Letting out a deep breath, he leaned his body on the railings of his palace's balcony and looked at the sky.
Winter had already passed and now, spring was currently manifesting in every land of the empire. The leaves started to unveil their lush green color and trees were painted in their natural mahogany color skins. Animals who went into hibernation started to wake up once more at the presence of the glimmering sun.
Tweet!
He turned his head and saw a small creature perched on top of the railings where he was leaning his hands on.
"What's the matter?" He rubbed the creature's round belly and it flapped its wings.
Tweet!
It chirped again and his golden locks swayed as he chuckled and moved his head.
It had been a month now since the war had simmered down into a cold relationship between the territories.
No one was proclaimed as the victor of the bloody battle between empires but they all took rest for a moment.
The echoes of screams from people dying, the sound from buildings being broken, the thunderous roars of animals used in the battle, it all subsided like a calm lake in the dark surroundings.
"It's all because of him," He smiled.
Tweet?
The small bird tilted its head when it saw his somber expression.
It had been a month as well ever since he returned to the Belmaid Empire after being captured and held hostage by the perpetrators from the Cresencia Empire.
"I saw him again after months of being missing, Leo," He rubbed the bird's small head and it leaned into his touch.
"He's as beautiful as ever. Like a thousand stars shining in the bright sky, his beauty was above all." Closing his eyes, he reminisced the moment he and the person he meant danced in the Royal Banquet.
"If only the war did not occur, I would've been able to pursue him," he muttered lowly under his breath and smiled when the person's face came up in his mind.
"His brilliant figure that serves as the light for those who are lost in their path... It's majestic." He opened his eyes again and this time, he saw the stars that were twinkling in the distant sky.
Tweet!
The bird seems to know who the person was as well.
After all, Faust sent the small creature to play with Pier many months ago.
"I'm a little bit disappointed because I thought he was the one for me but in all honesty, I couldn't even picture myself standing beside him." He laughed and the bird flew atop his head.
"The young master- no, His Majesty, is a thousand miles far ahead of me and I will never be able to catch up with him."
The zephyrs were still cold but tolerable at this point.
"God, I wish I was there to see him rise in the position of a king. That would've been beautiful," He clenched his hands as the bitter feeling coursed through his body.
"You like him too, right, Leo?" Faust asked the small yellow bird and it chirped in agreement.
"The first time I saw him, we were standing on equal ground." His thoughts then drifted again to when they danced at the Royal Banquet.
Pier's raven hair, cerulean eyes, and overall handsome exterior. They all captured the second prince in a way that was unexplainable.
The way they danced through the music produced by the orchestra with everyone's gazes on them, it all seemed like a fairytale.
The story of a foreign prince and the young master.
It would've been beautiful but it wasn't meant to be.
"But after many months of not seeing each other, he was already piercing through the heavens with his brilliance while I remained on solid ground. How shameful for a prince," He chuckled and the bird shook its small round body leaving feathers scattered in the prince's hair.
"I can't help but think of myself lowly when I see him. An astounding entity that puts rulers into shame and deities into fear," His words were quite poetic yet it was his way of showing his admiration for the man.
"His hair color changed too. It was no longer the midnight sky that was void of stars but now, a pure white color signifying the strength of his magic." He then shifted his gaze when the bird flew off from his head and into the ground beside him.
Not a second had passed, a glowing light engulfed the round yellow bird until another person was standing beside Faust.
His long hair reached until his waist was golden too just like the prince.
"Why don't you try pursuing him despite Pier becoming even more brilliant?" The bird who now transformed into a young adolescent child with golden hair spoke.
"I can't. Aside from I feel inferior when I am with him, he's off-limits now." His mind then wandered to the other man that Pier brought along with him when they rescued Faust and the other royals inside the conference room.
"Off-limits?" Leo asked.
"Yeah. A dark entity is guarding him at all times. He has a lover that can control the darkness."
