Trapped In Hisstory

"You are no longer my servant, Chance."

Chance stood still, staring at his now 'former' master who just fired him without telling a reason why he is dismissed from his position. He did not bat an eyelid and continued staring at Cole, waiting for his next words, but the young prince just went back to reading.

"W-wait. Is that it?" he asked in perplexity.

Cole did not bother to look at him and kept his gaze on his book. "Yes, were you expecting more?" he asked and flipped a page of his book.

"Of course, Your Highness. I expect at least a reason of why you are discharging me." he answered with a serious look on his face, which made the young prince raise a brow. 'I thought his bratty attitude lessened even for a bit, but I guess not.' he thought, a bit annoyed by his unreasonable display of personality.

"Anything is better than lies and deceit!"

Chance looked up to the young Stein in surprise. 'Is he talking to me?' he asked himself and grew cold.

Cole suddenly looked in his direction. "Oh, do not mind me. I am just reading a line out loud." he stated and smiled sweetly.

Chance was starting to grasp why Cole dismissed him. He knew this time would come but he did not expect him to know before he had the chance to fess up. "You-"

"That is why you came here, right? Sooner or later, you will quit so I made it faster for you." the young prince stated, cutting him from asking a question.

"How could you say that I am going to quit?"

"Are you not?"

"Uh...well..." Chance hesitated and did not answer.

Cole let out a snort. "I figured that much." he said when he saw Chance speechless.

The Venus garden was filled with silence, and only the sound of nature could be heard. Chance does not know what to say and how to explain everything, while Cole kept glancing at him in secret.

After a while, Louis broke the silence. "How...are you?" he asked. Chance looked up to his former master again in confusion, wondering if he heard it right. 'This bratty young prince just asked about my state?' he thought, stifling a laugh. 

"I thought you were angry?" Chance asked.

"Why? Can I not ask how you are while I am angry?" he said. "And no, I am not angry." he added and annoyance was plastered on the face of the youngest Stein prince.

Chance let out a chuckle. "Why would I not be all right?"

"Well..." he distracted himself to avoid looking at Chance, "The kidnapping incident...if I only I could defend myself, then that knight could have left me to go after you and protect you." he muttered, that knight, referring to Alec Valorian.

The historian was surprised by his word, all this time he was half blaming himself? 

Louis was startled from a slight vibration and as he looked down, he saw Chance climbing the tree. "E...eh? What are you-" he did not finish his words when Chance sat down beside him. The tree was big enough for the two of them to fit, just like before, when they chatted.

"Who said you could go up and sit with me?!" Louis asked, flustered.

"You did not say that I cannot go up and sit with you." Chance said in return.

"Well then, go back down, leave!"

"Is that an order?"

"Yes, it is!"

Chance smiled. "Too bad I am no longer your servant. Which means I do not have to follow any orders from you."

"You-" the young Stein's face was flushed red, he felt like he humiliated himself. He did not continue his complaint and just sat down properly with a frown.

"Do not worry much, Cole. It is not your fault, we are both victims in this incident." Chance said, and patted him on the back. Louis felt awkward and grateful at the same time. He never had any friends outside the palace and never experienced being comforted.

"I have to...apologize as well." Chance whispered as he looked down, guilt drowning him again. He lied to him, multiple times. "I am actually-"

"The Crown Prince of Antares? Hmph, I know that." 

Chance knew that he had found out when he read the quote about lies aloud. But the question was, when? "Since...since when did you find out?" Chance asked.

"The day you became my servant."

The eyes of the historian widened in shock. He knew that he will eventually figure it out but he did not expect it to be that early. He felt like a fool pretending even though the one he lies to already knows. "H-how?"

The Stein prince closed his book and put it onto his lap. He looked at Chance, not the usual bratty look but a serious one. "I am no fool, Chance." he responded. "I could at least differentiate a lie from the truth."

Chance felt even more guilty. "How come you never told me?" 

Louis leaned on the tree with crossed arms. "Would you believe me if I said I find your lies amusing? It entertained me. I wanted to see how far you could go." the child answered.

