A small boy ran through the woods, away from the large, black birds. In his arms, he carried a small calico kitten. As he ran deeper and deeper into the dark, leaves and bristles scratching at his face, more crows began to flock around him, until he had nowhere left to run. He looked wildly around for a place to go, but there was no way out. Tears streaming down his face, he ran and slid under an exposed tree root, trying to hide.
"It's okay, Kitty, I won't let them get you." The boy whispered. He sat crying for a few minutes, until most of the crows flew away, leaving only a few which landed on various branches. "Look Kitty! They're leaving. You're going to be okay." He smiled and started to crawl out from in his hiding place, still holding the kitten gently in his arms. But when he stood, he found himself face to face with the largest black crow he'd ever seen. He cried out, and fell to the ground. The kitten slipped out of his hold, and started to scamper off, but not before the giant bird could fly forward and wrap its large talons around its middle, and start to crush it.
"Stop! Leave her alone!" The boy continued to cry, but could do nothing.
The black bird started to laugh. It was a deep, menacing laugh, that frightened the boy. But he did not run. He was scared, but he didn't want the bird to hurt the kitten.
"So, you want to save this little pest from me?" He tightened his grip, and the kitten mewled loudly in pain. The boy clenched his fists. "Well, what are you going to do about it, Prince?"
He was surprised. "How do you know who I am? And who are you?"
Again, the bird laughed. "I am the Raven. And you Prince, everyone knows who you are." The kitten mewed again, quietly.
"I said to leave her alone." The Raven released the kitten then, but it only lay still on the cold ground, barely breathing. The Prince looked at it through teary eyes, then stepped forward, and stared into the Raven's eyes.
His beak curled up into a strange kind of sneer. "I have no time for this. I must feed." He moved forward slowly, then lunged at the boy.
But the Prince was quick. He dove under the Raven's feathery breast, picked up the kitten, and continued to run. Behind him he could hear the Raven chasing him, weaving in and out of the trees.
Suddenly, the thrashing stopped. Cautiously, the Prince turned to look. The Raven was gone, and the Prince had arrived safely at the edge of the forest.
But that had happened a long, long time ago.
Now, he was waking up to a fiery morning sun. Prince Siegfried sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh no." He groaned. The sun had already cleared the hills to the east, which meant he'd slept too late, and wouldn't be able to go to the studio before breakfast. He scratched his head, and then started to get ready for his dance practice anyway. "I'll just slip down to the studio. No one will even notice I'm gone."
"Not notice the Prince gone missing? You really are stupid sometimes." Said a rough voice. Siegfried looked up to see a knight, dressed in black, standing at the open door. His best friend, Chevalier. "They already know you're not down there. Don't you know what day it is?"
"Um, no?" The Prince was putting on his ballet shoes. "And Chev, what are you doing here so early?"
"It's not early, it's nearly noon." Chevalier sighed, then continued sarcastically. "You really forgot? Today's the annual feast, Prince."
The Prince slapped his forehead. "Damn, I completely forgot!" He stood up and walked over to his friend. "And nobody came up to get me?"
"That's why I'm here. Breakfast is over. They just want you to watch over things." He rolled his eyes. "Not that you'll pay attention anyway."
Siegfried smiled. "It's kind of morbid, don't you think? Having a celebration to commemorate my parent's death, I mean." He said it jokingly, but he did really think it. Chevalier didn't say anything, and the Prince continued, "So..."
Chevalier frowned and rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming next. "What?"
"Ah, c'mon Chev, you know I won't be any good out there."
Chevalier sighed. "And you want me to cover for you while you sneak down to dance."
"Yes! Please, just this once? And I'll come by later, before the feast, I promise." He grabbed his things, and ran for the door, stopping just before stepping out to catch a look at Chevalier, who was shaking his head.
"You know, one day you'll actually have to do some work. When you turn 18-"
"But I'm not yet, am I?" He grinned at his friend. "You really need to loosen up, Chev. Why do you always get this way around social events?"
Chevalier grinned back. "Not around social events. Only when Tullia visits."
Siegfried turned bright red. "Shut up, Chev! Tutu's just a friend."
"Oh, sure she is! Get out of here, Sig." He shoved his friend out of the room and pointed over his shoulder down the corridor. Then he held up a finger, and called to him as he ran down the hall. "Just one hour!"
"Right! And Chev, don't let the party start without me!"
Again, Chevalier shook his head and rolled his eyes. Then he walked down the corridor in the opposite direction the Prince had ran off in.
Down on the front lawn, dozens of maids, butlers, and chefs were bustling around, preparing for the feast. Every year, on the first day of winter, the kingdom held a ball in memory of the King and Queen, who had both been killed by the monster Raven when the Prince had been but a child.
