Our Ring of Fire

Part 1 Chapter 1

Today was the young prince Atlas's birthday. The whole kingdom was in celebration as the young boy turned five, and was finally granted his place in the royal court. His mother and father had been preparing him for this day ever since he could walk and talk.

The boy with blue frizzy and curly hair knelt before his father on his throne. Atlas was a nervous little kid who was always quiet. He hated all the attention being on him, and being the crown prince of his kingdom didn't help at all.

Being so young, he was just beginning to understand his position and what he would be expected to do when he was older. His dad always told him about what a king must do and what he's done, making Atlas grow more and more excited to grow up.

The king stood up and walked down from his purple silk throne and towards his son. He took a small crown from a pedestal with a cushion on top of it, which was being guarded by three tall men by his throne.

The crown was golden with five points all around the front. The tallest point was in the middle, as it held three blue sapphires down the middle of it and one peaking out on the tip. The rest of the points only held one sapphire.

He slowly lowered the crown on his son's head, making sure it was properly in place before commanding Atlas to rise.

Atlas obliged eagerly and stood as tall as he could, even a little on his tip-toes to seem more 'regal.' He tried to keep his shoulders back and feet straight as he turned and walked down the aisle with his father.

He could see the traditional long blue gown his mother was wearing from inside the palace. She was standing on the main balcony that led out to the palace courtyard, where thousands of common people were waiting patiently for their newly crowned prince. Atlas held his breath as he was taken out onto the palace by his father's hand, and the crowd erupted in cheer.

The noise was so loud for his tiny ears, all he wanted to do was cover them and run back inside the palace. His mother took his other hand, though, and held it in her own. Eris, his younger brother at the age of three, was standing on the opposite side of his mom. He seemed all too accustomed to the loud crowd and noise.

Atlas stared out into the crowd and tried not to cry. The noise was just so loud for him, he desperately wanted to go back inside and lock himself in his room. But he wanted to make his parents proud by staying on the balcony with them, accepting the coronation.

Finally, after what seemed like days to the young boy, the crowd quieted down. Atlas's father raised a hand, which silenced the crowd for good. "Thank you, everyone, for coming here today to celebrate the coronation of Prince Alistor," he began.

The thousands of Torians clapped loudly and shouted for a couple of moments before silencing themselves again.

"Alistor has shown great achievement in his mathematical and astronomical studies, and I hope he continues to grow his mind with other fields," the king stated.

Atlas felt happy that his father was praising him, a very rare thing to happen. He gripped tighter on his parents hands as his father continued his speech. Atlas quietly tapped his foot on the ground, subconsciously trying to keep himself stimulated.

His long and starry cape glimmered in the high sunlight. It almost looked like a mini galaxy was growing out of his back. He liked the cape a lot, it was one of his favorites. He often didn't get to wear it though, usually only on special days like festivals, or coronations, like today.

He rubbed his shoe on his ankle, and played with his fingers in his parents hands. He examined the tiny freckles on his olive-y tan skin with fascination. How had he never noticed them before? He kept himself busy while his father spoke to the population of upper-class Torus.

By the end of the king's speech, Atlas was all out of things to occupy himself with. Just as he was getting ready to turn around and go back inside, the crowd burst out in cheer once more.

The noise caught him so off guard that he ripped his hands away from his parents and smashed them on his ears, trying to block out the sound. He yelled and cried. "Too loud!!" he shouted.

The citizens below couldn't hear him, but his parents sure did. Before anyone down in the courtyard noticed, Atlas's mother, the queen of Torus, scooped him up in her arms and held his head tightly to her chest. "Thank you everyone!" she called out into the crowd as she hurriedly walked back inside from the balcony.

Once Atlas's father and brother were inside as well, the queen shut the glass doors to the balcony and walked over to a corner of the throne room away from the windows. She put Atlas down on the ground and kneeled down to his eye level.

Atlas had the back of his knuckles pressed up against his eyes, trying to hold his tears in. He hiccupped and cried as his mother patted his back and soothed him. "Shh shh," she whispered. "It's okay now, Alistor... we're inside now."

Atlas kept up his cries for a couple of minutes before finally calming down. He slumped down onto the ground, still upset. His mother sat down with him and scratched his head through his thick curly hair.

He hid his face in her chest when his father walked up to them. He knelt down as well. "Stop crying," he said.

The queen shot him a nasty glare and then went back to comforting her son. Atlas buried his face deeper into his mom's shoulder and collarbone.

"If you get upset from a little noise then you'll never be a good prince," the king mumbled in a harsh tone.

"Jupiter!" the queen scolded her husband. "You can't say things like that to a little boy!"

Atlas kept his head down, all while hearing the banter.

"I don't care, now that he's part of court he has to deal with these things, Europa!" the king rebutted.

The queen took Atlas in her arms once again and stomped away from the corner where they were. She flung open the throne room doors and walked down the hallway carrying her sniffling son.

"Don't cry because of him, sweetie," she said softly despite her empowering walk. She kept a hand around Atlas's face and one holding up his legs close to her chest. "He's just a little angry right now, he'll be better tomorrow..."

"He's always angry with me!" Atlas said.

"I know..." the queen rubbed his head again.