So this one was also originally in my karlnap week book (and still is) but I put it over here because I'm actually really proud of it.
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If he was being perfectly honest, Karl thought being a prince was more a burden than a blessing.
He stayed up all night writing letters to far away kingdoms he would never visit, and worked all day answering the questions and concerns of his mother's kingdom.
The stress was beginning to pile up. It was too much in such a young man's shoulders. He stopped caring about his appearance. His hair was constantly disheveled, his clothing askew, and he had begun to have a few small gray streaks in his hair.
Although, the worst was yet to come.
His mother passed away peacefully in the night. Yet, she had left her only son a lot less peaceful.
In a frantic rush of work and an inability to help to protect the kingdom that was now his, Karl ended up gathering some new guards for the castle's defenses.One of those guards would prove to be worth a lot more than just a defender.
This one particular guard, Sapnap, had climbed the ranks at a deadly speed. He was respected by many and challenged only by fools.
Seeing as he had gained so much respect, Sapnap was made Karl's royal guard by unanimous vote.With Karl's stress increasing, he hardly had time for paranoia, and the people had decided it was best he had a private protector.
Karl didn't mind Sapnap, in fact, he was rather fond of him. Sapnap never questioned to far into Karl's behavior, unlike some other nosy royal hands Karl had been paired with.
Sapnap enjoyed Karl's presence as well. Sapnap was never forced to do anything Karl could do himself.
Despite what some of the royal hands might suggest, Karl was rather independent. He took things into his own hands and took care of himself. He never really asked for help and just let other's decide if they wanted to give him a hand or not.
However, Sapnap could see through Karl's fake smile. It was blatantly obvious to him.Karl was starting to crack. He looked constantly stressed and worried.
A pathway where Karl's tears fell late in the night had seemed to carve itself a dry river on his cheeks. He made less and less appearances to meals and events.
Yet, he never let the kingdom's people see through his disguise.Karl was careful to make sure that no one suspected anything. He still seemed like the king that had been ruling since the death of the queen.
Sapnap saw through, though.
He saw all the stress and misery behind Karl's eyes. He saw the way Karl cautiously tucked his silvery strands of hair behind the normal brown waves. He saw the worry lines deeply etched into Karl's face.His heart broke for Karl.
So, he decided to take action and try to help the King.
Karl had skipped another meal. Sapnap decided to excused himself from the table and go up to Karl's room.
He knocked politely. "May I come in?" Sapnap asked.
"Yes!" Karl's muffled voice replied.
Sapnap opened the door gently and walked inside."Your Majesty, would you like to join us for dinner?"
Karl pursed his lips together in thought. "You don't have to call me that, you can just call me Karl. And, no, I'm sorry, I won't be able to join for dinner tonight."
"May I ask why, Your Maj- Karl?"
"I have to finish this letter for the neighboring kingdom by the end of the week."
"It is not really my place, but as your royal guard and protector, I believe that it would serve you well to take a break."
Karl paused. He seemed tempted to stop writing, yet he shook his head and continued. "I'm sorry, this letter is very important."
"At least allow me to accompany you?"
Karl continued writing, however a small smile crept onto his lips. "Go ahead, sit wherever you wish."
Sapnap sat on a soft chair by the corner so he still had a view of Karl's profile. He took in every detail of Karl's face.The dark circles that rimmed his eyes, his messy hair, the tension of his shoulders, even the curls and twists of his disheveled hair.
That wasn't to say that Karl wasn't attractive. He was the most beautiful person Sapnap had laid eyes on. But, his beautiful features were nothing in comparison to his personality.
However, both were thwarted by his stress.
Sapnap stood again and re-approached Karl."I know it really isn't my place, but this is not healthy. As your protector, I cannot allow you to be unhealthy, whether physical or mental."
Karl sighed. "I know, but there's nothing you can do. There's to much work for me to take a break."
"Let's make a deal," Sapnap suggested, "if you take a short break today and let me help you, I'll make as much time for you to work for the next few days as possible. Alright?"
Karl hesitated before agreeing.Sapnap stood but Karl hesitated to. Sapnap gave him an expecting glance and Karl tried to get to his feet. If Sapnap hadn't been there, Karl would've collapsed onto the floor.
Karl could barely stand on his own. Things were worse than Sapnap had thought.
"Sorry about that, that's been happening a lot lately," Karl apologized.Sapnap just pursed his lips and guided Karl to his bed. Karl had to put a majority of his weight on Sapnap, but he was scarily light.
"Please, take a rest. It's obvious you haven't slept in a while." Karl was dubious, but climbed into the bed anyways. He was barely under the covers before he drifted into sleep.
Sapnap adjusted the covers and went to grab a plate full of food from dinner that night. He returned and placed the plate on Karl's bed-stand before running him a bath.
While walking out of Karl's bathroom, he paused and regarded Karl's sleeping form. He felt a pang of sympathy and love at the same time.
It wasn't his typical kind of love, it was different. He had felt the love of friends and family, but this was... stronger.
Sapnap brushed it off and began to sort the papers on Karl's desk into neat piles, careful to not misplace anything that looked important.
Yet, as he worked, his eyes kept flickering back to Karl. A light blush dusted his cheeks as he glanced. Sapnap shook his head and focused on the task at hand.
Karl awoke soon after Sapnap had sorted all the papers. He still had some difficulty standing, but with some of Sapnap's guidance, Karl made it to the bathroom.
Sapnap left him to undress and soak in the bath for a while.
Karl finished and dried himself off, now being able to stand while only having to partially use the wall. Karl changed into a pair of comfortable clothes that Sapnap had laid out for him.
Only then did Sapnap see truly how bad Karl's condition had gotten. In his slightly oversized clothes, Sapnap was sure he was far underweight. Without his long hair to hide it, he could see the extent of the shadows in Karl's eyes. His skin was paler than usual, he had to hold onto the doorway for support, and he looked sort of somber. Like he wasn't himself anymore, he was just a husk of the person he used to be.
Sapnap remembered the days that Karl would roam the kingdom's forest as a young prince. He remembered the smile across his face and how he could talk for literal days about his adventures.
Sapnap wanted to return Karl to his old ways. His happy giggles and chatting. He knew Karl wouldn't get there on his own, but he was willing to help. He wanted to help.
When Karl had finished eating —even though it was only half his plate— he seemed to be in much better shape.
Sapnap began to leave to let Karl get some uninterrupted rest, but Karl stopped him on his way out the door.
"Uh, can you, um, stay, please?"
"Certainly," Sapnap smiled.
"You can sit or lay on the bed if you want," a light blush tinted Karl's cheeks.
Sapnap sat down at the foot of the bed facing Karl.
"Oh, and uh, thank you, Sapnap, I really appreciate you trying to help." With that, Karl turned onto his side and allowed himself to doze off.
After Karl had fallen asleep, Sapnap could tell he was most likely having a nightmare.
Sapnap hesitantly moved closer and reached his hand out to play with Karl's hair. Sapnap's father did that when he was a child and had nightmares.
Karl seemed slightly better after that, but still obviously tense. Sapnap carefully draped his arm around Karl's side and pulled him in closer, gently pulling him into a spooning position.Karl relaxed and Sapnap took a moment to look at his peaceful expression.
While he was gazing at Karl, Sapnap had no idea what would happen in the future. All he knew was that he had fallen in love.And when Sapnap fell, he fell hard.
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This is over 1,500 words.Wtf is wrong with me.