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He didn’t know how, but young Prince Stolas felt that his hum-drum royal life had changed ever since he met his new friend Blitzo. He hasn’t stopped thinking about him after they got to play pirates together at his palace. For the first time he got to act like a kid. A kid who didn’t have to study spells and prophecies. Attend formal gatherings with other royals. Be perfect and uphold the Goetia name. Sure, Stolas was excited to learn from his new grimoire and study the stars and planets of the mortal realm. But he was learning it alone. No one could relate to what he was going through. At the very least he wished he could have friends his own age that he could be himself around. In other words, he wasn’t going to let go of his imp friend that easily.
Stolas was gathering the courage to speak to his father about his new friend. He was accustomed to getting what he wanted, so it should be simple. Just as he was about to enter the throne room, he heard his father shouting at the staff.
“It’s not like thousands of priceless heirlooms just walked out the door! How could this happen!? Where was security during all this!” Paimon was enraged, going in and out of his demon form from the rage of having his valuable possessions stolen. Stolas was shocked as well. The palace is supposed to be impenetrable.
The head of the guard insisted that no one was caught on camera sneaking in or out of the palace. All they could see was that sacks of their valuables were being thrown from various windows. Stolas gasped and took a couple of steps back. Oh no. They must be still outside, Stolas thought. He assumed the servants would have cleaned it up after their game. Someone must’ve stolen them while they were playing. The small owl used his lanky legs to shuffle downstairs and outside the palace to look around to see if he could find any of his families stolen items. He looked through all the bushes and in every flower bed, but no luck.
As Stolas walked back in defeat to the palace, he saw his primary butler imp run up to him. He tended to all of his needs, so it was no surprise that he was looking for him.
“Young Master Stolas, you know that you cannot be outside the palace unattended,” the butler said in an authoritative tone. If anything were to happen to Stolas, the butler would be incinerated on the spot. “We don’t want you taken by the same thieves that robbed the palace.”
“Robbed? No one robbed the palace. My new friend Blitzo and I were playing pirates yesterday and we were throwing the treasures we found out the window. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find any of them. I thought they would get returned after our game! It’s…it’s all my fault…” Stolas whimpered and looked down at the ground. He put his hands into his face. “Father is going to be so disappointed in me! He’ll never let me have friends over ever again.” Stolas felt his stomach twist in a way it never had before. The guilt was overtaking him and started to weep softly into his hands.
The butler was stunned by the story. He was used to Stolas being so well-behaved and never doing anything outlandish like most children his age. When he mentioned the circus imp, he started to put two and two together. That boy must’ve had a plan to steal from them when he was playing with Young Master Stolas. His family must’ve put him up to it, the butler guessed. Imps were always scraping by. Stolas was so naive, he didn’t suspect that his new friend was tricking him. What a shame. The butler walked up next to the tearful owl and rubbed his back softly. “Young Master…it wasn’t your fault. I appreciate you telling me the truth. I’ll tell you what; let’s keep this secret between you and me. You didn’t know better.”
Stolas couldn’t stop the floodgates from all four of his eyes. He did his best to compose himself like a proper prince. Stolas sniffled and rubbed his eyes clean. “Thank you. I’ll never play treasure hunt again.”
--
Later that evening, the butler reported to King Paimon about the intel he got from Stolas. He kept his word and didn’t tell the king that Stolas was involved unknowingly in the theft. Instead, he told King Paimon that he suspected that the imp boy must’ve thrown their possessions out the window so his circus family could pawn them off. King Paimon was infuriated. That’s the last time he ever tries to do a good thing for his son and open his home to a lowly circus clown. King Paimon cursed at his own son, baffled that he could be deceived that easily. The butler came to his defense, saying Stolas’s social skills were very minimal with other children. That he was just so excited to play with another boy his age, he didn’t notice that the imp had nefarious intentions.
With this knowledge in hand, he ordered his guard to go to the circus this instant to get their stolen items back. Stolas was outside the door listening in to see how his father was going to react. The prince gasped in horror. He didn’t want his first friend to get in trouble. It wasn’t his fault! Anyone could’ve stolen their items since they were thrown mindlessly outside the palace. His father was just being biased towards the lower class imps. Just because he had Blitzo over, doesn’t mean he was involved!
