Prince and the Pauper
Okay, so I watched Barbie: the princess and the pauper….do not judge! Lol. I was my with my younger sister! :P
I thought about how it would be if it was VK style, Ichiru and Zero…Oh, ooohhh… KaZe style! (Cause I can't stomach Yume or Zeki….I want her out of their lives (no offense to Yuuki's fans, she just makes them both soo miserable..XC)…. Though I wouldn't hurt her, because I'm just a KaZe fangirl and not some murderous nutcase XD
WARNING: English is not my first language, so I'll probably have lots of mistakes. I don't have a beta reader either cause I don't know how that stuff works and I don't want to complicate my life...sorry if my english sucks to you T_T
SUMMARY: Tasked to marry someone, but finding yourself falling for another….The wheels of fate start to turn when you find yourself in the shoes of someone else. K/Z, I/M
Disclaimer: Woe is me for I own only the breadth of my existence. And this cup of swiss miss….oohh la la….I can now afford a proper drink ;D
VK no mine. Hino own VK.
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A bright and raging light exploded and surrounded my feeble peasant form.
It was unyielding and unkind; its very glow exposed me into the sorrowful future that had
been, all along, fated for me;
and its ironic brand of steel marked my memoirs in black- forevermore
plunged, and lost in the darkness…..
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Chapter 1: The City of Gold and Grit
The cathedral bells' song resounded from the dome of the structure, bouncing off the walls, slipping through every fissure, floating over every alcove, and finally exploding its vibrant chorus all throughout the cobblestone streets of Westria.
It signaled that night had entered the extravagantly glamorous city, and every up-and-about citizen was to stop his busy banters and musings to say a monotonous but respective 6'oclock prayer.
Everyone, of course, did just as they were conditioned to do, except—
"Arrest that boy!"
"Move out of the way!"
"Stop, you penniless bread thief!"
Those who heard the incoming disturbance could not bring themselves to ignore the commotion. Discreetly, with their hands still positioned in prayer, their defiant eyes and slowly moved sideways, and just in time too, to see an agile form sprint through them with a handful of city guards trailing, a pitiful several feet, behind him.
"How admirable, he is quite fast, mama!" a twelve-year old girl, roughly the same age as the thief, tactlessly mentioned upon the sight.
"Blasphemous, young child! Do not speak of the dirt and the devil's advocate in such wild praise during our prayer!" her mother ruthlessly tugged on the hem of her sleeve, before returning to her dull mantra.
The said unlawful child paid no heed to them, and concentrated instead on positioning his body with each and every turn, making sure not to barrage himself onto the outwardly fervent citizens.
At one moment, he peered back to see if the sentry were still in sight.
It was just pure ill luck that he crashed upon an overly dignified woman, who shrieked upon contact with him.
"Vile rat from the slums! You dare smear me with the grease from your skin!?"
Before the poor boy could untangle himself from the plumage of her dress, he was cruelly pushed off straight onto the rocky pavement.
"Teach the scum a proper lesson, make him remember his place!" a middle-aged man picked up a pebble from the street and the others, having seen this, followed suit.
No sooner than the words were spoken that a volley of stones assaulted the young boy. They threw with all their might, the possibility of killing the young and helpless boy was lost on them. He valiantly shielded his emaciated body from the onslaught, but his main concern was holding his hood in place to make sure that his face and silver fringe were concealed from the crowd's eyes. Such an awful scene played during this time of night, contradicting the holy hymn of mercy that rode in the wind, now completely disregarded by the hateful mob.
"Clear out! Clear out I say! What is going on here?"
The guards on the trail of the thief had now caught up. They pushed against the populace in order to see the cause for the street to saturate with onlookers.
Upon seeing them, the group hurriedly dispersed, in order to wash their hands from the disorder that they had willingly caused.
As the group thinned out, the poor boy gathered all the strength he could muster and slipped away.
Away from the maddeningly avaricious city of Westria, and into the equally maddening darkness and poverty of the slums.
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"Let me go, you castle dogs! Don't accuse me of a crime I did not commit!"
Jinmu struggled against the throng of soldiers that had pinned him helplessly on the mud. Despite the fact that they had stepped in his territory, the slum dwellers refused to aid him and instead resorted to closing their shutters and blowing their candle lights off.
