A/N: Aha! I have decided to update! I'm so proud of myself. Even though...I only got FOUR FRIGGIN REVIEWS, two of which were from the same person. ((sob)) But, since I'm so kind, I shall reply to them!

Lulai - Heh, it always makes my day to know I made someone laugh. I'm so glad you like it enough to review both chapters!

Badr - ((eye twitches)) Grammar mistakes? Aw crap. I hate those. But, oh well, I'm doing my best. Just as long as they're not so bad that you stop reading this!

MissKaitou - Thank you! I didn't intend for it to be so random, but everyone seems to like that. ((shrug))

I hope you all keep reading. I'll probably update more often now. I don't like this chapter very much, but oh well, it took me too long to write it. I promise there'll be more humor in the next chappie! One more thing - I want to change the name of this story, so please give any ideas you might have.

III

"Prince Setanthula. Your tea."

Set took the platter of tea and muffins. "Thank you, Bartholomew."

"Your welcome, Prince Setanthula," Bartholomew said politely, like all butlers should, and left Set to himself.

Set sipped his tea and gazed out his window. It was a lovely day in the forest. Perhaps he would take a walk later, he decided.

Setanthula V, prince over the Dark Elves, was quite a character. He had once overheard someone say that he was "Such a skilled warrior; such a civilized boy." He didn't like to think that he was boy, though. True, he was young at seven hundred years old, but he thought that he was quite mature for his age. And he hated it when someone called him a child.

As for his looks, he had a dark skin tone, dark blue eyes and no hair upon his head. He liked to wear dark clothing, such as black and purple, and he always wore long sleeve shirts, long pants, and usually a cape, no matter what the weather. (He didn't do this to look stylish; those were the normal clothes that the royal family usually wore.)

Standing, he exited his room. He had stayed inside all day; it was time for a walk. He passed Bartholomew in the hall as he walked through the large castle. Set bowed to him slightly and walked on. His butler did the same.

Set was quickly outside. It was a pleasant day, indeed. The sun shone down warmly on the little kingdom, although it was located fairly deep in the Infinite Forest. This realm was different from the others in the woodland; it was in a small valley rather than hidden by trees. They were peaceful creatures—or they would be, if it weren't for those wretched Elves of Light, as they called themselves.

You see, several generations before Set was born, Dark Elves were evil beings that despised any creatures other than themselves. The Elves of Light defended themselves—and the rest of the world—by having war against the Dark Elves. The Elves of Light won, and put their enemies under a curse that kept them from leaving the forest and limited their powers quite a bit.

And so the Dark Elves were humbled. And the Elves of Light grew proud. They hated their enemies, although the next generation of Dark Elves realized the wrongs of their parents and were disgraced by their history. The Elves of Light would not let them forget it. Their king often visited and demanded things of the Dark Elvin king. When he refused, the other threatened to wage war against his kingdom. Set's father did not want any trouble for their kingdom.

In honesty, Set was surprised that they Elves of Light had not yet attacked them. If they did, they would most certainly win. He had told his father of his concerns, but the king only shook his head and said that the Elves of Light would not attack if he continued giving them what they wanted. This also concerned Set. Lately his father was having trouble meeting the demands.

Sighing, Set went into the forest. When it seemed things would never be right in his life, he went there. There was a tree he knew of that he used to climb when he was a child. Now he only went there when he was distressed. He had visited quite often, lately.

To most people, the tree looked almost impossible to climb. Set himself had studied it for quite a while before he discovered the way to get to the top. There was a notch in the tree that was nearly impossible to see; Set supposed that a lumberjack had once tried to chop it down with no avail. If one was to put one's foot into the notch and raise oneself up a little, one could reach a small branch that, despite it's weak and unsafe appearance, was quite sturdy. By pulling oneself up with this branch, the climber could then reach a larger, sturdier limb, and from then on have no trouble ascending the tree.

