Once upon a time, there was an extravagant, bustling kingdom, which was ruled by a king named Sigurd. He was a kind, talented ruler; respected by all his faithful subjects of that harbor town. The young king spent his days serving his townspeople, doing all he could to further serve his country.

Because he was a beauty of a man, his anxious mother hoped for a wedding. Many times, she would grant him permission to hold a great ball, in search for the perfect bride. But each time, the unwilling Sigurd would turn the offer down.

All in all, however, the mother wanted her son to wed for love, and not for power or money, and so she, too, waited patiently for that right person to take Sigurd's hand.

He lived in a beautiful castle estate, shared with his servants and mother. Every passing year, he was blessed with delicious fruits of his garden. He enjoyed the beautiful view of his lovely town from his bedroom balcony, from which, he could even catch the scent of the salty ocean's waters.

All of these beautiful things, Sigurd cherished, and he loved to own such beauty. As a proud ruler, he felt that such things should always be appreciated and respected.

But despite the young man's luxurious, lovely lifestyle, he longed for something a little different…


Taking a stroll around his beloved town, the young King Sigurd stopped by the morning market. According to his mother, he was to shop for crops of the season, such as watermelon or strawberries "in celebration of the newfound summer".

"Everything's so fresh and full of color!" Sigurd complimented to one of the vendors.

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he heard a nearby shop owner shouting in anger. The king paused his work to see a man grabbing a young boy by the shirt, and then roughly toss him out onto the streets.

The boy - perhaps equally as frustrated – yelled back at the man, "I'm hungry! I just wanted to have something to eat!"

He looks… about my age? No, a little younger, maybe.

Something drew Sigurd to the commotion. "Hold on, man. What's going on here?" He questioned the shop owner.

"I just wanted some food, and this guy gets all-" The aggravated boy cut in before the clerk could speak. In a rush of energy, he pulled himself back on his feet, not bothering to wipe the dirt off his dusty-looking clothes.

"S-sire, this boy is an avid thief around here."

Again, the boy quickly shot back, "Mercenary! I'm a traveling mercenary!"

"You have no right to steal what I've-" The large man strode forward to seized the boy once more.

"Sir, let me hear this boy's story." Sigurd calmly suggested.

"Well, I'm a mercenary." The young man put a hand to his hip, his posture leaking with attitude. "But 'cuz there hasn't been any work for a hard-working guy like me-"

Those eyes… So wide, big… And that wild, red hair… He…

"Give him here." Sigurd heard himself say.

"Y-your majesty?"

Thoughtlessly, the surprised boy spat out, "Heh, 'majesty'? What, this guy's king, or something?"

Ignoring the boy momentarily, Sigurd made an agreement with the shop keeper. "This boy is now my responsibility. I shall personally help you at your shop today to pay for the food he's stole."

"That – That's not necessary, sire! But by all means, please take this peasant off the streets." Releasing the boy, the man curtly thanked and bowed before his king, before returning to his work.

The redhead stood side-by-side to the king, shyly looking up into his azure eyes. "So… now what?"

This boy sure likes to talk.

"We continue grocery shopping. Your name?" I hope I didn't sound too demanding…

"Oh, yeah, my name's Hervey! Hervey the Furious!" Hervey struck a quick, dramatic pose, before adding, hopefully, "Heard of me?"

"Ah, no. I'm sorry. Anyway, I'm Sigurd. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, it's mutual, man!" Excited, Hervey grinned.

Such a talkative, energetic, interesting fool. This should be quite interesting.


...Yes, well. This story idea is quite lame, I know. It randomly popped in my head and said, "Write me!" And so I did.

As I write, I usually succumb to the odd thoughts that pop up. Later on in this story, you'll see what I mean; it just keeps getting weird.