Chapter Text
When the boy first came, Stella was grounded.
Technically, she hadn't even done anything. It was all Dreesa's fault anyway. But Stella got blamed. She always got blamed. Her mom hated her.
So the trip to the stables had been an attempt to escape her smothering maid, to clear her mind. That's when she saw him. Stella knew everyone in the castle, on the grounds. Knew this boy had to be new. He did things she had never seen before. The way he moved, the way he lifted up the heavy barrels of hay. The way he yelled when she saw her creeping in the door.
"Go away? How about you go away?!" Not her best comeback. But normally she had more time to think of a response, and wasn't yelling it at a random boy. That's when she stepped up close to him, thrust out her hand obnoxiously, and proclaimed, "My name is Stella, Princess of Solaria, future defender of the planet."
He stared at her hand as if he had never seen one before, then looked up at her. "Okay, 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, my name is Brandon."
The rest of the encounter didn't go so well.
But Stella came back the next day. And the next. Although she didn't like the boy, he did make a good companion. They talked. He was from Eraklyon, but wasn't a royal. He was the first person she met who wasn't. He described his home, the crickety ceilings and the small bedroom he and his father shared.
"It's just us two," he explained. "He has me and I have him."
Brandon was good at listening. Stella suspected that it was because it was all he had ever known, living with someone who had many grievences with the crown. Or so she had heard. When he first said that, it made her laugh.
"What do you mean your dad doesn't like the king? He cares for him, protects him, gives him shelter-"
That was the first time he had gotten really mad.
"The king of Eraklyon? Gives us nothing. My dad worked for everything he has, everything we have. And maybe you're too spoiled to realize it, but not everyone in your kingdom owes you a debt of gratitude." He walked off, leaving the poor princess to question her entire existence.
But she came back the next day.
It wasn't all one way. She told Brandon about how her mom hated her, always punished her. He laughed, told her she probably deserved it. She did, but yelled at him either way. It was the first time she had laughed with him, and for a minute, he looked at her funny. She just stuck out her tongue at him, went back to petting the horses he tended. Her favorite was Surya: the strong, grey female. Brandon's was Solax: the strongest male. He said it reminded him of his dad, and how he always protected his people.
Brandon's dad sounded great.
On Brandon's last day, Stella didn't even know he was leaving. She just kept talking about stupid, insignifanct topics: what she was wearing tomorrow, what she ate for breakfast, how she had disgraced her mom yet again. It was only when she ran back later to tell him about the sunset (it had become a habit to inform the other when there was a spectacular viewing), she found a note written by him.
𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴,
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘎𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘨𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 (𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮) 𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥,
𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯
It was only later, in her bedroom, she realized he was her first friend.