There was an unanswered question from what had happened from that Hearth’s Warming Eve ball: what was Ganymede’s side of the story? Since we only know from Sekto’s side of the story was that he was able to gain enough courage to say that he has a crush on him, there wasn’t much to go off of what Ganymede thought about all of this. Thorax especially wanted just as many answers for his actions as much as his son to know some explanation about his behavior. After giving some afterthought, the King realized something rather interesting: it wasn’t so much of what he said, but rather, what he didn’t.
He didn’t say “no” to him.
This observation alone made both of us rather curious, but how exactly to approach him without startling him? Thorax had thought about this throughout Hearth’s Warming between the celebrations. What he told me that night was a simple plan, but one that might work given his abilities. So for the remaining chapter, this story has to be told from Thorax’s point of view.
I had indeed given great thought into how to confront Ganymede without intimidating him. As it turns out, it’s very simple. I just have to disguise myself as one of the changelings who set up the potluck lunches on the days that he helps out. A subject named Amethyst that was about a decade younger than I was at the time. Being king has the unique quark of ordering those to take the day off. In this case, the one that I’m going undercover as one of the adults that set all of this up.
A few days later on that afternoon, I slipped into my new form of a light purple Changeling. I even had my voice changed to fit that of Amethyst. With her approval, I went into the grand public hall with a bowl of soup on my back. About an hour before lunch, I came, looking for any sign of the colt.
Sure enough, Ganymede did walk into space, but he looked uneasy as his eyes glanced around, as if he was looking for someone that he didn’t want to run into. Take this as a starting point, I went up to him. “Are you feeling okay?” I asked him. “You seemed rather nervous.”
“Is it that obvious?” He said as turned his head this way and that. “Sorry, it’s just I’m trying to avoid the royal family.”
This got my attention. “Oh? You didn’t do something wrong, did you?”
“What? N-No, of course not… At least I hope not.”
“Hey, calm down,” I patted his back. “What’s gotten you all worked up?”
“Weren’t you at the Hearth’s Warming ball?” I shook my head. “Well… You do know Prince Sekto, right? So to put it simply, he has a crush on me.”
“Really?” I cocked an eyebrow. “What happened?”
He sighed, “Well… at the ball I was just hanging out there, you know. Just talking to my friends, making jokes as we usually do. However, we were getting tired and some of us kind of left by then. However… that was when the Prince came up to me. I mean, at first, I was actually stunned that a guy like he would want to talk to me. Before we almost never talked but I did serve him that crunchy curried grasshoppers beside, ‘Hey there, Your Highness.’ Yet, here he was actually wanting to talk to me. I mean, how cool is that? It’s not every day that you’d get someline so high up to get to know someone like me.”
“Okay? Then what happened?”
“Well, looking back, he seemed rather nervous and asked me if I could dance. But the funny thing is, I don’t have a clue how to. I mean, noling’s ever taught me how. But he told me that if I was up for it, that he could show me through the steps. So I thought, ‘Why not?’ and followed him on the dance floor.
“And I gotta say Amethyst, I was terrible at it. Just horrible. But I wouldn’t let that get me down. I just made jokes about it of how it would be better if I were on stilts. You know, something like that to at least get the Prince a little more relaxed. I mean… he did seem rather tense.”
For a moment, he got quiet. “And…?” I asked.
I noticed a blush on his face as he laid his back against a wall. “That’s… Well, that’s when he told me the real reason why he wanted to see me.” He looked around to see that we were out of earshot. “Can you keep a secret Amethyst?”
“I can, why? What did he tell you?”
“This is going to sound a little weird but… he told me… that he has a crush on me. At first, I thought that it was a joke, but the thing is, he was serious. I could sense that he was honest about what he says and… I just didn’t know how to react.”
“Why? Did you push him?”
“Kinda, but not really. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s not the first time that someling came up to me to say that they have a crush on me. Heck, I have been told that some fillies do because they think I’m cute or something. And I don’t mind it so much because they’re just… you know… girls. But when it’s Prince Sekto? I mean…” he trailed up as he looked up at me. “How am I supposed to react to something like that? They never teach this sort of thing in school or anything. I mean, even if he wasn’t a colt, he is part of the royal family, which is what makes it so scary about it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why? Because Sekto is a prince?”
He shook his head, “It’s more than that! He’s the son of King Thorax, who has a dragon as a consort. And his brother, Pharynx?” He shivered, “You know as well as I that he would snap your neck in two if you so much as look at him wrong.”
After taking down a mental note to have Pharynx to show his gentler side a bit more often, I asked, “So back to the subject, what did you say to Prince Sekto?”
“Nothing really,” he said. “I guess that’s the best way to do it. You just can’t say you don’t like him.”
“Why not?”
“Because if you do, I’m pretty sure that you’d be on the family’s most wanted list. But now I heard that I’ve made him cry… I’m just trying to watch over my back. And besides, I’ve never had a colt say that they… you know… like like me, so I don’t know what to do. I can’t tell my parents about it because I don’t want to get into trouble for upsetting royalty.”
My face softens, “Then how come you didn’t give him a chance?”
