A 13-year-old Deacon Masters stood in front of his bedroom door hanging mirror. Compared to the rest of his decorated room, it was one of the simpler pieces of furniture his parents bestowed upon him. Idly, he fixed the knot of his tie, almost choking himself, but he didn't want to look sloppy. Today was Children's Friendship Day in the Cartanica Crown City, Inferno, and every school in the major metropolitan area was congregating at Novalie Aquarium.
He wasn't yet born when the massive sea park was built, but he had been many times before today. Every time, it was more extravagant than the last. Many sea creatures and some small sea mammals that were frequently and rarely seen were preserved and conserved within their walls and glass. He held onto an outrageous story from his grandfather, Reuben Masters, as he would always recant the time he and King Bardhyl defeated a massive shark while en route to Solum la Caelum. A "shark thrice the size of this one," he would always say, pointing towards a listing, peaceful animal stuck behind glass.
That wide-eyed young Deacon who held onto every tall tale and small story alike was much older now. He wasn't yet an adult, and he damn well couldn't wait to become one. It would be then that his hard work could be tested. Since he was ten, he had attended weeks of weapons training and countless hours of academic tutoring to heighten his gifted intellect. He had done everything that was asked of him, everything that was demanded of him. All of it for one single goal: to become Prince Atreo's Retainer, his right-hand General.
After adjusting the tie knot for the fifth time, he finally let his arms hang to his sides and just looked at himself. Short, styled hair that was sticking up at the bangs. A horrible haircut that made him look like a little boy rather than a competent right-hand of a future King. His pale skin looked like it had no life to it, unlike Prince Atreo's olive skin. In every image he had ever seen of the Prince, either on the news or on social media, his cheeks were red with blood, and his lips were full and rosy. The high-quality tabloid photos he should've known better than to indulge in looking at always showed his eyes in the best light. The shards of ruby gemstone encapsulated in his irises made him feel as if this world he was living in was more of a fairytale rather than the modern era.
He willed himself to take a deep breath and adjust his glasses before they slipped further down the bridge of his nose. He made a small note in the back of his mind to upgrade the pair he had before he started high school. Just get through today the best he could with a level head. He did bust his ass to get to the top of his school by losing it at the mere sight of the Prince. He's seen him thousands of times, yet never face to face. It couldn't be much different; it shouldn't, and he wasn't going to let it get to him. He slapped his cheeks several times to put color back into his face and headed downstairs, where his mother, Aleena, was waiting for him.
"Deacon, I packed a lunch for you. Your father had to stay overnight at the Crown, so you might not see him until tonight."
Deacon murmured a response as he popped a strawberry into his mouth on his way to his backpack. His mind was so muddied with today's future events that he didn't hear the disappointed click of the tongue that came from his mother.
"Sweetie, is something on your mind? Feeling sick?"
"No! No, Mom, it's just…"
Deacon couldn't find the right words and at the same time, had a million things to say. He felt like he would explode if he didn't shout his woes, but he knew his limits. Prince Atreo was off-limits; he was not allowed to get close until he was assigned his role. That was that, and that was why this was so hard.
"Guess I'm just nervous." Deacon finally settled on an excuse, "Lot of people at the Aquarium today."
"Like the Prince?" His mom said, a hint of amusement in her voice.
Deacon didn't say anything, but the flinch in his shoulder told her everything she had to know. With a small smile and a huff through her nose, she came closer to her son to give him a small hug.
"Honey, while I don't agree with these silly rules and fraternization laws and yadda yadda, I think it wouldn't hurt to get a bit of an innocent glimpse of him. Right?"
Deacon couldn't meet his mother's eyes, his cheeks blaring red now. The one time he wished he couldn't show life through his skin, it was all to bear in his moment of weakness.
"Right?!" She pressed again, shaking him a little with a smile on her face. "My big, smart boy is already on the road to this amazing life, it's only fair you get to say hi!?"
"Mom, you know I can't." Deacon partly whined, pulling away from his mother.
He wanted so badly to act well above his age, to emulate the poise and regality his teachers and mentors held themselves to. On a good day, he could pretend to be grown, to know everything, and act like the rock he knew he could be, but today he was showing his age. A small 13-year-old boy dealing with emotions he wasn't used to dealing with. The worst part was that he couldn't pin down the exact emotion. Was he scared? Elated? Apprehensive, maybe he was angry? Angry at whom? The rules the Crown had put on him at birth, his father enforcing them? Angry at his mother trying to tempt him to break the rules keeping the harmony between Royalty and Retainers in Cartanica? It was the first time he didn't know something that he couldn't look up that he couldn't clearly work out.
