*30 minutes before the attack*
The brown dog whimpers softly, sitting under the small dining table as the doctor, the little prince, and the warrior, eat their dinner.
"Won't Frankie eat?" The tall boy asks, feeling guilty about their interactions before the boy left crying.
"He is sleeping now, I will take him chicken noodle soup, later on, it is his favorite," The doctor says, with a warm smile his hand disappearing beneath the table as he gives the brown dog a piece of his chicken.
"I'm sorry about what happened before, I really didn't know it was him and his family that was attacked, if I had known I would have never talked to him about it," Craig says, looking at the doctor with guilty eyes.
"It's okay, you didn't know," the doctor says, giving a gentle tap on the ginger boy's freckled hand.
"Thank you for the chicken, it's really good," the little prince says, after a moment of silence around the table.
"Yes, it's Rufus's favorite," The man says with a warm smile, giving a piece of chicken to the brown dog, softly whimpering under the table.
Craig sits by the couch, checking channels from channels on the TV, as the little prince washes the dishes, and the doctor rolls the dough for the cinnamon rolls.
"So, when do you think Eirene will wake up, doctor?" The little prince asks, reaching for the last dirty plate on the counter.
"Oh, I am not sure, what I think is her body is in a state of rest now, and she will recover soon after a bit of rest" the doctor explains, spreading the brown cinnamon mix on the rolled dough.
"Like a coma?" The tall boy asks, his attention stolen by the doctor's words.
"Yes, a bit like that," the man says, rolling the dough slowly.
"If it's like that, shouldn't she be in a hospital? Relieving care?" The tall boy inquires.
"No, she's a guardian. A guardians body heals itself, no matter what we do to help her, her body is doing it ten...no, hundred times better" the doctor says, slicing the string through the rolled dough, taking a big piece of the cinnamon roll, and placing it on a hollow cooking sheet.
"You know she's a guardian," the little prince asks with wide eyes, looking over to his friend to see the mirrored expression.
"Oh, of course. I knew when I saw you in the woods, I just thought you didn't want me to know so I didn't mention it" the man says, putting the last slice of the rolled dough on the sheet and placing a white cotton cloth on top of them.
"We didn't want to alarm you, we thought you wouldn't have helped if you knew she was a guardian," the little prince says, draining the sink as he washes away the remains on it with water.
"You are right to keep that to yourselves, if it was another doctor, they would have reported you to the king's men. Guardians are not liked here" the man says sipping his warm jasmine tea, as the tall boy joins him on the dining table.
"Why not?" Craig asks, taking the cup of tea from the doctor's extended hands with a thank you.
"Before, ladonians loved the guardians, worshiped them even. They lived talking great tales about a guardian, and the children of Ladon grew up with a guardian as their heroes. They were loved by almost every ladonians, until the great war" the doctor says, setting down the empty tea cup.
"What happened?" The little prince asks, leaning against the counter to face the two at the dining table.
"Well, the people believed it was the guardians that brought the war to them," the doctor says, removing his small glasses to clean them, with a small cloth he sported from his pocket.
"The guardians?" The two boys ask at the same time, eyes bulging from the new information they received.
"Yes," the doctor says, standing up to check on the tray of cinnamon rolls, now Double their original size.
"How?" The little prince asks, following the man's actions closely.
"Well" the man grunts, as he bends down to slide the tray inside the oven, then stands up slamming the door shut, "the war just happened," he says setting the small timer down on the dining table, joining the ginger boy sitting there.
"What do you mean, it just happened? The books say, the north attacked the south and they migrated to the west kingdom, then the three kingdoms fought until they all lost their kings and queens, and then the war just stopped" the little prince explains still standing by the kitchen sink.
"That is true, but that story is told from the western kingdom. You go to the northern kingdom and they tell you something else, then you go to the southern kingdom and they suddenly can't speak. The only kingdoms that live and die by that story are the western kingdom and the eastern kingdom" the man explains, looking from one boy to the next, "even now, no one has the full understanding of what happened, it's like this new knowledge was imprinted on every ladonians brain so suddenly, with no explanation whatsoever. For the longest time, the citizens of every kingdom did not question the stories of their kingdoms, they lived blaming the other kingdoms for the loss of their loved ones and home, then slowly one by one the questions started to rise, and the people became aware of the holes in the stories" the man says, as the sweet smell of the cinnamon wafts through the house.
