Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~~~

Once upon a time, far away in the land of old, there lay two kingdoms to each side of the ground they laid upon. To the north, proudly atop the mountains overseeing the sea was the Kingdom of Gold, the royalty that ruled it having only one heir to the throne that many saw as too quiet and weak to try and rule one day. To the south, rising from the sea and just as tall as their opposite, was the Kingdom of Silver, every bit the same as the Kingdom of Gold save for having two heirs instead of one.

Each gave important exports necessary to their people and ruled with a fair hand and was humble, each of the royalties going out of their way to help their subjects when the need arose. Eventually they talked of joining the two royal families together, thus becoming one and becoming a force of good for everyone. It was decided that the crown prince of the Kingdom of Gold would marry the crown prince of the Kingdom of Silver, though the two were young. They were betrothed on a warm spring day, and from the moment they met it was clear to everyone who looked at the two that they were meant to be. The Princes of Silver and Gold perfectly balanced the other out, and would grow to become Kings that would love their kingdoms as much as they loved each other. It would be a period of prosperity, an era to be remembered in history for ages to come.

Then, tragedy struck.

~~~

It had started with a simple downpour. At the beginning of the week, grey clouds approached from the south and were on a dead set path to the Castle Altea and the surrounding kingdom. The rains had been gentle at first, making puddles form for the children to splash in and tending to the crops for the adults. Even the royal family took some enjoyment from it, the Prince and Princess were allowed to play for a short time in the rain, and the King and Queen took a stroll through the flower garden on the castle grounds.

It had started with a simple downpour, but quickly turned into a fierce storm.

It began to flood from the sudden increase in rain, and the blustering winds made it impossible to sail to the mountains to get help from their neighboring kingdom. They had experienced the likes of a storm like this before, so the King and Queen made a decree that everybody take shelter until it passed, even going so far as setting up their ballroom to house their people since most of the buildings couldn't hold up through the battering hail and winds. Despite the harshness outside, it was warm and festive inside the castle, people had brought their instruments and played music and danced, and the King and Queen agreed with the merry fun and broke out their best mead and had the kitchen cook up food to feed everyone.

As the royal family retired for the night, a few sparse people continued their merriment, and outside more than a storm was brewing as the smell of smoke graced the air and the rumble of thunder became the sound of thousands of ships crashing through the waves.

~

"Lancelot. . ."

The young prince looked up at the call of his name, face instantly bursting into a grin as he saw it was the prince from across the mountains, the one with so soft a voice he could barely be heard and warm brown eyes as pretty as chocolate, the boy Momma and Papa said he was going to marry someday, Prince Hunk.

“Yes love of my life! Pray tell, for what must you ask of me?”

The other normally blushed at how Lance addressed him, he always did when Lance called him ‘love’, but Hunk’s head was angled down and as it raised up Lance took pause as it looked like the other had been crying for what looked like days. Lance quickly moved to his future partner’s side, grabbing his shoulders and looking at him with worry.

“What’s wrong? Did somebody say mean stuff about you again? Show me where they are and I’ll take care of them.” Lance smiled at the other prince, pushing some of his dark hair behind an ear just like Momma did all the time, “I’m like your knight, I’ll always protect you, from monsters and mean people and anybody who hurts you.”

Lance was confused as the other just began to cry, and before he could ask again Hunk finally spoke,

“You promised me, you promised you would protect me but. . .”

The bright room they were in suddenly began to grow dark, Lance startled at the sudden change in atmosphere and even more so as he saw a giant line of people march up behind the other prince. He tried to pull the other way, to run to cover and find the royal guards that could save them, but his future partner didn’t budge, only staring at Lance with the same teary, wide eyes that didn’t even look like they were focused on him, but as if they were looking out through a window.

“How can you protect me when you’re not here anymore? I should’ve protected you. I should’ve been the one to make that promise.”

The army began to close in, but they were completely ignoring the Prince of Gold, and were instead utterly focused on Lance and Lance alone. The Prince of Silver frantically looked for an exit, but there was none, only uncertainty and the sounds of angry dragons and unbearable heat rising up around him. Still the other kept talking, as if Lance wasn’t about to meet his doom, faded brown eyes wearily staring into the air as Lance screamed for help and Hunk only softly said,

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you Lancelot.”

~

Lance bolted upright and screamed, frantically scrambling to get away from the painful fire, to escape the hands that wanted to grab and break his bones-

He yelped as he fell to the ground, groaning as the young prince pushed himself onto his hands and took in his surroundings.

