Capítulo 21: Just borrowing the life of the real Charles

"Mhhmmm." His eyes slightly opened but everything was blurry for him due to the grogginess.

Half awake, he did not want to fully open his eyes and just squeezed his pillow, trying to go back to sleep. While his eyes were shut tight, his eyebrows furrowed, "Why is this pillow so hard!" he muttered and cuddled the pillow, burying his face on it.

Suddenly, the sleepiness went away and his eyes widened, 'P-pillow?' he thought. How could a pillow of the bed of the Royal prince be hard?

He slowly looked up and was dumbfounded to see Caliber staring down at his face, "Looks like you had a good sleep." said the Canopus prince.

Chance, flustered, immediately stood up from his position and fell off the bed after seeing that he was hugging Caliber tightly with Caliber's arm around him. "Oww!" Chance grunted while rubbing his lower back.

Caliber looked down at Chance from the bed, "Why are you there? Let's sleep a bit longer." he muttered.

'My back hurts. Also my...' Chance's eyes widened as he imagined what might have happened last night. With shock all over his face, he looked back at Caliber, "What did you do to me? I-it hurts!"

The prince of Canopus stared at him blankly and collapsed to the bed, still wanting to sleep. "Hey! I am asking you!" Chance exclaimed and stood up to go to Caliber but he lost his balance from the sudden stinging pain.

Caliber, who was lying prone on the bed rolled on his back and caught Chance with his hands around his waist. Chance was silent for a while as he could hear his own heart beating loud and quick.

His heart fluttered as he felt Caliber's hands got off his waist and went over to his back, embracing him fully. He could feel his lips on his head, brushing against his hair. "Let's go sleep again, hm?" he said.

Flustered, he tried to go up but only his upper half can since Caliber was still holding onto his lower back. He looked at his sleepy face trying not to be in a daze since he was supposed to be annoyed, "Wake up and answer me first! What did you do to me last night?"

Despite Caliber's closed eyes, an annoyance expression showed on his face and he suddenly flipped their positions. His hands were still on his back but Chance was under him.

Chance stared at his face that was above him and he got nervous when he whispered, "Do you want to know why it hurts?" he asked in a husky tone. Chance gulped, "W-why?" he asked.

Caliber smirked at him and his face went even closer to his, so Chance closed his eyes, waiting for the kiss. Seconds have passed and felt like something like this already happened to him.

Just as he was about to open his eyes, his hands went to his forehead to rub it because Caliber flicked it with his finger. "What was that for?"

Caliber laughed, "What were you thinking about?" he teased and let out a sigh. "Of course it hurts, you fell from the bed, silly."

Chance blushed, he was too focused about what might have happened last night that he forgot he fell. He pinched the bridge of his nose, 'I am so...'

Sleepy as hell, Caliber who was on top, lied down on Chance and buried his face between his neck and shoulder. "Do you think that you are not heavy?" Chance said and tried to push him away but he was too heavy and it made his hands tired and give up.

"Why are you so sleepy? You slept earlier than I did." he asked. "I was wide awake when you kept clinging to me." he answered.

Embarrassed by what he did, his face was all red but it was a good thing that Caliber could not see him right now. He was too used to hugging pillows that he did not realize that it was Caliber. "My back really hurts."

Caliber got off of him and he was startled when Caliber twisted him around, "What are you going to do! Hey!" he exclaimed out of nervousness but was surprised when he started pressing his fingers on his back, making him relax.

"I am massaging you. What do you think I was about to do?" Caliber said with a chuckle. Chance buried his face in the pillows in shame. The way Caliber pressed and circled his fingers on his back made him felt good, he never had a massage after all 21 years of his life.

"Why..." Chance muttered between the pillows. "Hmm?" While still massaging him, Caliber glanced at Chance. "I cannot hear you. Say it louder." he said.

Chance sat up and faced him, staring straight into his turquoise eyes, "Why are you treating me this way?"

Caliber raised his eyebrows from the sudden question, "What?"

"Why are you like this towards me? Why are you so nice to me?" he asked again, he knows it was better not to ask, but he was curious. 'Why do you like to kiss me? Hug me?' there was more questions in his mind but he did not let it out.

"Why? You like the bad guy type? Should I be more rough?" he laughed but he paused when he saw Chance lowering his head with a serious face. 'Why does he look like he is about to cry again?' he thought.

He tapped his back and Chance raised his head, "Can't you even answer me properly?" he said.

There was a long pause as Caliber stared at him before answering. "I guess it was love at first sight." he responded with a smile.

'But I am not the one you first met.'

Chance did not say anything and just smiled back at him. He felt a throbbing pain in his chest at the thought that he was just someone who borrowed the body of the real crown prince. 'Charles is the one you like.' That was what he wanted to say.

He was surprised when he felt something warm on his cheek. He looked up and saw Caliber holding his face, "Why do you always look so sad?" he asked.