"Wait, so the northern kingdom didn't attack the southern kingdom?" The tall boy asks, trying to grip what the doctor is telling them.
"Oh, no it did, the north did attack the south and they migrated to the west. The question is not who attacked first, the question really is why. Why did the north attack so suddenly? and why did the western kingdom take them in? But most of all, why did the eastern kingdom suddenly disappear? Did they know?" The man asks as the two boys look at each other before the little prince speaks up.
"There are ones that believe the eastern kingdom is to blame for the great war?" The little prince asks, finally joining the two at the table.
"It's not specific, really. Everyone just blames almost everything now, at this point it has come to finding comfort than finding the truth" the man says, setting his glass neatly down on the table, "it was a hard time for all of us, and most people blame the guardians since it's easier to hate them than each other"
"Snow, are those cinninyrolls?" The little boy says, walking down the stairs while rubbing at his eyes.
"Frankie, I thought you would sleep for longer" the man chuckles, standing up to lift the groggy boy in his arms.
"I should check on Eirene," the little prince says, standing up to leave for the room at the end of the hall.
"I'll come," the tall boy says, joining his friend.
The two boys leave for the room, where the girl with a pink dress, lies still on the soft bed wearing a brown blanket on top.
"We have to go to the northern kingdom, and fast" the little prince whispers to his friend as he gently shuts the door, "we need to tell them about the eastern kingdom or else we will have great war 2.0 any time soon" he mumbles to himself, sitting on the small chair by the table on the side of the small window.
"Calm down, okay. Let's just wait for Eirene to wake up and we will be there in a flash, I have a feeling we might need her help" the tall boy says sitting beside his friend on the small seat.
"Let's hope she wakes up fast because this time there might not be many survivors," the little prince says, his gaze on the sleeping girl on the bed.
**
*a few months ago*
"Eastern kingdom! I give you your crowned prince, prince Arthur Splitzerd, the firstborn son of king Edward Splitzerd" the announcer's voice travels through the ballroom as the little prince stands straight in front, as the crown I place on his majestic black silky hair.
The crowd roars in cheers as Arthur waves at the crowd, among them he spots his friend, and he mockingly bows to the crowned prince as the little prince fixes his crown with his middle finger, a big smile on his face.
"Great job, son. Your people loved you" the king of the eastern kingdom says, tapping at the boy's back, almost knocking out the crown from the boy's head.
"Thanks, although I didn't do anything," the little prince says, taking the crown off to see its simple delicate details with red emerald stones, gently placing it on n his father's majestic table set in the center of the office.
"Oh, don't beat yourself up. Your worth is not described by what you wear on your head, it's by what you wear in here" the king says, pointing to the boy's chest, then he picks up the crown, handing it to the little prince.
"Thanks, dad" Arthur smiles up at the man, with mirroring features.
"Arthur!" A woman calls out to Arthur, causing him to whip around seeing her majesty the queen, standing idly by the door in her big puffy maroon gown.
"Mom!" The little prince says, going over to his mother to give her a small peck on the lips, "dad was just telling me... " The boy stops mid-sentence as he looks back for his father but finds him no longer there.
"Your party is in full swing, the guests are waiting for you, my boy," the woman says, gently brushing the boy's escaped hair to slick back.
"Where did dad go?" He question, shaking his head to bring back the bangs his mother's fingers took back.
"He is...busy," the queen says, brushing his hair back again, clicking her tongue as a warning when the little prince tries to shake it back again, "he will join us in a little bit, we should leave first," the queen says, taking the crown from the boy's hands and gently setting it down on his head, "besides, I hear Craig was roaming around the dessert table," she says, with a smile that sends the boy running away to the ballroom.
The queen chuckles at her son's quickly retreating back, before she steals a glance over at the closed door inside the king's office. Her smile fades, as she takes a deep breath before closing the door to the office, and leaving for the party in the ballroom.
