Marble Palace

Very Good Bad Thing

Stephen looked at the stone pathway underneath him, after all, that was the only thing he recognized immediately. Everything around him was strange. It was too bright. He sighed as he finally looked up to see his future wife, a stranger.

"Hello, " He greeted and tried to look her in the eyes. "I'm Stephen Strange, and your name is?"

The woman smiled kindly. "I'm Christine Palmer, the daughter of the rival kingdom." Right. This was all a peace deal. He was only getting forced to marry her because the two kingdoms were at war.

"Nice to meet you, Christine, " he recited from memory. Since the only social interaction he ever got was from people inside the castle walls, he didn't know how to properly greet someone. A few maidens had helped him memorize it.

The Queen, Stephen's mother, had butted in, interrupting the awkward conversation. "We're having dinner at sundown. Please go to your room, Stephen."

Stephen nodded and took one last breath of fresh air and scanned the area. Though he was only at the doors of the Castle, he could see the giant town that surrounded it and beyond. He wanted to see more of it.

And he was going to and no one could stop him.

---

Tony had been laughing as he ran down the winding streets of the kingdom, holding a piece of bread as if his life depended on it.

Some guards were yelling as they were chasing the young man. Tony jumped onto an overhang and the roof of another building. He knew the guards would give up quickly and go apologize to the person he stole the bread from.

He jumped on another roof and stopped, taking a few steps to slow down.

He didn't need to do this. His family was the closest to the royal family and was pretty wealthy. He just wanted out of that life, so, he ran away and made friends.

He chuckled and took a bite, enjoying the sweet taste of it. He made a satisfied hum and watched the people walk by.

The sun was setting and he realized he should go back to the tavern to meet up with his friends.

----

Stephen adjusted the tight suit and felt like he was going to snap at any given moment. He needed to get out soon.

He opened the door to the hallway and was greeted by a guard. From a young age, Stephen knew him by the name of Bucky.

Bucky would be the one to tell Stephen about his day. Telling him stories of the outside world, leaving Stephen to wonder if they were true or just exaggerated. "Hello, Barnes, "

"How was your day? Did you catch that person that keeps stealing people's bread off the streets?" He asked and tilted his head.

Bucky frowned and shook his head. This person kept getting away every time. He was quick and cunning, leaving most of the guards confused on why he didn't go steal something that could get him money. "He keeps getting away. I don't know anyone that has the same skills as he does."

Stephen hid his grin with a frown. "That's unfortunate, " He wanted to meet him when he got out later. "But did anything else happen?"

Bucky talked about the rest of his day while Stephen was distracted. He was making up a plan in his head for tonight. He was to escape through a broken window that hasn't been fixed yet.

The window in question was in a room where most of the residences of the castle had no idea existed. Lucky for him, it was a room on the bottom level.

The two had made it to the large dining room. Stephen went to go sit down while Bucky stayed by the door. The table filled up with people, both familiar and unfamiliar. His father and another older man we're talking like they were the best of friends. If they were friends, he was sure to mention it sometime in the past.