The young men marched on, weapons drawn as they made their way through the battlefield. They weren't exactly sure where they were headed or what they should be doing as they were both young and inexperienced however, they knew that they had to keep going all while defending themselves and those around them. Many from either side eyed them with surprise, not expecting the crowned prince to be out on the fields as well. A few of the older knights would argue with the prince urging him to head back to the castle only to eventually give up. They fought against any assailants that came after them clumsily yet successful. As they trekked onwards towards what seemed to be the front line, Kyle's eyes darted frantically as he searched for any sign of his parents. Stan likewise surveyed the area for the Elven's commander as well as any knights he considered his comrades.
It was true what everyone one said. They never doubted that it wouldn't be. The commander in particular had always made it very clear to be prepared to never truly be prepared for war. Kyle continuously blinked hoping that some of his vision had been false. Some sort of magic that made things appear worse than it really was but no matter how many times his eyelids opened and closed things remained the same. He had no regrets about accompanying the knight, considering it an honor to not only fight alongside him but also the rest of his knights and defending his people. With Kyle's lineage of powerful magic users on his mother's side, he had great potential but right now he was kicking himself for not being further ahead in his studies. He was far from the best spell caster but he had good aim and his protective nature made him excellent in his defensive tactics. This made it easy for him to make sure that Stan and those around him would at least be safe as long as he was around.
In a brief moment of breath, Stan turned back to face the prince, a tiny smile greeting him. It was a small simple reassurance that he was fine, that they would be fine. Years of friendship, practice and play fighting had helped them develop a rhythm quickly. A combination of tactical physical and magical offense and defense mixed with reliability and trust. They believed that things were actually going well. As well as things could go during the pits of wars. That was until a blast and rolling tremble shook all occupants of the grounds causing them to lose their footing. Thousands of soldiers, humans and elves alike struggling in between battles to keep standing, the fear of being caught mid slash ringing in their minds. Stan immediately brought a hand out, grasping onto the prince's arm in an attempt to stable him. "Stan!" the prince called out, the last thing the knight heard before another quake brought them both crashing down. The unstable ground was breaking, falling, and bringing the prince down with it.
The prince rolled down the already naturally hilled foundation for what seemed like hours despite it being only several seconds. As he finally came to a crashing stop, he groaned, thankful for the protective barrier he surrounded himself with. As Kyle sat up he brought his defenses down and rubbed his reddening eyes just as a ghost-like silhouette came haunting him through the cloud of rubble and smoke. A ball of fear and agitation choked him as the outline of a pointed hat sitting on top of a very large figure became clearer. Recognizing it immediately, he slammed his staff onto the ground for assistance to stand only to be knocked down again. The intimidating figure used his own staff, causing a creeping fissure that stopped directly in front of the prince's feet. "What is this? I'm I just that lucky?" The figure bolstered with an unnerving grin. "Do I actually get to kill the dirty elf prince myself?" he said, finally stepping through the veil, making himself fully visible. The prince involuntarily scooted back as the Grand Wizard of the Kingdom of Kupa Keep eyed him with a snarling toothy smirk; almost predatory was the only other way he could think to describe it. "Did they leave you here all alone?" the wizard asked mockingly, his eyelid blinking rapidly with his fist underneath his chin. "Poor little ginger elf."
Scowling, Kyle sat up straight, determined to not let the imposing figure get to him. He had to stand his ground. "What do you w-"
"No." The wizard shouted, the booming accented voice overpowering the prince's. "They wouldn't do that now, would they?" he asked, mostly speaking to himself. "They wouldn't let the precious pampered prince out here all by his lonesome." he hummed, a sausage of finger rubbing his chin. "Then that means you're not really supposed to be here. Am I right?" he asked, truly addressing the prince for the first time.
"What do you want?" The prince asked, repeating the question he was unable to ask before as he again made an attempt to stand.
"No." The Wizard yelled once more, slamming his staff not unlike a tantrum. His face scrunching, all of his features collecting together into the middle of this face. "You have to answer my question first!" he screamed, with a pointed index to the ground. "You elves are all the same." he shook his head. "You're all spoiled, thinking you should get everything you want. It must be in your genes or your blood." he huffed. "Just taking things that aren't yours and parading around with all you have. Isn't your neck gold weighing you down in battle?"
"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked in a desperate agitated tone, the words the wizard spewed from his mouth only confusing the prince more with every passing syllable.
