My Dark Prince

I look upon you.

I have heard stories of you…of your power…of how dangerous you are.

They were wrong.

They did not do you justice.

I watch as you rise and confront the one I have known all my young life. I fear for his safety.

You tower over him, ready to strike him down.

Then I see them.

Your eyes…what is wrong with your eyes?

They are not the eyes of a monster…a being of malice borne of hatred. They are wounded eyes…the eyes of one who has suffered for who knows how long.

I see your hands ignite, flames dancing in your palms, mere playthings to you.

You strike.

Destruction flies everywhere.

I watch you stalk my childhood friend, and I am both terrified and thrilled by what I see.

You are Lucifer before the fall…most beautiful of the angels, terrible in his wrath.

Flames fly all about. Many run screaming but I do not. I cannot.

I am transfixed, frozen by fear for both you and my friend.

You are so filled with pain, it radiates from you hotter than the flames that rise to do your bidding. I pray you do not succeed in your moment of madness, for both your sakes.

You have him trapped.

You stand tall, a wrathful young god about to strike down one who has offended you.

I try to stop you.

You turn and look upon me, and I see the pain that drives you so clearly I can almost touch it. You roar like thunder as your flames rise higher. You are succumbing to the pain.

I pray something will happen to save you.

My friend rises.

He hurls you away, and you collide with a wall, fall to smash through a table.

It is not over.

I look on in both awe and wonder as you rise unharmed, not even winded by an impact that would have killed most people.

Again you attack.

Again my friend repels you, sending you through another wall, on into a support column.

Both are destroyed, yet you once again rise up.

Nothing will stop you. I feel light headed as you continue on.

You are magnificent…a warrior prince who shall not be denied.

Finally my friend grabs the fire extinguisher and uses it to both choke you and douse your flames.

I watch you fall, both relieved and saddened. I want to rush forward and hold you both, relieved that you have not hurt each other in your bout of pain.

I sit and wait for my friend in the Paper Lantern. I do not know if he is really coming.

I have found out something.

I have found you…the real you.

I was startled to see you. Here was the one who, not so long ago, hurled fire and spread chaos as if he were the harbinger of the Second Coming.

Now I see you humbly bussing tables and helping people.

You have pulled back your black mane of hair to reveal your handsome features…the eyes that once burned with anger now sparkle with mirth.

You have removed your dark cloak of a jacket to reveal your broad shoulders and I cannot help but look at your bronze, muscular arms as you work.

I am fascinated by what I see.

The same hands that wielded fire now gently help an elderly customer to her feet and out to her car. They hold and play with a baby while the mother helps her other child get ready to eat.

I hear you laugh.

Who are you?

This is not the devil I saw.

This is the prince who is stealing my heart.

I see you are not at home with the rest who dwell in the sky.

You are at home with the ones we are taught and trained to help and protect.

You are amongst the people. You are the one who walks the streets on dark nights, vigilant to those who may need help and protection from the things that lurk in the shadows.

I am ashamed.

I always speak out against assigning people into categories, making judgments without having full knowledge.

I am guilty of those very things.

I assumed you to be a threat, a future menace to the innocent and the weak we are pledging to protect.

In reality you are probably more worthy of that coveted role of hero than any of us.

You approach me and offer to heat my food…do you mean to actually use your powers in front of everyone? Are you so brazen…so fearless?

Your daring excites me.

You smile and tell me about the microwave.

You also apologize for what happened before.

Stop. My heart is weakening by your presence.

Your voice is deep and sensuous…the purr of the lion that you are.

"Love unspoken is the quickest way to a heavy heart."

I feel my own heart slip from me and into your possession.

You then joke about "lucky numbers".

I laugh. I am yours.

I prattle on about silly girl things and gush incessantly about my friend.

I am trying to keep you out of my mind.

I suggest my plan.

"…It's not because you like me."

I see the pain lurking in your eyes…I want to reach across the table, take your rough hands and say that I do.

But I cannot…because I don't like you.

I love you.

I am pretending that I really just want to make my friend jealous, but I am as devious as the villains we are training to fight.

I now have an excuse to be around you…to learn about you and know you.

And I do want so much to know you…to find out who you are.

To learn all I can about the man that I love.

My Dark Prince.