1 Aphrodite's Testament

Once upon a time a Prince was born in a faraway kingdom, whose beauty surpassed Aphrodite's. This moment was nothing short of a miracle to Queen Marie and King Henry, as the two have prayed every night for this to happen. A priest told them to do this as their bloodline has been cursed with such hideousness people would faint from just getting a glimpse of them. This curse was implemented a decade ago by an envious witch who wished to look as beautiful as them. Distraught with such a predicament, they committed their everything to ensure their firstborn does not suffer such a fate. After many years of praying, wishing and longing for this very moment to happen, the gods decided to finally bestow them an offspring whose appearance was so unmatched even Narcissus would fall in love with him, and not his reflection. The moment he was born, the priest suggested the family follow his guidance as he will ensure the baby will stay beautiful forever, if not become even more handsome. Greedily and without thinking, they listened to his words no matter what, the world could burn for all they care, and they would still take the priest's advice.

The Prince's name is Ray, a boy whose presence reminded the kingdom of nothing but sunrays, bright and eye-catching. His gorgeous dark hair and jade green eyes have always been revered and recognised by the public wherever he went. Throughout his life, the royal family struggled to take him anywhere without people getting in the way of their carriage. They would scream and shout praises till their voices got hoarse, it was as if he was a spectacle of some kind. He didn't do anything worthy of attention, nor could he really as he was just a toddler by then. Perhaps his appearance reminded many people of the paintings of his great grandparents, whose beauty was just as astonishing as his. However, the difference is that they won the genetic lottery, meanwhile Aphrodite graced Ray with such beauty that outshine her own. Hence everyone knew he was special, as they felt simply blessed just by looking at him unlike his parents, whose ugliness was always hidden behind curtains, fans and masks. His appearance was regarded as something holy to look at, and touch which has happened frequently. Peasants, merchants and nobles alike always wanted to take a closer look at him, claiming that their souls will be cleansed, and the amount of times these instances occurred only increased the older he got. They would mutter how soft his skin is, how unblemished it was and how he was a masterpiece of some kind. These words would echo in his mind from sunset till sunrise, leaving him exhausted. Thinking about anything but their slimy hands nauseated him so much that he would vomit and fall ill for days.

The royal family did not enjoy others touching him but the moment they saw the consequences of that happening, they decided to immediately forbid anyone from touching him again lest they wanted to be impaled or put in jail for eternity. Little did they know, the crimes committed against him would only become worse and worse… People coming from all kinds of backgrounds would break into their castle and try to kidnap him. It did not matter how many guards they had outside of his bedroom and outside his window, these desperate and filthy people would always find a way to get their hands on little Ray.

The amount of these occurrences would increase as he got older, and one of the worst ones happened when he was nine years old. While he can remember many of these instances like yesterday, where each one of them left him in cold sweat, there was one incident that stood out the most, it is the one that leaves his unblemished face pale as a ghost. It was the night of the King's birthday, and he had invited all of his relatives and the elites, making the entire castle very crowded. So, to avoid all this the young Prince decided to excuse himself and go to bed early that evening which saddened many guests but they let him go anyway because they understood the importance of beauty sleep. Ray thought this night was gonna be mundane as many other previous nights excluding those times he almost got kidnapped. But little did the boy know, one of the male guests got a tad bit too attached to him and followed him all the way to his bedroom silently. This old man probably hid himself somewhere in his room unbeknownst to the boy's knowledge, and watched the maid help him get undressed and then put his night clothes on. The stalker got to see everything he hid underneath those expensive garments he wore almost everyday, and they got a closer look at him the moment the maid left him unattended for the night. He moved closer to him, and simply admired him while he was asleep. Driven by a complete want for him, he laid beside him under the covers, stroked his hair and quietly muttered praises as if he was his mother. Slowly but surely, impure thoughts began to cloud his obsessive mind, and he removed his covers and started to touch him. This woke the boy up and before he could do or say anything he covered his mouth with his hand and continued to explore his undeveloped body. He wanted to kick and scream but he couldn't, he was too weak and he felt like he had no control of his body, hence he remained completely paralysed below him. What shocked him the most was when he tore his nightgown off and spread his thin legs apart. It was very dark so he couldn't see what the man was doing, but he recalls the sound of him undoing his belt and pulling his pants down. Suddenly, the old man stopped the moment his maid burst into the room, with a candle in her hand she yelled at the man to get off of the Prince. Everything happened so quickly, because the next second he saw the man being dragged out by the guards, half naked, kicking and screaming as if he threw a tantrum. After one of the guards slammed the door closed, the maid made her way over to him, and the moment she witnessed his torn up nightgown she told Ray he needed to see the priest immediately.

The journey to the priest was very short, and the Prince travelled to him in a carriage with his parents. Once they got there, it was as if the priest could read through Ray and could retell the parents all the details of what had happened to their beautiful son. The priest claimed the boy's jade green eyes had gotten dull from trauma and facing something extremely sinful.

'We must cleanse the Prince from the horror that he has witnessed. With Aphrodie's help, maybe she will help him go back to the state of salvation and purity once more. He has become impure… And he has fallen victim to its consequences. If he does not become pure once more, his boyhood will be likened to a withered rose, impure, filthy, and worthless. We will have failed what Aphrodite has asked us to do, which is to protect him and his purity.' The priest explained, agitated, and upset over the incident.

'Then… Wh-what shall we do? You are our only hope because you're the only one who can speak to the gods... Especially Aphrodite. She listens to no one but you, Sir.' The king exclaimed, whilst holding his wife who became dizzy and almost delirious over the horrific situation their son has been through. Her husband used his free hand to dab a cloth on her damp forehead gently, to keep her cool as he was worried this might happen, and he was nothing short of correct.

'Build Ray a tower, so high that it touches the clouds, it is only then Aphrodite might forgive us for our shameful mistakes. His beauty needs to remain untouched, even by the Prince himself as he cannot be allowed to get dirty ever again. Lust is the most dangerous sin and we cannot have him fall in love with his own reflection, like Narcissus did. Therefore, your highness, we must ban mirrors and anything too shiny from coming into the tower.'

From then onwards, the boy lived above the clouds for many years, alone and protected from anything that could further sully his purity. Everyone but Ray knew how defiled he had become after that night both physically and mentally. Hence, they believed Aphrodite's idea of retribution was to keep him as sinless and pure as a newborn, if not more, especially for his potential wives. Letter after letter, was sent from every corner of the world, where beggars, commoners, and royalties alike have asked his parents to wed off their daughters to him. By the end of the year, the amount of letters would brim the royal family's ballroom, which was one of the grandest rooms to be in.

It seems that the older he got, the higher the number of proposals would be sent every year. Even so, nobody dared to pay him a visit ever since the incident, and thus the Prince came to live in isolation for many years to come. This left the world a big mystery, as almost nobody but his closest knew how beautiful he had become over time.