Once upon a time, there was a prince. They called him, the prince... but his name is Prince Clayton. His father was assassinated when he was just a young boy and his mother is the Fierce Queen Gloria. The Queen was a very strict woman. She ruled with an iron thumb and had a glare that could turn you to stone (metaphorically of course). Her strict ruling techniques carried over into her parenting techniques. She was a very strict mother. She forbid Prince Clayton from leaving the castle walls and her many rules constricted him. Of course, when parents are too stern, their children often appear obedient, but in reality, it is a farse. They find ways to sneak behind their parents' backs and rebel silently. This is exactly what Prince Clayton did.
As a way to be free of his mother, he would sneak out and drink with the peasants. He would spend all night partying and before the sunrise, he would come back and slumber until his servants would come to wake him up. Most, if not all, of the servants, knew about the prince's nightly escapades. They would gossip about it the day after, conversing about his state. Was he hungover? Did he get into a fight? Did he drink at all? It became a game to them, making up stories of what he might've done the previous night.
Prince Clayton knew they were talking about him, but he wasn't upset. The servants, who he was close with, would sometimes come to him and vent about their issues. More often than not, it would be about how boring their days got. Day after day, year after year, the same job, rarely any changes occurring. One thing the servants could count on to spice up their day was their stories about Prince Clayton. The prince wouldn't dare take that away from them. Sometimes, he would even listen in on the stories. All of them were fantastical stories. He never did anything like what they said. His visits to the villages were getting more boring as time passed. Nowadays, he only did it to rebel against his mother, entertain the servants, and occasionally get wasted. There was one thing that he would never get bored of, though.
He was always excited to see the flower that would be in his vase the next morning. It was never there the night before, only there when he woke up. He often wondered who was leaving it for him; maybe it was a lovestruck village girl, sneaking in to display her affection; maybe it was one of the cooks. Secretly, he hoped that it was the gardener boy who he had fallen for over the eight years he had worked there. He had tried to converse with him, but every time, the gardener would run away or simply go silent. Oh, what Prince Clayton would give to simply have a conversation with him. He was also nervous though. If the wrong person knew of his affections, then he might get in hot water. He had already been rejecting marriage proposals from Princesses of other kingdoms. If his mother learned that not only he liked a man, but a man who was a servant, it would not end up well for Clayton.
~~~
Rumors travel fast. Especially when you work in the garden, where everyone comes to walk and talk. George was merely a gardener boy (and an unsocial one at that). Not many other servants came to talk to him, but he would work nearby conversations and imagine himself laughing along with them. He would imagine that he had friends. But that was all it was. Imagination. Besides, even if they did talk to him, he's not sure he would even have the courage to speak to them. But at least, George did have someone who helped him out. One of the palace guards, Nick, always came and ate lunch with him during breaks. George had even begun to think of him as a friend, but he was sure that Nick wouldn't like that. Nick probably just felt bad for George and only hung out with him out of pity. Either way, George was just glad to talk to someone he trusted.
The prince himself had actually tried to talk to him, but George had always had problems with talking to handsome men. George had watched him, though, whenever he would sit in his windowsill and study, or when he would take walks through the garden, or when he would just sit and read on a garden bench. George thought he was beautiful. He had a kind look and a smooth voice. The most attractive part of him though was his kind and laidback personality. Most princes would be strict, more like Queen Gloria, but Prince Clayton was nothing like his mother. He would eat lunch with the servants, chat with them, and even help them out occasionally. All of it was so different. George's mother was the gardener girl back when Queen Gloria was only Princess Gloria, and she never experienced the kindness George sees every day with Prince Clayton.
