Rescue Prophecy

Ever since the day a rainbow revealed a prophecy of Roman meeting his true love during a rescue, his father had spent years pushing the young prince into an image of strength and bravery. The King never knew about the gender of his prodigy's true love and, frankly, he didn't care as long as Prince Roman Sanders of Artisitique was seen as a mighty hero for a damsel in distress. As time went on, Roman developed inadequacies within himself and even Imposter Syndrome as he trained more and more. He tried desperately to discuss his feelings to anyone within the kingdom, even his chaotic brother, but, like clockwork, whenever he tries to express his doubts, his father seemed to be close enough to hear him and he gave up saying anything, as a result.

After so many years, he was deemed ready for his journey. As the sun rose over Artistique, Prince Roman was given his sword and shield and was led to a horse named Hermes who sent by another rainbow with the intend of helping guide Roman toward his prophecy. Roman barely had time to feign a smile to his father before he took off on his steed. Roman had no idea where they were headed, but there were several moments that proved that Hermes was smart: Hermes stopped near places to catch food whenever Roman was hungry without saying anything, he stopped a few seconds before Roman had to cry several times, Hermes drew a heart with a male symbol inside in the dirt with his hoof a few times while giving a smirk, and those were only a few examples. Even with trust in Hermes, Roman's insecurities and stressed never died down and he never expressed his them out loud.

One day, as Roman was still holding in his insecurities, his body proved that he could only avoid help for so long. He felt stress dripping down his body, but he associated it with the heat from the sun. Even when he felt dizzy and felt a strong pain in his chest, he still thought it was more important to keep pushing forward. He gripped onto his chest as he fell off Hermes. The last thing he saw before his vision blackened was Hermes giving a panicked neigh and taking off.

At a nearby village, a young male in purple and black was was kicking his bare feet in a lake. He seemed to enjoy it as the sun was setting. The calm atmosphere provided didn't stay for long as the young man heard an intense neighing and trotting. The young man turned to look at the horse.

"What? Where did you come from?" the young man asked.

Hermes nudged the young man's shoulder and he took it as a sign of a message being passed. After some hesitation, the young man climbed onto the horse and was taken to, as far as he knew, who-knows-where.

Once the horse stopped, the young man notices the unconscious Roman on his side. The young man quickly got off the horse and checked the man's pulse. After confirming that he was still alive, he placed the man on top of the horse and walked back to the village.

The young man led the horse to his house and he brought the unconscious man inside. The unconscious prince was placed in his bed for the night. Before the young man went to bed, he hoped that his unexpected guest would be okay.

The next day, the young man did some errands with the intention of making his guest feel comfortable. He knew that there was a chance that he brought home a criminal, but he wanted to make sure his potential demise was at least delayed during the worst case scenario. It wasn't until close to noon that Roman woke up groaning.

"W-where am I?" he muttered.

The young man turned to look at his guest while holding a bowl of oats and blueberries.

"Oh, good. I didn't know when you were going to wake up. I guess I should welcome you to my home," the young man stated awkwardly while giving Roman the bowl.

"Oh no! My father did not plan this. I'm grateful you found me, though," Roman proclaimed.

He took a good look at the house's owner and thought that he was found by an angel.

"Umm...my name is Virgil. Was that your horse?" Virgil asked while trying to ignore the fact that the man in his presence was beautiful.

"Oh yes, sort of. His name is Hermes. My name is Roman," Roman introduced himself.

As Virgil was taking care of Roman, they had time to get to know each other. Roman found it easier to express his insecurities without revealing his royal status and Virgil was all ears and even provided a shoulder to cry on. They speculated the stress might've caused him to collapse. Even when Roman was feeling better, he wasn't ready to leave Virgil. The two spent time together by the lake and discussed stories told by the stars.

One night, as they were looking up at the stars, Roman was telling the story of a prince who trained his whole life to find his true love during a rescue. He expressed that the prince was stronger outside than inside. He also stated that the prince thought he was going to die on his journey until he came across a beautiful introvert and spent a lot of time with him. Roman paused as he was telling the story and it caused Virgil to look at him.

"Roman...what happened between the introvert and the prince?" Virgil asked.

"I think...I think the prophecy anticipated the prince being rescued," Roman explained as he smiled at Virgil.

Virgil smiled back before the two shared a kiss under the stars with the only witness being the smiling Hermes. Roman knew his father might be upset, but he was just glad someone loved him without expecting him to be anything but human.