Four Years Ago

Four Years Ago

The version of events Franny told Brendon was cobbled together from her firsthand experience, Fred’s confusing explanation, and the rumors that spread afterwards. It was, therefore, not the whole truth, only the story as she knew it.

Mattias Louder worked odd jobs in the nearby village. He was known as a sweet, earnest young man, and everyone expected him to marry well and become an established figure in the community.

Until the day he met Fred, and they began a not-so-discreet romance. Oh, they thought they were sneaky—they never showed affection in public, never used endearments within hearing—but everyone around them picked up on the mood. It was the way Fred looked at Mattias, a mix of longing and a slight smugness because he knew it wasn’t in vain. The way Mattias found excuses to run into Fred in the streets or touch him casually.

Everyone was a little surprised, but many agreed it was a sweet first love—the kind destined to become a lingering memory after it inevitably faded.

Until the bruises appeared.

They began as a subtle ring around one of Mattias’ wrists, like someone had grabbed him too hard or bound his hands. He made excuses, brushed off everyone’s concerns, and acted more cheerful around Fred than ever.

Then a splash of purple across his face, darkening into a blackened eye. A cracked lip and yellowish green tinge to his mouth. A red cheek, swollen enough to slur his words.

Rumors spread about the prince abusing one of their own. No one ever accused him to his face, but the villagers turned chilly at any mention of the prince or the royal family. If anyone ever tried to ask Mattias, offered to help him, he repeatedly swore that Fred had never laid an angry hand on him.

His words inspired other speculation of Fred taking out his dark, deviant desires on Mattias, too sweet to turn down even the most dangerous requests.

And then, one day, Mattias disappeared.

Only Fred seemed unconcerned by this new development. He continued about his days like normal, never asking after his missing lover or mentioning his name at all. The only oddity was how frequently he visited his tower. Before it had been once a week, at most—whenever the daily tasks ground away his nerves and he simply wanted some solitude. Now it was several times a day.

One day, a man came to the king and queen, begging them to help him find his son. It was Mattias Louder’s father, known as a hardworking, honest man. He wept pitifully as he pleaded with the royals, “My son has a sickly constitution. He’s supposed to come home to me every night, but he hasn’t returned in days. The only clue I have to Mattias’ whereabouts is his relationship with the prince. Could I please speak to Prince Frederick so he can help me find my son?”

Except Fred wasn’t at the castle. He had left a few hours before to visit his tower and hadn’t yet returned. The queen offered to find him and asked for the man’s patience. He immediately agreed, hope shining through his misery.

Franny joined her mother, leaving the king to keep Mattias’ father company. Along with a few guards, they went to the tower, expecting to find Fred reading on the couch or whatever else he did when he was holed up in there.

Before they even left the forest line, they heard the groans and moans of terrible agony from the topmost tower window.

The guards rushed to break down the door, but the tower’s magic pushed them back. When Franny tried, the door opened for her. The magic recognized her frantic thoughts and pounding heart as signs of an emergency and allowed her to open the door.

They all raced upstairs to find the bedroom door locked as well. “Fred! Fred, open up!” Franny called, banging on it and rattling the knob.

From the other side they heard a voice say, “I can’t do this.” Shortly after, the door opened and Mattias pushed past the guards, naked except a pair of pants, healing bruises all over his body. He turned once to glance at Franny, tears streaking down his face, before racing down the stairs.

His actions surprised the guards, and they simply allowed him to pass without realizing he was the missing young man. He ran out of the building and wasn’t heard from again for weeks.

Inside the room, Fred sat on the bed, naked except for the sheets covering his waist. He had his knees pulled up to his chest and cried into them, great heart-wrenching sobs that gave everyone in the room pause.

The queen dismissed the guards and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for her son, but her hand dropped at the last minute. “Oh, Freddy. What have you done?”

His reply came out in a mixture of hiccups and broken words. “His—father—hit—him. I was just trying to—he said—” The rest of his explanation was drowned by his tears.

Once the queen returned to the castle, she sent Fred to the medics and confronted the man still waiting with her husband. “Sir, did your son run away from you?”

“Never! Mattias is a good boy. He knows where his obligations lie. At least, he did until your son turned his head. If anyone is abusing him, it’s that bastard.”

The accusations continued until the queen dismissed him. Furious that she refused to listen to him or tell him where his son went, he returned to the village and immediately spread his side of the story: “Prince Frederick seduced and then abused my son, turned him against me, locked him in a tower, and now he’s likely dead.”

The story continued to spread for almost a month. Whenever Fred tried to explain his side of events, people shunned him. Tensions rose between the populace and the royal family, with whispers of revolt carried on the breeze.

Then one day, Mattias returned with a fierce look in his eye and two guards wearing heavy black armor. He confronted his father—no one knew what was said between them—and left with a carriage full of his things.

Everyone who witnessed his returned asked him what had happened between him and Fred. He told them all the same thing, “The prince was trying to save me, but I have to save myself.” They never got any more details.

When he tried to visit the castle, the queen turned him away. “After everything, I think it’s best if you two don’t see each other.”

He accepted it without argument and continued on his way. He left town and he and Fred never saw each other again.

The rumors died down eventually. People stopped treating Fred like a villain as they forgot why they should hate him in the first place. It helped that they never saw him courting anyone else. Never had the chance to speculate. But if he ever openly loved someone again … even disproven lies could poison the well if given access to the water.