The King of Uncura was hosting a regal and fantastical dinner for his son and the daughter of a neighboring country before their wedding the following day. "Wihtric," The King addressed his royal guard, "Would you fetch my dear son? I don't want him missing out on his own dinner." Wihtric nodded and went to a large staircase that lead to the prince's room. Once up the steps, he walked down the long and decorated hallway. The door he was headed for was all the way at the end but when he reached it, he raised his fist to knock on the door and did so gently.
He waited only a moment before knocking again, and receiving the same response as before. Wihtric paused and gently opened the door the see the lights on and the window open, silk curtains flowing gently with the night breeze. The sight sent his mind into a state of urgency and worry, coaxing him to step into the room further. The closet was wide open, clothes and valuables missing. His sense of urgency arose greatly, sending the normally calm and reserved man into an intense state of fear.
The guard rushed down the stairs but calmly entered the dining hall, as to not raise any suspicion. He walked up to the King and whispered in his ear, panic clear in his tone. "Raj is missing." The King looked at his most loyal subject with furrowed brows. "What do you mean?" He asked. Wihtric whispered to him again. "He's gone Zameel! See for yourself!" King Zameel stood from his throne and announced he would return shortly.
The two walked up to Raj's room and sure enough, the King saw the same thing. Worry and panic overtook his calm demeanor as well as he walked into the room, looking for any possible trace of where his son could be. "Call everything off!" He shouted, pain slightly evident in his voice. Wihtric looked down with shame before walking out to announce the news to the dining hall.
"Please! May I have your attention!"
The room looked to the area of which the thundering voice sounded, all eyes were on him. "Tonight and tomorrow have been canceled by the King on accounts of the Prince has gone missing. Due to his absence, we will no longer be able to proceed with the wedding until he returns." The room was shocked and the silence was washed away by chatter. The former soon-to-be bride stood up and walked over to Wihtric. "Please let me speak to the King." She said softly. Wihtric was surprised at first but nodded and took her to where the King was.
"King Touma?" She asked gently. Zameel was sitting on the bench close by the window, just staring out of it when she spoke. "I must tell you something important." She said, walking over to the distraught man. He turned his head slightly so that his ear was facing her. "What is it you must tell me." He spoke gently. She looked down to the bottom of her dress before speaking, "I know why he left..."
Brows furrowed and heads turned. Both men looked to her, waiting for her to say more. "I know what my father wanted when he proposed to you that me and Raj get married. He may have seemed nice but he isn't..." She paused and sat down next to the older gentleman. "I overheard him speaking about using me to expand his... His military... He was going to do something... Horrible... To Raj once he married me, because then I would become the ruler." Zameel listened on as she explained her father was going to overtake his kingdom and turn it into the equivalent of a military slave country.
"I-I'm so sorry..." She said with tears in her eyes. King Zameel pulled her into a hug only a real father could give their child. She hugged back and started to cry an ocean. "Please keep me away from him..." She stuttered out into his shoulder. "Don't worry. You can stay here as long as you please. He won't ever do any of the things he planned to do. Right, Wihtric?" He said with anger lacing the last two words. Wihtric nodded, "Of course, your highness." And with that he walked off.
"Raj... Didn't tell me where he was going..." She said as the two pulled away. "It's alright. As long as he is ok... I'll be ok. I just hope he returns soon..."
---
The spry, young prince ran through the streets. His goal: The Docks. His hair was wrapped neatly in a scarf, his facial features hidden by the night. A satchel bounced as he ran, it contained clothes and other valuables that had meaning to him. A sword, about the length of his torso, was held by the waistband of his pants. It was something his mother gave to him before she passed.
She always told him a story about how this sword was sacred. It was used by legendary beast slayers who protected the lands and seas. He cherished it greatly, even more so when she passed.
His face held a wide smile as his destination came into view. An older, messy looking man was waiting on one of the docks, next to the many anchored ships. Raj's feet seemed to carry him faster at the sight of him. "Come on Raj! I don't have all night!" He shouted to the teen. Raj ran up to the wooden docks and stopped in front of the other. "Sorry Taamir!" He said, panting slightly. "Had to make sure I wouldn't get caught on the way here."
Taamir smiled and pat his head. "Let's just get out of here before we both get caught. I've got no doubt they're gonna start searching soon." He turned around and mumbled, "They might even be searching now..."
"What was that Taamir?" Raj asked, walking alongside the merchant. "Nothing," He said with a small chuckle. The younger didn't believe him but they both boarded the ship and Taamir's crew set sail once ready.