Set followed this typical process, soon reaching the top of the tree. From there he could see his whole kingdom and much of the surrounding area, including a part of the lawn at Merlin's High on the edge of the forest. Occasionally he saw a few people in the distance, but could never tell what they were doing.

But, how Set longed to go there and meet the people living outside of the forest; to learn their way of living, and perhaps show them his. Show them that he was not what they thought he was, and that his only wish in life was to be accepted by the outside world.

But it was only a wish; small and insignificant, like the wishes of every little child in his kingdom. The adults, well, they had outgrown wishes long ago. Long ago they learned that nothing could neither release them from such a curse, nor save them from their captivity. They knew they could not raise their children in freedom, and that they would always be resented by the world. It was their curse. They were being punished for the sins of their ancestors.

Set, however, never gave up on his dream. He persisted in his belief that he could one day free his country. His people would be free.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons that the Dark Elves loved and respected the royal family so much. They each loved their kingdom to no end. Setanthula IV, Set's father, was always a kind and trustworthy old man; it was difficult not to love him. Set thought he should be…well, ruder at times, in order that that the Elves of Light would not take advantage of them so. When Set told his father these things, the king would just stare at him like he had no idea what he was talking about. The prince wondered if he did.

Queen Bara was a quiet old woman, who thought of absolutely everyone but herself. But though her exterior was soft and sweet, she was a warrior at heart. In her younger days, she was quite aggressive and rebellious; a member of a gang of Dark Elves who wanted to start a war against the Elves of Light. This gang was called the Dark Elvin Alliance for Democracy, or the DEAD. She was tough and unafraid to challenge anyone to a fight—which was exactly what she did to the prince. She made a bargain with him: if he fought and won, the DEAD would break up and stop their efforts for war. However, if he lost, they would inflict war on the Elves of Light. Prince Setanthula IV agreed.

The duel was the most anticipated event in the kingdom. No one could wait to see who won. The small country was divided into two groups of people: the ones that rooted for the prince, and the ones that rooted for Bara. The ones who wanted peace, and the ones who wanted war.

The DEAD was confident that Bara would win, and so was Bara. She had never lost a fight in her life. No one was quite sure how Setanthula would fair; he had never fought in public before. But on the day of their duel, the prince proved himself to be a worthy opponent. Most men would not stand a chance against the young woman, but Setanthula beat her as if it were nothing.

Bara hated him. The DEAD broke up, as they had promised, but she tried several times to kill the prince—all in vain, of course. But by some odd twist of fate, the two ran into one another frequently. Of course, you probably know the rest of the story: they fell in love, despite their differences, were married in the palace, had a fairy tale relationship and lived happily ever after, for the most part. I myself would enjoy telling the complete and detailed tale, but alas, this is not their story. Perhaps one day I shall record their full story, as it is really quite interesting.

Set smiled. He remembered the first time his parents told him their story. It had always seemed more like a legend of two people long ago, than the life of his parents. Queen Bara always told him that he would too have a fairy tale love story to tell his children one day. Sometimes it seemed a bit childish, but Set did want to meet a young woman whom he could share his life with.

Deciding to head back, Set leapt from the tree and landed daintily on the ground. A task that normal beings, of course, would not be able to perform; he had used some of his powers by directing the wind to keep him from being hurt. Had he lived before the great war between the elves, he would have been able to use the wind to carry him to the top of the tree. However, the Dark Elves did not possess that kind of power any more. Thanks to the Elves of Light.

Most children had hardly any or no power at all. The reason was that most Dark Elves had to share power sources, and it was difficult to draw power from a shared source. The task became simpler as the mind grew stronger. The power sources were stars; usually the ones close to earth, as they were easier to draw power from. Every time a Dark Elf died, his star would be power source to another. Set suspected that in order to handicap their powers, the Elves of Light were diminishing stars—or maybe even extinguishing them.