Leo produced an obvious gasp when Faust revealed it.
"But you have been wanting to see him again for months despite the war, Faust!" He argued wherein Faust only shrugged his shoulders.
"Distance is only for those who established the thickest of foundation with their relationship. I only befriended Pier for one night. The distance was meant to separate us apart."
Leo clicked his tongue at his cousin's statements.
How could Faust give up so easily after all the times the prince made him scout Pier and bring messages about his status when they were still in the Taron Kingdom?!
'Well, not that I blame him or anything for being smitten with Pier,' He looked at his older cousin and saw that Faust still had the somber look on his face.
"Many things sure had happened when we were out in the war." Faust brought his hand to his face and covered his mouth as he yawned.
"I heard Asher tried to ask Pier to become his concubine. There was also the sword-"
"Wait, what?" Leo inquired but Faust only laughed at the reaction.
"I know, right? If I were there in the kingdom and have known about the event, Asher's head had probably rolled on the ground and we'd be at war with Taron," He too was, of course, enraged when he knew Asher did that to Pier.
It was disrespectful towards their sworn household and the successor of the spot to become the headmaster.
But Faust knew the Pier right now would not need any of his concern now.
Pier had become so powerful to the point no human can look up to him directly and speak ill about him.
"There was also a swordmaster as his guard," Leo produced another surprised noise.
"S-Swordmaster?"
"Yeah. The continent's youngest swordmaster is serving Pier as his master,"
"We should get Pier and the swordmaster to our side, Faust! They will be of great help when we fight Cresencia again-" But Leo stopped speaking when Faust looked at him with a small smile.
"Pier is now the king of a kingdom hidden from the world. His lover, the man who can control the darkness was the other king. Do you think we can still try to recruit them as our pawns for the war?" He asked and Leo paused at the response.
A year.
Only a year had passed since Faust danced with Pier at the Royal Banquet and the war had started but too many things happened especially to the man the Royal Prince of the Belmaid Empire fancied.
The most astounding one was Pier becoming a king.
Leo still remembered the innocent yet feisty young master who constantly fed him cookies before when they were in his room and the training grounds.
How could someone become a king in just a year? It almost sounded preposterous!
"I'm not lying, you know. They even exceeded father's aura. Their authority was unmatched with the human kings." Faust laughed at his cousin's baffled expression.
"If only you were there during the invasion at Taron, you would've seen why I would rather admire him from the side than try to place myself on the stage with him."
For Faust, the Pier he saw a year ago during the banquet and the Pier he saw a month ago when the Cresencia Empire invaded Taron were the antithesis of the other.
A year ago, he met the graceful, elegant, and innocent-looking Pier Belmiunde who was wise enough to make certain judgments which Faust fell for.
But a month ago, another version of Pier had surfaced and surprised him.
Pier was still full of grace, elegance, and poise. But innocent? It wasn't a word suitable for the young king anymore.
He killed hundreds of knights in the conference room with a single flick of his fingers and froze them all to death. He also tried to convince the crown prince into killing the traitor lady, and most of all...
"He used Taron as his pawn to trap Cresencia's forces while his lover tried to invade the empire itself."
The Pier he saw a month ago was still as brilliant as the stars that shone in the sky but it was the fiercest version. The once marionette young master now held the reigns over the series of events and played everyone by the way he wanted it to go.
"Do you think a human prince like me could keep up with his plans and moves? I couldn't even probably look in his eyes directly while we talk because of the authority he exudes!" He cheekily spoke while feeling tired altogether.
"T-They were the ones who tried to invade Cresencia?!" Leo asked in an exasperated manner and Faust's eyes widened.
"Shh!" He quickly grabbed the child's head and covered Leo's mouth with his hands.
"Don't tell the emperor! Pier warned me not to speak about anything that happened in Taron and if I do, we're all doomed here too!" His tongue slipped with the words.