With a frustrated grunt, Deacon grabbed his bag and hurried to the door. When he opened it, his valet was already waiting for him outside his home, the passenger door open, waiting to usher him to school.
"I'll be back later tonight. I have polearm training after school ends and then tutoring after that. You can put my dinner in the fridge, and I'll eat it later tonight."
"Deacon, your lunch!"
But, before she could catch up with him, the door was shut in her face. The house was quiet, and a warm, wrapped lunch was clutched tightly in her hand.
***
The Grand Novalie Aquarium had completely shut down to the general public as six whole schools and three private schools full of children flooded their halls. Even though all of these schools had a healthy amount of children attending, there were still plenty of places and attractions void of people.
Deacon stood in the block of only his school and was considered the smallest of all the school groups. The school he was attending— Inferno's Horizon Academy— was a special private school endorsed by The Cartanican Crown curly to raise the best of the best to work for Royalty. Because of his affluent last name and being born into a family that has done nothing but live for Cartanican Royalty and nothing else, Deacon was brought up his whole life knowing he would be given a free ride. The boy he was standing with was another affluent last name offspring, a son of Vlademar. Laurent Vlademar, son of the General of the Cartanican Diamond Army.
Compared to Deacon's sandy brown, borderline blonde, styled hair and pale visage, Laurent was a boy with raven hair, choppy and messy. His skin took after his mother's, with a tease of a tan and littered with freckles just barely there all over his skin. Where Deacon toted his family's famous grey eyes, Laurent's eyes were a curious shade of purple. Some mutation for sure, but as his mother, Nora Vlademar, was once a high-ranking Mage to the Crown, it was chalked up to magical influence.
Laurent was Deacon's only true friend in Inferno's Horizon. With fathers working so close to the Crown, it only made sense that they banded together to stick out the rough curriculum forced upon them. Deacon's road was hard, but at least he only had one goal set in front of him. Laurent wasn't as lucky. His father forced him into the Academy to become an officer in the Army rather than his true passion, Mage's work. His shaggy appearance was a sign of rebellion, and it wasn't working as well as he had hoped it would get him out of what Laurent calls "grunt work."
"Think we'll be paired with the kindergartners so that we won't freak out the other schools?" Laurent quipped, an amused smirk on his face.
When Deacon didn't answer right away, he finally looked away from the groups of students to look at his friend. He was met with Deacon scanning the heads of every student, looking for specific school uniforms or curly locks. Anything to hone in on, and Laurent was already over it.
"You're really that eager to get to work? You can't just enjoy your freedom before you start wiping the Prince's ass for the rest of his life?"
Deacon shot Laurent an annoyed look before he pulled out his phone. "I'll have you know, I'm not slated to be some sort of slave to the Crown. I'll have all of my freedoms and get to go home like everyone else. It's the privilege of living alongside the Crown's secrets that I'm being trained for. I'm not the only one fighting for this spot, despite my family's influence."
As Deacon thumbed through his photos, Laurent hovered over his shoulder with a curious eye. "Sounds tough. Wait, hold on—"
Laurent pulled the phone out of Deacon's hands after he had tapped on a specific photo. A store photo of a school uniform set for a middle school.
"This is the uniform for Magna Valley Middle School. You're telling me he goes to Magna Valley?" Laurent almost wanted to laugh at the prospect of the Northern Country's Heir to the Throne attending a completely normal and no way special school.
"It's to teach him some humbleness! Getting to grow up one-on-one with his subjects is the best way to teach empathy within the Crown." Deacon said, snapping his phone back out of Laurent's hand. "Imagine if he had been homeschooled or, worse, attended Inferno Horizon? He'd never know how a normal citizen lives. He has to learn this way."
"Sounds like a good way for the Prince to get kidnapped if you ask me."
Deacon tuned him out as he tried to imprint the image of the uniform to memory before the sound of a whistle pulled him from his phone. In the middle of the presidio, a tour guide to the aquarium had a hand held high in the air and jovially exclaimed the rules and regulations every student must adhere to so no one would get lost or hurt. Students were nodding, giggling, and chatting with one another. It was truly a chaotic field trip filled with little kids and nervous teachers, hoping it wouldn't fall apart.
