The mountain ranges surrounding the large kingdom shot up into the sky and the trees and lakes gave the area a very majestic look to it. The water in the lakes were very clear and always swarmed with life.
In the middle of it all was a giant castle that loomed over the surrounding land and it had a peaceful village at the bottom of it. The places were simply styled but they were also very comfortable which was what the king had always strived for. He never had a wish to see his people suffer from stuff like that. So he always worked to improve the way they lived.
The land was separated in four different kingdoms. They were the north, the south, the east, and the west. He controlled over the west. This kingdom was one of the most powerful of the four.
Although each of the kingdoms was ruled by their own form of government, the kingdom of the west was the ruler over them all. Yet it never interfered unless the other lands requested it or the situation became too out of control that it required them to intervene.
The young prince of the kingdom was a man admired just as much as his father. He was always a bit of a troublemaker but the people loved him just as much as they did his father and made sure to give him all the respect he rightfully deserved.
He currently stood out on a balcony that overlooked the lands. The sun reflected off the lake and cast the country in a beautiful light. He could only just stare at it a little bored right then.
He turned around and started to walk back into the castle and into the bustle of servants. It'd been like that all day it was the only thing he could do to stay out of the way so that he wouldn't be yell at like he'd been at least three times that day.
"Van!" a very feminine voice said causing Van to turn and smile when he saw his mother. She looked him over and frowned. "You're not ready yet young man. Go and get changed because our guests will start arriving soon," Van's mother the queen Emily Flyheight said with a stern look on her face.
Van just grinned sheepishly. "I'd loved to have done it by now but I've had a hard time going anywhere today," he said but he could see the look on his mother's face that clearly said that she didn't believe him. He just sighed and gave in. "I'll go do it now," he muttered turning the other way and started to walk down the halls.
They'd been preparing for this for weeks. It was a special get together with the royal family of the north. Van felt like he just wanted to throw up every time he heard it mentioned. It just continued to get on his nerves the more and more it was talked about over the past month or two.
He never met the royal family of the north but the fuss that the servants and his parents were making was just making things so much harder on him to actually have a bit of fun. It was all work and not enough time to relax.
The royal family of the north was supposed to be coming down for a few weeks. It was later that day that they were supposed to arrive and everyone was rushing around to get every last bit of preparation completed.
They were supposed to be coming down there for some sort of marriage or something like that, Van couldn't remember exactly. Van didn't even give a care about it all. He didn't see any reason to ever have to get married except to produce an heir. It was something that both of his parents were getting on his case about since he was twenty-one and hadn't even started to look for anyone.
'You need to find someone and produce an heir to the kingdom Van,' his father continued to say over and over again. 'You need to settle down with a nice wife,' his mother continued to say. He swore that he'd go crazy if he had to listen to another one of those lectures again.
Up until then, Van didn't give a care about finding a wife and he still doesn't. There had been no women up until then that struck his interest. All the women of the royal court were trying too hard to get his attention but it only seemed to drive him away even more.
Van walked into his room and saw his formal outfit that he was supposed to wear for that night. He hated wearing stuff like that though. He always preferred a casual style and never wore anything like that unless he was forced to.
Van sat down on the bed and just stared at the outfit but didn't put it on. Instead, he laid down and stared up at the ceiling wishing that he didn't have to go through all of this. It was all a waste of time and he felt that there was no big point but his father always said that he'd realize how important stuff like this was when he became king, but he wouldn't be able to do that until he found himself a bride.
Van just sat there for a few minutes just staring up at the ceiling before his eyes started to droop and he fell asleep. He felt that there was still plenty of time until they arrived and that this nap would do him a lot of good; He didn't get much sleep the night before anyways.
The queen waited patiently with her husband for her son to come back down but she suspected from when he left that he'd probably end up falling asleep. It was something that he always did and they just got used to it happened. It didn't mean that she wouldn't give him a scolding for it later.
"Van knows how important this is and he still doesn't seem to want to started acting his age and take some responsibility," Van's father Dan said as they waited in the main hall waiting for their guests to arrive. There was no point getting him now since he wouldn't be ready in time.
"Van will be always Van Dan. There's nothing you'll be able to change about that right now. He'll learn in time. Let him have his way for now but he'll understand eventually," Emily said as she stood next to him as they walked out in the front of the castle to await the carriages that the royal family of the north were going to coming with in just a short amount of time.
"I guess," Dan said although he wasn't really mad. He was just like Van when he was younger but came to understand his responsibility as the king as the years came to pass and he met his wife. She was probably what changed him the most. That's what he hoped for Van, that he'd find someone like that who'll be able to make him see things as they really were.
