𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

013 | The Start

—

♡

The start of something, perhaps?

PAST

The crown prince didn't exactly know what sick looked like until he met Y/n.

The (h/c)-haired male had been perfectly normal until that moment — though there were times that Y/n seemed out of breath after running for a long period of time, Isidor Sierra, nearly seven then, had chalked it up to the fact that Y/n was obviously heavily sheltered by his parents. Whatever reason it was, Isidor certainly didn't expect it to be — this.

"You shouldn't look, Your Highness," a maid said hurriedly, "your friend might feel self conscious."

"...Conscious?" Isidor repeated, at a loss, "what...but that's Y/n. That's my —" His words halted, before the prince resumed, "that's my friend."

Isidor knew that he was intelligent — he knew that court officials praised his brilliance and said that he would grow to be an extremely brilliant Emperor. Even at a young age, Isidor possessed exceptional intellect and had an uncanny ability to understand situations that were beyond others' comprehension. But this —  this separation of him and Y/n — of the boy whom they said would be with him forever...that would accompany him...it eluded him.

From a distance, Isidor could see the image of Y/n — his friend — choking, his breaths erratic. His small body seemed to convulse with each shuddering cough, and from the buzzing and chattering that was happening all around them, Isidor knew something was wrong.

"Don't look? Why?" Isidor persisted, "Y/n..."

"He'll be fine, little prince," a soft voice assured him. Isidor flinched, snapping his head towards the source of the voice — and he exhaled. It was Lady L/n, Y/n's mother. From what Isidor had seen from before, she was warm, sweet, and friendly — so she was telling the truth, right?

Y/n would be fine, right?

"What's wrong with Y/n?" Isidor asked anxiously, "he cannot be — he —!"

"I'll take you to see him," Lady L/n said softly, gently patting Isidor's head. "Don't fret, child. I know the two of you are good friends — which is why I trust that you'll make Y/n feel better."

"Feel better? Is he ill?"

"Well, yes," Lady L/n paused, "in simpler terms, he's rather sick."

"Dreadfully sick," Isidor whispered, horror filling in him. "Will he live? Will Y/n..." Then he closed his eyes, a headache thrumming in his head as he remembered all the times he had pulled Y/n to play in the gardens despite Y/n seeming rather unfit— "it's — it's not my fault, is it? If it is, will Y/n even want to see me?"

"Oh, Your Highness..." Lady L/n smiled, "of course not. It's a genetic condition. A strange one, for neither my husband nor I have it. Y/n..." Her voice lowered , almost like she was telling a secret: "he has no mana."

The words took a while to settle in Isidor. "No mana?"

How was that possible? Everyone had mana.