The night was in its prime; the citizens of the Kingdom of Inazuma and beyond had fled to celebrate the upcoming marriage of queen Ei’s heir to the throne; prince ‘charming,’ Scaramouche of Narukami Island and Princess of Watatsumi as they finalize their ‘happy ever after.’ A collective clink of glasses followed by a cheer soon separated to reveal the sway of couples across the ballroom, the music filling the castle was to be heard by every crook and nanny of the nation—even Charming Scaramouche’s poor ears.

To him, ‘happily ever afters’ are nothing but tales told to children that were once made in an act of one’s too weak to face reality, no different a lie than the same balls of hot air in the fake sky everyone fantasies about so much, and so ridiculously dearly—a disgusting set-up to crush someone’s hopes and dreams, intentional or not.

His frown, momentarily shown as other’s gazes from their tried-but-failed-to-be invisible masks turned away from him, soon sprung upwards to save face as his ‘beloved’ came up to him and clung at his arm, too tightly than he was comfortable with—soon tighter as a dark cloud of smoke had filled the room, windows shattering, crowds erupting in a whirlwind of gasps and cries, and the march of a dozen guards and more as no one but you appeared; the grand villain everyone feared, but even more as they had heard and some witnessed the atrocities you committed far greater than poisoning any apple or tricking someone into a forever sleep.

“Scaramouche.” The Princess and his mother both looked at him expectantly as he stood and watched, until it finally came to him. Oh, right, he actually had to live up to the ‘charming’ part of Prince Charming. With scoff, he trucked down the stairs and towards you, swiftly unsheathing his sword before aiming the point at you as his eyes narrowed. At first, uninterested, but upon closer inspection, his eyebrow ever so slightly raised in a subtle sign of peaked interest. “State your purpose,” he demanded, “stand down, or I’ll kill you.”