Lance’s room surrounded him, shrouded in dark from the clouds save for the crystals Momma had given him as a nightlight, the soft white and blue glows giving him comfort after such a scary dream. The window that led to his balcony was being pounded upon with rain, so hard that Lance was afraid the glass would break at any moment.

He still shivered with fear, the dream had been so real and haunting. It reminded him somewhat of that one dream he had where Papa had been killed. A large, dark, evil man had been trying to hurt Lance, his sister, and Momma. Papa had been fighting the evil man off, when the sword went through his chest and he had died.

Papa had only laughed and hugged Lance, appreciating his concern but telling the young Prince it was for naught.

He still feared it coming true though, along with this new dream.

The Prince stood and pulled his favorite blanket over his shoulders, unable to take being alone in his room any longer. Lance pushed the door of his room open, making his way out into the hallway with a small crystal for light, footsteps echoing down the stonewalls as he walked to his parents room.

Even with the bright light of the crystal the shadows still creeped him out, Lance unsure of whether he should expect a monster around the corner or one of the guards doing their nightly patrol. The castle was also confusing at night, it was impossible for him to navigate without the light of the sun. It was colder too, no thanks to the storm whipping about outside, the stones absorbing the bitter cold and letting it seep through.

Lance’s heart pounded faster and faster the longer it took and the more lost he became, biting back the tears that wanted to come forth in an effort to be brave. Any moment now he would find his parents room, then he could be comforted by them and peacefully sleep and have no more bad dreams-

“Prince! What are you doing up?”

A shrill scream filled the hallway, followed with a loud crack as Lance dropped his crystal to crouch down and try to hide from the person that had called out to him. When no vicious attack or more sound came, the Prince finally opened his shut eyes and peeked out from between his fingers. Instead of an intruder or evil creature, there was the royal family's advisor, Coran.

The ginger-haired man had kneeled down next to him, eyebrows furrowed in concern at the young child. “Apologies lad, I didn’t mean to scare you! What has you up and about? It’s the middle of the night.” he held out his arms, offering a hug to the child.

Lance sighed in relief to see a familiar face, quickly accepting the hug and feeling better. “I had a nightmare. I wanted to see Momma and Papa.”

The advisor made an understanding hum, squeezing him tight once and pulling away, a small yet noticeable smile under his mustache. “I see now, I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s not the best idea for you to be wandering the halls though, there’s a lot of people down below and we’ve had to make sure nobody accidentally climbed higher up to the private rooms. I’ll help you to your parents chamber, that will be much safer.”

Any other time Lance would’ve probably put up a fight about being helped (he was almost ten! A ten year old prince could take care of himself) but the shadows and the nightmare still scared him, so the young one quickly latched onto the offered hand.

After walking down another two hallways and taking a turn to the left, they reached the doors that Lance could tell in the sunlight was his parents’, Coran knocking thrice before the oak doors quickly opened. Behind the door Lance was relieved to see his Momma, sleepily blinking her eyes at the two of them. Her beautifully long, pure white hair (a staple of the Alteans, for quintessence ran through their being and gifted them magic at the price of the markings on their face and the absence of hair color) hung loosely around her face instead of tight in a bun, and her nightdress hem hung just a hair's width above the floor. Her eyes widened slightly as she finally took in the sight before her, opening the door the rest of the way.

“Why are you out of bed my love?”

Coran gently nudged Lance to speak, the child looking down at the ground as he now felt embarrassed about why he was there.

“I had a bad dream. There was a fire, and-and Prince Hunk was there and crying and these evil people were trying to get me.”

He looked up, still a little embarrassed, but was relieved to see how Momma’s brow creased in concern and she stepped forward to kneel and pull him into her arms.

“I’m so sorry Lancelot, that must have frightened you horribly. Come in, you too Coran, I’m sure talking with us and your father will help you feel better.”

Lance eagerly did as Momma said, the feeling of safety draping over him like a blanket as he entered the chambers. Water rained on the window panes, the frames rattling with the wind blowing past, but it wasn’t as scary as it had been in his room. Among the presence of Momma and Papa, Lance always knew he was safe. As Coran updated Momma on his patrol, Lance quietly crossed the wide room, carefully stepping around tables and chairs as he moved to the bed where Papa was at, surprisingly up and more awake than Momma. Papa was staring at the windows, maybe trying to look outside? Lance climbed up onto the bed, which was enough to grab Papa’s attention. He turned and smiled down at Lance, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him in close.

“What are you doing up at this hour? You’re going to be starting your lessons at sunrise.”

