Far away, in the spacious estate of the Royal Vinkun family, a butler and his wife were preparing for bed.

"Say, Mara, did you hear about the Governor of Munchkinland's wife?"

"Died in childbirth a few months ago, didn't she?"

"Ay, that's the one. Seems like the whole family's moving out of the Marshlands and back to the official residence."

"Hmph, and a high time they did, too. All that damp air won't be good for the new baby, and I daresay the Governor wouldn't want anything to do with the place his wife died." (pause) "Was it her first?"

"Well …" (the butler scratched his head) "I heard that she had another girl a few years back, but there was something odd about that birth. Took place a few months after the Prince, but it was hardly publicized. Not even a notice in the papers."

"What a family. They seem to have their hands full! … Mine will soon be, too; helping Her Majesty to find a governess for that brat of a prince – And he's only a mere four years old!"

"Relax, Mara, he'll grow out of it."

"Haven't you seen the way the King and Queen spoil him?"

"Their first healthy, living son after so many years, Mara. Surely you can't fault them for that."

"… I suppose so. But that boy will grow up to be a rascal and nothing more if it doesn't stop. What do we say then?"

"Time will tell, Mary. Time will tell. Now, blow out the candle. It's been a long day."

"Prince Fiyero! Prince Fiyero, please, stop right now!"

Fiyero skidded to a halt and sighed resignedly. "What is it now, Mara?"

The middle-aged housekeeper bent over, trying to catch her breath. "Prince Fiyero," she panted. "You simply must stop vexing your tutors. Why, that would be the fifth one you sent away!"

Fiyero gave her a winning smile. "Aw, can't a guy have some fun around here?"

"Your charms may work on the younger maids, Your Highness, but they won't work on me." Mara said sternly. "I'm deeply sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to inform Her Majesty of this recent … Transgression."

"Oh, come on …"

"You did WHAT?" thundered King Sulmon of the Arjikis, ruler of the Vinkus, Lord of the Lone Islands and, Fiyero thought privately, winner of this year's most Charmingly Loud Father Award.

Fiyero winced. "Father, please, hear me out …"

"Fiyero, this can't go on forever!" The King boomed. "'Tis the fifth time you've sent another tutor running out of the Palace. You're always either late, sleeping, didn't finish your homework, and thrice you've hid Dr. Flanden's spectacles with his most prized pen!"

Fiyero cracked a grin at that. "Father, you must admit he looked quite funny running around the Palace without them …"

"Enough, Fiyero." The King sat on his throne with an exhausted sigh. He beckoned his son, and Fiyero reluctantly ascended the few steps of the pedestal.

"Fiyero," King Sulmon began seriously. "You know both your mother and I have high hopes of you. You're our only child, so naturally we love you all the more and want you to have only the best in everything."

"I know, Father." Fiyero replied quietly.

"You're already sixteen, son." The King paused to rub his eyes tiredly. "It's nearly time you went to college or a university. I won't be around forever, and it may soon be up to you to ascend the throne."

"Yes, Father." Fiyero muttered.

"And tutors, my boy, don't just appear out of nowhere," the King continued with a small twinkle in his eye. Fiyero smiled sheepishly.

"Go." The King dismissed Fiyero with a wave of his hand. "Your mother will settle an apology letter to Dr. Flanden, and then we'll see about finding another tutor."

Fiyero gave a quick bow and exited the throne room. Once outside, he sighed in frustration.

"Sweet Lurline, I swear no one has a decent sense of humour here," he said aloud, running a hand through his hair.

"Ouch."

Fiyero wheeled around and grinned as he spotted his best friend slouching against a marble pillar.

"Avaric! What are you doing up here?"

Avaric shrugged and straightened. "The old fellas are snoring down at the stables and the kitchen's no fun now that Minette's gone. Plus, I heard a certain Prince got himself into trouble and came up to see the fun."

Fiyero smirked. "Still hung up on Minette, eh?"

"Yeah," Avaric sighed melodramatically. "She was my love, the light of my life …"

Avaric slung an arm over Fiyero's shoulder as they started walking down the hallway. Despite their different social status, the two boys had known each other since babyhood and had bonded because of their near identical sense of "fun".

"Sod off, you nut," Fiyero said, jostling Avaric good-naturedly. "You know half the things you said to her was from my mother's poetry books."

"All thanks to your timely education, Your Highness," Avaric executed a deep bow. "How may I express my gratitude?"

"Stop crawling on the floor and get up, then," Fiyero snapped. Seeing Avaric's slightly surprised expression, he exhaled and tousled his hair again.

"Sorry, mate." He apologized. "This royalty business gets to me sometimes."

"Yeah, the old man chewed you up pretty bad, didn't he?" Avaric jerked his head in the direction of the throne room.

"It's not just that," Fiyero said listlessly. "Look at you. You can run around all you like, eat apples from the orchard, while I sit in a stuffy library with an equally stuffy – not to mention, old – tutor. Hell, if I wanted to eat an apple, someone would have to cut and peel it … Maybe even check that someone's not trying to poison me!"

"Yeah, well, I don't envy the tutoring part." Avaric grinned. "But I don't see why you're complaining about the other part. Look." He gestured to the marble floor, the rich carpet and the gilded ceilings. "Look at all these. Servants at your beck and call, finest horses to be found from the Thousand Year Grasslands … What more could you want?"

What more could I want? Fiyero mused silently. Everything … And yet I can't think of anything. He cringed and shook his head. Fiyero Tiggular does not dwell on things he doesn't understand, and Fiyero Tiggular definitely will not sound like a philosophical old Goat.

"Say, wanna play a game of chess?" Avaric asked.

Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "Twelve years of friendship and you never told me you could play chess. I'm hurt."

"Shut up, you."

A/N: I'm so sorry about all the deleting chapters + rearranging chapters thing that's been going on! These chapters just come to me in my head and I have no idea how to arrange them. They're all according to the growing age of the characters, though. The events will only start taking place really closely once the characters enter Shiz. Oh and, once Fiyero gets introduced to alcohol, all hell will break loose ...