[SLOW UPDATES] The Stroke of Midnight

Prologue

Long ago, in a far away land, there was a kingdom, ruled by a kind king. The king, known by his citizens as King Iero, watched over his subjects with great care, not wanting any of them to be unhappy. He ruled the best that he could, but it was not long before the king's age began catching up to him.

King Iero had held an enormous gathering outside of his palace, where he announced that his son, who was to be returning from many years worth of travel, would soon be taking over his role, as rightful king of the land. He told them that his son, who was named Frank, was to be treated the same as the current king, no matter his quirks or ways of running the kingdom.

Citizens had no idea why their King was giving them such specific information, but the King knew exactly what he was talking about.

His son, Prince Frank Anthony Iero, Jr., was not returning from travel on his own accord. No, the King had sent his son away for his own good.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the kingdom, King Iero had been notified that one of the palace guards had seen Prince Frank entering the palace with an unknown commoner. King Iero had initially brushed it off, claiming that his son was merely finding himself a girl who was to be his queen once he assumed the throne, but his claim was quickly debunked when one of the guards told the King that the commoner had been male, not female.

At first, the King tried saying that it was a new friend Frank had made, but was soon racing to Frank's room when the guard told him that Frank had been holding hands with this random boy.

King Iero had burst into his son's room, gasping loudly at the sight.

Prince Frank had been on top of the boy, pinning the boy's arms above his head as he kissed the boy hungrily. All Frank had on were his black pants, the rest of his clothes having been carelessly strewn about the room, seemingly in a haste. The brunet boy he was still on top of was fully clothed, and King Iero feared that if he had entered the room any later, that would have changed.

"Frank Anthony Iero!" King Iero's voice boomed throughout the room, startling both Frank and the common boy. Frank quickly scrambled off of the boy, standing at the foot of the bed, facing his father as the boy sat up. "Guards!! Remove this boy from my palace at once, and see to it that he is not to come into contact with Frank ever again!" The King bellowed, stepping aside as two royal guards ran into the room, each taking one of the boy's arms and taking him out of Frank's bedroom.

"No! Ryan!" Frank called, trying to go after the boy, but King Iero held him back, slamming the door closed. He turned back to his son, who was glaring daggers at him.

"Don't you dare give me that look." The King said sternly, "You know exactly what you did; Frank, what is wrong with you? Are you ill minded?" The King prodded, staring at Frank worriedly.

Prince Frank scoffed, folding his arms over his bare chest. "Oh, bullshit, Dad! There's nothing wrong with me, and you didn't have to go and throw Ryan out like that! We weren't doing anything wrong!"

"Listen to yourself, Frank! Speaking like a street rat! You've gone mad!" The King wailed, throwing his hands up in the air. "God, why have you cursed my only son?! As if taking his mother was not enough!"

Frank groaned, threading his fingers through his hair. "Dad, I'm fine. I have feelings for Ryan, just like you had feelings for Mom. Why is that so hard for you to comprehend?"

King Iero stared at his son, a scathing look on his face. "No son of mine is going to have feelings for someone of the same gender, Frank. I am going to have you sent away, hopefully to cure you of this illness. When you return to this kingdom, I expect you to take the throne as a real man. Guards!"

More guards rushed in, obeying as King Iero ordered them to take Prince Frank away, trying his hardest to ignore his son's cries of protest, begging his father not to do this to him.

Once Frank was gone, more guards having come and gone to retrieve his clothing, King Iero ordered that this 'Ryan' boy be executed, for corrupting his son's mind, for ruining his son. The King definitely did not want word spreading throughout the kingdom that his son was kissing other boys; what would his subjects think of him then, that he raised his son wrong?

King Iero had sent Frank away until his 23rd birthday, which, back then, was seven years.

As the King sat in his throne, just days before his son was to return, his mind was ablaze with thoughts. How had his son matured? Was his son better; would he be ready to choose his queen?

King Iero truly hoped that things would run smoothly once Frank came back to take his rightful place as king.