A/N: Hello there my lovely little readers! Welcome to another ToV multi-chap fanfic! (Actually, it's my second, but ToV is the most common thing I've written. o_0 )

So, this one is a little different! AU pre-game setting, and we've got royalty and class galore. Well, not really, but you get my meaning.

Basically...kingdoms.

Dun dun dunnnnn!

So, I didn't actually know the name of the Empire. So I just called it Zaphias. Seems legit.

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Vesperia. It belongs to Namco Bandai.

They were running. Rushing through the streets and pushing past people, stammering apologies as they went. Any time he tripped, his parents pulled him back up, not giving a chance to rest. When he began to lag, they picked him up and carried him, giving him the chance to look over his shoulder.

The soldiers chasing them were emotionless, their swords and spears pointing at them menacingly. No matter how fast they ran, or how many times they ducked down small alleys, the soldiers followed them.

His mother gave a little sob as she stumbled slightly, and his father reached out, steadying her.

"Just a little longer, Lana. I promise, we'll be out soon," he panted, glancing over his shoulder at the knights before lengthening his stride.

Just as they were reaching the edge of the city, running towards the edge of the barrier, one of the knights lifted a crossbow and fired. He watched in shock as it travelled the short distance, plunging through his mother's heart. She stiffened then fell, eyes wide but empty.

His father came to a brief halt, his breath catching, then he shook his head before turning and continuing to run, clutching him tightly. He looked back at the prone figure of his mother and felt tears rising, and buried his head in his father's shoulder.

They spent several months out in the wilderness, walking listlessly. Before long, their meagre supplies ran out, and any food or water his father could find was given to him, only a small amount being held back for his father to live off.

One day, he grinned as he spotted a large city. "Dad! Look!" he cried, pointing. His father glanced up slightly before he suddenly fell, hitting the ground hard. He jumped before turning back, eyes widening as he saw him. He quickly ran back, kneeling beside his father.

"Dad? Dad, please, don't do this.."

"S-Sorry...but you must..go on alone...Go to that city...you'll...be safe there.." his father murmured before his eyes slid shut, body going still.

For a moment he was quiet, then he gently squeezed his father's hand. He stood up and continued walking, eyes cast downwards but no tears rising.

He didn't care anymore.

He had no tears left.

Prince Yuri sighed, stretching and giving a wide yawn. He jumped down from the seat he had been sitting on in his bedroom and went to the door, opening it. The maid cleaning the main area of his room looked up as he walked out, and smiled.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness. Where are you going today?" she asked.

"I was thinking of going down into the city for a little while...Tell my father, would you?" he said.

"Of course, Your Highness. Should I alert your guard, as well?"

"No, that's okay. They've got enough soldiers posted down there anyway, and I don't plan on going to any of the bad areas."

"If you say so, Your Highness. I hope you enjoy yourself."

Yuri grinned at her then headed out of the room, walking down the hallway to the entrance. He went down the steps, waving to the guards posted at the gate, then ran towards the city, looking around in interest.

People called out greetings as they spotted him. He was a pretty common sight down in the city, as he spent a lot of his time making friends with the citizens in an attempt to understand what their problems were so that he could be a good king when he was older.

As he wandered around the streets, looking at the wares, he saw a small boy sitting with his back against a wall. He looked around Yuri's age, and was covered in dirt and grime. Yuri guessed he'd probably have blonde hair under the dirt, but it was hard to tell.

He hesitated for a moment then walked towards him, kneeling down infront of the boy. The boy glanced up slightly, showing bright blue eyes, then went back to staring at his knees.

"Hello. Who are you?" Yuri asked, tilting his head.

The boy didn't reply, burying is head further down.

Yuri frowned, then glanced around. "Where are your parents?"

"...Dead," the boy replied finally. Yuri looked back in surprise, then looked worried.

"I-I'm sorry..."

He wondered for a moment if the boy was crying, but couldn't see properly enough. He nudged him.

"Are you okay?"

His constant badgering finally made the boy look up at him directly, showing his face properly. Yuri blinked. His eyes were a beautiful light blue, like a cloudless summer day, yet they were dark and empty. Pain shone in them, and for a moment he was captivated. Then he shook his head.

"Do you have a home?"

"...No."

"Well...why don't you come back with me?"

"Why?"

"You don't have anything, right? I promise, while you're with me, you'll be looked after really well."

