Chapter Text
Hannah was like any other child. Besides the fact she wore a crown in public, and had the title as "Princess" of her land, she really was just like any other small child her age. Wide-eyed, full of wonder, and adventurous. Her story began as ordinarily as possible for a princess, but continues in a way no one should ever have to experience.
Hannah spent her childhood running through her beloved palace with her brother, playing pranks on the staff, and being sneaky around her parents. Hannah hated being dote upon, like her parents often insisted she should be. She preferred to dress, cook, and entertain herself. Her relationship with her father was perfect. He could calm her energy in a single glance. They would read, play chess, and go riding across the grounds together. To Hannah, her father was the end all be all of people, a hero, to her and his people. Her mother and her were a different story. Mother was constantly insisting Hannah should carry herself better, attend finishing school as soon as possible, and learn how to act like a proper young lady should. Hannah would act most immature around her mother, trying to get some amount of positive attention from her for once, to no avail. Their strife continued into Hannah's early teens, and there was little time in Hannah's life where she could remember not being angry with her mother. Despite her ambiguous temper, her everlasting energy, her unorthodox behavior, Hannah was loved deeply by her people. The rare days in which she could escape to her city were her favorites. She would play with the children in the streets, dance with the women, and laugh with the men. Hannah was at her best when among her people. Her beauty purveyed through her generosity, kindness, and laughter she shared with people from every walk of life. Although she was a princess, she always felt like a person first, much to her brother's dismay.
In childhood, Hannah and Boomer were inseparable. If Hannah was setting up a prank, Boomer was watching around the corner to make sure no parent or servant would catch them. If Hannah was upset with her mother, Boomer would take her to their gardens to watch the fish and frogs. Boomer had the opposite parental relationship to Hannah, however. He and his father were polar opposites. Boomer feared violence and fighting, and always struggled learning proper combat forms. Over the years, the rift between the two grew wider, as Boomer's efforts for the kingdom's wellbeing were constantly diverted into his love of nature. This was something his father, and even sister, could nether understand. Boomer loved, however, for his mother to fawn over him. She would take him on walks across the ground, teach him about the different flora and fauna, which Hannah could never sit still for, and tell him stories about their kingdom. Boomer loved his mother dearly. He could sit for hours listening to her speak, but he adored above all, her singing.
Although Hannah was a ball of energy in childhood, the one thing that could calm her down, and the one thing her and her mother wouldn't fight over, was singing. Mother, Hannah, and Boomer would sit together in the nursery, Hannah on her lap, already half-asleep midway through the song, and Boomer beside her leg, resting his head near his two favorite people in the world. Mother would sing them songs about the knights of the kingdom, the armies fighting to keep them safe. She'd sing about the nature outside their doors, and how they should always love and protect it. She'd sing about the people, their love for their kingdom, and how the royal family must do right by them. Hannah would be asleep by the song's end, and her mother would wrap her snugly in her blanket, adorned with roses, and rest her in her bed. Boomer would always fight his yawns, but his mother would pick him up and wrap him in his blanket, covered in native animals to the land, and sing him one final song as he nodded off on her shoulder.
Despite their being inseparable during childhood, Boomer and Hannah began splitting off during their early teenage years. Hannah was desperate to explore every inch of their kingdom and beyond. She'd beg her father to take her on diplomatic missions to the far reaches, but her mother constantly objected, imploring that Hannah's place was in the palace. Mother would encourage Boomer to go with his father, but both of them awkwardly objected each time. Boomer's focus was always on his gardens. With his mother's help, Boomer had created greenhouses and gardens full of new species and life. He spent the vast majority of his days among his plants and animals, documenting their features. Boomer wanted nothing more than to collect and publish his findings across all nations. Their father encouraged Boomer to involve himself more in kingdom affairs, attend diplomatic visits, and participate in royal events, but Boomer avoided them at all costs. Whenever he couldn't escape an event, he'd spend the day being trained by Hannah on what to say, what not to touch, and what especially not to do. Boomer was grateful for his sister's help, but at the end of the day, constantly wondered why it was he and not her taking care of these proceedings when she knew ten times as much as him. He always felt a sinking pit in his stomach when he would have to shut the door of a conference right in front of her face, as Hannah stood solemnly distant in the hall behind him, eyes full of sorrow.
