Chapter one
"Isn't it wonderful, harry?" the young prince asked, his intoxicating laugh filling the forest.
"What do you mean ,your majesty?"
The confused yet strict stare upon his older friend's face simply made him laugh even louder.
"The trees, the birds… nature itself!" he replied as he hopelessly attempted to gather some kind of excitement from the man at his side.
The prince sighed, placing a hand on the other's shoulder.
"Oh Harry, my dear friend, how I wish you could see the world as I do."
"How about princess Moira? Who knows, maybe she shares the same enthusiasm."
At the sound of that name, the prince's smile couldn't help but fade.
Princess Moira, the one he was meant to marry. The date? June 26. And oh how he dreaded that date...
You see, at the young age of seventeen, he was not yet ready to make such a commitment but he was prince Charles, soon to be Charles II, and he had to perform his duty to the throne. Well, at least that's what the king, his father, had told him.
"Your majesty?"
Harry's concerned voice broke the prince's thoughts.
"Oh hmm right, you may carry on to the castle, I'll follow in a couple of minutes"
"But the king said…"
"Yes, I know what the king said but my father has yet to realise that I am not a child anymore and that I'm capable of being by myself. So please, harry, just this once."
The older man nodded and made his way out of the forest, leaving prince Charles finally by himself.
Letting out a sigh of relief, the young prince allowed his back to fall onto a multicoloured pillow of leaves. Charles rested there for a moment, his eyes closing as he felt himself being mesmerized by the numerous voices of the birds surrounding him.
How peaceful, it was, how wonderfully peaceful… yes, but little did he know that that wonderful moment was yet to be interrupted by a loud crash, a crash immediately followed by a pained cry.
The prince got up as quickly as he could possibly manage, his hand flying to meet his fateful sword. However, his actions rapidly changed as he saw him. A man, around his age he was, a man clutching his right knee as he mumbled angrily to himself.
"Are you alright?"
Charles ran towards the stranger who, until then, had failed to realise the presence of someone other than himself. He didn't answer though, he simply stood up as quickly as he could and wiped his worn out trousers roughly with both hands.
"Are you alright?" Charles repeated a bit louder than the time before.
"Yeah."
The rude rough voice echoed in his ears.
The prince couldn't help but flutter as he now found himself gazing at the other's appearance more thoroughly.
Yes, the stranger was definitely around his age, though his expression seemed one of a much older man. However, that wasn't what had made Charles feel so strangely, it had actually been the fact that the man before him was indeed quite handsome.
Charles gulped; he could have sworn his heart had skipped a beat.
"Wow" he whispered to himself, gaining a rather confused look from the taller man.
He mentally shook himself. What's happening to me?
The man cleared his throat, clearly searching to wake the frozen boy.
"Oh! Hmm I'm sorry. It's just that uh… I'm… I'm Charles." the last words were thrown quickly, the nervousness of the young prince clearly being exposed.
Charles stretched his hand towards the stranger, who stared at it for a moment as if he was wondering whether he should reply or simply walk away.
He replied.
"Erik."
