The Dragon Blade Chapter One: The Life of a Lily

Dear Diary,

Shining walls and polished floors. This prison is filled with diamonds and jewels, but even if the walls shine and shimmer, it will always be a prison.

My full title is Princess Liliten Zwingili of Reindori. My life was simple at one time, when I was just Liliten. The days were easy-going and slow. My brother Vash spent half the day with me, the other half training with our Uncle Vash, the king of Reindori at the time, when he was around. Some would claim they were so close because my brother had been named after our uncle, but I watched them. A name can't bring people together like that.

Everything changed when he died.

That funeral was the first time I had ever seen my big, strong brother cry. I was only three, but I remember it clearly. I took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. It was the only thing I could do.

Our uncle had no children, so his brother, our Grandfather Loliton who I was named after, took the throne. A month after the funeral, he was crowned king. Only after that did things truly begin to change.

For weeks at a time I wouldn't see my parents. They never did take much interest in me or my brother, but once they were in line for the throne things got much worse. They spent all their time at parties making friends with all those in the upper class of the kingdom. Often they would take Vash, who would be king one day. Even so, my brother always tried to be with me when he could.

But for when Vash wasn't there, Grandfather was. At noon, after my lessons, I would knock on the door of the throne room. No matter who was there or what work needed to be done, he would let me sit on his lap and tell him about my day. On days when he wasn't busy Grandfather would tell me a story or we would play games.

He knew what lay ahead for me. He knew there was a war going on. But he also knew that talk of war and politics was not good for a little girl.

Years went by and I began to see Grandfather weaken. His movements became slower and he began to look more fragile and less like the soft, strong bear I knew as a little kid. It tugged at my heart to watch him grow older, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it. The time I spent with him changed. We played card games and chess instead of tag and hide-and-seek. I talked with him more and more, as if knowing but not yet accepting that his time was nearing an end.

I was thirteen when that day came. I walked into the throne room, only to find that he wasn't there. The maids explained to me what had happened. Grandfather had collapsed just after breakfast. At the current moment, he was in bed. Doctors couldn't help him, so it was just a matter of time. I went right to his chambers and sat by his side. I talked like it was just another day for us, but tears welled up in my eyes with every word.

"The weather is nice today. Not a single cloud in sight and-"

"Liliten, please don't cry. I need you to listen carefully, now. Be happy. If you don't have a happy life, then what was ever the point of living? Let no one tell you otherwise." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Things are about to get much harder for you, I'm afraid. Ask Vash to tell you everything. Better you hear it from him than anyone else." I nodded, fighting off tears. "Good. Remember, be happy." With that he closed his eyes, and never opened them again. At the funeral, Vash held my hand just like I had held his all those years ago.

That night, I told Vash what Grandfather Loluton had said. He explained to me everything Grandfather had never told me.

To begin with, Reindori has been in a war with Camiera for more than thirty years. It was named the Oceanic War because it's all been between ships, neither getting close enough to land in order to use troops. It's all been a back and forth struggle for land. It all started once the two countries had taken over all of the small countries on their own continents. Wanting to expand, they turned to each other and the war began.

Then Vash told me how our father, now the king, planned to end it. He wanted to wed me to the Camiera prince, someone I had never even seen. Even so, the preparations were being made. I would be married as soon as I turned sixteen. At the time I thought that three years was long enough.

It passed by all too quick.

And now the day is here, which is why I write now, dear diary. You are Vash's present to me this year, and you came with a lovely purple ribbon. I stole away from the party in order to write this. I hear footsteps though. It's Vash; I know because I smell money and gun powder. As strange as it is, I find the smell of these things comforting.

Before I go, as I'm sure brother will try to take me back to the party, I just want to say what I wish for. I wish that I could live freely. No more polished floors and shining walls of a prison. I just want to see the world.

That's all for now, dear diary.

~ Liliten Zwingili

A blonde with short hair and a pink dress closed a small, brown book just as another blonde walked in. Prince Vash was dressed in the Reindori uniform and looked as handsome as ever, in Liliten's opinion.

"Liliten, what are you doing here? It's your party, ya know," he said.

Liliten nodded. "But I can't see much to celebrate.. And I just wanted to write a bit in the journal you gave me."

Vash sighed, never really the one who was able to scold his sister. "I know you don't want to go back out there, but you have to. It's your last day at the castle, so please try to make it a good one."

"Why? It's the same as it was yesterday. The other castle will be different, but I'll still be locked in it," she said.

"Lili, please-"

"There's a lot of things I haven't seen and now I'll never get to see them. I don't know what a beach is like, I don't know what a tree's bark feels like, and- and-"

"Lili," Vash said, using Liliten's nickname, "I know you don't like this, and if I could trade places with you, I would. But I can't. I know it isn't fair, but I'm still just a prince. Neither of us can do anything at the moment. So please, don't let my last day with my little sister be a bad one."

Liliten nodded sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Now let's go enjoy your party," he said, placing her tiara in her hair with the purple ribbon. Vash left the room, and Liliten took one look in the mirror. The girl staring back at me... I'm sorry Grandfather, but she's not happy.. She'll try to be, but it's very hard to be right now... She shook her head and followed her brother back into the ball room, leaving all signs of sadness behind besides the look in her green eyes. Liliten faded as the princess everyone wanted to see took her place.

