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Thud!
A heavy sound was heard at the courtyard as a boy fell on the ground, his wooden sword slipped away from his hands.
“Pathetic.” In front of the boy was a tall man with muscular build. There was no warmth and sympathy in his glare full of frosted blades. “How many times do I have to mention that you have to straighten your back and raise your chin when holding a sword?”
The boy shivered and stood feebly on his feet. “Y-yes, Father.” He picked up his sword and approached the man without looking at him in the eye.
His father continued to observe before raising his hand in the air. A servant from the shades came rushing to his aid and bowed heavily. He then spoke, “Fire the sword arts instructor. I don’t need anyone who cannot show me results.” After the servant took his leave, he placed his wooden sword in its scabbard on his side and began walking away from the courtyard.
“W-wait!” The young boy shouted, “I can get better! I’m sure I can!”
“Better?” His father stopped in his tracks to menacingly face the boy. “You are inept at instruments, dreadful at your academics, and now you are also useless at the battlefield. You have been studying these for several years, yet I see no such results. Are you really my son?”
The boy looked down to the ground, fighting for the tears to go away. He could feel his knees and the grip of sword weaken as shame filled his entire body. He struggled to keep a sob from his mouth as he spoke, “Please forgive me, Father.”
Just as the father was about to step forward, a young man of steely armor appeared from the shades. “Your Majesty, the war council meeting is about to start.”
“Understood.” The king turned away and started walking. But then, he said, “The least you can do right now is to carry the resolve of the royal family. Show dignity as someone who stands above the people. Even a good-for-nothing like you should be able to do that.”
---
“The Star Planet, Bestia, is on the brink of destruction. As the General, I propose to make a full-force attack on their star tonight.”
“No, as it is, Bestia can still withstand our fleet despite having limited weapons. Have you seen those monsters?”
“I say we give them a fortnight before making a full-forced attack.”
“I disagree! Your Majesty, Bestia’s savages… I mean, battalion, is weakening as we speak. If we give them more time, they could strengthen their defenses. I say we strike while the iron is hot!”
Everyone in the war council were clashing each other’s demands until the young boy, who sat silently at the side, could no longer keep up. Knowing that his father was not paying any attention to him, he decided to abscond. He shut the door that was filled with rambunctious grown men and headed back to his own room. While on his way back, he noticed a group of servants mumbling as they passed by the hallway.
“My, my, the prince is not smiling at all again today.”
“That’s a good-for-nothing prince for you. Can’t even act nice to his attendants.”
“He’s the son of a king who fancies war, remember? Maybe he smiles at the sight of blood?”
“Haha! Most definitely!”
For a wide spacious hallway, your whispers are deafening, the prince thought bitterly. He couldn’t help but look at them with hatred even just for a second. Surprisingly, the servants took notice when their eyes met and greeted him with utmost fabricated hospitality.
“Prince Carnelian.” A voice was heard behind him, and the young prince turned to face a tall boy with a concerned look, unbefitting for his bright blue eyes.
“Lazu.” The young boy, Carnelian, saw this servant before. His father had appointed him to become the prince’s right-hand man, so he occasionally shows up in Carnelian’s classes every now and then. Lazu was only two years younger than the prince, but the difference in their abilities was majorly vast.
“You don’t need to listen to such drivel.” Lazu spoke as he glared at the group of servants who scuffled away at the sight of him.
“I did no such thing. And even if I did, they were not wrong when they said I was ‘a good-for-nothing’.” Carnelian began walking again, leaving Lazu speechless. The feeling of worthlessness continued to bubble up in his veins and realized that being cooped up in his room would only suffocate him. Determined, he spoke out loud without turning to the servant, “I’m heading out for a bit.”
“But, Prince Carnelian,” The prince could hear him take a step forward, “You still have history lessons late in the afternoon.”
“I’ll make sure to be back by then.”
“In that case, I will—.”
“Don’t follow me.”
“But—”
“That’s an order!” With that, Lazu froze on his spot, indicating Carnelian’s cue to leave the castle premises.
When Carnelian stepped outside, the sky was noticeably pitch black despite being high noon. It was a normal occurrence within their planet, Alba, yet he was still unaccustomed. Alba was the Star Planet of Perpetual Night. Most of its days are shrouded in darkness due to the alignment of the star planets covering the grace of sunlight. In front of Alba was Bestia, the Star Planet of Deep Forests. Carnelian had suspicion the reason why his father was adamant to wage war towards this star was to acquire sunlight.
Though covered in gloom, Alba was shining. Around the planet were massive amounts of jewels dazzling the surface. Even the stars that punctured the sky were like gems that twinkled like sapphires.
