crown [C. TARTAGLIA]

17

"my prince, how are you this evening?" the young kaeya slightly bows upon seeing andrey.

the older man merely smiles, "hello kaeya, i've been doing well. i take it that you've been training as usual?"

he nods, eyes sparkling in excitement. "mhm! i have to fulfill my mission into being your royal guard. in doing so, i must grow strong."

"i see." the price chuckles. "then i'll look forward to it."

kaeya alberich, son of a duke that had a connection with the zapolyarny palace, lived in snezhnaya for the time being. he was one of andrey's fans, if you would call it that. he admired the prince ever since the young boy heard of the tales of his adventures. he wanted to be like him, or rather to be by his side.

and so, he trained at the palace in hopes of being worthy getting the position of his royal guard.

years have passed and the young alberich dedicated his training to grow stronger. in his teenage years, he grew closer to the first prince. they would often go on an expedition together where he would get trained personally, kaeya looked up to him even more.

"say, kaeya. do you really want to be my guard that badly?" andrey asked while they were camping out in the woods one day.

the young man nods, "of course i do. it would be an honor."

andrey seemed to look down the past few days, much to kaeya's dismay. he couldn't ask since he didn't know if it was out of the line or not.

"i... i plan on leaving the palace."

"...what?"

"being a prince in general, i plan on leaving it all behind." andrey smiles at the boy. "going in these adventures and traveling in all parts of the world is much better. i can't balance it all together with the throne, so that's why–"

"you're just... you're just going to leave?" the look in his eyes made andrey realize that he was not in a least happy about the news.

"the throne... suffocates me." the prince confessed. "everytime i come in contact with the tsaritsa, something in me just... freezes. i can't fight back either, and that worries me kaeya."

kaeya couldn't help but to feel lost in all of this. "are you saying... you're scared?"

"maybe." he shrugs. "when we head back, it'll be my last moments at the palace."

kaeya couldn't say a word after that. it felt as if the andrey he knew was a lie, a facade that he used to cover his fears. him? scared of the queen? for what? he couldn't believe that andrey would be scared of something like that.

the moment they head back to the palace, andrey told him he felt weak all of a sudden. his eyes started to drop, his body felt like it was being weighed down by an invisible mass.

because of this, kaeya took him to the clinic asap. "your highness, are you–"

"this... is what i was talking about..." the prince mutters in pain as he laid down on the bed. "something's... happening..."

"what?"

just like that, his hand began to vanish into glowing orbs which evaporated into the air. "what the–"

andrey could only look in horror as to what was happening to him. it went on slowly, the light made it's way up to his arm. "n-no..."

"what's happening?!" kaeya panics. "i'll go get help–'

"no, kid." andrey said. "stay. this is..." he gulps, squeezing his eye shut before muttering some words kaeya couldn't comprehend.

"korolevy doveryayut."