Bad Guy (CARZIGER ROYALTY AU)

♚ chapter one: the prince who lacked freedom ♚

Being the son of a king has its perks at times, but definitely not for Maxx Danziger. The royal way of living his family so loved wasn't exactly his cup of tea, to put it simply. Being forced to lead a kingdom of utter fools and have slaves working for you day and night seemed awful, and he heavily disapproved of the last part. The only thing he cherished about his high life was his sixteenth birthday present, which was a small, calico cat he had named Pistol. Sad to say it, she was his only friend, and who he aspired to be.

The cat always held her head high, and had a sassy way about her, which made her a true queen and lovable to all who happened to be graced with her presence. Yeah, he looked up to his cat, so what? He'd always defend himself by saying she's a superstar and should be given the recognition she deserves.

Aside from being a pathetic loser who looked up to his feline friend, the prince had a secretive life and was often kept out of the public eye, for reasons he did not know. The more he seemed to ask, his family and advisors would turn him down and become even more impatient with his actions. He had never attended a town meeting alongside the rest of his family, or sat on the throne his side on his father's right side. It seemed as though the press had no idea he existed, and the royal government was determined to keep it that way. But, why?

He couldn't buy his own clothes, make his own friends, or even learn how to play an instrument, which he craved. He couldn't express his talents or pick up new or old hobbies, and was under heavy supervision every time he placed a foot outside his room. Being royal clearly had its downfalls, and not to mention the stress the king and queen were always under from having to rule a kingdom, which affected everyone's mood and how the blond behaved around them.

Freedom was only granted to those who were deemed worthy of it, it seemed. You had to claw your way to the top and boss everyone around to get your way, which was something Maxx hated about their society. He didn't like being royalty, and felt like he didn't belong. Perhaps there had been a mix up, and a perfect prince was out in the world, living his life as a peasant.

Freedom, though, seemed to have a different definition depending on who you asked. For example, some may say the ability to do and go wherever you please, while others may say freedom of speech is the most important thing we should cherish. For the pale prince, he found freedom in exploration, and more importantly, nature. Although he never got to experience either of those things, that made them even more valuable to him.

He was never allowed to go outside, which lead to him sneaking out multiple times. There was a balcony attached to his room, but he was only allowed to stand outside at twilight, where it was light enough to see the fading and twinkling lights of the city, but dark enough so nobody could see his face. Although, the balcony made it quite easy for him to sneak out, and he was shocked how neither the king nor queen had noticed the escape ladder attached to the railing outdoors. Whenever he snuck off into the small village nearby, he adopted a fake name and personality, just so if rumors of him were floating around, no one would have any idea that it was he, a prince, who was journeying around the town at such unholy hours of the morning and flirting with the worker boys who dwelled there.

Little did he know, there was a war starting, and these adventures of his would become extremely dangerous soon enough, to him and his reputation as a member of the royal family. No one except the king and his soldiers had been informed of the war, so as not to arouse worry among the people, which meant Maxx had no idea how much he concerned his parents, mostly the king, with every rebellious act he pulled behind his father's and the watchful eyes of the advisors's backs.

Sneaking out wasn't the only rebellious thing the young prince did to offset his strict way of life. As previosly mentioned, his sexuality went against their rules and what they believed. His advisors had tried multiple times to set him up with a girlfriend, but each time he refused and told them he wasn't quite ready for a relationship yet, which was a flat out lie. The male had been lying since his first breath, so it came naturally to him when he was desperate to hide the truth. Unfortunately for him, and all the closeted folk who lived in the kingdom, being gay was outlawed. Maxx knew for a fact his family would not hesitate to turn him in or even have him killed for going against the code, the "code" being all creatures on the face of the earth were required to be heterosexual.

Of course, this didn't mean there weren't others out there like him. It was common to be something other than straight in times like these, but it was unfortunately extremely rare you ever came across a person who wore their sexuality with pride on their sleeve, and even if you did know someone with such a brave soul to be able to say that openly about themselves, you wouldn't know them for long. Maxx had seen where those people went, he had seen the camps and what they did to humans, treating them like nobody, not even criminals, should be treated. He did not want the same fate to fall on himself, so he zipped his lips and nodded along to what everyone said about him, not daring to object.

Still, he had dreams about meeting a boy who would make him forget all those fears, and he could, too, throw a rainbow flag up in the air and say "Screw you!" to the world. He had dreams about running away with said boy, to a place where it was just them, and they could be themselves without the worry of soldiers tracking them down and separating them for feelings they couldn't control. He didn't want to be gay, but it seemed a lot more appealing than being straight and having some insensitive chick as a girlfriend who only cared that he was a prince.

He wanted to leave this whole world behind and start a new one with the boy of his dreams, who he hoped and pleaded he would find one day. And on one fateful night, that was just what happened.

You see, Maxx had a habit of exploring the castle during the nighttime when going into town was not an option. Nobody knew about his adventures, and he was determined to keep it that way. Every night, he ventured further and further away from his bedroom into the twisting hallways and infinite amount of rooms the castle seemed to contain. But alas, something was missing. Since the town was now mainly shut out at night due to safety reasons, his life lacked the thing he wanted to see most, the stars.

Climbing up winding staircases and ladders, gripping onto shingles and pulling his way up, the blond prince, dressed in only a tank top and sweatpants, ventured onto the roof. What he was not prepared for was the other male sitting there with the same goal as he, staring off into space. Maxx stared at him silently, observing his body and facial features.

The boy had a head of fluffy, mocha brown hair, and glistening blue eyes which sparkled with the light of a thousand stars. Wearing a long sleeved black turtle neck and a slim necklace on a chain, he turned his way, and all at once, he knew.

This boy was the one.