A/N: Oh my God, I'm sorry it's taken forever to update this! Writer's block has hit me bad—again. I must warn you, this is a regular occurrence, plus I am primarily a non-fanfiction writer and I only really write fanfiction on the side (I do like it though, and I definitely prefer reading fanfiction, lol) Sorry about that. Anyway, this chapter introduces Kratos, and, just as a warning, he is weird as a kid. But he'll get better, I promise, and his weirdness will be explained further in his own part of the story.
Also, I must thank all my reviewers. I'm not a fan of personal messages—I like to acknowledge everyone publicly, because I embarrass people like that.
Chiyanaski: Thank you very much. :)
Dawnstarshine: Yeah, the last part was weird—I tend to end chapters abruptly (I did that with this one too). I'm glad you liked the rest, though :)
nife: Of course. Here's your continuation :)
meganekko: Heheh, thanks. I kinda figured that about Kratos and Yuan too. Great minds think alike, eh? Ooooh, cookies and pie :)
Fantasy-Flyer: Yes, Yuan is a funny little child. And thank God neither of us work there anymore :)
LunaLocket: Here you are. Sorry it wasn't sooner. I hope this chapter was worth the wait (although I kinda doubt it, lol) :)
Anyway, onward to the very late second chapter!
Chapter Two: The Boy with No Friends
The sun's shining outside, thought Yuan as he gazed out the window. I wish I was outside right now. It's so boring in here…
His daydreaming was useless, he knew, but he couldn't help it; the warm rays of sunshine on his face were so inviting, practically begging him to join them in the quiet streets of Heimdall…
No. Even if his father did allow him to go outside, he still wouldn't be able to leave the grounds. As far as Yuan was concerned, Miras had only one definition of the word 'outside', and that was 'the courtyard'. Not once in his seven years had Yuan ever been outside the castle walls, and Miras was doing everything in his power to make it stay that way.
"Prince Yuan!" snapped his teacher from the front of the room. "Pay attention!"
Yuan sighed. "Yes, Remiel."
Scowling, Remiel turned back to the board and continued to write meaningless numbers and symbols as if they were the most important things in the world. Yuan hated mathematics—he wished Remiel would hurry up and start the lesson in literature instead.
The only thing could have possibly made mathematics enjoyable was a good teacher—unfortunately, Remiel was anything but. He hated his job, and had only taken it because he couldn't get one anywhere else in the city; he was a half-elf as well, and that was quite likely the only thing he and Yuan had in common.
Remiel ran his fingers through his fair hair as he pointed to the two fractions he had just written. "Now, Prince Yuan, which is the greater fraction? One half, or one fifth?"
Well, they both have a one on top, he mused as he stared at the foreign language in front of him. The half has a two on the bottom, and the fifth has a five. One, two, three, four, five. Five is the bigger number.
"One fifth," he answered.
"No!" Remiel snapped. "How many times must I explain fractions to you? They are not that difficult, your highness—you should know the basics by now!"
Yuan felt a tear well up in his eye. "But… but it's really hard!"
"It is only as hard as you perceive it to be. Now, if you do not receive a passing grade on your examination on Friday, rest assured that the king will be informed of it."
Not wanting his father to worry, he had told Miras that he was having no problems with mathematics; if he ever found out how hard fractions really were, Yuan would be surely be punished for being stupid, and then again for being a liar.
"But—"
"I think that we will take a break from your literature lessons today," continued Remiel, cutting him off. "Go find your father and ask him if you can play in the courtyard. You are dismissed."
"But—"
"Leave, Prince Yuan! Before I change my mind and move the examination to today!"
Trying hard not to cry, Yuan slowly nodded. "Yes, Remiel."
He left before his teacher could say another word. Stupid Remiel… stupid, mean, evil Remiel…
He wished he was an adult; someone who could stand up to Remiel, stare him down and tell him to go away. Someone who could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, someone free to leave the castle and walk through Heimdall and see the commoners, unashamed of his mixed blood…
Reaching the door to his parents' bedchamber, Yuan slumped against the opposite wall, allowing the tears to fall freely from his eyes. He needed his mother… and his father… and a friend. True, he hardly knew what exactly a friend was, but he'd seen the word in books and heard it in conversation enough times to understand the concept. A friend was someone who spent time with you and played with you and cared about you—sort of like his parents, but his own age.
Yuan didn't have any friends. There were no other children in the castle; no, all the children were outside. Outside… oh sweet forbidden world! Outside, where there was sunshine, fresh air, trees, grass… and friends.
"Friends? Nonsense, dear—Yuan's perfectly happy without them."
