It had been an eventful morning, to say the least. Her majesty the queen, (his darling little sister) had informed him she was taking her brutish human husband and going on a surprise anniversary trip for a couple of days, leaving the castle in his hands.

The screaming match that ensued had been vehement but in the end, she had won.

Having to care for the castle wasn't why Stoffel's face had turned beet red with anger.

She was leaving her sons: Gwendal and Conrart, in his care.

To make matters worse, Gwendal, (Conrart's usual keeper) had recently begun his estate studies making him unable to look after the youngest prince. Conrart was still too young to do much of anything on his own which left Stoffel directly in charge of his safety and well-being.

'Not that it matters', he thought to himself as he made his way to his chambers, 'I'll ditch him with the servants as soon as my sister leaves', what they decided to do with the boy, Stoffel couldn't care less. Unfortunately all hopes of ditching his nephew flew out the window when he reached his chambers and found his trusted friend and confident, Raven, holding said squirming child in his arms.

"If you don't look after him, her majesty has informed me to write to her directly." Raven said sadly, passing the child to Stoffel who held him like he was infested with parasites. "It's an order, sire."

Stoffel growled under his breath.

How dare she pitch Raven against him! She knew the man was loyal to them both, how could she do this to him? Order him to play referee? He wasn't a nanny and Raven didn't deserve to be put in a position to choose between him and his sister.

"I'm going to strangle her!" Stoffel howled, making the child in his arms go still from shock. He then began to whimper and cry, causing Stoffel to make a disgusted face before passing the child back into Raven's arms. "Quiet him! I can not handle this right now, not with so much that needs to be done." he snapped, rubbing his forehead as Raven gently patted the child's back, speaking to him in low tones until his whimpering ceased.

"Actually, your highness..." Raven said as he set the child down on the floor, where he clung close to the man's boots. "Your work is now my responsibility, courtesy of her majesty. What little work you have left will leave you with an ample amount of time to care for your nephew."

There was a long moment of silence as Stoffel seethed and Conrart absently played with the large silver buckles on Raven's boot straps.

"I believe she has planned this so that you'll..."

"Don't say it." Stoffel snapped, glaring at the other man. "I don't want to."

"So that you'll bond with your nephew." Raven said anyway, bowing apologetically.

He had to admit he was worried about leaving the child in Stoffel's care, if only because the man was negligent when it came to the needs of others, especially children. 'Stoffel,' Raven thought as he looked at the little mop of brown hair at his feet, 'Isn't the only one who's going to have a stressful week. Poor boy...'

"Please let me know if you happen to need my assistance..." Raven said before quietly exiting the room, leaving Stoffel alone with his nephew who seemed just as clueless about what to do with Stoffel as Stoffel was with him.

The child aged differently than Mazoku children due to his mixed blood. 'Half-human' Stoffel thought bitterly. Conrart was only four years old but he could already walk and say simple sentences. It was remarkable and disgusting how quickly he was aging.

"What do you want?" he snapped. The child flinched but didn't move otherwise at he stared unblinkingly up at him.

Damn his sister.


Two days passed where Stoffel did barely anything to care for his nephew, instead, turning him over to the maids and servants. This forced Raven to warn him (again) that he was under direct orders to report to her majesty, (what a joke!) if he didn't spend time with the boy.

In the end, Stoffel decided that he was going to be a bigger man, er... person, than his sister. He wasn't going to let her upset Raven by forcing the man to report negatively upon him. He was also determined to prove to Raven that he was a man capable of many things- including child care.

So, he begrudgingly began caring for his nephew.

Unlike his loud obnoxious father, Conrart was a quiet child. He didn't say much of anything, which made Stoffel think he might be mentally aging slower than his physical body was. He would ask the boy questions and would get nothing in reply, or only small head shakes of 'yes' and 'no'.

So here he was, sitting in a large ordinate drawing room being forced to spend time with his nephew. He couldn't just play with a child all day, (lest he go insane) so he busied himself by completing what little work he was able to forcefully snatch out of the hands of those who were put in charge of his duties this week.

Conrart was sitting a few feet away on the floor, surrounded by an entire bin of toys a servant had haphazardly dumped out for him. However, the boy didn't seem very interested in them as he absently picked through the bin while stealing occasional glances out the window or at the door. The room was so quiet, Stoffel forgot after a while that the child even existed until he was interrupted by large brown eyes and fluffy hair poking over his makeshift desk.

"Hi." Conrart said with a wide grin as he carefully set a small group of toy soldiers down on Stoffel's papers. "These are yours." he explained as he set an equal amount of toy soldiers down on the couch next to the man. "-and these are mine!"

So he could speak. How infuriating that he hadn't said a word until now, ignoring his questions completely. Stoffel tipped his papers forward, sending the carefully placed soldiers tumbling to the floor. "They're all yours." he said, turning away. "I do not have time to play."

"Noo," the boy shook his head as he carefully gathered the toy soldiers once more and again, placed them upon his work. "These are yours!" he exclaimed with the same smile returning to his face.

"Nooo," he said mockingly as he tumbled them immediately to the floor. "They're yours. Go play." Conrart looked puzzled as he picked the toy soldiers up once more- only this time he set them on the couch next to the man.

"They need to be here," he said as seriously as a child could, "to protect you!" Stoffel rolled his eyes.

"From what, exactly?" he asked, curious if the boy actually had thought up anything or was just being a child.

"From me." he said simply. "I'm a dragon."

"You're a dragon." Stoffel said, eyeing him. "What are you going to do?"

"Dragons fly!" he said excitedly, "I fly and they protect you."

"Do it quietly." he instructed as he picked up his quill once more and Conrart nodded before running back over to his pile of toys. Several moments of silence passed before Conrart suddenly began to run around the room as fast as he could, which wasn't terribly fast, but fast enough to give Stoffel anxiety that he was going to run into something and break it.

"No running!" he shouted.

Conrart slowed down considerably but continued to jump and skip occasionally about the room, climbing on furniture. "Rooooaaarrr..." he said in his quietest whisper as he climbed down off of the chair he was on and continued his journey around the room. "Roaaarr..."

