Painful Truth (a Sanders Sides fanfiction)

Part 1

If you were to tell the Prince that by 3 o'clock that day, he would be sitting in the forest with his own sword held to his throat by a man with a mischievously bright glint in his eye, he would have called you crazy.

Not that that mattered much; what he thought of it wouldn't change his situation at all, which was exactly the crazy scenario described above. He found himself wishing he never got out of bed that morning. But of course, he just had to decide today was the perfect day to sneak out of the castle and see what life was like in the nearby villages.

Staring down at the silver blade pressed uncomfortably close against his neck, he now wished he had let someone know where he was going.

"What are you doing here?" The stranger demanded, and Roman tore his eyes away from the sword to look up at him. The stranger's lips were pressed tightly shut and his jaw was firmly set. His eyes gleamed with determination, and were an unnaturally vivid hue of violet. Roman would be insane to not admit that it was actually pretty attractive - but that was not to be focused on right now.

"I-" The prince tried to press away from the blade, but only managed to bruise his head against the tree behind him, "I'm exploring!"

"In my woods?" The stranger raised one brow in question, and Roman shoved his fear to the side. He was a prince! He didn't need to put up with this kind of disrespect!

"Your woods? All of this land is owned by the king!" Roman said, hoping his spark of confidence would make the stranger falter.

Instead, the stranger only laughed. "That doesn't mean anything. Are you one of those royalty worshippers? Sorry, but I'm not a part of your cult, idiot."

"I am a prince, thank you very much. It'll do you well to remember that when addressing me next time."

"You are?" Roman grinned; though the stranger covered it up quickly, he didn't miss the slight hint of surprise in the stranger's voice. Maybe he could get the upper hand soon! But the shock vanished much too quickly to be of any use.

The stranger looked him up and down, and Roman mentally shrank back under his harsh gaze. When he finally reached his eyes again, the man nodded slowly, "Well, you certainly have their over the top fabrics and jewelry, but a lot less of it than normal." The stranger grinned, pulling the sword back. Roman only had the chance to take in a relieved breath before he froze again, as the stranger stepped closer and blocked his escape, "Tell me, is this your attempt at a disguise? Did you sneak out?"

"No!" Roman exclaimed, but he realized too late that he had said that much too quickly and much too loudly. It was clear he was lying. He suddenly shoved the stranger away from him, though he didn't move from the tree. He watched his opposition carefully.

"You did, didn't you?" The stranger chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "So Princey, wanna share with the class why you would do such a brainless thing? Don't you know how dangerous it is for a royal to be seen right now?"

"Dangerous?" Roman's face twisted in confusion, "Why would it be dangerous?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe just because every person in the kingdom wants your head on a stick."

"What?!" Roman was shocked; what was that supposed to mean? "That's not true, the subjects love me and my family!"

"What rock have you been living under?" The stranger laughed again, and Roman hated it. It was degrading and full of pity, and he would be thankful to never hear it again, "Maybe those tall castle walls function the same as a rock. No one likes you or your family, but you wouldn't know that, would you? Have you ever gone to see anyone you've supposedly been ruling over?"