#cursed princes

It'd be a horrific realization for him.

Mirage wasn't just a shut in. Or lazy. Or spoiled. Or enjoyed being waited on.

He's been a literal actual prisoner for years.

Lol maybe in the end Hound learns some big name guy is coming for Mirage. Someone Mirage is 100% certain Cliffjumper isn't going to be able to beat and who hes not going to be able to talk out of killing Cliffjumper.

So instead Mirage gets Hound to leave with Cliffjumper. Hound being someone who seems to love Cliff, curse and all. After everything if Mirage is bound to lose Cliffjumper regardless, he'd rather it be this way rather than seeing him murdered. He's doomed himself to the tower and the whims of whoever is coming for him but at least he feels he can somewhat make up for keeping Cliffjumper there all these years.

Besides, he think he can, uh, take matters into his own hands before the big name guy can get to the tower. His plans are ruined when he gets there earlier than Mirage expected.

And he is not happy he can't carry his prize away with him...

(This i turning into a really dark fairy tale. XD

Ah well that suits halloween.

and they get a happy ending so its aight)

Actually maybe Mirages curse prevents him from ever physically leaving the tower. Like, theres literally an invisible force field that keeps him from going beyond a certain point. He's quite literally trapped.

Cliffjumper on the other hand may have been cursed to be some sort of "monster" but he is otherwise freely able to leave the tower. Its just that he was told that the only way for his curse to lift is if Mirage is "rescued" from the tower. So he stays to fulfill what he thinks are the requirements of the curse.

So not only is Cliffjumper Mirages only companion in the tower, hes also the only one who can go out and get, like, food and stuff. If Cliff were to leave Mirage would quite literally die alone. (Slowly)

Course, again, then Hound enters the pictures and things start to change. Cliffjumper becomes very close with Hound, and encourages Hounds clear infatuation with Mirage. However Mirage is less enthused.

Mirage, he thinks, is a certain threat. If he doesn't kill Cliffjumper to break the curse and take Mirage from the tower for himself, then he might convince Cliffjumper to leave Mirage for good.

While hes studied for years (sending Cliffjumper out periodically for magic tomes and things) to try and find a way to break the curse, deep down Mirage has lost all hope. He's resigned himself to his fate, and on some level actually wants things to continue as they are.

Cliffjumper can't live amongst normal people without a disguise, and the nature of the curse has reduced Mirage to some possession to be stolen away. In Mirages eyes, even if Cliff hates him for it, its much better for the two of them to live together for the rest of their lives.

The real question is the how and why they were both cursed.

Maybe someone had a grudge against both their families? Cliffjumper being a long lost son of OP whose like a king or something works with his curse being a kinda petty revenge thing.

Mirage is where it gets interesting because I can see his situation also being the result of desiring revenge. But it feels way more sadistic and personal. Not only more or less placing Mirage under house arrest for years, and hinging his freedom on the death of his only companion, but also guaranteeing Mirage is only ever sought after by glory seekers and greedy adventurers. LIke maybe there was a bit of a lie that saving mirage had a huge treasure reward, or got you half a kingdom, or something. Or maybe that promise is actually true. I dunno. Just intersting to think about.

Regardless in the end Mirages spell is broken via a kinda loophole. It can only be broken if the beast of the tower (cliffjumper) dies and Mirage is saved from the tower. So when the tower is on fire or crumbling or something and Mirage is obviously still trapped inside, Cliffjumper risks (and temporarily loses) his life to save him. Thus the monster dies and Mirage is, quite LITERALLY, saved from the tower? And then somehow the loophole removes Cliffs curse but also saves him? Cause hes technically the hero here?

Hound is more of the emotional hero bolstering the two and getting them to reconsider things.

Their curses bind them together and Cliffjumper, who is sick of this state of affairs, wants Mirage to stop being so picky and just have a make out sess with some knight already so they can leave.

But Mirage refuses secretly knowing that part of the intended means of breaking the curse is killing Cliffjumper as the designated "monster". He's desperate to find a way to break the curse without harming Cliff who has been his only friend and companion for years.

Unfortunately this stalling only makes Cliffs resentment of the Prince grow. He was originally sympathetic of him but now he's convinced mirage wants to leave him a monster for the rest of his life just so he can continue getting all that attention.

This miscommunication has caused a once close friendship to become strained and even resentful.

Enter Hound who is a woodsman/ranger/nature guy who stumbles across the tower and shakes things up.

It becomes obvious to Cliff that nature boy is smitten with the prince and tries to hook them up. However Mirage takes one look at the weapon Hound carries (an axe? A bow? A gun?) and fears the curse has brought him to their doorstep to play out the "story" that will result in cliffs death. So he dodges any obvious attempts at romance.

And that is just their status quo for a bit until something happens to dramatically shake things up.

here you'll find all the new chapters.

CURSED PRINCES chapter 1

Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms on the two sides of a lake. They were involved in an old war that for generations had deprived the kingdoms of their prosperity.

Everyone in the kingdoms wanted the end of the war and strived for peace, but it wasn't so easy obtain it: one of the kingdoms had to surrender first, and none pf the kings wanted to do it.

It seemed that there was no solution at the problem, until one day something happened:  the western queen gave birth to a baby prince, and in the same moment the eastern queen  gave birth to a beautiful baby princess.

It was taken as a sign: the two kingdoms celebrated together the joyful event and, at the end of the celebrations, it was announced that, on their eighteenth birthday, the princes would have gotten married.

The war was finally over.