"Akihiko!"

The silver-haired man turned his head, frowning distastefully as he caught sight of the man behind him, the owner of the lips from which his name had fallen.

"What is it, Fuyuhiko-san?" The older man sighed at his son's reply.

"Come on, Akihiko. I told you not to call me that."

"What is it then, father?" Akihiko revised mockingly.

His father frowned. "Now is not the time to be childish. I have important news, and everyone's been looking for you. You should stop running away from your duties and causing everyone trouble - after all, you are a prince."

"I'm not running away. I always come here so it's not like you don't know where I am." Akihiko frowned, feeling like his father was intruding on his sacred spot in the forest. Sometimes, no- all the time, he wished he wasn't a prince, so that he could be free of his father and his servants. He knew he could make money on his own through his side career in writing, so why did he have to put up with all of his family's fussing? If one could even call it a family. If often seemed more like a group of tense acquaintances tied by nothing but politics and these "duties" of which his father spoke.

King Fuyuhiko ran his fingers through his graying hair. "Please, Akihiko. We can no longer afford to be lax. Our kingdom is now at war."

"...And what does that have to do with me?"

"You are the prince! You have a duty to your kingdom."

"I never wanted this," Akihiko muttered.

"But it is still your duty. After today's war council, we've discovered that our neighboring kingdom Alexandria has sent assassins out to eradicate all of the higher-ups in our council -that includes you, Akihiko."

"So?"

"So, we've decided that you must go into hiding for the time being."

"So this is my grand duty to my kingdom? To go into hiding when the going gets rough?" Akihiko laughed bitterly.

"You are an important part of our kingdom's future. Right now, your duty is to stay safe, so that in case something happens to me or your brother, you can become our kingdom's pillar of strength.

"Please just bear with it for now. We have arranged for you to pose as a commoner. You will stay with another commoner, who has been carefully selected to serve as your bodyguard. Is this acceptable?"

Akihiko thought about it for a bit. He honestly didn't care about being protected, but as a personal hobby he had always been curious about the life of a common, ordinary person. Now was the perfect opportunity to find out more and even get the firsthand experience. On the other hand, that meant he would have to live with someone… he didn't like company, and he had no idea who his father would choose as his bodyguard. Then again, if I don't like him, I can always just run away. He pursed his lips. "Alright."

The king looked rather relieved that his son had given in so easily. "Thank you. The briefing is at nine in the conference room. Make sure you are there."

"Yeah, yeah." Akihiko waved a hand at his father as he walked further into the forest to muse over events apace.

Reluctantly, Akihiko trod back through the lean trunks of his beloved forest, his only escape from the everyday pressures of his household. It was always thick with tension, though everyone made an obvious pretense at being diplomatic to assure the public. The constant layer of superficiality that coated everything and everyone's pretentiousness sickened him and he scowled as he made his way towards the castle that had been his home for the entirety of his life.

Commoners must have it so easy, he thought to himself, wishing not for the first time that he was one.

"Akihiko! You're late!" His brother Haruhiko glared at him as his hand reached up to adjust his glasses.

"Hmm," was the younger prince's only reply.

Fuyuhiko never understood the cause of the friction between the two sons but noticed it nevertheless.

"Always doing whatever you want," Haruhiko muttered angrily. "Of course you would do that, even at such a time as-"
"That's enough," Fuyuhiko interrupted. "Thank you for coming, Akihiko; Haruhiko. Seeing as these preparations were made with great haste and telling as few people as possible, I will be the one to brief you both."

"Haruhiko, here are directions to the house that you are to go to. Your bodyguard resides there, and you will be a tenant of the house, so to speak.

"And here are your directions, Akihiko. On your papers there is also a small phrase written that you must use upon first entering their threshold, else you will not be granted entrance to their homes. They are taught not to let anyone else enter.

"Finally, we've acquired some commoner's clothing for you to wear for the duration of your stay. Be as courteous as possible, and do not show yourselves to anyone else unless it is absolutely necessary. We don't want anyone to find out where you are. Good luck to the both of you."

"When do we depart?" Haruhiko asked in a monotone voice.

"We wanted this to happen as soon as possible, so you are to leave this afternoon and you should arrive at your respective villages by evening."

They bid farewell and diverged to prepare for the upcoming trials.