"Now, for the first block! We will have the Magna Valley schools attend the petting pools this way!" The announcer waved her hands vigorously towards the east of the building.
First, the elementary block of students walked— more like shambled— towards the attraction's entrance. Following close behind were the middle schoolers. No matter how hard he tried, Deacon couldn't see the Prince. Was he looking in the wrong spot? Was he in the middle of this group of students, or worse, was he absent today? The wretch in his gut he felt at the thought made him almost sick to his stomach.
"Hey, that's him right there, right?" Laurent asked, bumping Deacon a couple of times with his elbow.
Deacon couldn't whip his head around fast enough. Sure enough, in the very back of the middle schooler block, with his hands in his pockets and a mop of blonde hair that belonged to a cherub, walked Prince Atreo. He looked apathetic, bored, and tired all at the same time. While Deacon did nothing but stare, slack-jawed, Atreo kept his eyes straight forward. It was almost as if the Prince was willing the day to be over by any means necessary.
"Pretty cool, huh? Not that it's gonna matter in a few years' time. You two are gonna be inseparable by law in about six years." Laurent said, crossing his arms and laughing.
"Five years. I go into his care at eighteen." Deacon murmured, still spellbound by Prince Atreo as he walked into the east wing and disappeared.
"Tomayto, tomato. Same for me, I guess. If my dad gets his way, I'll be that kid's Shield."
Deacon finally found his head back on his shoulders and shot Laurent another annoyed look. At this point, with how much he frowned and disapproved of every little thing his friend said, he'd have wrinkles by 25.
"Can you have at least an ounce of respect for the Prince? He's going to be your King one day."
Laurent smiled smugly and shrugged his shoulders, earning a punch from Deacon, which he just laughed off. Sure, he was dying for simply Mage work, but all the training had turned him into a tank. Deacon's punch did nothing to him.
"Inferno's Horizon! Please make your way to the showroom for a special performance!"
Deacon wanted to finish what he was saying but was forced to walk as the student behind him started to move forward. Straight ahead, into the back of the aquarium building and towards the massive pool holding all manner of ocean fish. He tried to finish his argument with Laurent, only to find him talking loudly on his phone, having recently gotten a call. From the tone of his voice and hunched shoulders, it sounded like his father, which never ended well.
Deacon let it drop for now, huffing and looking forward to focusing on walking. Just focus on walking, focus on having a break, and have a good time. After this, there would no longer be any more breaks, leisure, or fun. Thinking about this, Deacon started worrying that this wasn't bothering him so much. No more fun, so what? The torture of being able to see the Prince without even getting to talk to him was worse than not getting to play. He'd rather grow up.
Before he could let his thoughts consume him for too long, his shoe caught onto something slippery. Catching himself, he let the other students walk around him as he leaned down to pick up what he had almost tripped on. A card, lamented and thick. On the front is the portrait of the Prince.
It was Prince Atreo's student ID card. Deacon's blood ran cold.
"Deacon! Keep up! Yeah... Yeah, Dad, whatever!"
He snapped out of his stupor as Laurent called for him but couldn't handle holding onto the hot coal that was his future charge's ID card. Shaking and looking around, his eyes finally fell on one of the teachers in the back of the student block.
"B-bathroom break! Won't be long; I know where our class is going." Deacon stammered out. It wasn't as smooth as he would've liked it to be, but the teacher smiled at him regardless.
"Make it quick; you wouldn't want to miss the show!"
Deacon nodded, then he bolted. He cut quickly to the east wing, pretending to make it to the closest bathrooms before cowering behind a wall. The main presidio was now empty, all of the students were escorted to their attractions for the day. He had to find him, or at least his teachers, before lunch and group activities. The Petting Pools wasn't too far from where he was. Just find his teacher, deliver the card, and get out.
Just as he made it down one long hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the voices of two adults franticly speaking to one another.
"Did you see where he went?"
"No! He was with his class, and we all had looked away long enough… I guess…"
"You guess?! We lost the Prince in the building! Find him before a Crown Guard does, or it's our jobs!"
Fast footfalls preceded this in the opposite direction. Finding the courage, Deacon peered around the corner to find the next hallway empty. There was a manhunt on both ends. His ID card was missing, and the whole Prince was missing as well. Somewhere in the building, he walked the halls alone. But where? Deacon wracked his brain before looking up towards a directory sign hanging from the rafters. An arrow was pointing towards an attraction: the Deep Sea Tunnels.
