Ness
I'm a rather special boy. The reason being is that I am the youngest knight. All the other knights are over the age, but I'm rather a good distance from that age. Today was a more special day than normal. We've been at war with a nearby kingdom call Fourside. This kingdom is called Onett. There have been some rumors about the prince, who rarely shows his face, needing a royal guard. Today was the supposed day he finds it. Me and the other knights were called to HQ. Our leader named Ninten was rather young too. Not as young as me, but he is older than 18 at least. He says that at least, his father was the old leader until he was slain in a battle we call, the Drago Battle. Ninten has been a tough leader since his father died hence handing the torch to him. Ninten crossed his hands. He overlooked us as we lined up in two small groups. "All right, listen to me, the king and queen will be here to choose a royal knight to protect prince Lucas. When they do, use each other to train, show them why you should be picked," Ninten said. He then stomped his foot and used his right arm to reach diagonally to his left shoulder. "It is an honor to serve the king and queen, all of you should be proud to be given the chance." We copied that notion. That's when he walked out, but we stayed put.
A skill you need to inherit to be a good soldier is patience. More often than not you wait. Not fully aware of who, or what you're waiting for. This is one of the only times we know who we're waiting for. One wrong move, and BOOM, you're SOL. You also need a memory like an elephant's. All the terms you need to know. SOS, AWOL, SOL (Which I created, but my crew decided to inherit), MIA, WIA, POW, KIA. That last one hurts the most. It's the least used but does the most damage. I've lost many friends in my last battle. The last battle was massive. It took place in a Kingdom that hung between us. That Kingdom is forever ruined but unlike the kingdom of Fourside, we go and help them recover. There were about 10 MIA, 7 POW, 100 WIA, and sadly 397 KIA. I was either lucky or skilled enough to scape by without injuries. But within those 397, they were friends, friends I considered family. But I can't really be all that sad. We all chose to join the forces called Onett's Onimpotent Defenders. We all joined with the full knowledge of the possibility of death, of PTSD being a possible outcome. We all know someone who has been through shell-shocked symptoms. We shorten that to SSS or Triple S.
People often think how. How do we keep a straight face? How do we not get bored standing still? How do you keep level-headed during battle? There is one answer to all three questions. We are all beat down, trained to almost hide all human emotions. To keep all human nature in the back, making the battle, or job the priority. People who don't let it be the priority often lead to them being MIA, WIA, KIA, or POW. And therefore we blame them for not being too focused. But we still miss them, and not all people who are KIA, or anything related, is because of their lack of prioritizing. Often it's because they were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The more you're able to keep a straight mind, a stable and balanced mind, the more you'll be able to lose track of time. To the general public, losing track of time is bad, you lose time to do other things. But for us, we lose more time to worry about the war. We have been standing in this room for five hours, but to us, it only felt like half an hour. None of us moved, felt hungry, got thirsty, felt the need for the bathroom's uses. Our leader, which we call him by colonel Ninten, is someone who holds loads of secrets. We all know he has secrets but no one knows them in-depth. Theories come out, but he quickly calls them Conspiracies. Sometimes I wonder what people in public power think. All of them have conspiracies. Even poor Prince Lucas who hasn't even showed his face to the public since his birthday last year. Those are the only times when he shows his face. Theories about why he doesn't show his face are abundant. I would even say more than abundant.
Colonel Ninten soon walked back in. Behind him were the King and Queen. King Flint's face and overall nature didn't seem to relate to a typical king. Rather he seems to fit more of a lumberjack or some type of carpenter. Queen Hinawa, on the other hand, is a beautiful queen. She is exactly what a queen would look like. She's also the more alpha of the two, but that doesn't mean King Flint is a push-over. He has been the toughest, and most hardcore king we've ever had, and that's only to show how great of a king and queen they are. They take no bullshit from anyone, but also not afraid to help those they feel need their help. Some often criticize them about their tough nature, but I feel like this nature they hold themselves to achieve keeps them level-headed amid this war we're waged in.
Colonel Ninten stood in front of us with his hands behind his back. "Stand to attention," he called out. We stomped out foot on the ground and saluted. The king and queen looked at all of us.
"As you were," King Flint said. We allowed our hands to hang at our sides. King Flint held his hands behind his back as Queen Hinawa stepped forward.
