Throne | ksj

One - The Beginning

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"Long live the King! Long live the Queen! Long live the Crown Prince!"

Seri groaned in dismay as the people chanted the same words again and again in the annual parade, her calves sore from standing for the past two hours without moving away to prevent getting separated with her family. She didn't understand why did the country have to celebrate for the royals yearly on this specific day; going all out with the extravagant parades and colourful confettis.

And what she couldn't understand most was - why the heck was she even here, stuck like a piece of lettuce in a sandwich among the excited crowd standing at the roadside outside the grand palace, when she could be napping comfortably underneath the warmth of her blanket right now. Biting her bottom lip, she scanned the smiling faces of the people standing around her, a frown etching on her face as she wondered what got them so enthusiastic about seeing the royals just for a few seconds when they pass by later.

Kicking a lone pebble on the road, Seri turned to her mother and brother. "Can I please go home?"

"No." They replied in unison, their eyes not even bothered to look at the pouting girl, too busy tiptoeing at the palace gate for any signs of the royals.

"As royals, they're sure royally late." Seri snickered lowly to herself before lifting her head up to her family again. "I'll go get something to drink!"

Not waiting for their replies, like a skilled tiny rat, she hastily squeezed her way through the crowd, a smile growing on her face as she escaped from the boring event. She was glad that the palace was built in the city, so all she needed now was a taxi to bring her back home now that she was far enough from the event.

Her phone buzzed nonstop, but she didn't want to pick up the calls as she knew that it would be none other than her furious mother calling. It wasn't Seri's first time to be ditching the annual parade held for the royals, so this wasn't anything new for the experienced girl, although she had to admit that the thrill while running away was certainly exciting.

The streets she was walking on now were practically empty, since most had gathered outside the palace for the event. Seri sighed when she failed to spot any taxis roaming around, and buses wouldn't work today as it was a public holiday for the country.

"Oof!"

Letting out a knocked out breath of air, Seri stumbled backwards clumsily while gawking at the man who had appeared out of nowhere in front of her, causing her to bump onto his back. With her limbs twisting here and there for a few seconds, she thanked the stars that she had managed to regain her balance without falling down.

The man who was hiding his face underneath the hoodie he was wearing turned to look at her at the contact, and gasped when he realized that he was no longer alone. Panicking, he was about to run away, his long legs ready to take off towards somewhere else when his eyes landed on the girl's awkward form with her upper limbs crossed midair and legs entangled weirdly together.