Chapter Text
The breeze rushed passed Shoutos face, the night sky illuminated by the two moons who were destined to follow each other for eternity. Looking down at the city below him, Shouto saw the many houses and shops that lined the streets. Within the city, there were walls that snaked through, dividing the kingdom into sections. The same walls that were a strict reminder of the prison Shouto felt trapped in.
Sighing, Shouto moved away from the balcony and back into his room. His footsteps were practiced, as if the same path had been walked a thousand times. He climbed into bed and tried to will himself to sleep. Every night was the same, fighting off the demons that threatened the only time he had to himself. Nightmares were a common occurrence for Shouto, the only escape was his mothers soft voice, soothing him back to sleep. He hadn’t heard his mothers voice in years though, some nights he feared he’d forgotten it entirely.
The sun rose shortly after his eyes closed, the dread that came with each morning rose as well. Today he had to meet with his father and siblings to discuss their upcoming appearance in the summer festival. An event meant to celebrate the power of their kingdom, if you asked him it was all an ego boost for his father.
The knock on his door was soft, a servant named Miko. She was young, too young to have been sold by her family to work for the palace, but she was determined and sweet.
“Prince Shouto,” she called from outside the room, “your father requests your presence.”
“Yes, thank you.” Shouto huffed, too tired to care how he sounded.
He rolled out of bed as other servants came in to help dress him. Ghastly robes were insisted upon by his father, something about the tradition of powerful robes. His father liked to show the power their family held, yet anyone would be able to tell who they were fancy robes or not.
The servants made quick work, having done it too often, and Shouto made his way through the castle. The high ceilings and the towering columns built throughout the castle made anyone in it feel small in comparison. The very idea put a smile on his fathers face. To Shouto, the castle felt lonely. Even on its most busiest days, it managed to feel lonely.
Opening the large doors to the throne room, Shouto saw his siblings and father already there. He bowed quickly to his father and moved to stand near his sister, Fuyumi.
“Now that you’re all here,” his father boomed, “It’s time to discuss this years festival.”
The meeting dragged on for what seemed like hours, Shouto only ever listened to parts where his name was called and gave short answers when asked for an opinion. He never cared for any of these events, he was raised to be proper and disciplined, but it didn’t mean he had to enjoy doing it. By the time they were dismissed it was already mid-day.
“Thank the lords.” Shouto whispered to himself, he had other plans of how to spend the day.
Shouto made his way down the large staircases and down the winding path to the stables. Greeting the stableboy he walked over to where his horse was kept. He stopped once he came to the end stall and opened the stall door. Delia had been his horse for as long as he could ride. A loyal mare, who was not easily spooked. She was perfect for when Shouto needed to get away from the stuffiness off the castle.
Saddling her up, Shouto took her out of the stable and took off through the fields. The wind whipping past his face, not at all like the gentle breeze that danced across his face each night. One of the only times he felt truly free was right now.
They rode for hours, longer than he had intended. Soon though, they came to a passing he had never seen before. Hidden behind large trees, full with blooming flowers, was an entrance almost. An entrance preceded by a fragile looking bridge Shouto jumped off his horse and led her over to a tree and tied her off. Dropping a few apples for Delia to munch on, Shouto took off deeper into the trees to cross the bridge.
As Shouto went deeper, the trees got taller and more dense. The sun could barely shine through anymore, even so the land was illuminated by flowers that flew different shades. Some were purple, some blue, and some green.
“Amazing.” Shouto gasped, how had he never come across this before he thought.
He kept on, determined to go deeper into the forest. As Shouto wandered, even more flowers appeared that Shouto had never seen before. It was breathtaking, Shouto felt himself entranced by it all. The sight was almost straight out of one of the many books Shouto had read.
Coming up to a small clearing that had a single streak of light beaming down through the thick trees, Shouto stood on the edge and took everything in. How had something so beautiful never been mentioned to him? Where even was he?
As he took a step into the clearing, the sound of a sword being unsheathed rang in his ears. Every hair on his body stood up and Shoutos blood ran cold.
“Oi” a deep and gravely voice said, “you’re trespassing ya little shit.”
Shouto didn’t answer, instead trying to think of a way out of this situation. His sword has been left with Delia and all he had was a small dagger in his boot.
“Fucking answer me when I talk to you.” The man growled, and before he could even answer or make a move to run, the mans sword was on Shoutos neck mere centimeters away from cutting him.
A rough hand grabbed onto his shoulder and spun him around, now that he was facing the man he could now understand why he had never seen this place before.
“Now what’s a pretty boy like you doing in my land hah?” The many said.
This was Dracmea, home of the Barbarians.