The week was over. Frank, Sophie, Lucy, and Daniel were on the plane.

  "What is this thing?" The Prince’s voice echoed in Daniel's head.

  "It's a plane, Prince," Daniel thought, annoyed. "And you call me stupid."

  "And so it just... flies? Just like that?"

  Daniel pointed to the engines outside the window. "It's because of those."

  "I know there's a 'hidden mechanic,' but you're too dull to get it. You can't just 'fly' with strong engines."

  "Yeah, yeah, 'Mister I-Am-Genius.' Let's just ride the plane, or we'll miss it."

  Daniel and Frank sat together. Sophie and Lucy sat in front of them. The Prince's "hallucination" was standing in the aisle, looking annoyed.

  "Say 'thanks' to Frank for making me stand."

  "Hey, you don't get 'exhausted' by that, right?"

  "You're right. Since you're sitting, I'm okay. But I don't like standing. I'm the Prince. I should sit."

  Daniel ignored him and watched the sky.

  After some time, the Prince looked bored. He pointed to Daniel to get something to eat, just as the flight attendant came by.

  "Well. What do we have here... that's some fine body she's got."

  "Yes," Daniel said to the attendant, ignoring the voice. "I want an orange juice. Just that. Thanks."

  After she was gone, Daniel looked at his "parasite." "You know, they actually are chosen based on their beauty."

  "Well, they've got some good eyes. Anyway, since this thing doesn't want to end, I'm going to tell you a story."

  "About what? The first time you killed someone?"

  "No. Plus, it's about my first Girlfriend."

  "Here we go again..."

  "I promise. It's going to be fun."

  The Prince started talking, and his voice became so immersive that the world inside the plane vanished. Daniel could see the memory, playing out like it just happened.

  "When I was young—twelve, to be specific—I hit puberty. I was told by my father that if anything strange happened with my body, I should tell him immediately."

  "Father!"

  "Yes, Daniel?"

  "So... I was asleep... and I woke up... and I peed myself."

  The King sighed, looking disappointed.

  "...But it wasn't normal. It was... sticky."

  The King's face lit up. "Magnificent! My boy, you've just become a man!"

  "But... I was always a man."

  "No, my son. You were just a kid."

  My heart hurt. That old filth. I didn't know that I loved him back then, but he was breaking that love, bit by bit. I was so naive.

  "So, my son," the King smiled, "what do you want for your birthday?"

  "I want a sword. Made out of gold."

  He smiled and patted me. But I felt it. He wanted me to say something different. A year passed. He asked me the same question.

  "A doll. For my sister."

  And he did the same thing. Smiled that fake smile and patted me. But on my 14th birthday... he didn't give me a choice.

  "Daniel."

  "Yes, father?"

  "You are going with Mark. You are going to choose any girl that you want. She is going to be your 'maid'."

  "But I already have maids, Father. Why should I get another one?"

  "Because... you are too small for them."

  "...Sorry, father, but I don't get it."

  The King's face hardened. "Are you not a man?"

  "I am, Father."

  "Then you don't feel any attraction to women?"

  My cheeks became red. Any other father would have just stopped the conversation there. But he... he slapped me.

  "Then you aren't a man!" the King roared. "I will get you one, Daniel. EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT IT!"

  I rubbed my cheek and went to my room. My sister came... I cried when she came. She comforted me. And the next day... I found a 13-year-old girl just standing in my doorway. With Mark.

  "Mister Mark? Who is she?"

  "She is your 'personal' maid, Prince," Mark said, pushing her inside. "The King ordered me to deliver her to you. Have a nice time." He closed the door.

  The girl was shaking. And maybe then... I felt pity for her.

  "Don't be scared," I said, walking to her. "Don't be scared. I will not force myself on you. You are safe here."

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  "It's my father who made Mark do this."

  Every step I made towards her, she stepped back, until her back was against the wall.