Chance gulped and decided to tell him, "Caliber, I am—"

The doors slammed open, showing two knights that looked like they saw a demon. The two of them were pushed away from each other and another knight in crimson came in.

"Your Highness."

Chance removed Caliber's hand on his cheek and stood up from the bed, "Alec!" he called out and approached him.

The prince of Canopus frowned and his mood has gotten bad, 'Alec, huh?' he thought, while watching the two of them talk.

Alec Valorian noticed the prince looking at him, he faced him and bowed, "Your Highness, we will get going."

Caliber stood up and fixed his robe, "Why? It is still early." he said in a cold tone.

"We will not be leaving yet, but my master does not need to stay in your room." Alec stated, keeping his usual blank face.

There was an ominous atmosphere between the two of them which made Chance awkward. He grabbed his knight's arm, "Let us go now." said the crown prince to his knight while pulling him.

"Your highness, we will take our leave. Thank you." Chance said in a hurry and pulled his knight who was still battling Caliber in a stare, not putting their eyes away from each other. Chance lost his energy by pulling him so he hit Alec in the arm, "Come!" he whispered.

They walked towards the door out of the room and as they pass through it, the two knights were strangely guarding too far away from the door. "Farewell, Your Highness. F-farewell, Sir Alec." they both muttered nervously, avoiding to meet their eyes. Chance grimaced, 'Just what did Alec do to make them scared?' he thought.

Wanting to see Caliber one last time before leaving the room, he glanced in the corner of his eyes and was confused to have caught a quick glimpse of his serious face. 'Why are the two of them in a bad mood?' he thought.

Alec opened the door of the room across of Caliber's chamber and they went inside. After the door closed, Caliber stood by his door and stared at the door that just closed. The two knights did not dare move and were feeling tensed as they could feel his irritation.

'Alec, huh?' he thought and went back inside his room.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Why?"

"Do you want to go around the palace in a robe?" Alec said while helping him put on his shirt.

"I mean why are you mad at Caliber?" Chance asked but he did not answer and just continued helping him dress.

"Listen, you may be my knight, but be careful. He is still a royalty." he said but he felt like Alec was not listening to him at all.

"Do you understand?" he asked again. The knight finished fixing his clothes and nodded as a response.

'He is usually blank and doesn't give a damn about anything, but why was he upset?' Chance thought and his eyes followed Alec who was walking towards the door.

"The King of Canopus might be waiting, we should go." Alec stated and bowed. Chance nodded and immediately went outside the room.

He glanced at the room across and saw that it was closed. There were no more knights guarding the door and it was silent. He probably left already or so he thought.

He made Alec lead the way and he followed from behind. The knight would look back every half a minute to check on Chance, as he might get lost again. "Stop it, I am not going to disappear." he said.

While walking through the halls, by every window, he could see the garden he was in last night. It was beautiful at night but now that he could see it in daylight, he was even more amazed. 'Beautiful.' he thought.

The Prince and his knight stopped when they saw someone sitting by the window with one feet up and the other, hanging down. "Such a beautiful garden is it not?" the man said.

Chance suddenly remembered who the man was, with his blonde hair and golden eyes, he realized that he was the mysterious man he met in the garden before Caliber. "It is you again." he muttered.

Alec looked at Chance when it seemed like they knew each other. "It is nothing." Chance said, figuring what Alec was probably gonna ask. "Can you leave us for a while? I'll join you a bit later."

Alec hesitated but he had no choice. He walked away and stood at a distance where he could not hear their talk but could still see Chance.

"I never thought I would see you again." Chance said and looked outside the window. "I did say I was looking forward to seeing you again." the man said in a smile.

"It was pretty dark last night, you could still remember me?" the man said in amusement.

"Anyone would remember a person who looks like a lion." he whispered but the man heard him. "Lion?"

Chance turned to him, "You look like a lion. Can you not see yourself?" he said. The man just smiled in return.

"Say, what do you think about love at first sight?" Chance asked out of nowhere. What a strange question to ask, he thought.

The lion looked outside the window, "I have no such experience but I think it is stupid." he said with a smile.

Chance looked at him in confusion, "Why do you think so?"

"People say that love is felt and experienced after a long time of knowing each other, if you fell in love at first sight, then that is just a physical attraction." he responded. "But still, I do not know. What about you?" the man asked.

"It is sad for me." he answered and the man turned, amused. "When you fall in love at first sight, you feel as if you knew the person for a long time. As if your mind does not know but the heart does." he responded.

The man crossed his arms and stared at him, "If it is like you said, then why is it sad?"

Chance got into a daze, he could not answer the question at all, 'That's right, why is it sad?' he asked himself.

Maybe because he was not the person who Caliber liked first or maybe because he feels guilty to think that he might like Caliber even though there is a man that was supposed to be for Charles.

But who is he to think about such things?

'I am just borrowing the life of the real Charles.'

Sooner or later, after he comes back to his own world, the love that he wanted to have,

Will just disappear.