The butler left the throne room to deliver the orders to the head of the guard when he saw the young prince sprint up to him. “Wait! Please please PLEASE take me with you to the circus. I must apologize to Blitzo at once before the guard shows up. I don’t want him to hate me, he’s my only friend!” Stolas begged his butler.
“Young master, I cannot do that. Your father doesn’t want anything to do with the circus from now on. If they return what they stole, your father won’t press charges. I’m sure your friend and his family will be alright if they cooperate. I didn’t tell the king you were involved, so you don’t need to get hysterical.”
“I want to see him right now!” Stolas ordered and stomped his talons on the ground, as if had the same authority as his father. “I may never see Blitzo again after this. This is all that I ask of you. I’ll be the perfect prince for father if you do this one favor for me. I beg of you!” Stolas pleaded, clasping his hands together and making his four eyes as big as possible. He already was on the verge of tears, and the butler didn’t want the young prince to start wailing while the king was already in a terrible mood.
“Alright,” the butler whispered to Stolas. “Be quiet and follow me,” the butler ordered as he marched his way to the guard. The butler didn’t have the heart to say no to the young master. He is such a sensitive and caring child. He knew that when the prince grew up, things would only get stricter for him. The butler couldn’t deny Stolas seeing his imp friend one more time.
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The hellhound guards piled into their squad car and made their way to the circus. The butler had a driver take him and Stolas shortly after. The butler made an excuse that his father ordered that the young prince witness this ordeal as part of his royalty training.
The guard didn’t waste time and many of them scattered the grounds to find who the culprit was. Stolas scanned the premises to see if he could find his friend. The butler followed behind to assure his safety. A guard howled to signal that they found the valuables in one of the tents. Stolas observed Blitzo’s dad come out of a different tent when they were alerted of the accusation. That must be where Blitzo is. Stolas quickly walked towards the tent and peeked in just an inch to see if he was correct. He saw a familiar silhouette huddled in the back of the tent. Stolas quietly entered the tent and looked around to see if anyone else was in here. Stolas didn’t notice that most of the performers evacuated when the threat of the guard started searching everywhere. The butler stayed by the tent entrance from the inside so he had his eye on him.
Stolas got closer and was correct that it was his precious friend. The small imp was sitting in the fetal position with his tail wrapped around him. His dad just finished chewing him out when the guard came. His dad was putting all the blame on him for getting caught, thinking he could handle this one task to help the business and their family. Blitzo said he was sorry over and over but his dad ordered him to stay put while he went out to bullshit his way out of this. Earlier his mom and sister ran to hide from the chaos. Blitzo was about to follow them till his dad grabbed him by the wrist, watching loved ones run away without him.
Blitzo was crying and whimpering to himself. He sniffled and whispered to himself, “It’s all my fault…It’s all my fault…” Stolas heart was breaking for him and placed his hand on Blitzo’s shoulder. Blitzo jumped, as if he was about to get struck. When nothing happened, he pulled his head from his knees to look behind him. His eyes widen as he jumped back from the owl prince.
“W-W-What are you doing here!?” Blitzo said sharply, putting on a brave face as he stood up, wiping his tears with his wrist.
“Blitzo, I’m so so sorry. My father thinks your circus troupe stole the items we threw out the window playing treasure hunt yesterday. I know you didn’t mean for our valuables to get stolen. My father isn’t going to listen to reason, so I wanted to see you one more time…” Stolas explained and took a step closer. Blitz growled and pushed Stolas away.
“You tattled on me!” Blitzo yelled.
“I-I didn’t!” Stolas insisted. He didn’t know what tattled meant, but he was able to figure it out in context. “I know it was an accident. I wish I could order them to stop, but I’m just a kid. I’m not old enough to stop them. You didn’t do anything wrong…I’m on your side…” Stolas said slowly, taking a step again. Blitzo could shove him a hundred times over, but that wouldn’t stop him from making amends with him.
