Part One: Chapter Three

Before dawn, Vladimir groaned as one of the Elves from the previous day entered the room and roused everyone awake by ringing the bell. The Vampire wasn't used to waking up so early though no one needed to hear his complaints. It was day one, after all, and he only hoped he didn't mess anything up.

After all of the trainees were given ten minutes to look presentable, the door was re-opened by none other than Asmund.

"Breakfast shall be served in four hours after your first three tests." He went on to explain expectations and the like as he led the group down the hall.

Vladimir lingered near the back of the line, waiting for Leon to catch up, and when he did, his voice dropped down to a whisper. "You alright?"

Leon shrugged one shoulder. "Kiku's missing." He stated and left it at that. Vladimir craned his neck to look ahead at the heads in front of them, none of which resembled Kiku's particular hairstyle.

"I'm sure he's alright. You mentioned he had been requested to work in the medical ward so maybe he's there?"

They stopped upon entering a courtroom-like expanse and were instructed to sit down on the silver-plated pews. Asmund stood in front of the room as the first rays of sunshine began radiating through the glass window panes and cleared his throat. "This is the Archive Room. Sir Ueland shall distribute documents of which you must read and sign. These will test your knowledge regarding Norskan rituals and services."

Leon listened, the sleep from his eyes beginning to plunge as he realised they were asking him to do the impossible. Read and write. He ran a hand through his raven hair and clenched his free hand into a fist. His stomach began to throb from the tension around it as Asmund spoke again.

"Illiteracy is not accepted for service members to the Royal family. Your penmanship shall also be graded."

Penmanship. Pen. Nope, nope, nope, nope. Leon never announced his illiteracy as part of his introduction and if he ever revealed that to anyone, he blamed it partially on his upbringing and then on the fact that the majority of people were illiterate in South Denovier so it wasn't as though he was part of the minority.

"I got you," Vladimir whispered, noticing how Leon's knee bounced anxiously underneath the extended davenport. The documents were beginning to be handed out in the first few rows.

Leon didn't bother asking "how?" and instead watched as the guards began leaving the room entirely after their job was complete. Vladimir, conveniently ambidextrous from years of practise, took a pen in each hand and began writing on both pieces of paper after the other trainees had their heads down, focused on composing. Leon promised Vladimir hand massages after everyone in their shared room fell asleep.

This process of writing and physical testing continued for at least three more days before two trainees were sent away and the final ten were given their first call of duty at noon. Leon, having been assigned to Emil for the day, was to bring him his lunch so after a quick trip to the Galley, he made his way up to the North Tower.

Meanwhile, Emil slept soundly underneath his duvet. The plum curtains that drifted in front of his windows were drawn, engulfing the room in darkness. Emil had the best room anyone could ask for, his walls filled with different shades of purple and hints of blue. The white accents and grey framing, a thought of his mother's, complimented everything nicely.

Outside, Leon took a deep breath before using his knee as a support for the food platter and knocking on the door four times.

Emil groaned quietly as he opened one eye. "Come in." He muttered loud enough to be heard.

A moment of fumbling with the handle, Leon's gloved hand pushed the door open and got in before it shut close behind him, nearly unbalancing the platter. Awkwardly, he bowed as protocol called, while still holding the platter and announced the time. "Luncheon, Your Highness."

Emil sat up at the mention of a meal and stretched out his wings and arms. "Set it over there, please." He instructed lazily, gesturing to a large sitting area beside the window. Already sat there was a plate of untouched food from his breakfast. Leon replaced it and stood by the window.

"Is there anything else you request at this time, Your Highness?" He asked, hoping his accent didn't sound too obtuse to the prince. Norskan-speaking Denovrians often couldn't roll their "r"s or make the odd guttural sound in many of the words.

"There is one thing," Emil mused as he got to his feet. "Come closer."

Leon obeyed, approaching the pale hybrid. Emil watched him and when he was close enough, he held out a hand, impressed. The "Elf" was kind of...cute. Emil hummed softly before speaking. "Tell me...do you have anymore duties after attending to me?"

