Prologue

Prologue

“David!” She squeals, unable to contain her laughter. She hops to her feet before proceeding to tackle the young boy. “Did your mother not tell you it was rude to pick on girls?!”

            “Mighty good thing you’re not a girl then, isn’t it?” He flashes a grin up at her from his spot on the ground but he’s only met with a whack on the head.

            “I am so a girl! Kaiser, tell David I’m a girl!” She scrambles to get to her feet, the hem of her dress bunching at her feet nearly causing her to trip. She huffs, directing her attention to the two boys adjacent to them.

            “Not now Lana!” Kaiser hisses, pinning Luke beneath him in an attempt to prove his strength. The two wrestle nearly every moment away from the castle, always trying to dominate the other. Luke makes feeble attempts to kick and squirm out of his grasp yet Kaiser’s grip doesn’t loosen.

“David’s right, you don’t count as a girl!” Kurtis pipes in as he approaches the group, a sly smirk playing on his lips.

            “Nobody asked you.” She hisses, folding her arms across her chest.

            “Nobody had to.” He winks, making his way to David’s side, who is wearing much too satisfied a grin. She rolls her eyes in response.

            “Sod off!” Her bottom lip purses, brows furrowing.

“Ha!” Kaiser lets out a grunt of approval, while Luke groans in pain. With a chuckle, the taller of the two offers his hand, pulling his comrade to his feet.

            “Live to fight another day.” Kaiser teases with a smirk.

David makes his way to Kaiser’s side to congratulate the boy on his little victory, offering a smile and pat on the back.

            “We should be getting back to the castle.” Kurtis murmurs though diverts his eyes from the group, swallowing the lump in his throat. He coughs it off before forcing a devilish smirk. “Lana has her chores.” To which, she sighs in response. Unlike the others, she was not blessed with royal blood.

            The five youngsters began making their way back toward the castle, to which they all went their separate ways to attend to the day’s tasks. Day becomes night as the pale moonlight peaks in under the curtain-drawn windows.

            “Little late to be up now, isn’t it?” David smirks while peering around the corner, catching the dark haired girl finishing up the last of her chores.

            “The tasks I need to do disregard time.” She murmurs, wiping her sweat-stricken forehead with a light sigh. She turns to open the nearest window, relief flooding through her the second the cold air hits. She tugs herself up and leans forward on the sill, gazing out over the kingdom belonging to King Arthur Raymond, Kaiser’s father. The cool air tickles her cheeks, tugging at her ringlets.

            “Beautiful, isn’t it?” David joins her side, following her gaze after running a hand through his own dark locks. She nods in response, though seemingly uninteresting in conversation. Tedious tasks demanded all her energy, nothing that the boys would understand. Royalty, at their ages, got them out of nearly anything.

            “I haven’t seen William in recent days, is he well?” David breaks the silence again.

            “He is a busy man.” She slips down, smoothing out her white dress tainted with dirt. “He’s been down in the kitchen, ensuring the maids are doing what they’re told. As well as me, I suppose...” She pulls a face, always having an issue with authority. David smirks at this, knowing his friend all too well.
            “He keeps you out of trouble.”

            “Sort of his job. He /is/ my guardian, after all.” She turns, beginning to stride down the hall.

            “Somebody has to keep you in line.” He dares to add, following at her heels. She opens her mouth to respond, when a blood-curdling scream escapes a nearby maid.

            “FIRE! FIRE!” She screams in hysteria, dropping her tray at once to run down the hall as flames flicker behind her. Lana’s eyes widen, backing up.

            “RUN!” William shouts, appearing at the end of the hall. He sprints to the two children’s side. He scoops up Lana, clutching her to his chest while shoving David ahead, ensuring the young boy’s legs were moving, and fast. William presses his palm to the back of the girl’s head, ensuring her face remained buried into his shoulder.

“Keep your head down, little lion.” He murmurs into her ear. The three make their way to the castle gates, turning down various halls to avoid the flames that threatened to block their path. The castle erupts into chaos, screaming and shouting ringing through it. Soldiers, of both King Arthur and King Cedric, father of Kurtis Hue, are engaged in a battle against each other.

William reunites David with the rest of the young princes, glancing around with a sense of urgency.

            “David! Lana!” Kaiser calls, attempting to get to their side, to ensure their safety. Luke follows, glancing at the castle with a blank expression, numb what is going on around him.

            “Kaiser, what is going on?!” David calls, joining him at his side.

            “Our fathers were in the conference room, I-I-“ He turns his attention to William, who is sprinting towards the stables. “Hey! Wait!”

            William, clutching Lana to him, unties a steed and mounts it, whipping the reins. “Ya!” The horse begins to trot forward, gradually picking up speed. Lana lifts her head, peering over William's shoulder. Her eyes widening, watching the flames engulf the castle. Emeralds search for the sight of her companions.

            “Will! William, we have to go back! Stop! We have to go back!” She pleads, squirming against his grasp as the distance between her and her only friends increases. William remains silent, keeping a firm grasp on the young girl. She shouts but something catches her eye, forcing her silence. Curtis emerges from the doors to the castle, unharmed, unshaken, unaffected by the disaster. He joins the group of boys before they begin to fade to the point where she can’t make them out anymore, the darkness engulfing them.