Found | Nomin

Chapter 2: Different

Growing up the young prince knew he was different. He was stronger and faster than all of the other kids, even some of the adults. He was strange in a way he could hear and smell things other's couldn't. Like the unique smells everyone had and carried around with them. It was completely distinctive to that one person, like a finger print in way. Some pleasant, others not so much. Although, as he grew older he discovered that people who were close to each other often were covered in each other's scent. He also discovered that males that appeared more stronger and dominate smelt the best. 

Although, the young prince was quite strong, he appeared and acted otherwise. He knew that his gentle demeanour and soft features contradicted that of his psychical strength. He was nicknamed Nabi, by the people. A word that meant 'grace, kindness, and life' and also the spirit of kindliness in their folk-law. 

Nonetheless, the young prince had weaknesses. One being a fever that he was prone to since the age thirteen. It heated his whole body like a Sunday roast, making his head spin and his mind go foggy. Not to mention the agonising pain he experienced in his lower stomach and back. He got the fever usually four times a year but luckily two years ago their private doctor produced a medicine to prevent the fever as soon as the prince feels the horrible symptoms arise. 

The young prince was the oldest of the king's children but not the heir. Jangmi, his little sister was the heir as she was the king and queen's only biological child. He instead, was trained to be the army general. A fitting role the king believed as the prince showed high levels of agility and strength. 

Though Jangmi was his sister, the two looked completely different. The prince knew he was adopted, his parents having been killed by wolves when he was just a mere child, but he couldn't help but envy the fact that Jangmi carried the beauty of their mother. Her bouncing auburn locks and her dazzling freckles. He wanted to resemble his parents in some way, wanted to look even the slightest bit similar to either one of his parents but unfortunately the sad truth was that they were not the ones who brought him into the world. The sad fact was that he resembled people that were brutally murdered by beasts. People he will never know because of those monsters, wolves. 

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"Good morning, Nabi." Greeted the chambermaid. The prince rolled in the divine silk sheets with a sleepy groan, earning a giggle from the chambermaid. She placed his royal garments on the end of the canopy bed and turned to the prince who was completely engulfed in the shinny fabric of the sheets. "I'm going to go fill the bath. You better be fully awake when I come back."

"Don't worry." The prince yawned, "I will."

"Alright." The chambermaid spoke with obvious doubt, leaving the room and entering the bathroom to run the prince's morning bath. 

The prince prodded himself onto his elbows, motioning to look out the window to his side. He could only see the morning light glow through the curtains of his canopy bed but it was enough to awaken him slightly. He pushed himself up so he was in a sitting position. With a yawn, he started to stretch his limbs and crack his tired joints. 

He gently removed himself from the sheets, crawling from the middle of the bed to the edge where his sensitive feet met with the soft bear rug below. He moved the thin curtains aside and stood up, now able to see the view the window across the room provided. 

He had the perfect view of the kingdom. From the vast mountain range in the East to the dark cover of the forest in the West. The forest that separated the wolf and the human kingdom. The forest that everyone was so terrified of, but had always attracted the young prince. He thought the forest had a mysterious beauty to it. It was alluring, calling him. When he would go out for a walk around the kingdom to interact with his people, he'd walk along the edge of the kingdom where there was a little run-down house. The guards told him when he was young that before he lived with the royals he lived in the shabby stone building with his biological parents. No one dared to move into the house after the wolf attack that had taken his parents' lives, so the young prince was it's only regular visitor.