"Don't act dumb." The wizard shouted, a red shot of light shooting from his staff with a bang. Kyle's eyes widened but with his quick reflexes he produced a green barrier, the red magic deflecting. "I know you're smarter than that, Kyle." the prince frowned at the wizard's disrespectful familiarity. "Come now, Your Highness." the wizard said with every shred of sarcasm he could muster, knowing full well that the casual use of the prince's name had bothered him. "Can't think of anything that doesn't belong to you?" Kyle continued to stare at the large figure, uncertain of what he was referring to, having no idea what brought upon such rage within the wizard. "I'm disappointed." the wizard tsked. "I always thought you were better at thinking on your feet." He again shouted just as he lifted his staff, pointing it directly at the prince, another red spark shooting towards him.
Anticipating the attack, the prince had lifted his own staff and readied himself to return his own counter blow. However, the numbing stinging feeling of the strike hitting the protective barrier never came. Instead, the prince smiled as a bulldozing figure of his knight came crashing into the wizard, the push redirecting the blow. "Your Highness, are you okay?" Stan asked, receiving a nod as he came to stand in front of the prince defensively. His sword and stance ready for an assault.
"Ooh, Sir Stanley." The wizard fake swooned with a roll of the eyes. "Predictable." he scoffed, the two Elven residents replying with silence. "Whatever, this makes it easier for me." He shrugs his shoulders. "This way I can get rid of two things I despise, Elven royalty and their human companions." The wizard said, lifting his staff towards the pair, the two being covered by a green circle of protection. "No, how about I kill two birds with one stone?" The wizard shouted as he maneuvered his staff last second, the powerful wave of magic blasting off into the direction of the castle instead, the strength of the blow sending bricks crumbling down from the palace's siding.
"No!" Prince Kyle yelled horrified at the damage he could see done to his home from this distance yet truly being worried about those who resided inside of it.
"Oh no." The wizard exclaimed falsely. "Who could possibly be in there?" he hummed, a finger underneath his chin once more. "Oh, don't tell me it's the little human elf prince." he gasped exaggeratedly. "Your parents' sad attempt to create some sort of bond between humans and elves, a little convenient adoption of a human child to help them parade around like some sort of saviors. Tell me, do you really love him?" The wizard asked, shooting off another blast at the castle, more of the building falling.
"No, stop it!" Kyle shouted desperately, the feeling of the thick lump crawling through his throat coming back, hindering him from being able to breathe. He was filled with the urge to explode, to just deliver a blast that could annihilate the demon standing before him circling his every pressure point. "He's just a kid.'' He said much quieter than even he had anticipated, the wizard replied with only a slanted smile.
"Go." the knight whispered to him, urging him to go on ahead towards the castle, towards his little brother. It would make the knight more at ease knowing that both princes were safe and out of the battlefield. "But," he heard the prince say, very much conflicted about whether to stay or to go. He had made a commitment to the knight, to use both of their skills to fight on together. Yet, as they know, things always come along and plans always change. "Please go." Stan pleaded to the prince. "I'll be fine. I'm Sir Stanley." he winked at the prince who simply shook his head at him.
Taking a quick glance up at the wizard who was surprisingly just standing there watching the two, Kyle nodded once before bringing his hand up to his mouth blowing on it. Emitting a glowing green light around his palm, Kyle placed his hand upon Stan's shoulder. Immediately, the light radiated around the knight's entire body, warmth filling him from the inside out. An attachment of the Elf prince's power, his own personal protection barrier he had been gifted. "I WILL see you later." the price said, no doubt in his voice before quickly making his way towards the castle grounds.
Facing the wizard who stood staring, using his staff as a chin rest, Stan glared back waiting for him to make any sort of move, knowing that he could be unpredictable. "What about you?" the wizard said, at last breaking the silence. "Just look at you." The Grand Wizard shook his head, not at all worried about the knight in front of him, ready to stand his ground. "A traitor to your own race." he spat, the disgusting gob landing on a stubborn flower that refused to fall. Stan growled. "Don't care, right? Not as long as you figure out a way to shack up with him?" the wizard asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was your weird little relationship supposed to be some sort of secret?" he asked, bringing a hand up to his mouth mockingly when Stan looked at him in shock. "Come on now. You don't think it's obvious that you daydream about having some weird little mutant half-bred human elf babies with the royal daywalker." his nose scrunched.
"What's your angle?" Stan said, interrupting the wizard's ranting. "You're not just standing here with me in the midst of this war that YOU started just to mock us. What do you want?" he asked, knowing there had to be something the wizard was planning. A distraction, maybe? Was sending the prince to the castle the wrong decision? Was there a trap there waiting for him? As the seconds ticked Stan couldn't help but to feel the pressure of the strings the wizard was obviously pulling.