"Here they come," Emily said as she noticed several horse drawn carriages coming up the path. They were finally carved carriages and the horses pulling them were also very beautiful. Most of them were pretty large and they were ranging from the purest of white colors to the darkest of blacks.
They came up the dirt road and then came to a stop in front of the large doors to the castle. There was no movement for a few moments before the doors to the carriages opened and several figures stepped out of the three carriages.
Out of the first carriage came an elderly couple and more than likely the king and queen. The man was at least in his late fifties by then and his hair was really white and he had a small beard growing. The woman looked about the same age but she looked much younger than he actually age suggests.
Out of the second carriage came two more figures. One was very formally dressed but had slightly messy hair. He had a stern look on his face. They guessed that he was the first crowned prince. The woman that stood beside him was nothing but a servant. She had tan skin and was very cheerful looking compared to the man next to her. She looked pretty impressed by the castle.
Only one figure came out of the last carriage. He looked really upset about something but didn't say a word as he looked around the place. He didn't really looked too impressed by what he was seeing but kept his mouth shut so that he didn't upset anyone that was there.
"Greetings my old friend," Dan said walking up to the elderly looking man and shook his hand. He then gave a short hug to the woman next to him. "I suppose these are your two sons," he said as he looked over in the two boys' direction.
"Yes, the eldest one is Karl," the king named Trent said with a smile as he pointed out the first boy. "The other is my youngest son, Thomas. You haven't met him before," Trent said as he pointed towards the younger of the two who was looking around the place as if expecting someone.
Dan walked up to Karl and held out his hand. "It's nice to see you. I haven't seen you since you were just a baby," Dan said as he shook hands with the man as Karl smiled back at him and shook his hand.
"Yes, I have been looking forward to seeing this place. I've heard many rumors but they didn't do justice to how beautiful a place this is," Karl said as he admired the scenery. "Don't you agree Thomas?" Karl asked turning to his younger brother but the younger man just shrugged his shoulders.
Dan just smiled and walked over to Thomas. "It's nice to meet you Thomas. I heard that you're to be married soon. Where is your lovely bride to be?" he asked and saw Thomas's face light up at just the mention of her. He could've sworn that he saw Karl roll his eyes too.
Thomas opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by his brother. "She'll be coming soon. Took one of the horses and left earlier this morning to go on a short ride of the countryside. She originally grew up here apparently," Karl explained because he knew that Thomas would go into way too much detail about stuff and then start bragging about her.
"Sounds like my son. He too left even though he knew you were arriving. He's probably up in his room sleeping," Dan said before he turned back to the king. "Shall we go inside? I shall show all of you around why we wait for them to join us," Dan said and the other king nodded as he was led into the castle.
"That was awfully rude of you to interrupt me like that Karl," Thomas muttered to his brother as they followed the adults into the castle. "I'm perfectly able to talk for myself. I don't need you answering for me," he continued to mutter rather angrily.
"I don't think they need an hour long discussion on how perfect she is Thomas," Karl muttered wishing his brother would just drop it. He actually felt bad for her for having to put it with Thomas's nonsense. "Better hurry up or we'll be left behind," he said pulling ahead of his brother and following the adults.
Thomas sneered as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I think I'll just look around on my own thank you very much," he said before he stormed off into a different part of the castle.
"Um... Thomas just stormed off," Karl informed his parents since he wasn't sure if they wanted him to stay close or not. "Want me to go and bring him back?" he asked looking between them and the direction that Thomas went off in.
"Let him go. He's old enough to do what he wants," Dan said looking rather amused. He had to admit to himself though that he did find the behavior even worse than Van would normally do. "We'll just talk to him later at dinner. I suspect that's when Van will be down as well," he said leading through another passage.
Van yawned as he sat up in his bed. He turned to look out the window and groaned when he saw that by the looks of the sun, he'd been asleep for several hours. He just knew that he was going to get yelled at by his parents for missing the welcoming. He'd rather they just not came though.
There was a very thorough pounding on the door that made Van suddenly towards it quickly. He wondered if it was his parents there to punish him. "Um… it's open," Van managed to stutter as he rubbed his eyes.
The door opened and a tall man came into the room. His hair was very messy and he had an eye patch over one of his eyes. Van always found it strange since there wasn't anything wrong with the eye in the first place. It was Van's friend Irvine and he was also general of the kingdom's army. Except for Van and his father, Irvine was the best fighter they had.
"Oh it's just you Irvine," Van groaned as he fell back onto the bed. "Let me guess, my mom sent you," he muttered as he tried his best to stifle the yawn that was threatening to come out of his mouth.
"She didn't look too happy about it Van. She'll probably go easy on you though… she always does," Irvine said holding in the smirk. He knew Van's mother never was able to stay angry at Van for long.
