Oneshot- The lonely prince
Once upon a time, there lived a lonely prince and although he was lonely, he was never alone. He was surrounded by thousands of adoring subjects who loved him for he was one of the most handsome princes that had ever lived in that kingdom.
He had first become lonely when his father disappeared in battle while he was only a child. He had spent those days watching his mother stare out the windows of the castle, as if she was waiting for something without expecting it to come to her. He heard her cry softly at night, struggling to hold in her tears and he soon developed an intense fear of loneliness.
Growing up, he learnt to surround himself with people who loved him; he learned how to act please them and he worked hard to be loved but he never loved anyone.
He was lonely for while he belonged to everyone, he had no one to belong to him.
The prince soon grew to a marital age and all the fairest princesses and princes where gathered to his side to prove their worth as his queen. They were put through various trials and soon only four candidates remained.
There were the twin princesses of the neighboring lands, Koyama san and Shige san. And while he was attracted to both Koyama san’s gentleness and Shige san’s intellect, he could not bear to choose either of them as he was aware that each would sacrifice their position as wife to the other, for they loved each other above anyone else. He could not make either as lonely as he was.
There was his childhood friend, Nishikido san, the princess of a land further away. He did not love her as a wife for all the 12 years he had loved her as a friend and could not ever love her that way. He did not want to take away her chance at completing herself from her; he loved her too much as a friend to ever take that away.
And then there was Masuda san, the prince of a land on the other side of the earth. He found the boy cute, cheerful and that smile, it was to die for; he knew he would do anything to see it. Yet he felt unworthy and could not gather the courage to pursue such goodness, or to risk ever taking that smile away. And perhaps, he thought, if he could not gather the courage to risk everything for Masuda san, perhaps it was because he did not want to. Perhaps such overwhelming beauty was something he could only admire from afar.
********************************************************
The prince soon grew lonelier and lonelier as his never ending search for a suitable queen showed no result. He felt unwanted, unneeded and unsure. He was unsure of himself because no one could confirm that who and what he was, no one seemed to be able to complete him.
One day, as he was out walking on his grounds, he made a wrong turn into a beautiful rose garden. He grew fascinated by all the beauty that surrounded him, greeting each rose as he passed. He soon reach a fountain veiled in clearest waters and he turned a corner before starting in surprise, for he had almost stepped on a tiny rose bud that had just popped his head out of the soil.
“I apologize, flower.” The prince bowed furtively in apology.
“It is alright Sir, but it will not happen again, for I will soon grow tall enough for everyone to see.”
“Ah, I see.”
“That is my dream.” The rose bud nodded with a slightly arrogant air about it. Haughty, but not hateful. “And what is your dream, sir?”
“Each night I dream of never being lonely again.”
“Are you lonely, sir? Are you really?”
“Well, yes.” The prince frowned. “Yes, I am, terribly lonely.”
“Has no one spoken to you in months?”
“Well, no.”
“Has no one spoken of you in years?”
“Of course not, they always speak of me.” The prince furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
“No one speaks of me.” The rose seemed to shrug in the wind. “You are the first person to speak to me, actually.”
“Are you lonely then?” The prince tilted his head slightly to one side.
“Not particularly, I choose not to be.” The rose smiled. “Loneliness is a state of mind.”
“You are a weird flower.” The prince chuckled.
“Why thank you, kind sir.” The rose grinned in a way only flowers could. “Thank you for noticing me.”
******************************************************
The prince visited the garden every day, carefully greeting each flower as he passed, turning the corner at the fountain before carefully pausing short of the not so tiny flower.
“You’ve grown.”
“Why, thank you for noticing sir.”
The flower grew taller and taller each day until it soon became the tallest and most beautiful rose in the entire garden.
“You’ve done it.” The prince grinned for he was genuinely proud of the rose.
“Ah, but I want to be the tallest and most beautiful rose in the world.”
“Is that possible?” The prince frowned. “Perhaps this is enough for now.”
