Chapter Text
The kingdom of Mitglied was a prosperous and peaceful one, with the wise and kind King Darius and caring yet firm Queen Susan ruling over it. While they both made multiple trips around to the furthest parts of their kingdom, they spent the vast majority of their time in their castle, the heart of Mitglied. The castle was surrounded by a large village with no gates or walls or guards separating the two so that those who lived or visited in the village were able to walk up and into to the very castle at will. There was, however, a thick wall outside the village, keeping the people safe from wild animals and the possible invasion of an enemy.
The centrepiece of the castle was the grand hall where the thrones of the King, Queen and the three Princes sat. While open to the public, the dais on which the thrones sat was cordoned off. Most people didn't mind this, as what they came to see, more often than not, was the large broadsword which seemed to be part of the back of the King's throne until he drew it. In the crosspiece of the sword was a white circular stone which flamed to life whenever the King held it.
As such, there was an almost constant stream of people in and out of the large double doors of the castle as they came to see the grand hall or one of the few other rooms that were always open. A young boy - well, technically he was a man but he felt like a boy - walked through these doors. He wore a simple shirt and pants and looked no different to those around him, yet people politely moved out of the way as he walked by and he smiled and nodded to each of them. Others may have been uncomfortable with all the attention, but the boy was used to it.
After a few minutes of walking down the main street that went from the castle to the edge of the village, he turned onto a smaller street, and then a smaller one again. These back streets were not as well maintained as the main street but they were still relatively clean. The boy walked for a few more minutes and turned onto several different streets until he came to a grove of apple trees nestled between the village and the wall. A stream fed a small pool of water that lay to the side of the grove but was still hidden from the houses by the trees. A young girl - the boy could never think of her as a woman, even though she was the same age as he - lay at the edge of the lake, staring up at the trees. Her light brown hands, folded under her head, were partly hidden under her curly brown hair. She glanced at the boy with her hazel eyes when he stepped out of the shadows.
"Heya," she said with a grin.
"Heya." The boy lay down beside her, giving a sigh as he did so. "I thought I would never get away from Dad."
The girl looked at him and smiled knowingly, able to guess what the boy was talking about. "He does have a point you know."
"Oh don't you start too," the boy groaned but the girl continued talking.
"You are the Prince and you are of a suitable age for marriage," she said. "And a marriage between your family and that of another kingdom would secure our safety by providing us with another ally."
The Prince closed his strangely white eyes and groaned again. The girl raised her eyebrows and grinned evilly.
"Do you not wish for the safety of us, your citizens?" she asked innocently. "Do you wish for us to perish at the hand of the Terigina warriors who seek to destroy us while you sit safe and sound in your castle?"
"Hey, come on Fayre, you know that's not true," the boy protested, instantly sitting back up. "I care about you guys, I'd never-"
"Oh relax Hero, you know I'm joking," Fayre grinned.
Prince Hero gave a sigh and lay back down. "I hate it when you do that to me, and you know it."
The 23-year-old laughed and patted his shoulder. "I know. But it's fun to see you get flustered."
The two lay next to the pool, discussing life in all of its peculiarities. They were the best of friends, and possibly something more too, although neither of them knew it. Many people knew of their friendship, including the King, but no one scolded them for it. The rift between royalty and commoner was a small one in Mitglied and friendships like these made it even smaller.
Close to an hour later, just as sunset was beginning, the two left the grove of trees and walked back through the near-empty streets. They talked quietly together as they walked to Fayre's modest but quite nice house where Hero stopped on the street. The two hugged briefly and Fayre went inside. Hero traced back his steps to the main street and then walked as unobtrusively as he could into the castle.
Dinner was a small affair in the castle, consisting only of the royal family sitting at a small rectangular table just like every other family in the village. Hero sat next to the corner of one of the long sides of the table, his dad the King on his left. On the other side of the King sat the Queen who looked like quite an ordinary woman until she needed to assert her authority, and then she was terrifying. Hero gave Steve (who sat opposite him) a smirking grin as their older brother walked in with his wife. Even though the two had been married for a year, Hero and Steve still mocked their brother, Notch, horribly whenever they got the chance. When their parents weren't looking at least.
Dinner was a simple meal that Hero found delicious every single time without fail. He almost always cleared his plate except for the times when a brussel sprout somehow found its way into his dinner. He ate around it on those times. When everyone had finished - no one was allowed to leave the table until everyone was done - Hero and Steve packed up the plates (while Notch and his wife left) into stacks so that it was easier for the servants to carry. The four remaining family members walked to the family's private quarters before the two brothers bade goodnight to their parents.
That night was the last night of uninterrupted sleep that Hero would get for a long time.
After breakfast the next morning, Hero's parents asked him to stay at the table while the rest of the family went to complete their daily chores. Mildly curious as to why his parents wanted to talk to him, Hero wasn't worried, thinking it would just be a conversation about lessons or training. Hero's father laced his fingers together and set them on the table. From their body language, the Prince instantly knew that whatever they were going to say would be serious and that he should pay attention.
"I've been in discussion with King Zaketh of Ashteg over the past while," the King started. "He has a daughter who is the same age as you and we have decided after much discussion that for the protection of both of our kingdoms, the two of you are to be married."
Hero's heart plummeted to his stomach and his brain took a few seconds to process this but even so, all he could do was breathe, "What?"
"You've been betrothed to Princess Grace of Ashteg," Queen Susan said gently.
"But... but I don't know her..."
