Flora and Fauna

Chapter One: Yin and Yang

"Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost remember. And a song, someone sings, once upon a December"

Hannah was like any other child. Besides the fact she wore a crown in public, and had the title as "Princess" of her land, she really was just like any other small child her age. Wide-eyed, full of wonder, and adventurous. Her story began as ordinarily as possible for a princess, but continues in a way no one should ever have to experience.

Hannah spent her childhood running through her beloved palace with her brother, playing pranks on the staff, and being sneaky around her parents. Hannah hated being dote upon, like her parents often insisted she should be. She preferred to dress, cook, and entertain herself. Her relationship with her father was perfect. He could calm her energy in a single glance. They would read, play chess, and go riding across the grounds together. To Hannah, her father was the end all be all of people, a hero, to her and his people. Her mother and her were a different story. Mother was constantly insisting Hannah should carry herself better, attend finishing school as soon as possible, and learn how to act like a proper young lady should. Hannah would act most immature around her mother, trying to get some amount of positive attention from her for once, to no avail. Their strife continued into Hannah's early teens, and there was little time in Hannah's life where she could remember not being angry with her mother. Despite her ambiguous temper, her everlasting energy, her unorthodox behavior, Hannah was loved deeply by her people. The rare days in which she could escape to her city were her favorites. She would play with the children in the streets, dance with the women, and laugh with the men. Hannah was at her best when among her people. Her beauty purveyed through her generosity, kindness, and laughter she shared with people from every walk of life. Although she was a princess, she always felt like a person first, much to her brother's dismay.

In childhood, Hannah and Boomer were inseparable. If Hannah was setting up a prank, Boomer was watching around the corner to make sure no parent or servant would catch them. If Hannah was upset with her mother, Boomer would take her to their gardens to watch the fish and frogs. Boomer had the opposite parental relationship to Hannah, however. He and his father were polar opposites. Boomer feared violence and fighting, and always struggled learning proper combat forms. Over the years, the rift between the two grew wider, as Boomer's efforts for the kingdom's wellbeing were constantly diverted into his love of nature. This was something his father, and even sister, could nether understand. Boomer loved, however, for his mother to fawn over him. She would take him on walks across the ground, teach him about the different flora and fauna, which Hannah could never sit still for, and tell him stories about their kingdom. Boomer loved his mother dearly. He could sit for hours listening to her speak, but he adored above all, her singing.

Although Hannah was a ball of energy in childhood, the one thing that could calm her down, and the one thing her and her mother wouldn't fight over, was singing. Mother, Hannah, and Boomer would sit together in the nursery, Hannah on her lap, already half-asleep midway through the song, and Boomer beside her leg, resting his head near his two favorite people in the world. Mother would sing them songs about the knights of the kingdom, the armies fighting to keep them safe. She'd sing about the nature outside their doors, and how they should always love and protect it. She'd sing about the people, their love for their kingdom, and how the royal family must do right by them. Hannah would be asleep by the song's end, and her mother would wrap her snugly in her blanket, adorned with roses, and rest her in her bed. Boomer would always fight his yawns, but his mother would pick him up and wrap him in his blanket, covered in native animals to the land, and sing him one final song as he nodded off on her shoulder.

Despite their being inseparable during childhood, Boomer and Hannah began splitting off during their early teenage years. Hannah was desperate to explore every inch of their kingdom and beyond. She'd beg her father to take her on diplomatic missions to the far reaches, but her mother constantly objected, imploring that Hannah's place was in the palace. Mother would encourage Boomer to go with his father, but both of them awkwardly objected each time. Boomer's focus was always on his gardens. With his mother's help, Boomer had created greenhouses and gardens full of new species and life. He spent the vast majority of his days among his plants and animals, documenting their features. Boomer wanted nothing more than to collect and publish his findings across all nations. Their father encouraged Boomer to involve himself more in kingdom affairs, attend diplomatic visits, and participate in royal events, but Boomer avoided them at all costs. Whenever he couldn't escape an event, he'd spend the day being trained by Hannah on what to say, what not to touch, and what especially not to do. Boomer was grateful for his sister's help, but at the end of the day, constantly wondered why it was he and not her taking care of these proceedings when she knew ten times as much as him. He always felt a sinking pit in his stomach when he would have to shut the door of a conference right in front of her face, as Hannah stood solemnly distant in the hall behind him, eyes full of sorrow.