Princey's Unexpected Journey

CHAPTER I

The forest near my kingdom was always full of surprises. When I took walks through the quiet, through the dark and the eeriness, I would often stumble upon an animal drinking from the river or a peasant trying to hunt for food. Those were usually the most exciting things that I would find. Until that fateful day.

During my sister's wedding reception, I escaped and walked through the woods, hoping to catch a break of people asking where my wife was, who my wife was, if I even had a wife. To tell you the truth, I never wanted a wife. Well, I never wanted a female spouse. I was, what one would call, a homosexual. That's right, a homosexual. I wasn't very interested in females. I looked at males, hoping to see a potential spouse in one of them. It wouldn't have been so bad. I probably could have found a spouse earlier than I did. But, there was one small problem with my sexual preference.

My father banned homosexual relations and marriages from taking place.

My father was a man of many rules and laws. Whenever he saw something that didn't benefit him, he banned it. He banned homosexuality, rapping (whatever that was), silver (for the reason that gold was shinier and harder to find), literature by some authors that he didn't like, and the list went on and on. He almost banned music all together, but that law wasn't passed due to my sister's wedding. This man was a tyrant. And I was his homosexual son.

I know, right? It was hell.

Back to the forest. So, as I said before, I decided to escape and walk through the forest, hoping that I would spot something that would ease my nerves. Eventually, I did spot something. Or, rather, I heard something. I heard singing.

I crept closer to the sound of this music, hoping to see where this beautiful voice was coming from. As I got closer and closer, the singing became louder and filled with more passion. It sounded like an angel was singing. Once I spotted the person who was singing, I hid behind a few trees, hoping that I wouldn't be noticed.

I watched the person as they sang into the air, like they were talking to someone in the clouds above these trees. Their voice was filled with such...passion and such wonder that one could compare it to a summer's day. I smiled, hoping to catch a glimpse of this mystery person.

They started to dance. They were dancing! Another thing that my father almost banned. They were dancing alone, which was an odd sight for my kingdom. Usually, one would find a partner to dance with, for the people in my kingdom hated to be alone. Yet, this person was dancing by themselves. I watched them in awe, noting every twist and turn that they made. Soon, they turned just enough that I could catch a glimpse of their face. My God, was he beautiful.

His eyes were the most appealing feature on his face. They were light blue, like the ocean on a clear spring day. The color was very cold, but his eyes seemed...warming. The rest of his face complimented his eyes. At that moment, I knew that I wanted to keep those eyes in my life forever.

His song had been completed, and I almost clapped. He looked around the forest, probably trying to see if anyone was watching him. He then shrugged and walked in the opposite direction of where I was. I softly sighed as he walked away. I didn't want him to go. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to get to know him. I wanted him to look at me with his special eyes. I wanted him.

I slid onto the ground, leaning up against a tree while I looked at the sky. The sky didn't bring me any answers. It just brought me the same blue that was in the man's eyes. I sighed loudly. Soon, I heard a twig break. I turned and looked in all directions, hoping to find where the noise was coming from. Was it an animal? Was it a servant looking for me? Was it the man with the gorgeous eyes? Or was it a figment of my imagination? Was it even the real life, or was it just a fantasy?

Putting all of the existential crisis thoughts aside, I still needed to figure out what, or who, made that sound. I stood up and did the unthinkable. I began to sing.

I know what you're saying. You're questioning my previous statement about singing. You're questioning why I called it "unthinkable." Well, singing wouldn't be so treacherous if it was not for my poor, poor voice. My voice draws people in to me, but not in a good way. Most would say that my singing sounds like a dying goose, and honestly, I couldn't agree less.

I started to sing my kingdom's anthem, which was a song created by my father, for my father. I hated that song, but it was the only thing that was able to pop into my head at that particular moment. I sang very quietly, hoping that whatever, or whoever, broke the twig had very good hearing.

"When you come to the Kingdom of Lin," I sang, "you'll find the king in charge. He's often walking with the peasants to show his battle scars. Our valiant king fought in the wars to save us all from death. So, we repay him with our gold and pillows to rest his head."

After I sang the first verse, I heard another twig snap. And another. And another. I started to hear the sound of oncoming footsteps. I turned to the sound of the footsteps, looking at where they were coming from. I looked into the forest and saw a figure of a person. I froze where I was at, acting like a deer that was caught in the light of a torch. As the figure moved closer, I stopped breathing for just a moment. The earth seemed to freeze around me as the person came out of the shadows.

I saw those brilliant eyes once more.