They did not want to be a part of this.
If the nobles had a whole constitution,
In the slums, there was one rule that rose above others.
It was every man for himself.
Not quite the fair battle when the prosperous nobles coalesced their power and influence in order to push the poverty-stricken further into the ground, and most probably preferred, six feet underground.
"This man, Jinmu, man from the slums, is accused of anarchy towards his highness Lord Asato Ichijou, of the noblest order. This man is sentenced to death-by hanging!"
The charged man was dragged towards the city, the door towards his untimely death.
A chill ran through every bone as a ragged cry pierced the stillness of the night.
With every step, his words rang.
They reverberated in the dwelling he no longer had the liberty to go home to.
"I am innocent….."
The steps never faltered. The heartless men marched on.
"I am innocent!"
Inside a filthy shanty, large warm hands held onto the shoulders of another who could not stop his whole being from quivering.
"Kaien, please calm yourself." The dark haired man drew circles on the other's shoulder blades, hoping that the act would somehow ease the heavy heart of his sorrowed companion.
"….If the noblemen resort to lies, we'll all be hanged…we'll all be dead." His voice was hoarse as he expressed the pessimistic thought that had inhabited his mind.
"They can try; it is not as if this is the first time they have tried to wipe us out." The taller man responded as he snatched a tattered coat from the nail on the wall that served as a coat hanger.
"Here…..take your coat and go…Zero must have already come home. There might not be any need for you to search for him anymore."
"I am very sorry for the trouble, Toga." He paused for a moment, before he spoke again. "…but that little boy is my life. I get scared when I think of the trouble that may befall on him."
"….You are a compassionate shoot in a multitude of barbs, Kaien."
The light-haired man only bowed in reply, before stepping outside the bitter cold.
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The miserable sight that met his eyes was one that rattled every fiber of his being.
There upon the grimy steps that led to his house, was a child. One tiny and feeble looking silverette: his clothes, caked with mud and his shivering body, covered with bruises that oozed with blood.
That poor child. That child who lived through nothing else but affliction.
Zero…
"Zero!" Kaien scrambled toward him and ripped as strip of fabric from the already ragged coat that hung on his shoulders.
"God from above, how did this awful thing happen?" The young boy only bit his lip as the older man began patting the bloody abrasions, clearing out the mud that had gathered on the edges.
"Ah, this will not do! I must soak this cloth with water." He inelegantly swung the decaying wooden door open. "Let's come inside where it is warm!"
Kaien had carefully washed and bandaged Zero before he took notice of the satchel that was wrapped with the silverette's cloak. Instinctively, he unfurled the cloth twisting around what seemed to be—
"Where did you get this?" his animated expression had withered away, leaving only lifelessness to stretch on his features. The child who this question was directed to only looked at his bare feet, all calloused from his frequent fleeing and bloody from the jagged edges of the stones that formed the city's path.
"Let me rephrase that now. Why…..did you steal this?"
As he had thought, the immediate reaction would be apparent.
Zero hunched and let out a whimper that he would never let out in front of anyone else. The need for pretense was strong in this boy.
This lost and little child was hurt.
"I was hungry…I was hungry." His breathing became irregular as he admitted a reason he never wanted Kaien to know. Kaien raised him and pulled him out of the darkness that enshrouded all that was supposed to be a part of him.
He had finally been found.
He didn't want Kaien to feel worried or feel any responsibility towards his actions. The other man had his own mouth to feed, and Zero did not want to be a heavier burden than he already was.
"I am sorry, for being weak-willed. But I tried to beg for alms…" the boy tried to suppress the hiccups that now taken reins over his body.
"I had hoped that…since it was Sunday…they would give me just a bit…of mercy."
The older man instantly drew Zero into a warm embrace.
He knew for sure what the young one had to go through.
A sleepy Sunday.
An accumulation of people dressed in fine silk and satin; embroidered textiles and the like.
And they were there, holding hands in church to exalt, singing hymns of love and life and the goodness of the Lord.
They were there….but they paid no heed to innocence wrapped in shame and misery, still armed with courage and hope that he might receive their goodness. Even for just that day.
