Chapter Text
Did you hear? The rumour of the cursed prince - the one who was born a twin! That their birth caused reality to sunder, that the world itself rejected their existence. One was banished to another dimension as soon as he drew his first breath, and the other? Next in line for the throne! Not anymore though - still cursed, you see - and out of fear they’ve erased his true name. Instead they call him -
“Fai.”
The boy visibly flinched at the name. That much was clear even despite the thick robe that
hid his body almost entirely.
The chains seemed a bit much. Suffocated in fabric as he was, it didn’t look like he could run even if he wanted to.
“For crimes against the goddess, you are forever stripped of your title. The universe itself has rejected you, and so your very blood is unworthy of any title.”
In the crowd, the child known as Kurogane shifted his feet restlessly. He didn’t know why they had made all the trainee soldiers attend this. It was boring, and had nothing to do with him. He could be training right now.
“You, who are a punishment on us all, will be entered into the service of the Court of Swords. The crime of your existence will be washed clean through your actions in our favour. Be grateful for this chance.”
The King of Swords forced the boy to his knees then, though it didn’t look like that was hard to do - the prince’s knees buckled as soon as he was shoved. Kurogane silently thought he would have been able to resist a push like that. He could probably try it later, though he didn’t know where to find chains like that.
“Do not forget that the sundering of the world lies at your feet. Every breath you take is at our mercy. And if, at the end of it all, the goddess is not pleased with your contributions to this world, then it will be on your head alone.”
At the end, the young prince - ex-prince, he supposed - looked out across the crowd. It was customary to avoid the gaze of one who was cursed, but Kurogane had forgotten this in the boredom of the moment. When Fai’s eyes locked with his, all he could think was that he didn’t look so dangerous. They looked almost the same age, but much less impressive.
He didn’t even have any muscle.