The One Who Wears The Crown

A Special Day in the Kingdom

        I've never loved being outside, necessarily. I mean, I don't keep myself holed up in my home all day, but I also don't spend my every waking moment out in nature. That's partially because of my really bad allergies--thanks a lot, Mother--but it's mostly due to the fact that the forest folk inhabit the neighboring forest to our kingdom, and being out there all by yourself just fills you with an overwhelming sense of dread and fear. To be fair, not all of the faes are "evil", most of them just like to play the odd prank every now and then, but the ones our people are the weariest of are the forest royals, the prince in particular.          High Prince Zacharias Palaestrio--or Zach, as most of our people call him--seems to have been born with a stick up his ass. Everything seems to have been handed to him on a silver platter, he's never had to work a day in his life, and he thinks that everyone--including his fellow forest folk--is beneath him. He's snarky, conceited, and straight-up rude. I've never met or encountered his parents, but from what I've heard others say, they're not much different from him. Monkey see, monkey do, I guess.          But I've gotten way ahead of myself. My name is Haruki Hiroyuki, and I live in the bustling empire of Umiteikoku. Being by the sea, one would assume that most of our inhabitants, including me, would be fishermen. My family always has been, and they expected me to follow in their footsteps. However, I had a very different idea for my future. As such, once I was of age, I began working in the blacksmith's forge. Watching old metal get melted down and turned into something new has always been satisfying to me, and I wanted to be a part of that process. I haven't gotten a chance to actually make something myself yet, as Atsuko, the blacksmith, is a bit picky about who gets to handle her tools, but she assures me that my chance will come soon. Little did I know that it would come a lot sooner than I thought.          On this particular day, things were relatively quiet at the forge. I had just finished cleaning some of Atsuko's tools in the back room when she flung open the door, nearly making me drop her spare tongs.          "Haruki! Someone's asking for you out front," said Atsuko.          "Okay," I replied shakily. "I'll be right out."          "And once you get a chance, could you fetch me some more scrap metal from the yard? Preferably iron. The king just placed a rather large order."          "Sure thing, ma'am," I said, setting down my rag.          "Thanks." Atsuko walked off, but then quickly stuck her head back in. "By the way, you've been a great help around here ever since you started, and I'd like to thank you for that." She smiled.          "Oh, um-- t-thank you," I stuttered, feeling my face flush pink.          Atsuko smiled and walked off, and I headed out of the back room. Despite her rugged appearance, Atsuko is a gentle soul who is always willing to lend an ear or be a shoulder to cry on. She immediately welcomed me to her forge on my first day and she always ensured I was doing well.          I never usually had anyone call on me while at work--or ever, for that matter--so I was quite shocked at the news that someone had asked to see me. I headed out to the front of the shop and inwardly groaned; waiting for me, clearly fresh from another fishing trip, was my father and one of his shipmates.          "Haruki! Good to see you, son!" he said, stepping forward for a hug. I reluctantly accepted the hug and quickly pulled away, trying my best to not breathe in his painfully pungent scent of rotten fish.          "You too, Father," I said, faking a smile. "Glad to see you made it back in time."          He looked at me, confused. "In time? Have I forgotten someone's birthday again?"          I rolled my eyes. Of course he didn't remember. "It's the Harvest Moon Festival tonight."          Father slapped his forehead. "That's right! This one's a special one, isn't it?"          "Yeah, the forest folk have been invited this year, our king and queen and theirs signed an armistice in order to ensure absolute safety for all. Coincidentally, tonight is apparently the night that Prince Zach is supposed to select a 'mate', so I guess we'll be there for that, too."          Father nodded as I spoke, but whether or not he was actually listening to me was to be determined. His shipmate, however, seemed to be completely and utterly enthralled by what I was saying. It was hard to say which one he was--Terumi maybe? Or was it Kaito?--but regardless, he seemed to be paying a little too much attention to what I was saying. Or maybe he was just looking at my lips. I get that a lot from the men on Father's boat, I've been told by several of them that I "have the complexion of a siren" or that my hair is "the color of a beautiful sandy shore", or simply that my lean figure was "hot". I always appreciated the compliments, but I never let their advances slide. Fishermen are not my type.          "Well, I just wanted to come by and tell you that I'm back, and we'll all be heading to the festival a little before it starts so we can set up our booth," Father said.          "I'll actually be leaving a little earlier, I'm helping Atsuko set up her booth for the festival," I replied.          Father's face sank briefly. "Ah, right, of course... well, we'll have plenty of time to catch up later, during the festival."          "Right. Well, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you and Mother at home."          "Have a good day."          Father awkwardly walked out of the shop. The shipmate with him--it was definitely Terumi--lingered for a little bit, looking like he was trying to build up the courage to say something, but in the end, he just sighed, smiled, and winked at me as he left. I sighed and shook my head, turning around to head to the yard and grab some scrap metal for Atsuko. As I walked out through the back door, one of Atsuko's other assistants, Namiko, was already there, rummaging around the scrap pile behind the forge.          "Oh hey," she said. "Atsuko's got you looking for iron, too?"          "Yeah," I said as I knelt down and started sorting through the scrap metal. "She said the king placed an order that requires a large amount of iron."          "Did she also tell you that he wants it as soon as possible?" Namiko said, pulling out a rusty iron sword.          "No, but that doesn't surprise me." I found a pair of old iron shackles and put them in the iron pile Namiko started. "Everything seems to be urgent when it comes to the royals."          "Yeah, seriously." She threw a piece of scrap iron into the pile. "Although I doubt it's ever been more urgent than now."          "Why's that?" I picked up an old hammer.          "The king specifically requested the order to be filled before the Harvest Moon Festival."          I dropped the hammer and it landed back in the pile with a loud clang.          "What?!" I exclaimed.          "Don't panic!" Namiko picked up the hammer I had dropped. "It's really simple stuff, and Atsuko's almost filled the whole order. She just needs a few more pieces of iron to melt down, and she may even ask us to help forge a few pieces so we can leave early."          Namiko patted my arm excitedly as she said that, and her excitement was infectious. I quickly calmed down and kept sifting through the old metal until we had gathered a decent pile of scrap iron for Atsuko. We brought the iron into the forge and set it in the corner of Atsuko's melting room, where she was sticking a red-hot rod of metal into a water barrel with a hiss.          "Thanks a bunch, you two. That'll definitely be enough metal." Atsuko said with a friendly smile. She pulled out the rod and stuck it back into the fire, pumping air into it to heat the rod back up. She turned back to face us. "I know you two have been working really hard lately, and I really appreciate it. This order needs to be filled today, would you two like to help me forge some parts for it?"          Namiko and I's mouths went agape and we instantly started nodding. We had both been asking Atsuko when we would get to help her forge items, and we'd usually get the expected answer of "Maybe another time", so we were shocked when Atsuko flat-out offered to have us help fill this order. We immediately agreed and Atsuko put us to work. She had previously taught us the basics of working with metal, so she really only had to show us what each of us was to make. Namiko forged a few armor pieces, while I was tasked with making a few weapon pieces. I forged a couple of sword blades, some spearheads, and some arrowheads, electing to subtly carve my initials into each piece I made. Once we had made all of the pieces and they had been assembled, Namiko and I helped Atsuko pack everything together to be sent to the castle later that evening. With that, Atsuko told us we were free to go home and that she'd see us both later at the festival.          Namiko and I walked the cobbled paths of the empire as we headed to our respective homes. We parted ways at a crossroads, with Namiko heading further into the center of town while I took the path toward the sea. Despite the fact that I'm the only non-fisherman in the family, I still appreciate the beauty of water and its creatures. The path to my family home briefly cuts through a slightly wooded area containing a bubbling brook that seems to flow all year long, no matter the weather. When I was younger, I used to veer off the path and sit by the brook, listening to the water as it gently trickled toward the sea. That was before my allergies properly developed, however, so I elected to just go straight home on this particular day. Soon enough, the trees cleared and in front of me was my family's humble abode: a medium-sized fishing hut right on the beach. I'm one of five siblings, having two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger brother. Given the initial size of the hut, my parents had decided to add onto it as each child was born to make sure there was enough space for all of us. My little brother was younger than me by a few years, so he was still in school, but he had already decided to follow in our family's footsteps and become a fisherman. So I was still the weirdo in the family. But I didn't mind, I was doing what I loved and I was happy doing it.          As I approached the house, I heard a chipper voice call out:          "Haruki! Good timing, c'mere!"          That happened to be Ritsuka, the younger of my older brothers. He, along with my sister Fuyumi and younger brother Akito, were dragging behind them a rather large, and full, fishing net. I hurried over to them to see their haul, just in time to watch the net as it ripped and fish started pouring out, most of which were flopping their way back into the water.          "No no no no no!" Fuyumi yelled, frantically trying to hold the rip closed.          "Get back here, fish!" yelled Akito, running into the water to try and catch some of the escaping fish. Ritsuka simply groaned and flopped on the ground.          "Ugh... that was supposed to be our haul for the festival," he said, defeated. "We'll never have enough to sell now."          Fuyumi finally managed to pull the net out of the water. She opened the top and peered in.          "Well, at least we still have enough for supper!" she said as cheerfully as possible.          "Yeah, and for what it's worth," I started, trying to cheer up Ritsuka, "that was a very impressive catch."          "Until we lost half of it," he groaned.          Akito waded out of the water, panting and out of breath, holding a fish in each hand.          "Hah... I managed... to get these two..." he said, exhausted from the sudden and intense physical labor. Fuyumi patted him on the back as he tossed the two fish into the net and proceeded to flop onto the ground next to Ritsuka.          "Wait a minute, doesn't Katashi usually bring in the catch for the festival?" I asked.          Ritsuka glared at me. Fuyumi chuckled awkwardly.          "Ritsuka wanted to show him up by presenting Father and Mother with a catch bigger than Katashi's," she said. Then, she leaned in and quietly added: "You know how those two like to butt heads about the dumbest things."          "I heard that," Ritsuka said grumpily.          I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Well hey, let's at least get this lot inside before the crabs get into it."          I helped my siblings bring their now-underwhelming catch into the house and into the kitchen, where Mother was getting a fresh loaf of bread out of the fire. Upon our entrance, she looked up and smiled.          "Welcome back chil- oh! Haruki! I wasn't expecting you home so soon!"          She immediately put down the fresh loaf and came over to give me a hug. Her hugs I never minded, as she always smelled of fresh pastries. Once she let go, she helped us bring the fresh fish to our icebox, which was the only magical item Father allowed in our home. The icebox was a gift from an anonymous distant relative of ours to our parents for their wedding. It had an impressive amount of space within it, but the most remarkable thing about it was its uncanny yet magical ability to keep anything within it cold and fresh. This made it an invaluable item for us as a family of fishers, as that meant we could store our catches for long periods of time. It was something of a secret in our family's fishing business: most of the time--despite how fresh it all looked, smelled, and tasted--the fish we sold at the market had actually been caught months prior. That was how we could sell fish that are typically only out during specific times year-round.          Once Ritsuka's catch had been put into the icebox, we all heard a boat's horn ring out across the water. We headed outside to see Katashi, the oldest, pilot his boat into the cove our house resided in, stopping at just the right spot to make sure it didn't run aground. Katashi hopped out of the boat and his men started handing him several trunks, which he set on the shore. Once there was an impressive collection of around fifteen trunks stacked up on the beach, Katashi's men disembarked the boat and helped him bring the trunks inside, where he was met by one of Mother's hugs.          "Oh, welcome home Katashi!" she said. "It's so good to see you return safe and sound!"          Katashi hugged her back and smiled. "It's good to be home again, Mother." He pulled away. "I've brought Father our haul for the festival tonight, plus a little extra for ourselves."          "Oh, that's wonderful! He'll be so delighted!" She clapped her hands joyfully as Katashi's men finished stacking the crates by the door.          As Katashi and Mother conversed, I happened to notice that several of Katashi's men were eyeing me up and down. They all tried to get my attention, either by winking or licking their lips hungrily, but I ignored their obvious attempts at flirtation and pulled out my canteen to take a drink of water. I could sense that doing so only made them ogle even more, so I cleared my throat to get Fuyumi's attention. She quickly understood the situation and rushed to my side, giving each of Katashi's men a murderous glare. That made each of them very quickly look away, stopping them from continuing to undress me in their minds.          Fuyumi was the only sibling I felt comfortable confiding in with my personal issues. This included any time someone made a pass at me that was unwelcome. Of course, if someone went too far, then I would alert at least one of my parents, but for matters like this, Fuyumi was all who really needed to know. She knew that people attempting to make any kind of advance towards me made me uncomfortable. Not because I wasn't interested in that sort of thing, but rather because the only ones who did so were not who I was looking for. Truth be told, I didn't really know who I was looking for. I simply knew who that someone wasn't. And unfortunately, just about every eligible bachelor and bachelorette in this empire fell under the "not that someone" category.          Finally, Katashi dismissed his men and greeted us all properly, throwing a slight dig at Ritsuka for his "impressive catch", and barely more than a grunt of acknowledgment toward me. Katashi was the one sibling who simply couldn't understand why I wanted to diverge from the family's path, and I had long given up on trying to explain it to him. Once that had finished, Mother began preparing our supper, with all of us pitching in however we could. One of Mother's "abilities", so to speak, was that when it came to cooking, she could just about do the impossible. We practically had fish for supper every night, but she always managed to make it unique and special every single time. Tonight's fish supper was very special, for the Harvest Moon: smoked trout from the lake not far from our empire covered in an enticing sauce overtop a bed of noodles, served with a slice of fresh bread. We were unanimous in our enjoyment of such an incredible meal.          Unsurprisingly, by the time I had to leave to help Atsuko and Namiko set up the blacksmith's booth, Father had still not returned home. None of us were worried, though, he was often late to... well, just about everything, so I said my goodbyes and told everyone that I would spend plenty of time with them during the festival. With that, as the sun began setting, I left my home and headed for the glade at the edge of the empire, mentally preparing myself for the forest folk. This was certainly going to be a Harvest Moon Festival to remember for years to come.