So this story is set in somewhat modern day. The characters speak the same as we do now, so none of the whole 'Oh Fangy boy, where for art thou Fangy boy', clothing is the same as ours but capes/ cloaks are still a thing because why did they even go out of style in the first place? There are no cars or planes of any kind, no guns or advanced weapons and no modern building (i.e skyscrapers or office buildings). And in case you want a visual representation of how I imagine Fang and Max

Fang: looks like Denis Stoff

Max: Resembles Juliet Sims in 2016

If this is not how you'd like to imagine then then please, use your own imagination :) And most of the story will be set in third person omission, unless stated otherwise or if I get a special request to do first person. I hope you enjoy Under a Paper Moon!

Prologue

Flanan; was normally a tranquil and hushed kingdom on any other given day. But today, the streets of the villages were buzzing with the catastrophic news that spread through the kingdom like a wild fire within a couple of days, their king was showing symptoms of acute heart failure and was now bed ridden.

While although the people of Flanan were severely concerned over the well-being of their beloved king, they were also severely worried about the well-being of the kingdom, the only home most of the civilians had ever known.

Most people of the kingdom know their king as a man who not only ruled the people but ruled for the people, thus making him very well liked among his people. It was common knowledge that the king has no heir to inherit the thrown. The reason being that he has no queen, at least not now, but he used to.

You see, merely five years after he inherited the thrown from his late father, he married a duchess of a neighboring kingdom. Her name was Rosemarie, but more commonly known as Rose. She was certainly beautiful, with thick auburn hair and tan golden skin to compliment her cerulean orbs, she was most certainly a sight to behold. Being a duchess she also came from a wealthy family with many political connections. But none of these were the deciding factor for the king, Beau, to make Rose his queen. To put it simply, they were utterly in love with one another, they had been since they first danced together at a ball Beau's parents, the former king and queen, had hosted in hopes of finding him a suitor. So when it had been the proper time for him to choose a queen it came as no surprise Beau had asked Rose to marry him, to stay with him for the rest of their lives, however long that may be.

But after five years of marriage his beloved queen fell ill and ultimately passed away, shocking everyone when Beau had made the announcement to their people. The whole kingdom mourned with Beau for a little under a month.

Since then he hasn't even so much as attempted to marry another, even though that meant he would have no heir once he passed. And now with the impending possibility of the king passing and having nobody to rule them, the people of the kingdom fell into a disorganized panic.

In an attempt to settle the nerves of his people he came up with a solution, he would choose one girl of over the age of eighteen from the surrounding village of Airendale to become the heir of the crown when he passes. This proposition had calmed his people quite a decent amount, and within a few days everyone had settled back into their normal daily routines.

But what the king and the king's people failed to realize is that the new had not just traveled through their own kingdom, but also to several others. But only one took particular interest in this news, the kingdom of Delouche. Not very many people knew anything about Delouche considering until just recently it was very small in size and was led by an incompetent ruler. A little less than a year ago a new mysterious ruler descended onto the thrown and began gaining land through wars left and right, slowly but gradually climbing the ladder of success until it was one of the largest and most feared kingdoms. And yet for being such a large kingdom and one that was a household name, only few had even heard their king's voice, and even less had seen his face, and because of this the rumors quickly spread across the lands. Many believed that their former king went into hiding, others believed that their new king killed the former in cold blood in order to take the thrown and crown., but no one really knew the truth, making their king that much more feared.

Within the castle walls of Delouche all was silent save for the sound of leather dress shoes tapping against the cool black tile flooring of the grand castle, the sound echoing due to the high ceilings. The hall the male was walking down lead towards his king's study. Stopping in front of the hard wooden door made of mahogany the dark hair male rapped his knuckles on the door twice out of curtesy and wrapped his hand around the golden handle, pushing the door open before closing behind him once he passed into the threshold.

Before him sat not only his king but his close friend as well. He had his elbows resting on the moderately sized desk, which was covered in paperwork he no doubt still had yet to complete and his chin resting on top of his interlocked figures. His eyes opened immediately when he heard his door open, so to not let the intruder know he was dozing off mere seconds before they had entered.

His one visible blue eye narrowed a fraction upon seeing who it was that has disturbed him from his napping, the other eye being covered by his unruly thick hair.