Stoffel had to stop writing, as he cradled his head in his hands. Conrart was listening to him; he wasn't running and he wasn't being overly loud but he was still obnoxious. He watched the child play in what he could only guess was a fantasy wold of soldiers fighting dragons.

Would he ever be brave enough to have children? Was it even worth it?

Several minutes of this passed by and the longer it went on the louder Conrart got as he delved deeper and deeper into his fantasy.

The soldiers on the East were advancing! His uncle's Soldiers were defending the castle! He, the dragon, was laying waste to cities and stealing gold! The castle was weakening, it was time to attack!

"Roar!" Conrart squealed as he leapt from a nearby chair onto the couch, sending the toy soldiers that had been defending his uncle clattering to the floor.

"ENOUGH!" the man shouted in the child's face, causing his nephew to lose his balance and fall off the couch from shock, dropping a short but hard distance to the floor. Stoffel stood up immediately to check on him, cursing himself over losing his patience so easily.

He was surprised to see Conrart wasn't crying, just sitting on the floor in a daze as Stoffel picked him up and inspected him for injuries. He was even more surprised when Conrart began to laugh and screamed right in his face at the top of his lungs:

"ROAAAARRRR!"

"Q-quiet!" the man stammered at Conrart lost control of himself and began giggling uncontrollably, "Uncle!" he said breathlessly, "You're the dragon! You're the dragon!"

"I'm the dragon?" he grumbled as he held the child sideways like a piece of luggage and dragged him back over to the bin of toys, setting him down among them.

"You're the dragon!" he exclaimed again and Stoffel only huffed in irritation.

"Stay here. You're not allowed to move." he told the child as he put a ring of toys around the boy. "See this? It's a cage. You're a dragon and I've put you in a cage so you can't move."

The child's eyes sparkled as he eyed his very small cage. He nodded.

"Don't move." he instructed as he made his way back to his work. "Remember: you're in a cage."

It appeared to be working: Conrart would occasionally make noises or flop about but he obediently stayed within the ring of toys. He was so obedient that Stoffel smirked to himself about how stupid that man's child was to be fooled so easily. Clearly, Conrart Weller wasn't going to grow up to be the most intelligent man.

Stoffel engrossed himself once more in his work and the hours ticked by. At some point his nephew had stopped making sounds but Stoffel hadn't even spared the boy a glance. He was almost finished working when he looked up to check the time and did a double-take when he noticed the ring of toys was empty.

He paused, listening but hearing nothing except his rapidly increasing heart rate.

"Boy...?" he said, putting his papers carefully aside and walking slowly around the room.

"Come out, now!"

Nothing.

After tossing aside all of the furniture in the room, Stoffel cursed, admitting to himself that the child must have somehow broke free of his cage and escaped the room without him noticing. Telling himself not to panic, he made his way out of the room and began to search the halls nearby.

The largest thought in his mind was not to alert anyone to the fact that he'd lost track of the youngest prince. After all, there was no need to form a search party just yet, he still had time to find the child before Raven or anyone knew he was missing.


"Conrart, here boy..." he called, looking under various pieces of furniture and around the bushes outside the castle, as if calling a stray cat. He found nothing- it was as if the child had vanished into thin air leaving not even a hair to trace him with.

"What are you doing?" a small voice said, causing Stoffel to bang his head on the bench he'd been looking under. Turning around, he was met with mischievous, bright blue eyes.

Why, if it wasn't little Anissina- Lord Von Karbelnikoff's daughter.

"It is none of your concern," he said to her, standing up while dusting off his clothes.

"Are you playing fox and rabbit with Conrart?" she asked and Stoffel eyed her warily at the mention of the boy's name.

"Do you ever play fox and rabbit with him?" he asked her strategically.

"Sometimes." she replied, crossing her arms.

"Where does he hide when he's the rabbit?" he demanded, but the girl only lifted her chin at the man. "That's cheating." she said simply, "I can't tell you that."

"It's not cheating, you're playing now too." he insisted and she shook her head. "Two people can't be fox at once." she paused to think. "Buuuut if you help me test one of my inventions," a smile began to slowly spread across her face. "I'll tell you."

"Alright," he said, trying to look dignified after losing in a battle of wits against a little girl. "Show me your invention and hurry up, I don't have all day!"

He was impatient as she took the small device out of her pocket and motioned for the man's hand. "It's a bracelet?" he asked and she shook her head 'no' as she firmly attached it to his wrist. "It's Heart-Heart-Start-kun!" she announced proudly, "I thought the name up myself."

"What is it suppose to do?" he asked, looking over the odd device now strapped to his wrist.

"It uses Maryoku from the vict- I mean, from the wearer... to find their true love!"

"This will not work on me." he said gruffly, attempting to take the device off, "I do not have a true love."

"Everyone has a true love!" Anissina shouted, stomping her foot resolutely. "Even if you don't know it, your heart does. Now focus your Maryoku!" she said, pointing her delicate finger at him.

"Fine, I'm focusing."

To ease the awkward silence Stoffel began to hum in low tones- trying to make it seem like he was doing something magical.

"See?" he said, after a long moment of nothing. "It doesn't work."

"We'll see about that." Anissina said as she began walking down the hallway, back straight and eyes set into the distance.

"W-wait! You said you'd tell me where the Weller boy is!" he shouted, following after her in desperation. "I am!" she replied with a roll of her eyes, tossing her thick, rosy curls over her shoulder. "We're going to the garden."


"Are you sure you're playing fox and rabbit?" Anissina asked as she got up from searching the last of Conrart's hiding spots.

"Why would you ask me that and can you please remove this infernal device already!?" the older man cried, trying futilely to pry the bracelet off with a pocket knife.

She ignored him.

"If you're not playing fox and rabbit I can't help you. Conrart likes to explore the castle, he does it all the time." she shrugged. "Maybe Gwendal will know where to find him."

"No." Stoffel said, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. "I can find him myself."

"Alright." she said, watching the older man waddle off, "Are you sure you don't want Gwendal?"

"Do not bother Gwendal!" the man ordered, "He's busy and it's not important."