"As you may know we are looking for a royal guard, the battles are slowly getting closer and closer to our kingdom. We don't care about if our lives are taken, but if the prince gets killed, we're in trouble," Queen Hinawa said. At this point, King Flint sighed a little.
"Where is that boy, he was supposed to follow us."
"He's hanging outside the door, get him if you may?" Queen Hinawa asked Colonel Ninten. He nodded and walked toward the door. "Now, we will not be choosing the person to guard him, he will. He'll be his guardian, so he deserves the choice of who it should be." The door opened and Colonel Ninten walked back in with a boy following close behind. He had blonde hair. His hair was kind of set up in an ice-cream style. It seemed to go against gravity. His white, prince-ly clothes make his facial features stand out. His ocean eyes stand out. You could lose yourself in them. His clothes were mostly white, but there are some aqua blue streaks on the arms. The rest of the dressing seems to be a normal and iconic prince uniform. The blue and white on him makes him seem gentle. His face and overall aura seem to give off the essence of sincerity. How do I put this, he'll have no problem finding a queen.
Prince Lucas walked to his father's side and turned to us. He was very nervous. I don't know why this prince is so nervous. All of the other princes in the past have been outgoing and extroverted. But this one is very and visibly introverted. It makes me wanna go and comfort him, make him feel like he's welcome here, rather than unwelcomed. King Flint placed his hand on Prince Lucas' shoulder and he nodded. I took a deep breath. "You may begin," he said. His voice, gentle and pure. The man I was right next to and I turned to each other. I reached for the sword in the sheath hanging off my back and took it out. I held it ahead of me. As the person swung for me I was able to hit his sword. We copied this action more times. I finally saw an opening and slammed into him with my shoulder and therefore able to kick him further back. He tried to swing for me, but I was able to knock his sword out of his hands, and quickly swiped his legs causing him to fall. I allowed my left foot to plant itself on his gut and held the sword down to where the tip was touching his neck. It wasn't piercing or cutting anything, just rather touching. Just the tip. "OK, Stop." It was the prince. I then held the sword into the air with my hands still staying my by side. I sheathed the sword and held my hand to the guy. I smirked.
"Good fight, you still need to learn how to leave less spots for a counter-attack," I say. He grabs my hand and stand up. He is rather tall compared to me, but still visibly respects me as I do him. He bows down with the palms of his hands together. Prince Lucas soon came by my side with the man's sword in his hands. I stomped my foot, looked forward at him, clenched my fist, and reached that fist to my left shoulder. Prince Lucas handed the sword to the man.
"Thank you, your highness," the man bowed. He then sheathed his sword and copied my stance. I looked forward, not shaking my glance when Prince Lucas looked at me. He tilted his head.
"What's your name?" Prince Lucas asked.
"Ness, your highness," I say plainly. He nodded.
"Ness," he nodded. "Not bad."
"Thank you si-," I was cut off. Lucas had somehow kicked me with the opposite foot from me. He did one of those fancy turn-around kicks. Somehow during this time of me falling, he grabbed my sword and stood over me much similar to what I did with the guy from before.
"Good, but still in need of training." I had a smirk. It was because the prince, like his parents, is no push-over. Welp, there goes that one theory. But it does pave the way for another. He moved the sword away and stabbed it into the ground. "Training that I'm hoping you'd like to learn from me," he said while holding his hand to me. I took it and he helped me up. He took the sword out the ground and handed it to me horizontally. He then kneeled onto a single knee as my fellow soldiers did the same but looking forward. I was the only one of my crew standing. I hovered my hand over the hilt of my sword. Looked at the blade for no real reason. I then looked at Prince Lucas' ocean eyes.
As I previously thought, I quickly got lost, in need of a boat. And who just so happened to be the one to help, Prince Lucas. He was in a sailor suit. He held his hand toward me. I took it and he helped me up. I shook the water from my hair. He reached into the water again and grabbed my hat. He tossed it to me. "Thanks," I say.
"No problem, whatcha doin' out here anyway?" he asked.
"I dunno, just sorta woke up here." He tilted his head and got next to me. He turned to look at the vast emptiness of the ocean. Not a speck of land in sight.
"Wanna know why I love the ocean?"
