Flower Prince - Corpsekkuno

- Chapter 24 -

Cadáver finally tears his gaze away from the ground and presses another peck to Thomas's forehead, then his cheek and finally the tip of his nose. "I'm glad," he says. "We'll make this work."

It was all Corpse could think about. The sudden confession out of nowhere made the experience all more exhilarating. He shook his head as if it would push away the memory to focus on his studies. But of course, he couldn't help but think. They were official now. He has never felt so full in his life.

Corpse leans back in his chair while stretching his arms upwards. He collects his textbooks and begins to walk towards the exit through the library. Emma is reading in one of the leather chairs, so Cadáver goes up to her. In return, she looks up at him. "Hello, Emma." He says.

"Hello, Cadáver."

Cadáver sits down in the chair next to her. "I was wondering about something."

Emma bookmarks her novel and places it on her lap. "It's about Thomas," Cadáver says. Emma seems more interested in the conversation now, seeing as she leans forward. "I know he's a prince, but is he of royal blood? You two don't look related."

"Ah, so you found out about that whole 'prince shenanigan,' good for you." she begins. "But to answer your question, no. He isn't." Emma makes sure to whisper, despite there being little to no people in the library. "Then how could he...-"

"It's quite a long story. Are you willing to listen?" Emma asks. Cadáver nods. He might as well get to know a little backstory about the one he loves.

"My mother was a princess, living in Ambrose. She didn't leave the castle often unless it was an emergency or her parents asked her to run an errand of some sort. During the night, she left then met Thomas's mother."

"The two of them grew to be quite good friends. They were like sisters to each other. But soon enough, my mother married my father. After that, she rarely left the castle. She grew distant from her friend."

"Before my parents left for a trip to Offpire, they strolled the streets, and my mother saw her again. But this time, with a young boy by her side. Which was obviously Thomas."

"They reconnected, and my mother learnt that Thomas's parents were struggling financially. So she commanded that a room was made for them in the castle while they figured things out."

"Unfortunately, Thomas's mother grew sick. A disease that didn't have a cure at the time. She made my mother promise to look after Thomas once she was gone. My mother swore an oath."

"But when she died, Thomas's father entered a depression. He was unable to look after the child properly. He stopped feeding him and screamed at night, causing Thomas to cry from all the noise. The poor man took his own life."

"As Thomas grew older and learned of the reason for his mother's death, he began studying medication and herbalism to potentially create new cures for others in the future. He always went on and on about how his mother would want that." Emma grinned, remembering the rants Thomas would go on about.

"My mother allowed Thomas to live in the palace and raised him as a prince. Despite her trying to keep him safe and protected, he was treated with discourtesy because he was not of royal blood. I was jealous of how he received more attention than I, so I was part of the bullying. I regret it deeply."

"My mother was ignorant to the issue, but my father wasn't, and he did nothing to stop it. He couldn't give two craps about how Thomas was treated, so Thomas ran away."

"I can't imagine the pain he must have felt," Cadáver says, voice cracking. "Thank god he left."

"Indeed, it wasn't a pleasant place," Emma responds. "Well, there's your backstory." she abruptly picks up her book and jogs away. Emma wanted to cry, but not in front of someone, so the princess leaves quickly. Her brother deserves better, and she'll make sure he'll receive all the happiness he can get.

◈◈◈

"Syyyykuno!" Ludwig cheered. Sykkuno yelped when he saw Ludwig practically skipping into the lab. He closes the door behind him and walks to the brunet. "Hi, Ludwig,"

"Good news,"

"Yeah?"

"So, I managed to get the official note from The Chief allowing you to travel to Ambrose," Ludwig disclosed, "But I can't go with you."

"What? Why?!" Sykkuno began to panic. Would he have to do this on his own? "You'll do just fine. All you need to do is stay in Ambrose a little, then meet with Emma. You guys can go from there!"

"What am I even suppose to do?"

"Well, act normal. Collect herbs and experiment first. Don't attract too much attention. The get Emma to talk to her parents, easy peasy!"

"But what if we can't convince them?" Sykkuno asks. "Then we'll just have to move onto the next kingdom while recruiting smaller towns quicker."

The herbalist sighs and focuses back on his work. "Well, Sykkuno, you're leaving in two days, so pack your stuff!" Ludwig leaves quickly, presumably to help Asher with their documents.

"It's actually happening."

Sykkuno feels a sense of nostalgia thinking of the times when he was oblivious to raids. What would have happened if he was never told about them? Would he still be working in the pharmacy? What if he never met Corpse? As Sykkuno began thinking of the prince, he zoned out, reminiscing the intimate interactions they had together. He loved it.

Sykkuno jumped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the walls beside him. Looking to the side, he saw Corpse sitting on the windowsill, staring at him.

"Hi, Thomas."

At the sound of his name, Thomas hops out of his chair. He steps over to Cadáver to wrap his arms around the other. "Hi," he says. "How did you get up here? The lab is far off from the ground."

"I climbed. How else would I be able to?"

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"Only a small scrape on my hand, don't worry."

Thomas looks up at the taller man, "I don't mind giving you some ointments. I have one that's made out of aloe vera and calendula!" he beamed.

Cadáver gazes at the boy, unable to look away. Finally, he can proudly call Thomas his.

"Thanks, I would like that."

◈◈◈

EXTRA LONGER CHAPTER WOWOWOOWOW SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG

QUESTION TIME: What are your favourite genres of music?

Have a good morning, afternoon or night!

-fai

P.S: yes it is like 4 am, so maybe mistakes sorry about those :)