The Raven had spent years slowly preparing himself for an attack on the kingdom, but when he decided it was time to make his move, the kingdom had already been warned by an old fortuneteller. She had told the King and Queen that the only way to stop the Raven was to hand themselves over to him, and that he would then be appeased, and leave the kingdom. Being a reputable fortuneteller, they believed and trusted her visions, and chose the sacrifice over the destruction of their kingdom. This was the story that had been told for the last decade, and also the only one the Prince had ever heard.
The fortuneteller had also foreseen that, on the Prince's 18th birthday, the Raven would return, and there would be a great battle between the young Prince and the Raven, one in which the Prince would reign victorious, but would sacrifice much. Not wanting their son to grow up with this burden, his parents chose to only tell those who would become his guardians, including Chevalier, who was two years older than Siegfried, and also his closest friend. Because of this, the Prince had grown up, unawares of his fate, sheltered in the castle from the Raven.
This is why the kingdom held the feast every year, as a reminder of the sacrifices the kingdom's leaders had made to protect it, and the one's the Prince would eventually need to face. Though it had been 12 years since then, and the story of the Prince battling the Raven had become more of a legend than a prophecy.
When Chevalier returned to the preparations, he was swarmed with workers asking where the Prince was.
"He'll be down in a little bit. He's just getting ready. Surely you can get by without him?"
The workers grumbled and walked away, all except for the head butler, "No, we can't. He is supposed to be making sure everything is perfect. We are, after all, honoring his parents."
"And that is why he needs some time alone right now. He was not feeling well when I checked on him. He's having a harder time than usual."
"I'm sure he is, but this is important-"
"No. The Prince needs some time alone. And you aren't going to disturb him." Chevalier added in a slightly threatening tone.
The butler closed him mouth, looking angry, then turned to go shout at a chef who wasn't rushing about like everyone else.
Chevalier sighed in relief. If any of the servants had found out what the Prince was really up to, there was no doubt that complaints would be made. After all, he was supposed to become the King on his 18th birthday, which was only months away, and sneaking off to dance when important events are occurring isn't what people want their King doing.
Chevalier decided to go speak with the guards, and ask if there had been any sightings of the crows in the forest.
...
Back in the ballet studio, Siegfried was lost in his dancing. He usually enjoyed doing his dancing to lively music that made him think of happy times, but today he was only listening to simple, possibly depressing music that reminded him of his parents.
When people asked if he remembered them, he'd always answer "Of course I do," and then go on and on about how wonderful they were and how much he loved and missed them both. But in truth, he barely remembered them at all. He didn't have many memories of them, slightly because he hadn't been very old, but mostly because they had always been in meetings or attending society functions. He didn't blame his parents for it, he knew this is what the rulers of a kingdom needed to do, and he respected it, though there were times when he wished they had spent more time with him. Yet he knew this isn't what people wanted to hear, and so he scratched together everything he'd ever heard anyone else say about his parents and passed them off as his own memories whenever someone asked.
At that moment, he was thinking an awful lot about the dream he'd had the previous night. It wasn't uncommon. In fact, he had had that specific dream many times over the years, yet for some reason it was bothering him more than usual. It was a memory of course, of the first time he'd seen the Raven. When he had returned to the castle, no one would believe that he had seen a crow larger than a human, and that it had spoken to him. Except for Chevalier, who'd found him at the edge of the forest.
"Prince, what are you doing way out here? It's not safe." He had said, extremely worried.
The Prince of course had been out of breath, but had managed to speak through his heavy breathing. "I was - gasp - saving this cat - gasp -from some crows."
"Sig, I'm sure a cat can protect itself from a few ratty birds."
But he shook his head, his eyes as large as saucers. "But Chev, these crows were, they were huge! And one was talking to me!"
Chevalier had looked rather unbelieving. "There aren't any birds that big out here, and certainly not any that can talk-"
"But look!" He'd held out the cat. The he'd realized that it had stopped breathing. "Wait, Chev, is it-"
"Goodness, Sig, what happened? It looks like every bone in it's body is broken..."
At that point the Prince had started crying again. "He killed it! That nasty Raven killed it!" He slumped down on the ground, and continued crying into his hands. "Chev, why would he kill her? She hadn't done anything to him."
The other boy sat down next to his little friend, and held him close. "So, there really was a giant crow in there? How did you get away?" But Siegfried had just kept on crying into his shoulder. Later when they returned to the castle, no one would listen to them, and the kitten had disappeared. Two weeks later though, the King, the Queen, and at least six townspeople had been taken and had their hearts devoured by the Raven, and there was nothing Siegfried or Chevalier could have done to stop it.
Siegfried stopped dancing. For the first time in a long time, he felt himself start to cry real tears. But they were for the memory of the kitten, not his parents or any of the people, that he was sad. Since then, he had never been able to stand by and allow anything innocent or weak to be harmed. Such innocence did not deserve to be frightened or hurt, and he would not allow it.