Carnelian felt the wind brushing his cheek and decided to run towards the forest of trees. How he wished he could stay like this forever. Just being one with the wind without a care in the world. But, as he was sprinting in the wilderness, a small silhouette stood in front of him, getting closer every second. “Move out of the way!” He exclaimed, yet he was too late. Both figures clashed onto one another and fell down on the grass. Carnelian groaned, unable to get up. He held the back of his head that pounded as heavily as his heart.
“I’m so sorry! Please tell me you’re not dead!” In Carnelian’s vision, he saw a blurry figure approaching with urgency. There was something strange with the silhouette on top of him, something like sides of the figure’s hair were sticking out and twitching oddly at the same time. Carnelian had to blink countless times before he could get a clear image of dark blue upright animals ears—reminiscent to a wolf—on the boy’s head.
Carnelian shrieked with a start and got up almost instantly. “You—! You’re—!” He stuttered as he pointed at the now-perked up wolf ears. That wasn’t all that Carnelian noticed. The strange boy (who looked no older than him) was wearing striking red robes, unordinary to the abundance of purple in Alba. Not to mention, the boy’s crescent silver eyes; he had never seen such an eye color that reminded him of zircons. “Who are you and what are you doing in the castle’s territory!?”
The boy’s ears flat back as he answered, “C-castle!? I’m so sorry I was looking for a forest to rest in after a long trip from Lama. I didn’t know!”
“A long trip from Lama…” Carnelian repeated to himself as he tried to recall where that was. According to his lessons in history, Lama and Alba had strong connections between each other due to the former’s advanced weaponry and the latter’s ample amount of treasure. In other words, Lama was two star planets away from his home. “So, you’re not from around here?” He asked, although he already knew the answer.
“Yes, my father is a merchant and one of his clients is from Alba. I won’t be staying here for long, I promise. We’ll be heading to other planets soon.”
“You…” Carnelian started, yet hesitated to continue. “You’re from Bestia, right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“And you’ve been travelling across space together with your father?”
“Yes! On our large boat!” The young boy said with gleaming eyes.
Carnelian was baffled for a moment. If he had to guess, his father must had noticed the terrible conditions within Bestia, so he brought along his son with him to go far places to earn money and find a new home. But, what did Carnelian know? He could be wrong, and he couldn’t care less about that. He was more interested at the mere thought of exploring the celestial realm. “Tell me how that works,” he said.
“You mean, travelling? Hmmm…,” The boy tilted his head and gave a moment to ponder before continuing, “I don’t want to? It’ll take me too long to explain.”
Carnelian frowned, with arms on his waist. “You have to tell me. It’s an order!”
“Order? Pffft— you sound like a prince!” He asked in between laughs as if Carnelian’s extravagant style of clothing wasn’t enough to prove his status.
‘Has he not seen me before?’ Carnelian opened his mouth to rebut, yet no response was heard. He remembered his father’s words this morning: Show dignity as someone who stands above the people. He knew he had to follow, or else he would paint a poor image of the kingdom. However, the Bestian boy did not even recognize him. So, why bother telling him who he was?
“Alright, alright. I’ll tell you the first time I was on Lama.” The boy stood up and stretched out his right hand. “I’m Coda,” he said as he flashed a toothy smile.
Carnelian hesitated to respond. Whether it was to introduce with his name or to shake his hand, he did not know what to do. Alba and Bestia were on bad terms; befriending him would be the same as allying with an enemy. Surely, his father would be infuriated. He could already see the anger in his eyes.
“You know, your hair is so interesting,” Coda stated while eyeing the ginger locks on Carnelian’s head. “They’re sparkling in their own way. It reminds me of the ambers that I saw in the market.”
“Oh, haha. What a coincidence. You already knew my name.” Carnelian struggled to laugh, hoping he wouldn’t be seen past through.
“What? ‘Amber’?” He asked and Carnelian answered with stiff nods. “I must be a genius or something. Nice to meet you, Amber!”
They spent the entire afternoon, frolicking around the forest. They played a lot of games, and whenever Coda would lose (which he always did), he would share a tale from his adventures. When the jewels began to lose its glow, Carnelian knew it was almost time for his lessons. They bid each other goodbye, yet the meaning was far from farewell. They would meet each other on the same forest on the days when Coda was in Alba. Their routine of playing games and sharing each other’s stories became a thing Carnelian that would impatiently wait in the morning.
“You seem to be in a good mood these days.” Lazu stated nonchalantly while tying the shoe laces on the prince’s right boot on one morning.
“Am I?” Carnelian, who was sitting on the couch in his bedroom, eyed his attendant with a curious gaze.
“For instance, you greeted one of the helpers on our way to the new swords instructor yesterday,” He paused to start tying the shoe lace on the left boot, “I do not mean to intrude on the prince’s affairs, but is there anything that has been entertaining you for a while now?”
