The Brainiac Who Never Smiled

Once upon a time there was a happy little kingdom in the province of Legion with a kind Queen, a brave King and an intelligent son. Every thing was prosperous in the kingdom but the Queen and King worried for their son never smiled, let alone laughed. In an effort to resolve the problem the King ordered a decree to be posted throughout the kingdom.

It was unfortunate, however, that the son found one of these decrees.

"Garth," the green skinned prince ignored the King's correction of 'Daddy' and help up the decree for him to see. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I just want my daughter to be happy," Garth waved the question off.

"Stop calling me your 'daughter' would be a good start," Querl nearly shoved the decree into the King's face to make him focus. "And you took your joke too far; in the decree you call me a princess and said whoever makes me smile gets to marry me! You don't get to decide that!"

"As your father," Garth ignored Querl adding 'adoptive', "My word is final and as King my word is law."

"And as Queen," Imra took hold of Garth's shoulder and squeezed it hard enough for him to wince, "I have final say if this person whom makes our son smile is worthy of him, isn't that right?"

"Yes dear," Garth nearly fell over in relief when she released him.

The matter, as far as Querl was concerned, was closed. Though many men and women alike came to try to make him smile he simply found them annoying and ignored them after a while. It was simply a waste of time.

Outside the town around the castle was a simple farming family. They had a son who was simple, hard working but a little clumsy. At the end of each year the boy's parents would put out the money the farm had earned and told him to take as much as he liked. Not wanting to take too much from his parents their son Clark only took one gold coin. After he went to the well to take a drink and lost the coin, the next year the same happened but the third year he did not lose his coin and the two that he had lost raised up to him so he decided to venture to town.

Curious about the castle, Clark walked around the wall until he spotted someone trying to claim down from it. He rushed over to help the person down.

"Are you alright?"

Clark was surprised when the person looked up at him for they had green skin and magenta eyes like he had never seen before. He realized he was staring when the shorter boy narrowed his eyes at him.

"Yes," Querl answered slowly, looking Clark over. "Why did you help me down? I could have been a thief."

"If you were a thief wouldn't you be trying to sneak into the castle?" Clark asked.

"What if I had already stolen something and was escaping?" Querl retorted.

Clark seemed to scan Querl a moment before commenting, "You're not carrying anything of value besides some money and a thief would have taken more then that."

"How did you know what I was carrying?" Querl asked.

With a smile, Clark pointed to his eyes, "X-ray vision."

There was a beat of silence before Querl flushed a deep green and Clark, a beat after, joined him in blushing.

"I didn't look at you naked!" Clark flailed his arms about desperately. "It was like looking at your skeleton and metal, I swear!"

Still blushing, Querl felt his lips twitch in a way they never had before. He dismissed it and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I believe you, stop freaking out."

Though Clark's arms stopped waving about, he still stared at Querl awkwardly.

Again, Querl looked the taller boy over, "You're not from around here, are you?"

Clark shook his head, "I live on my parent's farm, this is the first time I've been to town without making a delivery and leaving right away." He looked at Querl curiously, "Do you know you're way around here?"

"I have been known to sneak out from time to time," Querl could see where this was going and couldn't find that he minded. "Would you like me to show you around?"

A bright smile lit up Clark's face as he nodded, "Yes please."

The blush returned for a moment but Querl ignored it as they introduced themselves and he walked with Clark further into the town. Instead of his usual trip to the book shop he showed Clark historical sites, local merchants and had lunch with him though Clark insisted on paying since Querl was being nice enough to be his guide.

It was hard not to notice that Clark only possessed two gold coins afterward and Querl asked him how long Clark was staying in town.

"Only for the night and lunch tomorrow; it's all I can afford," Clark admitted.

Brainy thought it over a moment and asked, "Would you like to have lunch before you leave? And since I asked I would be paying."

The idea made Clark blush but he smiled and agreed.

That night Querl found the Inn where Clark was staying and instructed the Innkeeper to return the gold coin to Clark's bedside each night he stayed and not to tell the farmer's son that he was doing so. In return Querl paid the Inn enough to keep Clark there for a month, saying the Innkeeper could keep the rest if Clark were to leave earlier then that.

In the morning when Clark again helped Querl down from the castle wall, Clark told him that he had a magical coin.

"I paid it to the Innkeeper for my room last night and when I awoke it was on my bedside table," Clark explained excitedly. "I thought I had forgotten to pay but the Innkeeper insisted I did. Maybe the well I dropped it in was magical."

The statement was almost as ridiculous as it was cute but Querl didn't correct him, instead he asked, "Does that mean you'll be staying longer?"

"Well my folks told me to stay as long as I liked but I do need to return to help out on the farm," Clark dwelled on it, unaware of Querl staring at him, holding his breath. "If you wouldn't mind showing me around more I'm sure I could stick around for at least a few days, maybe a week."

Again Brainy's lips did the funny little twitch but he ignored it, "I think that can be arranged, as long as you let me pay for lunch every day."

Clark protested but eventually relented saying that he would pay Querl back another way.