The prince smiled at the mention of his lessons, he was finally of age to start honing his magic abilities. Everybody in their family had magic, but chose to focus on one as a primary ability. He had always been jealous when Allura went off to do her lessons, while Lance had to learn boring stuff like ‘proper etiquette’ and ‘how to rule’. He had what felt like forever before he’d have to be a King, Allura would likely take control of Momma and Papa’s throne, and he wasn’t supposed to marry Hunk until he was seen fit to rule his kingdom. Hunk was very smart though, so maybe Lance would become a ruler before Allura did. That would be hilarious!

Lance frowned as he began to answer Papa’s question, once again remembering the dream. “I had a really scary dream. I didn’t want to be alone, so I came to you and Momma.”

Papa hummed in worry, moving his hand up and down Lance’s arm in a show of comfort. “I’m sorry to hear that Lancelot, I think I had a bad dream as well. I don’t remember it, but I woke up with a wary feeling. Do you remember yours?”

Before Lance could respond, his life changed for the worst.

The window in front them shattered, Lance crying out in shock and clutching onto the arm Papa threw in front of him. Momma and Coran ran to them, frantically asking what happened only to come to a complete pause.

Embedded into the floor was an arrow, not one that belonged to their royal guard archers, a piece of parchment pierced onto it. On that piece of paper was only two words.

VREPIT SA

Through the now broken window the sounds of multiple dragons roaring at the sky came through, as did the roar of fire catching and beginning to burn everything down.

Lance hadn’t even known they had enemies, but it was apparent now there was people who wanted Altea to be destroyed.

Immediately Papa was gone from Lance’s side, yelling for Coran to follow him to find Allura and for Momma to ‘get Lancelot ready’. He couldn’t even find the will to ask what was going on as Momma grabbed his hand and began to pull him away from the windows and towards the large mirror she used to get ready in every day. In it he could see his own self, bright blue eyes filled with confusion and worry and fear, the blue markings on his cheek glowing with his nervous energy, and his white hair and pointed ears seemed to be moving with that same energy too. Her hand swiped across the surface then, glowing a dazzling bright white, and instantly the reflective surface went away to reveal a dimly lit hallway. Lance remembered Coran talking about there being secret passages ways, but that was for the people who worked in the castle or was used in the case of dire consequences.

He finally found his voice, shaking horribly from how scared he was, “Momma what’s happening!? Why are people attacking our home? Where did Papa and Coran go?! What are we going to-”A ferocious roar cut off his sentence, forcing Lance to cover his ears at the loud noise. More sounds began to rise up with the roar, the sounds of swords clashing and people screaming in both war and fright making themselves known, and it all got drowned out as dragons followed the lead of the first and bellowed from the sky. Lance shook even as his mother tightly wrapped a cloak around his shoulders, unable to pull his eyes from the now shattered window that let the blustering wind and pouring rain through.

“Lancelot my love please listen to me! You are going to run, run away as fast and as far as you can! Go hide in the forest, Coran will come to find you after he has Allura with him.” Momma pulled him into her arms, Lance able to feel her lips moving where they pressed to his forehead in what had to be the words to a spell. The skin tingled still when they pulled apart, Lance warily looking up at his Momma and stomach dropping at the look in her eyes. Her soft petal blue eyes had always been filled with love and joy, to see them now holding panic and fear scared Lance to his soul. He fisted her nightdress tight, asking a question he was afraid to have an answer to,

“You’ll find me too right? You and Papa will hide too and come find me?”

For just a moment the foreign look on her face went away, and Momma’s eyes looked sad now. Her hand lifted up to cup his cheek, smiling at him stiffly.

“We will both always be with you. Always.”

Before another word could be said, more of the windows broke and shattered onto the floor, arrows striking into the wood just inches away from where Lance stood and where Momma was kneeled before him. All too quickly he was being roughly shoved into the hidden passage, desperately begging for Momma to just come with him, they could run and hide together! His strength and will-power faltered though, and he could only stare in horror from the cold safety of the passageway as he took what would be his last look at his mother, crying and giving him the saddest, most grief-stricken look one could ever know, and heard the last words she would ever say.

“ I love you Lancelot. ”

She closed the passage, Lance making a delayed lunge once it was, crying and desperately shoving and clawing at it to try and make the mirror disappear again.

“Momma! Momma! Please come BACK! ”

From the other side he could hear the double doors being broken down and crashing to the floor, clomping feet echoing as they marched in. Lance shoved his ear to the surface, praying to every god and goddess he could in the blind hope that he would hear his mother either being given mercy or only taken prisoner.

A gruff voice harshly called out, clearly addressing Momma. “What a sad sight. The elegant Queen of Altea, cornered and crying for mercy. . .”

Lance quaked, eyes threatening to spill over from the tears filling them, a hand clapped over his mouth to keep himself from screaming to beg that she live.

“. . . Good riddance.”

A sick squelch and a quiet gasp was how Lance’s mother, Queen of the Altean Kingdom, died.