As he stroked the soft tresses of the sobbing child in his arms, he decided that it would do good to pull Zero from the harrowing experience he had to go through.
"There is a place…a city called Valestania. It's a city surrounded by crystal clear rivers, and framed by strong and brilliant white walls. The markets and houses are filled with beautiful song and laughter. The white brick streets are dainty and neat….."
He peered at the face tucked in his arms, and smiled when he saw intelligent lilac eyes gazing back at him.
"And the best part is…you will never find any prejudice against the poor. In fact, the line that is supposedly drawn between the two sides is nonexistent. It varies so much from our city of grit and gold. In that place, Zero, Everything shines bright. Everything and everyone, shines like gold."
"….Why?" It was a simple reply, borne from the mind of a child who did not understand how the scorn and hate for the likes of him could so easily be nowhere to be found. Is such a place in existence?
"The rulers of the land, the Kurans, are kindhearted and are the true human embodiment of the angels we seek in our dreams and prayers. I am sure that, shall we ever step in their kingdom, we will be so much welcomed with dignity and compassion."
Kaien's face changed into a solemn look. Gently, he cupped Zero's youthful face, and spoke in a tone full of a promise to realize.
"One day, we'll pack our belongings and live there! They say it takes two weeks to get there riding a carriage….so on foot, it will probably take us months. But it will all be worth it in the end!"
He took Zero's hand and they playfully dramatized a scene of their travel towards their dream home. And then they laughed…..They laughed a laugh that they could never let loose from their mouths for so long. Would their past only be a dreadful nightmare they had no choice but to ride in passing?
Their shadows danced on the walls, a scene of joyful familial love showing, fueled by the light from a single short candle stick.
Their merriment would soon be over when the wick of the candle would end,
and then they would be pitched in darkness again.
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It did not take months as Kaien had said.
It took Zero almost four years.
It was a journey that embittered him and hardened his heart with each day, and the only reason he continued to travel was to carry out a promise he made.
The promise he was forced to make that night.
A truly dark night that had been.
The dimmest moment that Zero could remember about his life.
He was thirteen…just barely entering an age of bigger responsibilities, when that tragic moment was thrust upon him.
Guards from the city rushed in the slums' premises like ants. They were so great in number, that as they kicked down each door they could see, the inhabitants of the house they broke into could only press their heads on their cold dirt floor as question after question were assailed at them.
They were evidently looking for someone.
Somehow, it never crossed Zero's mind that it was Kaien Cross.
He was thirteen…..when they took away his only life support. At that moment, he was frozen to the ground. Everything was moving too slow. They dragged Kaien Cross; a group of about a dozen. While everyone else simply turned their backs on the scene that they witnessed, Toga raced forward and violently assaulted the guards. Without mercy, he was struck on the shoulder, causing him to bleed profusely.
"Take him away, take them both away!" The head of the guards barked orders at his subordinates.
At that moment, Zero's will to live had disappeared. But before he could do anything rash that would, beyond doubt, end his life, his guardian called out to him in the caring tone he would always hear.
"Valestania…..clear rivers…and high brick walls….your home...your home!"
Zero's eyes immediately dripped with tears. Up to the end, Kaien had always been most concerned with only him. The young boy couldn't find it in himself to disappoint this man. With the heaviest heart he had ever carried for the time that he lived, he turned away and walked.
He walked on and on, not stopping until the city was far from his view.
It was so abrupt, but he would go without exchanging goodbyes.
Without knowing where or how Kaien Cross would live and end his life.
The backdrop of the city of gold; so beautiful, and blazing bright with the colour that draped on the rooftops and walls. But in Zero's eyes, they peeled away.
Westria, the city of gold.
Westria...The city of grit, of vanity and avariciousness...of all things that housed a nightmare for the wretched and enslaved.
Drops from the sky began to fall, and he realized he had nothing with him except for the clothes on his back which would soon be drenched with rain.
The rain had concealed his tears. A deception for himself…..just as always.
Years after, he's still here, still wearily trudging on.
But he walked so slowly; as slow as when he started this journey.
His feet were 'remembering'.
The memories of blood and dirt.
The dust and mud that stuck to his weathered shoes reminded him of everything he had to go through.
