Disclaimers in first chapter.
Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter's been late. I wrote this up, then lost it, then found it just yesterday... I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The children all clamoured about him, their faces all showing the same eager expressions as they had before. Mister sat on a rock, surrounded by all the kids, a small, warm smile hidden behind the high collar of his cloak.
"Now then, shall we continue our story…?"
The prince, Sephiroth, and the villager, Genesis, quickly became acquainted with one another as they often found themselves meeting by complete chance – sometimes, they met in the parks and gardens within the lord's castle, or occasionally down by the river, where one could catch many fish if one so wished. The river was also a place renowned for its beauty, and this was what had attracted the prince to said place.
"Rhapsodos, is that you?" the russet haired child, who had been looking into the blue depths of the river, glanced up.
"Hi there, Seph- I mean, your Highness!"
"Don't call me that. Please, feel free to call me 'Sephiroth'."
"If you say so…" the boy was still uneasy. The prince, upon seeing his companion's unease, continued. "And in turn, I shall call you Genesis. We're friends, and we're most certainly not at the palace, so let us not be so formal."
The other boy nodded. "So, why are you here, Sephiroth?"
The princeling was silent for a moment, before he began to speak.
"I… this place is really beautiful. It's nice and calming to listen to the bird, too. Why do you come here, Genesis?"
"I need to catch fish, for dinner, you see. The fish here are the best – they're delicious and they're usually really plump, so you don't need to catch heaps of them. I bet you eat these kinds of fish every day!"
He glanced at the young prince, who was staring blankly at the ripples upon the river's blue skin.
"Sephiroth?"
"Ah," the boy blinked. "I'm sorry, I must have blanked out." His eyes grew distant again. "No, actually, I've never had fish from here before."
The auburn haired boy stood up, a basket of fish in one hand. He held out his other hand for the prince.
"Come on then. Come over my place today, and we'll show you what the best food in the whole entire world's like!"
Happily, the prince-child took the proffered hand. A small, yet content smile graced his beautiful features. "Thank you, Genesis."
"Any time."
The two walked off to the slums, where the less fortunate of society lived. Everywhere, there was junk and illness.
"Genesis, don't tell me this is where you…" the young prince looked about disapprovingly. The entire district was absolutely filthy!
"Yup! This is where I live!" Genesis grinned happily.
"How is it that you can be so happy, even though you live in the worst part of town, where you could die any moment from a deadly sickness?" Sephiroth nudged a rat away with the toe of his shoe, careful not to touch the ugly thing.
"Because I have mum, and dad, and Angeal – he's my friend, and now, you." Genesis's tone was a serious one. Sephiroth's heart beat faster as those words left his companion's lips. He meant that much to the other boy? Words escaped him, and he found that he could not place the feelings he had within him into words.
"Genesis…" he breathed.
"Yes?" the other boy turned around. "We're nearly there."
"Genesis, I think… I think I love you," Sephiroth said. That was love, wasn't it? To be captivated by a person to the point that you could barely breathe, barely think, in the presence of said person.
"Of course you do! It's 'cos I'm so awesome, isn't it?" Genesis grinned. He noticed his friend's earnest expression. "Wait… friend love, or love love?"
"Love love," Sephiroth looked deeply into his friend's eyes. His hand caressed the other's cheek.
"Sephiroth?"
"Yes?"
"I… I think I might feel the same way… about you…" the boy averted his gaze to look to the side. A bright red flush tinted his cheeks.
"I'm so happy," Sephiroth whispered and brushed his lips against the younger teen's forehead.
"A-anyway, we're n-nearly there…" Genesis's flushed face became redder. "Just a few more streets…"
They stopped at a small shack made of miscellaneous building materials that seemed to have been 'borrowed' from some kind of abandoned building. It was tiny, barely a few metres square at most, but it was the place Genesis called home, and so, he would treat it as thus. A home.
"I'm home! And I've got a friend with me!" Genesis entered without bothering with taking off his shoes.
"Hm? Sephiroth, come in, come in," he said when he noticed his friend, who was standing – rather awkwardly – in the doorway. "Don't bother about your shoes. They rats will bite you if you take them off."
The prince nodded and entered the building.
"Ooh, and who's this?" a pretty lady greeted the duo.
"Mum, this is Sephiroth. Sephiroth, my mum."
"Oh, please, call me Diane," the lady smiled easily. "There's no need to be formal here, even if you are the heir to the throne."
Sephiroth's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"Oh, come on. Like such fine clothes are commonplace. Here, it doesn't matter who you are anyway. Everyone's equal here."
"That's a relief," he prince sighed. "I'm not exactly what you'd call 'at home' at a stiff place like the palace."
The prince ended up going to Genesis's place as often as he could. Eventually, they became lovers, and when they announced it to Genesis's parents, they were both showered with wishes for happiness and a good future together. Delight filled their lives, and it seemed as if everything was perfect. Nobody was expecting what was to come next.
Mister clapped his hands together, breaking the reverie he had his audience in. The children slowly blinked their eyes as reality returned to them, before groaning.
"Oh, Mister, why'd the story have to end there?"
"Because it's late. Now, go to bed and come back tomorrow and tell me what you think will happen next."
Slowly, the children nodded sleepily and ambled towards their respective homes, the Mister watching over them the entire time.
Please review and tell me what you think of the story, and how I could improve!
Thank you for reading/reviewing.
-Xescay, XIV-