"Why?" He looked at me and grabbed the back of my head. He then slammed out heads into the water. I opened my eyes and saw loads of fish. Colorful and worry-less fish. Below them were the beautiful and abstract coral. I was able to see turtles and snails just live their best and most peaceful life. I looked over to Lucas and saw his hair waving in the water's wind. I looked down and saw a light. I started to reach for the light.
I blink once and realize that I have my sword in my hands. Prince Lucas was standing up from his kneel. He bowed with his hand's palms planted together. I sheathed the sword and did the same. Our heads almost touching. I didn't have my head on at the time, but if I did it would've hit his head so I'm glad the forces don't allow it. We both moved back up and he looked at my straight stature. "You know where the castle is?"
"Of course, your highness."
"Good, now tomorrow morning come to the castle and give the guard this," he said giving me a small metallic object. I kind of resembled a sunflower, a very abstract sunflower. Its silver is broken up with some bronze rust. I nodded and placed it in my pocket. That's when a bald man walked in. He ran to Prince Lucas' back and whispered something in his ear. Prince Lucas sighed and looked at his parents. They nodded. The Queen looked at Colonel Ninten.
"We really appreciate all you've done, but we must go on with our business," Queen Hinawa said.
"Of course, your majesty," he responded. The king and queen walked down and Prince Lucas started to follow them. The bald man soon followed. They closed the door, but we waited and the further door was closed. Colonel Ninten sighed. "Stand at attention." We all stomped and looked forward. We fixed any possible gap that could've been made. We all now stood, very linear, and organized. Colonel Ninten smiled. "I normally say we need to stay serious, but with the recent events, I feel we should let loose a little. That is why I've set up a little party to celebrate whoever Prince Lucas' chooses." He then bowed. "I do hope all of you will join." He stood back up. "You may be dismissed. My group was the last to leave. Even leaving we all stayed linear and organized. Every step we took sounded together, in absolute unison. They all sounded like drums when heard together. We all soon left and people started to cheer for me. The guy from before patted my back and started to walk away.
"Hey, how's Ana doing?" I called out. He turned around.
"Hanging in there, you should visit. You know she's a fan of you."
"It'll be my duty." He chuckled a little and saluted a bye. Another soldier came to me. His name is Duster. He's part of a group called United Supai. In other words, they are spies who work together with us in a united fashion. Technically they don't work for us, they are just partnered with us. These spies also double as a thieving organization. They steal only for the kingdom's against us. For instance, they stole a picture that could explain why they feel obligated to attack us. I'd say I'm rather close with him. My family does live in his house after all. We had our house in that middle kingdom until we moved to this kingdom. It's much more complicated than you may want. I won't go in full detail, but if any of us betray the kingdom, we'd be killed without any remorse.
"I'm happy for you Ness, I'm sure your father would too," Duster said. I rolled my eyes and walked past him.
"You know damn well he wouldn't, that asshole betrayed us. I'm glad he's gone." Duster looked at me.
"I know you don't mean that." I shook my head. He ran to my side. "He's MIA, and I can tell you miss him."
"He went AWOL, I have no respect for him." I poked Duster' chest aggressively.
"As a soldier, you're not alone in that judgment, but as a father, he's sacrificed so much. There's a lot you don't know about him." I looked into his face.
"And you do?" I turned around before giving him a chance to answer. Partly due to my fear of knowing, and partly due to my anger of not knowing. My dad is like holding a red cape in front of the bull. I soon get back home and say hi to Tracy. I hug my mom. She knew why. She has that mom superpower. She knows why I am feeling the way I'm feeling. Tracy, in her young age, is a little more one-sided. I enter my room and look at the picture adjacent to the door. It was a picture of a familiar looking ship. The ocean that this ship was skidding across had no sign of life, except for me. And whoever took the picture. I quite honestly don't know who, or how it was taken. I shake my head and sit in my chair. This chair was looking at a clean and organized desk. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the metallic object. I looked at it. It was definitely a sunflower, but why? I shake my head and place it on the table. Seeing it seems to fill me with determination. I just want to save this feeling under the tale of my future. I lean back in my chair looking up at the roof. Nothing special was on this roof. Just the normal texture of the concrete that made up the house. The small bumps that would otherwise be unnoticeable. They seemed to start moving on its own and made up a face. Prince Lucas' face. It was him smiling. This made me smile. I shook my head and smack it a little. I stand up and enter the bathroom connected to the room. I shake my head and looked in the mirror. I turn on the water and started to get some in my hands and splashed my face with it. I looked back in the mirror and saw the water dripping off me. This image soon changed to be of my dad's. I clenched my fist and needed to force myself not to punch the mirror. I took a deep breath to calm down and exited the room. I quickly changed into my pajamas. I moved the metallic sunflower into a drawer. I then crawled into bed. It wasn't late, and in terms of sleep, rather early. I wasn't tired either. I just needed to be in bed, for a reason that isn't entirely known by myself.