“Maybe.” The rose shuffles in reply. “But maybe not.”
The prince watched as the rose grew slowly but surely. Soon it grew to match the prince’s height and the prince could now regard the rose as his equal, for he no longer needed to bend over the rose, or cast any shadow over the flower to speak to him.
“You are beautiful.” Says the prince.
“Why thank you, for you watched me grow.”
“But I did nothing!” The prince chuckled. Such an interesting flower.
“Ah, but you watched me and you were patient. You believed in me enough to watch me and for that I am thankful, sir.”
The prince flushed slightly. He loved to watch that rose work and he was genuinely happy that the rose had made it.
“Surely you have a name?”
“As do you, sir?” The rose smirked cheekily.
“My name is Tomohisa.” The prince introduced himself before his title.
“And I am Yuya. I’m always pleased to meet you.”
The queen grew worried as she watched her son leave the castle early each morning, only to return late at night. The throne was in danger of being lost but she feared losing her son even more; she noticed the soft, happy smiles that followed the boy as he returned to the castle each night.
She was glad that her son was not lonely anymore.
One day, she followed her son into the garden and watched in bewilderment as her son chuckled happily next to a tall, beautiful flower. She waited until her son had left, before creeping up to it and gently tapping its petals for it had fallen asleep.
“I am sorry to disturb you.”
“It is fine, miss. What gives me the pleasure of your company this evening?” A charming rose, she smiled.
“It is about my son...” She began.
“Ah, Tomohisa san?”
The queen started, she had almost never heard anyone other than herself address her son with his first name. She nodded knowingly and continued.
“Do you love him?”
“Yes, I believe I do.” The rose nodded, without any embarrassment.
“Well then, I do wish that you could do me a favor, kind flower.”
“Of course, miss.”
************************************************************
The prince turned the corner the next day to find nothing in his path. He searched desperately, day and night, every night and found nothing.
The lonely prince searched desperately for 8 months. And he grew lonelier and lonelier. The queen’s heart ached guiltily for she had robbed her son of that bright smile. But, it was only temporary.
**********************************************************
“Good evening sir.” The prince tilted his head slightly upwards to find a beautiful boy smiling at him. “Are you feeling lonely?”
“Yes, I am.” The prince sighed, lowering his head once more.
“Ah, but loneliness is a state of mind, Tomohisa.”
The prince jumped. He had felt that there was something familiar about the boy, that angelic smile, the slight air of arrogance. He frowned in confusion.
“Yuya?”
“Yes sir.” The boy grinned.
“How?”
“Your mother helped.” Yuya grinned. “I told you that I wanted to continue growing and so she helped me.”
“Why did you leave me?” His tone changed swiftly from confusion to anger. “Just to grow? For yourself?”
“I did not leave you, I just learnt to stand on my own two feet.” Yuya sighed apologetically. “Because I wanted to walk to you for a change, so that you didn’t always have to walk to me.”
“I would have been happy to walk to you.”
“I wanted you to rely on me too.” Yuya frowned before taking the prince’s hand gently in his.“Isn’t it lonely to only be able to wait for the person you love to come to you? Wouldn’t you want to run to his side as soon as you could?” Yuya muttered meekly, with the tiniest rose colored blush creeping onto his cheeks. “I didn’t like waiting.”
“Eh? But loneliness is a state of mind. “The prince chuckled against his anger, his heart soaring, his arms bringing his beautiful flower into his chest. “Thank you, Yuya.” For he was truly happy that his flower had learned how to walk and chose not to walk away from him.
The queen smiled as she watched that soft, happy smile unfold onto her son’s face once more, brighter and larger than it had ever been. She sheepishly excused herself as she spied Yuya being pulled into the gentlest of kisses.
The lonely prince was lonely no more as he kissed his flower gently in a silent promise.
“I love you.” He murmured, although it did not need to be said.
“I know.” Yuya chuckled, bringing his own two arms around the older boy’s neck and pulling him closer. “I love you too.”
