The Runaway Prince

Chapter 1

Late in the spring, around seventeen years ago, a new prince was born. Late in the spring, around seventeen years later, a new king was crowned. Usually, this would not be the case. A new monarch could not be crowned until they were at youngest eighteen, but this time, there was no choice. Though it was sad, the kingdom was moving on. The king and queen of Regis Kingdom had both recently disappeared. They were off visiting another kingdom when they mysteriously went missing. Many people assumed it was all a run away from their royal life, but the new king knew otherwise. They wouldn't leave their son alone like that.

"Today's the day." He thought to himself. Standing up off of the edge of his bed, he brushed a strand of his light hair off of his face. "Miles, get it together, it won't be that bad." He tried to coax himself into believing it, but he couldn't. Today was the day his assistants would be present to help him find a wife. Such a young king and he was already getting married and running a kingdom, not that he wanted to though. The suitors would be coming one after the other for as long as he pleased, just until he got fed up or the hour or two had passed. Miles took a deep breath and opened his curtains, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the light. It was a nice day outside, and it was rather early, so there wasn't anyone disturbing the peace outside. Regis was a nice place, even though it suffered its hardships. Such a small, old kingdom was, of course, prone to war and hardships. Regis was built on top of the bright, soft grasses that was just on the outskirts of a tall forest of many trees such as birch, evergreen and maybe a few willow trees by the stream that ran through it. Many would describe it as a breath taking view, but Miles had seen it, and lived by it, for all seventeen years of his life. He would go out there with Anna and his parents when he was younger to play hide and seek, which he was amazing at, amid the trees and often in the branches. Those were the good memories. It was obvious that Regis had been influenced by hundreds of years of cultural differences, although the buildings maintained very original designs. Many people lived there with many religious and ethnical differences, but even still they enjoyed their kingdom. It was actually a relatively big kingdom, just not compared to others like the Aera Kingdom or the Arcanum Kingdom.

His thoughts about today were disturbed by a knocking on his bedroom door. Anna, his main servant, spoke through the door. "Miles, hurry up please, we are all waiting for you in the main hall." She spoke softly, knowing he had only just woken up. He groaned and began to change. "Now, don't be like that." She chuckled at his groan. "It'll be nice for you to marry a woman from Regis, won't it?" This displeased him even more. As he buttoned up his pristine white shirt, he finally managed to reply to her constant nagging. "I don't want to marry, Anna, I'm only seventeen. I don't need to settle down so quickly, I'm not a child, I won't be a terrible ruler," he coughed intentionally to emphasise the sarcasm, "Like most people think." He pulled on his black ironed trousers and gazed into his wardrobe for a brief second, deciding on a tie. He chose a plain black one and tied it in an uneven oriental knot. As he left the room, he was still pulling on his suit jacket. Anna had stopped him before he walked past her. "Miles, that is in no way how a king should dress." She sounded rather disappointed and began to tie his tie in a more even and elegant trinity knot. Miles rolled his eyes and didn't bother to button up his jacket. "Anna this isn't some fantasy kingdom. The kings here don't dress in satin and big..." He trailed off as he thought of the words. "...Cape things made of red and white fluffy material." He only undid the tie and tied it in a much simpler Windsor knot. Anna smiled and shook her head. Her voice was soft as she spoke, which only brought Miles that much closer to tears, or at least a little bit of sadness. "You are nothing like your father, Miles..." The way that she said his name only seemed to remind him of his mother. It had only been six, almost seven months. It may have seemed like a long time, but when he was dealing with so much, it was almost no time and only felt like a few days. He shook his head as if shaking away thoughts of the former king and queen – his parents – as if it were just something physical, like he could shake them away. "Anna," He paused and looked up at her, "Don't compare me to my father, in any way," His face dropped "I don't want to hear of him." Anna didn't reply, but instead hung her head, auburn strands falling into her face. Miles footsteps were heavy as he walked down the hall, running his hand along the wall. They were papered with an off-white top printed with rose and floral patterns in black. It always brought him comfort to stare off into space and stare blankly into the wall. It was where he could forget everyone. Forget his parents, Anna, his marital status, everything.