𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Ｍｉｓｆｏｒｔｕｎｅ

It was a peaceful sunny morning, the sun was shining in through the windows of Shu's bedroom. There was nothing unusual about a calm morning, in fact it had become a habit for Shu to wake early every morning and practice his archery. Shu was already dressed, sitting quietly in his armchair watching the birds fluttering in the sky. His older brother, Seiichi who looked a lot more like his father, was seen as a great leader of his people and often went hunting or rode through the woods with the soldiers. Shu often spent hours thinking how amazing his brother could be if he put himself in a position where he needed to lead an army. Seiichi seemed to have a knack for acting on impulse rather than planning anything out beforehand.

"Hey good morning." Shu turned around, spotting the face of his sibling. "Oh, and sorry if I startled you, you just look really lost in thought."

Shu waved it off, "No no, you don't need to apologise. Just admiring the view outside.

"Today is the day you start practicing for war, right?" Seiichi asked. Shu nodded. "Are you nervous?" Shu looked down at his feet before looking back up again. A smile slowly crawled across his lips. "Don't be worried, Shu. No matter what happens we will be here to protect you." Shu chuckled, a happy expression appearing on his face. Seiichi sat beside him on and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Shu leaned into the touch for a second before leaning forward to hug his brother back. For once, Shu felt like he was safe, secure, and comfortable. A servant started to walk towards the two princes and bowed politely. "Your highness, my apologies for interrupting. I'm afraid your breakfast has been delayed" Seiichi smiled as Shu shook his head and stood up. "No need to worry, thanks for the food. I appreciate it and will return in ten minutes." Afterwards the Kurenai family gathered around the table to eat before leaving for their first official meeting. Shu's stomach grumbled slightly. The king handed him some chopsticks as a gesture that Shu could pick whatever food he wanted to serve for himself. He thanked his father as usual before digging into the rice. Seiichi, meanwhile, picked at his meal. "Father, is prince Valt going to visit today?" Shu suddenly asked, catching the attention of his parents. His father looked at him and spoke, "That depends on what Prince Valt says." The king glanced at Seiichi with a serious expression before speaking again, "There are some matters that he needs to handle privately before you see him again."

"Don't tell me you're still suspicious of them. We signed a peace treaty and they have been nothing but kind to us." Shu exlaimed with a displeased expression. Valt and Shu has been best friends ever since they could remember . Their mother would tell stories of when they were kids together, playing with their toys together, building castles together. Valt was someone he was completely enamoured with. They had a bond and they saw each other as brothers. Seiichi looked at his dad with a disapproving glare. Their father was seen to be as a kind and generous man but also fair and strict. To think that he would consider any stranger who came to the castle gates as a threat meant something bad. Seiichi was always aware of his little brother's feelings, but there was still so much that the boy would never understand about people and situations beyond what was expected from royalty. "Besides, we have the combat training tomorrow so let's wait until then to discuss politics." Seiichi sad, turning back to his food.

Shu sighed and decided to leave the topic of Valt alone for now, he wouldn't get anywhere with arguing with him anyway. The rest of the morning passed normally until they received the news of the death of the Phoenix king. It was a sad moment for everyone as the king had served the entire province of Phoenix for decades. He was respected, respected for his skills and bravery, but also respected for his wisdom and ability to rule over his country with grace and wisdom. Everyone understood that the people needed him. His death brought a sense of sadness into kingdom, but also a sense of relief. The people were finally free from the tyranny of the king. But, this would also mean that the new ruler would be prince Phi. He appeared to be dark natured and spoilt rotten monster. He was ruthless and cruel, he was not afraid to hurt people as he loved despair and destruction. In short he was a complete and utter psychopath. This wasn't the sort of person who anyone would want to be king. This gave a justification on as to why the two princes should train and strengthen their combat abilities to provoke any oncoming attacks. The two boys looked at each other with fear and disbelief. Shu didn't even know who this enemy was and yet his father wanted them to train for him.

In the meantime, Shu had left the room with his weapons strapped onto his back as he quickly exited the castle in order to catch his breath. He hated running, and although he wasn't too tired anymore he knew that later in the future the outcome would determine on whether he lives on, or takes his last breath. Time passed by slowly as he walked through the gardens and into the forest. The trees blocked the sunlight from reaching the ground and made everything seem darker than it actually was. As he got deeper into the forests Shu heard a voice coming from the distance, it sounded as if someone was calling out to him. He looked around squinting to see this mysterious voice. As he got closer he later recognised who it was; he found that the voice was Prince Valt whom he used to play with when he was younger. The two had grown up together but Shu hadn't really been allowed to meet Valt, he had only seen him when he was younger and on special occasions. The boy had changed greatly over the years but not much. He still was the happy excited friend Shu remembered. As soon as he met the prince he immediately hugged him and said hello. Prince Valt returned the hug smiling. "What's up Shu, how have you been?" They began walking together through the forest.

"I'm fine long time no see." He answered honestly. Valt looked at him curiously before looking ahead.

"Where's Seiichi?" He asked after a while. Shu looked back to him. "He has some business to attend to today." Prince Valt raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Business? Is everything alright?

"Yeah we just have combat training tomorrow that he wants me to prepare for, especially beacuse the Phoenix king has passed."

"Combat training? That's a pretty big deal. And the king died?"

"Yeah, you didn't know?"

"Nope..."

"There was supposed to be a meeting to attend to but I snuck out." The hazel eyes boy said sheepishly. The two laughed softly. They continued walking through the forest side by side, talking animatedly about their experiences. Eventually the trees started to thin and they entered the town proper, the streets were quiet compared to yesterday as most people were asleep after having stayed up late. Some of the shops were closed, but many were open and the few workers inside were stunned upon the unplanned arrival seeing Prince Valt.

As Shu walked down one street, the sound of a carriage traveling down another road caught his attention. The carriage pulled up next to him. He watched as one of the doors opened and out stepped a small woman. The woman jumped out and hurried over to him with a bright smile. The woman looked around her surroundings for a minute before approaching Shu. "Prince Shu? It's nice to finally meet you!" The woman extended her hand towards him. "I'm Yuma Finita." Her bright smile shone brighter than the sun. "I am your combat teacher from today onward!" She stated cheerfully. Shu couldn't help but smile at the beautiful lady in front of him, it was obvious that she cared deeply about helping her students. She was probably the reason why his father was being so lenient with Shu's education. "And my apologies prince Valt I was mot informed that you would arrive at a date such as this." The lady sighed slightly. "Actually I wasn't supposed to come I snuck out of the palace earlier than necessary."

"Sure," Shu snickered. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Finita. Please don't worry about the details. Let's go meet the other teachers." Valt told the lady.

"Since when did you start lying?" The albino whispered. Valt looked away nervously, "It's not like i have anything else to do," he answered. Yuma hummed as the two walked to the main plaza of the village. Yuma explained the rules of the academy to them once again. "More people will be joining us from the smaller kingdoms tomorrow and prince Valt you may need to return

here as much as possible to keep your identity hidden. Don't be late and don't make yourself look like an idiot." The girl reminded him. Valt nodded obediently. The two waved

goodbye to Yuma before making their way to the palace. They arrived to find the king and queen sitting on the bench in the garden completely unaware of their presence. Seiichi turned to them and smiled, "Ah, prince Valt I didn't know you would be here." He chuckled.

"Yeah sorry, is that classed as trespassing?" Valt replied, scratching the back of his head. "Don't worry about it, you're an exception." Seiichi replied whilst patting his back.