The dragon had escaped it's mighty bonds with the help of his soldiers and was currently stalking the castle grounds.

Being very careful not to be seen, (least he get caught and placed back into the dreaded cage...) Conrart stuck to the shadows and corners as he made his way across the castle. To an adult eye, the boy wasn't doing a very good job of being sneaky but being as small as he was, no one noticed him anyway as they carried on their daily routines.

The small prince was making his way towards the kitchens without much thought, simply following his whims, when he caught sight of a familiar blonde head of hair. "Molly!" Conrart squealed with excitement, for he'd just spotted one of the children of the castle, a girl a little older than him who was the daughter of a chef.

The blonde girl's eyes widened as the younger boy dashed towards her- she had been helping her mother make bread but stopped entirely as he approached. Before Conrart could hug her, (as he normally would upon greeting her) a rolling pin lightly poked him in the chest. Molly was holding it in front of her like a sword, to keep him at arm's length.

"N-No!" she said, a tremor in her voice. "M-My momma said I can't play with you anymore." Molly barely understood, but she knew her mother had meant it when she had sternly told her a few days prior, not to spend time with the half-human prince anymore. Molly didn't know it, but her mother was afraid that if they continued to spend time together, their bond might grow as they aged. Determined to keep her daughter from falling in love with or (Shinou forbid,) marrying a half-breed she'd decided to squash what little connection they had now, before it ever had a chance of developing into something more.

Conrart's eyes went wide as the tilted his head at the girl.

"Oh... okay! We don't have to play!" he said, a small smile coming back to his face. "I can help make bread!"

"No." Molly shook her head. "We can't be friends anymore."

The small gasp of shock from the boy made Molly feel awful as she looked for an escape from the situation. "B-but Molly is my friend!" he insisted, wringing his shirt in his hands.

"N-not anymore... I-I'm sorry...!" she said, before getting down from her stool and running deep into the kitchen so she could cling to her mother- anything to get away from her friend's sad eyes. Conrart sat motionless in silence, he wasn't sure what he was suppose to do...

So, he did what Molly had done and ran away- only, in the opposite direction; ignoring his hunger which had been ignited by the smell of freshly baked bread.

He ran in search of a good spot to hide, (he was still a fugitive dragon, mind you) and found one: a sturdy table draped with a thick white table cloth. Crawling on all fours, he made his way beneath it and sat for some time, thinking. Conrart had never lost a friend before and he didn't understand it.

What did it mean? They couldn't play together ever again? Why?

Unable to figure it out, he gave up and tried to push aside the feeling of being unwanted as he poked his head out from beneath his hiding place. His stomach chose that moment to growl fiercely, making him eye the hallway leading to the kitchens.

He was a very hungry dragon, but he couldn't go back... Conrart tried to think of what dragons ate.

"Dragons eat meat... oh no!" Conrart gasped to himself, pulling his head back under the table. 'Dragons eat horsies...!' he thought with a tremble- before smiling, slowly getting back into character as the fearsome, hungry horse-eating dragon that he was.

"Roaaaaarrrr..." he said quietly, dashing out of his hiding spot and then outside, as he headed towards the stables.

After all, he couldn't help that he was born a dragon.


Several hours passed and with the sun hanging low in the sky Stoffel began to lose hope. His long search had turned up nothing. The man had given up on trying to remove the strange device the girl inventor had attached to his wrist; too focused on his growling stomach to care.

"Perhaps... I can tell my sister a bad omen bird swooped from the sky and ate him." Stoffel mumbled to himself in despair, head hanging as he made his way to the kitchens. "Or that a band of assassins broke in and took him..."

"Took who?"

The blonde man's heart nearly seized in his chest upon hearing the icy voice of his oldest nephew. The boy was standing only a few steps behind him, making Stoffel skitter back nervously. It wasn't that he was afraid of his nephew- Gwendal was less than half his height... he was afraid of his sister.

"Well, well, well, look at you! Growing so big! How are your studies coming along young man?" he asked, brow sweating.

"They're fine." he said softly, eyeing the long hallway around them. "Are you heading to the dining room?"

"Why yes!" he exclaimed, "I am rather hungry, aren't you?"

"Where's Conrart?" he asked and Stoffel's smile only faltered for a second before he presented his carefully practiced lie:

"He's asleep!" he said, clapping his hands with false glee. "Such a cute little boy he is when he's all curled up, ahaha..."

"Where?" Gwendal said, raising an eyebrow at his uncle's very peculiar behavior. "In bed." Stoffel replied. "I really must be going or I fear I may starve to death!" he exclaimed, "Good evening to you, young Lord Von Voltaire~!"

"Did he eat?" Gwendal cut in, following his uncle. "Did you feed him before he went to bed?"

"Wha- oh, of course!"

"What did you feed him?" Gwendal pressed and Stoffel began to sweat more."It was some sort of something.. er... soup of some sort."

"Was it Romotori?" Gwendal asked and the older man nodded, "Yes! That's right, it was Romotori." he said, trying anything to placate the inquisitive young man.

"Liar."

This made Stoffel glare down at the child. "What... did you say?"

"You're lying. Conrart doesn't like spicy food."

"It was made without spice." he replied coldly as Gwendal glared.

"Where. is. my. brother."


"YOU LOST HIM!?" the screech was loud enough to nearly make him deaf as Stoffel tried his best to calm the angry prince down. "He is not lost! He's just hiding from me!" the older man insisted nervously. Stoffel's reply fell on deaf ears, Gwendal was already taking action by alerting a nearby guard of the situation.

After alerting the guard to spread word of the lost prince to the staff, Gwendal turned on his heel and began to stalk angrily down the hall- heading towards the drawing room where his brother had vanished. "W-wait, where are you going?" Stoffel asked, wringing his hands nervously as he trailed closely behind.

"To the drawing room where you first lost him." Gwendal gritted out. "I'm starting there." Stoffel lingered nearby the entire way to the drawing room, muttering and looking like a mess. "Uncle," Gwendal snapped once they'd made it to their destination. "If we don't find him..."