The boy gazed at him. "I don't have anything to give in return."

"Then...just become my servant. Or guard. Either, really."

The boy looked surprised, then doubtful. "You barely know me. Why are you offering this?"

"I dunno...There's something about you. Like, I should know you really well, or something." Yuri shrugged, grinning. "Maybe we were destined to meet!"

The boy stared at him a moment, then gave a slight smile. "Yeah...maybe."

"So you'll come back with me?"

After a moment, he nodded. "Okay," he agreed, and Yuri stood up, extending a hand to him. The boy hesitantly took it, and Yuri helped him up, leading him back up to the castle.

The boy seemed surprised when he realised that Yuri lived there, then bit his lip.

"Y'know...I'm not sure I should really be hanging around with you if you're royalty.."

"Don't be silly. Father is used to me making friends with commoners."

"But do you usually house them?"

"No, but our policy here is to always help someone in need. Our family is for the people, and we strive to make sure everyone is treated equally and fairly. Kinda like our sister kingdom, Zaphias."

The boy stared down at his feet. "...Zaphias probably won't be like that much longer."

"Huh? Why? Wait, did you come from Zaphias?"

The boy nodded, and Yuri bit his lip.

"Something must have happened then...we'll talk to my father later, okay?"

"Right."

"What's your name, by the way?"

"...Flynn. Flynn Scifo."

"Yuri Lowell, nice to meet you!"

His maid, Maria, looked up then smiled as she spotted Yuri pulling a blonde boy behind him.

"Welcome back, Your Highness. Is this a new friend of yours?" she asked.

"Yeah! He's called Flynn, and he's going to be my new guard from now on!"

Maria giggled then bowed to Flynn. "Please take care of the Prince, then," she said.

Flynn blinked then stared at Yuri. "Wait...you're a boy?" he said, then clapped a hand on his mouth as he realised how rude he had just been.

Yuri pouted. "I know my hair is pretty long, but honestly..."

"No, it's just...you're pretty, so I assumed.." Flynn stammered, trying to fix the situation, then went even redder as what he said occured to him.

Yuri raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "You're weird, Flynn."

Flynn didn't reply, just clutched the edge of his ragged shirt as his face went beetroot red.

Yuri motioned to a door. "The bath is over there. Just get yourself cleaned up, and I'll find some clothes for you to wear, okay?"

Flynn nodded mutely, walking over to the door and heading in. Yuri glanced over at Maria, who had already started looking for some clothes.

"Maria, I can do that, you don't need to..." Yuri started, but Maria shook her head.

"You're the Prince, Your Highness. It would be rude for me to make you look for something so trivial."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "See, this is why I'm constantly bored. You're lucky I'm not spoiled!" he said with a grin. Maria giggled, then went back to searching for some clothes.

Flynn was soon cleaned up, and stepped out, wearing a few of Yuri's old clothes. He glanced down at them, considering, then smiled at Yuri.

"Thanks," he said happily.

"No problem. So, what should we do now?" Yuri asked, swinging his feet from where he was sitting on the windowsill.

"Um...What do you usually do?" asked Flynn.

Yuri shrugged. "I don't really do anything except go down to town."

"What about hanging out with friends?"

The little prince shook his head. "I...don't have any. Everyone thinks they can't play with me..."

Flynn frowned. "Oh..Don't you have any siblings or cousins?"

"No, Father was an only child, and my mother died a short while after I was born. Father has never remarried so..."

Flynn considered this. "Well...how about we be friends then?" he suggested, before smiling and holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Yuri. I'm Flynn," he said, grinning.

Yuri gazed at his hand a moment, then smiled shyly and took it. "Nice to meet you too, Flynn."

Flynn nodded happily. "So, do you have a garden? Maybe we could play tag or hide and seek."

"What are they?"

"Tag is when someone is 'it' and everyone runs around, trying not to get tagged by 'it'. If they do, that makes them 'it'. Hide and seek is when one person closes their eyes and counts to one hundred while everyone else hides, then they try to find them," Flynn explained.

Yuri considered. "How about...hide and seek?"

Flynn nodded. "Sure! Okay, where's the garden?"

"This way," Yuri said, leaping onto the floor and leading Flynn down the hallways to the garden.

A/N: Meh, this is pretty much a prologue. I just needed to get Flynn and Yuri together before the actual serious stuff starts happening. Though, there was a little plot development. That little tiny bit at the beginning.

Review?