And He Was: And He Was, #2

By PilinyTheYounger

(BL) Prince Sebastian has spent his entire life huddled in a cloak of solitude, isolated by the weight of his royal responsibilities and the burdens of his past. However, his world is shattered and irreparably transformed when he encounters a mysterious stranger who challenges the boundaries of his solitary existence. As their paths intertwine, Prince Sebastian is faced with a choice that could redefine his future and break the shackles of his loneliness. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: PilinyTheYounger
• Release date: Apr 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224123667

PilinyTheYounger

PilinyTheYounger has been writing for 5 years, but she was such an idiot she simply never worked up the courage to publish anything until the fifth year. So she's payign for it now by releasing a lot of books. Wish her luck!

Book preview

Back where we left off last time...

Both of them stared at each other for a minute. The wind was still flying around, shaking the trees and shrubs. Then, Jylan, who knew exactly what was about to happen, clamped a hand over the prince's mouth, before any curses could escape, just to keep this book PG as it should be.

I think... you were under a curse before, My Prince, so I had to kiss you to try and remove it... Jylan said hesitantly, his hand still over Sebastian's mouth. The prince was silently staring at him now, and his mouth was closed, so Jylan moved his hand off. When the prince spoke, his voice was a whisper.

Why didn't you tell me?

Jylan tilted his head and then scratched his cheek nervously. I, uh, I tried for a while, but the curse wiped your memories... He said. The prince was silent again, so Jylan sat down on the balcony railing. They were both silent, so Jylan finally said,  I understand if you don't want me here. The prince was standing against the door, not moving, and Jylan couldn't see his face.

I do want you here, butler. I just need some time. Sebastian said, in a shaky voice. Jyan felt his heart sink.

Alright.

Then the door closed, and he was gone.

Wait! You can't do this - Sebastian pleaded desperately, but no one was listening. He was standing in the middle of the imperial courtroom again, which had been rebuilt to its full glory, with dark planks and oak pillars that gave off a grand, noble, and most of all, old vibe. Sebastian was here too, not tied this time (thankfully), but still as invisible as he had originally been. The advisors that were sitting at the desks were all busily conversing without him, and even the oak pillars behind them seemed to be smirking at him, saying, Oh so pathetic bro. You can't fire Jylan! Sebastian said desperately, holding out both hands to beckon at the advisors. They all stopped to glare at him icily from under the hoods of their imperial uniforms. Sebastian faltered, taking a step back, and they all chorused,

You don't have a say in this, Prince Sebastian. You are nothing. Then they all turned back around to let whispers and murmurs drift in the air again.

THE NEXT WEEK, JYLAN was officially given a letter. It was his last letter at the palace because he was fired. It wasn't a new concept to him - but the folded envelope, along with a note from Sebastian that read, in a single line, Sorry, I couldn't stop them., still gave him a terrible note of sadness. His heart felt like it was crumbling in his chest,  ing into a million irreparable pieces. Even if he did like the prince, he shouldn't have ever voiced that or walked into that forbidden library no matter how curious he was. Sighing, trying not to cry, Jylan took the envelope in his hand and got up.

When the palace guard asked why Jylan was leaving in the middle of the day, he finally cracked and broke down, to the dismay of the guard, who hurriedly offered words of condolences and ushered him out the palace gates.

Jylan then slowly trudged away, his shoes kicking up small clouds of dirt behind him. It was all his fault, so he didn't even have anything to cry about. All the way through, he was useless, just like he had been back then. Tilting his head up to the sky, Jylan looked at the clouds wandering by. They certainly looked happier than he was.

Jylan, six years old, was cold and shivering in the middle of winter. He was wearing tattered brown rags, not those of a peasant or even a slave, but worse. He was trapped in a steel cage, where the cold iron floor numbed his feet. There was a rotten smell in the air, and all around him were even more metal cages, all inside a large warehouse. Jylan looked up as the bars of his cage were rattled, and the slave trader appeared in front of his face. Yellow, dirty teeth and wrinkled skin glared at him through a hunched back, holding a wickedly curved dagger. Jylan, terrified, tried to move away, but he realized he couldn't move his body. The trader grabbed him roughly by the wrist, which was so thin Jylan could have circled his whole arm with two fingers, and dragged him up, not caring about how Jyaln's knees scraped painfully as he scrambled up. Don't try anything funny. The trader warned in a rough voice, and Jylan closed his eyes.

Someone save me.

I don't care who it is.

Jylan opened his eyes quickly again, as he was brought down the winding path, he realized he wasn't the only one condemned to this path, although he had known it internally in his heart. The path was surrounded by many other metal cages, some newer and some rusty with age, and many other slaves that looked at him, gaunt with hunger and exhaustion, and he suddenly became even more terrified than he already was, if that was possible. His hand started trembling.

P-please don't kill me. Jylan stammered, and the trader didn't reply. Jylan tried to stop, but nails were dug into his skin and he was forcefully dragged further down the path. Finally, they stopped as a small shack came into view. Inside was a gray-headed butler, wearing a gray suit that contrasted greatly with the shabby interior of the shack.

This is the... thing? The butler asked disdainfully, in an elegant, clipped accent, and Jylan wilted under his stare. Yessir. His parents abandoned the bloke to us a few years after he was born, said he'd do anything, so we paid them a pretty sum and that was all it took. The trader said, yanking Jylan's wrist forward and taking his knife to make a clean cut through the slave mark on his wrist. Jylan silently watched as pain streaked across his skin in a dark red band, a few drops of crimson leaking out. The trader took a large pouch of money from the butler, who Jylan saw made an utmost effort not to come in contact with even a single finger of the grubby trader, who didn't move the knife off his wrist.

Now, you have to be good, or you'll have a world of trouble in front of you. The trader said, and Jylan nodded hurriedly. The trader let go, and the Butler spared one final glance at Jylan, who was dirty, shivering, and barely up to