.
The lord of orange stood to the side and watched as they all took a turn. He studied carefully, waiting for which one would make the spell, and his hope, disappear. It had to be one of them, it just had to be.
But it wasn't.
Even after every one of them tried, some even multiple times, none of them succeeded in waking the resident up. The tension was even higher, and no one knew what to do.
Then, the lord of red noticed that the lord of orange had not tried to kiss them, asking them to give it a chance. Initially he refused; the resident had not even learned his name, how could they love him?! But after many of the others pestered him, he agreed to try it once. In fact, it would prove things further to him. If he kissed them and they didn't wake up, it was for certain.
Kneeling at their bedside, he looked at their sleeping face. A flood of guilt rose up in him, and he almost wanted to run away and never set foot in those chambers again. But everyone was watching, he couldn't stop now.
Leaning in close, the lord of orange hovered over their face, almost afraid to try. However, he soon found just enough strength. Before he placed his lips on theirs, he only had one thing to say:
"I'm sorry."
The kiss lasted longer than many of the others', but it didn't matter. As he pulled away, he waited for any sort of movement. Nothing. A few more minutes…nothing. The lord of orange had given up, ready to hide away and never return…
Until the quiet sound of rustling bedsheets was the loudest noise in the room. A soft yawn broke through, and everyone was overjoyed. Hugging, cheers, and various forms of happiness spread throughout the whole castle.
This was especially true for the lord of orange and the resident. Waking up by his hand meant the two loved each other, but all he could feel was shame. He caused all of this just to save face, and now he was being applauded as a false hero.
As the excitement spread to other groups, he looked at the resident, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I'm so…so sorry," he said, trying not to cry in front of everyone.
The resident asked why, there was no reason to be sad.
He then broke down every wall, revealing every truth. He explained that there had to be a mistake, as no one would love someone as hideous and cruel-hearted as him.
This last statement left the resident confused. "What ever made you think I didn't like you?"
The lord of orange was shocked; this had to be a mistake.
But it wasn't. The resident explained how they were always watching from afar, wanting to talk but never having a chance. They had actually wanted to try that night, but then they weren't able to wake up from more than just a case of drowsiness.
And finally, there was one statement that made the lord of orange realize something very important.
"If you didn't care about me, you wouldn't go to the trouble of trying to keep me from anyone else, would you?"