~~~

A week of horrible storms occurred over the land and sea, and during that time the Kingdom of Silver was attacked. A rebellion uprising overthrew the royalty, led by the tyrant King Zarkon that struck the finishing blow to the King of Silver, his majesty Alfor Altea, himself. His army leveled everything to the ground with their army of dragons they had enslaved, and not a soul survived the mass murder, not even the crown prince or princess.

~~~

Somehow, despite how he cried and shivered after hearing his own mother’s death, Lance made it to the forest. He had tripped and fallen more times than he could count, his knees ached and stung horribly as a result, but he had crawled through the secret passage to the outside and made it to the forest— just like Momma had told him to. The Prince ducked behind a tree, panting heavily and shivering as the rain continued to soak him through his cloak and clothes. He didn’t want to look out from behind the bark, but he had to see if Coran had Allura and that they had made it out alive. Lance finally opened his eyes and peeked, and he immediately regretted it.

Everything was burning. The castle, Lance’s home, was in a furious blaze. A mighty and fearsome roar filled the air, and with that his home began to crash down. The ground shook as the stones he had grown familiar with crumbled and wood splintered into pieces, another chorus of roars ringing out as the dragons had successfully done their duty, and Lance could only stare at the display in petrified fear.

“A. . . Allura? Coran?”

His quiet call was completely unheard, the enemy still celebrating their victory even as it began to fade away as they departed the scene. Still Lance tried again, eyes trained on the disaster and voice wavering from tears,

“Where are you? Please, Allura, Coran, come out!”

Nothing responded back.

“Please? Someone. . . anyone. . . come find me!”

Still, nothing.

Lance tried and failed to keep a sob down, slowly coming to terms with what had happened.

Momma was dead. Papa was dead. Allura and Coran were dead. The entire kingdom was gone, all of the people, all of the buildings, everything was dead and gone.

Lance was alone.

He dropped to his knees, finally succumbing to the gut-wrenching sadness that overtook his body. Lance threw out his arms to keep himself from toppling forward into the puddle he was in, openly crying and begging for anyone to emerge from the ruins, to come forward and reassure him that not all was lost, but nothing came.

The prince hoped that something would change once he opened his eyes, but of course even that only showed how much worse everything was.

The fire in the ruins of the castle gave Lance just enough light to see his reflection in the puddle he kneeled in, and what he saw didn’t make sense. The blue marks on his cheeks were gone, his eyes had turned a few shades darker, his ears were now rounded instead of pointed, and most of all Lance’s pure white locks had now become a light shade of brown.

To anyone else, he was no longer Prince Lancelot Altea.

He might as well have died with his family.

