We'll Never be Royals

✥︎ 16 ✥︎

Deeper into the Forest

Kuroo Tetsurou
Past Tense
Eight Winters Ago

Tetsurou watched with a grimace as his mother tugged at the arrow that was lodged into the dead pheasant. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder, which held his own arrows. In his other hand, he gripped his bow.

He still hasn't shot one yet. Not that he's really been trying. His sister, on the other hand, this has been the third one she's got and they've barely started. One of the servants trailed behind them, holding a wooden pole across his shoulders. The pheasants were tied to said pole by their feet.

"Well done, Jin," their mother praised, "I'm sure the chefs will look forward to cooking these."

Jin was a prodigy when it came to anything. She was smart, athletic, and strong. And it's not that Tetsurou was jealous of her, but he did envy her a bit.

He just didn't really have an interest in these types of activities. He's sure, if he truly wanted to, that he could shoot at least one pheasant. But it just wasn't the way he enjoyed spending his time.

"Mother, how much longer are we going to be out here?" He asked, his shoulders sagging a bit. It was the beginning of spring, and the air still had a chill. It was foggy and the sun was hidden behind the grey clouds.  Tetsurou would much rather be spending his time indoors with his mum, playing chess.

His mother raised her brows in surprise, "oh. Well, I'm not sure, Tetsu. I guess until we collect enough food for the next couple of weeks."

"Maybe if you helped out a little bit we'd be done sooner," Jin sneered, though it was more playful than anything else. She snickered when Tetsurou stuck his tongue out childishly. "Are you a prince or a troll?"

"I'll show you who's a troll," Tetsurou fired back, raising a fist. Their mother bellowed out a laugh, ruffling her childrens' hair.

"That's enough, the two of you. Tetsurou, maybe you'd like to go collect some firewood? We're running low and the winter's harsh air still hasn't quite left us alone."

Tetsurou sighed, "I guess."

"Just don't stray too far!" His mother called, but Tetsurou was already jogging down the path and deeper into the woods. Collecting wood was much better than hooting arrows at birds. Which he was grateful to his mother for because he knew that they were plenty well on firewood. (He went with his mum this morning to check the furnace).

He hummed a quiet hymn as he walked, picking up a thin stick and swinging it around. Maybe he could collect some flowers for his mum, she always liked when he did that.

So instead of picking up wood, Tetsurou set off his mission to pick every flower he spotted. There weren't many considering the season barely began. Some areas of the wood were still patchy with snow.

He walked around for a while, though he didn't have much luck finding flowers. He considered turning back when it struck him that... well, Tetsurou didn't exactly know where he was.

He furrowed his eyebrows, slowing to a stop. His head whipped around, taking in his surroundings with a slight panic. All he could see were trees and fog for miles on end, the wind bristling through them with a whistle. His frown deepened and more panic began to stir in him.