"Oh! Your majesty!" The tall boy bows, flaring his hands and lowering to the ground, mocking his friend.
"Oh, knock it off!" The little prince grunts, pushing past the boy to the desert table, eyes googling at the colorful delicacy.
"Congrats, on being official. You are a prince now!" the tall boy says, patting his friend's shoulders, and giving him a wide smile.
"Thanks, I would have never known if you hadn't told me" the little prince gives him a dry smile, swatting at his friend's hands from his shoulders.
"Well, it will not be the last you hear it 'cause here come to your people," Craig says, his head jerking to their left, a crowd of people approaching the boys, smiling from ear to ear.
"Oh! Prince!" They call out, waving at him as they almost sprint to the little prince.
"Okay, Craig. Here's what we are going to do..." The prince begins, looking over to his back, finding his friend missing and himself standing alone, "Craig?" The little prince whisper yelling, looking around the ballroom and searching for his friend. The little prince sees his friend on the other side of the room talking with Talya, the pretty girl from their school, she laughs at what he says and the tall boy's gaze goes to his friend, "what are you doing?" The little prince mouths to his friend, smoke almost fuming from his ears, to which the redhead only responds by blowing a kiss to the very angry boy, being swarmed by a crowd of people.
The tall boy snickers at his friend's disappearing figure, going back to his companion. "Would the lady care to dance?" Craig asks bowing to the girl in a soft lilac gown.
"Sorry, Craig. I'm here with Chris, and I don't think he would like me dancing with someone else" the girl says, looking back to the boy by the drink tables, carrying two glasses as he waits for the two to finish talking.
"Oh, no worries! You two have fun, excuse me" the tall boy says, bowing to the girl with big gestures, that send her into other fits of giggles.
"You too, Craig. Oh! Say hi to prince Arthur for me!" She waves over as she runs back to her fate waiting idly by the table, Craig smiles at her request as he sends a nod to the boy, leaving for other companions.
"Sorry, Craig" the girl with the shimmering dress says, as the lights reflect on the diamonds glazing her white dress.
"Oh it is okay, you have fun" Craig replies, thankful for his eyes as he turns to leave.
"I came with someone else," the girl with flaming red hair says, shrugging with two drinks in her hands.
"Oh! That's nice, you too have fun!" Craig replies, leaving with a bow.
"He asked me 5 months ago" the girl giggles, showing off the necklace with the letter 'k', for he assumed for Kyle, on her chest.
"Oh! What a gentleman, I guess I have a thing or two to learn from him" Craig replies, almost running away as Kyle approaches the two, his chest out like a bump.
"I promised a dance for someone else, sorry"
"Next time, I am here with someone else"
Craig leaves for the tables by the corners of the room, sighing as he sits beside his friend, sprawled on the table.
"I think now, I have shaken hands more than I washed them" the little prince mumbles, not moving from the table.
"I think I have heard more rejection than most colleges today" Craig sighs, stealing his friend's drink and gulping it down.
"I have enough well wishes to last for my 8th generation" Craig mumbles again.
"I have taken every regret for my 10 generations," Craig says, setting the empty bottle down with a thud.
"My face hurt from smiling so much, I don't think I can smile anymore"
"My pride hurts with all this rejection, I don't think I could face our school friends anymore"
"And it's all your fault" the little prince suddenly jolts up.
"And it's all your fault," Craig says at the same time as his friend, eyes falling on his friend's red iris.
"MY FAULT?" They both say, taken aback by the others' claim.
"HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?" They say again, before going into their own rants, not hearing the other.