  "Don't be scared. As I told you, I don't want to hurt you."

  I grabbed the flower that was in the vase. She closed her eyes...

  When she opened them, she found the flower in her hair. I was already walking to the bed.

  "Just to tell you," I said, "I'm not responsible for anything that happens to you if my sister sees that flower in your head."

  "She's the one who gave it to me." I looked back at the terrified girl. "...But to be honest, it didn't have any use. Now, it does."

  She touched the flower. And just like that, she stopped shaking.

  I woke up some time later. I found her sitting on the sofa, half-awake.

  "So," I said, "you are too shy to sleep with me in the room."

  She just looked at me.

  "Have... have you slept?"

  She shook her head. I went to the door, but she came running after me, terrified. I was confused.

  "You don't want me to leave?"

  "I was told... not to leave you," she whispered.

  "Aren't you my 'personal maid'?"

  "Yes, I am, Prince."

  "Then do as I say. Sleep." I opened the door. "While I get you food. Also... I have a name. It's Daniel."

  "...I am Lily."

  I smiled. And I closed the door.

  My father saw me in the dining room. Without her.

  "Daniel!" He was enraged. He was going to my room to beat her. I stopped him. "I told her not to come with me."

  His hands came flying. On my body, my face. I just took it. My mother watched. All of them watched. But my sister... my sister stopped him.

  I stood up. I took some food on a plate and walked back to my room. Lily was just as I left her, sitting on the sofa. I gave her the plate. She looked at my face.

  "What... what happened to your face?"

  "Nah, it's nothin—"

  "Was it... was it because of me?"

  "No," I said, turning away. "It's not. It's because I'm not man enough. To stand up to that old man." I walked into the bathroom.

  When I came out, my sister, Maryal, was there. She was standing over Lily, her face a mask of cold rage.

  "You took the flower," Maryal said. "The flower I gave to my brother." The mirrors in the room started to shake.

  "Maryal, stop."

  "But sh—"

  "NO," I said, stepping between them. "She didn't 'take' it. I gave her the flower."

  My sister looked at me, shocked. "So... you love her? More than me?"

  I became shy. "No, sis. The flower... it didn't have any use. And since she's my personal maid, I am going to see the flower now, every day... and remember you, all the time."

  My sister's face lit up. She ran to me and hugged me. "I knew it! No girl can take you from me, brother!"

  "None can take me from you, sis."

  She kissed me on my cheek and got out of the room.

  I let out a breath. "Phew," I said to Lily. "You were close to dying, you know."

  The girl started shaking again.

  "It's alright," I said, sitting on the sofa (not near her). "Don't worry. No one is going to hurt you when I am here." I smiled. "I promise."

  And so she stopped shaking. And she sat. And she continued her meal.

  The days went by. I came to dinner with more and more bruises, every time. One day, Lily said to me, "I will leave with you."

  "No. You don't have to."

  "Daniel," she said, "you are the only person who is kind to me. So why can't I be kind to you? I know you get these bruises because of me. So... at least let me make your pain stop."

  I looked at her. "...Okay. Come."

  And from that day, she was always with me, following me everywhere.

  But one time, when I was having dinner with them, the King spoke. "So, Daniel," he said, his voice loud. "Have you made the little maid pregnant already?"

  I was shocked. Her face was red, and mine was too. "No, father."

  "SO!" the King roared, "MY GUESS WAS RIGHT! SHE IS REFUSING!"

  He took the steak knife from his plate... and threw it at her.

  I didn't think. I just moved. I put my hand in the path of the knife. It went straight through my palm.

  The room was silent.

  "Son! What have you done to your hand?" my mother said, her voice full of terror.

  I looked at her, my voice a cold, dead "void." "...So now you speak."

  I pulled the knife out of my hand.

  "Look, old man," I said to my father. "She is my personal maid. I do what I want with her. And so you have no right to kill her in front of me. You got it?"