"N-not to worry, I assure you the little brat-" the look Gwendal gave the man must have been chilling because Stoffel reconsidered his choice of words, "Err... t-the little prince is probably just playing games..." Gwendal didn't see the need to finish his sentence as he entered the luxurious eastern wing.

Looking around, he noticed immediately the circle of toys and the numerous handfuls of toy soldiers laying about the floor. "You said you put him in this ring of toys?" Gwendal asked as he inspected the circle. "Yes, he was content there, I... told him to pretend he was a caged dragon and he spent nearly an hour within that circle."

"You left my brother in a cage for an hour?" Gwendal hissed and Stoffel rolled his eyes.

"A ring of toys is hardly a cage."

"You're hardly a responsible adult," Gwendal snapped, "Conrart isn't even difficult to care for yet you still failed spectacularly! I knew it was a horrible idea to leave him in your hands." he finished bitterly.

There was a long silence broken by shaky intake of breath on Stoffel's part.

"Y-you're right...!" the older man deflated, cradling his head in his hands. Gwendal, not expecting this reaction at all- gawked at the display. "He was very obedient! I asked him to be quiet and he was, I asked him not to move and he stayed put... all he wanted to do was play and I shouted at him!" Stoffel cried, thumping his head with the palm of his hands. "He wouldn't have run off if I had paid closer attention..."

Stoffel then collapsed into a chair muttering, his head still hung heavily in his hands.

Gwendal was at a loss of what to say... his uncle was (for once!) admitting fault and showing remorse. Not wanting to kick a man while he was down, the prince decided to remain silent on the matter, continuing his inspection of the room. Crouching near the ring of toys, the eldest son noticed a carefully arranged group of soldiers surrounding a single stuffed toy.

"The breech happened here," Gwendal pointed at the only toy in the ring that had been pulled out of line. "He must have used the soldiers to break himself free... Uncle," he stood then, facing the downtrodden man. "You said he was pretending to be a dragon, correct?"

"Y-yes... roaring and carrying on..." the man muttered in despair.

"Conrart takes playing make-believe very seriously." Gwendal allowed a small smile to tug at his lips as he thought of how many times Conrart was the perfect little actor, fully inhabiting any role Gwendal assigned to him when they played those kind of games. "My theory is that he's probably still pretending to be a dragon. If that's true, we just have to think: 'where would a run away dragon go'?"

Stoffel's downtrodden, yet highly skeptical eyes analyzed him.

"Where would a dragon go?" he echoed, "Are you hearing yourself?"

Gwendal crossed his arms, glaring. "I know my brother." he said with venom. "If he's still pretending to be a dragon he's probably hiding because he doesn't want to be caught."

Stoffel sighed, long and hard. "Regardless, we wouldn't know what that child thinks a dragon would do... a-and it's going to be dark soon."

"Where would a dragon go... What would a dragon do..." Gwendal ignored his uncle as he picked up and pocketed one of the toy soldiers and left the drawing room, determined to find his sibling.

Stoffel stayed behind and simply watched the prince go. He allowed himself to think for a while in silence as he too looked at the toy soldiers the boy had given him. 'These are yours, to protect you!' his nephew had said.

"I should have been watching you." he groaned once more. "Protecting you- now, who knows what you could be getting into?" images of Conrart eating things he shouldn't or getting trapped in potentially deadly areas raced through the older man's mind, sending chills down his spine. 'Don't panic,' he thought to himself as he stood, feeling light headed.

His thoughts were interrupted when a sharp pang of hunger hit him in the gut, causing realization to pass over his face. Conrart hadn't eaten all day. (Another failure on his behalf.)

"A hungry dragon... " Stoffel mumbled to himself as he looked at the toy soldier in his grip. with that, he set off towards the kitchens.


The stables were tall and sturdy and smelled of hay and- well, horses.

He was rarely allowed to enter them, (he wasn't old enough to ride and his excited skittering about made the horses nervous) but Conrart loved the stables.

Conrart didn't only love the stables themselves, though, he absolutely loved horses.

"Horsies!" he gasped excitedly as he approached one of the large beasts, who's head hung low over it's stable door, inspecting him curiously with large, dark eyes. "Don't worry," he told the horse as he pet it's snout- just the way Gwendal had taught him to, soft and gentle. "I won't eat you." The horse only snorted softly in response, nudging his hand, checking to see if he carried any oats or treats with him.

Being a dragon fell to the way-side now that Conrart had horses to pet.

"Conrart!"

"Prince Conrart!"

The sound of his name startled him as Conrart peered cautiously outside the stable door.

Guards! So many guards! The sight of so many soldiers running about made Conrart's stomach drop. They were calling his name, tearing through the bushes and overturning barrels in what appeared to be a frantic search.

"Oh no..." his uncle had sent soldiers to find him! He didn't want to go back yet! Conrart backed slowly into the stables and looked about for another place to hide. Looking up, he saw a small set of narrow steps leading up to a loft that was used to store hay.

He advanced up the steps using both his hands and feet causing one of the toy soldiers within his pocket to fall out and land upon the steps. Conrart didn't notice and once he reached the loft he couldn't care; for he was amazed at how vast it was. To the child, the loft held seemingly endless rows of hay, all stacked carefully upon each other, the floor was more hay than wood and it looked like an elaborate, exciting maze with plenty of places to explore and hide.

Just then, a large roll of thunder suddenly crashed about the sky, startling him. 'What was that!?' the boy thought, fear creeping slowly into him. 'Rain?' he couldn't see the sky from the loft, it was entirely enclosed but Conrart could hear rain begin to fall upon the roof of the stables.

'It's only rain!' he told himself over and over as he made his way through the hay, 'It's not scary.' his mother had told him about thunder- she had explained the scary sounds was just the sky applauding the clouds for making it rain. "Because it's 'good for the plants'!" Conrart repeated his mother's words aloud as he found a comfortable spot to curl up. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out his toy soldiers and lined them up around him.

"You keep watch." he ordered them sternly as he curled up in the hay, not minding how it poked at him or made him want to sneeze.


