Trapped In Hisstory

"Your Majesty!" Jasper said in surprise to see the king, who was supposed to be in the celebration, appeared right outside the greenhouse.

Jasper Cameron was not the one who would be punished, but he cannot help but to feel scared for the two 'lovebirds' who were dancing and...kissing inside. How would their kingdom's ruler react when he sees his brother kissing a royal member from another kingdom?

Not even a princess...but a prince!

Jasper saw the King of Canopus's eyes in the direction of the greenhouse. It is made of glass so of course, he would see what was going on between the two princes. A smirk appeared on King Leonidas' face as he watched Caliber and Chance.

Jasper was used to seeing this side of the King, always amused, but at this situation, he does not know why he would be amused to see his brother being intimate with another man, 'Did Anna make His Majesty crazy?' he thought, trying to hide the grimace from his face.

Jasper glanced at the Crown Prince Charles and Second Prince Caliber then returned his gaze to the King, "Greetings, Your Majesty. May the Goddess bless you." he greeted.

Sweat started to break out on his forehead, he was the one who took the two princes to the greenhouse to have their time alone, but he never expected that the aides and the King of Canopus would suddenly appear, "I-I can explain this, Your Majesty." he said, hoping that the King would listen to him.

King Leonidas chuckled, "No need for an explanation, Lord Jasper."

Jasper raised his head. "Eh? Y-your Majesty?" he uttered in confusion. His reaction was not what he had expected. He did not even seem surprised in the slightest. "Could it be? Your Majesty had already known about..?" he trailed off and glanced at the two princes.

King Leonidas smiled. "It was obvious from the start. My brother could not even let the Crown Prince go back to Antares," he said, "And ordered me, the king, to not meet him." 

Jasper laughed upon hearing the story. His friend was so funny he would never miss the chance to not use it to tease the Second Prince. "Well then, what does Your Majesty think about their relationship?" he asked. 

King Leonidas wore his usual amused look. Every time Chance was the topic of the conversation, he was always entertained. "I could not care less." the King responded.

Jasper looked at him in surprise for a few seconds and chuckled, "Your Majesty is starting to sound like Anna." he said.

The Canopus King's amused smile disappeared from his lips and he turned to the Duchy heir. Leonidas was not glaring at him or saying anything bad, but Jasper felt frightened for no reason, 'Eh...what did I do?' he thought.

"How impudent of you to call my woman by her first name." King Leonidas said, emphasizing his words, making the tone more scary than usual.

Jasper suddenly felt chills. "Please calm down, Your Majesty. Her Highness has allowed me to call her—

"I do not care whether she allowed you or not. Do not call her name in front of me." he said, cutting Jasper's words off.

The Cameron heir swallowed, knowing that the King was annoyed even if it does not show in his expression.

The King smiled again. "Now, now. It is time to interrupt this sweet moment of theirs." he said and let out a chuckle.

Jasper wanted to let the two have their alone time for a while but he cannot go against the wishes of the ruler. Alec had no complaints and just stood with a blank face.

The aides smirked. Niro was especially happy that the two princes finally told their feelings to each other, although they did not hear the confession, seeing them inside being intimate, it was obvious that they had gotten together.

The King walked towards the greenhouse with the aides by his side, Alec and Jasper following behind.

The two princes immediately pulled away from each other when they heard the door open. They turned and saw King Leonidas, Sherin, Niro, Jasper and Alec entering the greenhouse.

Chance's face flushed with redness, hoping that they did not see anything. But he noticed Jasper looking at him apologetically, as if he was saying 'Sorry, we all saw it. I could not do anything.'

Chance understood his glance immediately, and now he was even more embarrassed. He raised his arm to the King, "Charles Howard greets Your Majesty the King." he greeted and bowed his head.

King Leonidas or 'Leon' waved his hand, "Now, now, no need for such formalities.We are friends after all." he said, but it was uncomfortable for Chance to call a King by a name he gave him.

