Chapter 25 - Fake Roses Last Forever

Vladstin's face beamed when he saw Leron grabbing onto his sleeve. Realizing this, he forced himself to pout. "Oh yeah? How will you make it up to me then?"

"Let's go play the game you were saying." Leron suggested. "Just don't.... dance anymore. You're quite loud in the ballroom, it might bother people."

Vladstin smiled from ear to ear and took his hand. "Who cares if I'm loud? I have a better idea."

"Let's dance, all of us! Not the cheesy partner dance either, let's dance in one big circle and do the 'allegratius'." Vladstin said, taking Leron's hand and running to the center of the ballroom.

"Alleg—what?" Leron was pulled to the dance floor confused.

Vladstin shouted something indiscernible to the musicians playing a slow, romantic melody, and they immediately changed it to a fast, upbeat tune. Everyone seemed to recognize this tune and started clapping and stomping their feet to the beat.

King Lazar, who was so busy getting drunk with his friends, laughed heartily when he heard the tune. "Hey! Who started an allegratius without a fake rose!? And without me as the Fake Rose King!?"

"I did, Father! I'm the Fake Rose King now!" Vladstin grinned at him.

"Brat! You dethroned me when it isn't even my time yet!" King Lazar and his drinking buddies laughed and drink like there's no tomorrow. "Alright, I will allow you just this once. But you need to do your responsibilities truly, go find a fake rose or forget about it!"

"Will this work?" Lady Stacia offered her crown of roses headpiece.

"Perfect!" Vladstin took it from her and shook it in his hand. "Everybody, bailiarte, baliarte! Let's all dance and sing, okay?"

Vladstin wore the crown of roses in his head and started to do complicated and fast movements that involve spinning around like a top several times. He ended up getting dizzy and fell to the ground, smiling, then someone took the crown of roses from him. For some reason, that seems to be the signal for the dance to start.

The people moved in a circle, spinning with the nearest person to them, then moving to the next and spinning with them. They spun with that person regardless if they are young or old, a man or a woman, a stranger or a friend. The person who had the rose crown passed it on to their spinning partner, then that person passed it to someone else, and so on. They started singing a strange and ridiculous song in sync.

"When you gave me that rose one day

I said "No!", I said "No!"

So I pass it around to someone else

Hoping it'll come back to me oh!

Then I learned it was a fake rose

Made of clay or steel or paper

And I learned I was a fool

But at least fake roses last forever!"

They repeat it several times, and Vladstin joined them, the crown of roses being worn at least once by everyone in the room.

Leron was just standing still, no idea what is happening around him. Vladstin spun him around. "Join us, Leron! Don't just stand there!"

"But I don't know how the dance works!" Leron said in a hushed tone, afraid to embarrass himself.

"Just spin the person next to you and after that move on to the next! If the fake rose got passed to you, give it to someone else!"

Leron did as he was told, and spun with people. He hastily passed the crown of fake roses when it was given to him, like it was the most deadliest object in the world. He ended up spinning with Vladstin again, who was wearing the fake rose crown. As he was about to pass it to Leron, the song and music were coming to a close.

"And I learned I was a fool

But at least fake roses last forever!"

Vladstin smiled wryly, and didn't pass the crown of fake roses to Leron.

He wore it for himself, claiming "I am the Fool!"

The allegratius ended, and everyone laughed at Vladstin. "It's the first time I've seen the Fake Rose King become the Fool!"

King Lazar cackled in delight and slapped Vladstin in the rump. "You should sentence yourself to be the forever Fool, my boy!"

Vladstin just laughed with them. "I, Vladstin, sentence Vladstin to be the Fool of the fake rose forever and ever. May he always be a fool for love!"

The dance was finished and everyone was in a fit of giggles at the ridiculousness of it all, and settled down. The dance made them hungry so they all focused on eating and replenishing their energy. Vladstin and Leron sat on one table, eating chocolate cake.

"What was that dance all about?" Leron asked. "You didn't pass me the fake rose in the end. That means I should have been the 'Fool', right?"

Vladstin pressed a finger on his lips. "Shhhh! Don't let them hear that I cheated. I basically sacrificed myself for you."

"Oh, is that so? T-Thank you." Leron nodded. "I still don't understand what it all means."

"The allegratius was a way to mock people who seek admiration from someone else even though they were already loved." Vladstin explained. "The Fake Rose King is the one who loved truly, and the rose symbolizes his love. His Lover could be anyone in the dance floor, because they pass his love to someone else, hoping that they'll get love from that person in return. But they soon realized that when they passed the rose to someone else, it turned into a fake one. The last person who gets the fake rose becomes the Fool."

"Ah, so that's what it means. I never thought it would be so.... sad." Leron said. "Especially for you."

"Why? It was a lot of fun!" Vladstin filled his face with chocolate mousse.

"The dance was fun, but the meaning behind it is sad. That means as the Fake Rose King, you gave your love truly, and in the end, you received it, only for it to be fake love and making a Fool out of you." Leron analyzed the metaphor of the dance.

"Haha! It's not like it will happen to me for real anyway! It's just a silly dance, that's all!" Vladstin wiped his mouth with a napkin. He pointed to the flower crown on his head. "Also, I get to keep this forever! Good thing Stacia didn't mind using it as the fake rose."

"Do you like flower crowns that much...." Leron's face became glum. "Or was it because it belonged to Lady Stacia?"

"I like flower crowns, of course! They look nice on me too, don't you think?" Vladstin posed coquettishly with the red metal flower crown over his platinum hair. "Aren't I charming and dandy?"

Leron giggled and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You're so full of yourself sometimes!"

"Not just sometimes, I honestly think I'm the most good-looking lad in all of Crescentia." Vladstin admitted, his chin up smugly. "Hehe, I'm just kidding—"

"I agree."

Vladstin's eyes widened. "What?"

Leron patted his head. "I said, I agree. You really are the most handsome person I've met here in Crescentia. At least, for me."

Vladstin's face reddened like a tomato, and he looked away. "Really? T-Thanks..."

Prince Leron, even at his young age, was not dense to signs of infatuation. He had been well taught in the art of reading people's emotions after all. It was inevitable for him as a spy to have good non-verbal reading skills. And with someone as expressive as Vladstin, it wasn't even that hard, anyone would notice that blush.

Why would Vladstin blush from a compliment if he only sees that person as a 'friend'?

"Hey, Vladstin."

Vladstin turned to him. "Yeah?"

"You have some chocolate on your face..."

Vladstin touched his face all over, wiping it with a napkin. "I do? Where?"

"Over here." The cunning Leron rubbed his thumb over Vladstin's cheek, near the edge of his lips.

The temperature on Vladstin's face rose as his heartbeat raced from Leron's touch. "Oh, thank you. I could have gotten it myself—

Leron licked the chocolate on his thumb, giving a meaningful and mischievous stare to Vladstin as he did so.

Vladstin gulped hard. Leron smiled at him, tilting his head to the side. "Tasty."

The older Leron who was watching this scene again from the Looking Glass wanted to push his younger self six feet under the ground and strangle him.

"You manipulative son of a—" Leron cursed his younger self, then lost the energy to continue.

Still, no matter how much he regrets his past actions, there's no way to change them now. He made a fool of Vladstin starting from when they were young, slowly until he developed feelings for him. He used those feelings to lower his guard, using cheap tactics and shameful seduction to his advantage. Later on, he even lied that he felt the same way.

Hidden on a pile of rubble, he saw something red glinting in the distance. Dragging his chained feet, he went over to see what it was.

It was a fake crown of roses made of cheap metal, still here after all these years.