Yes, these shinning walls and polished floors may be pretty, but it will always be a prison...

The next morning, Liliten sat in the carriage headed towards the dock. Vash sat next to her, explaining a few last things as they traveled down the cobblestone streets.

"Your luggage has already been loaded onto the ship, The Battle Axe. It should take four weeks to get from here to Camiera. I'll write you as soon as I can. The messenger hawk was trained to find the ship you're getting on and-

"Brother..." Liliten said, turning to him, "I can't thank you enough for being my friend after Grandfather died. I'll miss you. More than anything I believe you'll make a great king."

"Liliten-"

"Next time I see you, this war will be over. And that's what this is all about, right?"

"Liliten... I'll miss you too. Please try..try to be happy."

A small blonde man opened the carriage door, trying to look as dignified as possible with a tiny white dog running around his feet. "Princess, the ship is ready to leave."

Liliten nodded. "Goodbye Vash." She stepped out of the carriage.

"Good luck... and good bye, sister."

Vash watched as the ship sailed away, and only when it was completely out of sight did he order the carriage to take him home. He took one last glance at the sea as he left to go back to the castle. Lili.. Please find the happiness you're looking for.

The blonde man led Liliten up the boardwalk and onto the ship. The feel of wood underneath her shoes felt strange, but nice. Aboard The Battle Axe, the blonde man introduced her to captain before leaving. He had blonde, spiky hair and a long black coat.

"Hey there. I'm Captain Mathias. Lemme introduce you to the crew," he said. He pointed to a tall man with glasses securing the ropes. He glared at Mathias for a moment before continuing with his work. I get the feeling that that look was justified.

"That's Co-captain Berwald. He looks scary, but he's nothing really."

"D'n't p'sh 't, M'th's," Berwald said.

"Did I mention he speaks like he's eating rocks," Mathias laughed. "Don't look at me like that Berwald, you know I'm just joking."

"Su-san," the blonde man from earlier said as he ran up the much, much taller man. "Could you get Peter out of the crow's nest? He won't listen to me!"

Liliten looked up from where she was standing on the deck. Lo and behold there was a boy in the crow's nest. He looks younger than me! How could he possibly climb all the way up there? For that matter, how is he gonna get down?

"The little guy right there is Tino. He calls Berwald 'Su-san.' It has something to do with the name of the town Berwald lived in but I really don't know. The little brat in the crow's nest is Tino and Berwald's love-child," Mathias explained.

Liliten exclaimed, "Eh?"

Yet another blonde with a silver cross in his hair hit Mathias in the back of his head. "First of all, don't say things like that to a princess. Secondly, Peter isn't their actual child," he scolded.

"That was mean, Norge. It's not like I totally lied."

'Norge' turned to Liliten. "I'm Nicholai, Princess."

"Nice to meet you. You can just call me Liliten. May I ask why Peter is on this ship then if he's not related to anyone here?"

"His parents died out at sea. His brother didn't know how to handle him, so he handed him over to Berwald, who is a friend of the family. After that, Berwald and Tino took to Peter right away."

"Anyway, Norge, when is lunch gonna be ready?" Mathias asked.

"Eirik and I are working on it, but I had to come up here and make sure you weren't make too big a fool of yourself. Now show the princess to her room before I toss all your beer overboard," he said.

Mathias stuck his tongue out at Nicholai before leading Liliten below deck. "Our rooms are down here. That little tin over there is Hanatamago's bowl."

"Hanatamago?" she asked.

"He's Tino and Berwald's dog. Cute little thing as long as he doesn't trip me. Takes after Berwald like that I guess. Anyway, your room is right at the end of the hall. Make yourself at home. I'll send Tino down to get you when lunch is done."

"Okay. Thank you," she said. After Mathias left, she entered the room. A chest full of her clothes and various other items were against one wall. A mirror was placed above the chest, on the opposite side of the room to the small porthole. Liliten walked over to the bed that was set below the small window. She looked out at the never-ending ocean before grabbing a pen.

Dear Diary,

I am currently on the ship called The Battle Axe. I like the crew. They aren't like the maids at the castle. They don't treat me like I'll break like ice if I get near anything remotely dangerous. They don't act like the nobles and treat me like I'm some means of getting them higher in the world. I think I'm going to like my trip to Camiera. It's like the beautiful sunset that occurs before the dark night.

Even if it doesn't last, for a time, I think I could be happy.

~Liliten Zwingili

I'm back pplz! Hahaha! It feels great to post something again!

First off, plz don't mind the whole Lili and Vash deal. This is a BelaLiech story, but I had to toss in the brotherly/sisterly love deal.

Abviously a fiction story. Finally I can work on what I'm best at! HAHA! Finally I can say screw to the laws of physics, forget all levels of 'realistic' and let's see what we can do here!

To those who read Flowers, this story is gonna be so much better. You're gonna love it. I promise.

To any of those who haven't, you're gonna love it too.

This time, there is no schedule, so just keep an eye out for posts. Secondly, tons of couples will be popping up, but again BelaLiech is still the main thing here.

Lastly, you guys will NEVER guess who the Camiera prince is! Bwahahahaha-cough-hack-cough.

Stupid sinuses. -_-

Byes for now~ :3