Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

Prince in Green (23)

The man in green...

His mind was empty, now. All he could recall were those four words. The man in green...

Green, that was a color, right? The color of trees. The color of new beginnings and growth.

Green represented harmony and health.

No... green represented money, envy, greed.

Or maybe it represented illness, death, ghosts.

"Prince L," a calm voice breathed, though they sounded distant.

He recognized the voice, but not the person it belonged to.

He opened his eyes, allowing the world to come into focus. A man with a mask split down the middle was leaning over him. The prince could almost recognize the eyes, but not quite. It was like his memories had been long buried, but beneath what? Darkness? 

He felt full of darkness.

"Ah, my prince," the masked man said with a bow. He held his gloved hand out.

Prince... he was a prince. Prince L? Was that his name?

The man in green took the masked man's hand and immediately shivered. Even with gloves on, he was incredibly cold.

"It's bright..." the prince muttered as the masked man pulled him to his feet.

"Ah, yes, it typically is," the other man replied. His name was on the tip of the man in green's tongue, but he just couldn't recall.

"Where am... who am..." the prince trailed off as the masked man quietly shushed him.

"You're Prince L, and you're in a castle. The home of none other than Countess Tippi. You are safe," the masked man replied.

The prince nodded. Safe... safe sounded nice.

"And... you are...?"

"Dimentio," the masked man replied with a bow. "The countess's most loyal assistant. I'm tasked with helping you."

Help... did he need help? If so, then why send an actor of all people? Was he an actor? He was wearing a strange-looking theater mask.

"This way," Dimentio said as he grasped Prince L's arm and led him down the hall. The prince's thoughts still felt incomplete, like his entire personality and sense of self weren't fully formed yet. He felt almost zombie-like. He didn't fight or ask questions, he simply allowed Dimentio to pull him forward. The masked man spoke, likely explaining what was going on, but Prince L couldn't hear. Or maybe he could, but the words weren't reaching his brain.

"My... head..." the prince muttered as he reached up for his crown.

"Oh, no, no, careful," Dimentio warned, turning back and guiding the prince's hand away from his head. "We must not mess with it while it's still fragile."

"Oh..." the prince breathed. "Okay..."

The prince hadn't the slightest idea who he even was or what he looked like. It wasn't until Dimentio walked him past a room filled with mirrors that he was able to get a picture of himself.

"Your room is just up here," Dimentio explained, letting go of the prince's arm. "I have my own security measures, so it will take me a moment to open. Wait here."

The jester briefly vanished, but Prince L hardly noticed. His eyes were too focused on his own reflection. Was that really him?

He wore a shiny black crown with deep green gems on it. On top of it was a green plant, though it was small. Was that part of his crown, or was it part of him? His eyes were slightly red, they stung. Over the top half of his face was a black mask. He wore a long black cape, though the inside of it was green. His clothes almost looked like armor, like he was some kind of dark night. It reminded him of a chess piece, although he couldn't remember ever playing chess.