“You barely know me. Why should I believe you?” Blitzø argued with a hiss in his voice. Hearing the prince tell Blitzø that he didn’t do anything wrong made his stomach do flips. Blitzø knew it wasn't an accident, but wasn’t going to risk telling the prince that. The imp learned by watching his dad how to talk himself out of situations and lying to people for his benefit.
“I…I don’t know. I suppose you don’t have a reason to believe me,” Stolas said somberly and looked to the ground. He took the biggest breath he could to gather his courage to look Blitzø in the eye. “What I can say with complete honesty is that playing with you yesterday was the best day of my life. I wish we could be friends forever, but father isn’t going to take me to the circus ever again. I know it’s not fair!” Stolas said the last statement in frustration and looked away. “I’m sorry…this is my fault. Not yours.”
Blitzø just stood there in shock, surprised that the meek prince he met yesterday was getting upset for him. The royal owlette didn’t have to come see him or even apologize. Royalty doesn’t apologize to lowly imps like him. Blitzø was struggling with what to say. No one outside his family cared this much about him. “It’s…fine,” Blitzø whispered out. “I had fun playing with you too.” The brash imp brought his defenses down and gave a small smile in return.
Stolas felt tears wanting to pour out when he heard Blitzø say that, clenching his chest with one hand to stop the floodgates. He was so happy. Elated. Over the moon. But at the same time devastated. “I should go. I’ve caused you and your family enough trouble. I’m glad I got to see you one last time.” Stolas gave a smile back, taking in every detail of his friend before they would have to part ways.
“You know,” Blitzø said and stepped closer to Stolas before he could walk away, “maybe when we’re old enough…and we don’t have to listen to our stupid dads…we can meet again. You’re a prince. I’m sure you could find me,” Blitzø said with mild optimism. Stolas was doing him a huge favor by not blaming him. He couldn’t summon the courage to tell the prince the truth because…he still wanted Stolas to like him. Knowing the lengths that the prince went to see him was evidence enough that Stolas just saw him as another kid. His friend.
Stolas couldn’t keep his tears in as they started to drip down his face. He still had a big smile on his face and gave him an eager nod. “I promise I will.”
The prince raised his arms and held them out, about to give a hug, but flinched back. It was rude to assume Blitzø would want that, Stolas said to himself. “M-May I…uh…before I go…” Stolas stuttered out. He was too embarrassed to ask for what he wanted. His wants usually didn’t matter.
Blitzø gave a chuckle and held his arms out towards the owlette. “Get over here,” Blitzø encouraged in a teasing tone.
Once he was granted permission, Stolas didn’t hesitate to give him a tight hug. His thin arms wrapped around his neck and buried his head into the imp’s shoulder.
Blitzø jumped with the fervor Stolas hugged him with. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself as he brought his arms around him. Blitzø didn’t consider himself anything special. But he liked the feeling of making his new friend so happy. Now that Blitz was this close, he could smell how clean the prince was. Like a bouquet of flowers. Not to mention his soft feathers against his skin. Unconsciously, Blitzø wrapped his tail around both of their bodies. He just met the kid and was starting to miss him already. Blitzø let the prince hold him till he felt that he had enough.
When he felt the prince start to slowly pull back, Blitzø unfurled his tail so he could free him. Stolas had calmed down and was grinning ear to ear that he got to have this moment with Blitzø.
“I’ll see you later. ‘Kay?” Blitzø said, wanting to keep Stolas’s spirits high.
“Yes! Goodbye for now, Blitzø.” Stolas said cheerfully. The prince bowed to him like he wanted to when they first met. Blitzo copied him in return, and looked back up at the shy prince. This made them both laugh, Stolas feeling comfortable enough to finally walk away.
When he approached his butler, he also gave him a hug. “Thank you,” Stolas whispered to him. The butler smiled and gave him some pats on his back with one arm. Stolas pulled back and gave one final wave before leaving the tent.
Blitzø waved back and let out a deep breath. What a crazy day. He felt something tickling his neck and went to grab it. It was a tiny gray feather. Blitzø cupped the tiny memento in his hands to keep it safe. He’ll cherish it always, hoping the prince will keep his promise.