"Awaiting orders, Your Highness," Leon replied, subtly disturbed by how the prince seemed to be inspecting him like fresh meat at the butchers.

"I see then," Emil thought for a moment. "Would you mind staying with me for a while?"

"Not at all," Leon said. "Your Highness." He added quickly and felt his cheeks flush though from what he could tell, the prince wouldn't have been able to tell anyway.

Emil smiled and gestured for Leon to follow him to sit by the window as he began to eat the haddock chowder dish.

"You can loosen up around me, you know," Emil stated as he quietly began to eat. The tension that was diffusing from the shorter man's rigid posture was suffocating the room. Emil didn't need to see to know that.

Leon looked at him and let out a short breath. "How is the food, Your Highness?" He asked.

"Fine, I guess. Did you eat?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Leon responded, having to sit on his hands in order to stop himself from fidgeting. Sit still, you're not supposed to be nervous. He scolded himself.

"Good," Emil said, taking another bite. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" He faced Leon once more, trying to take in as many details as he could without making it seem obvious.

"Oh, alright, well...," Leon started, hating how he stammered. "I am from Denovier as you can probably tell already. I used to have a lot of siblings, I don't associate with pirates and I'm vegetarian. Pardon my unrefined Norskan too. If you need me to repeat anything, please let me know, Your Highness." Out of all the things you could have said, you told him that? You're a disgrace.

"It's alright, no need to apologise. It suits you," Emil smiled. That's all? "Anything else?"

Leon thought for a moment but shook his head. "I can't think of anything relatively interesting-" or odd. "-to share, Your Highness."

The prince hid his disappointment. "Well, I'm going to get dressed, but after that, would you care to take a walk in the gardens with me?" Although he was quite aware that Leon most likely didn't have a choice, he didn't want to treat him like dirt, which was something that triggered his mother's anger issues apparently.

"Gladly, Your Highness."

References:

Queen Agatha - the Angel Queen of Norska and second wife to King Bernard; step-mother to Prince Lukas and mother to Prince Emil; strict with questionable motives.

Asmund Norheim - a highly respected senior servant from the Endelave Isles; dour yet caring inside.

Tino Väinämöinen - one of the chief guards in service to King Bernard personally; overseer of the Royal Staff; merry and kind but has a history of serving in the most gruesome of conditions, coming out on top every time.

The Endelave Isles - a Norskan archipelago notorious for beautiful ocean views and the home to the drumming Norskan folk music.

Author's Note:

Thank you for the lovely reviews as of now. Part of my motivation is solely based on your enthusiasm/interest in the writing itself and I greatly appreciate the time some took to give feedback. To answer those questions: I do not believe Mr. Puffin will be making an appearance here. I imagine Norska having a four-season year, with longer winters, but not so fitting that puffins would be comfortable living there year-round (even in the northern parts). Emil will have another sort of unique companion though.

The monarchies of both Norska and Denovier were founded on magic, with the first rulers having these rare "gifts" that ultimately established them as leaders (and not just because of that physical advantage). The legendary kings and queens passed on this raw type of magic through their descendants and now, Lukas is living with a more domesticated version of it where he learnt to control it as a child might have learnt how to read. Elves outside of the royal family but of higher social class may be given the opportunity to practise their magic (which isn't as inherently given to them biologically) and become relatively good at it but will never experience what the royals do. Lukas's magic is elemental, thanks to his mother, who was part of a royal lineage of a forgotten kingdom (which will be addressed later on). Elemental magic covers the entire spectrum of naturally-occurring elements such as water and fire. Lukas is a cyrokinetic (controlling ice) while his father and the majority of the Bondeviks were born with psionic magic.

As for Vladimir, you will start to see that his character is more complex than he lets on. I wouldn't say he is completely serious nor carefree but his goal is to find something valuable to him in exchange for working for doing Sadiq's dirty work. More about his backstory will be revealed later.

Chapters should also be getting longer as I begin to re-organise and plan ahead. Thanks again for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this newest installment!