Chapter Text
Sharpness has always believed that he is destined for something great.
A legendary warrior who’d charge fearlessly into tidal waves of enemies with nothing but a trusted blade in his hands and his kingdom’s glory and recognition in his heart. He’d weave and slash through them all with grace and immense prowess until nothing stood in front of the way he paved from their bodies. And when he returns to his nation, victory in tow, people everywhere would sing his name with praise and admiration and his king would bestow him a medal of honor.
Those were dreams he’d had for as long as he could remember, dating back to his early childhood spent in a dark dusty room with his sister who is telling him a grand tale of the hero in red. He recalled the feeling of awe bubbling in his little chest as he turned to his sister with newfound dedication, declaring that he’ll be the next hero in red to protect her and the kingdom. And till this day, he still remembers that vow he took. A young juvenile dream that he had never let go ever since.
But now, as he lugs his personal luggage up the grand staircase leading up to the resplendent palace, Sharpness feels like he failed himself. A crumpled piece of paper lies in his palms: it’s a letter penned from the king’s advisor, inviting him to the palace to formally become the 2nd prince’s bodyguard per king’s order.
The thought of it sickens the swordsman to the core. He didn’t spend his entire life training and honing his talent with the blade, becoming the strongest fighter Strenthalis has ever seen on the battle front only to end up as a babysitter for a monarchy brat. Someone like him, THE Sharpness Conexion, did not deserve this kind of misfortunate fate. And as much as he wished to opt out, he can’t unless he wished to be looked down upon, of which, his pride will not allow.
All he can do now is swallow the bitter taste on his tongue as he walks through the grand dark oak doors, striding into the palace.
Inside, the building is enormous and ridiculously ornate with people, servants and maids Sharpness assumes, rushing back and forth down the long corridors. Before Sharp could take in the grandness of the castle’s interior, a man with curly brown hair and a scholar’s hat teleports right in front of his face and even nearly crashes into the warrior had he not sidestep away.
After the scholarly looking man finishes taking a breather after the teleportation, he turns to Sharp with a polite smile.
“Hello Mr. Conexion, I’ve been expecting your arrival. My name is Parker G. Brain but you may call me Parker. I am the prince’s assistant and I will be helping you settle in the castle.” The man named Parker introduces himself, his hand extended towards Sharpness. Naturally out of courtesy, the swordsman shakes the scholar’s hand while nodding in understanding.
“Follow me, I shall be showing you to your quarters and then afterwards you’ll be meeting with the prince himself.” Parker walks in front of him, rambling on and on about something Sharp doesn’t bother to listen to. He’s way too distracted feeling beaten down by his current circumstances, so much so that he misses the flash of purple in his peripherals.
Before he knows it, the ground below his feet opens up and swallows him whole.
“WHAT THE FUCK-!” Sharp shrieks, flailing his arms around and falling rapidly down a dark pit. He watches as the opening he fell from closes up with a feeling of terror threatening to boil over in his chest. He can’t believe he was going to die an untimely, unglorious death in the belly of the castle.
Sharp counts the seconds he has left before his life ends with his head hitting something blunt at the bottom of the pit in his head. While he’s at it, he curses and calls the prince -whom he never even saw the face of every- single kind of profanity he ever knew.
He braces himself for the impact. But instead of a pit of spikes or scorching lava, his legs hit… slime blocks? Slime blocks that cushioned his fall and left him alive and breathing and not his skull bashed open with its content spilled out everywhere in the narrow pit.
“You know that there's a crime for speaking ill of the royal family, right blondie?” A voice echoes from god knows where and Sharpness, who is still incredibly shaken after what had occurred to him, jumps audibly at the voice.
The voice cackles maniacly at his startled-ness, to which Sharp frowns in annoyance after being laughed at. He stands up on his feet and starts looking for ways to get out. His eyes search for hidden buttons or levers that may possibly get him anywhere but none is sight at all. Dejectedly, Sharp calls out to the other voice apparently in the same room for help.
“Can you get me out of here? Please?”
“Mmm.. Not until you say sorry to the prince that you just yelled curses and bloody murder to.”
Sharp groans at the voice’s demand. “Fine. I’m sorry for swearing on his highness’ name. Are you happy now? Please let me out, Parker is probably looking for me.”
“Maybe throw in a praise as well, since this trap that you fell in was handcrafted by him. It’s pretty well made and compact, isn’t it?”
Sharpness thinks the mystery person is just pulling on his metaphorical pigtails at this point.
“FINE! The trap is very efficient at trapping random innocent passerbys like me and the prince is so skilled and talented and handsome and whatever you want to hear! There! You better let me out now!” The swordmaster yells at the voice, his irritation starting to become more evident in each word he speaks.
All he hears in return is the same mad cackle, probably laughing at his obvious desperation.
“How can you call the prince handsome when you’ve never even met him?” The voice finally answers. Sharp swears he can hear the smile on their lips and all he wants now aside from getting out is to punch it off their face.
Before Sharp could let his violent thoughts brew for any longer, a secret door opens up right beside him. A handheld lantern’s light illuminates the bottom of the small pit he’s in and he finally sees the source of the voice.
A man, shorter than him with strikingly long purple hair, is sneering at him while holding the door open for him. And the more Sharp observes, the more details he spots about the other: he has a pair of rabbit ears on his head and his left arm appears to be made out of metal. Is his captor part rabbit? What even happened to his left arm?
“Do you intend to get out or are you content with staying here just to ogle at me?” Impatiently, the man complains at Sharp’s inaction and with an irked grunt, Sharp follows the stranger out the pit and into a hidden stairway up to the castle ground again.
When they finally get out of the dark depths of the trap, Sharp turns to the rabbit-eared man with a scowl.
“Thanks for trapping me and wasting my time.” He says, sarcasm enunciating in each word.
“No problem! Who are you anyways?”
“I’m-”
Sharpness’ words get cut off by a familiar looking blur of purple. Then just as abruptly as before, Parker appears right beside him.
“Mr. Conexion, finally I found you!” Parker cries, his face full of relief in seeing Sharpness again.
“Hey Parker! Who is this person and what are they doing here?” The rabbit-eared man asks once again, this time towards the scholar.
The scholar takes a second to look between the man and Sharp himself before he is struck with an idea.
“Oh great, you both are here! Mr Conexion, this is His Highness Judelow de Sasso, the person whose safety you shall be looking after. Jude, this is Sharpness Conexion, the swordmaster your father had ordered to be your personal guard.”