For a few minutes he stood still and cried softly, but knew it was about time he made his way down to the feast for preparations. At least now my grieving excuse will seem plausible. He thought. When he opened the door, though, a young woman, maybe his age, stood on the other side.
"Hello, Prince."
She had surprised him, so he dropped what he was carrying and took a step back. "Who are you, and what are you doing in this part of the castle?" He'd never seen her before, and he didn't need anyone knowing he was there in the studio.
"I am the wizardess, Lorelei." She swept her arm in front of her chest and bowed low rather than curtsy. Her jet black hair was short, and she wore a dark red and black dress, as well as a cape with a hood, held in place with a large pearl brooch. "Granddaughter of your royal fortuneteller. I'm here visiting, but it seems I'm a little lost."
"Yes, you are. She lives in the west wing, on the opposite side of the castle. This corridor is off limits to everyone except me and my courtiers."
"I suppose I should leave, then. See you at the ball." She bowed again, slightly, and began to walk away. Before she got too far, though, she turned and smirked, "Nice leotard, by the way."
Once the girl had disappeared around the corner, the Prince gathered his things and left for his room in the same direction as she had gone. He'd need to change for the feast, and he was running way late. At this rate, he'd wouldn't get there until the feast had already started.
When he got to his room, Chevalier was waiting inside.
"Where have you been? The Princess will be arriving any minute and you're supposed to meet her at the gate!"
"Calm down, Chev, I'm sorry. I was on my way back when I got stopped by someone." He looked out the window. "And I can see her carriage from here, and it won't be at the gate for at least another 15 minutes, giving me plenty of time to get ready."
Chevalier sighed yet again, then went for the door. "Just hurry up, okay?" But before he closed it, he stuck his head back inside. "Wait, who stopped you?"
"Just some girl, it's not important."
"What was 'some girl' doing in the east wing?" Chevalier asked suspiciously.
"She was lost, I don't know. She said she was looking for the fortuneteller lady's room. Lorelei's her granddaughter." Siegfried said, absentmindedly.
"Lorelei? But the fortuneteller doesn't have any family-"
Siegfried threw his hands in the air. "Geez Chev, does it really matter? Look, she's going to be at the feast, so just go find her. I'll be out in few minutes."
Chevalier stepped out, and started to hurry towards the front gate. But then he turned down the corridor leading to the west wing. The Prince didn't seem to think this Lorelei girl was of any importance, but the Knight felt that something was amiss. He slowly ascended the staircase, and was about half way up when he heard a shriek coming from the tower. He ran up and when he reached the landing met a young woman with black hair. Her face was as white a sheet.
"Help me please, my grandmother, she's not breathing! I walked in and-and-"
"Miss, please calm down, alright? Tell me what you're talking about."
"I just got here, and I walked inside and she was just-" Then she fainted, right there into Chevalier's arms.
"Hey!" He laid her down gently, then looked at the bedroom door. "What the hell is going on?" Unsheathing his sword, he slowly pushed the door open, but only found the old woman lying motionless on the floor.
"Oh god." He quickly knelt down next to her and felt for a pulse. But there was none; she was dead. He stood up and rubbed his sweating face. "Its' not suspiring, I guess she was over 150 years old. But-" Then he realized. "But that girl was-" He rushed outside to confront her. "Hey, you! You're-" But the fainted girl was gone. "Great."
...
It was almost time for the Princess to arrive, and now there was a strange woman wandering around. "Well this is just perfect. Now I have to go track her down." he grumbled. But really, he was slightly glad to have something to do. Dancing was not his idea of fun.
Down on the lawn, the Prince was already escorting Princess Tullia up to the castle. She was dressed in white and pink ballet getup, open in the back with wings at the base that almost seemed to flutter as she walked. Around her face and in her blonde hair she wore swan feathers. Even without her costume, though, Tullia was one of the most beautiful and flawless creatures that existed.
The Prince and Princess hadn't known each other for as long as Siegfried and Chevalier had, but they were still very close, almost like brother and sister.
"Oh, Prince, there are so many people here..."
"Don't worry, you're going to do wonderfully."
Tullia wasn't sure. "What if I screw up? They'll just laugh at me, again."
"No, they won't. You're a great dancer, Tutu. If anyone screws up, it'll be me."
The two walked up to the main table to take their seats. In a few minutes, though, they would need to head out on the stage, where they would perform a pa de deux for the people to watch. Tullia was worried, since the last time she had danced on stage, she'd tripped up, and nearly broken her ankle. Luckily, she had turned out fine, and Siegfried had suggested they dance at the annual festival. She didn't really want to, of course, but how could she turn down a chance to dance with her Prince? She knew he only thought of her like a sister, but Tullia had known she had loved the Prince from the moment she had met him. Yet she had never told him.
Today is going to be different. She told herself.
...