Chapter 1
Standing on the edge of the lake before us, I watch as Daphne throws rocks. I can hear animal calls in the far distance. This place outside the walls is safe; no outsiders ever come here. I pick up three flat rocks and see how many skips I can get. Each rock skips across the water, but the third rock, suddenly glowing a deep blue, skims back across the water toward me. In a state of awe, I watch it float past my head and behind me to a man. He is tall and slim, with golden hair. He has a smile of amusement. His brown eyes fixate on me.
“It’s called magic, young one,” his voice comes out rough but there is a gentle tone with it. The rock lands softly in his palm and stops glowing. “Your Father told me to come and get you.”
Next to me, Daphne squeals and jumps in excitement. She bolts over to the man, her green eyes flashing brightly in the sun rays. I follow more slowly and take a place next to her. She is hyper and energetic, as always, and waves of energy rolls off her. Her and I are complete opposites.
“How did you do that?!” she squeals while tugging at the man’s arm. “Teach me!” The man lets out a low chuckle.
“Another day.” He pats her head. A dark flicker passes through his eyes. “Your kingdom is proud of your Father.” His voice has an edge to it.
I shake my head to banish the thoughts dwelling inside and stare across the lake; my mind wanders to the past. I had lost my parents and spent days hiding in dark alleyways before Daphne’s Father saved me. I must have wandered off from them. I don’t remember much because I was so young, but I can still remember the king holding his hand out to me. As I grew older, I began to worry about him wanting me to be the next king, even though I am not in the bloodline. What would the people do about it?
My mind turns back to the strange man. I’ve never been one to question my Father’s friends but...
“Are you a knight or a guard?” I’ve only ever seen guards do magic, but I heard that knights do it too. Although magic is forbidden to the townspeople of the kingdom, there are some who are allowed to practice it. He tosses the rock away and it lands in the golden grass next to us, then pauses and closes his eyes. Daphne bounces around.
“I am neither, I am here repaying a favor for your Father. I owe him my entire life.”
“My Father and I do not share blood, sir.” I don’t really want him thinking that we are blood-related. There’s nothing wrong with it but I feel like I have to make it known. He frowns for a moment then it uplifts into a smile with laughter.
“You do not need to be so formal with me, please act like yourself.” his laughter dies down but the smile still plays at his lips. “He’ll be worrying, let us get you guys home.” I tilt my head to the side but follow him through the field. Daphne runs ahead after anything that moves. She’s going to learn someday but not today. The tall grass beside us flows as the wind begins to pick up. Birds are calling out to each other in the distance.
I close my eyes taking in the scents and the sounds of the wild. The smell of sweet honey drifts through the breeze with the sounds of birds tweeting their songs. It is calming to be out here where you can feel the wind instead of being trapped in the kingdoms’ walls. Up in the deep blue sky, there are little white sheep dancing about. I stop, admiring and taking everything in. I wish I could be out here and not in there.
“You coming?” he snaps me out of my trance. “You don’t want your Father waiting for you.” I quickly nod and catch up to them.
“So, uh, how do you know my Father?” I ask rather quickly.
“Your Father and I go way back. He and I fought in the great war and he saved my life when I was the blink of death.” he fondly stares ahead. So that’s how they know each other. I remember someone telling me about it, someone that I can’t remember. It happened about twelve years ago, four years after I was born. It was a war to overthrow the old government that ruled over all kingdoms and we won. I guess some things are different but I don’t know what it was like back then. I was only three/four years old. I give a big sigh and glance at the approaching walls. Do I really have to become the king?
I enter the front of the castle first. I am almost tempted to turn back because of the quietness. I hate living in this big castle where the royal bloodline lives. King Zabi and Daphne accept me as part of their family but I can’t help but wonder who my family is. I imagine they are simple people who work on a farm. What if I was there on the farm with them. It’d be simple and not complex with the whole king thing.
“Yato!” My Father’s delighted voice comes from the side of me. He and another man stand there as he signs a piece of paper. “Jasper brought you back?” The man which I presume to be Jasper walks in with Daphne bouncing around him. He pats Daphne’s head with a chuckle.
“Go play, for now, I’ll teach you later.” He twists towards us. “You sure have an energetic daughter, I couldn’t keep up with her.” Both of them laugh.
“Yes, she is full of energy. She’ll be a great queen one day.” His eyes flicker over to me. He wants me to marry Daphne, to be king, but I find that weird. I consider Daphne more of a friend than a lover. She’s a great girl but she isn’t for me. “Thank you for bringing them home, please feel free to come and eat dinner with us.”
I take a few steps backward ready to run off somewhere else. Jasper catches me before I can get out.
“Yato, would you like to learn magic? Your sister is too young to learn but you can.” I shift my weight between each foot. “Don’t worry we won’t jump into right away, you need to learn self-defense first. I’m sure you’ll love it.” Being a bit hesitant I nod slowly. I don’t know why but the vibes coming off of him cause me discomfort. I can’t tell whether to trust him or not thought he seems nice enough. I take steps back again then bolt off.