Belmaid had been spying on Cresencia for quite some time now after the heat of the war subsided and they have been garnering reports about another force invading Cresencia.
They did not know who it was but they knew tens of cities have either disappeared or were destroyed by the unknown force. The Belmaid Empire was trying to know who it was and the key was Faust.
However, because of Pier's warning to him, Faust could not speak any of the information to help his empire because he knew.
He knew the Pier he saw a month ago will definitely come for Belmaid if Faust was to blabber his mouth carelessly.
"Hmmmpf!" Leo bit Faust's hand and the prince retracted it with a glare.
"Faust! Have you lost your mind?! We need this information to invade Cresencia!" The child argued but Faust's glare only deepened.
"Pier warned me that if I tell this information to the emperor, they will come for the Belmaid Empire instead," He sighed in defeat and that alerted Leo too.
"I am sure you knew how many cities have been destroyed in Cresencia. Twenty-four, right? They destroyed twenty-four cities in a single day and you think going against their leader's warning is a good move?!" He smacked Leo's head and the child howled in pain.
"But why did they stop the invasion if they can destroy the entirety of Cresencia anyway?" Leo asked while his face was still contorted in a pained expression.
"I don't know either. It had been a month since they stopped but I am sure we will soon know the answer." The prince then turned his back from his cousin and proceeded to head inside his room.
"I know you fancy Pier too considering how you were always blushing when you return after looking out for him before. But I recommend we both forget that." Faust stretched his arms and walked further until he reached his bed.
"The man who can control the darkness is always watching him and probably us too if we are to tell the emperor about the secret."
Leo's face reddened in embarrassment.
"Y-You told me about this stupid secret and now I am at risk for dying in the hands of a man who can control the darkness?!" He exclaimed and ran inside to try and beat Faust.
"Yeah. But make sure not to slip up like I did, okay? You don't want your soul getting consumed by the darkness now, no?" Faust laughed as he dodged Leo's fists and pushed the child out of his room.
"FAUST, YOU BASTARD! YOU TOLD ME THIS SECRET AND NOW MY LIFE IS ON THE LINE!" Leo screamed and banged on his door but the second prince only chuckled.
"I'm sorry, 'kay?" He spoke before heaving a sigh.
His room was engulfed in the presence of tranquility and serenity. There wasn't anything out of place and perfection could be placed upon the entire space.
"Maybe in another world, was I your lover?" He asked the silent night and twinkling stars but he got no reply.
The existence of another world is even a blank page but Faust wanted to believe it does.
What if in that world the war did not occur?
What if in that world he was able to stay in Taron longer?
What if in that world he was able to pursue Pier?
Would his fate be the same as what he had in this life? It was a mysterious event for him.
Faustino Blanch, the second prince of the Belmaid Empire really did find Pier Belmiunde alluring and suiting for his preferences.
However, another variable entered their storyline and it was the war.
Faust became a forgotten side character in Pier's story and it was the worst thing he had experienced. If only the war did not happen, Faust had been thinking he probably was spending afternoon times drinking tea with the young master and discussing what was ahead of them.
But the future was vague, the present was harsh, and the past was destructive.
"My role in your life was not established well, young master. I apologize," Faust sat on his bed and soon laid there thinking.
Just like before, he raised one arm and looked at it intently.
This time, he no longer envisioned the warm and soft body of Pier Belmiunde being enclosed with his.
Faust no longer saw Pier as someone he can pursue.
Instead, Faust saw Pier as a brilliant entity only meant for the best.
"And I am not the best," he spoke before chuckling.
"His Majesty, King Pier. What a great name," He hummed before sleep soon engulfed him.
"FAUST YOU BASTARD! I WILL CURSE YOU AND THAT GOLDEN HAIR OF YOURS!" Leo, who did not cease to bang his door screamed but the prince was already in his sleep.
"FUCK YOU! I HAVE GOLDEN HAIR TOO! NEVERMIND!"