Chapter Text
Once upon a time… On a dark and stormy night, there was a kingdom where a recent catastrophe had occurred. The most precious and sacred sword was stolen, and the princess in the castle wasn’t there either, the knights were searching everywhere inside and outside of the palace but they didn’t find the sword nor the princess.
The Sacred Sword was stolen!
Search the entire castle!
Several knights shouted while they were running all over the fortress searching for everything that could help them find the mythical relic.
The princess is also missing! The windows of her room are open, and her room is trashed! She was kidnapped!
Leave no place unsearched! Seal all exits and entrances! We can’t let the thief leave the palace with the sword!
Whoever did this will be executed immediately!
In the village, among the shadows was a hooded figure, footsteps were heard, someone stepped into a puddle while running in the heavy rain, it is a hidden shadow who appears to be running away from the palace in a great hurry and seems to be carrying something heavy; a reflection shines beneath their hood. The figure noticed this and covered their item even more. That mysterious guy hid behind a tree while they’re recovering their breath.
“Just a bit more… Just keep going…” After taking their brief break, the cloaked figure starts to run again into the forest, not wanting to be found by any knight or anyone…
Three years have passed since the theft of the sacred sword and the disappearance of the princess. Although everything seems to be back to normal, the search for both of them is still standing. This event gave so much impact that the word arrived to neighboring domains and also were searching for the princess and the sword but none of them found anything. The Northern Kingdom lost its princess along with its sacred relic, and many people believe there is no hope to find them and say it's no longer worth searching for anymore for still searching for something and someone that has been missing for 3 years.
In another place of this medieval world, further south, there is a kingdom where everyone lives in peace; a normal, generic and boring realm… The Goiky Kingdom. These lands are ruled by King 2763 and Queen Infinity. Both of them have a son who would be the heir to the throne; the Prince Four.
The prince Four is an arrogant, proud and stubborn person who thinks that everything should go their way with no problem, but behind that smug shield, he feels trapped by the rules and the relentless royal routine imposed by his parents to maintain the crown’s pristine status and not disappoint his kingdom. Right now, the royal youth is walking around the village being greeted by everyone who sees him and that inflates his ego and arrogance, especially when some girls cross his path and although Four likes it when it happens, it reminds him that he has to find a partner because his parents told him to; he must find someone of high status who will benefit the kingdom, which didn't please the prince, even though he had to do it for the good of his kingdom. Fortunately for him, he hasn't found anyone yet, and he hopes it stays that way.
The prince Four arrived at the kingdom's forest, entered, and walked peacefully. After walking for a while, he heard a stream and headed towards it. The place looked so calm and beautiful… so, the young prince sat on a rock near the small river as he began to reflect and think about his life.
“Stupid royal mandate… Every single girl just wants me for the benefits the palace has…” The noble youth muttered bitterly as they watched the stream flow by and kicked a little rock scoffing.
Then, footsteps could be heard approaching and Four became wary, so he hid in a nearby bush so as not to be discovered and to see whoever that approaching person was…
The mysterious person appeared and—they looked...normal? Well, they’re just a simple peasant girl with a bucket and a fishing rod; it seemed she just went fishing, that's all. It wasn’t a big deal. But for the prince guy this is not very normal to see, seeing a girl going fishing in the middle of the woods by a stream, and with an appearance...not at all feminine? It's not normal for them. Well, the girl did NOT look like a girl at all, the only reason Four was sure it's a girl was because of her big ponytail. This peasant took a seat on the bank of the stream and fished peacefully without any clue someone was watching her.
“I hope I get a rare one to sell for great value this time…” The youth whispered to herself while she was just kept fishing peacefully.
The prince? They just kept spying on the girl, he's supposed to have left by now, I mean, she's just a commoner fishing! She's just another uninteresting person in a forest, she even seems pretty generic, but for some reason, he hadn't left yet. He stayed behind, peering at her cautiously and curiously like a freak, from that bush, for some reason he hadn’t left yet, it's like he wanted something from her... Something told him to talk to her, but he's afraid to approach her. He felt like the girl might react like the others in the village, and sometimes it even bothered him that it always happened. His intrusive thoughts kept telling him to get out of there and talk to that commoner and it became more and more overwhelming and desperate until he finally took the risk and got out from the bush, just, in the worst way possible…
As he was about to get up from the ground, he noticed his knee was covered in mud. Damn, he'd stepped in a mud puddle! (How on Goiky hadn't he noticed before?!) He complained, muttering insults, he wiped it off and stood up, only to find his calf covered in mud too, and worse, insects. The heir always had a dread of insects. The panicked prince jumped out of the bush screaming, then tripped and fell to the ground like an idiot.
