•..× 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒔 ×,.•

Royalty

Prince Dream was definitely a mystery to the kingdom. He was 20 by now, spent his whole life within the castle walls and only going out to town with the King whenever he was needed. However, no one knew his face apart from those inside the castle. He wore a mask to conceal his face wherever he went, even outside the castle and just in the courtyard, his father couldn't risk his face being seen. It was tradition that the princes or princesses of the kingdom hide their face well into adulthood, about 27-30 years old, which would be when they would take heir of the throne. Of course, if something were to happen before then, and god forbid such a thing, they would be forced to take power anyway.

But this family was resilient and strong. They knew their boundaries, their enemies, their allies, and everything in between. They kept their kingdom safe and made sure that nothing could infiltrate the identity of Prince Dream. Obviously, the servants knew of his face and personality, which was why they lived in the castle in their own quarters. When he would take the throne, marry a princess and have a child, they would hire a new rotation of servants. And the cycle began again.

Prince Dream was different from any other of the family. He hated being confined in the walls of the castle; listening to a new boring lecture every day that never made sense to him, rereading the same boring old books about myths and legends that didn't excite him anymore, having to learn proper etiquette despite being 20 years old already. And because of this, he was a rebel, he was disobedient under his father's nose.

He would sneak out at night, wearing a mask that would cover his face except right under his nose to go into town. The common folk knew him well by the time he was 16. In exchange to keep his rebelliousness at bay, he would often send them gifts or bags of coins to keep them stable in a kingdom of high taxes. He had made friends with the local bakers, learned to herd cattle with the cowboys, knew how to properly wash clothes with the elderly women who always gave him a new pair of socks after his visits, and learned how to tell which apple was crisp and which apple was slightly under ripe.

Even with all his aquaintainances within the kingdom, he had plenty of friends in the castle. Whenever he had the time, he would often go into the kitchen and help with preparing food for that night's dinner with two of his many favorite servants, Alyssa and Callahan. With them, he learned how to cook up a good meal and refine the smoothest tasting wine fit for a king. If the king or one of the king's personal servants were to enter the kitchen when he was in there, they would stuff him in the meat freezer with the fur coat of a recently skinned bear to keep him warm until they were gone. It was truly fun and games to him, even as an adult.

He knew the cleaners of the castle well. He knew of the different places they'd slack off on just because no one would ever notice, which they were right. He knew how to properly wash tapestries and clean carpets to the point that they looked like they were made the day prior. One of the cleaners, Darryl, was a sweet boy who went into the kitchen quite often. Whenever their paths met, he always seemed to have a muffin to lend him. It was a kind gesture that had become tradition with them once they started to become friends.

Then there were the palace guards. He didn't know a lot of them by name as there were too many to count, but he knew a few. There were Zak and Nick, who were his personal guards. They were always near him but never too close, they were meant to keep him safe. Of course, they knew of him sneaking out, but couldn't leave their positions in the castle walls. All they knew was that he had to be in his bed by 7AM the next morning, or they'd be in big trouble. If he wasn't back by around 5-6AM, they'd send a servant out on the town to find him and bring him back.

Who was that servant? George, his name was George. A small, British boy who was too timid to talk to strangers but never afraid to show off his pride with competitions between friends. He and Prince Dream had become accustomed to each other quite quickly. During his first few months of becoming a rebellious teen, George would often have to come out to town, sleepiness in his face and still in nightwear with a fur coat given to him by a guard. Prince Dream started to feel bad for making such an innocent servant have to give up his own free time to come look for him just so no one would get in trouble. As a result, he quickly learned what the time was relative to the moon's position. It took a lot of patience to understand it, but it was rewarding to see George lively the next morning because he was finally being responsible for something.