Lavender's Blue

Chapter 05

Fire.

It's the first thing Shiro always remembered when he recalled that night.

Fire everywhere.

Screams of terror, of pain - shouting, people running, guards guiding them to safety.

He had found Allura first. Frantic and panicked, coughing because of the smoke. He had led her to a more cleared area, one where the fire hadn't yet reached.

Coran had found them next.

He was yelling, calling them over.

The king and queen. The prince.

Quickly, they had made it to the throne room. It seemed the source had come from there. The air had almost turned black, the room ablaze and burning and hot.

A baby was crying.

The queen was holding her son tightly, whispering sweet nothings and promises of 'It'll be alright, you're safe'.

The king had his sword out, protecting his family.

The three had somehow made it to the royals, taking them away from the fire.

"Take him," the queen had said. "Take him away and protect him. It's not safe for him here. Erase all connections to us. They cannot find him." She was desperate and so was her husband.

He could still feel the weight of the baby in his arms whenever he thought of that night.

They took him away with reluctance.

The hurt in the eyes of the two parents had almost made him stay, or at least suggest that they come with, but Allura's grip on his arm was the thing that made him focus on the task at hand.

The had ran.

Ran away from the burning castle, away from the burning kingdom and into the woods.

They were stranded there for almost a week, living off of barriers and wild boars.

They couldn't continue like this. The babe deserved more. Better.

They had made a plan.

The royals told them to erase all connections to the kingdom- and erase they will.

Allura was to cast a spell, one that would change the prince for a while. A long, long while.

He was to become a she, fed the truth of who is was- and still is -slowly over time, let him slowly seep into it.

They would've taught him how to act like prince, be a royal and an heir.

They had it all planned out.

Except for one thing.

Allura had discovered her magical abilities not long ago, and though she was more skilled then most, she still had a long way to go.

Performing small macigal tasks such as making herself disappear and floating Coran about the castle were easy, but putting a curse on someone was not.

Whether she added the wrong ingrediant to her potion and said the wrong words, he wouldn't know, but next thing that Shiro could recall was grass. Lots of it. Tall and thick and wet.

Next the cries of a babe.

Coran admiring himself in a puddle near by and Allura panicking.

They had sat there for hours, the prince finally calming down, when rustling was heard from the bushes.

Shiro had prepared himself to fight, but Allura quickly plucked him away from the ground and flew behind a faraway bush.

He cursed and he thrashed about when a lady in her early thirties appeared before them.