I end up in the warm dining room. In the corner of the room is a fireplace where Father will often read stories to Daphne before she heads to bed. The fire is lit, casting warmth in the room. The long wooden table in the center of the room is covered in dishes of delicacies. There’s a lot of food on the table, for more than four people. I wonder if Father is having a meeting today. He sometimes has meetings during dinner. Most of the time it’s about something boring like trade routes. At the end of the table sits my Father’s chair. It has his crown on it. The crown glows golden from the flames reflecting on it. I don’t belong under the crown. It should only belong to the bloodline which I am no part of.
“Oh hello, prince, did you come to wait for dinner to start?” In the doorway to the kitchen stands one of the servants with a tray of biscuits. I can’t help but smile as I recognize Rebekah. Her chocolate brown hair is tied up into a tight bun. She rarely has her hair down so that’s not surprising but she does have an apron on. Which is weird because she doesn’t cook.
She and I do a lot of things together. She’s one of Daphne’s teachers but she teaches me things my teacher won’t teach me. Like how to clean up. My teacher won’t teach me because cleaning is for girls. He’s a weird guy.
“Not really, I just wanted to get away from the Jasper guy. He has a creepy vibe about him.” She glances around before nodding in agreement.
“I’m glad someone else senses it too, he’s been off ever since I met him. Whe-” The sound of doors opening stops her. She stands up straight with a bright smile. “Welcome to dinner.” People file in through the door with my Father following. He’s talking and laughing with Jasper. Daphne walks past them to her chair which is by my Father’s chair. I give a quick glance at Rebekah.
“I suppose I should get to my spot, can we talk later?” Not even getting a second for her to answer my Father is dragging me to my chair. Getting my balance back I take a seat. The chairs are made from expensive material and they have been here for some time. The seats are padded in a red cushion designed with golden pearls on the outside, same with the back padding. The rest of the chair is made out of golden wood. The rest of the 15 chairs get filled up. The only girl at the table is Daphne. She sits across from me, next to Father. She’s a Father’s girl for sure. And of course she doesn’t use her table manners, but Father won’t do anything about it. Rebekah gives me a smile from across the room. She’s probably going to brag to my teacher about me using the table manners she taught me. The room descends into a quiet murmur as my Father stands up with a proud smile.
“Welcome all, young and old, to my kingdom and castle. I hope you are having a pleasant evening and are enjoying the stay. Now...I understand we have business to discuss. Trading routes,” he pauses for a brief moment to scan the room, “but we should eat first. We can’t discuss on an empty stomach.” He settles back down. Cheers and laughter explode and everyone starts to collect food onto their plates. Daphne’s plate gets filled before Father fills his own plate.
This must be an important issues, on the grounds of how many people are here. I gather up my food that I’m betting Rebekah made, onto the beautiful plate. This is definitely important since Father’s having us use the expensive china. He never brings these out. A guy near me clears his throat to speak.
“I want to bring up a topic before we speak about business.” His dark eyes linger on me then move over to Father. “Who is going to take the place of the king once you are gone. Don’t get me wrong, we all want you to live a long healthy life but...we all want to know.” Father closes his eyes and his mouth twitches.
“I have said it more times than I can count but since your ears are filled with water, I’ll repeat myself. Yato will take my place when I am gone so don’t argue with me.” Some of the men turn and whisper with doubtful glances at me. I shrink into the seat with my stomach clenching. “Now, let’s talk about what we came here to talk about.” I finish up my food quickly. With a glance at my Father, I speak softly.
“May I leave?” He gives a curt nod. I get up with my plate in hand and head to the kitchen. I don’t like the maids picking up after me, I’d rather do it myself. The kitchen entrance is a few steps down. It’s lightened up in a warm glow coming from the window. There’s a back door leading to a small garden where our food is grown. I can’t say I’ve ever been out there. My mind drifts over to the entrance of the worker’s corridor. Rebekah is inside humming to herself faintly. I approach the entrance curiously. Her humming stops and she turns towards me. A smile uplifts her lips.
“Let me take that from you,” she collects the plate from me. She moves past me to the counter. “Was the meeting too boring? You should probably get used to it, you will be king someday.” I kind of just stand there watching her. Her eyes stare outside to the garden. Laughter and talking come from the dining room. I don’t get it. I don’t get how they look at me like I’m unfit to be king. I mean I don’t really want to be king but still.
“It’s just...” I stop. “...I don’t get how Daphne can sit in there.” I quickly correct myself giving a smile.
“She’s a Father’s girl, I can’t imagine her listening to their business talk. She’s no doubt playing with her toys.” She sets the plate down. “Have I taught you about how to grow food yet?”
“Uh..no, you haven’t. But do I really need to know how to?” She nods and heads out the back door.
“Come along now, it isn’t that hard.” Sighing deeply I follow her into the bright green garden.