He dearly hoped that they were not stupid enough to do so. To diminish stars, the Elves of Light would use magic to literally squeeze them smaller and smaller. If enough magic was used, the star would basically be squeezed inside out and form a black hole. So of course, the only stars they would be extinguishing would be the ones close to earth. Therefore, if enough black holes were made, they would completely engulf the earth.

As he returned to the small village outside the palace, Set's mind again went to the children. He saw many of them playing marbles outside, attempting to move the small glass balls with their newly discovered powers. In doing so, they had destroyed several of them.

Set smiled. This was the reason that he wanted to be their prince. So many times before had he wished that he was not born into royalty, and that he was normal like everyone else. But when he saw those children playing together, he wanted nothing more than to help them. They were so free, and he wanted them to stay that way. He wanted them to have even more freedom. It was his purpose in life. Set needed to be able to help.

"Hey look, it's Prince Set!" one boy cried.

The other children turned to see him. A few of them went to hug him, but most just waved and said, "Hi, Prince Set!" It was not an unusual thing to see their prince. He often strolled through the village. Set took some candy out of his pocket and gave a little to each child.

The kids returned to their game, and the prince stayed to watch them. It was not long before he noticed a little girl sitting some distance away, just watching the other children play. Set walked over to her and sat beside her. "Hello, Kit."

The girl looked up at him with big bright green eyes. Her short black hair was covered by the hood of the raincoat she was wearing, which was quite strange seeing that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. "Hello, Set." Kit was one of the three people in the world who did not call him "prince" to his face, the other two being his parents. It wasn't that she disrespected him, but Kit was never taught to call him prince. Her mother was a member of the not-so-secretly reunited DEAD, so she disrespected the whole royal family and told her daughter that Set was no more a prince than she was a princess. (In a way, Set agreed with her.) Kit automatically interpreted this as not having to call him "prince" or "your highness" or anything like this.

Set didn't really mind. He had grown quite fond of the girl, and she was one of his only real friends. "Why aren't you playing marbles with them?" he asked. He received a mere shrug for an answer.

Kit was undoubtedly different from other children. She was only five years of age (extremely young, considering the average Dark Elf lived to be several thousand years old), and very mature. Although she enjoyed their company, she never felt comfortable playing games like normal children. She would much rather do other things, like admire nature, talk about art, and make stories. In addition to her unusual maturity, Kit had extraordinary powers. They weren't physical powers, like most other Dark Elves', but cerebral abilities that she possessed—or sometimes possessed her.

You see, Kit was a seer, and the visions she had were never called for. Sometimes they would completely control her, making a different person. Most times, however, they were just small pictures that flashed quickly before her eyes.

Set spoke again. "What's with the raincoat?"

"I don't know," she said unhelpfully, perhaps shamefully. She was clearly aware that it was a cloudless day.

"Did you see rain?" he asked.

"I don't know," she repeated.

Set gave her a small smile. "Don't you like the rain? It's all right if it comes."

"Not this rain." She pulled her hood further over her head, seemingly trying to shut out the world.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

The prince's smile faded. "Then…something's wrong."

Kit pulled her hat off and looked Set in the eyes. He noticed her pale skin seemed even paler today. "Yes," she answered. "I think something's wrong."

Before he could speak again, a crack was heard. All the children were suddenly quiet as everyone stared at where the noise had come from. In fact it seemed that the whole realm was silenced for a moment, everyone wondering what created the strange sound. No one knew. No one expected.

This was the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, someone screamed. Then someone else screamed, more strange cracks were heard, and Set had a sudden feeling that he had to get the children to safety.

"Everyone follow me!" he shouted, instinctively picking up Kit. The youths immediately abandoned their game and obeyed as their prince ran into the woods. He hadn't gone very far when he stopped and uncovered a sort of door in the ground, where several people were already hidden. Each of the children hurriedly went into it.

"What's happening?" Set asked, still holding Kit.

One of the adults in hiding answered, "They're attacking! They've come!"

