Despite the fact that I had been away for so long, I was welcomed back to Chon'sin with open arms. Since my brother was busy ruling the kingdom, I decided to take it upon myself to help defend it. I joined the Chon'sin guard. I started as a low ranking soldier, but, within two years, I was chief.

I know what you're thinking: You assume that the reason I was promoted so fast was due to my position as the prince. However, I can assure you that was very much not the case.

In fact, it was actually quite the opposite…

"Listen up, soldiers!" Jon'so said to the gather members of the guard in the center of the station. "Tomorrow is the royal parade through the town, so everyone is on duty. An elite portion of you will be defending the royal family, while the rest of you will be on the lookout for potential criminals who think the parade will make a good cover for any major crimes. On the board here are all of your assigned posts. Car'la will be in charge of moderating the town guard, and Karl'on will be in charge of moderating the parade guard. On this board, you will see where you were assigned. Once you know your position, meet with your respective superior for more information."

The crowd made a general noise of understanding, and Jon'so made a motion to dismiss the crowd. A few guardsmen went to examine the board. One of the newer ones noticed something.

"Chief?" The rookie asked.

"What's wrong, Jul'ha?" Jon'so asked.

"I was looking at the board, and I noticed that you aren't assigned to anything." Jul'ha said. "I wouldn't be asking about it, but I know how you like to work the field with us."

Jon'so smiled. "Well, Jul'ha, I would completely willing to volunteer to protect the royal family, but I will obviously busy on the day of the parade."

"With what?" She asked.

"...You must be joking, correct?" Jon'so asked, dropping his smile.

"Yeah, boss, why are you busy?" One of the older officers asked. A few others had taken interest in the conversation as well.

"...I will be part of the parade." Jon'so clarified.

"Really? They're having a military representation?" Another officer asked.

"No! I'm the king's brother!" Jon'so exclaimed. "I'm the prince!"

"...Really?" Jul'ha asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we would remember that, chief." One of the officers commented.

"Yes, I am sure I am the prince." Jon'so replied, growing annoyed with the conversation.

"...I never knew we had a prince." One of the officers commented skeptically.

"Well, you do." Jon'so said. "Now, if you need me, I'll be hitting up the food district."

"Ah, trying your hand at again, right boss?" Jul'ha asked.

"We never give up on catching someone, Jul'ha." Jon'so commented, as he exited the office. "Even if they are a rather slippery dasterd…" He muttered under his breath.

The office returned to it's usual pace of work.

...Until another officer noticed something on the board.

"Hey, why isn't the chief's name here?" He asked.

"...I'm not sure." Jul'ha said. "I know the chief just explained it...but I forget…"

Turns out my father's lack of presence was passed down to me, albeit in a different form. Were I a different man, I would be greatly offended by the fact that people tend to forget my bloodline, but I can get through it.

You may have noticed that, at this point in the story, I have made reference to all of my current traveling companions, except for one.

My relationship with Aln before we started traveling together was...about what you would expect.

Jon'so hated it when a chase went to the rooftops. As he jumped between two buildings, all he could think about were the citizens who were disturbed by the clattering footsteps of the chase.

His target dashed across the shorter building, making his way to the edge of the building. The distance between this building and the building next to it was a larger jump then Jon'so knew he could make. His target, on the other hand, lept across the large gap as if it were nothing. He turned around, knowing Jon'so would not attempt the jump.

Jon'so stopped at the edge of the roof.

"Aln!" He shouted. "You can still turn yourself in!"

The thief scoffed. "What, so you can beat the crap out of me? I don't see why you're making such a big deal about this. All I did was steal a loaf of bread!"

"And a bag of gold!" Jon'so exclaimed.

"Well, it was just sitting there." Aln said.

"And a painting." Jon'so added.

"The colors compliment my hideout." Aln commented.

"You literally stole candy from a baby and the shirt off of someone's back!" Jon'so exclaimed.