My door opened and Duster popped his head in. He looked at me and I looked at him. He walked in and closed the door. He moved the chair and sat in it the opposite of how it normally supposed to be sat in. He rested his arms on the back of the chair. I turned away from him. "I don't think Prince Lucas chose you just for you being a good soldier," Duster said. I stayed quiet. "I spoke with Lloyd earlier. You know, the one who's going out with Ana, he seems to think Prince Lucas has a secondary reason for choosing you." I turned back to him.
"What does he know?"
"When he's not a soldier, he's a therapist. He also studies people's emotional status, and he claimed Prince Lucas was showing an emotion that he had yet to study."
"That doesn't mean anything," I say turning back around. I looked at the picture of me on a ship in the middle of an unknown ocean.
"I'm sure you'll find the truth out eventually. And not just of Prince Lucas, but of your father too." I stared at the picture as Duster closed the door. It felt like I could feel the winds of the ocean, the cool breeze from the terrain the ocean stands upon is calming. I go back to what Lucas showed me. The beautiful coral. We popped our heads back up. I saw my hat drifting away and I reached for it. I couldn't reach it and I pouted a little. That's when it started to move. The head of a red snake popped up and smiled at me.
"Woah," I say. Lucas chuckled.
"Nice eh? He's my rope snake," Lucas says reaching for him. He took off the hat and placed it on my head. "You'd lose your head if it weren't for your neck." I chuckled a little.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Not sure, but I don't choose where to go. I just allow the waves of the ocean to guide me. The seagulls always lead to a beach, so I guess we're going to a beach." Lucas had been looking in the air. Seagulls were flying over us.
"Don't they lead people to the ocean?"
"Yea, but they attack the turtles on beaches, so they could just as easily be leading us there." I nodded in understanding.
"Don't you get lost sometimes?"
"Oh yea, all the time." He looked down at me. A smile rivaling that of the snake's.
"How do you fix it?"
"You just gotta find yourself. Look deep inside of you." He turned back to the ocean. He then peeked over the small boat and looked at his reflection. "LIke this ocean." I looked at the Ocean's surface and see myself. "You see yourself don't you?"
"Yea?"
"But when you look deeper you see all the colors, all the life, and all the beauty that lies within all of us. Our person is like the ocean. Keep that in mind, and whenever you get lost, you'll know the way out of it."
I wake up and quickly dress in my uniform. I run to my door before remembering the metallic object. I quickly pocket it and run out. I start slowing down my run when I approach the castle. The bald man from the day prior stood in front of the door. He walked forward and crossed his hands. I reached into my pocket and showed him the object. He bowed and led me to the large doors. There was a small touchpad for his hand. When he placed his hand on it the door opened. I walked further ahead and looked down. I saw the divider from peasantry, to royalty. It's as thin as can be. I look at the guard. "The prince is waiting for you in his room on the second floor. You'll his room when you see it." I nodded and took a deep breath with my eyes closed. I stepped forward and looked at the foyer. I took a few more and realized how massive the room was. I looked down and noticed how clean it was. I saw myself on the floor, I'd lick the floor if it weren't for the fact I'd make a fool of myself. I saw two staircases that lead to a small balcony overlooking the foyer. These two staircases sorta curved into each other for the balcony.