"YOU LEFT ME ALONE WHEN YOU CLEARLY SAW THEM APPROACH ME, ALL THOSE PEOPLE! YOU KNOW I CAN'T HANDLE THAT MANY PEOPLE! MY BATTERY DIED NOW! I DON'T KNOW IF I WILL LEAVE MY ROOM FOR A WEEK ANYMORE! EVERY TIME PEOPLE ARE TALKING MY MIND SEEMS TO GO TO THEIR MINDS, THEN I HAVE ALL THIS OVERLAPPING VOICE TALKING AND I HAVE TO FOCUS EXTRA HARD, OR ELSE I LISTEN TO THEIR THOUGHTS AND I ANSWER BASED ON THAT AND THAT SEEMS TO FREAK THEM OUT EVEN MORE! THEN THEY CATCH ME STARING AND THEY TELL ME I LOOK WEIRD AND SCARY, WHICH I FEEL SO BAD ABOUT BECAUSE I WANT TO BE A KING MY PEOPLE LOVE AND TRUST! AND YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED ALL THAT, YOU COULD HAVE STAYED AND TOLD ONE OF YOUR STUPID STORIES THAT ALWAYS SEEMED TO DRIVE OTHER PEOPLE AWAY!" The little prince rants away, as his friend says his, not listening to the other.
"EVERYONE ASKED EVERYONE, ALMOST 5 MONTHS BEFORE YOUR STUPID PARTY. EVERYONE CAME WITH SOME0NE ELSE OR EITHER THEY ASKED THEM TO SAVE A DANCE THIS MORNING, WHERE WAS I ALL THAT TIME? OH YES! I WAS OUT TRAINING WITH YOU AND TRAINING HOW TO KEEP YOU SAFE, OR HANGING OUT WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU DO NOT LIKE TO SOCIALIZE AND HAVE NO FRIENDS BUT ME AND REFUSE TO HAVE OTHER FRIENDS BUT ME, SO I HAVE NO FRIENDS BIT YOU AND I SPEND EVERY SINGLE BEATING SECOND WITH YOU OR YOU ARE JUST LURKING BEHIND ME THAT MAKES IT SO MUCH HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO TALK TO ME BECAUSE EVERY ONE IS ALREADY SCARED OF YOU AND THEY SUDDENLY WILL HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO THAN STAND BY TALKING TO ME WHILE YOU DIG A HOLE THROUGH THEIR SKULL, NOW! EVERYONE THINKS YOU EITHER HAVE A CRUSH ON ME OR WE ARE DATING!" Craig says, finally catching his friend's last words and stopping.
"My stories are not stupid" the tall boy scoffs, offended by his friend's remark.
"I don't have a crush on you," the little prince says, his face scrunched with the thought.
"Are you two okay?" Their friend from training, Jackson the strongest boy on the team, asks as he approaches them at the table.
"NO!" They both scream at him, driving him away with his arms outstretched and eyes big.
"Great! Now he is going to think we're dating" the tall boy grunts, sliding out of the chair and leaving for the small group of girls standing by the dessert table.
"We're NOT DATING!" The little prince calls out loudly, turning every attention to him, causing his face to build to a steaming red as he falls on the table hiding his face with his hands.
"Is our prince in love?" The woman that lead the crowd from before says, joining him on the table, he could have sworn her ears grew in size in the minute she came here.
"No! It's just a misunderstanding" the little prince says, glancing at her with a forced smile before dropping back down.
"Are you sure? We all would like our future queen...or king" she says winking at the boy's head.
"Yes! I'm sure, when the time is right I will marry the right GIRL picked out by my parents and the royal council, just like my parents" the little prince stops, as the woman laughs at the prince's words, "what's so funny?" The little prince asks, rising to look at the woman with scrunched eyebrows.
"Oh! Nothing my prince! Marriage just like your parents!" The woman's voice steels at the word, and she stops to clear her throat.
"There is obviously something? Is it about arranged marriage, I know it's not common now but I still am a prince I have to put the kingdom above my own desires" the little prince explains, standing up to look at the woman's growing red face, "are you okay?"
"Oh! Of course my prince!" The woman's voice now sounds like a broken squick toy. *so he doesn't know his father has been having an affair on his mother since they got married, but almost all the kingdom knows. That poor woman it must be so devastating to live like that, but how desperate can she be to stay a queen where she endures such embarrassment like that? Oh! He must be with that woman now, maybe in that room by his office the servants heard noises from, they all say no one is allowed in that room, so sickening and so sad* the little prince recoiled, jumping from his seat as he hears the woman's thoughts drive through his mind.