~~~

Unbeknownst to anyone, the Prince of Silver had survived. He had managed to escape, but was now alone, and under a powerful spell from his mother. The spell had changed his appearance and forbade him from telling others who he truly was. It was a spell cast out of love and protection, but to be broken quickly by someone who knew him even without his usual features. Without his sister or the royal advisor to recognize him and call his true name, he was now cursed to a life of loneliness and living like that of a hidden treasure, lost in plain sight and waiting to be found by anyone.

Nobody would find him though.

~~~

Prince Hunk looked from the balcony he stood upon, down the hill towards where the ships sat at the docks, watching the people quickly loading it with supplies and weapons for the trip over the sea to the Kingdom of Altea.

He was worried. Mother and Father had said they were supposed to be receiving word from them soon to arrange another visit, to talk trade and plan for the threat of something while he and Prince Lancelot got to spend time together. These sort of trips had become more frequent as of late, since Mother and Father want Hunk to be more familiar with the person who was to wed him once they were older and he was to be crowned King.

There had been a lot of other people before he had been forced to meet and be civil with. . . but Prince Lancelot was different. Lancelot actually listened to what Hunk had to say, and wanted to spend time together whether it was boring or exciting. He would always listen to the stories Hunk read out loud, and helped him when something was too hard or scary to do.

Hunk still remembered when Lancelot had proudly proclaimed he would be Hunk’s knight, and protect him from every person that dared to be mean. He had blushed and said that the other didn’t have to, but regardless he quietly thanked the Prince. Lancelot’s smile had been so bright and pretty.

He was pulled from his thoughts as footsteps walked up to him, Hunk turning around to see both his parents standing there. Hunk was practically identical to them, his tan skin and black hair matching them as did their large stature, it was undeniable that he was their child. He moved closer upon his mother beckoning him, nervously wringing his hands as she kneeled down so they were eye to eye.

“How long will you be gone?”

Mother looked to the side, as if unsure herself, before looking back to him again. “A few days at least, two weeks at most. If something happens to make it any longer, we will send word by falcon.”

Father shifted to kneel too, Hunk looking to him and jumping as a hand placed itself on his shoulder, gripping tight. “While we are away, our people will be looking to you should anything happen. Chances are slim that anything will go awry, but think of this as practice for when you are ruling this kingdom. You need to be strong, for them and for us, understand?”

Hunk swallowed and nodded, leaning forward as his mother wrapped her arms around him. He found himself meekly asking them to say hello to Lancelot from him, tensing as they both softly laughed only to immediately relax as Father responded,

“Of course Henry, we will personally pass your message along.”

He felt more at ease after that, staying on the balcony after Mother and Father left to watch the ships take off.

Hunk quietly hoped that Lancelot would smile at the message, and send his own hello back.

Until only two days later, when things changed.

~~~

When no word came from the Kingdom of Silver, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Gold sailed with their own army and resources across the sea to see what had happened. Before they could reach a cruel end by King Zarkon's hand, another fierce storm instead destroyed all the ships, scarcely a few small boats making it back. The King and Queen had drowned at sea, leaving the Prince of Gold utterly alone at far too young an age.

~~~

Black was everywhere. Everything inside and outside of the castle that was fabric was now a deep, empty black color. The flags, the curtains, the clothes everybody wore matched together in a unsettling way.

Hunk hadn’t known why everything had changed so suddenly, until he found one of the paintings covered in a thin, semi transparent, black sheet.

It was the portrait of mother and father, just after they had been married and crowned rulers of the Kingdom of Krell.

That was how he found out they were dead.

As they had been sailing, a storm had appeared out of nowhere. One so vicious and brutal only a handful of people on three small boats had managed to survive, the rest of the ships and people sinking beneath the angry waves. The only thing of his parents they had managed to find was Father’s furs, caught on a piece of driftwood, that was handed over to Hunk as the sailor told the story. Immediately he had buried his face in the cloak and cried.

Mother and Father always. . . had always told Hunk to be strong, keep a stiff upper lip in the presence of others, like a true King.

But what else was a ten year old supposed to do when told his parents were dead?

Eventually Hunk pulled his head from the furs, now smelling faintly of the ocean instead of Father, when he finally had the thought to ask of how the Kingdom of Altea was faring.

The silence after the question was asked nearly made Hunk sick.

He had just barely kept it together until he could leave and go to his room, finally allowing his emotions to come forth once the door shut.

Everything he had loved was just, gone. Storms had taken away not only his parents, but had provided cover for the enemy to kill the one person he cared about and destroy their kingdom too. All he had now was his own kingdom, but Hunk wasn’t ready to be King!

By the time Hunk finally dried his eyes, he could see that the sun was beginning to set. It had just reached its highest peak when he was given the terrible news.

Hunk moved to the window, gazing out at the land that was now under his control, sniffling and rubbing a hand at his eyes. Once or twice, he had stood in this very spot and dreamed about when he was older. Would he be taller? Could he really learn how to be a great ruler? Was he really destined to have Lancelot stand by his side?

He unfortunately now knew the answer to that last question, looking down at his hands as he began to speak aloud, knowing no one would hear other than someone hopefully up with the gods and goddesses.

“You promised me, you promised you would protect me but. . .” Hunk swallowed past the knot in his throat, looking back out at the sea that had betrayed him. “How can you protect me when you’re not here anymore? I should’ve protected you. I should’ve been the one to make that promise.” Why did Hunk struggle so much to be brave? Others were so effortlessly strong and filled with determination, like Lancelot had been. If Hunk had just been a little bit more fearless, and had asked to come along on the voyage, maybe things would have been alright. Maybe Mother and Father would have come back, or Altea could have survived, or everything would have stayed as it was.

That was all too late now.

Hunk hiccuped, burying his face into his hands, whispering quietly into the air, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you Lancelot.”

He would have rather died with Mother and Father.

