Solace

Have you forgotten what he looks like?

§

You do not remember much of your childhood, because all there was for you back then were the memories and images of fighting, of hatred, of deaths and bloodshed. You dreaded it. Staying awake at night, you would glance up into the horizon, brightened with the colours of war - and you would wonder if your mother and your father were ever going to come home to hug you again. Your sister weeps long and hard into the night, waking the town with all her crying, and you hold her while you hold back your tears because you remember how your father told you once that real man don't cry.

You think you were eight then, when you took that walk around the town and all the people came up to you to tell you how sorry they are about the war, to wish you the best, to hope for the safety of the queen and commander - but you know you first caught sight of him there, shimmering golden hair, when he laughed and interrupted their selfish speeches and asked them if they wanted to apologise, why didn't they join the army and fight for the Queen? There was silence, and there were those who jeered at him.

You reach your hand out, but the one who takes it is your aunt, dragging you away from the mob. But, by then, the blond almost-man in the midst of familiar people had long been imprinted into your mind.

§

You do not remember when you next met him. It could have been the time your parents came back victorious and smiling, but weary and forlorn as you and your sister ran up to them and offered them the hugs you'd thought you would lose forever when they left. He was standing behind father, smiling brightly as he came to the side - and you remember the bandages, the blood, the scars...

You remembered dreading.

You remembered deaths.

And, without realising it, you had asked, for the first time in your life, "Are you alright, mister?"

You know that day was the very first time your father smiled that brightly at you.

§

You do not remember how you first grew closer to him. Lyon hated him, because he was a pervert who spent his time peeking into the woman's baths - and they would often scream a name that started with k and ended with e with a yl in-between. You find it funny sometimes, to hear your aunt rant about the disgusting knight who spent his free time away, but your father would chuckle and say that he is a good man at heart, despite all those shortcomings.

There was one time you ran away from Lyon because the both of you had disagreed over something you cannot recall now and knowing that Lyon had most of the servants on her side, you ducked into the room of the Knights in hopes to find your father to hide behind - but there was only him.

He had merely looked up, took in your jagged breathing, before he offered the couch. You jumped onto it, and he covered you with a small blanket that you snuggled under. You heard footsteps, and then you hear Lyon's questioning voice of where is he?

The angel probably smiled as he replied: I don't know, Lyon. But you're welcome to join --

The slamming of a door.

"She's gone, Prince."

You wriggled out from under the protective cover and rewarded him with a smile of your own.

But when you woke up, you found yourself in your own room.

Much, much later on, your father amuses you with a tale of how they found you sleeping in the lap of a Queen's Knight the day everybody thought you were kidnapped.

§

You do not remember why you grew to like him -

Kyle is sitting at the table, bending over some important news, and you grab the edge of his clothes, Lyon a respectful distance behind. Kyle turns to you, and blinks - and you ask of him a favour, which he quickly agrees to. Later that night, Lym delights over a new toy some mysterious person gave to her, ignoring the tag which says from your favourite brother.

The sheer pain of losing your parents drives you crazy, and you stay inside your room, buried in thoughts and memories of the past. You hear footsteps, and a familiar voice calling to you - "We must go, Prince." You shake your head, and cry out loud that everybody leaves you in the end, until you heard him say, "I'll stay with you."

You are sitting in your corner, grieving over the lost of your aunt - she cannot be buried in the royal cemetery, for her betrayal demands so, and the next best happens to be where you are now. You do not cry, because you cannot cry - and Kyle walks forward and presses you close to him in a bear hug, offering you what solace and comfort he can in her absence. "I'm sorry," he whispers, and you know he is.

- but you liked him anyway.

§

You do not remember how you tracked him down. It first started when Lyon overhears rumours about a blond knight who has rid a village of attacking demons and creatures, on an island far up north. As you move further and further upwards, the stories grew bolder as the man defeats a deadly tiger, as the knight grows his hair longer and longer - the stories fit.

Lyon trails after you as you trudge mountain after mountain, cross the oceans and walk the islands -

She does not inquire as to what you are doing; she already knows.

Stopping by at the inn on one of the warmer islands, you spent a couple of minutes hearing the daughter of the owner gush over a man who had captured her heart but turned her down because he 'had someone he loved already'. She passes you the address, a strange twinkle lighting up her eyes before she commands you to take care of him and wishes for your good luck.

The directions are easy - you turn left and right, weaving between the houses and streets until you arrive by a plain house, fully white, and the irony strikes you.

You knock on the door and when it finally opens, you smile, throw yourself into his arms and cried your tears of joy.

§

You might have forgotten what he looked like, but you finally remember at last - an angel in disguise.

owari.

Notes: Jane wanted Kyle x Prince fic in exchange for her sleeping, so here it is, completed at last