"Your lying" the little prince almost whispers, shaking his head with disgust.
The woman's eyes bulge, as the recognition hits her, "no! NO! I was just thinking about a movie I saw last night, in fact, Ms. Shelly said she missed the ending because she fell asleep and she wanted me to tell her" she says hastily standing up from the seat, "I'll just go look for her right now"
The little prince runs over to the woman quickly scry8ng away, he grabs her shoulders turning her to meet his gleaming red eyes. "Tell me the truth! And don't lie!"
"I'm so sorry, my prince. I thought you knew" the woman says, almost in tears, "please don't tell, the king you heard it from me" she pleads, as the little prince quickly sprints out the hall, his eyes welling with tears.
The little prince doesn't stop until he reaches his father's office, only stopping when the reality sinks in for him, his hand gripping the cold door handle, he takes a deep breath before he pushes down the handle, but nothing happens, the door happens to be locked, he tries again, and again but the grand maroon door refuses to budge.
"Damn it!" The little prince says, kicking at the door. He looks around the empty hall, the hall for their ancestors and their families, he goes to his right, and right next to the door is their family picture. He stands there looking at their images, his parents, the king, and queen of the eastern kingdom, sitting at their thrones as he stands behind them, one hand on either parent's shoulders. He tries to read their faces, trying to find any indication, of any signs that he missed, where now that he was looking might see. Their black hair, his father's shoulder length, his mother's waist length, both slick back with jell, and their mirroring red eyes, gleaming for their image. He tries to see his mother's face, but it's as stoic as ever, he could never read her.
He always thought they were happy, they were in love. He thought they had the perfect family, he thought back to their moments, looking for signs. He thought back to how both his parents would kiss him good night, every night. He thought about how his parents would run to him when he had nightmares. He thought about how they would stay all day with him when he was sick and would sleep on the floor for him for the rest of the night. He thought of how they would always play with him, always sang and danced with him, how they loved him. He thought of how they would pull pranks on each other and their inside jokes. He thought of how his mother brushed his hair every night before he went to bed. He thought of how his father would give him a giant hug every morning, swinging his feet around. He thought of how his father had taught him about the stars and constellations, on the telescope of his office balcony window. Then the little prince ran.
He stared up at the window, two stories high from the clouds, of the floating castle. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes he tried to focus on his breathing, in then out, in then out. He then looked up, eyes gleaming red, the tips of his hair radiating red light, as the soles of his feet leave the cloud floors. The little prince rises up to the sky, eyes focused on the balcony floor, he rises up and up, the whole sky kingdom now below him. His only focus was on the balcony of his father's office, he missed the flying creatures of the sky kingdom, the cloud floor pathways, houses, and buildings floating on the white solid clouds.
His feet gently land on the stone balcony floors, the red gleam from his head fading. He breathes out looking around him, and his eyes fall on the gaping balcony door, the white curtains waiting inside, inviting the little prince.
Arthur slowly walks inside, his heart in his throat, going directly to the small door by the side of the big office. The little prince goes for the handle, not knowing what he might see, not believing (not wanting to believe) what the woman told him.
"The western kingdom will fall!" He hears his father's voice booming through the doors, stopping him from grabbing the door handle, and he silently stands there listening to the voices.
"We have to be patient, Edward" He hears a woman's voice say, he leans forward the door, placing his ears to the timber surface.
"We should attack soon, throw them off and then destroy them," the eastern king says.
"They are growing stronger by the day, trust me if we attack today, they will not be caught off guard, King Theodore is waiting for war, he wants to destroy us as much as we do," the woman says.
"It's two kingdoms against one, we are sure to win, and easily at that," the king says.
"Three kingdoms," a man's voice says, "the southern kingdom is against the west as well, tell us when and we will attack, my kids have been training for the moment they take back what's theirs for a long time" the little prince guesses it the voice of the southern king, the king of the lost kingdom.
"It's not as easy as it sounds, the western royals are stronger than you think, their powers give them all the much benefit in the fight against enemies," the woman says.