In the kitchens, Stoffel couldn't ask a single question because all of the servants were busy upturning the cupboards in search of the missing prince. Most of them looked irritated as guards oversaw that every inch of the kitchen was stripped thoroughly.

A little girl who reminded Stoffel of his sister, when they had been children- was staring at him with wide, blue eyes. "Don't worry," he told the girl who stiffened when he addressed her, "No one is in trouble." well... except for himself.

"A-are they looking for Con- I.. I mean the Prince Conrart?" she asked, eyeing the frantic soldiers. "Y-yes." Stoffel replied with a sigh, "He ah... he went missing earlier today." The fear and concern was apparent in her eyes as she began to shrink back, looking for protection- most likely in the form of her mother.

"What is it child, what's wrong?" he asked. He wouldn't admit it to anyone- but he had a soft spot in his heart for little girls, born from days he use to care for his sister before she became the bane of his very existence.

If he'd had nieces instead of nephews, perhaps things would be different.

"I.. I'm sorry!" she cried, tears springing to her eyes. "It's all my fault he's gone!"

This outburst would have alerted the guards if Stoffel hadn't quickly stepped in and scooped the girl into his arms, carrying her away from the chaos of the kitchen. "Now, don't say that!" he chided, his heart racing. "H-have you seen him at all today?"

"Y-yes...!" she sniffed, fisting his shirt between her small fingers. "He was h-here only a little while ago and I told him to go away." she looked miserable. "My momma told me I couldn't be friends with him anymore so I told him 'No, we can't be friends.' he was so upset he ran away." she cried, "He's gone because of me, I just know it!"

"O-oh..." Stoffel gasped, patting her back absently as he thought her words over. "Did you happen to see where he ran off to?"

"H-he... The last I saw, he was headed towards the stables." she shook her head, her blonde hair bouncing. "I didn't think anything of it but now I'm certain-! He must have took a horse and rode off, because of what I said...!"

Took a horse...? Stoffel was skeptical of that. Conrart was growing quickly but he wasn't hardly big enough to ride a horse all on his own... was he?

"It's not your fault," he replied, setting her down. "Conrart is er..." what was his nephew?

"Conrart is a kind... boy." he said, patting her head. "I'm sure he forgives you."

"I was so mean to him..." she said sadly and Stoffel had to look away, guilt gnawing at him. "He's my friend...! I don't want to stop being friends with him but my momma said..."

"What's your name?" Stoffel asked, cutting her sentence short.

"Molly..." she sniffled and Stoffel nodded.

"Molly, when we find him I'll let him know you said hello. He'll be delighted to hear it, I'm sure." Molly didn't think her friend would be happy to hear from her, after she'd been so mean to him, but she nodded anyway because the man before her was a noble and was only trying to be nice.

"Y-yes... thank you." she said softly as Stoffel turned and left the kitchens in a hurry- heading towards the stables. 'Surely he wouldn't run away on horseback...' he thought, trying to ease the rising panic in his chest as he quickened his steps down the hall.

His thoughts were cut short when suddenly the world tilted violently beneath him- his feet scrambling for purchase as they slid, sending him to the floor with a mighty crash.

Before he knew it, he was on his back seeing stars.

"Oh..." he groaned, "Oh, my back..." Stoffel carefully rolled over and very ungracefully got onto his knees, looking about for the cause of his fall. Sitting not far from his boot, broken and scuffed, was a small toy soldier. "A... toy soldier?" Stoffel muttered, snatching it from the floor.

Just then a flash of lightening followed by a roll of thunder passed over the castle, rattling the single pane windows."Conrart! Prince Conrart!" he could hear the voices of soldiers shouting in the courtyard as he shook his head. 'Oh fantastic, what now- a storm...?' the man thought, eyeing the sky from his place on the floor.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"WAUGHH! What in the world-!?" Stoffel cried as the device: Heart-Heart-Start-kun! Little Anissina had placed upon his wrist began to whir and vibrate, flashing bright lights in his eyes.

"Blasted thing!" he cursed, trying once again to remove it. "Don't tell me the storm is making you malfunction!?"

"Sire?"

Stoffel's breath caught in his throat as he turned his head slowly, looking up to see a familiar face. A face he usually loved to see, yet currently only filled him with dread.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "Conrart! Little Prince!"

"R-Raven!" he gasped as the dark haired man helped him to his feet. "W-what brings you here?"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "Conrart! Conrart!" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Highness..." he said, disappointment in his voice. "I came looking for you when I heard-"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "Prince Conrart! Come out at once!" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"O-oh, w-well, I'm rather busy at the moment! I do hope you understand-" Stoffel said as he began to rapidly back up, looking to retreat.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "Conrart! Little Prince!" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Sire, wait!" Raven had to raise his voice over the sound of Heart-Heart-Start-kun's obnoxiously loud beeping, thunder crashing and soldiers shouting.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "Conrart! Can you hear us?!" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"E-everything is under control!" Stoffel shouted back, waving a dismissive hand at the man as he turned, quickly hobbling away- heading outside with a flurry of commotion and noise.

Raven watched him go, sighing heavily. He knew Conrart was missing and was going to tell Stoffel that he was sorry but he had to write a letter to Queen Celi- however... the man didn't seem to be in the mood to speak to him at the moment. So, he did what he thought was useful and turned on his heel to assist in looking for the prince. Perhaps he would check with young Lord Von Voltaire and see if he could be of any use.


Once outside, Stoffel was surrounded by soldiers as the rain poured down in sheets, drenching everything within it's reach. Heart-Heart-Start-kun's infernal beeping had finally ceased, allowing him a breath of relief as he made his way towards the stables.

"Sire, please head inside where it's dry! We have the courtyard under control, my lord." a soldier tried to inform him, but he shoo'd the man away. "Leave me be!" he cried over the sound of the rain. "Continue with your search and I'll continue with mine!"

"S-sir!" the soldier saluted him, his face burning with embarrassment from being cut down so easily as Stoffel brushed by him, entering the stables alone.


Raven was at a loss of what to say as he stood by and watched the first prince of Shin Makoku tear apart every room he came in contact with. The boy was muttering angrily to himself when Raven finally decided to approach him, hearing small bits and pieces of a private conversation he was having with himself.