“AHHH!– Augh!”
The youth, who was fishing, shocked and became defensive when she saw someone get out from a bush screaming. That is not normal for a commoner to do…
“...What the–” The peasant was ready to fight, but seeing that person seemed to be harmless, she calmed down but didn't let her guard down.
“Uhh… who are you? Why were you…hiding in the bushes–” Gasp “Were you spying on me?!” The youth exclaimed as she became defensive.
The prince Four became nervous and stood up abruptly, standing tall and imposing by his pride, but only to hide his embarrassment. Four crossed his arms to maintain a serious demeanor while looking at the poor peasant woman with contempt and inferiority, just to hide the fact that he was still terrified and ashamed of what had happened to him earlier. He began to demand and claim that he was the one who should be asking the questions, not a simple ordinary peasant youth, but the girl did not seem terrified or interested in him, rather she seemed offended.
Ahem “Actually, I should be asking you the questions! What on Goiky is a peasant girl like you fishing in the middle of a forest?!”
“Uh… Is there any problem with that?” The young lass frowned and responded with disinterest and offense, while the prince watched as she looked at him like any other normal person; no one had ever done that to him before! She should be acting out of mercy! For attention! For whatever reason! Not acting this way! This is not normal! This is not what should happen!
“Uh–.. I don't- think so? But– seeing someone in the middle of the forest going fishi– Wait a second… Did you ask who I am!? Don’t you know who you are talking to!?” The noble responded indignantly and offended.
“Uhh, no? How will I know about someone who came screaming out of some bushes?...” The villager said disdainfully and haughtily while looking at the prince with disdain, and Four, seeing that he wasn't being treated as he should be, felt very offended, but he was also curious as to why he was being treated that way by this commoner.
“Seriously, you don’t know who I am? Are you joking?” The prince was genuinely taken back that this girl didn’t know he is the prince of Goiky.
“Well then, I am the prince Four, the heir to the throne of Goiky, son of the king 2763 and queen Infinity. So, you must show respect and be on your knees and beg for mercy right now!” The prince demanded, annoyed, to intimidate her.
“Pffft! I’m sorry! But I can't take you seriously if you're covered in mud, you call yourself a prince, and you're covered in mud and bugs like an idiot.” The youth put a hand on her mouth to cover her giggles, but she just couldn’t handle it.
“GRRR! Don’t you know you are making fun of the prince of this kingdom?! ON YOUR KNEES RIGHT NOW!” Four was getting desperate and annoyed by this girl's rude attitude with every passing second.
“Uhh… No? Why should I do that?” She just frowned, looking skeptical.
“Why?! Because I am the prince of Goiky! Everything in this forest is part of our feudal decree, even the soil you are standing on right now, so you should be obeying my commands just like any other useless commoner like you!” Four was just getting more annoyed by the second the girl didn’t follow their orders.
“I’m sorry but I am not going to follow the rules nor bow to anyone.” The girl became defensive and took a step back to maintain her distance in case the stubborn prince did anything.
“Oh, don’t worry. You are going to…” The Prince had raised his hand with an annoyed and mischievous expression.
Seeing that it emitted a blue glow from his hand, the lassie had a bad feeling, so she grabbed her bucket full of fish and threw it at the prince.
“AAAGH!! EWW!” Four jolted and started brushing the fish off him, hahaha, now he's covered in fish because he's so stupid and stubborn. The lassie started running away leaving everything behind. Four brushed the fish off himself as he watched the direction that girl ran... She's completely different from anyone he had ever met... And he's intrigued to know more about her. “This girl is something else…”
After the incident in the forest, Four was coming back to the castle while he’s still covered with mud and smelled fishy. Everyone asked why happened to him but Four just ignored everyone, he just wanted to be alone in their room. The prince sat on his bed and just thought about what happened in the forest…
“That stupid and rude commoner… I’ve never met anyone like her. She reacted differently, not like any other villager. She attacked me, that’s unusual. Who is that girl? What is she hiding?”
SLAM!!! Someone opened the door to the prince's room unintentionally strong. He screamed in fright and jumped. He glared at his door, completely annoyed and angry, wondering who on Goiky had interrupted him.
“AHH! WHAT THE HELL!?”
Seeing that it was only his loyal friend and lifelong companion, he relaxed but was still irritated at having slammed the door like that.
Sighs “X! Don’t do that again! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“Heh! Sorry Four! It’s just I have an important advi–”
“Let me guess… Another boring and absolutely stupid reunion?” The prince asked with disinterest and sarcasm, knowing perfectly well that it was another meeting of the royal council. Most of the time X came in, he knew exactly what it was, at the same time, on the same day.