Hannah's disdain for her mother only grew as a result of her newly implemented rules that she was forbidden to partake in diplomatic and military meetings. Everyone in the palace knew Hannah was the bearer of wisdom when it came to strategy and planning, everyone except her mother. Evenings when planning would end in dead ends and anger, Hannah would see her father storm out of the room, heading for his library, and Boomer storm out in the opposite direction, heading for his gardens. Each time, Hannah would judge who was angrier, and go smooth things over with either her brother or father. As she grew older and these temper tantrums from her family grew more frequent, Hannah began going to her father's aid much more than her brother's. She was desperate to talk about battle strategy with her father, and see if any of her ideas could be implemented into the growing conflict across the border lands. In his disparity, Hannah's father often would take in her ideas and regurgitate them in his meetings. Of course, Hannah's plans always went best. Her father would be hailed as a hero, and she would sit outside the doors of the meeting, growing more and more disillusioned.
When Boomer ran off, he was almost always followed by his mother. Each time he would break down about the cruelty of their kingdom's battles, his father's obvious contempt for him, and his own feeling of uselessness in his life, his mother would gather him up like she did in his youth, and sing to him until he slept. There would be nights where Hannah would come to see if Boomer was alright after these meltdowns, and while Boomer wiped his eyes, Hannah would try to repeat the songs their mother used to sing to them. Boomer always believed that Hannah's voice was just as, if not a little bit more, beautiful as his mother's. Hannah never minded pursuing her brother into the grounds those nights. She truly loved Boomer's gardens. Much of their childhood was spent running through them. Boomer used to show her the different kind of flowers, of course that his mother has taught him about, while she would find the perfect ones to weave into a flower crown. After Boomer and her made their crowns, the two would dance aimlessly around the grounds, shouting and giggling as their childhood fell sloppily beneath their feet. Boomer would remember those days most fondly, and he and his sister would tell each other forgotten stories from those times on dreary nights in the greenhouse.
Years passed, and the conflict in their border cities were seeping through the palace walls. Their people were starving, supply lines were cut, and the royal family was feeling the tension more than ever. Hannah would spend hours a day in her father's library researching past battle plans, trying to think of any possible way to stop the conflict and prevent more lives lost to the Sage Army, who were inching into their territory with each passing day. Boomer was spending his days in the agricultural districts, putting his knowledge to use trying to help his citizens maintain their crops. The winter months were disseminating their cold tension throughout the kingdom, and this winter was the coldest they'd had in centuries. The crops withered away, and those that did survive were being confiscated by the enemy as they tightened their grip on the kingdom, slowly dripping deeper into the heart of their territory. Boomer and Hannah saw each other once each day. When Hannah would be heading to sleep and Boomer was waking up, just as the sun was rising. They had a brief moment to discuss their days. Hannah would update Boomer on any ground gained or lost to the kingdom, and Boomer would tell her if any leeway was made trying to collect food for their people. Although brief, the twins treasured this moment where things felt like they used to. When the castle wasn't constantly on high alert, when they weren't worried they could be killed in their sleep by the enemy, and when they were happy. Neither would admit it to each other, they knew their work was important, and that they were doing necessary services, but both of them had thought about packing their things up, escaping the kingdom, and never looking back. Each time however, the respected twin would hold their childhood blankets in their palms, remember the time when they were inseparable. Boomer and Hannah were two halves of a whole, yin and yang, flora and fauna. They wouldn't be torn apart that easily, not by some war.
