Chapter Text
His days were monotonous, if Daisuke were to be kind about it. Mind numbing, if he were to be honest.
Piles of paperwork that towered over him at his desk, meetings with princes of other nations that seemed to drag on for hours, the people that kissed the very floor he walked on- all because of a title. And what a pathetic title.
Prince.
Not common enough to be among the villagers, but not powerful enough to affect any real change.
He was a decorative piece as much as he was Daisuke Kambe.
[...]
The mornings in which Daisuke's sister would tap him on the head to wake him up were the ones in which he found the hint of a smile on his lips. He hadn't expected today to be one of those.
“When did you arrive?" He questioned, sitting up in his bed, posture straight.
"Just a couple of hours ago." She smiles at him. "The flight was quite long."
"You should rest." He tells her matter of factly. "But father might request to see you before you do."
Her smile disappears right then and she proceeds to sigh before she replies. "I already had the pleasure of talking to him and it exhausted me more than the actual flight."
"I see." He clicked his tongue, understanding all too well what his sister meant. "Tell me about your travels."
Suzue Kambe was the youngest out of the two of them, which gave her the bit of freedom from royal duties that Daisuke had wanted for himself. Yet, he was not cruel enough to take it from her, or resent her for it. After all, she had been there for him countless times before.
She tells him about lands outside his reach, the worlds he could not see, people he would never meet. And he listens, not a word said as she recounts everything she's seen.
"It sounds like you've learned quite a lot." He tells her when she's done. "So much!" She grins. "But I'm not leaving you alone again for a while."
"Sounds interesting." He smirks back.
At the very least, his days wouldn't be quite as mind numbing anymore. They leave his room only at lunch.
Their father, nowhere in sight as they eat, with at least two guards on each side of the room. Silence settles. When they're done, Suzue leaves to work on an engineering project she started before leaving while Daisuke himself has his own duties to attend to.
For the rest of the day, he is resigned to desk work, with the ever growing tower of papers that needed his signature. His hand signs petitions and ID papers and asylum requests until his muscles tense and twitch, aching. When he looks outside the window for the first time in hours, the sky is dark, the only source of light coming from the moon.
He stands up.
He's on the way to his room when someone stops in front of him, the uniform they wear being an identifier of a palace guard. Daisuke takes his image in - the sharp chin, skinny frame, pale skin, grey eyes and brown greyish hair.
"Your Royal Highness, we must take you to the safe room, the castle's being attacked." The man speaks in a formality he's clearly not comfortable with. "Follow me, please."
Daisuke eyes him for a moment but nods once before walking in-between him and another guard that comes from behind him. This one is just as tall and skinny as the first, blonde hair in a buzzcut, and a pudgier face. The two of them lead him to a wall straight ahead, to the left, where they pull at an oil lamp that opens a hidden pathway. One of many inside the Kambe Castle.
The tunnel is lit mostly by other oil lamps inside, the yellow light turning orange as it touches the brown stone walls. Guard number one, stationed in front of Daisuke, holds his shield forward, with a sword in his free hand. Guard number two was the exact same, except he had his shield covering the prince's back. Their escape is done in silence, Guard One shushing Guard Two if he makes so much as hissing noise. The way is clear to the bunker, up until it isn't.
A cracking sound comes from above them and the ceiling cracks down on top of them. Before the pieces of cement could crush them to sure death, Guards One and Two clunk their shields together above the prince to make it bigger, big enough to cover the three of them and a bit more. Two invaders fall with the debris, landing on their feet. They don't hold any weapons, as far as Daisuke can see, which can only mean that both are heavy magic users. One of them throws a fireball at Daisuke's direction and Guard One steps in between him and the attack, pulling his shield apart from Guard Two's to use it. He hisses, the fire hit his shield but part of it might've touched his skin.
"Kamei!" He screams, turning his shield to block the invaders path.
The man had a determined look on his eyes, furrowed eyebrows and a steady posture. He seemed competent enough.
"On it!" Guard Two replies. "Your Royal Highness."
Daisuke begins to walk further into the tunnel, as Guard One is left behind to fight. They hear his grunts and a bit of something else too.
"I'll have to die-" The sound of flames slamming onto the shield cuts him off, "to- protect- a pompous- asshole- of a- prince?!"
