The Cursed Prince

He first appeared as if a star fell from the sky.  It shot down like a shooting star but as it went closer to earth, his true form became much clearer. The blinding brightness dispersed and finally changed into a really handsome man. 

The god was dressed in a unique outfit compared to humans who resided in the kingdom. 

He wore white layered robes which complimented his dark brown hair that fell over his shoulders. Across his long hair, he wore a crown made out from feathers that each held a magical sheen and color in each one of them. 

His green eyes were sharper than the eyes of any eagle or bird. He searched among the world's population until he finally located his objective. The god arrived at the castle of King Draco and his eyes widened.

"Hey… this is the castle of one of the previous participants," the god exclaimed in utter worry. "I need to find him fast."

He finally entered one of the chambers as he traced the magic. It turned out to be the room of none other than the princess herself. He frantically looked around the room and then found the bird, the phoenix, sleeping beside Rowena. 

He sighed in relief.

The god plucked out a feather from his crown. It was a beautiful midnight blue feather bespeckled with stars, accompanied by a soft lullaby. He threw it into the air and worked his magic. The atmosphere all around the room changed and then spread across the entire castle.

All of the residents and inhabitants within the castle of King Draco heard the sweet lullaby of the dreaming bird and fell into a deep sleep. The god did this and ensured that nobody else would disturb them. 

Once the god was satisfied that nobody was going to arrive, he stepped towards the bed slowly. Rowena slept soundly and didn't wake up and so appeared Lucent as well. Until his peaceful slumber was disturbed by the god.

"Gosh... there you are!" The God of Aviary sighed in relief. "I've finally come back to take you home. Let's go."

The bird didn't move in its place.

The god who looked at the phoenix wasn't amused.

"Please don't fool me and pretend to be asleep. You're immune to the effects of the magic. Don't you know that I almost got a heart attack when I found out you were almost killed? A little songbird saw it earlier and informed me. The human world is such a dangerous place!"

No answer at all.

The god thought for another second and snapped his fingers.

He chuckled and rested a hand on his hip. "Are you having trouble escaping from that mortal's grasp? Don't be shy and tell me if you need my help. There's nothing to be embarrassed about since it's difficult to be a little bird in the human world."

Nothing.

The God of Aviary frowned at the lack of response and moved closer towards the phoenix. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about until… he saw the bird was currently in the arms of a very beautiful young woman.

She was far more beautiful than anyone he'd ever seen before. If he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe the story. How could a mere mortal have such beauty that surpassed even goddeses in Cretea?

The God of Aviary was astounded for a moment. However, since he was more into men, the God of Aviary only clicked his tongue and looked at the phoenix with a small frown.

"Do not tell me that you got attached to this mortal while you were trapped with her?"

No answer yet again.

The phoenix's eyes were closed and he refused to budge. The God of Aviary shook his head and quickly took the bird away from Rowena. When the god separated Lucent from Rowena, the bird's eyes widened and he burst into flames.

"Hah! You were awake all along!" The god of Aviary chuckled.

Lucent immediately struggled in the man's arms. The phoenix swiped both his terrible claws and pecked his sharp beak against the god's face as he attempted to free himself and return to Rowena's side. 

"Stop it!" The God of Aviary groaned but the phoenix showed him hostility and refused to be taken away. "You don't want to force my hand!"

Slash!

Lucent and the god struggled for a couple of minutes, until the God of Aviary decided enough was enough. "I'm sorry that you've grown to like it here, but I have to take you back, whether you liked it or not. This is no place for a god!"

The God of Aviary procured a pill and while Lucent tried to peck his eye out, shoved it into the bird's beak. In an instant, the phoenix became sleepy and stopped struggling. Guiltily, the God of Aviary smiled in relief.

"It seemed like getting some assistance from the High Goddess of Apothecary was necessary," he said. "I thought you were going to be happy to see me."

The God of Aviary paused when he felt a disturbance in the air. The lullaby of the sleeping bird continued to play, but out of all the residents, one of them woke up and successfully resisted the effects of the magical bird. 

Everyone else was still asleep, but King Draco was the one who woke up.

"It seems like we have a visitor," he said.

The God of Aviary sighed as his ears caught a part of the crazed gibberish and nonsense that the man spouted. King Draco was already on his way to this very room. The use of magic was something that no human could do.

So it meant one thing to the king who was familiar with this kind of spell due to his experience before. King Draco thundered down the hallways of the castle, sword in his hand as he followed the source of magic.

A god's presence was around.

"You're lucky that the man didn't see who you really were." The god clicked his tongue and looked around him worriedly. Then, he walked toward the open window, ready to go home.

Before they left the castle, the God of Aviary whispered to himself while he carried the sleeping bird.

"Gosh… I shouldn't listen to those brats again. You guys should find another form of punishment if anyone of you lost another bet. If the king's youngest son got killed in the human world, he would serve my head on the platter for his wife to torture for the next ten thousand years."

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From Missrealitybites:

If you read "The Cursed King", I think you will remember that it seems like gods were fond of gambling and punishing the losers to become birds. Remember Dante, The Time Master?

PS: Also.... do you remember who is the king of Cretea's youngest son? He had seven of them.