Chapter Text
To most people, the market was simply a part of everyday life. A mundane, loud, chaotic place. Something you gave no thought to. But to Touya, it was the closest to freedom he’d ever get. The noise was a welcome one after the deafening silence of the castle halls. People who didn’t bow and stare silently at the ground as he passed felt more alive than anything else. And if he got robbed? Well, that was just putting sorely needed money back into the economy.
At the age of 17, he’d say he’d perfected the art of sneaking out and dodging the guards. Winter was the best time to leave. Not only was it his favourite season, but his cloak drew less attention compared to the middle of a sweltering summer day. He’d leave without it if he could; spring flowers looked beautiful from his window and he could only assume even better up close. But his two-tone blue hair was a little too distinctive, and almost certainly would lead to him being found within minutes of entering a town. So on it stayed. As he got older, it got easier to stray further from the capital. People were a lot more inclined to allow a well-paying teenager to hitch a ride on their cart than a 13-year-old with a suspicious amount of gold, after all.
Today was like most of the days he had to himself to ‘study’ and ‘practice piano’ and do other things that were probably expected of him. Instead of doing any of that, as his father thought, Touya was several kilometres south of the castle, walking through the back alleys of an unexplored river town. Phoenix, if he remembered correctly. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and he needed to leave soon or risk being found out. There had been a weird energy in the air as well, and he was almost glad to leave, almost. As if the alternative was much better. He made his way towards the west gate, hoping to catch someone leaving for the capital. He stuck to the streets just outside the main road. This way he could move with less chance of being seen, but still observe the life around him.
He’d spent the past hour in a single shop, and he almost didn’t recognise the town square when he passed it again. Where before there had been market stalls and people milling around a bubbling fountain. It was now deadly quiet, with somehow even more people bunched together, facing a crudely constructed wooden stage. Touya stopped walking, moving closer through a smaller alley to see what was going on. At the sight of royal guards, he flinched back into the shadows, holding his breath before realising they weren’t looking in his direction. His attention was drawn to a young girl, no older than 12, surrounded by most of the guards and being led up to the stage. A wooden pole lay horizontally above the ground, held up by more poles, a single rope with a loop in it hanging from the middle—Oh. His eyes widened. A hanging.
The girl had magic.
Touya stared helplessly at the stage. Despite knowing they happened, he’d never actually seen these executions done before. And he hadn’t truly comprehended they were actual occurrences. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to watch someone die. But he couldn’t look away.
Magic had been banned by his family several centuries ago. It was a crime to use it, a crime to hold it. According to the books in the library, those with magic used to be burned, for if they were mages, they could escape. But nowadays there was no such luxury. He couldn’t say he agreed with the idea. Despite it being drilled into him that magic was evil, used only for selfish desire, he didn’t believe that. His father and tutors may have tried to teach him that, but as adamant as they were, his knight, Tsukasa, and Tsukasa’s little sister, Saki tried equally hard to tell him it wasn’t. That magic was okay and good and like any other tool—only evil in the wrong hands. And watching a child get dragged to a noose in front of him simply solidified his opinions. He—like everyone in the crowd—only watched in silence and various degrees of joy and horror as she struggled, pushed onto a stool, and the noose tightened around her neck.
One guard turned towards the crowd and opened his mouth to speak when the ground beneath him fell away. A second later the noose snapped as if cut, and the girl tumbled forward into the waiting arms of a black-and-blue-haired girl.
The crowd scattered as soon as fire started soaring through the air. For the people in the square, it probably seemed like an attack on them, but from Touya’s position, he could see it passing harmlessly well above their heads, and nowhere near anything flammable. He followed the fire to its source. A boy with orange hair, with a blonde girl crouching at his feet, hands pressed to the ground. The girl from earlier—still carrying the crying younger girl—bolted past them. A wall of dirt rose as they ran, blocking the guards from following down the street and sealing the two remaining mages in the square.
Touya watched as the boy focused his fire to form another wall in front of them, temporarily stopping the guards, and cupped his hands, letting the girl step on and pushing her up the wall. But the fire didn’t last long, and the moment the girl reached the top, the guards were already closing in. He managed to sidestep around them so he was no longer backed against the wall, but he was still surrounded.
The boy’s noise of frustration dragged Touya out of his trance, and he looked around. No one had seen him yet, and this side of the square was still empty. He could help. Make a distraction or—get caught and punished and never let outside again—hide him. He knelt quickly, grabbing a stone and throwing it at the boy’s back. He startled and whipped around, locking eyes with Touya, who gestured frantically for him to run over. In the boy’s distraction, the guards lunged. With a wave to the ground, a spire of fire stopped them, and the boy sprinted straight at Touya. He grabbed the boy’s wrist, dragging him a few paces and prying open a door on the ground he’d noticed before. He had no idea where it led, but he still tried ushering the boy in. No sooner had he shut it and staggered against the wall, standing directly over the door and praying his cloak was long enough to hide the latch, did the guards finally break through the dissipating fire. He looked up as they turned the corner, throwing an arm in a random direction.
“He went that way,” he gasped, hoping the shaking in his voice was mistaken for fear of the fire, not them.
