Prologue :

"Breath in....breath out....breath in....breath out....brea-GAAAAH!"

Aruka's chanting was interupted when a hand placed itself on his shoulder. Turning he saw a face contorted in a mix of confusion and amusement.

"Oh, Darius." He mumbled, his face flushing from his loud reaction. Darius, his best friend and guard, stood a few inches above his 5 ft. His curly brown hair was cut short against his scalp, courtesy of his mother, revealing his best features, sharp yet languid brown eyes, and a mole under his right one.

His skin, following the trend, was brown as well, layed out over strong muscles. His physique was well defined through his tight, taylor-made outfit.

A familiar grin etched it's way onto his face,

"So, why are you hiding like this. Nobody would believe me if I told them that their oh so regal crown prince was now hunched over in some corner and squealing like a girl."

Aruka huffed, "I am not yet the crown prince, and I was NOT squealing!"

Darius simply chuckled, and decidedly changed the topic.

"Ready?" He asked.

The soon to be crown prince took one more deep breath then nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yes. Let us go"

The two boys exited the room into the hall and soon entered another room, notably more extravagant than the previous one. Marble spanned the entire floor and intricately patterned columns held a high domed ceiling. The enormous crystal chandelier hung atop, seemingly about to fall at any moment.

The room came out to a balcony, framed by deep red curtains. Even at their distance from the opening they could catch a glimpse of the massive crowd below. The people had gathered to watch the coming of age ceremony. The people had gathered...to watch him.

Aruka could feel his sweat running down his back and he had to squeeze his hands to stop them from shaking.

Breathe, breathe. He sucked in a sharp breath and let it out.

Darius, noticing his friend's distress, squeezed  his shoulder reassuringly. "Relax." He said.

Aruka smiled, touched by Darius's support.

After glancing around him, Darius leaned in conspiratorialy and whispered, "Just imagine everyone as naked and have pineapple heads."

At this Aruka scrunched up his nose, "I take back my thanks, that's just scary." He grumbled, walking away quickly in case he catches some of his friend's weird ideas. Shaking his head he let out one long breath.

This ceremony would declare him the official heir to the throne. The official Crown Prince of Arthimos, the fallen empire.

When his figure came in sight of the gathered crowd a hush befell them.

His earlier panic vanished from his face entirely. No one would know that only a few moments prior he had been a nervous reck, as Darous had previously stated.

With his panic gone his visage was calm and regal. No emotions evident on his face.

A slightly pudgy middle age man smiled as he saw Aruka and began his speech.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen of Arthimos!" He began, his bellowing voice booming throughout the crowd.

Aruka smiled slightly at the man, Fronc Bail, who was his language tutor. The man's voice made him perfect for communicating with crowds.

The speech was long and in summary introduced the event, gave some history, some politics, and some unnecessary lessons.

Now to the fun part.

"Let us begin the ceremony!"

Those words made Aruka snap out of his daze. He had become bored over the 30 minutes it took for Fronc to deliver his speech, and to be quite honest, had to pinch his arm quite a few many times to keep himself from falling asleep.

Straightening up he smiled and followed servants down a stairway to almost ground level. Looking back he affirmed Darius was behind them.

He was lead to a stage with a chair and two older men. One was his father, the king, and the other he could not recognize.

"Welcome."

(Because of annoying reasons I am republishing this story again. So just go to the other one please. Thankyou)