When the Empress was pregnant with her first and only child Kalliás, she fell ill from the onslaught of plague throughout Greece and the world. It was a sad day for the Emperor who feared he would lose both his child and his wife. With that in mind, he left his sick wife to search for something to cure her ailment and keep his family safe from Hades' unforgiving grasp. Fortunately, when he turned the Emperor and his men found a lotus flower in a spring in the dense forest. The flower was radiant and gold, hinting at its magical nature. Servants were tasked with creating an elixir from the petals of the lotus flower and for weeks the Empress drank it until her health improved, the glow returning to her skin and a beautiful baby boy was born in the following months. Prince Kalliás, the lotus prince he was called, became a symbol of healing for Greece and thus became most coveted.

The years that passed led to the day of the courting ceremony where the prince was allowed to find love, albeit love that had to be approved by the Emperor and Empress. Waking the prince for the ceremony proved a troubling task for a short woman with tied walnut hair worn by worrying streaks of gray scattered throughout, a testament to her hardworking and high-strung nature. "It's Gloriana!" A sing-song voice filled the bedroom that basked in an amber glow from the stained glass windows engraved with lotus flowers. The light cast over the oak bed frames and slipped through the sheer curtains of the canopy and onto the prince's back, making his skin glittery from his sleep sweats.

"By the gods! It's almost noon! Wake up, my boy!" Gloriana clapped her hands twice as two men and a woman followed in behind her; they had silks and fabrics of all shades resting over their forearms. Prince Kalliás, of course, stirred and pulled the white rabbit fur-trimmed blanket over his head and was in a childish refusal to wake. "You're much too old for this behavior," Gloriana groaned and would pull a small box from her apron, "I've brought you something." She hummed and opened the curtains to the bed fully now, and Kalliás had peeked out from under the blanket, intrigued.

"A gift?" He asked, and Gloriana nodded her head with a smirk etching itself onto her face. Bribery was most effective on the prince who sat up in bed and grabbed the gift to open it, finding inside a simple piece of jewelry dipped in gold and handmade. It had a lotus flower charm on the dainty chain, and Kalliás smiled brightly and went to give Gloriana a hug, to which she shook her head. "Happy Birthday," she began, standing off the bed and refusing the hug, to which Kalliás looked a bit disappointed.

"Right then, you get dressed and we might be able to squeeze in a quick lunch!" Gloriana chimed, giving the prince a wink as the groomers had approached the prince, their eyes covered by linen cloths, and their movements trained as though they could navigate blind like they were born that way. The prince was to never be touched, nor have eyes on him unless he was dressed. He sighed, oaky eyes longingly looking out to the warmed curtains that had the company of sunlit windows, and yet he felt incredibly lonely and cold.

Not long after being dressed to perfection in his blue robes and jeweled olive skin did Kalliás grow impatient and bored. He made his way out of his bedroom down the winding stretches of hallways and staircases he had traversed aplenty. Delicate fingers brushed against limestone pillars and stair rails, peeking out from behind a hanging tapestry. He could see all the people from the city flooding through the grandeur of the golden doors, his eyes watching as he saw a tall man, with long only hair appearing from the crowd. Kalliás furrowed his brows and inquisitively leaned his head forward, gripping onto the tapestry that was beginning to tear at the top.

"He must be from somewhere else-" Kalliás said to himself, and just as the tapestry was going to rip and cause him to fall down the stairs, possibly creating great embarrassment for the royal family, he was grabbed by the forearm and pulled to the top of the stairs. "Your highness! It is no time to dawdle." Gloriana, like a mother hawk, had been rushing down miles of hallways to find the prince and bring him to the reception hall.

There, he would eventually stand on a platform above the onlookers, a drawn curtain shielding him from the eyes eager to see the prize of the Greek world. He swallowed dryly; the curtain drew back and everything became muffled to him as his father, Emperor Augustine VII, was making a speech that surely would have been wonderful and inspiring had been drowned out by Kalliás's own anxious heartbeat. When the music began, Kalliás went to muscle memory for the dance; his feet had no shoes and only jewels around his ankles that grounded him. He danced atop flower petals and between low-lit lanterns, a scene of resplendent beauty and grace. He spun and spun as he became dizzy and went to the edge of the platform and took a breath.

All the spectators watched him closely, and Kalliás looked like a deer in headlights until he saw his cousin standing at the front, and as tradition went, he moved his foot to the line of lotus flowers and broke it, pulling her in and danced with her. Thus, the courting began for the onlookers, and Kalliás was just glad to see a familiar face. "You're supposed to dance with suitors, dear cousin." Helene laughed and held her hands in his as they spun around, her rich brown hair tied up and curly, eyes of jade, and lips like summer rose.

"It's awkward, seeing all of them just gawk at me, Hel." Kalliás gained respite from this moment until her words would encourage him to step out of that sheltered and lonesome life. "This is your taste of freedom, don't spoil it." Helene would twirl away and grab a banker's hand and dance with him. Kalliás stood for a moment as he could feel others beginning to close in and swivel him into dance and banter.

The dignitary, who had patiently been waiting in the crowd, had his eyes on the prince and pushed through with magical suave and agility until his mighty frame was bumped by the prince, and he caught him by the waist before the dazzling royal could hurt himself. "Apologies for the sudden closeness; are you alright?" The man said gently, and the prince was immediately caught off-guard by the audacity of a strange man to have his hands flush against his ribs. "No, that's alright I'm-" Kalliás began, yet was cut off by the other.

"I'm pleased to meet you, I'm Vasilios." He interjected and would spin the young man in his arms and yearned for this closeness, bordering obsession and awe. "Who are you?" Kalliás asked, dancing with him with such ease that anxiety from before had completely evaporated. The dignitary didn't answer just yet and instead enjoyed dancing with the prince and closing the gap of how close they were. It certainly was catching the attention of the spectators who wished to join Kalliás in dance and conversation. And some tried to come, but Vasilios simply whisked the prince away and distracted him with a glittery smile and beautiful sapphire eyes. "Tell me, my prince. How is that you possess such beauty and I have never seen you before today?" Vasilios hummed and the prince looked up at him. "I could ask you the same, my lord. You don't seem Greek. Where did you come from?" Kalliás was becoming enchanted by the dignitary.

Vasilios paused and leaned in close to the other's ear, "I am beyond your wildest dreams, my prince. And perhaps, I could show you where I'm from. It's a beautiful place far from here." Vasilios dipped the prince, watching how those curls feel back and revealed his pretty face now dewy from sweat.

"I would like that, my lord." Kalliás whispered in response and their danced continued for another thirty minutes until the prince lost his footing and needed a break. "Are you alright?" Vasilios, like a worried lover, asked and tucked a curl behind Kalliás ear. Their eyes locked together like the sea washing over the shore. The prince nodded and panted becoming out of breath from the dance, "Yes, my lord. I'm sorry I-" Kalliás responded and would try to keep himself steady. Vasilios caught the prince's waist and pulled him closer.

"You're quite the skilled dancer, you've almost bested me." Vasilios teased and they both stood there smiling at each other and continuing the dance carefully. "Truly, who are you?" Kalliás asked again and Vasilios chuckled.

"I am yours, my prince."