"She will be here in a week," his father said. "You will have a month to get to know each other before the wedding."
Prince Hero's brain finally caught up with proceedings and he shook his head. "N-No, I don't want to get married."
"You can't stay as a bachelor, Hero," Darius said gently. "We live in a constant state of war and any one battle could wipe out half of our family. We must have heirs to continue to look after the people."
"I'm 23! I'm too you-"
"No, you are not too young to marry," Hero's mother said, cutting off his words. "Most people are married at the age of 21. And you have much more reason to be married than they do."
Anger at his helplessness filled Hero and he stood up suddenly from his chair, both hands flat on the table. "That's not fair!" he yelled. "Notch got to choose who he married, why can't I?"
"That is because he chose a princess of a kingdom who agreed to be our ally," the King said calmly. "Tensions are rising in the region and if we are to stay safe, we need to form alliances. You have shown no interest in marriage-"
"That's because I don't want to get married!" Hero yelled.
"Hero, lower your voice," Queen Susan said. "And before you bring him into this, Steve is four years younger than you and is not yet old enough."
"It has already been decided Hero," the King said, not unkindly but firmly.
But before he could open his mouth to offer some consolation to his son, Hero sprinted from the room, barging through the door uncaringly. He ran through the castle, dodging servants without slowing and heedless of anyone calling his name. Slipping through the front castle doors, he darted down the steps and ran blindly through the streets, not slowing and almost hitting people multiple times. He turned down the streets that led to the daily marketplace, his mind racing as fast as his leaden heart. Marriage.
He turned down the streets that came around to the back of the markets, where the sellers would come to start setting up their wares before he slowed and registered where he was and what he was doing. Fayre and her mother were already there, selling fresh apples and small carved wooden objects. Hero approached the back of the stall but stayed in the shadows, whispering her name. She heard him and turned, her face lighting up when she saw him. He gestured for her to come and after a quick word with her mother, she did so.
"What is it Hero?" she asked as she reached the shadows next to him, seeing his crestfallen face.
The Prince opened his mouth to tell her the horrible news but the words didn't come. He looked at the ground, his hands going to wrap around his stomach. Why couldn't he tell her? He told her everything, even things that he couldn't tell his brothers and she told him everything in turn. But when it came to this marriage proposal... Why couldn't he speak? Fayre put a gentle hand on his arm, her eyes searching his face. Finally, Hero mumbled something that Fayre didn't quite catch.
"I missed all of that, you're gonna have to repeat it," she told him quietly.
"I've been betrothed to a Princess," Hero said a little louder. "We're supposed to get married in a month."
Fayre's hand dropped from his arm and he hesitantly looked up. Her face was blank and he couldn't read what she was feeling. Hero's heart plummeted more. His hand went to gently take hers.
"That doesn't mean that we can't be friends Fayre," he said. "It just means that we'll have less tim-"
Fayre shook her head slightly. "No Hero, it does mean that we can't be friends," she whispered. "Don't you see?"
"Wh... what do....?"
She gently took her hand out of his, her eyes dropping so that he couldn't see the tears that were beginning to well up in them. "With your leave, my Prince, I will return to my mother." She didn't wait for him to answer, but walked swiftly away without another look back, joining her mother.
Hero stood there, unable to understand the problem. He waited for Fayre to look at him, even if it was just a glance, but she didn't look back. Over the next few days, he tried to talk to Fayre but she moved away before he could get close enough to talk. He wasn't sure why, but he needed to talk with her, to make sure that their friendship wasn't damaged or broken. Time and time again he asked himself why he was chasing her, why he couldn't tell her about the betrothal and why she was avoiding him when before they had both sought the other out.
Only two days before the Princess of Ashteg was due to arrive, Hero finally figured it out. At least, he thought he did. He was leaning on the marble balustrade that ran around the platform before the doors of the castle, watching the setting sun. He caught a glimpse of Fayre crossing the main street and disappearing into a side one and he instantly ran after her, trying to tread as lightly as he could. She heard him coming anyway and turned to start running but he caught her arm before she could dash.
"Will you let me talk? Please?" he asked her.
"Is that a command, Prince Hero?"
"Fayre, please," Hero said again. "Why can't we be friends like we used to be?"
"You just don't get it, do you?" Fayre sighed. "Hero, in a month you'll be married to this Princess and the two of you will be spending the rest of your lives together. There's not a place in that world for me. For... for us."
Something jumped inside Hero. "I don't see how me getting married destroys our friendship."
"But what if we're more than-... We become more than friends?" she asked, hesitating over her words.
"Well..." Hero said carefully. "What if this marriage doesn't work?"
Fayre looked into his eyes and then shook her head, stepping back, Hero's hand slipped from her arm as she did so. "Fate's pulling us away from each other, Hero. We can't deny it."
"We can fight it."
She shook her head again. "You can't fight fate. It never works." Hero went to say something but she cut him off. "Hero, please. You... You're going down your path, and I'm going down mine. We've been separated now. There's nothing we can do about it. Just... don't fight it. Please."
Fayre began to walk away, her curly hair hiding her face.
"I like you," Hero said quietly after her, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice, his heart racing fast.
The young woman paused in her stride for a moment. Her hair swayed as she shook her head and kept walking. The quickly-approaching darkness swallowed up any minute movements she could have made. She turned off the street and then she was gone. Everything inside Hero was numb and he barely registered walking back up to the castle and into his room, closing the door behind him with a click.