Prologue : Radiance
Aboard an alien ship, a young girl looks through a window to see a blue planet below her, Earth. To any outsider, Earth would be an object of desire and envy, but this girl was different.
She felt a connection with this planet, she was enchanted by it and wished to never see its beauty fade. This planet had everything her people needed ; water, fertile soil, a stable atmosphere, everything they could have ever wanted was here. She could hear their voices echoing in her head, yelling at her to throw her naive intentions of peace into the water, and to seize this beautiful planet for themselves.
But..how could she? How could she ruin this planet's beauty by spilling the blood of its people? How could she cast away a chance for peace without even trying? And more than anything, how could she stain the very soil she and her people were made from?
These questions and thoughts flooded Princess Asseylum's mind, as her ship prepared to land on Earth. Her people once split off from this planet to seek refuge on Mars and to create their own empire; the Vers Empire. And now they have returned to make amends with the people of Earth after many misgivings and bloodly conflicts.
This time, there would be no bloodshed. It was something she hoped for from the bottom of the heart.
She hoped that the people of Earth would not take her to be the same as the self-absorbed Versian military leaders that started many of the battles between both sides. She hoped that the blue skies of Earth were something that the Versians would one day be able to look up to.
What she hoped for was a miracle.
"Princess Asseylum? It is almost time for you to head to your bedchamber." , the sweet yet mature voice of her servant snapped her out of her stupor.
She looked in the direction of the voice to see the fair-haired and blue-eyed boy kneeling before her. The room they were in was spacious but devoid of real style or luxury, a byproduct of the lack of tangible culture or ideas in the Vers Empire. Nevertheless, the Princess was more than delighted to stay in this room, as there were plenty of windows looking out towards the blue planet.
Once again, lost in thought, she turned her attention back to the window and asked the boy, who was a Earth-born named Slaine ; "Do you know why the skies and seas of Earth are blue?"
The boy would have been surprised by this question, had the Princess not asked many similar questions in the past.
He answered with uncertainty, "I believe..I'm not sure but...I believe that the air and water are actually transparent. They exist in such high quantities that they cause the light to bend..refraction is what they call it."
Despite his uncertainty, Princess Asseylum believed him immediately. After all, she had never been to Earth but Slaine had. The princess, despite being the next to inherit the throne, was very young and innocent. She had lived on Mars her whole life, ever so curious of the nature and people of Earth. She remembered looking through Versian databases and seeing all of the different creatures and botany that they didn't have on Mars.
And always by her side was Slaine, watchful and loyal. Friendship between a Versian and an Earth-born would be looked down upon, but given the Princess' influence, there was a chance the good intent would spread.
To unite Earth and Mars through peace, tolerance, and friendship was Princess Asseylum's goal. And she was here, en-route to Earth, for that very reason.
The owner of this vessel, a man by the name of Count Cruhteo, a member of the Orbital Knights Of Mars, made his way into the room.
"Oh. There you are, Princess. I asked the Terran boy to remind you of how late it's become but it seems he forgot." Cruhteo said with disdain.
Despite being a charismatic and strong-willed man, he too carried the envy and scorn that most Versians had towards Earth-borns. The Count was tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes similar to the Princess' own.
The Princess spoke up in Slaine's behalf, "It is not his fault Count, I heard him but was too entranced by Earth to pay mind to it."
The Count looked at Slaine with sharpness and uncertainty, but no longer with animosity.
Slaine may be a Terran, but he has served Princess Asseylum for years, ever since he was young and migrated to Mars with his father. His father, Doctor Troyard, is to whom the Versians owe their technology, the Aldnoah Drive, to.
"Very well. But please, turn in for the night Princess, tomorrow is the day we make our landing." Cruhteo said to the Princess with utmost respect and kindness
The Princess nodded in response, and waved goodbye to Slaine, before leaving the room.
The Count gave Slaine one last uncertain look before exiting the room as well.
Slaine, clearly exhausted, let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the blue planet right in front of them.
Despite it being his birthplace, he felt no attachment to it. The people of Earth were not his people. The leaders of Earth were not his leaders. The air of Earth was not the air of Mars.
No matter how many people may mock his Terran heritage, he knew, that he was a more loyal Versian than any other.
If there was one thing he liked about Earth, it was birds. They fly around, beautifully, gracefully, and yet the people of Earth cage them and keep them from living how they please.
Why?
Why cage something that is so beautiful? The question plagued his mind.
And the only real answer he could come up with was that people cage what is beautiful out of a desire to preserve and protect that beauty.
Like parents protecting the innocence of a child, but to a much more selfish degree.
After all, who asked the birds how they felt?
Slaine let out yet another sigh as he got back to work, filled with a new-found determination to do his best and prove that he can be the sole knight to stand side-by-side with the Princess.
To him, the Princess was everything.
And to protect her radiance, no matter the cost, was his singular goal.
-End-