Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there were two best friends. A large wolf from the forest and a small prince from the kingdom within. Though fate would normally deem these two mortal enemies, a beautiful song and big mistake sparked their first journey on their road to a wonderful friendship. Venturing together hand in hand, the once liar wolf had fixed her mistake that took the prince’s sight and sparked courage in the prince to forage their relationship even when her memories of him had faded. Night after night, the human prince would venture into the monster infested forest to visit her atop a cliff. And every night, the wolf would sing for him. Even when her song changed from a beautiful melody to little more than off-tune howls, the prince would always listen joyfully, not because of the song but because of the warmth coming from the singer. And sometimes after the song, the prince would tell the wolf a story before she went to sleep before dawn. To them, no part of the day brought them as much joy than when they sat together on the cliff. However, this change in character did not go unnoticed.
“Prince,” a servant called to their young master, “It’s time to get up.” The servant opened the blinds to let in the sun’s harsh light, causing the young prince to whine meekly in protest. The servant sighed when the prince tried to pull the cover over his eyes, “My prince, the king and queen are waiting for you. We can’t be late.” The prince sighed and reluctantly got out of bed, knowing that his servant would get in trouble if he didn’t cooperate. He rolled out of bed and let his servant dress him and brush his messy hair before letting him lead the way to the dining room.While the silence between the two would normally be comfortable, the silence made the prince feel distant from the servant in front of him. Had their footsteps always echoed this much? He didn’t have to dwell on it since they reached the dining room.
He looked up and saw the king and queen sitting in their usual spots and his breakfast ready and waiting for him. He smiled as he greeted them, “Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father.” “Good morning, my child,” the queen greeted warmly, “The chefs have made your favorites today.” The prince smiled as he sat down to enjoy his meal. About halfway through, he yawned, still not fully awake yet. The king notice this, “Been sleeping an awful lot lately. Normally we wouldn’t have to wait for you for breakfast.” The prince froze mid bite, he didn’t think that anyone would notice. He stared at his plate while he quickly thought of what to say. “I’ve.... just been very tired as of late,” he said quietly, “I guess I’ve been staying up too late.” Now the queen looked at him, “How is that? You always go to your room before dusk. How are you sleeping in after dawn?” The prince didn’t know how to respond. The king sighed, “I’m not sure which book you’ve snuck into your room this time, but at least make sure you go to bed on time from now on.” The prince paused for a moment before piecing everything together. “So they think I have a book in my room?” the prince thought. Books were never supposed to be taken out of the family library, but the prince had been guilty of sneaking a book or two to his room when his servants would tell him it was time for bed. He remembers waking up one morning with the king hovering over him with the book in hand and scolding him for so long that the servants only interrupted because they had missed breakfast and it was time for lunch. The massive lecture did stop the prince from taking the books for a while, but the king gave up after the third time when he didn’t even open his mouth before the prince broke down in tears holding a book about flowers. “I don’t have a book in my room,” the prince thought, “But if that’s what they think then I won’t have to tell them what I’ve really been doing.” The prince felt a bit guilty for not telling them the truth, but it felt right to let them believe their own lie rather than risking them finding out about the wolf.
He soon finished his breakfast and excused himself to go to the library. The moment he was out of the room, the king said to the queen, “I think our child is hiding something.” “What makes you say that, Dear?” the queen asked. “He’s much to quiet. When he was blinded, we locked him up to save our image while keeping him safe, yet somehow he got out and even returned with his eyes healed. Ever since then, he’s been reading more, sleeping longer, and has been daydreaming more frequently,” the king says to the queen, “If that is not a sign, then I am blinder than he was.” “Now, Dear,” the queen said laying her hand on his, “you can’t forget that our little boy had disappeared for a while. We don’t know how he got out or what he did to get his eyes back, but what we do know is that he had survived in a forest full of monsters and had started acting odd after that. He’s just growing up, just like his father.” The king huffed, “I know, but with the way things are now, we need him to focus more on the kingdom, not dusty tomes and old stories.” “Let’s worry about that tomorrow,” the queen said softly, planting a small kiss on the king’s cheek.