"You have to admit the shirt thing was pretty impressive." Aln said. "Besides, I don't see any reason for you to chase me down for all this crap. Tell you what: I'll ditch the gold." Aln dropped the sack of gold. "That way I won't be stealing anything too expensive."

"...I won't let you get away!" Jon'so hissed. "You're a thief!"

"Well, you don't really have any choice." Aln said, backing away from the ledge, approaching the other side of the building he was standing on. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to meet with some friends. Well, more like work buddies. Bad part about being a criminal is that everyone you work with is an asshole." With that, Aln dove off of the other side of the building.

Jon'so groaned in annoyance. He had been dealing with Aln for as long as he had been a part of the guard. Aln seemed to think that he and Jon'so were under some sort of understanding. Jon'so, however, just hated the little shit.

Jon'so looked at the bag on the building. Well, at least he had the gold.

"And the bag was full of fruit?" Nei'oh asked, as he poured himself another glass of wine.

"Yes." Jon'so replied, taking the pitcher away from his brother. "Fie, brother, you have had your fill."

"Hey, you're the one running around, having adventures with handsome thieves and beautiful women." The king retorted. "I had to deal with various councils all day. I think I've earned the right to drink myself to death in a bed full of the most beautiful people in the world."

Jon'so sighed. He never knew how to respond to his brother when he was like this. When he was traveling, he had heard stories of the young king of the Chon'sin. Half the stories spoke of him as if he were the second coming of Emmeryn (as they would, since most people were unaware of the fact that she was still alive), The other half spoke of him being a drunken sexual deviant. Jon'so had to admit that both claims were based on some truth.

"So, brother, tell me more about this thief." Nei'oh said. "Did he ever have the gold, or did he leave the fruit for you as a sign of love?"

"I found out the 'citizen' who he stole the gold from was one of his cohorts." Jon'so replied. "They performed the real robbery while I was busy chasing around Aln."

"Ah, tis a pity then." The king said dramatically. "He used your love against him-"

"You know, brother." Jon'so said, unable to contain his annoyance, "if you keep trying to pair me off with the man who makes my job a living hell, I will be forced to reveal the story of the Valmian officials who visited last year."

Nei'oh dropped his mocking smile. "You're not talking about-?"

"The one's with the wax." Jon'so replied.

"...Very well." Nei'oh said. "I suppose you are engaged anyway. I read Lucina's last letter to you, by the way."

"You should not read my mail, regardless of your position." Jon'so said.

"Oh, kings have done much worse, and you're my brother, so it's not tyrannical." The king replied. "Anyway, would I really read anything inappropriate? Knowing the grown Lucina, I would suspect you and the younger not to be so publicly adventurous."

"...From what I've heard, Lucina was rather fond of adventures-"

"I mean sexually, brother." Nei'oh clarified.

"Ah."

"Anyway, she seemed rather docile, which is surprising, considering your apparently abrupt departure all those years ago." The king said.

"She wants to kill me." Jon'so said, pailing a little.

"Yeah, have fun with that." Nei'oh replied. "So, are you sure you don't wish to pursue the thief? You might need a backup plan…"

Despite how it may sound, my brother was a fantastic king. He was forced to rule a kingdom at a young age, much like Emmeryn. He found some vices, true, but they never stained his reputation in any way he didn't plan. His citizens and allies knew how brilliant he was, while his enemies often had the misfortune of underestimating him.

My life in Chon'sin was a good life. I had found a place in the world, a direct duty to help people. I had a family again.

I almost forgot about my uncle's warnings about the end of the world. I was happy.

Then the Veiled Woman attacked and everything went to Hell.

I'm trying to write Nei'oh as a combination of Emmeryn and Oberyn Martell. A good and just ruler who is also rather charming and sexual. He's actually rather fun to write, Jon'so.

The next chapter will be about Aln and where he came from. After three of his chapters, you'll know what he's doing in Chon'sin.