Leaving Westria had not been the end of his troubles. It was the same for each city and town he visited. Whenever he stopped by at places, he would have to resort to stealing food and necessary items as always. And when he became notorious, he would leave for another city.
The last place he settled in had been an unfortunate experience for him.
While nabbing a few goods from a merchant's stall, he was seen by a patrolling guard. Immediately, he made haste to exit that city, but he never expected hounds to be chasing him out.
Trusting and loyal, they were, to their masters. But to Zero who had unluckily been the one they were in pursuit of, they were nothing but vicious and unforgiving. He ran through the forest that bordered the city, but the darkness of the night dimmed his vision, and several branches struck his head and ripped his clothes and skin. The cloak covering him was caught by a shrub, but he had no time to spare for retrieving it.
The animals were at a superior advantage of having good vision, and when Zero slowed down a bit, they were able to brutally bite him.
A few hours had passed already when he was able to lose them. He had the vaguest idea of where he was; but then again, he was never sure of the directions he had taken.
As he walked on another city came to view, albeit a little foggy from the hazy mist of that morning brought. But Zero could hear the soft sound of flowing water.
A few feet ahead, Zero was sure of where the sound was coming from.
There before him was a river, with water so crystal clear, you could see the fish bristling through at the very bottom.
Zero couldn't help but hope, and leave everything to faith as he viewed the city the body of water was surrounding.
"There is a place…a city called Valestania.
It's a city surrounded by crystal clear rivers,
and framed by strong and brilliant white walls.
His eyes fogged up at the sight.
There, just across a white stone bridge, was the most beautiful city he had ever seen.
A city as white as the drizzle of snow.
He walked in awe. For the first time, his steps weren't heavy with burden of sorrow.
They were light.
He closed his eyes and remembered the night his late guardian took his hand, as they both pretended that they were walking in the city that they could only dream about.
"Heavens! What happened to you m'lord!?" A guard suddenly grasped his bloody shoulder before deciding to aid him in walking towards the city.
Another guard saw them both, and his face suddenly morphed into a grief-stricken look.
"I'll call the rest of the guards! We must take our lord to the castle's doctor! Find a carriage to take him!" the man bolted off in an impressive speed.
Before Zero could comprehend what was occurring, he was gently guided into a carriage pulled by six horses.
"My lord, be safe, and may God be with you!"
Before Zero could reply, the carriage started quickly and moved in a speed that dizzied him. He leaned his head on the window, only to be greeted by scenery that made his heart fill with warmth.
Children were dancing in the streets. People were embracing.
How can you distinguish the poor from the rich?
The joyful from the morose?
With his eyes, Zero could only see wonderful things.
The markets and houses are filled with beautiful song and laughter.
The white brick streets are dainty and neat…"
The footman gently helped him out, while several attendants supported him as they moved towards the grandest entrance Zero had ever seen, but could not describe fairly well because his sight was spinning.
"It's no wonder he never came to his wedding day! He was attacked!"
He slowly turned his head at the sound of footsteps nearing.
A brunette girl all dressed in white put her gloved hands on her lips and wept at the sight of his wretched state.
"…Ichi..ru…Wh…why….H-how?"
She couldn't utter even a single proper word and from the severity of her grief, she fell to her knees and cried hysterically.
"Yuuki, calm down….."
"We must take him to the Infirmary, now!"
The people were all in a frenzied state and Zero felt his head ache at the noise. When his sight was spinning out of control, a warm hand slid into his, and Zero, despite the difficulty of staying conscious, had to search for the owner of that hand.
His eyes locked onto a face that made him question whether he was still alive or already dead and readily entering the realm of heaven.
The man he was hazily gazing at unexpectedly spoke to him in a voice, low and pleasing to the ears.
"Hang in there, Ichiru. You will be saved."
His surroundings turned black, and he went to a deep sleep; with the memory of burgundy eyes staring back at him.
The Kurans, are kindhearted,
….and are the true human embodiment
….. of the angels we seek in our dreams and prayers.
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Hi, thanks for reading.
please leave a review to tell me if you liked it.
Update: Story will not be abandoned. :D
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Thanks to those who read and reviewed my other story. :)
Gotta go study now! I wasted so much time, lol.