One evening, Hannah was studying her recent plans of attack in the study. They were foolproof, and this time, Hannah was going to be there to make sure of it. Her mother was far too preoccupied with the food crises, and her brother agreed to keep her busy for one day just in case, while Hannah went to the front lines with her father to see just how her plan was unfolding. Her father was overjoyed that Hannah was joining them, and knew her strategic mind could alter the outcome of the war. She was only 19 at the time, but the soldiers on the field respected her like a seasoned general. In the armory, she tied her hair back into a low knot. Her father made sure she was adorned with the royal family armor, which actually was just her brother's set, and presented her with her sword. The handle was carved with a singular rose. Hannah knew that was Boomer's doing. Despite Hannah's visible boredom every time Boomer would educate her on the garden's composition, she always was drawn the beds of roses in the center of the grounds. The ones not unlike the many roses stitched into her childhood blanket, Boomer always ensured the roses had the best light, best soil, and best spot in the garden. He owed it to his sister, the one who made sure he wouldn't look like a complete idiot in a royal meeting and then getting none of the credit. He owed her a few flowers she liked, while she was giving him the world for nothing.
Hannah rode through the main gates of the palace on her horse alongside her father. The townspeople looked up at her, expecting to see another cranky old general who wouldn't return next to their king. This time, however, they saw the face of hope and justice they'd come to adore in the past 19 years. The hungry and tired rose from their dire positions and clapped while their savior rode towards a violent game of chess she'd played out in her head a million times. Hannah had never felt more prepared for something, but what she saw upon arriving to the lines that day stopped her hope entirely.
The distant army was retreating when she and her brigade pulled up, but their army was clearly not the cause. Hannah's father had told her before arriving that they were engaging later that afternoon. What she saw was a battle that had already ended. Of the 200 volunteer soldiers they had on the ground, about 10 were visibly alive. The rest were mangled beyond recognition. Hannah jumped down off her horse in front of the massacre, but her legs turned liquid beneath her and she fell to her knees, shaking and staring a thousand yards in front of her. It was a vast field of death, and she wasn't there to stop it. Upon looking up from her despair, Hannah could could see just near the tree line on the opposite end of the field; a lone figure waving. She yanked her periscope out of its sheath and cast its gaze towards the outline. All alone, across a decimated stretch of lives, was the general of the Sage Army, the leader of the dissent they had been trying to talk down for years. He looked happy, taunting Hannah as he waved like a child at her. Hannah threw her scope on the ground in a rage and mounted her horse. Her father was going to stay and attend the wounded. Hannah was going home to reconsider everything she'd ever known.
Her lone ride back to the palace was painstakingly slow, as Hannah kept her horse at a shuffle. She couldn't face her people after letting them down so deeply. The Sage Army played dirty, and she couldn't have predicted that just from reading. Had Hannah been experienced in battle, she would have seen that play coming, but no one let her, how could she have known. Still, Hannah knew that that answer wouldn't do the families of her soldiers any good. They were dead because of her. So how could she possibly ride that same route through her home and look into the faces she promised to save.
As Hannah drew nearer to the kingdom, she could smell something. It wasn't a familiar smell, but rather one she had only experienced for the first time ever about an hour ago, when she reached the battle field to her demolished army. After clearing the forest and seeing the gates of her kingdom in full view, Hannah's heart dropped into her stomach. Pillars of black smoke were ascending from every building, including her palace. She froze completely and felt vomit seep into her throat. Her first thought was Boomer.
Hannah slapped the reigns of her steed and sent him galloping into the city. She was met with charred bodies lining the streets. Every person who applauded her exit to doom were now decomposing below her. Hannah couldn't stop to look further, and she didn't entirely want to, she needed to get to her family. She wasn't fully surprised, but rather horrified at the shocking efficiency the Sage Army had raided their capital city with in the 2 hours it had been since she left. It was also clear they weren't finished. The main road into the kingdom that led into the palace was deserted, minus the corpses, but Hannah could hear shouting and fighting from the streets beyond. The Palace Brigade had to been taking care of some of it, but she knew they weren't enough. Hannah swiftly sent the reigns forward again, and headed hastily towards her palace.
