The Chosen One
a prompted short story by The Overlord Bear
Prompt (from r/WritingPrompts): Adventurers have sought out one man for years to aid in their quests. Though eccentric, all agree this man is clairvoyant. In reality though, he constantly hears the narrator.
And so, the time came for John the Bomb to run to another town.
“There he is! The Chosen One has arrived!”
“Wait, what?”
Of course, John knew that he wasn’t that much of a bomb. John was just a conman, after all. The attention was nice, but only when he could control it.
That’s why John was very shocked by this bushy man who was pointing at him just as he arrived at this town he fled to. Everyone else in the town was looking at this man with eyes as wide as John had, though their eyes were more of awe.
Soon enough, the habitual liar in John saw the smugly triumphant glint in the bushy man’s eyes.
Fortunately, John had a glamour spell on.
Unfortunately, the bushy man used a canceling spell.
“You’re right, Joe!” one of the townspeople exclaimed. “He was wearing the disguise of a limping old man!”
“So he’s The Man Above All Men!”
“Please, Master, tell us of your ways with the Fair Mysteries!”
“We have been told of the many times you have stolen the hearts of the fairest maidens!”
Those responses brought confusion to John. He understood that they were looking at him like he was some sort of handsome casanova, but that was exactly why he did not understand what these people were saying.
As far as John remembered, he just tricked those women into giving him their precious treasures (virginities included) with some convincing and even inspiring speeches he could make up well but not believe in much. They were all quite self-absorbed to him, and John expected them to meet misfortune with those lacks, especially when said lacks get exposed to the public. Not like he cared about what happened to them next that much, though.
…well, John wouldn’t have cared, had he not seen one of those women in the last town he was hiding in.
“Hey, you fools!” one of the women in this current town interrupted. “Why not lead this man back to his true beloved? She cares for him that much, you know?”
“Yeah!” another woman agreed. “She even left being a Princess just to save his stupid heart!”
“You guys better give that lady the respect she deserves!”
That was another reason for John’s confusion. He had conned Princesses with a capital P, but he was pretty sure that all of them made him their respective kingdom’s Most Wanted Man, and definitely not in the romantic sense.
“John?”
At the sound of that voice, there was an uncomfortable silence.
When John turned around, she saw her once again.
What was her name, again? John had forgotten.
This time, though, it actually hurt to admit that feeling. The sudden hugging and crying she laid on him didn’t even help.
Suddenly, the pain had John remembering how he didn’t spend a night with her in the sexual sense. Following that, he remembered how he was quite irritated by how timid she was. And then she hated him.
Well, to be more exact, she hated his criminal ways. But that was enough for John to think that she hated him entirely.
So why was she here, then? Was she really serious about helping him take responsibility for everyone he wronged, even if it meant sacrificing her royal status?
Why was everyone else around them even acting like this was some glorious occasion? They were hooting and crying like this was some riveting tale of true love unfolding in front of their eyes. John didn’t think that it was such a tale.
But when he looked down to meet eyes with this girl who trapped him within her arms, he saw those eyes shine like never before.
The habitual liar in John couldn’t believe the existence of that shine. It couldn’t even believe that John didn’t refuse that shine now.
And then John saw that bushy man named Joe.
Joe smiled and showed John a thumbs-up. Then, he turned around and walked away with great laughter.
John found himself wondering about how that man knew about him, but he was too showered by love to care about that any further at the moment.
“Look at me, John.”
There was also his beloved moving his face to hers for a kiss.
The crowd grew even louder with their joyful hoots and cries at that glorious moment.
Somehow, even though he was blushing, John didn’t hate it.
Author’s Note: Guess what’s back? It’s been a while, alright. Felt like I should warm up before I go back to bigger writing work, so here we go again with this. And hey, I feel like I have better direction this time!
Still, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated!
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