---
Raj set his bag down and removed the cloth from his head, revealing a long ponytail. His hair color was identical to his mothers, a stunning cherry red that shimmered in the sun. A few crew members stared at the teen while he organized some of his items and made sure he had a certain scarf.
"I don't know what the old man sees in him. He's just another royal brat." One of the onlookers said to another. "You're one to judge..." Taamir walked up to the pair and stood next to the doubter. "You wouldn't be here right now if I didn't think you had potential and you know it." The male went silent when Taamir spoke. "He has a point. I don't know why you went all quiet." The other said.
Raj noticed them staring and looked up to the trio with a smile and wave before going back to what he was doing. Taamir smiled and slung his arms around the other two, "That kid is someone you want to be on your crew and no one else's." He said, removing his arms and walking over to the edge of the ship. His blue eyes scanned over the equally dark blue ocean.
"He really could be his own king one of these days... It's better than a runaway prince after all."
-----
The sun shone brightly through the sparce amount of clouds in the sky. The ocean was quite calm making only soft waves against the ships hull. Taamir was reading a book he purchased ages ago about some weird things in the ocean. Suddenly, the quiet atmosphere was broken by a loud crash from the waves. Taamir's heart jumped from his chest as he set the book down and ran to the origin of the noise. He saw nothing other than the ripples that were created by the impact. The ship rocked ever so gently as his eyes peered into the water.
A few moments passed and some others gathered around before a large sea creature flailed up into the open air, causing water to mask its actions. Some moments have passed before everything calmed and Raj was seen, standing on the water. He waved to Taamir, his pants and hair soaking wet. The sword he cherished greatly was held with his free hand and his shirt was nowhere to be seen.
Taamir had two crew members take him out to where the teen was, as their distance shortened, they could clearly see what Raj was standing on. He was standing on a creature called a Bloqua. It was a large, blue eel like beast with two sets of pale blue fins, similar to feathers, that ran down its back. It's teeth, if you could get one, were used as kitchen knives or small swords, depending on what tooth you attained. A large, jagged horn that was the color of a lemon, stuck from the things forehead, some smaller of the same tone following behind it. Its ears, if you could call them that, resembled tentacles and it's eyes were as bright as the sun.
"Look what I caught!" Raj said, placing his hands on his hips. The two crewmen were shocked and Taamir had a large grin spread across his face. He jumped off the boat and onto the Bloqua and pulled the still soaking Raj into a hug. "I'm so proud of you kid!" Raj laughed and carefully hugged back. They pulled away and Taamir had the two take care of the creature and reap their rewards. Him and Raj were taken back before they got to work.
The pair that were working on the Bloqua talked a little about how amazing Raj was. "So. Do you regret calling him a royal brat now?" He asked the other. There was no response other than a guff grunt and unintelligible murmurs. The first laughed as they quickly dissected the beast to be sold.
-----
Raj was only 16 when he had first ran away to join Taamir and his talented crew. During this time, not only did he slay his first sea beast, he honed in his skills of outsmarting and defeating these creatures. As two years went on, he gained the title of Sea Emperor. Fellow merchants were so impressed by his talents, not only did they give him that title, they often asked Raj to work for them. He naturally rejected and even said that no amount of money could ever lure him to work for anyone else.
He said that the time he worked with Taamir had been the best time of his life. Raj would never trade that for anything in the world.
Little does he know, today was going to be the day that Taamir would give Raj another very valuable present. Not only did Taamir think he had enough knowledge, skill, and talent, his knack for adventure had really skyrocketed. They had all decided to stop by a pub they visit frequently for dinner that evening.
Raj was out on his own, in a little boat, while Taamir prepared himself to tell the boy the news that night. Their ship had gotten word about a gold-scaled beast roaming around the ocean earlier in the day and Raj had promised Taamir he would catch it before they leave. The seas were calm and still once more, indicating that something was lurking. The only female crew member was watching as Raj stared into the blue waters.
His cream colored pants flowed gently with the barely present breeze. Cherry colored hair was tied tightly into a ponytail. A small wave rocked the boat, causing Raj to dive into the water. The woman's eyes widened as the boat flipped over. She called for Taamir who rushed over. "His boat flipped after he dived in." She said looking to the older man. He just sighed, shrugged, and walked off. "I see that, call me when he pops back up," He said, walking off again.