  "You... you dare speak to me like that?"

  I ignored him. I took Lily's hand. "Come. Let's get out of here."

  She didn't resist. We walked to the door. But before I went to my room, I stopped. I looked back at the King.

  "Yes. I dare speak like that, old man."

  And I continued walking with Lily to the room.

  When we got inside the room, she ran to the bathroom, grabbed a cloth and a bowl of water, and started cleaning the wound on my hand.

  "You don't have to," I said.

  "Just shut up," she snapped.

  I was shocked.

  "Why?" she said, her voice trembling, but angry. "Why do you do this? I am just a maid. You could have gotten another one. Maybe she would give you her body. She would be more of use to you. She would make your problems stop. Why... why do you care about me?"

  I looked at the ceiling. I didn't have an answer. "I don't know," I said.

  "What?"

  "I don't know why," I said, looking at her. "But what I do know... is that I promised. I promised that you aren't going to be hurt when I am here."

  And that was the straw that broke her. Her eyes became full of tears, but she didn't stop cleaning the wound.

  And from that day, she started to treat me differently. She started to care more about her appearance.

  She started to take my hand when we walked in the palace, but I didn't know why. Why now? What was she doing?

  Two years went by. One day, I woke up. And I found that she had made me breakfast.

  "Wake up, Dan," she said, sitting on the bed beside me.

  I flinched.

  "What happened?" she said, confused. "Why did you flinch?"

  "You're... you're sitting beside me."

  "And what is the problem?" she said, smiling. "Am I not your personal maid?"

  "Yes..."

  "Then I should care about you."

  "I... I guess so."

  "Now," she said, lifting a spoon, "open your mouth."

  "What!" My face became red. I took the plate. "I can eat by myself. I have hands."

  "Yes, he can do that," my sister said from the doorway. Lily flinched and stood up. "Also," Maryal said, walking in, "stop doing that to my brother. I am the only one who can do that."

  "Neither of you!" I said, my face still red. "I have hands! And I am not young!"

  Maryal ran at me and hugged me. I don't remember what she said back then... But I remember the look from Lily. Back then, I didn't know what it was. But when I look at it now... maybe it was jealousy.

  Every day, she would do the same thing. Make me breakfast. Then it became dinner and breakfast. When I went to have dinner with "them," she would serve me personally. If another maid tried to serve me... she would look at me. The same look. The same jealousy.

  So one day, I asked her. "Why do you make me breakfast?"

  "Because I am your personal maid."

  "No. Why do you look at me when my sister is around? And you do the same thing if a maid is around?" Her face became red. I stepped toward her. "Do you... do you hate me?"

  She stopped moving. She just looked at the floor.

  "Very well, then," I said, my heart sinking. "I will try to get you ou—"

  "No!" Her voice was sharp. "I don't hate you."

  "What?"

  "I don't hate you, Daniel," she said, looking up, her eyes full of tears. "I... I like you."

  If words could make the wind move, that would have been a hurricane. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to say to her... that I loved Mary. But maybe... maybe I love her, too? But...

  ...I am going to be the King. I can have them both. Right?

  She didn't leave me a chance to talk. She hugged me. And just then, I couldn't resist. I hugged her back. And at that moment, I finally made the decision.

  I don't want to be like my father. I don't want to be the man who is married and bangs other women.

  And at that moment, I knew. I had to marry both of them. I can't leave Mary, the love of my childhood. And I can't leave Lily."

  "I want them both. I want every part of them. I don't want them to marry other men. Even if I have to kill every man in this world... so I can marry them both... I will do it."

  "And at that moment, I stopped being a kid."

  I went to my bed, as usual. But she came. And she slept next to me.

  I flinched. "Why are you sleeping with me?"

  "Because I want to, Daniel."

  "Then... then I will sleep on the sofa."

  She grabbed me. "Daniel. Why are you so dumb? Why can't you just take the first step? Why do I have to say it loud for you to get it?"

