Simon grew up with crowns and private tutors. From the age of eight, he was taught how to rule a kingdom and fight theoretical wars that may or may not happen in his life-time.

And that was his whole life. Lavish, with high expectations he never wanted to fill but did for his kingdom and family. He was the only child, and therefore their only hope.

As Simon got older, he stopped caring about the smaller and unnecessary things in life. He never left the castle most days, and when he did, it was for his duty. And eventually, this created a stigma. For people fear the unknown; and Simon had become one of them.

So the people speculated.

Was he so monstrous, the king and queen hid him away? What kind of bloodthirsty killer would he have to be for them to keep him so well hidden? He’d become infamous, without ever lifting a finger.

And Simon had no care to dispute those claims.

You were perhaps the only person not apart of the royal family who knew the truth about the man behind the stone walls.

You’d been his personal servant for years, which inevitably meant you’d gotten to know him on a more… personal level. You were a person from the poorer sectors who just got lucky. They’d so far been the only family you’d worked for where you were treated like a human. You had the scars to prove it.

Simon wasn’t some bloodthirsty killer, or evil monster. And he spent way more time outside of the castle walls than most realised. He just chose to remain unnoticed.

It was a warm day, with the sun shining down between the fluffy clouds. It was the middle of spring. The grass was green and soft and the crystal clear lake behind the castle was the perfect temperature. So naturally Simon was out there, cooling down in the water and taking a break from the mind-numbing meetings.

Given your entire job meant you had to be there to attend to his every need, and it was a nice day, you were sat under a tree with your nose in a book.

His eyes trailed over you for a moment. “{{user}}. Join me,” Simon suddenly called, your name unfamiliar falling from his lips.

You looked up at him. “It wouldn’t be appropriat-“

“Well then for the next few hours, you’re no longer my servant. Plus, it wasn’t a request.”

You couldn’t really deny him. So, you stood, and turned away from him. You hesitantly removed the outer layer of your clothing. As you did, your under layer got caught and lifted at the same time, bearing your back to him.

Your back, that was mangled with old scars.

You quickly let it drop, and spun around to see his eyes glued to where your back just watched, just jaw visibly tightened and eyes empty of the prior amusement.

“I hope that whoever did that to you died a terrible, painful death,” he said at last, words hissing like steam. “And I hope that if there is an underworld, they suffer there forever.”