Bastard of Fate

The Cute Blacksmith

BASTARD OF FATE
SUMMARY:  A prince; handsome and strong, trying to find his place in his kingdom, Alexandre only wants to live out his life with his love and best friend. But when dragons declare war on the other races for the sake of their god, his land is torn apart. He must find a way to do the right thing even if it means giving up all that he once had.
A blacksmith; scarred and tired, all Chandler wishes for is to prove himself worthy to take his place beside the love of his life. When war comes he jumps at the chance to fight for his land and family. But when old secrets are dug up he must decide between family and the 'enemy'.
CHAPTER 1
***ALEXANDRE***
    "Come on, your majesty, I promise he'll be able to fix your armor!"
    "Oh calm down Bart, I'm coming", Prince Alexandre said, rolling his eyes. His armor weighed heavy on his frame, dented, discolored and scratched. He could never go to war looking like this, should a war come up.
    Bart scampered into the large warehouse-looking blacksmith shop, glancing behind his shoulder to make sure the prince was still there. Alexandre squinted his blue eyes as the light suddenly dimmed from bright midday sun to the dark interior of the shop.
    They stopped when they got inside, looking around anyone. "Where's the blacksmith?", he asked. A loud clang and a curse brought their attention to the back of the shop, behind an anvil and an assortment of hammers and tongs.
    "God fuckin-!", someone shouted. They hurried to the back where weapons and tools were displayed on the walls. There they found a young man, about Alexandre's age, bouncing around on one foot, holding his other one. A large battleaxe lay on the floor beside him.
    "Are you alright?", Alexandre said. The boy turned his head, brown eyes squinted with pain.
    When he realized who he was looking at he dropped down to one knee, wincing when his foot touched the ground, "Y-your majesty!", he stuttered.
    "Oh don't bother with that, get up", Alexandre held out his hand to pull the large boy to his feet. He was wearing a blacksmith's apron, long brown hair pulled back into a tail. Alexandre noticed his scarred hands and muscular frame but shook himself out of it, instead forcing himself to focus on his face.
    "Oh, I'm okay, sir", the boy said, putting most of his weight on his right foot, "Just dropped that axe is all. The handle hit my foot"
    "Is it broken?", Alexandre asked, worried.
    "Oh no, I've got strong bones. Just bruised". He bent down to pick up the axe.
    "God dammit, Chandler, we can't take you anywhere", Bart teased, "Always being a clumsy bastard"
    "You know it", Chandler grinned. He clapped Bart on the back, "Good to see you too, you little shit. Haven't seen you in months!"
    "Oh you know, work and all. Gotta look after the prince here, make sure he doesn't get himself kidnapped"
    "Wait, you work for the prince now?", Chandler asked, clearly surprised. Alexandre noticed he was making a point to not look at him.
    "Yep, started three months ago. Well, I suppose I'll leave you two to get some work done, I have errands to run. Have fun!", Bart gave Alexandre a little grin before hurrying out the door before he could protest.
    There was a few moments of awkward silence. "What can I do for you, your majesty?", Chandler asked.
    "Alexandre is fine. And my armor. It's... not in the best shape. My father wanted me to fix it up and Bart claimed that you were the best blacksmith this side of the river"
    "Great, now I have to live up to that", Chandler chuckled a little bit, "Well, take it off and lets see it". A light blush tinted his cheeks as he realized the double meaning of his words.
    "Of course", Alexandre said. He began to undo the clasps on his legs and then his gauntlets and boots. When it came to his breastplate, however, his arms couldnt reach around to the back where the clasps were located. He looked at Chandler, "Would you mind helping me a bit?"
    "Of course your maj- Alexandre", Chandler said. He went around the prince to his back and quickly undid the armor, sliding it off of the prince while careful not to touch him as though he was afraid of doing too much.
    "Thank you"
    "Yeah. Okay now", he looked at the armor that looked like it wasn't even made for him, "Who made this armor?", he asked.
    "It was my grandfather's when he was my age. Made by the dwarves"
    "Oh, really? You part dwarf?", he asked, taking the armor and placing it on a table to better examine it.
    "A fourth dwarf and a fourth elf actually. Half human", Alexandre admitted. He didn't know why he was warming up to this boy who he had just met. It took him two months to tell Bart about his heritage.
    "Well, prince of many races, let's see what we can do about your armor", Chandler said. Alexandre sat down in a chair beside the table to watch him work