HOME // BTS au

chapter one

In a hidden, isolated kingdom. Upon a large, green hill. Sits a huge castle, surrounded by the kingdom's capital, outlined by a stone wall which keeps all the city hustle and bustle within it's confines, and the 'undesirable folk' of the surrounding towns and villages out.

Cobblestone slabs pave the streets of the capital, uniform and tidy. Every nook and cranny has been designed by the Capital's Architect and perfectly maintained by the 'sweeping patrol'. Dirtying the streets - and by extension the capital's perfect image - is a fineable offence, those who can't pay are sentenced to a year of service on the 'sweeping patrol' and given no compensation for their work.

The houses which line the outskirts of the capital are home to those employed by the castle in positions such as maids, cleaners and gardeners. They are the smallest houses and the streets that they crowd around are less frequently visited by the 'sweepers' leading to them looking less kept as other parts of the city.

Further into the capital are those who have higher up jobs in the castle: the head chef and the butlers for example. these houses are slightly, not too noticeably, larger than the latter. The streets are slightly cleaner and the children of these homes have a separate school than the children from the lower ring.

The penultimate ring is home to those who directly interact with the royal family, often. These people have important roles within the castle and a much larger salary than the first two. These homes are larger, prettier and better maintained by the sweepers. The children of these homes go to the same school as the children in the previous ring, however they attend separate classes.

Finally there is the most exclusive ring. These properties are inhabited by those who are very high up within the system, not quite 'the royal family' but quite possibly distant relatives or, more likely, celebrities such as popular singers or war hero's. The 'houses' each could easily be mistaken for a castle, all of them are enormous and glamorous however they do not hold a candle to the castle.

The castle, an obnoxiously ornate limestone edifice, is currently teeming with anticipation since it is, in fact, the Princess's eighteenth Birthday Ball tonight. It's tradition for any children of the Kingdom's ruler to reveal their gifts on the day of their eighteen birthday, and so naturally the whole Kingdom is buzzing with anticipation.

Each child throughout the kingdom is gifted at birth with an ability. These gifts decide what profession they are best suited to. Some gifts are common, such as: the gift of healing and the gift of strength. And some gifts are more rare: such as the gift of sight (seeing the future) or the gift of telepathy. The strength of the gift can vary, some gifts are so weak that they are barely there whereas some gifts are so strong that that can harm those who do not learn to control them properly. The royals are known for having extremely rare and strong gifts, the Kings gift is quite rare, the gift of temporary mind control, and it famously helped him out in battle greatly.

The reveal of the oldest child's powers are the most important, since they will become the next ruler of the Kingdom. If the heir is weak then it encourages other Kingdoms to invade. This all leads to the elder princess (Princess Aditya) being under a lot of stress and is why the younger princess (Princess Nokomis) is avoiding her half sister at all costs.

Nokomis (or Noki to her few friends) is not usually one to run away, however, a rampaging princess is not something to underestimate and she has learned to avoid all contact with Princess Aditya whenever she is in a foul mood. Unfortunately that seems to be happening more and more often lately, however she doesn't mind since it's a good excuse to give herself to leave the castle for a bit.

However hard she tries, Noki can never feel comfortable within the capital. It's uniformity feels unnatural and fake, a facade to hide that lies behind the walls.

The people of the kingdom are poor. Taxes are high and the consequences for not paying are higher, leaving most of the kingdom struggling to afford food and shelter. The king turns a blind eye. Everyone turns a blind eye.

Noki always daydreams about what she would do if she were the Queen. She would make sure everyone in the kingdom was fed and safe. She would never turn a blind eye or abandon her people. Unfortunately though, she will never rule. That is Princess Aditya's destiny, and even if it wasn't, how could a bastard princess rule a kingdom? All Noki can ever hope to do is possibly advise her sister, if she was permitted.

With these glum thoughts running through her head, Noki decided to wonder through the Castle gardens instead of the city, since she wasn't in the mood for all that uniformity and stiffness.

Nokomis is a beautiful girl. Even if nobody has ever told her. Her long, deep brown hair cascades down her back, brushing the base of her spine. She would love to cut her hair short, but as a princess it is improper to do so and she would be punished. Her face is a rounded oval shape, her eyes are small and she has a small button nose and rosy lips. She is quite short - compared to her family - about 5"2 and can't ever reach the top shelves in the library, but it's okay because she is tall in her heart.

As she meanders through the beautiful gardens her long, deep green dress flows about her and brush against her bare feet. Noki hates shoes, which leaves her Father in despair at times, however she couldn't care less. She loves the feeling of the grass between her toes as she breathes in the fresh air and hints of flowery scents.

Noki wonders through the gardens for awhile, breathing in the fresh air and daydreaming about ruling, again. Suddenly one of her friends, Mae, comes running up to her.

"Noki! Where have you been?" she pants, out of breath from running all over the castle.

"Out here, just wandering around. why?" Noki asks, innocently.

"You must know why! I know you're not that much of an airhead! You need to get ready for the ball!" Mae exclaims grabbing Noki's arm, "c'mon we only have an hour to get you read!"

And with that Noki was whisked away.

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Thank you for reading the first chapter of HOME! I really hope you enjoyed.

I'm excited for this book, please tell me what you think, hehe :)

anyways thanks for reading, if you enjoyed then please vote and comment!

bye ml <3