Now, the woman who was watching was very new and had never seen Raj hunt before. She was irritated that Taamir didn't care and continued to worry about him. He was under the water for about three minutes before vast amounts of it spewed up into the sky. There was so much water, some of the people on the ship thought it had started to rain.
The waves rocked the ship, gaining Taamir's attention. He walked over and stood next to the lady and simply said, "He's fine. Guess he likes to keep his promises."
Once everything had cleared, Raj was laying down on the thing he captured, exhausted from fighting it. His sword was gripped tightly by his left hand as his chest rose and fell slowly. Taamir hopped on a boat with the lady and another male. Raj smiled and held a thumbs up to the trio, saying he was good. When they reached him she started to check if he was ok. Raj pushed away her attempts to give him a check-up, saying he was fine, just tired.
She persisted that she look to see if he was ok and he finally gave in as Taamir and the other talked about what to do with the thing after seeing what it was. Raj stayed still as she examined his body, after finding nothing, her and Raj went back to the ship.
"I told you I was fine." He said as they boarded. Another crew member who traded places with him went out to the remaining duo to help them with the beast. She blushed softly as he walked off to his quarters to change and dry off.
---
They found out the thing was a Jokro. Luckily that book that Taamir invested in told him all he needed to know about the beast, though it never mentioned anything about a golden one existing. Jokros are incredibly smart and the people who told them about it were incredibly lucky they didn't lose anything to it.
Taamir gave Raj first pick to anything he wanted. He grabbed one of the smaller golden horns as well as some scales.
"Oh, Taamir," He said as he walked over to the older man, "Sorry about tipping the boat over earlier." Taamir smiled and pat his back. "Don't be sorry! It may be the first time it's happened but no one was hurt and that's what matters most."
The two share a laugh and a brief hug before Taamir speaks up again.
"Raj, I've got something to tell you tonight at dinner." Raj looks to him and tilts his head "Why can't you tell me now?"
"Cause it's a surprise~"
-----
It was early in the evening and the crew were crammed into the pub's dining room, leaving only enough space for one person to walk through at a time. They were feasting on the meat from the Jokro that was caught and drinking different types of wines and beers they had attained through trading.
Raj and Taamir sat at a table together, the teens old way of eating showing through. Taamir laughed and Raj looked up to him, "What?" Raj pauses before realizing, "It's a habit! I can't help it..." Taamir laughs more, "Raj, it's been two years since you had to eat like that."
"I know..." Raj said with a small pout afterwards. Taamir finished his drink and stood up, "Meet me out by the ship when you're finished." And with that, the captain walked out of the rowdy pub, leaving Raj to sit at the table by himself. He took in the loud atmosphere before finishing his fruit juice and walking off to find Taamir.
He enjoyed the cool night air and the quiet little town they were in while he walked to the docks. Taamir was standing on a ship next to his own which confused Raj.
"Taamir," He called up to him, "Who's ship are you on?" Taamir looked down to Raj and smiled. "I'm on your ship, who else's would it be?" Raj's brows furrowed and he boarded the ship to stand next to Taamir. "But I don't have a ship. Why are you saying this one is mine?"
"Cause I bought it for you. You've made so much profit for me over these years you've been with me. I got this in hopes you would go adventure more and become rich like you once were... Well, still technically are but..." Raj stared at the small deck that had some items he would need to get by for a while before looking back into Taamir's eyes.
"Are you... Being serious?" He asked, looking back to the deck. Taamir laughs and puts his arm around Raj's shoulder and pulls him close. "If my first son can do it, so can my second." Raj froze and looked up to Taamir. His golden eyes teared up as he hugged the other tightly. He gently cried on Taamir's shoulder as he rubbed Raj's back.
"Are you ready to start your journey?"
-----
The early morning sun rose ever so slowly as the new captain sailed off. Raj's eyes held tears as the distance between him and his old crew grew farther. He locked eyes with Taamir for the last time, at least until they meet again. Taamir waved and all Raj could do was wave back to his second father. Once he could barely tell them apart, he turned around and steered his ship to wherever the wind decided to take him.
Today, he officially started his journey across the seas, and started his rise to riches.
-----
"Ahh...
Has it already been two years since I left Taamir?
It honestly doesn't feel like it.
I'm 20 now and doing better than ever. I could probably buy a country if I wanted to!
But I don't.
Today will finally be the day that I go back home.
To see him after all these years.
And to tell him all about my amazing journey.
I'm going back to talk to my real father.
King Zameel Touma.
-----
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