At the sound of the word, he looked up. The voice was his father's, and it was coming from the other side of the door. What did Miras know? Yuan wasn't happy; Miras was being just as stupid as Remiel.
"But every other child in Heimdall has at least one, Miras," his mother protested softly. "Don't you want our son to enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood? You can't protect him from the elves forever—perhaps you should find someone his own age who will be there for him for the rest of his life."
Miras sighed. "I suppose you're right, Lida, as usual; we'll talk to him."
"I knew you'd see it my way, darling," laughed Lida tiredly.
Through with crying, Yuan smiled; finally, he would actually get to meet someone who wasn't at least ten years older than him. He wondered what this person would be like. Would it be a boy or a girl? Exactly his age, or a few years older or younger? An elf? A human? Maybe another half-elf?
Personally, he hoped it would be another half-elf. Elves, from the few Yuan knew, were terrible snobs, and he had heard that humans were nothing more than barbarians, with the exceptions of his own two parents, of course.
And speaking of his own two parents…
"Yuan?"
He looked up to see none other than Miras standing in the doorway in front of him.
"Yes, Father?" Yuan addressed him, pulling himself to his feet.
Miras grinned. "Come in, son; your mother and I would like to discuss something with you."
They want to talk about my new friend, he mused happily as he scampered past his father and into the room.
"Hello, Mother," he greeted Lida, jumping onto her bed and hugging her.
"Hello, sweetheart," she acknowledged, a tired smile appearing on her face.
Sighing, Miras sat down at the foot of the bed. "Yuan, your mother and I have been talking, and… well, we think it might be nice for you to have someone your own age to play with, perhaps."
"My own age?" repeated Yuan, trying to sound as if he hadn't been eavesdropping. "You mean… a friend?"
Miras nodded. "I suppose you could say that."
"What do you think, Yuan?" Lida inquired. "Would you like a little friend to play with?"
Yuan beamed. "Yes, please."
"Then it's settled," concluded Miras. "Tomorrow, I shall begin my search for your new playmate and I will not return here until I have found this child."
-
As it turned out, Miras was true to his word. He didn't return without Yuan's new friend—in fact, he didn't return at all.
He had left early Wednesday morning, Yuan knew as he had followed him until Remiel took him away for his lessons. As soon as the lessons were over, Yuan had run to Lida and asked if Miras had returned, but no such luck; his father wasn't back and he was still friendless.
Yuan kept one eye on the door all through dinner, expecting Miras and the new friend to burst through at any moment, but they never did—only the cook and the butler.
He didn't sleep at all Wednesday night, certain that his friend would find him in his bedchamber, but the newcomer must have gotten lost somewhere in the palace, because no one came to his door until Remiel came to get him for his Thursday lesson.
And so it was that while Remiel droned on about fractions once again, Yuan spent his time drawing pictures. His father… his mother… his new friend… himself… himself with his new friend… himself with his mother and father… all four of them together… some more of the new friend… some more of himself with the new friend…
Someone knocked at the door.
"Yes?" answered Remiel curtly; Remiel hated to be interrupted.
"Father!" Yuan exclaimed as Miras entered the room.
Miras smiled. "Remiel, you are free to do as you please for the rest of the day. Yuan can afford to miss a few lessons."
Remiel's eyes narrowed. "Of course, your majesty."
"Did you bring my friend, Father?" demanded Yuan as he ran to Miras and hugged him.
"Of course I did," Miras replied. "Now, hurry along to your bedchamber—I will bring your friend to you there."
"Yes, Father."
He released himself from the embrace and tore down the halls of the palace, very narrowly missing collisions with the butler, the maid, Lida's physician, the cook, a few walls, and an old chair Miras had finally decided to get rid of. Finally reaching his bedchamber, Yuan collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily, but the smile not fading from his face; finally, his new friend had arrived.
The minutes seemed like months before Miras finally arrived, accompanied by a copper-haired human boy of about Yuan's age. This boy, however, wore no smile. His brown eyes were those of a man several times his young age, blinking scarcely as they examined their new surroundings and never resting on an object for less than a brief moment, as if afraid of becoming attached. A diminished, somber expression was just visible beneath his long, unrestrained bangs, making him appear more sickly and defeated than anyone, young or old, that Yuan had ever seen before.
"This is my son," Miras informed the boy, "Prince Yuan."
The young human nodded as his mahogany eyes met Yuan's teal ones. It was an almost surreal feeling, this connection; Yuan almost felt as though he was communicating with the dead.
Miras smiled. "Well, I shall leave the two of you to do as you please—I have some business to attend to."
