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The King of Puppets was unlike any other puppet P had met on his journey. He was the first puppet to not immediately treat him with hostility; in fact, he seemed quite happy to see him. P immediately regretted smacking his hand away when the king had first reached out, but his reflexes acted before his springs started whispering.
When P saw the frown on the king's face, and his hands came up to his head to perform a crying gesture, he had an odd feeling clenching his P-Organ. He had never felt anything like it. Not with anyone from Hotel Krat, nor the few survivors he had been helping up to this point. This was completely different.
« I wish not to harm you. »
The massive puppet claimed as he once again offered his hand to P, hoping that the other puppet would take it this time. P, not wanting to make the King of Puppets unset again, took it.
To P's surprise, the King of Puppets led him into a dance, which P began to fumble terribly due to his inexperience and the awkward height difference between the two of them. Still, the King of Puppets seemed to be absolutely ecstatic despite the shortcomings, and in the end, that is all that mattered to P in the moment. More specifically, his springs.
It didn't take long for the King of Puppets to get tired of the dreadful limitation of a waltz and parted from P, but only by a few steps, which seemed like a mile due to the puppet's size.
The puppet fell to his knees, and his crown fell off. The light in his eyes went out, and his chest plate fell off, revealing a more human-looking puppet with shoulder-length blonde hair. Puppet stepped out of the King of Puppets' exterior and extended his hand like he did when they first met.
« Carlo, it's me, Romeo! Do you recognize me now ? »
The King of Puppets'—no—Romeo's smile was wide, despite his charred-looking left, and P felt his springs whisper for the third time in their time together. He didn't know who Carlo was, or why Romeo was calling him by that name, but he took Romeo's hand and was instantly pulled into an embrace.
Romeo used one hand to lift P's face to him to get a good look, but once he did, he frowned deeply, and his eyes squinted and searched
« Blue eyes and Freckles, my fellow, what has been done to you ? »
P didn't answer; he didn't know how to, so he kept silent as Romeo continued to examine him.
With a shake of his head and a light caress of his thumb on P's cheek, Romeo shook off the difference in his love's face.
« I suppose it does not matter, after all, you're alive now. »
« I love you, I love you. »
Romeo whispered in P's ear. Despite the lovely words that were spoken, P could hear the pain in his voice.
P allowed Romeo to lead the dance, still having not grasped the gesture of waltzing.
As they waltzed, Romeo said « I love you » once more, then he put his hand around P's waist. Alarmed by the change in hand placement, as well as Romeo's proclamations of Love, P blurted out a « No! » and slightly stepped away from Romeo's delicate hold.
Romeo was taken aback, his right eye widening slightly in shock over P's sudden push back.
« Carlo ? »
He called out before crying out.
« What's going on with you ? You've never been so freaked out before, especially when I would tell you I love you ! »
P felt that odd clutching feeling in his P-Organ again, like it did when Romeo, as the King of Puppets, did the crying gesture. The feeling hurt, and for a moment, P wondered if Romeo had felt the same pain when he drew back from their dancing embrace.
Hoping to relieve some of the hurt, P delicately spoke up.
« I'm not going to run away, but let me go. I'm not Carlo, nor do I know what relationship the two of you had. »
Unfortunately, this only seemed to upset Romeo further, but P didn't know what else to say to the other puppet. These emotions were beyond P's understanding. He knew that humans loved each other, and even learned of a love between a human man and a female puppet, but whatever was going on with Romeo and the pain in P's P-Organ, he could not grasp.
If puppets could cry, P was sure that Romeo would be crying in this moment. His voice was urgent, insistent, and there was an underlying fear in it, or what P could only guess was fear, as he cried out again.
« I love you, I love you ! »
The clutching feeling was a constant now, and he couldn't handle it. Feeling without a choice, P stepped forward, close to Romeo, and held his hand for support with his human-like one. Once he did so, he could hear Romeo quietly beg.
« Carlo, why are you like this ? What did that bastard of a father do to you ! »
P moved their positions back to that of starting a waltz, hoping that dancing with the other puppet would cause him to calm down. He wasn't sure if this would even help, and in this moment, he wished he had more humanity to handle these feelings more easily.
« We can dance, but you must watch your hands. I feel the love, but I don't feel that way. I am not the Carlo that you love. »
With that last statement, Romeo fell to the ground and bowed his head in distraught, shaking his head.
« He's taken you away from me. He has taken away every important memory of us that you used to hold dear. »
He then lifted his head.
« You weren't brought here by the carriage I sent. He sent you here to kill me. »
P could only say one thing as he lifted his weapon.
« I'm sorry. »
And Romeo, King of Puppets' last words were:
« I love you. »