A curt nod and a shout and the guards were already running off, barely slowing as he’d spoken.
He waited a few moments before stepping off the door, and with trembling fingers, unlocked the latch, slipping a few times before finally getting it. He didn’t even have time to try to lift it when it was flung open—nearly knocking him off his feet—and the stranger clambered out of the hole, muttering under his breath.
“Thanks, man,” the boy said, dusting himself off.
“You’re welcome.” He tugged his cloak lower over his hair nervously and stood. “I’m glad I could help.”
“Yeah, dunno what I would have done. I hate outrunning those guys.” The boy finally straightened and turned to him. “Shinonome Akito. Akito is fine.”
“Touya.”
“No last name?”
“Oh…Tenma. Tenma Touya.”
“Well, nice to meet you Touya,” Akito hummed, already walking away, only turning back when he realised Touya wasn’t following. “Aren’t you coming? You need to leave before the guards realise you duped ‘em.”
“Oh. Of course.” Touya hurried to catch up.
Akito flipped up his own hood as they walked, peering around each corner before they continued, slowly making their way west. “I’m assuming you’re not from around here?”
“No, I came to visit this morning.”
“Huh. Well. Hell of a thing to walk into.”
“The town?"
“What?” Akito laughed, shaking his head. “No. The execution, you idiot.”
“Ah.” Tsukasa had always told him he took things too literally.
They made their way slowly through the streets, Akito listening for signs of life and glaring down every road as they did, yet somehow always talking. Touya learnt more about the world than he ever could from his tutors. Akito and the two girls were infamous mages across Nocturne, their faces plastered across most wanted boards. They’d known about the execution beforehand. The girl was some friend of a friend they’d promised to smuggle out of the town.
Touya followed uncertainly the whole way, unsure as to what happened next. His question was answered as the roads petered out into the docks along the river, still busy despite the disturbance earlier. Akito dragged him across to an awning near the back wall, half covered in shadows and the space stacked high with crates.
They’d almost reached it when someone clipped his shoulder, shoving him forward and off balance. Akito lunged as he fell, fisting a hand in his cloak and pulling back before he could hit the ground. But the movement was too much for his hood and it flung back, exposing his hair.
Frantically, Touya pulled away at the same time Akito shoved him, clawing to bring his hood back up. He glanced around anxiously, curling in on himself and desperately hoping no one else had seen, letting out a breath when no one started screaming and the guards didn’t come running. His eyes finally settled on Akito—looking at him with recognition in his eyes—and he swallowed nervously, taking another step back.
“I’m sorry.”
Akito tensed. “How the hell are you even here?”
“I walked?”
Akito snorted mirthlessly. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I truly don’t.” He frowned. “That is how I got here.”
“No, I,” Akito sighed, “I meant how—why—are you here, in this town, away from the castle and clearly trying not to get found?”
“I’m not supposed to be here.”
Akito raised an eyebrow, shuffling on his feet. “Obviously. What, are you not allowed to leave or something?—”
“No.”
“—’cause there’s no—Oh… You’re not? Why?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. Which wasn’t quite true. They had given him plenty of reasons—none of which he could understand.
“Right. So, Nocturne’s prince spends his days illegally walking around distant towns and rescuing random mages.”
He winced. “It sounds a lot worse when you put it like that.”
“I dunno. That’s a really weird rule.”
They descended into silence before Akito broke it again. “And you helped me.” He shifted his weight to the other foot, still cautious.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I couldn’t let you get caught if I could do something. I have no reason to hate magic and I thought what you did was admirable. So of course I would help.”
“But you’re the prince.”
“So?” Touya looked him in the eyes. “My parentage doesn’t have to define what I do and who I am, right?”
Akito just stared at him for a tense moment before laughing. “Right, yeah, of course.” He waved a hand in a vague motion. “Gods, I had this image of you in my head as this giant asshole, but you’re really just some airheaded nice guy!”
“Thank you? I think?”
This only made Akito laugh harder.
“You really just said all that stuff about parentage with a straight face, huh? Out of anyone else’s mouth it’d sound so cheesy, but you almost made it work.”
“It’s something a friend told me once.”
“Okay, okay!” Akito sighed and straightened up. “So just to be clear. I’m not gonna find myself hunted down after you leave?”
Touya shook his head vehemently. “Of course not. I wouldn’t help you, only to turn on you. I certainly wouldn’t risk being caught myself.”
“Right, right.” Akito sighed in relief. “Just tell me one thing, ‘cause I didn’t really understand it before. You’re not allowed outside the castle?”
“No.” He leaned against the wall, gaze sliding towards the silhouette of the castle. “My father doesn’t approve.”
Something akin to pity filled Akito’s voice. “I’m sorry. That’s shitty then…”
A bell struck three, and Touya jumped. He hadn’t realised how late it had gotten. “I really do need to go now.” He turned to Akito. “Thank you. For understanding. And talking to me. I liked it.”
An expression he couldn’t place flitted across Akito’s face, but he offered him one last grin. “Hey, no problem. I owe you one.”
Then he was off, waving to a boy who made him feel free one last time before he hurried back ‘home.’