"Look." The wizard said, tilting his head. "If you want to continue to brown nose your way to the prince's good graces. So be it." he rolled his eyes. "I'm just telling you to keep your mind open about the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you weren't this lonely abandoned human kid left in the Elven forest." He said, Stan subconsciously standing up straight. He knew that residents of the Elven kingdom knew his story. It just startled him to hear it coming for the Grand Wizard's mouth.
"What do you know about that?" Stan asked despite his better judgment, the prospect of learning about his childhood too tempting.
"The truth." the wizard said, the smirk on his face making Stan immediately second guess his question. "What if I tell you weren't left? Just missing?" the wizard continued, as Stan told himself to keep alert, to not be easily swayed by the wizard's words, knowing of his manipulative ways. "Not convinced yet?" He asked when the knight refused to take a bite. "Alright." He nodded. "How about you get the story for yourself, straight from the source?" the wizard said, a grin widening centimeter by centimeter until it reached across the entirety of his face, lifting a finger, stopping the knight from saying a word just yet before stepping to the side revealing a brown haired woman no longer being hidden by his large frame.
"Stanley?" she asked, unsuccessfully holding back a miserable sob in her cupped hands. "Is that you?" she said, wiping away a falling tear with her whole hand as she curled into herself.
"What?" Stan asked breathlessly. This woman standing before him, he had no recollection of. She could very well be an imposter as he barely remembered anything at all before his days began in the Elven Kingdom. Only brief flashes of what he believed were memories ever played in his mind, triggered by some familiar scents or sounds. A wooden table here, a caressing touch there, all before leading him back to the lush trees, shrubs, and berries that covered all of the woodlands he was found in. But, there was something about this woman, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about her that seemed so uncomfortably familiar despite not remembering her at all. It was something about her warm chestnut brown eyes and matching hair that brought him fleeting flashes of smiles and hugs. Something about how her intertwined fingers covered her mouth in a shock. Something about the way she looked at him, both crying to run towards him and to stay away. Then, in an almost inaudible tone he just couldn't help himself but to ask, "Mom?"
Kyle paced around the foyer of the palace with his nail in between his teeth, choosing to ignore just how disgusting it was as he had just come back from battle. He was normally a germaphobe. Understanding the benefits of cleanliness but right now as he attempted to hold himself together, to keep his breathing in check to prevent panicking he couldn't care less. So, he chewed away at his right index fingernail as he kept his other arm draped protectively around his little brother who had not left his side since he found him crying silently, sitting in the corner of the basement floor with his arms overhead. Several staff members and caretakers both seated and standing around him, some trying to placate him, telling him that it would all be fine. Kyle had bit his lower lip as he apologized for startling them when he came crashing through the door, several ladies with hands on their chest to keep their hearts from shooting out. At his older brother's first words, the young prince shot up, running towards him to wrap his arms around his waist only to begin crying harder. Ike had calmed down since then, especially once leaving the basement that was suffocating him to climb up to the first floor but he refused to be anywhere but clinging to his brother's robes and Prince Kyle wouldn't have it any other way.
"Why's it so quiet?" Ike asked, looking up at his brother who was now shoving another fingernail into his mouth.
"I don't know." Kyle answered honestly. One would think that the sounds of silence would have brought a sense of comfort to the prince but when the sounds of battles outdoors began to quiet down, Kyle couldn't help but to have his nerves begin to fray. It was unexpected and unannounced much like how the fighting had initially begun. "I wish I knew what was going on out there." He said, as he paused to stare at the large engraved set of wooden doors before he continued on his pacing, brother in tow. And just as if the doors were listening to his desires, they both slammed open with a startling crash. Pushing his little brother behind him, Kyle cursed himself as he glanced at his staff he left leaning against an adjacent wall. Before he had a chance to contemplate whether to run and grab it, droves of familiar faces came stumbling through the doors. Feeling like he was going to pass out from the constant ups and downs of his blood pressure, Kyle grabbed at his chest as red hair that matched his own came in as well. "Mom!" he shouted, quickly getting her attention.
"My bubbies. I'm glad you're safe." She exclaimed, using the same pet names she had been using on them since they were tiny. What surprised the two siblings was the lack of overbearing hugs they usually received. It wasn't until Kyle noticed that she was staying with their father who was being assisted by a couple of knights, one on each side, that they understood why. "He'll be fine. Just needs to bandage his leg." she said, answering the unasked question as she followed the group to the infirmary.
