Backfired Spell

Warnings: death, homophobia

King Manson of Salvagia had organized a ball for everyone in the kingdom to come to, especially his introverted heir, Virgil. All anyone really knew was that the ball was meant to celebrate something truly revolutionary and that it made the King extremely happy. The vagueness didn't help Virgil pretend to be happy, but seeing one of the most talented singers in the kingdom put a small smile on his face. The young Prince saw the chocolate brown eyes of said singer look back at him and he smiled more while lookimg away quickly.

The two weren't strangers; the life of royalty felt suffocating for Virgil, so he decided one night to explore the town while his family was occupied. As a result, he heard the most beautiful masculine singing that ever touched his soul and followed it to a stage show. He heard through the grapevine that the singer's name was Roman and the combination of hearing him and seeing him made him think everyone else would hear his heart. After the show was over, Virgil watched Roman as he was getting ready to go and the two made eye contact before the latter approached him. Virgil was awkward as they were talking and introducing themselves and expressed the hope to see each other soon. What started as seeing each other at shows and meeting after shows turned into Virgil sneaking off to see Roman more often. The two steadily fell for each other and learned about Virgil being gay and Roman being bisexual. Roman was shocked when Virgil finally worked up the courage to tell him that he's Prince of Salvagia, but he just saw it as an additional bit of information instead of something that completely defined him. They've discussed eloping plenty of times, yet it was more of a dream since they both needed to pool together their funds without Virgil's parents noticing.

At the party, King Manson blew on a horn and grabbed the attention of everyone at the ball.

"Attention, all of Salvagia! It has come to my attention that the kingdom has been infested with a type of being that prefers to mate in a way that doesn't result in the additional population of the next generation. Therefore, to keep the union of misters and mistresses, I have visited a witch who has created a potion that shall rid the kingdom and then some of the unions of misters and misters and mistresses and mistresses for good starting with the closest!" he declared.

King Manson pulled out a shining orange potion from his coat and caused a mixture of emotions. Once the King slammed the potion to the floor, orange mist rose into the air and Virgil clutched his chest before he plummeted. Everyone gasped at the sight of this and Roman rushed through the crowd by Virgil's side.

"R-Roman..." Virgil weakly stated as the strong arms of the singer wrapped around him.

"I'm here, Virgil. Please hold on for me!" Roman begged.

Virgil glared at his father and the King desperately backtracked before being chased out by several villagers.

"This is what I get...for being his son...yet not the kind he wanted..."

"No, this isn't your fault. We'll find a way."

Virgil felt himself get weaker and his vision darken.

"Maybe cause...you like girls too...at least you'll be okay..."

The two lovers teared up and shared a passionate kiss as Virgil's life was leaving his physical form. Roman hugged Virgil's body while crying and it wasn't long before the cold mass steadily gained warmth. Roman pulled away as he felt squirming. He saw a tired Virgil give a soft smile and Roman chuckled with excitement while hugging him tighter.

"What? How?" Virgil asked as he was hugged.

They looked on at the crowd and saw that everyone else was safe.

"Is anyone else attracted to the same gender alone?" Roman asked for certainty.

About a third of the ballroom raised their hands and it caused the two lovers to feel even more confused. Suddenly, a puff of gray smoke appeared and it revealed a short-haired person with dark goggles and a cloak.

"Am I late to the party?" they asked in a joking manner.

"Umm, who are you?" Roman asked cautiously.

"Well, you shall call me Rebecca or Remy. I'm the witch Manson got the potion from," Remy explained.

Everyone's eyes widened before Virgil asked "Why would you make it?"

"It's quite simple, your majesty. I had premonitions of what would happen if I did and didn't make the potion. If I didn't, he'd badmouth me and burn me on a cross for crimes I didn't commit. If I did, it would lead to his dethroning and you taking his place. The potion, once slammed, was supposed to kill off strictly gay people starting with the ones closest to it, then killing more farther away after each heart stopped. What I'm sure his bigotness wouldn't want to hear was that a kiss of true love would revive the effected gay as well as stop the potion before it could hurt others," the witch explained.

The two lovers looked at each other and kissed each other. The rest of the ballroom cheered before they went back to celebrating. As the two lovers found a quieter place to spend time together, Remy watched and muttered "My work here is done" before vanishing into thin air.