He looked at me as if I asked what color was the sky. “Because I’m a little too young to go on dates. I’m fourteen.”
“That’s not what I mean.” I shook my head. “I mean… could you see yourself getting to know a colt like you would a filly?”
“I… I don’t know…” the yellow fellow told me, looking bashful. “This never happened to me before.”
“But just think about it. Would it bother you if you had a colt getting to know you romantically as a filly might?”
He sat there in thought for a minute. “I can’t say if I would or not. For me, I kinda see it like I would with any other of my friends who are colts. That, and might be easier to talk to.”
“Even if it’s Sekto?”
His ears folded back, “If I just get the chance to apologize, that I didn’t mean to make him cry. What do you think I should do, Amethyst?”
“Well,” I put a hoof on his back. “I can tell you that Sekto isn’t mad at you.”
Ganymede looked up at me with a quizzical look. “And how would you know?”
“Simply because,” at this point, I dropped my disguise as I busted into green flames, leaving my true form behind. “My son and I had discussed this not too long ago.”
“Y-Your Majesty!” the poor little guy was so stricken with surprise that he froze there, unable to do anything.
“Calm down,” I said, patting him on the back. “You’re not in any sort trouble. Believe me, if you were, we’d have a completely different conversation. Look, I’m sorry for the deception, but I figured that in your case that it was the best way to get a straight answer from you. Now, with that being said, I want you to know that Sekto is doing fine.”
He gulped, “You’re not going to have me go out with him, are you.” Then realizing what he said, he quickly added. “N-Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I mean, anyone here would be lucky to be a friend to your kids.”
“To answer your question: no. I’m not, and nor can I do that, even if I wanted to. I may be a king, but it’s not my place to tell everyone who they should or should not have feelings for. Or lack thereof.”
Ganymede gave a guilty look, “He just caught me off guard, okay? I mean, I’d be thrilled to have him as a friend. But the whole crush thing just threw me for a loop.”
“I understand,” I nodded. “Sekto does like you. After I sat him down, he told me that he’s an admirer of yours for some time. While he is figuring out what he likes as he is growing up, you have taught him an important, if not painful lesson that needs to be learned.”
“Which is?”
“That sometimes, while you might feel an attraction towards someone, you’d have to accept the fact that the other might not feel the same way. But that shouldn’t stop you from looking for those who have the same qualities that you’d admire, to begin with.”
“Your Highness, that’s what I don’t quite understand. Why does he like me of all Changelings? What’s so special about me that I’ve caught the attention of a Prince?”
I couldn’t help but smile as I explained, “Well, he admires your optimism, your sense of humor, positivity, and your social skills. He sees you as a good fella that would want to get to know better.”
“He does?” he blinks.
“Yep. In fact, if you want to, you are more than welcome to just be his friend. Sekto has been starting to think if he’s too good to deserve something like friendship from you.”
The yellow colt’s jaw dropped, “Prince Sekto holds me in that high in regard.”
“Well, he did have a crush on you,” I smirked.
Ganymede thought for a moment, “But wouldn’t it be awkward? I mean I did hurt the poor guy’s feelings after all.”
“He forgives you. So you two can still start over, even if it’s just on a friendship level.”
“Yeah… I’ll have to think about it.”
As he got back up, a thought came to my head, “Just out of curiosity,” I said. “Your name is unique to me. Do you know much about it?”
He shrugged, “All I know is that my parents named me after the true name of a constellation… uh… Aquarius, I think.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed before falling into a fit of chuckles. Ganymede, with a puzzled look, asked me why I was laughing. “Forgive me,” I said. “It’s just that considering the legend behind Aquarius, the water bearer, I couldn’t help but find the irony in all of this.”
“I don’t understand.”
So I began to explain to him of an ancient Pegasi myth. That before the Timbucktu Wars, there was once a shepherd who lived near the great city in which he was considered one of the most beautiful of all the mortals. So much so, that even the King of the Gods: Zeus was in love with him to the point where he would transform himself into a falcon, just so that he could fly down to get a closer look. One day, he was overcome with so much affection for the stallion that he flew down and took him to the home of the gods to be his lover and official water bearer at their banquets. Zeus’s wife was no doubt enraged at the arrangement with such heated jealousy. But to the other gods, just being in Ganymede’s presence filled them with joy.
When the gods ate, Ganymede was there with a jug to fill up their cups. But whenever he got around to Zeus, he kisses the lip of his cup before passing it back to the God of Lightning. While his wife was furious, he freely admitted that he liked his kisses. Consumed with rage that she couldn’t do anything against Ganymede himself, she decided that she would act her vengeance upon his kind in which that they would be destroyed.
But as for Ganymede, Zeus granted him eternal youth, immortality, and have him live among the stars as Aquarius, the water bearer.
Once I was able to explain the legend to the colt, only did I notice the embarrassed blush on his face. “Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah… I just didn’t know that about my own name.”
I patted his head, “I think it’s a wonderful name. Now let me help you guys set up lunch.”
He nodded as we returned setting the table up, “Um…” he spoken up at last. “Do you think I could… you know… hang out with Prince Sekto sometime?”
I smiled, “That is perfectly acceptable.”