'How could I be friends with a King...' Chance thought. He just smiled and said nothing in return.

"Greetings, brother." Caliber greeted casually as if it was normal for him to talk to the King like that. Well, King Leonidas is his brother, after all. 

Unlike when Leonidas smiled at Chance, he looked at his brother blankly and sighed, "Is that how you greet the ruler of your Kingdom?" he asked and wore a disappointed expression.

"But you said no need for formalities."

"I said that to Charles because we are friends."

"Uhh, may I remind you that I am your brother?"

"I know."

Caliber looked at him boredly, knowing that the King was doing it on purpose. King Leonidas laughed and stood in the middle of Chance and Caliber.

He glanced at his brother, the Second Prince, "I could see that you two have had your moment," he said and returned his gaze to the Crown Prince, "I believe it is my turn." he said and bent down whole extending his hand to the prince. 

How odd, it was not like he was a princess or a noble woman for someone to extend a hand to him. He hesitated to take the King's hand and glanced at Caliber, but the Second Prince smiled at him and nodded. 

Chance put his hand on the king's hand and King Leonidas smiled. The aides were about to take a step forward, but Leonidas raised his other arm. "No need to accompany us. I wish to speak to the Crown Prince alone." he said.

Leonidas smirked as he looked at his brother. "Would that be all right to you?" he asked.

Caliber rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I would not dare go against Your Majesty's wishes." he said, trying to sound as formal as he could, but it ended up sounding sarcastic.

The Crown Prince and the King of Canopus walked out of the greenhouse, leaving the five people inside.

The two of them stopped, and they were underneath the starry night sky. Chance felt awkward. If only he was not the King, then he would not be embarrassed about acting close with Leon.

Chance immediately turned to Leonidas and bent down. "Forgive me for how I acted in the past. I have no knowledge that Leon was Your Majesty."

"I preferred it when you called me Leon, instead of this honorific."

"I would not dare make nicknames of Your Majesty."

"That is a pity." King Leonidas said.

The King looked at the sky, "Crown Prince, do you remember when the last time we had a conversation?" 

Chance went back to their last conversation and recalled what they had talked about. He nodded, "I do, Your Majesty."

~~~~~~~~~~

"From the look of it, your thoughts are in a disarray and it troubles you. What is your problem, little fellow?"

The question surprised Chance, and he glanced at Leon to the side, "What makes you think that I have a problem?" he asked, though the king was right.

"Because…" He smiled and put a finger near his eyes, then pointed at Chance, "The stars in your eyes are gone."

Chance just stared at him and had no idea what to say to his words, 'Stars in my eyes, huh?'

~~~~~~~~~~

After that, they talked about the heavy thought that Chance had on his mind. Telling the King that trying to know about the past has become distressing.

Of course he would remember, because the words of King Leonidas was still stuck on his mind. His words were what gave him reason to continue.

"Why would you find, knowing the past, distressing now?"

"Because everyone in the past is already dead."

"The person who died would also likely want his story to be known, rather than be forgotten." 

Chance smiled as he remembered his words, "I will never forget, Your Majesty."

"Little fellow," Leonidas called out, "I am glad that I could see the stars in your eyes, even for a bit." he said and Chance blushed.

"I hope that the two of you will be happy together. That is my wish for your birthday." he said. "For you and Caliber's happiness, I wish for the Goddess to guide and bless you."

Chance felt like the heavy feeling in his chest was lifted, knowing that the King actually supports the two of them. "Your Majesty, why do you seem relaxed? Your brother has a...male lover."

King Leonidas turned to him. "I am well aware of the law of your Kingdom. There are many consequences once your relationship has been revealed."

"Once the people find out, there will be consequences. A punishment for this love that you desire."

The King's golden eyes shone as he stared down at the Crown Prince. "I wonder what you would do once royal and heavenly judgment strikes you down."

"Will you stay with him....or leave?"