Forbidden

-Chapter Two: The Kingdom in the Clouds-

Although Findara is allied with most of the nation's kingdoms, there are still some kingdoms that will simply not ally with Findara. One of them being Asterin. Asterin is against everything Findara stands for, however, when there is word of another pointless Findarian ball, the Asterians will attend. They go for one of three reasons. The first is that King Harry Sterling loves to make King Oliver mad by flaunting his and his kingdoms affections to anyone and everyone around him. The second is that some of the Elites and castle staff have ties in Findara; whether that be friends or loved ones. The third is that while King Harry and a select few Asterians dance, there is a small group of Asterians helping Findarians escape.

Now the Asterian king in waiting, Prince Jack, is an enigmatic character to look upon. He, albeit a man of intimidating looks, has a huge heart. However, even a heart as big as his hates Findara with a passion. He would rather die than to ever step foot into the kingdom. The prince is not clueless as to what goes on in that kingdom, although he has never seen the rulers of Findara. He simply chooses to ignore it. Prince Jack focuses on tightening Asterin's relationship with other kingdoms in hopes of giving Findara a taste of their own medicine. King Harry, on the other hand, focuses on distracting Findara and their allies by playing the fool.

Asterin, to an outsider, looks like utopia in a constant state of euphoria. The kingdom itself was built up against one of the biggest hills in the nation. The vibrant blue, white, and gold villages leading up to the castle seems to make the city more celestial-like. It is as if looking at the night sky during the day but at night it was a kingdom in the clouds. The fairies who travel in and out of Asterin bless the kingdom with beauty and riches. Asterin was ethereal; covered in flowers and with a natural flow of fresh water running through the whole kingdom. No one really knows where it comes from, but no one questions it either.

There was no class system aside from the royals, their people, and the story of how things came to be this way. The first rulers of Asterin were tired of seeing how a majority of kingdoms used a class system as a way to control people. So, Asterin was built on the idea that everyone should help one another. Farmers feed the people, seamstresses dress the people, educators teach the people, and so on. Of course, there is a currency of bronze, silver, and gold that goes throughout the kingdom, but if an Asterian is ever in the need of money, they simply make a case to the king and a small audience of Asterians. This is their secret to their happiness.

Although Asterians live in euphoria, that does not mean they cannot fight. It is known that Findara and Asterin are currently in a power struggle for the strongest kingdom. The other kingdoms around them do not dare to interfere with their struggle. Findara has the strength, weapons, and fear to control people, but Asterin has the magic and numbers to overcome any fight. Most kingdoms think that Findara is still the strongest kingdom around, but that was before Jack.

"Good morning everyone!" Jack yelled as he entered the dining room and received a 'good morning' back from two of the three people. The dining room was big and consisted of three, long dining tables, enough for all the castle staff to come and eat with the king and prince. Jack was happy to see his childhood friends already sitting in the dining room waiting for food to be served. Although Jack was a prince and his friends were castle staff, he would never dare to treat them any different.

"Too early for you." Vulpecula groaned adjusting a bandage that hugged her curves as Jack sat down next to her.

"Well maybe if you didn't take that assassination on the giant last night then you would have been much more awake." A tan, blonde girl said huffing as a lean boy with wavy brown hair and a light scar across his face pulled on her hair to make her look straight across the table. "Leo Percy! What did I tell you about doing that?! You know I have a sensitive scalp."