I walked up one of them and instantly saw a room at the far end of the hall. This one had a much more fancy doorway than that of the other rooms. I walked over to it, looked at each closed door along my way. I got to the door and was about to knock. That's when a bunch of insecurities came instantly and abruptly. I started to try and fix them. Whether it be about my hair being a mess, despite it not, or about my clothes and how I wore them. I was panicking about this like someone would with a crush. I start to fix my pants when the door opened. I looked up and saw Prince Lucas. I instantly stop and stand straight up. Prince Lucas chuckled and moved out the way issuing me to come in. I bowed and walked in. I was expecting a high-class room, but rather it was a room I'd expect to see at a friend's. There were posters for movies, video games, etc. Prince Lucas sat on the bed parallel to the door's wall. Prince Lucas looked at my structured and built-up self. "Come on, relax." He pointed to a bean bag chair. I looked at it then at him. "Go on, sit in it." I walked to it and look back at him once more. I then allow myself to collapse in the comfortable chair. "Why are all of you guys so uptight?"
"It's how we were trained, your highness," I respond. He shook his head.
"Just, call me Lucas, I don't like this formality."
"As you wish, you high, I mean, Lucas." Prince Lucas giggled. "So, when will we start training?"
"You actually think we're training? I am in no way capable of training strong-willed soldier like you. And plus, you already know all you need to know."
"How do you know what you did back then?"
"I've trained myself in different arts than you have. A friend of mine, Kumatora, told me about it."
"I heard she was a princess."
"She is, but she abandoned her kingdom of Tazmily." He then shook his head. He stood up and walked to me. He held his hand to me. "Come on, let's go for a walk shall we?" I looked in his eyes. I then grabbed his hand and he started to walk me around the castle. We soon got into the kitchen. There was a picture that stuck out to me. It was a picture of a boy similar looking to Prince Lucas. I walked to it.
"What is this?" He got to my side. He took it and placed it back.
"Nobody." He had tears in his eyes. I felt panic shooting through my body. I do not want to make the prince cry on my first day. I pull out a chair and push him to sit in it. I grab some napkins and start whipping them away. That's when he grabbed my hand. The warmth of his hand can cause anyone to be warm out in the ocean cold. He moves out hand away from his eyes. He smiled. I looked passed him and saw a similar picture to that of the one in my room. The difference being that it was Prince Lucas instead of me. He looked back and saw it. He stood up and broke up our hands. He grabbed it and sat back in the chair. "I don't know how I got this, I just remember having it as long as I could remember."
"I have one like it too, but it's me and not you." Lucas looks at me. He tilts his head.
"I like your eyes, they remind me of space." I smile and blush a little. He moved his hand to my left cheek. He used his thumb to rub a small part of the skin underneath my eye. He could see stains and knew what they were from. "Don't cry, stay strong. I picked you for your heart. I feel like we could share a heart, and I have yet to think I was wrong. Don't lose the wind that guides you through the ocean." I touched his hand with mine and he collided his forehead into mine. I saw my purple eyes in his blue eyes. Lucas had told me to look deep in the ocean of my person, and here I am, seeing myself in the Prince's eyes. What do I do at this point, what is there deeper to look? Is it Prince Lucas? Is there something about Lucas? What about what Duster told me? What does he know about the prince?
Months have passed. Lucas and I have been through a lot, lost a lot of people. We found out truths, exposed lies, and stopped the century-long war between us and Fourside. Here we are, standing at the grave of the man who's helped us most of all. Duster. The funeral had long since ended, but Lucas and I still stay here. Lucas placed his hand on my shoulder. "We both miss him a lot," Lucas said. I wiped away some tears.
"Yea, but I miss him more." I looked at the writing. He sacrificed himself for me. He jumped in front of the blade. The blade pierced his heart. I touched my forehead on the dirt that stood above him. Lucas placed his hand on my right hand. I shake my head and stand up. He keeps hold of my hand. "What about Claus?"
"He'll be the king, I don't think I'm fit to be it."
"Is it because of me?"
"No of course not, I love you, and if they didn't like the fact you'd be king with me I'd say fuck them. But I feel like I'd much rather be a peasant, with you."
"You'd still be a prince."
"Yea, and you'd be my prince."
"Now and forever?"
"For as long as the ocean is deep." We both smiled and kissed each other on the lips. We looked at Duster's grave. We kissed three fingers and touched the grave. I reached into my pocket and placed the metallic sunflower onto it. This then caused a genuine sunflower to grow on his grave. We both saluted the grave. We turned around and walked away, happy, and ready to live a new normal and more peasant life. I am the soldier Ness, and I'm with my prince Lucas. Now and forever.