As they stood, watching their parents move further and further away down the corridor, Kyle felt a small tug of his robe. "Where's Stan?" He heard his brother ask as the elf knight commander walked in, refusing aid from the nurses to get him patched up. Ike might have enjoyed making quips about them but they knew he actually liked Stan very much, kind of looked up to him even, a sort of kinship for his fellow human. Had already duped him into being his personal sword instructor, knowing he would not have inherited any magic. "I don't know." Kyle responded, taking his hand out of his mouth now that it was becoming too hard to hide it trembling. "I don't know, I don't know. I should have never left him. I should have made him come with me." he said, attempting to keep the shiver in his voice at bay, when he felt thin arms circle around him once more. He lowered his head just taking in the temporary comfort until his whole body began to shake. "It's him." his brother said, as he continued to shake him side by side.
Glancing up towards the doors he had been avoiding, his heart rate picked up once more when making eye contact with the piercing blue eyes he had been waiting for. A rush of relief washed over the prince as he quickly made his ways towards him all while swerving around people still making their way in. Stopping in front of the knight who had not moved an inch since stepping through the door, Kyle smiled and lifted his hands. He had hoped to cradle each side of the knight's face, ensuring that it was really him and that he was really safe only for his hand to be grabbed mid-air. The hold was gentle but firm, firmer than Kyle had ever experienced before from the knight as he brought his hand down yet never letting go.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?" the prince asked frantically when Stan continued to stand still, his eyes seemingly glazed over. He was hoping he hadn't missed an injury when he was giving him a once over.
"No, no, actually he—" Stan began to say before abruptly stopping and breaking eye contact to glance down at their linked hands, the knight's actions not at all calming Kyle's nerves. Stan felt the prince's glaze on him, could feel the shiver of the prince's slender fingers in his, and could hear the prince's sporadic breaths as his anxiety began to rise. He hated being the cause for the prince's discomfort but he couldn't help but to replay what had just happened.
"Mom?" Stan asked quietly, despite his loud surroundings.
"Yes, honey. It's me.'' The brown haired woman replied, her features sympathetic and motherly. "I'm so sorry. Oh, but look at you. I thought I'd never see you again." she said, voice quivering, tears threatening to fall. "You're so big, but you still have those big innocent blue eyes, you did always look like your father." she gushed.
"No, no, this can't be—you're not. How? I don't remember you. I don't remember anything. Not really." Stan shook his and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a very prominent and tense headache coming on.
"Then ask the questions, Sir Stanley." the wizard said, Stan almost, just almost forgetting he was still there even with the sounds of war happening around him. Somehow, he found them very easy to ignore. He knew he was getting egged on, knew that this was what the wizard wanted but the woman. The woman was proving to be harder to ignore.
"What happened?" he asked, the woman releasing a heavy sign.
"We were making our way through by carriage and I just knew we had taken a wrong turn. I just knew it. Your father always got lost and just wouldn't listen to reason when I had suggested it but we did. We turned too far into Elven territory." She paused, covering her mouth in a similar fashion as before, hesitation clear in her voice. "And that's when they attacked us."
"Stan." he finally heard when coming back from his mental blackout. It took many passing seconds for him to fully grasp that he was inside of the Elven Castle instead of being back out in the battlefield. The sounds of the chattering going on all around slowly became intelligible until he was able to make out the murmurs about what had caused the Kupa Keep troops to retreat. His vision began to focus as he noticed the younger prince looked up at him, scared, before shifting his sights onto his prince, his thick brows curling and his green concerned eyes moist. Feeling being the last sense to return, the cool touch of the prince's fingers acting as an anchor. "Stan," he heard his name being called out again, soft and patient. "What did he do?" Prince Kyle asked, squeezing the knight's hands in support.
"I think he introduced me to my mother."
Okay look...this wasn't supposed to be a multi-chapter fic. My friends and I, because we're dorks, are going through a prompt book and writing short stories. Most of my stories have been original fiction but when I got the prompt " A Prince Falls in Love with His Servant" I just thought, I can't not do a Stick of Truth AU. So, that's where chapter one came from and that was supposed to be it. Well...then I got the prompt "A Stranger Shows up Claiming to be your Mother" and I thought I never addressed Stan's parents so I could totally continue this. Well, it was going to be entirely too long for a "short story" so I had to end it on a cliffhanger. And that my friends is how I unintentionally started writing a multi-chapter Stick of Truth fanfic. This will be continued of course, I just can't promise a time frame really since I have to wait for another prompt that fits. I don't want to keep writing without the prompt first because there's certain words we have to use for each one. So, I hope you enjoy and keep tight!