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Disgraced and exiled, Prince Chelm wandered the lands around his former home of Kandar, eventually entering the enemy Kindom of Vellac in disguise, where he promptly found his way to Court and managed to charm his way into the Prince’s company.
It would be safety of a sort, and at the moment, Chelm wasn’t interested in much more than sheer survival.
He certainly never expected to find a friend in the handsome Prince’s company. Revek was well-spoken, unsurprisingly, with a kind face and occasionally sly wit that Chelm found terribly attractive.
They disagreed on some things, agreed on many others, and found their friendship growing deeper by the day.
Chelm - who went by Melch here, a slender addition to his disguise, but one he felt helped hide who he was from those around him - was surprised by what he found here. He hadn’t expected Vellac to come to feel this much like home.
Ever, but especially not so quickly.
He'd also never expected to find love in this strange land, especially with a member of the royal family - a family he'd been taught from an early age was the enemy.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
He began to feel more and more guilty for his deception of the prince. As well as concerned for what might happen next when, eventually and inevitably, his disguise was seen through and his real identity exposed.
As it turned out, he might as well not have bothered. In due time, he mustered the courage to confess, only to find Revek gently laughing at him.
“My dear Melch,” he said, kindness filling his voice, a kindness that had been a balm to Chelm’s heart, mind, and soul ever since he’d arrived in the kingdom, “I’ve known who you really are for some time now.”
“And you haven’t minded?!” Chelm asked in amazement.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Revek admitted. “For a long time after I realized who you were, I was angry. That you’d dared come here to the very Court and become friends with me.”
“What stopped you??” Chelm asked curiously. “Not that I’m arguing, mind.”
“I started thinking about it from your point of view,” Revek said simply. “I couldn’t stay angry with you after that.”
“And now??” Chelm asked, a bit fearfully. “What will happen to us??”
“Depends on you, really,” Revek answered. “As far as I’m concerned, Chelm doesn’t exist any more. Whether he died in exile or has simply gone to an unknown place, he is not here. You are. And what happens next, is up to you.”
“What would you like??” Cbhelm asked daringly.
“I think you know,” Revek said quietly.
He did indeed.
And so it was.