"I told them not to leave Conrart with him! I didn't expect that fool to care about his son but mother should have known better!" the boy growled under his breath as he tore a storage chest out from beneath a bed frame. "It was obvious that this would happen- I should have fought harder to prevent this!" his voice began to raise as he tossed the covers off the mattress.

"Lord Gwendal..." Raven said softly, startling the young prince who whipped around to face the older man.

"R-Raven!" he gasped before collecting himself. "Any news?"

"None, sire... but I have already wrote to your mother. She should be aware of the situation soon enough." Raven could tell the boy didn't care if his mother knew or not- all he cared about was finding his sibling.

"I hate him." Gwendal said angrily as he collapsed heavily upon the wooden chest at his feet. "He's a horrible uncle."

"I understand your anger towards him, my lord..." Raven trailed off, placing a hand on the boy's thin shoulder- he was still a child but his dark eyes reflected the heavy weight of responsibility that had been placed upon him too soon.

"I don't care if he's a horrible uncle to me," the boy snapped as he idly pulled the toy soldier out of his pocket and began to nervously turn it over in his hands. "but Conrart doesn't deserve it."

"It's neither your fault, nor Conrart's that Stoffel is this way," Raven said softly. "You boys are wonderful nephews. He is simply a broken man." he tried to comfort the other as he straightened. "Beneath his bitterness there is the tender heart- he cares for you and your brother." he assured the boy. "Have faith that one day he'll show it to you."

Gwendal was about to snap at Raven about how he didn't care if his uncle ever loved them- when his shoulders slumped. He was too worried to continue talking. He stood, pocketing the toy once more. "I can't talk anymore. Please excuse me, I must find my little brother." he said, escaping the room and the unseen pressure of the man's sad, gentle gaze.

Once he was alone, Raven sighed and sat in silence for a moment, allowing his thoughts to wander.

"Mister Raven!" his temporary peace was interrupted by a sharp angelic voice at the doorway. "Y-yes, Lady Anissina?" the little girl had deeply startled him, she had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Have you seen Lord Stoffel?" she asked and the man shook his head.

"He is outside somewhere, my lady." he replied.

"He has my invention!" she snapped, stomping her foot upon the carpet. "I need it back!"

"Your invention?" Raven asked curiously, remembering the beeping device around the man's wrist. "I believe I saw him wearing something around his wrist, it was making a lot of noise..."

Anissina's eyes sparkled.

"Heart-Heart-Start-kun!" she said, clenching her fist. "You said it was making noise?"

"Y-yes...?"

"Where was he?"

"J-just... in the hall near the kitchens." he replied. "I found him alone on the floor and once I began approaching him- it began to make an awful sound."

"Ew, no way!" Anissina wrinkled her nose at the man. "You're his true love?"

"E-excuse me?" Raven stuttered, unsure of how to respond to that.

"Maybe it's broken." she said with a shrug, turning away. "I'll find him on my own!" with that she left as suddenly as she came, leaving Raven in silence once more.

...

...

"W-what does she mean, 'ew'...?"


The stables were warm, dark and dry.

Stoffel made his way down the rows of stalls as curious horses poked their noses out at him, sniffing him for treats and stamping expectantly. "Conrart?" he said, raising his voice above the dull roar of the rain. "Conrart, are you in here?" When he heard no response, Stoffel gave a heavy sigh and sat down upon a wooden stool used to assist the workers in cleaning horse hooves.

"Conrart, your uncle is very worried about you..." he muttered miserably to himself, "Where are you hiding?" He sat in silence for a while, thinking about where his nephew could have gone if he had left the stables and why, his eyes traveling listlessly over the floors and stalls before him.

Something glistening in the lamp light caught his eye, forcing him to stand once more. He waddled slowly towards a set of wooden steps near the entrance to the stables and gasped when he recognized the object, dropping down on his knees to collect it.

A single toy soldier lay haphazardly upon the steps leading to the hay loft- which was dark and silent.

Stoffel contemplated the chances of finding his nephew among the endless barrels of hay as a loud crash of thunder suddenly shook the building and he could have swore he heard a yelp from above.

"Conrart!?"

Still nothing but silence- yet Stoffel climbed the steps anyway, determined to make sure.

Once he was in the loft, he had to hunch his shoulders slightly not to bump his head in the tight space. It was very long and narrow with low ceilings. He saw nothing but darkness and hay.

He didn't even have to call his nephew's name before he began to hear whimpering somewhere ahead of him, the limited light and space forced him to get down on his hands and knees as he scrambled forward, sticking his hands around the corners of hay stacks and into piles.

"Conrart!? Conrart- is that you?" the man asked as he stuffed his hand through a hay pile and felt something that didn't feel like hay, but didn't feel like a child either. Pulling back, the man eyed his palm in the dim light.

He was holding an entire handful of toy soldiers.

"Conrart...?"

Silence.

He stuck his hand into the hay pile once more, his fingers reached out tentatively until they touched something soft and warm. Almost immediately a small growling sound came from the pile and then...

"AIEEEE!" Stoffel screamed as something bit down on his fingers.

"Noo!"

Stoffel's fright turned immediately to shock as he heard a small voice that wasn't his own.

"No, noo!"

"Conrart!" The man gasped, reaching into the pile once more, roughly grabbing the child by the leg and dragging him kicking and screaming into his arms. "I found you!" Stoffel said as relief flooded him, making his eyes sting and his knees weak. Conrart was crying and was covered in hay but otherwise appeared to be unharmed.

What the man didn't know was that he'd scared the child half to death.

His large hand had come through the hay, reaching for Conrart in the dark, as the storm raged in the background. All of this coupled with the idea that soldiers were coming to get him had simply been too much for the boy.

Stoffel pet his hair, shushing him. "Are you alright? Conrart speak to me- are you hurt anywhere?"

"N-no Uncle! I d-don't want to...!" Conrart cried, pushing hard against the man's chest with his balled fists.

"'Don't want to'? Don't want to do what?" Stoffel asked as the boy shook his head; his cheeks red and his breathing unsteady.

