He was little, no more than six years old when he first saw the man. He begged his parents, as he often did, to let him outside the castle walls to explore the city of Nevassa. He knew that the only reason he was allowed outside the safety of the castle gates was because he had two of the armoured people with him, each with a pointy stick to call their own. The little prince was a clever child, however, and it wasn't very tricky for him to wonder away. He ran past the guards and down into a crowded marketplace, wondering past the legs of everyone who happened to be larger than he was.

The marketplace was fun. He liked the colours of the various fruits and the clothing of the people, he liked the smell of such fruits, and the noises were exciting when the castle had a lot silence. He could also vaguely remember the secret alleyways that he used to get away before but they were not needed this time. When he decided to leave the marketplace for the bigger world beyond, he bumped into a figure with a cloak pulled over his head, obscuring his face. His arm hung limply at his side and he could hear the figure hiss when the arm was moved, making Kaetar wonder what was wrong with it. He never saw an arm so still before.

"Mister, what's wrong with your arm?"

"Nothing," he said. He looked around and dropped to one knee, looking at him straight in the eye. Kaetar could see his face a lot better than he could before. The man truly was strange. Not only did he keep one arm still, but he also had red eyes and he never met a man with red eyes. "Are you alone?"

"Yes! And my name is Kaetar!" the prince answered, holding out his hand. The figure looked at it and shook it with his other hand. "What is your name, sir? Why are your eyes red?"

Speaking politely was one of those things that his father had taught him. He said it was a good way to make everyone nice to you, so long as you were nice to them first. This man, however, didn't really seem polite. It made Kaetar frown. He didn't seem to want to give him his name, and it was another thing that struck him odd. Why didn't he want to say his name?

"Do you like presents?"

Kaetar was suddenly really excited and he forgot about all the weird things like the still arm and the red eyes. He liked presents. What kid didn't like presents? He thought that everyone deserved presents as long as they were good, and Kaetar was very good – well, his father might have a word with him about wandering away from the guards. They were boring though! The stranger pulled a necklace out from his cloak and with one hand, he placed it around Kaetar's neck and then tucked it in his shirt.

"You saw that, right? Keep it safe and don't tell anyone that you have it. It will be our secret and no one else should know about it."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it's my treasure," he answered, getting up. "I should go." With that, he walked away, leaving Kaetar staring at his new treasure by peeking down his shirt. When he let his shirt hang off his neck again, he felt someone grab his arm and he squeaked from the sudden movement.

"That was a bad thing you did, Your Highness!" one the guards said. "You've had enough today. We're going back right now!"

"But I'll be good this time! I PROMISE!" he shouted, but the other guard grabbed his other arm and they both hoisted him off the ground and carried him back to the castle. "Your father will hear about this." Kaetar frowned. He wondered what his father would take away this time.

As of March 1th 2015, the prologue has been rewritten. Other chapters will be getting the same treatment.