Carnelian shook his head a little too vigorously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
When Lazu finished his duty, he fixed his gaze deep into the prince’s eyes. Carnelian was unnerved. It was as if those eyes that shone like topaz were trying to seer itself into his and exposing his bare soul. “You have been meeting someone outside the palace, haven’t you?”
The prince remained silent, troubled at how accurate Lazu had been. He was the first to look away. ‘Lazu is way too good at this’, he bitterly thought as he noticed his hands were shaking in fear. After a minute or two of silence, Carnelian audibly muttered, “Don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t,” Lazu answered as he stood up without breaking his gaze, “If the prince has finally found something to look forward to, I have no intention to take it away from you.”
“Really? Thank you!” Carnelian said with a big smile on his face. For the first time, Lazu’s face had a slight reaction. Bewilderment was written all over him, and the prince was astonished by this fresh look. He grabbed the wooden sword from his dresser and beamed, “Hurry now. We don’t have a moment to lose for sword practice!”
---
“I did not strike you as someone who is prone to injury.”
“You haven’t paid that much attention to me, I suppose.”
Carnelian and Lazu were alone in a clinic full of medical instruments inside cabinets and drawers. Lazu poured antiseptic onto a piece of cloth and dabbed it on the prince’s fresh wounds. Due to an unexpected freak show of a sword lesson, Carnelian had repeatedly bruised himself on the fields. It had gotten to the point where he started bleeding everywhere, and his servant volunteered to dress his wounds.
“Your father will not be pleased when he hears about this,” Lazu mumbled while reaching for a roll of gauze on the side table.
Carnelian snorted, “It’s not like he’ll care for his son anyway. All that matters to him is his reputation.” What he got from the servant was detached humming as he delicately wrapped the gauze on the wounded right arm. “Besides, I have free time now that I’m out of the field.”
Lazu halted mid-air, “Did you purposefully injure yourself so you could have more time to play with your friend?” Carnelian did not respond which further confirmed his suspicion. “My prince, it would be best if you concentrate on your responsibilities instead of such games. You are the future king of Alba, after all.”
“Nobody dares to see me as one.”
“I do.”
“Are you going to hurry up or not?” Carnelian overlapped with Lazu’s statement, impatiently swinging his right arm. The servant no longer said a word and resumed with wrapping his arms with gauze. Once he was finished, Carnelian got up and swiftly headed his way to the door. “I’ll be back before the gems begin to dim,” He stated before disappearing from Lazu’s field of vision.
“When you’re too consumed by your desires, you lose sight of what’s in front of you,” Lazu said as his longing gaze lingered on the ajar door, his words heard to the wind.
---
“…and then, the guy from the market made us buy his goods even if it was clearly fake! The nerve!”
“Sounds exciting to me.”
Coda whipped his head with a dramatic gasp, “It is not! Why, my father is a skilled merchant who can easily detect fake goods. If I didn’t notice how much of a scam that guy was, Father would’ve laughed at me for the rest of the trip! Oh, and he also said he’s letting me eat my favorite food for figuring it out myself! It’s a good thing I have his wit. I am proud to be called his son!”
Carnelian laughed with a sour taste in his mouth, wishing he could say the same thing. “That sounds really fun, after all,” He spoke with a heavy feeling in his chest.
It was Coda’s turn to remain silent. His ears drooped and his tail stopped wagging. He scooted closer towards his friend and said, “We’re leaving soon…and I don’t think we’ll return to Alba anymore.”
Carnelian widen his eyes and asked, “Why?”
“Father never told me the reason.” Coda paused as he looked at him, “But, I think our home is in danger and we need to go back. We will still travel as merchants, but Father has cut ties with Alba forever.” A small tear rolled down his cheek and Carnelian had the urge to wipe it away. However, he was frozen in his spot. He had just found something to look forward to, and yet, fate had to remind him of how powerless he was against the shackles of being royalty. He felt desperate and frustrated at all once; it was overwhelming. When Coda realized his friend never responded, he asked, “Are you mad?”
“…Me too.”
“Huh?”
“Then, in that case, I want to go along with your journeys!”
“What!?”
“I want to experience everything what you’ve told me. I want to learn the difference between fake and real goods. I want someone to praise me as well. I want to be given a pat on the head and say, ‘You’ve done a good job’ instead of beating me to the ground and calling me pathetic. And… I want to be recognized other than being a ‘good-for-nothing’.
I want to wander around the other star planets like you too. I want to live my life without being suffocated by responsibilities, you know? Wait, why are you crying!?”
“B-because…!” Coda spoke in between huge tears and hiccups, “Because Amber is sad! You’ve been suffering a lot and I didn’t do anything to make you happy.” Coda continued to cry while Carnelian could only pat his back in sympathy. “Alright, I’m getting you out of here!”