Days that used to drag by slowly for Querl, with only vague happenings going around him now rushed by too quickly, colorful and vibrant in Clark's presence. His lips would often do that funny little twitch but Clark never commented on it and Querl wondered if it was possible that he was falling ill.

"Hey Querl," Clark began as they lazed under a tree together, "I don't want to be rude but," he peered up at Querl's face seeing as the green boy was sitting up against the tree trunk as he had laid out on the grass, "do you ever smile?"

The question, though usually annoying when asked by anyone else, made Querl blush this time.

"I guess I've never really found anything to smile about."

"So you're sort of like that princess in all the flyers," Clark mused to himself, not seeing the blush vanish and Querl pale. He smiled and sprang up, looking at Querl a little too closely. "That's how I'll pay you back!"

"Pardon," Querl didn't like where this was going.

"I'll find a way to make you smile," Clark said so enthusiastically that Querl almost fell over. "If the King can promise marriage to whoever makes the princess smile it's the least I can do for my friend."

"I, you," Querl's body felt so overheated that he knew for sure that he was falling ill. It was the only thing that could explain his heart beating so rapidly. He swallowed, trying to calm himself, "I wish you luck with that."

On his way back to the Inn that night Clark ran into his father whom was making a delivery. Though his father made no mention of anything wrong Clark saw how the cart was not as full as it should have been and that one of the wheel's needed to be replaced.

Clark gave his father one of his remaining coins to fix the wheel with and told him he would return to the farm with him once he had finished something. He didn't think that the magic coin would return to either of them, since they would not be sleeping there that night, but magic could only last so long.

It made Clark's heart sink that he would not be able to stick around long enough to make Querl smile but his family needed him. So he used his last coin to buy Querl a farewell gift and headed to the wall where they had met every morning.

This was the part that Clark felt vaguely uncomfortable with but since he had no way to call out to Querl Clark jumped over the fence, flying a little to soften his landing. He considered asking someone where he could find Querl but he didn't want to get his friend in trouble so decided to look, or rather sneak, around for him on his own.

The search didn't last too long, he spotted Querl sitting on a window sill reading and, forgetting to be sneaky he rushed towards the window, calling his friend's name.

Querl looked up just in time to see Clark trip and fall into some mud which hadn't dried yet from the garden's earlier watering. Forgetting his book, Querl quickly climbed down the castle wall, using the stones as foot and hand holds, and rushed over to his friend.

"Clark, what are you doing here?"

"I saw my father in town," Clark stayed lying in the mud, too embarrassed to look up at his friend but continued to hold up his gift to keep it from crushed. "I need to go back to the farm but I didn't want to leave without saying good bye or paying at least a little back of everything you've given me."

When Clark didn't say anything further, Querl looked at the object in Clark's hands and took it so the other boy wouldn't have to keep holding it up.

"It's an apple tree sapling," Clark explained, "Like the one we sat under."

"You snuck in here and fell in the mud just to give me this," there was something about the way Querl said it that made Clark look up.

With Clark looking at him, Querl's lips twitched again and this time they didn't stop. His lips spread upwards into his first smile which took Clark's breath away.

"Thank you," Querl said softy, looking at him and then beginning to laugh. "You look ridiculous."

Sitting up, Clark no longer cared that his entire front, including his face was covered in mud. He wanted Querl to keep making that musical sound so he decided to act ridiculous to complete the look.

"I'm a mud monster," Clark growled and shook, splattering Querl with mud but it only made the other boy laugh harder.

"Querl?" a woman's voice interrupted and they looked up to see people who were dressed so elegantly that they had to be the Queen and King, surrounded by advisors and guards. Imra smiled, looking like she may cry. "You, you were laughing."

"And now we get to have a royal wedding," Garth all but cheered much to the annoyance of Querl.

"Why's that, did someone make the princess smile," Clark didn't quite understand what was going on, all the more confused when Garth pointed at him. "But I didn't make any princess laugh."

"Garth has a horrible sense of humor," Querl lamented, not even hearing Garth protest saying to call him "daddy" anymore. "He calls me his daughter all the time…"

Clark blinked, then nearly swallowed mud when he gasped, "You're the princess?!"

"I'm not a princess," Querl blushed and groaned, wanting to dig himself into the mud and die. Or bury Garth in it; whichever came first.

"Sorry, prince," Clark corrected shyly. He glanced at the King and Queen but turned back to Querl. "We have to get married now?"

"You don't have to do anything," Imra gave Garth a warning look before he could protest.

Though Querl and Clark were staring at each other, neither spoke for a long time and neither did the people around them.

Querl's gaze fell to the sapling and he smiled again. He raised his hand, along with his gaze, up to Clark's face to wipe the mud off.

"I wouldn't mind marrying you," Querl's fingers brushed against Clark's lips. "In fact I think I would rather enjoy it."

Once Clark's face was relatively clean, he took hold of Brainy's hand and kissed his knuckles.

"If it meant seeing more of your smile nothing could make me happier."

Querl smiled so beautifully then that Clark couldn't help but kiss him, neither of them minding the remnants of mud.