  She was so close. "I love you, Daniel," she whispered. "I don't want to sit on the sofa. I just want to be with you..."

  I stared at her, my mind reeling, my father's "lessons" echoing in my head. "Are you... are you doing this because of that old man?" I whispered. "Did... did he do something to you?"

  "No, he didn't, stupid!" she said, her voice full of a love I didn't understand. "I... I want this. I want to be your family, Daniel."

  "What? What are you saying, Li—"

  And at that moment, she kissed me.

  And I couldn't resist. I guess... I guess my father was right. I was attracted to women after all.

  "She became pregnant after that moment," The Prince said in Daniel's head. "I guess... she became my wife."

  "Everyone in the castle knew she was mine. And I didn't 'bring' her to it... she wanted it."

  He was quiet for a long time.

  "But the currency of life is happiness... and sadness. And I had my happiness."

  "I was eating with her one day... when she started to choke."

  "What..." Daniel thought.

  "I can't remember what she said. I don't even remember the look on her face."

  The Prince's "hallucination" turned to Daniel, and his eyes... his "Type 5" eyes... were full of tears.

  "But my flower was dead."

  "She was poisoned. Because she was carrying my son. My uncle sent a Type 3 assassin."

  "One of the King's own dogs. He poisoned my wife. I ate from the same food... but I wasn't affected by the poison. Because of my 'Type 5'."

  His voice was a low, dead whisper. "Back then... I wished I could have been affected."

  "I found him in seconds. And I... I tortured him. Until I had his heart. In my hands." He looked at his "hands," remembering. "But it didn't bring me Lily back. Or my son."

  Daniel was just staring at his "parasite," stunned. "Damn..." he thought. "I... I didn't know you had feelings. Or that you could cry."

  The Prince immediately flinched, his "sad" face vanishing, replaced by the old, arrogant mask. "No. It's just dust."

  "There's no wind on a plane, Prince."

  "You... a-hole."

  "After that... my mother came. She came to my room. And she found Lily dead."

  "I buried her. I couldn't cry on something I couldn't protect. And then the King came."

  "Son," the King said, his voice calm. "I am... sorry for your loss."

  I just stared at him.

  "But," he said, "you have to move on. Take your time, and I will make sur—"

  "You don't have a heart, do you?" I whispered.

  "WHAT?"

  "Lily died," I said. "And you're talking about her as if she were an... an object."

  The King just stared at me. He didn't flinch. He just looked... disappointed.

  "My son," he said, his voice cold. "You can't be so emotional... about a maid."

  And that was the last straw.

  "Don't talk to me, filth," I said, my voice dead. "I can't believe that you are my father. How can you be so little? So shameless? ...But I feel pity for you. To be you... is something sad."

  "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT TO M—"

  "To whom?" I cut him off. "To you? You are filth. You are nothing more than garbage."

  "Who are you, King?" I started to circle him. "Are you the King that everyone hates and wants to kill?"

  I got closer to him.

  "Are you the King whose own daughter wants him dead?"

  "Are you the King who beat his son for showing mercy?"

  "Are you the King who tried to murder my wife because she made me human?"

  "Tell me, DAD... is that who you are?"

  The blood ran from the King's face. As if he just saw a monster.

  "Get out of my sight, King," I said. "Or I will make you see the face of the Devil."

  He... he just turned and ran. He ran away, shouting at Mark for not getting him wine.

  I sat down, looking at the coffin.

  For the final time, I am going to see her. And at that moment, nothing else mattered.

  Maybe flowers can really die, even if you water them.

  In the end, power and fame fade away. And only the dirt remains.

  In the end, she died when I promised she wouldn’t.

  The Prince sighed. The plane didn’t have a sound except the low humming of its engine.

  "What filth that man was," Daniel thought.

  "...Yeah," The Prince said.

  "We're landing. Hold tight," said Frank.