Trusting his intuition, Deacon bolted. He was risking everything, even being within the sights of the Prince, before taking his place as his official Retainer, as he longed to be like his grandfather and the King. To watch them laugh and drink together. The Masters' clan was famous for always standing next to Kings and Queens, but call it coincidence or luck or even fate; they all had to fight for it like everyone else. There were scores of retainers in training fighting for the spot he was killing himself for, and getting caught delivering something so small as an ID card could ruin everything. Everything.
His breathing was labored, sweat forming on his brow, and the product holding up the sad, small spikes that were his bangs failing and falling into his forehead by the time he walked into the Deep Sea Tunnel attraction. It was dark, and he was surrounded by glass and water. His heartbeat was thumping in his ears, and the only other sound in his eardrums was the water pump filtering around him. He walked. One foot in front of the other alone. The carpeted floor below him reverted his footfalls so softly, yet he could hear every step he took so loudly; he hated it.
Taking any stimulus to keep his mind off of his incoming demise, if he was even here, Deacon looked up. The shadows that crawled over his frame came from the massive Cartanican White Shark, listing lazily to the other side of the tank. It was the same shark his grandfather would talk about; it still had a slight cut on its back fin. Somehow, he felt a bit calmer seeing something, anything familiar, in the midst of all of this chaos.
"Wow…"
Deacon's head snapped back down. His eyes were wide, pupils pinholed. Prince Atreo was mere feet away from him, looking straight up at the same shark with a bored expression.
"My dad said they got big but didn't realize they got this big." Deacon watched as Prince Atreo dropped his gaze from the shark to him. Those ruby-red eyes dug into his soul, "you ever seen a shark this big?"
"I…u-uh…" Deacon blew it immediately. All of his training in care and eloquence was executed in stammers and shaky legs. He was intimidated.
"You're from that specialist's school, right? You're not supposed to talk to me." Atreo said as if he were talking to a casual friend. Deacon winced.
"I'm… I'm well aware, Prince Atreo. I am sorry for bothering you, however. "Before he could embarrass himself further, he held out his hand and held the ID card. "You seemed to have dropped this while walking with your class. I thought you would like it back."
At first, the Prince simply stared at his hand. None of them moved for a couple of seconds, building unwanted tension in the air. Only once Deacon started to tremble again did Prince Atreo begin to move. Closer, he was getting closer. Only then did Deacon realize what was about to happen. The Prince's touch was in his palm, and he was taking the ID card from him. Before he would lose his mind any further, just before Prince Atreo put his hand out to take it, Deacon placed the card between two fingers and offered it. Prince Atreo paused but took it with no fuss. No contact.
He was already pushing every ounce of luck he had; no need to add the Prince touching him on top of it. That would be too much to bear.
"Thanks. I would've been in deep shit if I lost this." The Prince murmured.
"I would tell you to watch your language, but…" Deacon paused as the Prince looked up at him with a condescending smirk.
"But, you're not working for me yet."
Deacon's eyebrow twitched. In the back of his mind, he could hear his grandfather telling him something about never meeting his heroes. It always leads to downfall.
"Right. Well, I'm glad to return it to you. Also, your teachers are looking for you. I think they would be more pressed about you missing than your ID card missing, Your Highness."
At mental capacity and overloaded, Deacon simply bowed— very deeply— and then turned tail, bolting out of the Deep Sea Tunnels.
"Wait!"
He hated that he stopped, but he couldn't help it, nor did he feel as if he had a choice. Who said no or ignored the Crown? He turned to find the Prince standing there, his hands to his sides. His eyes weren't bored anymore, but Deacon couldn't place an emotion behind them either.
"What's your name?"
He swallowed nothing, his dry throat sticking together before peeling apart.
"Deacon Masters, Your Majesty."
"Masters… figures."
"Huh?!"
Deacon felt almost taken aback but was stopped by the Prince pointing to the exit behind him.
"Better get going before the cavalry arrives. If they catch you with me, I'm sure it won't end well for you."
"Right… until we meet again, Your Majesty."
With that, Deacon finally bolted from the attraction and back around the hallway corner. As he was trying to control his breathing and get his mind right, he could hear the previous teachers make their way back and towards the Deep Sea Tunnel. The Prince was as good as caught and just in time. He tried not to think too hard about it. He was the Prince, after all. A slap on the wrist at most, and it wasn't like he could bail him out of trouble. With his breathing controlled, Deacon finally made a run for it back to his class before he found himself in trouble as well.