As Chance looked at him longer, he noticed the same amused look that Leon has on his face. He chuckled, but guilt and sadness were still evident in his voice. "You two are obviously brothers."

"Who?"

"Leon. That man who has the aura of a lion."

"You mean to say I look like a lion too?"

"No, you are a cute kitten pretending to be lion."

"Damn you, Chance."

The two of them laughed. Chance was a bit happy that their closeness was regained even just the slightest. 'Leon? That is definitely my brother. His Majesty, Leonidas.' he nodded his head a bit to agree with his thought. 'Chance is already close with His Majesty? I never noticed.' he thought, since Chance was always with him for an entire week.

"Stop feeling guilty as well, Chance." he said to his former servant. "Being guilty for lying will not make your lies the truth." he stated, and it hit the heart of the historian. Louis was right. "Unless..."

Chance snorted while lowering his gaze. 'Same goes with retelling history will not bring back the dead.' he thought with a rueful smile. He turned his head to the Stein prince, awaiting his next words. "Unless what?" he asked.

Louis moved over a bit closer and looked at Chance with expectant eyes. "Unless you tell me the truth." he responded. "You would not have to deal with guilt of lying to me, if you just tell me now. I am sure there is a reason, right?" the prince said. Chance could see in his eyes that the child is really curious.

The historian sighed. "I am afraid I cannot tell you, Cole. I would not lie to you if it was easy for me to tell the truth." he said in a low, apologetic voice. 

Louis knew it would not make sense if Chance told him the truth after his efforts of lying, but he still tried to see if Chance will suddenly decide to tell him. He sighed and closed his eyes while leaning on the tree again. "I have no right to change your decision. If you do not want to tell me, then all right." 

"There are times where we have to lie to seek the truth." he said. He opened one eye and looked at Chance. "But I wonder what truth it is you are seeking for." he continued and his eyelids slowly fell shut.

Chance stared at the golden-haired boy. Although he is definitely still a child, his mind is too mature. With no doubt, smarter than most people. He stared at him a little longer and sorrow joined him as he watch. Who would have thought that he became his servant suddenly, and would also be dismissed as his servant all of a sudden. 

The Crown prince's hand made its way to the young prince's hand and Louis opened his eyes after feeling his former servant's gentle touch, "What are yo-"

"Thank you."

The crease on the Stein's forehead relaxed and was replaced by a perplexed expression, "For what reason are you thanking me for? You are weird as always." Louis muttered.

Despite the young prince's grumpy response, Chance gave him a gentle smile. So genuine that it makes Louis shy for an unknown reason. "Thank you for being my friend, Cole."

Louis has never been so flustered in his entire life. He felt the heat rise up to his face as he heard a word that he would rarely hear, "F...friend? Ridiculous, I became your master, not your friend!" he yelled. He does not know why he is shouting but he felt like he had to. 

"I did become your servant, but somehow we become friends unknowingly, right? We might not have gotten too close, but there is always next time for development." Chance said with a teasing smile.

"Cole?" Chance repeated his name because the prince did not respond. He moved a bit closer and saw the young Stein's reddened face. "Haha, are you embarrassed?" the crown prince teased once more.

"You wish!" Louis said in return.

After a while, Louis finally looked at his eyes, "You..." he muttered, but Chance could not hear it because it was not loud enough for him to hear, "Pardon?"

"You are the first personal servant I have chosen." he said.

It warmed Chance's heart to look at the cute prince. The prince, who is usually grumpy, and a brat, is acting all shy around him. He felt the urge to grab his cheeks and pinch it. "And..."

"You are my first friend, Chance." 

Silence grew between them. The leaves rustled along the dancing of the wind. After a a minute, Chance could not hold back and hugged the little Stein Prince. Louis was flustered and was about to complain, but he just let himself sink in his embrace. 

They pulled away and stared at each other with a smile before bursting into laughter as they find each other weird. "By the way," Louis started.

"What is it?"

"Does my brother know that you will leave tomorrow?"

Chance fell silent, looking at Louis with a dumbfounded expression. He blinked, "T-tomorrow?"

The young Stein furrowed his brow. "Yes, tomorrow. This is your last day in Canopus, Chance!"

"What?!"