"Who've come?"

"The Elves of Light."

In surprise, everyone stared at the little girl in Set's arms, who had spoken. The prince was, however, the only one not surprised at what had been said or who had spoken it. He was more shocked at the fact that the Elves of Light were actually attacking them. Why would they do it? Why now? Did they know that King Setanthula was having trouble meeting their demands? Had the DEAD done something rash?

"All right," said Set, trying to get his thoughts in order, "I'm going to the palace. Everyone stay hidden. Remember, if someone stomps three times on the door and then shouts something about the trees, they're friends."

He put Kit down, but she wouldn't let go of him. "Take me with you?" she begged.

He shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous."

"But I need to see Mother."

"I'll find her and bring her here." Set and Kit's mother were obviously not very fond of one another; in fact the girl was the only thing that kept the two from killing each other. But Set needed to keep her safe—for Kit's sake, anyway.

"No," the girl insisted, shaking her head roughly. "She's at the castle."

Sighing, the prince picked up Kit again. "All right. But if anything happens, I want you to run to the nearest safe place you can find. Okay?" She nodded. "Good." He quickly closed the door and covered it with leaves, then left for the palace. "Did you have a vision your mom was at the castle?" he asked as he walked stealthily.

"No," said she, "she told me she was going earlier."

"Oh?" Set said, barely surprised. She had probably gone to criticize the king, or something. "Why's that?"

Kit shrugged. "I don't know. It's not why you think it is, though," she added.

"What do you think I think it is?"

"You think she started this, right?"

Set stopped and looked at the girl. "I really don't know." After a moment he realized something and asked, "Do you?"

Another shrug. "I'm not sure." Set started walking again. "Who do you think it could be?"

"A number of people," answered the prince. "Perhaps the DEAD came up with another harebrained plan, or maybe the Elves of Light got bored and decided to start a war."

"Are you trying to be funny?" Kit asked warily.

Set couldn't help but grin. "Yes. Yes, I am. Sorry."

She looked away uneasily. "Do you blame me?"

"Of course not," he said in surprise. "Why would I?"

"Because maybe I'm responsible. Anyone could be, you know."

"I very highly doubt it's the fault of a five-year-old girl." By this time, Set had reached the castle. He had seen a few Elves of Light and Dark Elves fighting, but managed to slip past them and did not stop to fight with them. (Perhaps he would have if Kit weren't with him.)

"Sometimes," Kit said as they entered the castle, "I see things before they happen. But sometimes I think maybe…I made them happen."

Stopping again, he gazed at Kit and sighed like he'd better things to do than to argue about such childish nonsense. "Kit, really if you think about it, you see that that's completely illogical."

"Who ever said anything about things being logic?"

The prince did not answer her as he entered a secret chamber behind a tapestry. The room was gloomy and dank, and had a musty smell about it. Gathered in it were five adults: King Setanthula, Queen Bara, Kit's mother Janet, Markus the commander of the Dark Elvin army, and Bartholomew. Set put the girl down and she ran to Janet.

"Set," said the queen in a relieved tone, "you're all right." Bara's pale skin (which was obviously not a characteristic her son bore) looked even paler than usual, and her petite figure was almost trembling with worry. Now that she knew her son was safe, however, she relaxed a bit.

"Yeah." Set gave his mother a smile, secretly wishing he had time to talk with she and his father. But, it would have to wait. This was business that needed to be settled immediately. "Now, will someone tell me what the…" He paused and glanced at Kit; "What's going on?"

Janet spoke before anyone else could answer. "My theory is that one of you pigheaded morons did something to piss of the Elves of Light." Set pondered for a moment why he had bothered to watch his language.

"Will you never learn to respect the royal highnesses?" the old commander said in a voice that was a cross between annoyed and weary.

"I wasn't only talking about their royal annoyances," Janet spat.

After fighting back the urge to tell her to get better comebacks, the prince said, "There's just as good a chance that we started the war as there is a chance that you started it."