The two boys carefully planned their escape. Both agreed to meet at the star’s port first thing in the morning. Coda would persuade his father to take him to their ship, and Carnelian would leave the castle premises in the middle of the night.
“Hmm, we need some sort of sign for the meeting. Oh, I know!” Coda searched through his robes and brought out a small clear crystal in a shape of a rabbit. “It’ll react to the other crystal that I have with me. Don’t lose it, okay? It’s special!” He showed another similar crystal and the two glowed a bright purple hue.
It was nothing impressive; more crystals shined more beautiful. Yet for Carnelian, it emitted an unexplainable warmth. His hands shook as he brought the crystal rabbit close to his chest. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me now, we haven’t escaped yet! And when we do, I’ll protect you.”
“You’ll…protect me?”
“Of course, we’re friends, after all!” Coda smiled and Carnelian swore to etch this moment in his heart.
---
Unbeknownst to the prince, a few troops followed him ever since he left the castle in the middle of the night. Carnelian, on the ground, watched in horror as he witnessed Coda being captured by the soldiers in the port. The king stepped in the scene and glared down on the young boy whose ears are drooped down in fear. “So, this is the one who’s been poisoning my son with such illicit ideas?” He spoke as his eyes squinted in disgust, “And by a Beastian, no less.”
“No! Father, please!” Carnelian cried out in a pained voice, “He didn’t do anything! I ordered him to get me out of—”
“Silence!”
Both boys were visibly petrified at the bellow of the king. When the atmosphere settled, the king approached Coda with great intimidation. He put on his gloves and grappled onto the boy’s hair effortlessly. “How bold of you to cause enough trouble in my kingdom. Know your place, beast.” Then in a second, he struck Coda’s stomach with his knee and dropped him mercilessly. Coda coiled on the ground and gasped for air, blood splattering from his mouth.
“Stop it right there!” On the far corner of a port, a large burly man came rushing towards them. Carnelian noticed the man was using both his arms and legs like a wolf and had a similar crimson shade of robes. He figured he was Coda’s father. He pounced on one of the soldiers and swiftly stood in front of Coda. “Don’t punish the child.” He growled towards the king, his resolve fearless. “Please.”
The king looked at the man who was twice as large as him, uninterested. He raised his hand towards the soldiers and prompted them to attack him. Each one tried to put up with a fight with Coda’s father, however it wasn’t until the last soldier finally penetrated the man straight to his chest with a sword.
Carnelian was scared, but his horror was nothing compared to the look of utmost torment on Coda’s face. The young Bestian let out a loud piercing cry as the man tumbled down lifelessly. Coda crawled helplessly on the ground and held onto his father’s arms. Wet hot tears streamed down without end as he vehemently howled in anguish and lament.
Emotionless and still, the king unsheathed his sword as he stepped closer towards Coda. Carnelian, finally gaining courage, rose up from the ground. He was not going to let his friend get hurt any longer.
However, an arm creeped onto his upper body and pulled him back swiftly. Carnelian looked up and saw Lazu as aloof as ever. “What are you doing?” He darkly asked, but he was answered with Lazu’s free hand covering his own field of vision.
“You do not need to witness everything, my prince.” Lazu whispered in his ear, “I do not wish for your eyes to be tainted with such a grotesque display.”
“Let me go!” Carnelian struggled to be free within his servant’s hold, but to no avail. He was far stronger than him in a lot of ways. “Lazu, I demand you to let me go! Did you forget who you are to me?!”
“I believe you are the one who forgot your role, my prince.” Lazu answered as Carnelian heard Coda’s screams in the background, “I told you before: you are the heir of the throne, and it is my duty to help you fulfill your part.”
Carnelian could hear more slashes and the cries were getting louder. In his head, he pictured a lot of unimaginable and unspeakable scenarios. He tried to wrestle again against his hold and began sobbing as more time passed by. “Lazu, please! Make him stop!”
“Don’t worry. It will be done soon enough. And then, I will be here to stay by your side.” Carnelian didn’t understand, but he could feel Lazu smiling through his silvery voice. Suddenly, the cries in the background came to a sudden stop and it was the most disturbing silence Carnelian had ever heard. He screamed and wailed to the air, berating at his existence. His own uselessness caused the demise of his one and only friend. How ludicrous he was to even dare to alter his fate. His legs could no longer stand up, and Lazu’s grip was the only thing that was supporting him now. “Coda…Coda…” He whimpered through his tears.
The servant reached in one of the prince’s pockets and fished out the crystal rabbit that was glowing in his hand. “My prince is just like this crystal rabbit—so extraordinary, so charming, so valuable… and so fragile.”
Lazu dropped the crystal rabbit and it shattered into thousands of glass, its remnants paralleled to stars.