“Uh, yes… You're not…going again, are you?” X spoke gently, knowing perfectly well that their friend always refused to go to every meeting.
“Of course not! Why go if they always talk about the same thing?!” Four exclaimed in annoyance and layed down on his bed.
Sighs “Four, you haven't come to the meetings in months! You have to go!” The yellow variable exclaimed gently to ease the tension, but...it smells more like fish...? “Wait a second… Why does it smell like… is it fish? Is it… you, Four?”
“AH! WHAT?! NO!! WHY IN GOIKY WOULD I–” sighs “Ugh, why am I lying? Yes, it's me... ugh” The defeated prince complained as he rolled their eyes. X sat on their side, he didn't complain about his friend's smell or attitude; he just wanted to be by his side right now.
“Do you…want to tell me why you… well, what happened? Why do you smell like fish?... I–I won’t judge you! I promise…”
"...I don’t want to talk about it…”Four refused to talk about what happened because he was still ashamed about what that stupid commoner did to them.
“C’mon… I won’t make fun of you, or tell anyone else. You know you can trust me, you’ve always been my best friend and I've always told you my secrets, just as you've told me yours.” The yellow variable spoke softly and kindly to the prince to let them know that no matter what, he will always listen to them and support them.
Sighs “Fine… I will trust you X… BUT IF YOU DARE TO TELL THIS TO SOMEONE!–” Four yelled drastically at his buddy, threatening him that if he told anyone what he would say, he would regret it, but before making the threat, X tried to calm him down.
“Woah! Calm down Four!... Hey, don’t worry, I am not going to tell anyone if you don’t want to. I promise…” The loyal friend said with complete honesty while looking at his friend with kindness and empathy, sealing his promise.
Sighs “Alright.. So, I was walking in the village, and I decided to go for a walk in the forest. I was just in a stream very peacefully until a STUPID COMMONER APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE AND STARTED TO THROW ME FISH AT ME AND–”
“Four, are you really telling the truth? I know you very well, and I know you often exaggerate your anecdotes, so please tell me what really happened, okay?”
“BUT I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!”
“Four. I know you aren’t, c’mon… please. Whatever it was, I will support you.
Groans “Fine, whatever… Ugh. I was in the forest, I wanted some peace, being alone, I was by the stream, and I heard some footsteps, so I decided to hide in some bushes, and… I saw a girl…”
“A girl? In the middle of the forest?... That’s interesting… Keep going.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told ya that girl is not like anyone else, and I mean, anyone else, not like any other peasant, farmer or whatever. She’s not like you think she is.”
“Oh yeah? So, how is she then? She did something to you?”
“Uh, kinda. Like, I came out of my hideout to talk to her! But she just did not want to listen to me! I was casually talking about me and she just became defensive! I took a step closer to her but she threw me her bucket of fish! Ewww!! Aaaand… that stupid peasant ran away…”
“Is that really what happened? It’s not like I’m judging you! I–I of course totally believe you, but I'm still unsure… Why did she become defensive to you? You didn't do anything that had anything to do with it, did you?”
“Of course not! I was just being a gentleman prince! I acted as I always must in front of everyone!”
“Acting arrogant? C’mon Four! I know you do not act like a gentleman, you always demand that everyone kneel before you.”
“NOT ‘EVERYONE!’ I mean, not you, you’re my friend, nor my parents, and…ugh, Two… You know what? Screw Two! I’ll make them bow to me next time I see them!”
Sighs “You will not stop hating Two, would you?” Sighs “Well, I need to go somewhere else, I’ll tell the council that you weren't at the castle again as an excuse. See you later Four! Bye!”
“WAIT! X!”Four spontaneously shouted to his friend, making them stop before he could pass through the door.
“Huh? Yeah? What happened? Need something?”
“A–Actually…Uhm… Could you do me a favor? Please?” The prince asked nervously and hesitantly.
“Of course! What do you need?” X looked at him curiously waiting for Four to tell him the favor he needed.
“Uhh… I–I… uhmm, you know what? Nevermind, it’s not important.”
“You sure, Four? You know you can trust me, if you need something just tell me.” The yellow fellow looked at their friend compassionately.
“Seriously, I’m ok… Thank you for… always being by my side…” Four told them genuinely soft and understanding.
“No need to thank me, goodbye Four, take care.” X leaved the room while closing the door behind, leaving the prince alone once again.
Four lay down in their bed and just thought about that mysterious and rude youth from the forest… He wanted to know more about her…