The first chapters will be kinda the back story to the story I guess? Like how the first few episodes of Shingeki show what the background and stuff etc. Kinda like that? Kinda? xD
Prince Rivaille was very cute.
The cute part about him was special. It wasn't the way he huffed at anyone trying to talk to him who weren't his parents, but the invisible blush on his cheeks while he sneered which showed that he was only a shy little boy who had a spiky shell. It was as if he thought, if you don't like me enough to deal with my outside, you don't deserve to get to my inside. B-but I won't mind if you do or anything...
Of course he was not. He was only five years old.
Being a prince scarcely allowed him to wander outside the palace, for safety reasons. Shortly after the fall of the previous reign, the remnants of its supporters have formed a cult kind of organisation, with the sole purpose of inducing the current reign as much trouble as possible. Obviously, if they managed to get hold of the national treasure, The Prince, the King would definitely be very troubled. Despite that, the King was overprotective of his child's young mind and did not directly let him know of the country's dangerous side. Although he did say, 'Rivaille, candy from strangers are dirty, so never accept them.'
Like any other day, Rivaille wandered around the castle after his lessons of etiquette, language, and other things a prince should know. Since he was a prince, he was taught many complicated subjects at a young age, but he was also a genius. Taught by the country's best educators, he rivaled students of near-adulthood at the age that normal children have not even started school.
Always dressed immaculately, there was not a speck of dirt on his brilliantly clean clothes. His mother had inserted into his values that he was to be presentable at all times, to never let dust or soil taint his precious skin. He was a prince, after all.
But he was still a child.
Out of natural curiosity Rivaille often wanted to explore the outside world, beyond the gardens and trees and fences. He wanted to see the amazing landmarks describes in books with his own eyes; oceans of salty water, deserts with giant cacti, penguins. According to geography and humanities, there were many types of people, with almond shaped eyes so different from his, with skin much darker than his icily pale complexion. Apparently some had adapted to their environment and so changed their outer appearance. Rivaille had no idea that humans were powerful enough to perform such complicated tasks. How did they manage? How did the first person change? Did it suddenly happen, or did it take long, long years and many experiments? The world was a mystery to him. There were still so many books that he had not read. He dreamed of growing taller to reach all the shelves in the magnificent library that he had spent so much time in.
Although, what he was most curious about was the mysterious power that special people had, called 'magic'.
A long time ago, there were many types of magic. It was common and part of everyday life for even ordinary people. However, the only magic at the present time was the ability of wizards, divination. They could see fragments of a person's future, but even wizards were rare these days and few could see enough to make sense of the message.
The day which the three wizards spoke of Prince Rivaille's future was a forbidden subject. He himself had no idea of its happening until one day, a year ago, he heard the conversation of a pair of maids:
"Did you know, the prince is cursed!"
Rivaille's ears perked up. He was moving back to his room after his lessons, musing how the strength of army blades can be improved. Even at a young age, he was already thinking of the country's welfare.
"Shh! If we're caught talking about this we'll be executed!" Another voice whispered. Rivaille was curious; what were these servants speaking of? Surely, he himself would know if-
"One of the guards sneaked into the kitchen for wine yesterday. He spoke me this in return for me not telling anyone that he escaped duty. He said he was guarding the room where the three wizards made foresight for Prince Rivaille four years ago. He said he saw with his own eyes one of the wizards disappearing after informing that the prince will meet a tragic end! One moment he was there, the next he was gone!"
"That guard is bluffing. I heard that the wizard was arrested and burst into flame in his cell. The dungeon guards say that his ghost haunts the prison even today!"
"But...what about the prince?"
"They said that before that man died he cursed Prince Rivaille to die before he even reaches adulthood, at age fifteen!"
A large of pair of hands covered Rivaille's small ears. He looked up into the smiling face of a handsome man.
"Prince Rivaille," the man voiced, "please pretend that you never heard this conversation."
"Why, Irvin?" The prince asked. "Is it not your duty to protect me, to let me know of what may threaten my life?"
"Yes, it is." Irvin squatted down to face Rivaille. "You have no need to worry. I, as your personal guard, will keep you from all harm. Although what they are speaking of is not worth for your knowledge. They are only speaking absurdities, gossip of the servants which contain no truth. You are safe, Prince Rivaille."
Rivaille was about to protest, but Irvin put a finger on his lips to stop him. "The topic that they are speaking of is prohibited. If they were caught, by someone like me especially, the consequences for them will be severe."
The prince was silent. Irvin smiled and retracted his hand.
"Are you threatening me?" Rivaille said quietly, his grey eyes looking intensely into Irvin's.
His smile unfading, Irvin replied, "Not at all, your majesty.
"You are just too kind."
Rivaille had enough common sense in him to not ask anyone about the supposed curse. He understood the message in Irvin's words: he, Rivaille, was not supposed to know of this. Irvin never tried to fool him; he knew that he was smart. However, Rivaille knew that Irvin was smarter.
It didn't matter. He trusted Irvin to protect him, even if it wasn't a materialistic source of harm. Besides, Irvin said it didn't exist, so it probably didn't. Irvin was usually right.
What he really wanted to know about were the other kinds of magic, practical ones, like levitating objects, creating fire out of nowhere. People were made to live in the present, so why look into the future?
Apparently, even transformation magic existed. Apparently, if you forgot the keys to your home, you could transform into an insect and crawl through a gap in the door to enter. There was also creation magic, like fusing the seed of an apple and a pear to harvest a new type of fruit.
Rivaille loved the world. It was beautiful. Everything about it was so interesting, so fascinating. It was as if, even if the people didn't understand him, thought he was a snobbish, immature, arrogant prince, as long as the world accepted him, all was fine.