I was struck with sudden inspiration on the bus while writing another fic and ended up spending two and a half hours straight writing this. This is one of a very small amount of fics I've ever finished and the only one that hasn't been a gift. I'm actually proud.
The actual story is just a little over 2000 words.
He sighed. The heat in the castle was always unbearable come Summer, but the prince's boredom was more oppressing. With nothing to do he had resorted to talking to the puffin doll he kept hidden beneath the large mahogany desk in the corner of his room. He rarely even saw his parents, the rulers of the kingdom, and the servants were almost constantly occupied. The guards were ever stoic, his tutors were boring for the most part, and he wasn't supposed to leave the castle. Now, after having chatted to the bird doll for the greater part of two hours, he was tired of being alone.
He wanted to do something fun with someone for once. His schooling covered only a few, uninteresting subjects. There was only so much entertainment to be had from memorizing your family tree. After you've gotten through the crazy uncles, it's just boring. Lunch was several hours before and dinner wouldn't be for several more.
He slumped and flopped onto his bed. He hadn't bothered putting on a proper outfit this morning, so he at least wasn't wearing stiff fabric over every part of his body. The white silk shirt and black linen trousers he did have on were both rolled up so he could breathe. He brushed his fingers over his fair, pale face. There was a mirror on the wall he studied carefully from time to time. He had stared into his own violet eyes and brushed the pale white hair from his face too many times to count.
People were often startled by his unusual looks. It wasn't often you saw a person of such fair skin and hair, not to mention unusual eyes. The king and queen weren't even as strange as him. He was called extremely beautiful by everyone he met, but Emil knew that if he weren't royalty he would have been marked as the devil.
There was a clash of metal travelled through his open window from somewhere outside in the castle grounds. He stood up and leaned against the sill. He gazed down and over the land beneath, past the bushes lining the sides of his home and out into the fields where two figures were. In the grass, a guard was sparring with a sorcerer. The sorcerer held the sword with confidence but was clearly unused to melee combat. He went to step forward and caught on his robes, sending him to the ground. The guard laughed. Emil was on the second story and a distance from them but could clearly make out the loud utterance the sorcerer expelled.
He yanked off the cloak, revealing his platinum blond hair, and grabbed something from the ground. The dark fabric had to have been stifling in the heat anyway. The guard also grabbed something from the ground while both set down the swords they had been using. Emil realized they had switched to wooden swords. They picked up sparring once again and Emil watched with a smile.
He had seen these two before, though he didn't know their names. The two would sometimes spar and sometimes just talk. They were close, and after accidentally seeing a more private moment between the two, one that thankfully wasn't too close, Emil was certain they were lovers. He was careful now to make sure he didn't intrude upon such a scene again. It wasn't uncommon for two men to be in a relationship, but relationships in general weren't a very public affair.
The two were talking while they fought, but the prince couldn't make out what was said. He leaned a bit closer and watched them move. The sunny blond guard had spiked hair that defied all physical laws and occasionally waved when he moved. He also had a bright and bubbly personality that was obvious even at a distance. He knocked the wooden sword from the sorcerer's grip and effortlessly placed his own at the other's neck. They remained like that for a minute, presumably discussing something.
Emil sat on the sill and leaned out with a firm hold on the window. He swung his foot outside the window, mildly surprised they hadn't noticed him. Or perhaps they had. He glanced down as he felt his shoe threaten to slide off his socked foot. He pulled it back up with his hand. The movement and missing grip upset his balance, causing him to tumble forward. He yelped as he felt himself fall. He dropped into the bushes, crushing them beneath his weight and tumbling onto the ground. It wasn't the worst fall and it didn't feel too painful, but it would certainly leave a couple bruises.
He blinked against the bright sunlight. He heard quick footsteps approaching.
"Hey, are you okay?" It was a brassy and loud voice that asked.
In a much calmer, deeper, and quieter voice came, "Your Highness, are you injured?"
He felt a pair of arms pull him up and he found himself looking into the worried blue eyes of the guard. He waved away the man.
"Huh? Yeah, yes. I'm fine, just a tumble. A bit of a drop." He shook his head and sat up.
"Are you certain, your highness." The sorcerer had crouched down in front of him, looking him up and down. He cast a glance up to the window.
"Yeah, it'll just bruise." He was startled by the sudden attention and worry.
"We can fetch the healer, your highness." It had been a drop from the second story, but he felt as well as can hope for after falling out of a window.
"No, no. It's fine. And stop that, would you?" He bit out.
"What did we do?" He looked over at the indigo eyes of the sorcerer and shook his head.
"Not you, the sorcerer. Stop calling me your highness. It's annoying." The man tilted his head.
"Fair enough, you did just fall from highness. And my name is Lukas Bondevik, the Northern sorcerer," he said with a cautious hint of a smile. The guard nodded and beamed.
"Yeah, and I'm Matthias Khøler, though I doubt you know me." Emil huffed. The name of the sorc-of Lukas was certainly familiar, but he knew the position for sure. He had never heard of Matthias, but he was just a normal guard, not in a distinguished position like that of the Northern sorcerer. Or any sorcerer really, they weren't all too common.