"I-I don't w-want to go back to th-the c-cage!" he cried again, rubbing his eyes as he cried harder and Stoffel felt a pang of guilt hit him squarely in the chest.

"A-ah.. well, y-you don't have to go back to the cage." Stoffel said, trying his best to soothe the boy who continued to whimper as he began to carefully shuffle them towards the stairs, not letting go of his nephew even for a second.

"Oh no! M-my soldiers!" he cried suddenly, looking about for them with wet cheeks. "Uncle, I need my soldiers!"

"I have them, they're all here." He said, patting his pocket where he'd been collecting the toys. "Don't worry."

"O-okay... Can I have them?" he asked and Stoffel shook his head, "Just wait until we get downstairs, then I'll hand them to you." Conrart nodded obediently, allowing his uncle to carry him down the steps.

As soon as they reached the stable's ground floor, Conrart's stomach growled loudly making the boy double over in the man's arms. "Owwie...!" he whined, "I'm reallyyy hungry-"

"As am I. We're going to eat right now." he said, "I've been looking for you all day!" Conrart didn't know what to say to that, so he just rubbed his itchy eyes and sniffled. "Oh, yes! I almost forgot: your little friend Molly told me to say hello to you." Stoffel said proudly, glad that he remembered. "She was worried about you."

Conrart rested his head on his uncle's shoulder as he watched the horses. "She's not my friend anymore..." the boy said sadly and Stoffel cursed himself for forgetting that detail. "Did she say why?" He asked awkwardly, unsure how to go about this kind of conversation.

"Mmm... her momma said we can't be friends." Conrart said, taking a deep breath and relaxing further into his uncle's arms. "Are you mad at her?" He asked, eyeing the pouring rain outside the stables. "No." The boy shook his head. "She's really nice. I like her." He said with a small smile.

"Even though she doesn't want to be your friend?" He asked and the boy nodded. "Yes!" He replied happily, "She's not my friend but Molly's still my friend!" The man shook his head, wondering if his nephew's kindness would survive growing up in the Capitol- especially considering his mixed blood.

A small part of him hoped so.


Once they were back within the castle word spread quickly that the youngest prince had been found. Stoffel didn't even make it to the dining hall with the child before he was forcefully snatched from his arms by Gwendal, who insisted he would no longer be attending his studies until his Mother returned. Intent on watching his sibling instead.

He didn't even get to say good-night to the youngest prince as the boy was whisked away by his dark haired nephew.

Sighing heavily Stoffel ordered food to be delivered to his quarters and began to trudge his way to his room. He passed by maids and servants along the way that bid him good-night as they continued to put the castle back together now that the prince had been found.

Once he was within his quarters he changed into dry sleep wear, growling at the device attached to his wrist once more.

"Tomorrow I'll have a black smith remove this infernal thing." He snarled.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Aughhh!" Stoffel nearly had a heart attack when the device chose that moment to go off— at the same time, he could hear someone knocking at his door.

"Sire?"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

It was Raven standing outside his bedroom door- making Stoffel curse as he let the younger man in.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"I just came to check on you my lord," Raven said with a tired smile, eyeing the flashing device the man wore.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Raven- please help me remove this infernal device!" Stoffel cried, holding it out so that the other man could look at it.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

With one single touch from Raven's slender fingers the device popped open and clattered to the floor, ceasing all noise.

"You're brilliant!" Stoffel cried with relief, wanting to hug the man, "How did you remove it!? How was it done!?"

"I'm sorry my lord but I've no idea- I did nothing but touch it."

"Excuse me! That's mine!" The men were interrupted by a blur of red as a small form darted between them, snatching the device up from the floor. "Anissina!" Stoffel growled, "Take that blasted thing and throw it away!" He ordered, "Not only does it not work, it has caused me nothing but grief!"

"You cause everyone grief but I haven't seen you thrown out!" She quipped and Stoffel gasped. "Why, you-!" He barked as she ran down the hall, looking back just before she reached a turn. "Also, it does work! I told you everyone has a true love!" She smiled devilishly before vanishing around the corner, leaving the men alone once more.

Stoffel wanted to shout out to her but Raven held up his hand, silently telling him it wasn't worth it. They shared a moment of silence before Stoffel tiredly motioned for the man to come in, who obliged, following his companion behind closed doors.

"I heard the boy was unharmed." Raven said with a small, relieved smile.

"I... I failed." Stoffel sighed, sitting on the bed. "I'm sure you already wrote my sister." He grumbled as Raven gave him an apologetic look.

"I did write her," He said, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry, Sire."

"It's not your fault- you wouldn't of had to if I had done the right thing."

There was silence, heavy yet comfortable between the two long-time friends. Raven's eyes drifted over the small vanity in the room- noticing a pile of toy soldiers sitting on the smooth surface, surrounded by bits of hay.

"I didn't even get to say good-night to him." Stoffel murmured, rubbing his tired eyes. "I suppose I deserve that."

"Prince Conrart is in bed," Raven said softly, picking up one of the toy soldiers and inspecting it closely. "These belong to the prince, yes?" Stoffel's eyes fell on the pile of soldiers as he nodded.

"Yes, I forgot to return them, everything happened so quickly..."

"Perhaps you should take a moment to visit him." his dark haired adviser said, wearing a small secretive smile. "I'm sure he would love to have his soldiers back." With that he crossed the room to the door, bidding his friend a good-night before exiting with grace.


Since he was still a child, Conrart's room was situated in the grand wing of the castle between his parent's suite and his older brother's quarters. Stoffel doubted he would find the young prince in his room given how protective Gwendal was, but the nagging guilt in his stomach made him decide to try anyway.

So, with the collection of toy soldiers safe within his night robe pocket he set out to see for himself.

He was pleasantly surprised when he encountered guards outside the child's door.

"Good evening," Stoffel greeted, nodding at the door. "Is the prince in bed?" he asked, the soldiers saluted him in return. "Yes, Sire. Prince Gwendal put him to bed not long ago."

With a nod, they allowed him to enter.