And as all good fairy tale endings go, they lived happily ever after; the happy prince and his beautiful flower with their hands joined tightly in their never ending fairy tale finish.
He had first become lonely when his father disappeared in battle while he was only a child. He had spent those days watching his mother stare out the windows of the castle, as if she was waiting for something without expecting it to come to her. He heard her cry softly at night, struggling to hold in her tears and he soon developed an intense fear of loneliness.
Growing up, he learnt to surround himself with people who loved him; he learned how to act please them and he worked hard to be loved but he never loved anyone.
He was lonely for while he belonged to everyone, he had no one to belong to him.
The prince soon grew to a marital age and all the fairest princesses and princes where gathered to his side to prove their worth as his queen. They were put through various trials and soon only four candidates remained.
There were the twin princesses of the neighboring lands, Koyama san and Shige san. And while he was attracted to both Koyama san’s gentleness and Shige san’s intellect, he could not bear to choose either of them as he was aware that each would sacrifice their position as wife to the other, for they loved each other above anyone else. He could not make either as lonely as he was.
There was his childhood friend, Nishikido san, the princess of a land further away. He did not love her as a wife for all the 12 years he had loved her as a friend and could not ever love her that way. He did not want to take away her chance at completing herself from her; he loved her too much as a friend to ever take that away.
And then there was Masuda san, the prince of a land on the other side of the earth. He found the boy cute, cheerful and that smile, it was to die for; he knew he would do anything to see it. Yet he felt unworthy and could not gather the courage to pursue such goodness, or to risk ever taking that smile away. And perhaps, he thought, if he could not gather the courage to risk everything for Masuda san, perhaps it was because he did not want to. Perhaps such overwhelming beauty was something he could only admire from afar.
********************************************************
The prince soon grew lonelier and lonelier as his never ending search for a suitable queen showed no result. He felt unwanted, unneeded and unsure. He was unsure of himself because no one could confirm that who and what he was, no one seemed to be able to complete him.
One day, as he was out walking on his grounds, he made a wrong turn into a beautiful rose garden. He grew fascinated by all the beauty that surrounded him, greeting each rose as he passed. He soon reach a fountain veiled in clearest waters and he turned a corner before starting in surprise, for he had almost stepped on a tiny rose bud that had just popped his head out of the soil.
“I apologize, flower.” The prince bowed furtively in apology.
“It is alright Sir, but it will not happen again, for I will soon grow tall enough for everyone to see.”
“Ah, I see.”
“That is my dream.” The rose bud nodded with a slightly arrogant air about it. Haughty, but not hateful. “And what is your dream, sir?”
“Each night I dream of never being lonely again.”
“Are you lonely, sir? Are you really?”
“Well, yes.” The prince frowned. “Yes, I am, terribly lonely.”
“Has no one spoken to you in months?”
“Well, no.”
“Has no one spoken of you in years?”
“Of course not, they always speak of me.” The prince furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
“No one speaks of me.” The rose seemed to shrug in the wind. “You are the first person to speak to me, actually.”
“Are you lonely then?” The prince tilted his head slightly to one side.
“Not particularly, I choose not to be.” The rose smiled. “Loneliness is a state of mind.”
“You are a weird flower.” The prince chuckled.
“Why thank you, kind sir.” The rose grinned in a way only flowers could. “Thank you for noticing me.”
******************************************************
The prince visited the garden every day, carefully greeting each flower as he passed, turning the corner at the fountain before carefully pausing short of the not so tiny flower.
“You’ve grown.”
“Why, thank you for noticing sir.”
The flower grew taller and taller each day until it soon became the tallest and most beautiful rose in the entire garden.
“You’ve done it.” The prince grinned for he was genuinely proud of the rose.
“Ah, but I want to be the tallest and most beautiful rose in the world.”
“Is that possible?” The prince frowned. “Perhaps this is enough for now.”
“Maybe.” The rose shuffles in reply. “But maybe not.”
