Ice cream. That was all he wanted.
His mom had refused, so his five year old-ass threw a little tantrum. He had cried, yelled and maybe throw a little kick here and there before she dragged him all the way from supermarket back to their house. The refusal pissed him off so much he make a mess out his room and then sleep it off.
The dream he had back then is still vividly clear in his mind. Despite tons of stuff he nee-forced to remember as a high schooler, that is the one thing he will never forget. The chill of the forest and the creeping sense of being in danger was the first thing he had noticed. The cliff right behind him and the sound of growling is next.
To say that he wasn't scared and utterly confused would be a total lie. Again, he was just a kid. But he still manages to muster up enough courage and bolt away. A screeching sound echoed around him, accompanied by the thudding sound of stomping
AGAIN, all he wanted was a freaking ice cream.
He remember how fast he ran at that time and how he tripped over countless times, but still ran. The foreboding sense of imminent danger forced him to continue to run, the echoing sounds never leaving him alone. He hid himself in a hole between two large rocks, making himself as invincible as possible from the ferocious animal. The screeching sound ended, leaving only the thudding sound of footsteps and his heartbeat.
Remembering back, his kid self probably hid for like 15 minutes, surrounded by rocks and trees that looks taller and taller each second. The almost rabid growl surround him, sometime sounding a little bit too near, and other times further away. He sat there, feeling lost and very confused, aside from the obvious fear, judged from his trembling little body. The wounds he get started to sting, now that the adrenaline started to wear off. Like any other kid, He wanted to cry. Unlike any other kid, he didn't.
The growling stopped, and he felt something against his arm. The wolf found him, and opened it's mouth to take a bite of his arm.
A loud sound of thudding filled the silent. The sensation gone and all he could hear Mother nature. So he crawled out, thinking it was safe.
Wrong.
He got yanked by a man. Blonde hair so long one would wonder how he hunt. Behind him was a kid, with similar hair colour and a face full of wonder. what's his name? His kid self had wondered. He knew it now.
Thinking back, he can't be more naïve than he was back then. The man had so nonchalantly invited him to his house and his naïve self has followed. It was a goddamn palace. He had woken up the moment they arrived at the palace.
"Neil? hey, Neil! Answer me, damn it!" Neil sighed, his hand reaching up to mess with his hair. "What?" he replied. He still can't believe his five year old ass follow a stranger just like that. "Thinking about the General again? or... is it the King this time?" His best friend asked.
Neil rolled his eyes, squinting at the flashes of the sun. his best friend, Lucas is a knight. His father is the Major, and naturally Lucas is raised to follow that old man. Like Lucas, the military base become his home.
upon waking up from his first dream, Neil ended up with the same injuries he got from running away from the wolf. His mom had freaked out and get him to treatment. Since then, Neil has repeatedly coming back and forth between his reality and this weird world, one he has accepted to be the second reality.
That dream started when he was five. He's 17 years old now, 20 in this other reality he called Dreamworld. The nonchalant dude that picked him up? he is the Former King of Arkivia, the kingdom he got stuck in. The boy that was with him is King Eric, current ruler of Arkivia and a friend of Neil Evergreen.
A smile slowly make its way as his friend started to whine about his ignorance again. "As much as I dread the emergency expedition, I am smart enough not to worry about the General." Neil replied, putting an end to Lucas' misery.
"That old man is still skillful despite his age." He continues. "Then, is it the King this time?" The black haired man got smacked, although the attack backfired by his armour. "Ouch! Damn, they ain't kidding when they say it's hard.." He said, rubbing his palm onto his thigh.
"And extremely heavy. I could grow another set of abs this way.." he sighed, flopping beside Neil and continued, "So His Majesty?"
"to let you know, my decision to stare at nothing does not always have anything to do with General or His Majesty." Neil exclaimed. Lucas rose an eyebrow while looking at him. Landing his hand on Neil's shoulder, he smirked, "But pal, it is always like that."
Neil fall silent. Lucas have known him ever since he arrive on the barrack for the very first time. Lucas is a knight's son and is meant to be a knight. He got trained early and became Neil's close friend.
And he knew what Lucas told him is right and wrong.
He always busy thinking about the General and King. But he also always think about his other life. His mom especially.
But he still think about General and King.
It's not his fault. General Morris is a strong and influenced man. But he sometime is so reckless he always exposed himself to danger. So no, Neil in fact can't stop worrying about his father. He can't. While the King, well...
Arkivia is known for it's peace and harmony. But even those kind of Kingdoms have their dark side. Since the past century, Arkivia is full of lurking criminals. These rats are hard to be rid of, and they are harming the citizens AND the Kingdom's growth.
But a certain smart-ass king called Eric is very determined to bring ALL of them down or at least being kept at bay, without affecting the innocence of Arkivian and the image of Arkivia itself. So, a purifying mission is being held.
But that is not the case.
With this catch-all-criminals mission going on, the King is literally putting his neck out for his enemies. He almost got assassinated like five times, and it's only been one month since this 'mission' started.
His queen is not that helpful, either.
The Queen Consort; Her Majesty Sophie, are known for her beauty AND scandals with many men. Even though she already have a child with her husband, she still make spreading her legs for other men as her hobby. Her marriage with Eric is just for politic. And the decision to have a child is also for politic. To please the court, one might say. However, to Neil's personal opinion, such act is still a direct disrespect to the King.
Another sigh escaped his mouth. Neil hate seeing his friend all stressed out like that.
"Neil? Neil!! for the love of all gods, stop spacing out!" A voice bring him back to the land. "Ye-yeah? What is it?" Lucas sighed in frustration. His hand scratch his scalp hard, done with Neil's sudden spacing out. "I was asking whether you were thinking about General or the King?!"
Neil flinched. He gives an apologetic face.
"Sorry. And no, neither is right." He was in fact thinking about both of them, though he was remembering his old memory to start with. Lucas shrugged, don't really care about it anymore. "Got to go back to the training. Bye." Lucas walked away.
Neil turn his gaze forward. Something clicked on his mind. Three days ago, it's been said that a team got sent out to catch a criminal group but there's no news, even today. Neil get up, dusting off the dirt. "I wonder what's the outcome." He muttered to himself, walking back to the training area.
"Free schedule doesn't mean making your skill dull, Neil" He said to himself grabbing his sword. He walk across the other soldiers; new ones, and arrive at the back of a soldier sitting down on a ground, all alone. 'Must be new too.' He's in charge of training the new troops assigned for his Captain.
he pat the young boy on the shoulder. "get your sword, soldier. You're sparring with me." The said soldier quickly get up. He nodded, bow and walk away, about to get his weapon.