~~~

With the loss of not only his young betrothed, but the loss of his mother and father too, the Prince of Gold fell into a deep sorrow. He became even more quiet, locking himself away for days before he appeared to his subjects again, taking the oath swearing his duty forevermore of protecting and guiding his kingdom even while so young.

Just as the Prince of Silver’s life had changed, the Prince of Gold was now cursed to his own life of loneliness, without his family and unable to even think of trying to find another who he could love like the Prince of Silver.

It was a cruel fate for both of these Princes to suffer.

~~~

Days had passed since Lance had left the ruins of Altea, desperately searching for help. He had tried in vain to find any other survivors, only succeeding in finding some supplies to last him a short while. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make it to the nearby village, Tyrus.

Lance blinked as he slowly walked along the shore, the sand in front of him beginning to look fuzzy. His stomach growled at him again, urgently reminding him to do something that was impossible to do. Lance had eaten the last bit of bread in the crate he had found this morning.

Suddenly, his foot caught on a hole, causing him to gasp and pitch forward straight onto a rock in the right position to hit his stomach.

Thankfully it wasn’t sharp, and hadn’t pierced his skin, but in his weakened state it definitely felt like it had. Lance wheezed and attempted to roll onto his back, only getting as far as his side as he coughed through the dryness of his throat.

Maybe this was Fate coming to complete the deed? Lance had somehow avoided death, and now it was coming to finish the job.

He couldn’t keep his eyelids from slowly drooping closed, everything in his sight becoming a blur of muted shades of blue and grey. For some reason, a burst of other colors appeared, something that maybe could resemble a human. A series of clicks and high and low whines was enough to convince Lance that he was hallucinating, closing his eyes and letting himself fall into unconsciousness.

Unknown to Lance, someone had come to his rescue.

Chapter Text

By some sort of miracle, Lance woke up to find he wasn’t dead. He wasn’t on the beach anymore, now instead he was nestled away in some sort of outside alcove. A cliff hung over him, providing protection from the elements, and as his eyes moved downward he found the rocks decorated with vines and items attached to them: seashells, rusted metals, and clothes. Not even a foot away was a chest, dried seaweed and crusty barnacles stuck fast to the wood.

He managed to push himself up from the rocky ground, taking in more of his surroundings. The ocean lapped at the edge of the flat Lance was on, a haphazard pile of driftwood along with a small crate that was still sealed shut sitting unattended. He glanced warily side to side, a look of utter confusion crossing his face.

Lance remembered he had been on the beach, some of the sand was still in his hair, how had he wound up here? Had. . . had he been found? And if that was the case, then who had found him?

Slowly he crawled towards the edge, eyes searching for a way towards land or a hidden pathway, glancing down to make sure he didn’t fall-

Lance screamed and quickly scrambled back, hitting the wall and staring with wide eyes towards the water, the thing he had seen in front of him now slowly rising from the ocean.

First was the top of a head, black hair wet and clinging to the scalp it grew from, and slowly eyes raised over the rock edge, equally as wide eyed as Lance’s and more full of curiosity than surprise. Before Lance could make any assumptions, the head rose higher still to reveal the tops of the person’s ears-

Well, they were more fins than ears, and Lance thanked every god and goddess possible that he paid attention to his magical creature lessons.

He rose up onto his knees, causing the now identified mermaid to look at Lance with his own surprise, the lost prince doing his best to make his throat match the right frequency Coran had taught him to use.

“Are you the one who helped me?”

The mermaid’s eyes grew even more shocked as Lance whistled and clicked in the mermaid’s native tongue. His hand gripped at the edge of the flat, tilting his head and responding almost too fast for Lance to process,

“Yes. You know how to speak like me? How?”

Lance nodded, slowly moving closer to the other. “I was taught it, I didn’t think I would ever use it. . .” He gave a tiny laugh, rubbing at his neck, “Good thing I listened. I can’t talk like this for long though, my voice isn’t meant to keep this tone.” Lance coughed to clear his throat then, “Can you speak or understand the way I’m talking now?”

The mermaid blinked, nodding slowly, “Yes. I’ve never heard a human use the merfolk language.” He slowly rose even further out of the water, allowing Lance a good look at the mermaid. The mermaid looked to be a year older than Lance, brown eyes twinkling with curiosity at him. His fins and scales looked to be a gray color that darkened to black the closer it was to his body, and Lance couldn’t stop his soft gasp as he finally noticed the mermaid’s right arm.

Light purple scarring covered the arm from the bicep down to the fingertips, spider webbing in multiple tiny lines and fractures, even the skin looked to be a very pale shade of lavender. The mermaid froze at the gasp and quickly lowered himself back into the water, dropping his right arm out of sight.

“I’m sorry, please don’t be scared! I promise it’s not a sickness!”

Wide, fearful eyes looked pleadingly at Lance, somehow afraid that the human would harm the other for the state of his arm. Lance shook his head, slowly crawling forward towards the mermaid that was cowering in the water.

“I-I’m not, I was just surprised. Does it hurt? How long has it been like this?”

The mermaid fidgeted and stayed tense, shoulders crowded up by his ears, but responded though he still held fear in his eyes.

“A. . . a few weeks now, I think. I was just hunting with my tribe and. . . I fell into a trap set by a witch.” His brown eyes grew sad, looking down to the water. “It shocked and hurt me, I was able to escape but when I got back to my tribe, my arm acted on its own. Dark magic shot out and hurt one of my friends. I tried to tell them it was something the witch must have done but. . . they ran away.” He lowered his head, giving a soft sniffle as recalling the events was no doubt painful. “I’ve been alone ever since.”

Lance felt horrible for the mermaid, to have something happen to him that gave him no control and isolated him was terrible and. . . hit very close to home for Lance.

Carefully the disguised prince inched towards the mermaid, not wanting to scare him but to offer comfort. He hesitated, then reached his hand out to lay on the mermaid’s shoulder, causing the other’s head to snap up and look at him with confusion.

“I’m so sorry. Nobody should ever be left alone. . . I’m alone now too. Perhaps we could be friends? Then neither of us will be alone.”

The mermaid’s eyes widened at the offer, it was an odd one to receive, but Lance held his breath and hoped he would answer yes.

“You. . . you mean it? You want to be my friend?”

“Of course! You saved me after I passed out, anybody could have come by to steal or hurt me, but you helped me. You’re a good person.”

The other glanced down to his arm, looking with worry at the purple scars. “What if my arm tries to hurt you though? It moves without me thinking about it, and it only ever moves to harm.”

Lance slowly reached a hand out to said arm, patiently waiting when the mermaid flinched at first but allowed him to continue, resting it carefully down.

“See? Nothing happened now. Even if something ever did, I wouldn’t ever leave because of it. I trust you, and maybe I could do something to help with it? I know some magic.”

Knowing enough magic to help was a bit of a white lie, but Lance could study and learn. He had to now, if he ever wanted to break whatever caused his appearance to change, but it could help his new friend along the way. Lance could see the last of the others worries fade away, nodding warily and looking up at him.

“Okay. You can really help fix this?”

Lance smiled and nodded, pulling his hands away and placing them on his hips. “I’ll help in any way I can! I promise! Or my name isn’t Lance-!”

He blinked as the rest of his sentence didn’t come out. It was supposed to be Or my name isn’t Lancelot Altea! But everything after saying only part of his name seemed to just, disappear.

The mermaid stared at him with a curious look, likely finding his weird pause to be questionable, but he seemed to brush it off. “Well, that’s a promise I’ll hold close, Lance. My name is Shiro.”

Lance quickly filed his confusion away for later, beaming as he learned his new friends name.

“Nice to meet you Shiro.”

Now he wasn’t alone, he hoped he never would be again, and he would make sure Shiro wouldn’t either.