"Now let's not go pointing fingers," the queen said quickly, glancing at her silent husband. "The reason we're all here is to figure this out, not argue."

"My apologies, Miss Morally-Correct."

"Aw, seriously," retorted the prince before he could stop himself, "if you're gonna insult her – "

"Forgive me for interrupting, but may I suggest my opinion?" Normally, of course, it was not the place of a lowly butler to so freely give his opinion to the royal family, the commander of the whole army, and one of the higher-ranking members of a rebellious organization. However, Bartholomew, having grown up with Set's grandfather and taken care of his son and grandson as if they were his own, was much too familiar to be put in disregard.

"Go ahead, Bartholomew," Bara permitted, noticing Janet's look of disapproval.

The butler cleared his throat. "It's come to my attention that the Elves of Light have no apparent reason for attacking us." (Everyone in the room had the urge to slap their foreheads.) "Therefore, it is in my humble opinion that they've taken from us all that they see of use, and thus feel our existence is irrelevant."

"In other words, they no longer see a reason for us to be around," the king spoke for the first time, his deep voice laden with anxiety. Even in his youth, Setanthula IV hadn't been as lively and active as other boys, but somehow he remained joyful through the many pressures of the Elves of Light. However, in the recent years his attitude had changed dramatically, and he was becoming a more somber and – Set was afraid – depressed man.

"So they think they can just kill us off, then," Janet nearly shouted, her anger now directed elsewhere.

Bartholomew said with a shrug, "Well, it's only an assumption."

"Sounds pretty accurate to me," stated Set with grimness.

"I think…that's not it." Glancing at Kit, Set noticed that she seemed like she was trying to recall a long forgotten memory – but he knew she was just putting her powers to work.

"In any case," said Markus, gazing expectantly at the king, "what do you propose we do, your majesty?"

Janet interjected, as usual. "We fight, of course!"

"You don't look like his majesty." The commander narrowed his eyes dangerously, and Kit looked a little worried.

"Be at ease, Markus." Bara let a sigh escape. "I hate to admit it, but she's right."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing…"

"She simply means that we will have to go to war after so many years of successfully avoiding it," the butler explained. Janet didn't look satisfied, but the elder Setanthula spoke first.

"There really is no way to avoid it, is there?"

Set placed a comforting hand on his father's shoulder. "I'm afraid not."

There was a silence in which the prince listened to the sounds of war outside. A part of him wanted to be out there with the warriors, experiencing the exhilaration of the fight that he often enjoyed when training. Another part of him wanted the warfare to be over for good, so that his people could finally be free of the stupid curse, and there would be no more bloodshed. He knew, however, that the only way out of this dilemma was violence, and it was not the fake, entertaining type that he enjoyed during his training.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the king gave orders to Markus concerning the army. The commander then bowed to Setanthula and marched off to fulfill his duties. It was decided that Bara would locate injured Dark Elves and take them to a haven to be healed; a dangerous job, yet fit for a woman such as she. Bartholomew would accompany her.

"And what will you do, 'your highness'?" Janet asked the king, rather irked that she was being ignored.

"Me?" The king looked a bit surprised. "I'm fighting, of course."

Janet raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a job that you assign to lowly peasants or morons or someone you just want to dispose of?"

"Wouldn't that be putting himself on the level of our enemies?" Bara pointed out. The other woman's face turned a lovely shade of red and she looked away.

The king handed a sword to his wife. "I hope you don't have to use this." He paused for a moment. "But you've been waiting forever to do this, haven't you?" said he in a voice only she could hear.

A smile. "Hell yeah." After a short farewell, she and the butler left as well.

As the king and his son prepared for battle, Kit suddenly gasped. "Setanthula!" she exclaimed.

The elder realized she was referring to him. "Yes?"

"M-Maybe you shouldn't go out to fight, anyway."