Van groaned as he stood up and walked over to his wardrobe. He had no reason to wear the clothes set out for him earlier now. He could at least go with something nice but less formal. "Can you tell her that I'll be down in a few?" Van asked and he heard Irvine groan.
Irvine turned and started to walk to the door. "I'm a soldier, not a servant," Irvine said but somehow he knew he'd have to do it anyways. "Hurry up because dinner's supposed to start in a few minutes," he said before he walked out the door.
Van changed into a simple, but decent in his parents standards, outfit and quickly threw his hair into it's normal style, spiky hair with a rattail in the back of his head. He then looked at himself in the mirror and thought that he's decent enough.
Van walked out of the room and turned right as he started to walk down the corridors towards the dining room. 'Might as well get this meeting over and then get back to my nap,' he thought stifling his yawn yet again as he approached the end of the hallway.
"Hey you!" a voice yelled out and Van turned around towards the source of the voice. He came face to face with a man that he'd never seen before. Van wondered if he was a new servant or something. Had to be if he was acting this rudely to him of all people. "Why hasn't my room been set up yet servant," he said since he'd just seen his room and it wasn't the way he normally liked it. It was very basic and he liked his to be an exact way.
Van raised an eyebrow at the way this man was spoken to. 'Did he just call me a servant?' Van asked himself feeling a great need to laugh. "I don't know. They were supposed to have been set up earlier," Van said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Van knew that they were all set up already. The servants were supposed to have set them up a few days ago. His parents even made him go and check to make sure earlier that day. "Look I don't know what your problem is but they are exactly how they are supposed to be mister," Van said with an amused expression as he turned around.
"Mister!" Thomas yelled finding it insulting for someone of his stature to be called mister. "Do you know who I am!" Thomas yelled but Van just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. "I am Thomas Richard Shubaltz! I am the prince of the northern lands and you dare insult me!"
'So this is the Shubaltz brat? I feel bad for whoever has to marry him,' Van thought feeling more amused than worried. 'I don't care who you are. You should show a little more respect to people," Van said turning around and continued to walk to the dining room.
Thomas stood there and scowled. 'How dare a servant of all people disrespect me like that! I'm going to make sure that he pays for that disrespect that he showed me. He says I need to learn respect!' he thought before he turned in another direction to head to the dining room. He'd make sure the guy was thrown out on his ass for the disrespect that he was shown.
Van meanwhile was just walking down a long corridor. He made sure that he took the longest way because he didn't want to go the same way he was sure that Thomas was about to go. It was bad enough that he was going to be staying there for the next two months. He didn't really want to put up with him when he didn't have to.
Van turned a corner which led out to the gardens. He needed a little fresh air after that encounter and just decided to keep everyone waiting. He was highly surprised though when he saw that the garden was already occupied.
There was a woman standing in the garden. She had beautiful blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail in the back but was also short on the top. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress that made Van feel really underdressed at that moment. Her back was to him so he couldn't see her face. He was pretty sure that he'd never seen her around as well.
As if sensing his presence, the woman turned around and stared at him with probably the most beautiful crimson eyes he'd ever seen. He was definitely sure then that he'd never seen her.
"Oh pardon, me, I didn't think that anyone was going to be out here," the woman spoke bowing slightly as she looked at the man before her. He seemed to have the air of someone of importance so she was being as polite as possible. "I'll be leaving anyways," she said as she walked past him and into the castle.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Van said as he took a seat on the bench. The temperature was nice out right then and he felt like just sitting around for a few minutes before he headed into the castle for dinner.
The woman came to a stop and just sighed as she sat down on a bench a short distance away from Van. "This is a beautiful garden you have here. I've never seen such unique flowers," she complimented although she was sure that he wasn't the one that planted them.
"My mother will be pleased to hear such a compliment. She was the one that put together all that you've seen. She even managed to make a few new flowers as you can see," Van said pointing out some slightly weird colored one that were beautiful despite their strangeness.
She just looked at Van and smiled a very beautiful smile. "Then I'll have to give my compliments to her if I ever meet her," she said as she delicately held a flower that looked like a blue rose. "Such unique flowers are very beautiful," she muttered as she carefully let go of it in case she damaged it.
She suddenly stood up and Van's eyes followed her as if it was the best thing for him to do. It was almost like something would happen to him if he took his eyes off. 'What the hell is wrong with me!' he silently cursed in his mind as he shook his head to get rid of any thoughts.
She slowly turned and her dress fluttered around her for a few seconds. "I should get going to get ready or I'll be late," she muttered as she carefully walked in such smooth steps that it almost looked as if she was gliding across the floor. She then exited and disappeared from sight before Van could utter another word.