~~~

The Prince of Silver found a stroke of luck when he was saved after passing out from hunger, and quickly formed a close bond with the Cursed Mermaid who had saved him. They found a way to survive, the Cursed Mermaid scavenged for treasures that the Prince of Silver then took to nearby towns to sell. They hunted together, lived together, and became near inseparable by the time a year had passed.

~~~

A hand on Hunk’s shoulder woke him up this dreaded morning, blinking awake to the sight of his handmaid urging him to get up and dressed for the long travel ahead.

Not even on the anniversary of their deaths could Hunk pause to mourn the loved ones he had lost. Ever since the horrible tragedy, a year ago today, the lonely Prince hadn’t been able to stop to think about his parents or the lost Prince and his kingdom from across the sea. All of the advisors were constantly on his case to uphold the family name, pushing him to consistently prove his power to the kingdom Hunk had inherited, and he tried to keep up with the demand but there was nothing more he wanted to do right now than to crawl back under the blankets and desperately wish for things to go back to how they were before.

He longed for the days where he stood by Mother and Father’s side, when his only concerns were lessons in diplomacy and handling a sword, and he eagerly awaited the next time he could see Lancelot’s smile and kind eyes.

Those days were gone though. Hunk had to get out of bed and prepare for the ride back home from the Marmora Desert. The King and Queen for the kingdom tucked away in the sands had sent an open invitation to visit and talk of an alliance, as the Galra threat had risen significantly since Altea fell. Another two kingdoms had fallen in quick succession after altea, Naxzela and Taujeer were now conquered and the other kingdoms were scrambling for promises of protection and resources. The Galra’s forces were steadily increasing too, many rumors were spreading around that a witch was on their side and creating minions and enchanting the many creatures of the land to be unwilling pawns, most of all dragons as they had seen use in them to level places to the ground.

Hunk nearly missed an added note at the bottom of the summons, telling him that the topic of losing loved ones could be had too. Apparently the Queen and King had a child, but had lost it when it was barely a few days old. It was a nice thought, but losing a child was different to losing your parents and your betrothed. There wasn’t anybody who could help ease his heartache.

Their talks had been quick, and they were leaving the Kingdom of Marmora ahead of schedule. Maybe they could make it in time for Hunk to spend some quiet in front of Mother and Father’s painting. It motivated Hunk to finish getting ready and load onto the carriage with his handmaid, bowing farewell to the royal couple before the door shut and their trip began.

Hunk became lost in his thoughts as the desert passed by, doing his best to listen as an advisor listed other kingdoms they needed to send letters about alliances to, wishing for time to go by faster.

Among the unchanging sands and rocks of the desert, he began to notice a dot that slowly began to grew in size, eventually becoming a hazy image in the heat that radiated upwards, and it took Hunk an embarrassing amount of time to realize that whatever it was, it was heading right for the carriage.

It took even more time for him to recognize that it was a dragon.

Eventually the knights in their caravan noticed and began to shout out warnings, arrows beginning to fly at the creature as it flew ever closer, able to dodge some while two managed to hit but bounced off its tough hide.

He barely had time to prepare as the creature flew right into the carriage, causing some of the wood panels to break and the other two occupants to scream in shock. There was only the shifting of sand that let Hunk know the dragon had fallen, and he quickly threw open the door and climbed out despite hearing protests from his handmaid and advisor.

There in the sand was a dragon, scales a bright red hue, writhing about in a sort of delirious state. Its eyes were just slightly cracked open, allowing the Prince to see the foggy purple eyes that stared blankly ahead, jaw agape and chest heaving as it panted. It slowly closed its eyes, most likely having passed out.

One of the knights approached, his blade glinting as he pulled it out,

“Do not worry Prince, I’ll handle this.”

Hunk was confused at what the knight meant, then his heart dropped as he saw the sword rise up, and he acted before his mind could fully catch up,

“ No! Don’t kill it!”

The knight froze at Hunk’s plea, a look of utter confusion on his face, giving the Prince an opportunity to kneel on the ground by the dragon. The creature didn’t even seem to sense him, only voicing a low rumble that sounded close to a tone of distress. The poor dragon was undoubtedly sick from something and almost got killed for no reason.

“It’s not hurting anybody intentionally! It looks really sick.”

“Perhaps it’s for the best then that we put it out of its misery.”

Hunk snapped his head up to look at the knight, inwardly taken aback at the sudden anger that filled his being at how someone was so easily dismissing an innocent life.

“ No. We haven’t even tried. I refuse to let an innocent creature pass away over something that’s easily treatable. The Galra have also enslaved nearly all the others dragons in the land, we can’t let one that we know of that is free to waste away, or be captured too.”

Eyes quickly began to settle on Hunk as he finished his words, very much confused at his emotions and what he had decided. It was common knowledge that dragons were very temperamental and burned everyone alive, but things had to change now. Zarkon had made an intense power play move, and if Hunk had to be one of the first to start blocking those moves then so be it.

There was a quiet shuffle as the advisor came closer, trying to use a calm voice that Hunk was tired of hearing,

“Your Highness, I believe we should just leave it here, it would be too dangerous to try and transport it. It could try to hurt you-”

“ I will NOT leave an innocent life to die over something that’s fixable!”

Despite the open air of the desert, Hunk’s voice still managed to echo somehow, loud enough to make everyone freeze.

The effect his statement had made Hunk feel good though. Despite how they persistently told him to step up, none of the council around him let the Prince do that. They made ultimate decisions, clearly pointed out the options they preferred, and every time he finally had the courage to speak up it was quieted far too quickly.

He wouldn’t let that happen anymore.

Hunk turned to the knight that nearly killed the dragon before him, shock still evident on his face, “Place the dragon in my carriage, it should be able to fit just fine.”

The knight slowly nodded, beginning to kneel down in the sand, only to quickly rear back up and point downwards. The Prince looked down, gasping in shock.

Instead of the dragon being there when he looked down, there was now a boy. His skin was lighter than Hunk’s but his hair was just as black, clothes ragged and baggy as they hung off his thin frame, and the only reason he knew the boy had to be the dragon was because of the long red tail, red wings tucked against his back, and the short black horns that poked out from beneath his hair.

Halflings were rare to be spotted in their land, but now here was a Dragon Halfling in Hunk’s presence.