"What is it now?" He asked, although it came out more so as an annoyed demand, to which the dark haired male standing across the room smirked mischievously.

"Now, is that any way to greet your best friend, which also happens to come bearing good news your majesty?" He clicked his tongue several times in a row while shaking his head back and forth, causing his dark hair to fall into his equally dark eyes. The king shrouded in the shadows, a popular nickname he had received from his people shortly after he took the thrown, quirked an eyebrow and sat up straighter and removed his elbows from his desk at the idea of good news. For the past couple of weeks, he had been bombarded with war statistics, trade agreements, and other kingdoms attempting to create alliances with him so that he would not declare war, which was all a huge hassle for him and just plain boring. Inclining his chin towards the other man and leaning back in his chair he signaled for him to continue.

"I'm listening." His voice bouncing off the walls of his study.

The onyx eyed man walked toward his best friend's desk until his was standing directly in front of it, he then leaned forward and placed his palms on the top of the desk shoulder length apart from one another. His face suddenly growing serious but there was a glint in his dark eyes.

"I'm sure you are aware of the kingdom of Flanan." To which the mysterious king nodded, urging him to continue. Most everyone knew of Flanan, those who did not were more than likely living under a rock or just plain ignorant.

Flanan is the largest kingdom, as of now, and is known for it's vast knowledge of medicine, whether that be medicine pertaining to animals or humans. This made Flanan have an abundance of strong and healthy farm animals available for trade and made their military quite impressive since they had access to such medicines on the battle fields, and was definitely something the king wanted in his grasp for his own selfish use.

The kingdom of Deluche did not have vast knowledge of medicine and their soil was not rich in nutrients so they did not have farm animals or even farms to begin with. But what they did have an abundance of was mines. They were known for their iron and steel weapons and their abundance of fine jewelry, which is where their income came from and how their military was such a force to be reckoned with.

"But what I am almost positive you are not aware of is the fact that their kind has fallen ill and will be appointing a mere commoner girl to rule the entirety of Flanan when he passes."

He removed his hands from the intricately detailed desk with a satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

The king's one visible eye widened in shock for a fraction of a second before he relaxed and a coy smile painted itself across his facial features.

Noticing his king's smile the raven haired male opened his rose colored lips once again to speak once more.

"Would you like me to send a declaration of war? Or even do something to start a war?" He asked excitedly.

The king, clad in a dark navy blue long sleeved button down with silver buttons and black slacks stood from his sitting position then walked to the window across the room to his left with long and even strides. He peered through the window, gazing at the world outside. He pondered the question for a bit before deciding that it would not be an effective idea to attack Flanan now due to the fact that their military was much larger than theirs and was still being commanded by the king, they would surely lose. But, on the contrary, is they were to attack when the kingdom was mourning and being controlled by a little girl who had no idea how to run an effective army, they were bound to win. His lips quirked upwards at the satisfying thought.

Not even turning away from the large window he replied.

"No, not yet at least. We attack as soon as their king passes and when they're at their weakest, understood? I'll send someone to monitor the kingdoms state from the inside until then."

The other male in the room bowed slightly.

"As you with your majesty. I will see go find someone to-"

"No, I will see to who the spy will be. Don't worry about that."

Nodding, the onyx eyed man left his king to his own thoughts.

Even as the heavy door closed with a quiet thump and his best friend left the room his eyes remained focused on the sky outside his study's window. A flock of birds flew overhead but that was not what his gaze was stuck on like glue.

Dark clouds were rolling over top of one another, steadily growing in size and succeeding in making the world darker, even if it was one in the afternoon. As the storm clouds drew closer and closer to the large castle he could see lightning flashing within the clouds and illuminating them to a light gray then back to dark gray.

Sighing he turned away from the window and walked back to his leather chair, falling back into it. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face.

"Looks like a storm's coming…"

I know I know this chapters short, but only because it's a prologue, so don't worry!

I would love to hear what you guys think about it so far. I'd even love to hear your ideas about what you think will happen! Reviews help me out a lot and are greatly appreciated. And constructive criticism is encouraged and greatly appreciated, flames are not.

Thank you so much and I'll see you next time!