Never had Van seen someone like that before. He wondered who she could be and why he'd never seen her before that day. 'She needs to get ready? Maybe she's joining us for dinner. Who is she though?' he couldn't help but contemplate as he stood up and started to head back to his room. He had a sudden urge to look nicer.
Thomas walked quickly and angrily towards the dining hall. By the time he reached it, he managed to calm down a bit and straighten himself out. He didn't want himself to look bad in front of his parents and her.
Thomas opened the door to the room and walked inside and saw that everyone was already there and waiting for him. "Good evening everyone," he said managing to put a smile on his face. "Sorry I'm late but there was this really rude servant that held me up," he said taking a seat in one of only three open seats. "She not here yet?" he asked taking close notice to the empty seat that was right next to him. He never did like it when she wasn't around.
"She's been here for a while. Last I saw she was wondering around the castle. Just give it a little time. The Flyheights are eager to meet her as well. She'll more than likely be coming in a few minutes," his mother said in a soft voice as she looked at her son fondly.
Thomas couldn't seem to settle down though and jumped whenever he heard the slightest movement. Then the door opened and he got all excited and scrambled to his feet and turned towards it but frowned when he saw who it was.
Thomas scowled and he grew angry at just the sight of Van. "You! You dare show up here after the way you insulted me!" Thomas yelled taking a few steps forward not realizing the looks of caution that his parents and brother were trying to give him since they actually knew who Van was.
Dan looked towards the other king who was sitting across from him. He wanted some answers as to what was going on. When he saw the kings head drop, he knew that he didn't really know either but somehow suspected something like this to happen with his son.
"Um… Thomas," Karl said as he stood up and slowly approached his brother. He would sometimes tease his brother but he didn't want him to humiliate himself with what he was about to do. "I really think that you should…"
"Shut up Karl! Don't interfere. This servant has insulted me and needs to be punished for it!" he yelled as he turned towards Van. He was still missing the looks that clearly told him to stop from everyone else in the room. "Just who do you think you are!" he yelled at Van getting right into his face.
Van just had a smug look on his face as he stared at Thomas. It was pretty clear that he still didn't know who Van was. "I think the question is who are you to ask me that?" Van decided to play around a little. It looked like a lot of fun to get on his nerves and Thomas seemed really short on them.
"I told you earlier when you insulted me! My name is Thomas Richard Shubaltz, prince of the northern kingdom. I can't believe you're still acting like this in front of our kings!" Thomas said as he turned towards Van's father. "Isn't that right your highness? You're going to punish him, right?" Thomas asked with anger flickering in his eyes.
Thomas suddenly took notice of how quiet everyone was at that moment. His parents looked a bit embarrassed and Dan and his wife were watching him with a bit of amusement. Thomas felt he might've screwed something up big-time. He noticed how the king looked and then looked towards Van and suddenly grew quite a bit paler than usual. "Y-you're…"
"The names Van Flyheight," he said with a highly amused look on his face. It was the best he could do without bursting out in laughter which he was very tempted to do. Even though Thomas was royalty as well, he was still under Van and Van knew that he just realized it.
"I… Tried to warn you," Karl muttered as he took a seat. He was hesitant to say it but didn't really look too sorry that Thomas made a fool out of himself. His brother was just far too arrogant for his own good and he was hoping this would take that down a notch or two.
A pale looking Thomas stumbled back to his seat as Van walked forward an too a seat close to his parents. "So… what's for dinner?" Van asked so casually as he looked around the table for food but he failed to see any. "Where's the food?" he asked as his stomach grumbled a bit in hunger. He'd barely eaten anything all day.
"We're waiting for one more person to arrive Van so be patient. The food will come when she gets here," Dan said as he waited but he had to admit that he was getting impatient as well and just wanted to eat.
The door finally opened a few minutes later and a woman stepped into the room. Everyone's eyes traveled towards her. They couldn't help but marvel at her. She looked like an angel as she stood there in front of them.
Van was shocked to see the woman that was in the garden earlier that day. The only difference that he could see was that she was wearing a baby blue dress instead of the pink one that she wore earlier in the day. 'Who is she?' he asked himself finding himself a little mesmerized by her.
Thomas just beamed brightly as he stood up and walked towards her. "There you are, I was wondering when I'd get to see you today," he said trying to kiss her but she just maneuvered so that it only grazed her cheek. "I'd like you all to meet my Fiancée Fiona."
Alright, I'll probably get a few death threats with that last part but trust me when i say that this is NOT a Thomas/ Fiona fic (Shudders at the mere thought of it). This is V/F like all my others. Also think that the more that you decide to review, since i know some of you read them but not review them, then I'll be able to get more of this out. I have high hopes for this so i want a lot of reviews to keep it going.