The guards at the palace gates were unsurprisingly dead, but Hannah noticed they were practically stood no different from how they looked when she left. It was like they attacked completely out of thin air. Hannah leapt off her horse, leaving him free at the entry to the courtyard. There was no sign of enemies anywhere, just the burning scent that was rising from across the city and the tears in her eyes and she sprinted through her home where everything used to be safe. The palace was likely the first place they attacked, to ensure no guards could escape and prevent their raid. It was eerily quiet, besides her pounding heartbeat and clomping footsteps. Hannah raced up the stairs and burst into her brother's room. Everything had been torn apart. His books and plants thrown across the room and his bed ripped. Hannah quickly moved on and began checking each room for her brother. There was no sign except the wreckage left from the enemy who ransacked the place. Corpses of the palace staff littered the hall. They had little visible damage, and clearly never saw the attack coming. Hannah was losing hope each door she opened, but then recalled what Boomer had told her prior to her leaving for the battle. He was going to keep their mother occupied that day. Of course, the greenhouse.
Hannah scaled the main staircase to the back entrance of the palace facing the grounds. The flower beds had been trampled and kicked up. She knew Boomer would have a panic attack at the sight, but all she cared about was him being alive to see it. She threw open the gate surrounding the greenhouse. It was located in the far corner of their grounds, maybe the enemy hadn't noticed it, it clearly wasn't lilies and orchids they were after when they attacked. She fiddled with the door handle but found it locked. She knocked frenetically while trying to peer through the hazy glass to see if her twin and mother were on the inside. In her rage and frenzy, Hannah threw herself at the door, and it flew open as she smacked to the ground inside. As she looked up, she saw her mother and brother huddled together under Boomer's table full of starts on the other end of the greenhouse. Her eyes welled with tears as she crawled on her hands and knees to them. Boomer and their mother pulled Hannah into their embrace as she sobbed uncontrollably into her mother. Boomer slowly stood from his position under the table and pulled the greenhouse door closed, glancing about the grounds to ensure no one saw his sister come in. Their mother wiped Hannah's dirt and blood splattered face as she clung tightly to her waist, reverting back to her childlike state of not writhing out of every embrace her mother offered. Boomer sat back down with them under the table as their mother pulled him in next to her. They were so much older now, but in that moment, nothing had changed from when they were small, and Mother would sing to them in the dim moonlight of their room. Boomer rested his head on his mother's shoulder and place his hand on his broken sister's arm. Their mother began to hum softly to the two, it was their favorite song because she was singing it. Hannah drifted off into a comatose sleep, and even Boomer began to nod off. They stayed huddled in the greenhouse through the night while the smell of smoke crept slowly over the palace walls.
~ End of Chapter One ~
(Well there's that! I hope you enjoyed so far:) A lot of this story is taking inspiration from the musical Anastasia, and you'll notice more comparison to that as it progresses. A couple of clarification points: This chapter doesn't have actual dialogue. When I started the piece, it was more of a description/headcanon rather than a fic, so it wasn't as detail-oriented. The more I wrote however, the more I really wanted to add deeper detail to this narrative about C! Hannah and Boomer's childhood and what happened leading up to their eventual separation and loss of memory. As of right now, I'm still toying with their father figure. I would love to incorporate C! Sam as the father in this story, but how the second chapter plays out doesn't quite make sense for that as of now, but you guys will know for sure by that one's release. Still, I'm considering making some plot adjustments just so I can incorporate his character into this story, I feel like it would be more realistic to the lore that way. Chapter 2 will definitely incorporate more dialogue, as that one is being written in a more fic format. AnYwAyS! Make sure to follow my account and twitter (@kateanabanana) for updates and other info about the story so far. Thanks for reading!
- kate