#prince!eri

/”All the time, all the time, I trick people. Just like so, just like this, you’ll catch on eventually . . .”/

     They say that a smile is the prettiest thing a person can wear.

     And all he wore were smiles.

     They were what he was known for – they were his best quality, his most attractive feature, his lady-killer, even – he was famous for his sweet, charming smiles. There wasn’t a single person in the kingdom who hadn’t acknowledged the beauty of his nearly infectious grins.

     They also say, however, that smiles make people wonder what you’ve been up to. With how often he smiled, it was almost impossible not to wonder what the country’s lovely prince was always up to. How did he manage to always be so positive, so likeable, so utterly charming?

/”The perfect crime, that’s what this is – I kill you.”/

     However, for those who have worked closely with the prince, those who had been around him and in his presence for long enough — they knew that there was something dark about him. He was a secretive person, he never said what he was doing or what he was up to, and he spoke in riddles – it was almost impossible to get an honest answer out of their dear Prince Eri.

     His smiles were a pretty disguise he had devised himself, a façade, really. They hid his true intentions, his true motives, his true self. He didn’t want anyone to know who and what he really was. His only goal was domination; to dominate over all, to become something better than what he currently was, to become something that everyone, his family included, would respect. Respect was all he ever wanted.

     But respect was something he rarely got.

/”Got myself an alibi, a surface face, taking on the appearance of a good child.”/

     Oh, sure, the people respected him, but that was a given. They couldn’t see past his sweet smiles and charming demeanor, and he was their prince. Of course they respected him. Gaining the respect of his family, and the other royals, however . . . ? That was a far different story.

     That was quite alright, though, he’d gain respect on his own, in his own little way. With his brother, the emperor, by his side, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to get his way. They had similar plans of universal and trans-dimensional domination – even if his brother’s feelings of guilt occasionally interfered – they were going to be all-powerful, and completely and utterly unstoppable. He wouldn’t allow anyone or anything to get in the way. He hadn’t spent years of internalized suffering and marginalized inferiority to only lose it all in the end over something trivial, even if both he and his brother knew they were in way over their heads.

/”I’m so happy I won, a flower weighs a monme – I want that kid, I want you.”/

     He was going to get his way, no matter the consequences. Even if it came down to his death at the end of it all, nobody could say he didn’t try. That he didn’t put in all of his effort. He couldn’t possibly let something as trivial as his brother’s feelings for a demon get in the way—

     . . . even though, his brother claims those feelings never existed. Or, at least, they didn’t exist anymore. He knew he was lying, though.

     You weren’t supposed to play with demons, that was the law, demons were heartless, cruel creatures that were only good for slaves, soldiers, and slaughtering, but little did most people know was that was exactly what the royal Dimitri Kagamine family did. How else would they get their power?

     Generations of pacts with powerful demons, generations of the study of black magic and demonic rituals. Their fathers had sealed away the two demon emperors to siphon their power when the twins were young children, and he and his brother had a blood pact with the Death Shinigami himself.

     No one could’ve possibly known this, though, at least no one that wasn’t close enough to the family. As far as the public eye was aware of, demons were dangerous creatures that couldn’t be trusted – creatures that only pretended to care for us until they found the right moment to strike. Demons could not be trusted. If it weren’t for their usefulness as slaves and soldiers, they would’ve killed them all. It was only right for the emperors to destroy the demon kingdom, wasn’t it? They were planning to attack us anyways. If we hadn’t struck first, they would’ve killed all humans. They were absolutely despicable creatures. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that what all the books say?

     He didn’t necessarily hate demons, per se. He knew they weren’t all actually evil creatures. But, after years of being subjected to ridicule and being considered sub-par, and second-rate compared to his brother by his own parents – to the point where they even only allowed his brother to rise to emperor, for the sole reason of not believing he deserved the right of having that power – topped with the fact his brother, and lover, had an affair with one of their demon soldiers, he had been driven by hatred and pure determination ever since.

     He had no sympathy for demons, they would only get in his way. They took things away from him. He wasn’t going to now lose everything he had worked for, for so, so many years, just because dear Emperor Ren felt bad for some demon commander he once had a fling with. It was already bad enough he had lost the title of Ren’s one and only, he wasn’t going to lose the respect and power he was going to gain at the end of it all, either; it’d have to be pried from his cold, dead hands.

     That was why, once they found him – he wasn’t going to give this up any time soon. No matter how his dear brother felt.

/”Bargaining points? Don’t count on them! ‘Cause I stole the joker you showed me—“

     A family full of darker secrets and even darker people, that’s how it was, and how it has been for years. If it weren’t for their power and sweet, innocent smiles and demeanor, they might’ve been overthrown generations ago.

     And he wasn’t about to be the generation that got overthrown.

     His determination and drive was nearly unrivaled. 

     What a shame would it be if that were put to waste.