The prince watched as the rose grew slowly but surely. Soon it grew to match the prince’s height and the prince could now regard the rose as his equal, for he no longer needed to bend over the rose, or cast any shadow over the flower to speak to him.
“You are beautiful.” Says the prince.
“Why thank you, for you watched me grow.”
“But I did nothing!” The prince chuckled. Such an interesting flower.
“Ah, but you watched me and you were patient. You believed in me enough to watch me and for that I am thankful, sir.”
The prince flushed slightly. He loved to watch that rose work and he was genuinely happy that the rose had made it.
“Surely you have a name?”
“As do you, sir?” The rose smirked cheekily.
“My name is Tomohisa.” The prince introduced himself before his title.
“And I am Yuya. I’m always pleased to meet you.”
The queen grew worried as she watched her son leave the castle early each morning, only to return late at night. The throne was in danger of being lost but she feared losing her son even more; she noticed the soft, happy smiles that followed the boy as he returned to the castle each night.
She was glad that her son was not lonely anymore.
One day, she followed her son into the garden and watched in bewilderment as her son chuckled happily next to a tall, beautiful flower. She waited until her son had left, before creeping up to it and gently tapping its petals for it had fallen asleep.
“I am sorry to disturb you.”
“It is fine, miss. What gives me the pleasure of your company this evening?” A charming rose, she smiled.
“It is about my son...” She began.
“Ah, Tomohisa san?”
The queen started, she had almost never heard anyone other than herself address her son with his first name. She nodded knowingly and continued.
“Do you love him?”
“Yes, I believe I do.” The rose nodded, without any embarrassment.
“Well then, I do wish that you could do me a favor, kind flower.”
“Of course, miss.”
************************************************************
The prince turned the corner the next day to find nothing in his path. He searched desperately, day and night, every night and found nothing.
The lonely prince searched desperately for 8 months. And he grew lonelier and lonelier. The queen’s heart ached guiltily for she had robbed her son of that bright smile. But, it was only temporary.
**********************************************************
“Good evening sir.” The prince tilted his head slightly upwards to find a beautiful boy smiling at him. “Are you feeling lonely?”
“Yes, I am.” The prince sighed, lowering his head once more.
“Ah, but loneliness is a state of mind, Tomohisa.”
The prince jumped. He had felt that there was something familiar about the boy, that angelic smile, the slight air of arrogance. He frowned in confusion.
“Yuya?”
“Yes sir.” The boy grinned.
“How?”
“Your mother helped.” Yuya grinned. “I told you that I wanted to continue growing and so she helped me.”
“Why did you leave me?” His tone changed swiftly from confusion to anger. “Just to grow? For yourself?”
“I did not leave you, I just learnt to stand on my own two feet.” Yuya sighed apologetically. “Because I wanted to walk to you for a change, so that you didn’t always have to walk to me.”
“I would have been happy to walk to you.”
“I wanted you to rely on me too.” Yuya frowned before taking the prince’s hand gently in his.“Isn’t it lonely to only be able to wait for the person you love to come to you? Wouldn’t you want to run to his side as soon as you could?” Yuya muttered meekly, with the tiniest rose colored blush creeping onto his cheeks. “I didn’t like waiting.”
“Eh? But loneliness is a state of mind. “The prince chuckled against his anger, his heart soaring, his arms bringing his beautiful flower into his chest. “Thank you, Yuya.” For he was truly happy that his flower had learned how to walk and chose not to walk away from him.
The queen smiled as she watched that soft, happy smile unfold onto her son’s face once more, brighter and larger than it had ever been. She sheepishly excused herself as she spied Yuya being pulled into the gentlest of kisses.
The lonely prince was lonely no more as he kissed his flower gently in a silent promise.
“I love you.” He murmured, although it did not need to be said.
“I know.” Yuya chuckled, bringing his own two arms around the older boy’s neck and pulling him closer. “I love you too.”
And as all good fairy tale endings go, they lived happily ever after; the happy prince and his beautiful flower with their hands joined tightly in their never ending fairy tale finish.