Prince Charming was out of work.
This happens to them regularly. It's the downside of being successful in this line of work. You find the fair maiden, slay the dragon, complete the quest. And then you have nothing to do.
This "Happily ever after" business is strict bullshit. Being happy full time is BORING.
So, he's out of work, wandering around, hoping to do SOMETHING vaguely related to his line of work (maybe he has lots of student loans that he's gonna have to pay back in a few months, whether he's working as a Knight or as a Busboy, so he should stick with the Knight track if he can).
Walking down the street, in a strange neighborhood, he emerges from the subway and notices that nobody is talking to him. Nobody is seeing him, even. He is suddenly rendered invisible.
Before, he was certainly the normal type of neurotic (especially as a teenager) who was convinced that EVERYONE was looking at him. Now, he had a distinct sense that he could travel through the busiest streets, the most crowded cities, even looking people in the eyes, and NO ONE would see him.
At first, it was quite freeing. He scared himself enough times that he wanted to figure out how to reverse the spell. Easy. As with many things in his capitalist society, all he had to do was pull money out of his pocket. Engage in some kind of transaction. I consume, therefore, I am.
And when he didn't buy anything, he could go for hours being alone & invisible.
Certainly, there were days when he didn't leave his apartment. And the damsel whom he had married always seemed to see him when they were home. Most of the time. (But even that he questioned, sometimes).
Mostly, he was happy to curl into a ball, to hide, to walk among the living without being bothered. Now and then he would get lonely, and want to be seen for something other than a consumer. It felt like the lowest form of life. But often, it would be too late. He'd talk to people, asking for conversations. And then he'd notice other invisible people. Trying to blend into the background.
It terrified him. Not the discovery that lots of other people knew his secret of invisibility. But that actually being visible to other people was the real trick of magic. And he had lost the ability to evoke it. Like losing a language, like losing speech.
It made him want to become permanently invisible.
This happens to them regularly. It's the downside of being successful in this line of work. You find the fair maiden, slay the dragon, complete the quest. And then you have nothing to do.
This "Happily ever after" business is strict bullshit. Being happy full time is BORING.
So, he's out of work, wandering around, hoping to do SOMETHING vaguely related to his line of work (maybe he has lots of student loans that he's gonna have to pay back in a few months, whether he's working as a Knight or as a Busboy, so he should stick with the Knight track if he can).
Walking down the street, in a strange neighborhood, he emerges from the subway and notices that nobody is talking to him. Nobody is seeing him, even. He is suddenly rendered invisible.
Before, he was certainly the normal type of neurotic (especially as a teenager) who was convinced that EVERYONE was looking at him. Now, he had a distinct sense that he could travel through the busiest streets, the most crowded cities, even looking people in the eyes, and NO ONE would see him.
At first, it was quite freeing. He scared himself enough times that he wanted to figure out how to reverse the spell. Easy. As with many things in his capitalist society, all he had to do was pull money out of his pocket. Engage in some kind of transaction. I consume, therefore, I am.
And when he didn't buy anything, he could go for hours being alone & invisible.
Certainly, there were days when he didn't leave his apartment. And the damsel whom he had married always seemed to see him when they were home. Most of the time. (But even that he questioned, sometimes).
Mostly, he was happy to curl into a ball, to hide, to walk among the living without being bothered. Now and then he would get lonely, and want to be seen for something other than a consumer. It felt like the lowest form of life. But often, it would be too late. He'd talk to people, asking for conversations. And then he'd notice other invisible people. Trying to blend into the background.
It terrified him. Not the discovery that lots of other people knew his secret of invisibility. But that actually being visible to other people was the real trick of magic. And he had lost the ability to evoke it. Like losing a language, like losing speech.
It made him want to become permanently invisible.
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