And with that, the king was gone, leaving the two boys alone, locked in an awkward silence Yuan had never before experienced.
"So," he began at last, "do you want to play?"
"Play?" the other boy repeated. "What is 'play'?"
Yuan frowned; how did he not know what 'play' was? Plus, how did you describe play, really?
"Play is when you have fun," he decided on after a brief minute of thought.
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Fun?"
"You know, when you're enjoying yourself," Yuan explained, wondering why on earth Miras had picked him such a stupid friend. "When you're happy. You know what 'happy' is, right?"
"I know what it is," the human assured him. "I don't know what it feels like."
Yuan rolled his eyes. "It's hard to explain. Kinda like fractions that way… oh no!"
"What's the matter?" asked the other boy, his frown deepening at Yuan's panicked state.
"My mathematics examination is tomorrow!" Yuan exclaimed in horror. "I have to pass, or I'll be punished! And fractions are so hard!"
"No they're not," the strange boy argued. "Let's say you have a cake, all right?"
Yuan nodded; he liked cake.
"But you have to share your cake. Would you rather share with one other person, or two other people?"
"One," he answered. "That way I get more."
The other boy gave a hint of a smile. "See? Just think of fractions like that—less is more."
In that minute, Yuan had learned more about fractions from this human than in several weeks' worth of lessons from Remiel. It was quite simple, really; how was it that he hadn't understood until now?
"So… do you want me to teach you how to play?"
-
By dinnertime, the boy looked neither tired nor sorrowful, Yuan noted. He was still quiet, but at least he was smiling; after only a few hours, he had gone from a hollow shell to a real person.
They had shared a fun afternoon. Yuan had taught him all of his favorite games, such as tag and hide-and-seek. He'd shown him all his toys, like his rocking horse and his stuffed dog. He had given him a tour of the palace, including the courtyard and even the balconies. Finally, Miras had come to Yuan's room and announced that it was time to eat, so they reluctantly followed him to the dining room and sat down for dinner.
The new boy's brown eyes had widened at the sight of the supper; it was as if he had never seen food in his life. He ate everything that had been placed on his plate, even the vegetables—Miras had practically had to force-feed Yuan his.
Finally, Yuan swallowed his last piece of broccoli and sprang from his seat, taking his friend by the hand and leading him to the last room in the palace they hadn't yet visited; Lida's room.
"Mother!" exclaimed Yuan, jumping onto the bed and wrapping his arms around her.
"Hello, sweetheart," she greeted him with a weak smile and a kiss on the cheek.
Her aqua eyes then rested upon the newcomer.
"And who is this young man?" asked Lida, her grin not fading.
"He's my new friend," Yuan answered promptly.
She nodded, then turned to the boy. "Come here. Don't be shy."
Shaking slightly, he slowly shuffled towards the bed and climbed on top beside Yuan.
"What is your name, dear?" she inquired, running her fingers through his auburn hair.
The boy frowned. "I… I don't have one."
"You don't have a name?" Yuan demanded. "You must; everyone has a name! What does your mother call you?"
His friend's lower lip quivered for a few seconds. At first, Yuan figured it must be a very difficult name to pronounce, but then a single tear fell from one of the boy's dark eyes, proving him wrong.
"Yuan!" Lida scolded.
Yuan flushed apologetically. "Sorry."
His mother shook her head. "There, there," she soothed the new boy, pulling him into a gentle embrace. "Yuan didn't mean to make you cry."
"I know," he assured her, "it's just… I don't have a mother either."
"You don't have a mother?" Yuan demanded. "You must; everyone has a mother! Who is your father married to?"
"Yuan, please!" snapped his mother once more.
His friend's frown deepened. "I don't have a father."
"You don't have a father?" Yuan demanded. "You must; everyone has a father! Who—"
"Yuan! That's enough!" Lida cut him off. She softly placed her hand on the human's face. "I can be your mother, if you like."
The boy nodded, a small smile emerging on his face. "I'd like that very much, your highness."
Lida laughed. "Call me 'Mother'. And as your mother, I should give you a name." She closed her eyes for a second as she thought, then opened them and smiled. "I know. Once, a long time ago, there was a hero who was chosen by the gods to save the land from an army of dark creatures. Overcoming many trials, he managed to defeat the power the creatures served, and ascended to the heavens with the gods as an angel."
"What was his name?" asked the boy.
"Kratos," Lida replied.
The boy nodded. "I like that name."
"So do I," she agreed. "Kratos it is."
A/N: Yeah, I know, cheesy… I tend to do that with the end of chapters, I just want to wrap them up and kinda rush through them. Oh well. Please send reviews. Reviews are tasty.
