It was the dead of night, when the rest of the country was sleeping. King Eric, on the other hand, was still dressed in his suit, hard at work. However, his tie was undone as were the first two buttons of his dress up shirt. The phone rang and he quickly picked it up. His wife, Queen Scarlett paced the room, as her husband spoke on the phone. She knew what he was planning and detested it with every fibre of her being, even if she knew it was for the best. A soft knock sounded at the door, and Scarlett rushed to open it. She glanced at her children, Louise in her robe and nightgown, glanced over sleepily at her mother. Her son, Justin's black hair stuck up at odd angles, while it looked like Louise had at least ran her hands through her light brown locks.
"What's going on?" Louise asked as she stifled a yawn. She looked tired and confused, while her younger brother, however, looked annoyed to have been woken up at such an hour. And who could blame him? It was three in the morning.
Justin glanced at his father, knowing the answer would lay with him, but knew better than to interrupt the phone call. Eric muttered a quick thank you then hung up the phone, finally glancing at his children.
"You two might want to sit down for this," Scarlett advised, reaching out to place a hand on each of her children's shoulders.
Justin shirked his shoulder away. "Just tell us." he grumbled out and folded his arms across his chest.
Louise glanced at her mother, confusion etched on her face, and Scarlett wrapped her arms around the sixteen-year-old.
Eric exhaled a breath. "You two are leaving the country, in one hour's time."
Louise and Justin exchanged glances, Louise's expression was one of shock, whereas Justin looked unphased, as if he had been expecting this. Louise clutched onto her mother, clearly more upset by what was going on than her stoic younger brother.
"Where are we going?" Justin asked, glancing at his father.
"To the German Federation, you'll be staying at the embassy where you will be well taken care of, and I expect that you two will behave yourselves," Eric replied.
Justin merely nodded while Louise shook her head.
"I don't want to go!" she protested.
"It's not safe for you two here," Scarlett interjected. "I don't like this either, but the attacks are getting closer and closer to the palace."
Louise shot her father a pleading look, but he shook his head.
"There's nothing I can do, your safety is paramount," Eric said. "Go get dressed, maids will pack your belongings for you."
Louise broke free from her mother's grip and stormed out of the room, Scarlett was tempted to follow after her, but knew it was better to let her process her emotions on her own. Eric then focused his attention on his son and heir. He walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen to me, Justin. You are my son and the future King of Illéa, never forget that. Take care of your sister and listen to your hosts," King Eric said firmly.
"I will," Justin promised, slight dejection in his tone. He didn't want to go hide in Germany like some kind of coward, but what exactly could he do in Illéa? He was only fourteen. With that, the teen shrugged his father's hand off of his shoulder and left the room.
Scarlett glanced over at her husband who had an unreadable expression on his face. She didn't know how he hid his emotions so well, especially when they were saying goodbye to their own children.
"This is for their own good, they can't stay here," Eric said, noticing the tears in his wife's eyes. What else could they do? They were at war with France, whose soldiers were inching closer to the palace day by day, the streets were pure chaos and they were drafting new soldiers day by day. He needed to protect his children and his line, no matter how much it pained him to do so.
"We will make France pay for this, if it's the last thing we do," Scarlett vowed.
Prince Justin and Princess Louise arrived at their German Embassy after a lengthy flight and car ride. Justin was currently looking out of the tinted windows of the car, while Louise slept, resting her head on his shoulder. He gently shook her awake as the car pulled through the secure gates of the Embassy. Louise yawned and stretched. Both were dressed for comfort, with Justin dressed simply in jeans and a black t-shirt, while Louise wore leggings and a white tank top with a grey cardigan on top. The car came to a stop, and the doors were opened for the young Prince and Princess. They both stepped out of the car, and into the chill morning air. Justin crossed his arms against the cold and walked around the car to stand beside his sister.
"We know you're tired, your parents have been informed of your arrival," a man in a black suit said. "My name is Officer Anderson, welcome to the German Federation."
Justin gave a half smile and nodded, while Louise muttered out a thanks.
"I'll show you to your rooms, right this way, Your Highnesses," Officer Anderson said, and led the siblings up the stairs leading into the embassy.
Louise glanced at her brother, and followed after the guard. Justin shoved his hands in his pockets and followed suit. Although he acted like he didn't care, he couldn't help but feel like his world was shattering. He understood why his parents did it, it was to keep them safe, but still, it hardly felt fair. Justin yawned as they were led up a flight of stairs. He was exhausted to say the least, having stayed awake for most of their journey.
"Princess Louise, this will be your room, and Prince Justin, your room is just to the right," Officer Anderson said.
"Thank you," Louise said. She glanced at her brother, not quite ready to depart with the only family she had in the country.
"Where's our stuff?" Justin asked.
"It will be brought up shortly, Your Highness," Officer Anderson supplied. "I suggest you two get some rest."
Justin rolled his eyes, he hated being told what to do, especially by palace staff. "We'll be fine, you can go now," he said dismissively.
Officer Anderson raised an eyebrow at the young prince. "I would also like to inform you that I'll be overseeing your care whilst you are here," he said matter-of-factly. "If you need anything, do let me know."
"What we need is for you to leave us alone," Justin retorted. He was tired, and grumpy, and most importantly he was getting a headache. He walked past the guard and opened the door to his sister's room, he swiftly grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside, closing the door behind him.
"What's the matter with you?" Louise asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"My head, for one, the other that we're trapped here," Justin said irritably. "You think they're gonna let us go outside? Do anything? Our presence here is obviously meant to be a secret, we're never going to set foot outside of this building."
Louise exhaled a breath. "That's what you care about?" She nearly snapped. "We just left mom and dad for who knows how long, and you're upset because you can't go outside!"
"The war will end soon, it has to," Justin said dismissively. In truth, he didn't want to think about that. The war, realistically, could wage on for years. He hated saying goodbye to his old life, but what choice did he have? His father's word was law, and as much as it sucked for him and his sister, his parents were probably taking it harder.
Welcome to my SYOC!
I hope you enjoyed the prologue, the next chapter will pick up 5 years later with the royal siblings returning home.
This is a male and female SYOC, as Justin is bisexual. If you have any questions or would like to reserve a province PM me. Form can be found on my profile, and please PM all characters with their name as the subject line.