"They are nothing against us," the eastern king says, with a slight humor in his voice.
"We have to plan this thoroughly, we can't just attack them, and risk the lives of many civilians. Risk the lives of many children" the woman says, and the little prince hears pleading in her tone.
"Fine. Then how do you propose we do this?" The eastern king asks.
"Quietly and with patience, we attack from the inside, take down the king and the kingdom is ours"
"Kill all the western royal blood?" The southern king asks.
"No. Not everyone" a man says, the first he spoke since the little prince arrived.
"Of course not you, but..." The eastern king begins, but the man's voice cuts in again.
"Not me, my sisters. No one touches them, you only kill the king" the man says.
"Cameron..." The woman begins, but the man cuts her again.
"He is my brother, but he will bring doom to our world, he has to die," Prince Cameron says, as the room falls quiet with the prince's words.
The little prince backs away from the door, shocked by the new information he acquired. He stumbles backward bumping into the small table by the side of the chair on the reading corner, next to the balcony window, dropping the small vase.
"Who's there?" He hears his father's voice boom through the door, and his approaching footsteps, as the little prince jumps out the balcony, his head growing red, as he softly lands on the solid clod ground, running away to the back side of the castle.
"Who was it?" The woman calls out from the room.
"Probably just the wind," the eastern king says, picking up the crown he gave his prince son, just this morning, from the ground and setting it on the table.
The little prince looks up to the stars, softly whispering their names under his breath, silent tears falling from his eyes. He feels a kick on his feet before he sees the tall boy standing next to him, on the deck his father built him on top of the great big oak tree in their backyard.
The tall boy's lips move with the speed of sound, his posture stiff and his face straight before he suddenly stops seeing his friend's unwavering face. The boy taps on his ears, to which the little prince replies by shaking his head then people back on his back, his friend joining him after.
They lie there for a moment, the little prince softly saying the stars' names, as the tall boy quietly listens.
"My father is planning to kill the western kingdom king," the little prince says, looking over to his friend, sure that he heard him, with the friend's eyes bulged as his neck snapped to the little prince, he thinks he might have cracked his neck with turning that fast but he continues, "if he attacks the king, it will be another war. We have to stop them"
"Them?" The tall boy's lips ask, his eyes scrunched.
"The kings and queens of all the kingdoms, are conspiring together to take down the western kingdom. They said they will do it quietly and quickly, by only killing the king, but these things tend to go out of hand, and the next thing you know we are at war" the little prince says, turning his hearing aid back on, "will you come with me?" The little prince asks his friend, earning a deep release of breath before the boy sits up.
"Of course, I'll come with you. You can't survive a minute without me" the tall boy says, looking back at his friend's face and sharing his smile.
"Thank you, my friend," the little prince says, turning his attention back to the stars above, "what were you saying earlier?" He asks, as his friend lies beside him.
"Oh, nothing. I was just breaking up with you" the tall boy says, brushing away his flaming red hair out of his face.
"What?" The little prince asks, looking at the boy.
"Just a small break, so we meet people," the tall boy says, looking at his friend.
"After this then?" The little prince asks, extending his hand out for the boy.
"Deal," the tall boy says, going for his friend's outstretched hand, as the little prince pulls it back sliding it on the side of his black head of hair back, with a still face, "Can't wait to not speak to you"
**
*present day*
Eirene gasps as she jolts up from the bed, her eyes wandering about the room until it lands on the two boys, equally shocked and staring at her.
"Good morning," the tall boy says, with a sheepish smile his eyes jumping to his friend for a second.
"Are you okay?" The little prince asks, standing up to join the trembling girl on the bed.
"They found me," she says, pulling over the blanket and standing up swiftly on the soft timber floors, she loses her balance stumbling before the prince catches her, and she speaks again, "they found me" she whimpers, almost in tears, her trembles traveling to the little prince.
"Who found you," Craig asks, now standing beside them.
"My sisters," she says, as the ground rumbles, causing the trio to fall to the ground, hanging onto each other for support, as they hear the distant distress and screams coming from outside.