Vexed Hearts || A Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 1 - The Crown Prince

The boy scowled as he was dragged across the room, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor and refusing to look the guard by his side in the eye. Their grip on him was firm, not too rough, but tight enough to remind him that running wasn't an option.

"This is the third time this month that you've tried to climb the castle's walls."

The king's voice echoed through the throne room, void of emotion. The boy glanced up at his ruler, but couldn't make out any hint of an expression on the king's face. He was probably angry, or at the very least sick of the boy's continuous rebellion by now.

"Do you remember what I told you the last time?"

The boy didn't answer, determined to keep a fragment of his dignity during such a low moment. This wasn't the first time he'd been caught breaking the king's rules, far from it, but he wasn't going to let himself give up this easily. Especially not today.

"Answer me." The king said, impatience slowly creeping into his voice, and the boy knew that he couldn't play this game for much longer.

"Yes." He responded through gritted teeth.

"Yes what?"

The boy glared at the king, who waited for his reply. He'd be in so much trouble for this, he knew it, and he was only getting himself into more trouble by refusing to speak.

"Yes... father."

The king's stern expression finally broke, and he stood up.

"You need to stop doing this, Scar." He sighed, walking over to the boy. "You know I love you, but you're 17 now, and the coronation is only a year away. How is the kingdom supposed to trust a crown prince who runs away from his own responsibilities?"

"I think the kingdom should have bigger concerns about me than how I handle responsibility." Scar remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"That's not my point, but we'll talk about it later." The king replied. "You've successfully wasted an hour of everyone's time today, and we can't afford any more interruptions before tonight."

Then the king turned to the guard who was standing beside Scar.

"Take him to his room, and please don't let him out of your sight this time."

The guard nodded, turning around and taking Scar out of the room. Once the heavy doors closed behind the two, he let go of the prince and sighed.

"I told you it wouldn't work."

"Oh come on Wels!" Scar protested. "I had to try! And I made it halfway across the courtyard this time before someone caught me."

"Yes, but now you're in trouble and Stress is going to kill you." Wels reminded him, leading Scar through the long hallways and up several staircases. "If anything, you've made today even worse for yourself."

"I don't think that's possible." Scar sighed. "A six hour cotillion full of people I've never met before? I'd rather spend 6 hours in the Void."

"It sucks." Wels agreed. "But you just need to focus on having a good time and talking with people you do know."

The two reached Scar's bedroom, and he took a deep breath before opening the door. And sitting on the bed, in the middle of the room, was Vali.

Vali was probably the one person in the world who could see through (and handle) Scar's chaotically troublesome attitude. He knew his twin had good intentions at heart, but was also one of the few people who saw Scar in his difficult moments and helped him through them.