"I apologize for crashing into your spar." He forced himself up, working out the stiffness, and the other two followed suit. He tilted his head back and realized how much taller both of them were compared to him. Emil was only 16, but he was still short for his age and noticed it more when around others.
"It's not a problem! Though I wonder what you were doing taking an impromptu flight out of your window? Planning an escape from Royal life?" Matthias clapped him on the shoulder with an amicable laugh. Emil cringed as he hit a sore spot.
"I was watching your spar when I leaned a bit too far out to pull my shoe back on. I lost my balance and fell." He rubbed his back and Matthias flinched.
"Ah, sorry. But you were watching us?"
"Yes, I always watch you two." He groaned internally at how weird that sounded.
"Always? Just what have you seen?" It was Lukas who spoke. Emil stared him dead in the eyes.
"I made a mistake once and never made it again." Lukas pinched the bridge of his nose and yanked Matthias' ear.
"I apologize for anything you saw, your highness, Emil." Lukas bowed and dragged the guard with him.
"It's fine, it luckily wasn't too bad. In fact, I'm sorry for intruding. I was careful after that." He stepped back waving them off. "There's no need to bow."
They stood back up and Matthias had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed. He was scratching the back of his head.
"Well, if you're not injured, why don't you just stay here and watch us spar where you won't accidentally take a dive this time?" Was this man's only facial expression a smile? That was all Emil had seen on his face thus far.
"Please do, I'd rather not see you injured." Lukas checked him over again.
Emil nodded slightly, he hadn't expected to be invited to watch. In fact, he'd assumed the two would leave. He hoped quietly that they weren't just doing this because of his royal status. "Oh, if you don't mind."
This time it was Lukas waving him off. "It's no matter. No matter at all." Matthias nodded.
Emil moved towards the bushes where there was some shade to hide from the afternoon Sun while the two returned to fighting, occasionally glancing over at him where he stayed with a smile on his face. They sparred for quite a while despite the heat and kept their spirits up the entire time with conversation. He laughed at their banter. It was much more enjoyable watching them with the accompanying sound.
"Hey, come on now, Luka, are you really so bad you can't even muster up some strength in front of your prince?"
"Are you really so dumb you can't even have manners in front of your prince? I pity the farmhand who raised you." They were both smiling.
"At least I have the strength to lift my cutlery."
"At least I know what cutlery is." They spoke through huffs.
"Is that why you use your sword like a fork?"
"Is that why you throw yours around like a mad dog?" In between the clacking of wood, Emil could hear breathy chuckles.
"Can you even swing your own?" Matthias smirked as he knocked Lukas to the ground.
"You call that a swing?" Glared up at him with no real meaning.
Matthias stuck his tongue out at him. For all his insults, Lukas lost three consecutive times to the guard. After the third, he dragged himself over to the shade near Emil. Matthias trailed after. Both of them were sweating and breathing deeply, although Matthias was in much better shape.
They rested for a spell before said guard turned to him. "Hey, you want to try after this? I can make Lukas fight you if you don't want to fight me. Don't worry, anybody could beat him."
"Ah, I don't know how." He said so quietly.
"What do you mean you don't know? It's just sparring, not fencing. There are no fancy rules." He had his head tilted.
"I've never even picked up a sword." Lukas turned towards him at that. Matthias had an eyebrow raised and looked overly surprised.
"Seriously?"
"Uh, yeah." Emil scratched his cheek.
"Well, come on then! We'll teach you." Matthias grabbed his hand and yanked him forward, Lukas following.
"Oh, okay," was all he could say.
"Here, get the basic stance down first."
He followed Matthias' examples at every step, but frequently had to be corrected by the two men and dropped the wooden sword. It wasn't that they were bad teachers, they were the best teachers he had met, he just wasn't used to it. They were friendly and encouraging, it was nice to learn from them. Each and every time something happened, Matthias or Lukas would assure him he was doing great. Matthias occasionally made a joke and Lukas would often follow it up with a snarky comment. He had fun and enjoyed their company. It was nice.
Before he realized it, he was worn out, the Sun was setting, and he needed to return inside. It was disappointing to stop but still satisfying.
"I don't think I really accomplished much." Emil sighed.
"What are you talking about, kid? You're already better than Lukas, though that's not saying much." Matthias ruffled his hair. It was new, being touched and treated like a person. Spoken to like a friend. Emil decided he liked it. Lukas huffed and yanked Matthias' hair.
"You accomplished plenty." He straightened out the mess Matthias had made of his hair.
"And next time, use the stairs to come down and join us." Matthias grinned and began to leave. Lukas picked up his cloak while the guard held the swords.
"Wait, can I actually join you again next time you spar?" They looked back at him.
"Sure, we'd be glad to have you. You're fun to teach." Matthias threw him a smile. The prince echoed it with his own.
"Until then, Emil."