"Oh, hun," said her mother, "if he wants to make stupid decisions, we have to let him make them and learn his lesson."

"You really need to shut up," Set said politely.

Kit ignored them both. "Setanthula, it's too dangerous for the…for the king to fight…"

"Thank you for your concern," he said to the girl. "But this is something I have to do." He gave her a kind smile. "I hope you and your mother stay safe."

"Wait!" Janet exclaimed. "I'm going out with you."

"Absolutely not. Who will watch Kit?"

Realizing she would explode in any second if nothing was done, Set said, "Father, maybe I could stay with Kit and Janet could…"

The king shook his head. "No. You're stronger than she is."

"Do you really expect me to just watch from the sidelines?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, but he handed her a bow and arrow. "I suppose you know how to use them. Protect your daughter and yourself at all costs. You may end up fighting after all."

Janet pressed her lips together and accepted the gift. "All right."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Kit said, "Bye, Set."

The prince smiled widely. "Bye, Kit. I'll come back for you, okay?" She nodded as he left with his father. It was so hazy about the others, but she knew somehow that her friend would be all right.

As they walked, the king said to his son, "This may be the last time we see each other."

Set nodded. "I know." He grinned like his mother had a moment ago. "But what better way to go, right?"

The king almost laughed. "Right. I know this seems a bit rude, but I'm not at all worried about your mother."

"Me neither. She could walk through walls if she wanted."

They walked for a while in silence. Both thought of the battle that lay ahead, but unlike his father, the thought of death or defeat never crossed Set's mind. No matter how mature he was, the prince was much too inexperienced to expect anything but the best out of this. But the king knew better, and he knew what his son was thinking, and he knew – somehow, in the pit of his stomach, he knew – that things were not going to turn out all right.

There was nothing else said before they entered the gruesome battle. They began fighting as if they were born to do so, despite the fact that they had no idea why they were being attacked. Despite the fact that there was more blood and death in those few moments than Set had ever seen in his life, he continued to fight. After a while he lost track of his father – an event that frightened him more than he thought it would. Being separated from that person suddenly scared him out of his wits, more and more as the war waged on until it was unbearable. He had more trouble blocking blows from enemies, and shooting his arrow straight, concentrating his magic, and protecting fellow warriors, as he searched for wherever his father could be. It would have, most likely, been the death of him, had he not seen the figure among the trees. The figure was some distance away, but the prince knew almost immediately who it was. It stared at him for a moment, then went back to hiding in the forest.

Before long, Set found that he had wandered over there. He felt terrible, abandoning his people like that, but he felt that if he couldn't see a familiar face (even of someone he was particularly irritated by), he would lose it.

Once he was quite a distance from the fighting, he called softly, "Janet?"

The woman seemingly came out from nowhere, taking Set by surprise when she slung her arms around his neck desperately. Her face was white and stricken with fear and grief. Suddenly, the prince wished he had never left the battlefield.

"What happened?" he asked slowly.

"She's gone," Janet answered; her voice raspy and barely audible, as if she was attempting to scream but had lost the ability to speak. "They took Kit."

Set felt his stomach tie in knots. "Shit."

"Sh-She went out," said she, "to look for your father – because, she said, she had something to warn him of – and they saw her, and I followed but I couldn't get to her in time…!" At this point, she removed her arms from the prince and slid to the ground, covering her face with her hands.

"Where did they take her?"

"I think…into the forest…Your highness, I…"

"To their kingdom to for hostage, I guess," he said quietly. "I'll find her."

She looked up in surprise. "Wh…why?"

"Listen," Set started, "she's the only thing you and I have in common, and one of the only real friends I've got." He paused, as if contemplated whether to mention something. "If they find out she's a seer, I don't know what they'll do."

Not waiting for her to answer, he pulled her up by the arm. "Get to a refuge or something. I'll bring her back. I promise."

Janet just stared as Setanthula V, prince of the Dark Elves, ran deeper into the Infinite Forest.