Four Little Princes

The Urchins

The royal procession came to an immediate halt, and Zarc got out of his carriage. He walked towards the sidewalk, where sat four tiny boys in rags. The four boys were filthy, but what really held the king's attention was their faces. Their faces were exactly like his own.

The four boys huddled together, looking sadly up at Zarc. They looked hungry. Before Zarc could say anything, he heard Odd-Eyes gasp behind him. "Oh! Poor little babies! Zarc, we gotta help them!"

The tiny boys trembled a little as Zarc crouched down in front of them. "Hey, where are your parents, little ones?"

One of the boys, who had spiky purple-and-black hair that reminded Zarc of eggplant, hugged one of the others protectively. The one he was hugging had red-and-green hair that looked like a tomato. The little tomato-head sniffled and then coughed. Zarc realized immediately that he must be sick. The king gently reached out for the tiny boys. "C'mere, I'll take care of you."

As soon as the king's hand was within reach, one of the other boys frantically smacked it. He had purple-and-pink hair resembling a cabbage. "Go 'way!" he squeaked. "Go 'way! Go 'way!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you, little one," Zarc said gently. "I'm going to take care of you. Can't you see your brother is sick? He needs a doctor." He was assuming that the four urchins were brothers, after all they had the same face. But then again he had the same face as them, and he was pretty sure they weren't related to him.

The four boys crowded closer together, as if trying to protect their sick brother from Zarc. Come to think of it, they probably were. This town was close to the estate of Earl Hashi, the earl that the king was going to be staying with, and Zarc knew from experience that Hashi was not kind to the poor. No doubt the poor babies thought that Zarc would treat them the way the earl probably had.

"Hey, you boys want some food?" Clear Wing asked, offering the boys a small loaf of bread. One of the boys looked up at it hungrily. He had blue hair with yellow bangs that looked uncannily like a banana bunch. He slowly crept forward and snatched the bread before scurrying back to his brothers. The blunana broke the bread into four pieces and handed three of them to his brothers, before eagerly devouring the fourth piece. Eggplant and Cabbage also devoured their pieces, but Tomato appeared to feel ill just from looking at his piece.

"Eat, Yuya!" Blunana gently pushed the bread towards Tomato's mouth. Tomato, or Yuya as his brother called him, made a distressed sound. "Not hungwy..."

"Pweeeeease?" Blunana pleaded. Zarc gave him a soft smile. "He's sick, little one. He's too sick to eat."

"Noooooo!" Blunana started crying, and the sound broke the hearts of the king and his dragon consorts. "Noooo! Yuya eat! Don't go wike Mama! Eat! Pweeeeease!"

Zarc reached towards the boys again, speaking gently. "I can help him. I can help all of you. I can get you all food and medicine. But you have to let me help you. Can you trust me, little ones?"

The four urchins didn't say anything for a long moment. Then, they slowly nodded. Zarc smiled warmly at them. "C'mon, little ones. Let's get into the carriage where it's warm."

Yuya's three brothers finally let Zarc pick him up, and the poor little boy coughed as he lay his head on the king's chest. Starve Venom, Dark Rebellion, and Clear Wing each picked up one of his brothers and they carried the four boys into the carriage while Odd-Eyes went to the carriage that carried the royal doctor.

* * *

"He's got a cold," the doctor diagnosed Yuya. "He should be alright in a week or two, as long as he gets medicine and soup and lots of fluids and rest."

"Do you have medicine he can take?" Zarc asked. The doctor nodded. "Yes, I have some medicine that's suitable for children. I'll go grab it."

The doctor left for a moment. Starve Venom, who had been talking to the locals, waved Zarc over. As the king approached his mate, the dragon had a scowl. "The locals told me about those boys. Apparently their father was a traveling magician who was killed by bandits. Their mother starved to death trying to make sure the boys had enough to eat after his death. When she died, Earl Hashi seized their house and kicked the poor boys out onto the streets. They've been homeless and starving for three months. The locals tried to help them, but the earl forbade anyone from taking care of them, and had a bunch of people arrested for defying his orders."

Zarc was silent for a minute. Then, a menacing smile slowly crossed his face. "Well, then. I think it's high time I teach that pathetic worm a lesson."