The room was dark save for the light of a single decorative lantern. Toys, books and odd-looking items, (that he could only guess came from human lands perhaps given to the boy by his father) lined the shelves around Conrart's room. "Uncle!" the boy (who was definitely not asleep) dropped from the bed and ran across the room to throw himself into his arms.

Stoffel caught the child awkwardly, allowing a small nervous chuckle to escape him as he picked the boy up and carried him back towards his bed. "I thought you would be asleep." he said as he set the child back on the bed. "What are you still doing up?"

"I'm not tired!" Conrart said excitedly and Stoffel couldn't help but pet the boy's soft hair.

"I can see that," he chuckled, sitting on the bed as the boy flopped onto the mattress, crawling closer. "I brought you something."

"Chocolate...?" He asked, looking at the man with wide eyes. Stoffel shook a finger at the boy. "No, of course not! It's far too late for chocolate." he scolded, yet the smile on the boy's face didn't falter. "Do you normally get chocolate at this hour?"

"Mmm... oh! Papa brings me chocolate before bed!" he admitted.

Stoffel scowled, the boy's father had questionable parenting skills to say the least.

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's not chocolate." Stoffel reached within his pocket, making sure to grab all of the soldiers before presenting his palm to the child.

"My soldiers!" he gasped, carefully taking them from the older man. "Oh no, one got hurt..." He said, eyeing the one that had been stepped on. Stoffel didn't know what to say as he watched the boy carefully place his soldiers on one of the shelves, overlooking his bed.

"Conrart, I wanted to apologize. I have treated you unfairly." Stoffel started, looking down at his hands. "For shouting at you earlier today and being a rather dreadful uncle." The boy turned and listened due to the man's somber tone, but his eyes continued to drift about the room.

"Okay." he replied with a smile.

"I... was out of line, I should have listened to you more and spent more time with you, instead of displacing you with the servants... I am truly sorry."

"Okay." Conrart said again, nodding as if taking directions.

"You're a very bright boy, I would like to make it up to you by spending time with you again soon. I-if your mother will ever allow it again..."

"Momma?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Yes, your mother... or even your brother, Gwendal. I fear he probably won't let me get close to you again either."

"I really like Gwendal." the boy said, laying his head on his uncle's knee.

"Do you forgive me?" Stoffel asked, trying to hide his worried tone.

He was met only with a happy smile and large brown eyes staring up at him. "Can we play Dragon again soon?" Conrart asked and Stoffel tilted his head quizzically at the child. "You... You didn't understand a word I said earlier, did you." the man chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, Conrart- I would love to play 'Dragon' again with you sometime." minus losing the child and suffering severe anxiety because of it.

"Yayy!" the boy cheered, getting up to stand on the bed. "Roaaaarrr!" he cried, giggling.

Stoffel cleared his throat and gave it a shot: "Roar...!" he said quietly, hoping the guards on the other side of the door wouldn't hear him. This sent Conrart into a giggle-fit as he collapsed on the bed into a pile of laughter and smiles.

"Alright, alright. Time for bed." Stoffel said, cheeks flushed from embarrassment as he helped tuck the prince in. "Aww..." Conrart pouted but did as he was told, crawling obediently under the covers.

"Goodnight Conrart." the man said softly, kissing the boy's hand, making him laugh again. "Night night Uncle!" he chirped, waving at him continuously until Stoffel finally exited the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Once he was in the hallway, the guards saluted him once more. If they'd heard him being silly they didn't comment on it as Stoffel turned and left, making his way back to his chambers once more. However, his heart felt lighter and his steps were calmer as he prepared for bed.

He slept soundly.


"Mommmaa!"

Celi laughed as she scooped her son up, fawning over the small child. She hadn't even stepped outside of her carriage before the boy was in her arms once more. No matter how much she loved traveling she loved her children more and had missed the boys terribly.

"Welcome home, Queen Cäcilie." Raven greeted her with a bow, causing the woman to click her tongue at him. "It's Celi, Raven." she chided gently.

Just then, her husband appeared behind her, stealing the boy from her grasp. "Papa!" Conrart chirped as the man tossed the child high in the air before narrowly catching him again, sending the boy into a fit of laughter.

"Oh! I told you not to throw him like that!" Celi scolded her husband who only laughed in response.

"Welcome h-home... dear sister." Stoffel greeted pathetically, his head hung as he watched the couple approach him.

"Stoffel! It's good to be home." Celi said, sliding gracefully up to him and placing a hand on his cheek. "How was my darling Conrart?"

"I... w-well, I suppose you received Raven's letter..." he said weakly, which earned a tilt of his sister's head. "I did! However, the pigeon you had sent was sopping wet! It was as if the poor thing had been caught in a storm, the paper was completely ruined- the ink had run all over the page." she shook her head. "I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble."

Stoffel gasped, his jaw hung open in shock as he looked to Raven and locked eyes with the man.

The letter hadn't been read...

"Er... oh, no!" Stoffel said, a smile creeping onto his face. "Conrart was very obedient. We had no trouble..." Raven rolled his eyes, but cleared his throat, signaling Stoffel to say more.

"A-ah... a-and lots of fun, too! Didn't we Conrart? We had fun?"

"ROAAARRR!" Conrart cheered from his father's arms, laughing.

"Y-yes, roar! Aha..."

"Well, that's wonderful." Dan-Hiri said with a grin. "I'm glad you could watch him, brother. I think Gwendal needed a break as much as we did." he chuckled, patting Stoffel on the shoulder who grimaced at the contact. "Please Dan-Hiri, 'Lord von Spitzweg' is fine." He reminded the human rogue briskly, who ignored him- choosing to tickle his son breathless instead.

"Where is Gwendal?" Celi asked as they began to head back inside.

"He is assisting Anissina with an experiment." Raven said with a small, sympathetic smile.

"Heart-Heart-Start-kun!" Conrart shouted happily.

"Oh, I see." Celi laughed, giving her husband a knowing look.

"They'll be busy for a while." Dan-Hiri said with a charming smile.

At that moment smoke could be seen rising from one of the many spires of Blood Pledge Castle.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Everyone has a true love...