He looked back to the knight, gesturing with his hand towards his carriage, “Correction, place the halfling into my carriage, he will definitely fit.”

Once it was just Hunk and his new passenger in the carriage (his handmaid and advisor wanted little to do with the Halfling) the Prince finally found some quiet, the land starting to pass through his window once more.

Hunk fished a container of water from the bag the King and Queen had gifted him, settling on the floor by the Halfling and tapping the top of the container at his lips. The motion was enough to rouse the other, and Hunk took that chance to carefully tip some water over the passengers mouth.

The Halfling licked his lips as the water fell on them, and in an instant his eyes opened, the same stunning purple ones, and clawed hands snatched at the water vessel. The Prince pulled his hands away, watching as the Halfling sat up and immediately began guzzling all of the bottle’s contents down. He almost wanted to try and ask him to slow down to avoid a stomach ache, but the other was finished before Hunk could finish his thought.

The Halfbreed flopped back down, shutting his eyes and breathing heavily. Now Hunk could see bruises and faded scratches along the others arms and legs, scales smattered in patches inbetween as if they hadn’t finished transforming into skin.

When he stopped his evaluation of the other, he almost squeaked as he saw the Halfbreed had opened his eyes again to stare at Hunk. There was more recognition of his surroundings in them, along with a stone cold guard in the purple irises.

“Why did you help me?”

The question was asked with a tone, scratchy from lack of water and use, that assumed Hunk wanted something from him. The Prince paused for a moment before reaching to grab another bottle of water, uncorking it and offering it to the Halfling.

“You were weak. I did what I would do for anyone else.”

The Halfling stared at the bottle, licking his lips and more gently grabbing the bottle this time. He sipped at it more slowly, sighing in relief after a long swig of the water. He sat up, leaning heavily onto one hand to prop himself up and look at Hunk.

“How do I know you’re not taking me prisoner? Or going to use me for your army?”

Hunk looked to the side, trying to figure what would be the best way to respond, courageous and steadfast or plactating and quiet? That was the only ways he had learned to respond. . .

He took a breath, trying something different; honesty.

“You don’t, and honestly I was hoping to talk with you about that. Hitting the side of my carriage is not a reasonable thing to lock anyone up for, especially while heatsick, and I know you must be no older than me, so asking you to be a soldier is not right. However. . . ” Hunk offered a hand out to the Halfling, locking eyes with him despite how judgemental the others purple eyes were, “I offer my castle as a safe haven for you. I have no idea of all the hardships you suffer, except for being alone. I know that one unfortunately very well. You may ignore my offer or take it, you can stay as briefly or as long as you want, and I expect nothing in return.”

Ever so slowly, something different appeared in the Halfling’s eyes, it was new and Hunk didn’t know how to feel about it. The other stared at his outstretched hand, for a moment the Prince could’ve sworn he was leaning towards it too, but still his hands remained at his side.

“Can. . . Can I have until we reach your castle? Before I decide?”

Hunk immediately nodded, hand dropping from it’s reach. “Of course. Take what you need from these packs, rest as long as you need, think over my offer. May I ask what your name is?”

The Halfling paused, considering, before he quietly responded,

“Keith. Yours?”

The Prince also paused too, it had been so long since he asked someone to call him it, but soon enough responded as well,

“Hunk.”

It was mostly quiet in the carriage after that. Hunk watched as the desert slowly became forest and then mountains, occasionally he would glance over to see what the Halfling was doing. He saw the other in various states of drinking water, heartily consuming food, or sleeping like the dead. He never pressured Keith into any conversation, and likewise he never pressured Hunk into one either.

He only purposefully disturbed the other once they finally reached the gates of his kingdom, regretful that he had to wake Keith at all, but it seemed important for the Halfling to get a look at what could be his new home.

Keith’s wide eyes took in the sight of the castle, tall stone walls and towers reaching high above and a sea stretching out behind it all. They finally stopped at the entrance steps, Hunk dismissing any help for the moment as he turned back to Keith.

“Have you decided? I will be glad to either show you a room, or wave you farewell.”

The Halfling was looking down at his hands, studying them as if the final answer was in them somewhere, brows furrowed in deep thought. After a few long, agonizing moments, he finally looked up.

“Thank you, Hunk. You saved me from certain death and have offered me a safe place. I feel it would be wrong, however, to take up your offer. . . “

Hunk fought to keep himself from frowning and sighing in defeat, he had promised he would accept whatever the Halfbreed decided.

“. . . unless you also allowed me to protect you.”

The Prince blinked, staring Keith down. There was nothing but firm resolve in his eyes as he stood from his seat, Hunk briefly grateful that the other wasn’t shaking from supporting his own weight now, straightening his posture.

“I have seen my kind treated as nothing more than weapons by the Galra and abused by everyone else. You are the first human I have ever met who has shown me true kindness and is worthy of my trust.” He bowed in half, Hunk in disbelief as Keith continued, “Please, allow your knights to train me so I may one day be your guard.”

Hunk was speechless, drawing a blank until his hand moved without thought. It pushed Keith to stand up straight again, allowing him to see the other’s eyes again, now able to place what he had seen before. Trust.

“If that is what you want. I won’t say no to a friend.”

~~~

It took longer for the Prince of Gold to find his own new companion, but his patience was rewarded in a years time when he traveled back from another Kingdom. The Halfling Dragon he came across swore loyalty as thanks for the Prince sparing his life and offering him a place to call home, and soon he became the Knight of Gold with vigorous training and determination. He accompanied the Prince everywhere from then on, and they both became very close.

In the wake of each of their tragedies, the Princes managed to find hope in the unlikeliest of places and found solace in others who saw them for themselves.

~~~

The town of Arus was a quiet place, most people overlooked it as it wasn’t on any paths that led to any kingdoms. In these days it was a blessing though, that meant they weren’t a concern of the Galra’s, and the villagers found comfort in their way of life being safe and went about merrily.

Until whispers started up about two shadows that lurked in their area, one in the waters of the river, the other among the trees in the forest. It was enough for parents to warn their children and tell them to be home when it was dark, unsure if it was Galra soldiers or evil magical creatures. Neither were welcome to their way of life, and everybody exhibited extreme caution from that day on.

Then one day a storm blew in, months after the shadows were first spoken of, while a brother and sister were out and wandering about. . .