The words amuse Daisuke as he finds his lips have curled up into a grin. That guard had looked so fiercely protective two seconds ago yet he complained about doing the very thing he was so determined doing. Daisuke would have to see him after this, if he survived, that is.
"Your Highness, I should urge you to pick up the pace, you can rest inside the bunker!" Guard Two hissed, looking around. The prince nods, his stride growing a bit faster.
"As you say."
Soon enough, the two reach a heavy metal door at the end of the tunnel. Guard Two sets the prince aside, slips back a couple of steps, turns his hands into fists and pushes at that direction. The gust of wind he created makes the door open, giving Daisuke the passage.
"Stay inside." Guard Two says, before beginning to close it. "Someone will come back for you when the coast is clear."
It's dark. Daisuke sees nothing with his eyes but he feels the walls with his hands. The metal door that is cold and smooth, to the stone wall that is also, cold and smooth.
"Daisuke." A voice calls him. He recognizes it as Suzue's. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. As for you?"
"In a bit of a shock, honestly." And her wobbly words met the emotion.
"Are you standing up?"
"Yes, to your left at the back." So he moves to her and leans against the wall, in quiet.
"Daisuke… wasn't magic declared illegal for people outside the castle? I… I never agreed with it but I just saw the invaders and-" When his sister struggled to continue, Daisuke replied.
"Yes, I saw it too. And you are right, it was. Rebellions have gotten… out of hand. Father refuses to admit it or make compromises."
"So you are the one that ends up tangled in this?" She questions. "That hardly seems fair."
"You have also been put in danger now." He sighs. "Our reputation among the villagers is the worst it can be. To them, we are just as bad as Father."
Upon hearing this, Suzue lets out a long breath. It sounds tired, sorrowful. And Daisuke can't see her but he imagines she's bracing herself, it just seems like something she would do. He knows she wants to speak and so he waits in silence.
"What can we do then?"
"Dethrone father, I suppose."
"We need a plan."
"Well, of course."
"Should we discuss this elsewhere?"
"Probably, yes."
"Where?"
"Outside the castle would be ideal."
"We'd have to take guards."
“Yes."
"Do you trust any of them?"
"I don't know any of them."
"That complicates things."
"It does."
Silence falls. It's like an unspoken agreement between the two, they weren't in the mood to plan a coup d'etat in that moment. Being in the dark, trapped inside a bunker, also didn't help. They spent hours that way, the wait seemingly endless. It could be morning by the time someone opened that door and it would open on its own if they took more than an entire day. This wasn't the case, however, seeing as they were let out in… Daisuke looked down at his wrist clock to check how long it had been, six hours.
Guard Two, Kamei, as Daisuke recalled, leads them out of the tunnels, wordlessly. The atmosphere around him was somber, it made Daisuke think some of the guards had been gravely injured, or that they had died. When the sun was set in the highest point in the sky, they were able to see the full extent of the damage in the castle. Pillars broken, walls with giant holes, blood plasters… Frankly, a mess. His eyes scan for the guard who stayed behind the previous night. The greyish brown hair and grey eyes shouldn't be hard to find and Daisuke is right, seeing the man as he slid his back down a wall, sitting on the floor.
He strides closer, hands behind his back. The guard, hissing, notices him with the one open eye and proceeds to grit his teeth.
"Your name." Daisuke says.
"Huh?" The guard grumbles with a sneer and a twitch of the nose.
"What is your name, guard?"
"Haru Katou." It's silent for a bit, until the man seems to realize who he's talking to, when he hesitantly adds, "Your Royal Highness."
"Katou," Daisuke holds his head up, "tell me. How come you complained about saving my life?"
"You heard that?!"
"I was not that far away."
"Ugh-" The guard lets out when he tries to straighten his back. "Why do you care…"
"Who says I care?"
"You wouldn't be asking if you didn't." The sentence sounded incomplete, like Haru Katou had meant to add something at the end and decided against it. Daisuke smirked in amusement.
"I am curious."
"That's your answer?"
Daisuke arches his eyebrow in a silent response. What that means is up to interpretation. And seemingly, in Haru Katou's interpretation, it meant something insulting.
"If that's all, your Royal Highness," He spits the title out like it's poison, "I'd appreciate it if I could just get a healer."
Even as he tries to remain polite, Haru Katou can't help but be rude to Daisuke. It would be funny if he had just a little bit less of self composure. So he keeps the smirk and calls Suzue, to get the man said healer.
He himself has gotten too tired.