Chapter Text
« Phil! » Phil heard Charlotte calling him from her room as he walked through the halls of the castle. He'd been fixing his green tie, before starting to walk towards his father's meeting room.
He paused, turning to his little sister.
« Charlie! » he smiled warmly, relaxing immediately as she started walking up to him.
« Phil! Phil! Please don't go! » she immediately said, walking closer as fast as she could with the red dress she was wearing.
« What? » Phil tilted his head, looking at her up and down.
Her blonde hair was a mess, and she wasn't wearing the usual purple gown she loved. « What are you… talking about? » he asked as he carefully looked at her.
« Don't go to the meeting with Father. » Charlie begged, bright red eyes fogged up by tears. « You'll get hurt. Very hurt. Please, please please don't go! » her voice was gradually getting louder, and he shushed her out of instinct.
What?
« Charlie, what are you talking about? »
« Don't go! » she insisted, almost yelling at that point, the voice echoing through the castle. « I swear it's a trap you'll get hurt I don't even know if you'll come back- » she grabbed his arm, pulling him back.
« Charlie- » he tried calming her down over and over again. « you must have had a bad dream or something, I'm just going to a meeting with father-»
« That's the point! The king is going to do something I'm begging you- » she kept insisting, pulling at his arm.
« I promise you, this is only a harmless meeting » Phil shook his head, with a sigh, slowly prying her off his arm.
« Phil please- » tried insisting again, but he cut her off.
« I'm gonna be safe. It'll only be a few hours. Nothing's gonna happen to me. » he insisted, calmly but firmly.
She'd been skittish lately, and Phil couldn't let it rub off on him.
« I'll be going now » he said, walking away without letting her get another word in.
She stormed off, a pang of guilt starting to grow in his chest.
The meeting, as expected, was one of the most boring things in his life.
He had to sit still for hours , not allowed to make a sound lest his father get mad.
They talked more about this new, troublesome criminal making a mockery of their security systems, “Grian”.
Amongst other things, of course, but he only paid attention to that in all honesty.
A criminal who'd somehow gained access to the royal vault, kept stealing money from the palace, and somehow always managed to get away, not without burning down some outposts? Far more interesting than trade routes, at least for Phil.
But, he supposed one day they're gonna be useful to him. After all, he was gonna be king one day, wasn't he…?
Sure- being king is cool, but the responsibilities… he already had too much as a prince, who knows how bad it would be as a king and-
No.
He had a responsibility. He couldn't complain.
It was his purpose, what he had to do.
And- he was going to be a good king.
Not- Not that his father wasn't one of course- he'd never doubt that- but he was gonna do good for his people. He had to.
It's what he was born to do, take care of his people.
He decided to check on Charlotte - she seemed so worried, maybe if he showed he was alright she'd be calmer. He didn't like seeing her so scared.
« Charlie…? » he called out softly, knocking on her door.
Nobody answered.
« Charlie…? Are you in there? » he tried knocking again, louder this time.
She didn't reply again, silence hanging uncomfortably behind the wood.
« Charlie, did you hear me in there? I'm… I'm coming in! » he called out, waited for a moment, then peeked in.
Her room was messy - as usual - and the red dress she'd been wearing before was thrown on her bed - maybe exchanged for something else?
«…Oh, you're- you're probably out of your room. Right. » Phil rubbed his eyes, with a sigh. He was talking to no one again.
« right, she's not here. I'll… I'll just tell her later.» he started walking away.
« She’s probably fine, she's grown… » he started muttering to himself, his pace picking up.
Besides, it's not like she's allowed out of the castle, father has made clear they can't go out for their own safety, just like with their wings.
He shouldn't be worried.
He had a feeling something was going on, and he was supposed to be with his sister, but he wasn't , she was alone somewhere and probably scared and-
Calm down Phil, calm down.
She's ok.
She has to be ok.
If something happens to her, he's the first one notified.
She's fine.
He passed a hand over his wings, trying to gather his thoughts.
She'll be fine, she probably just needed some time alone, like he did.
He started walking to the East Tower, quickly going up the stairs.
The tower was technically off limits for everyone but not many people will stop you going anywhere when you're the prince.
Once he got to the top, he opened his wings, letting the wind wisp through the plumage he fidgeted so much with.
He loved the feeling. It wasn't even comparable to the feeling of flying, but it was what he would have to settle for with clipped feathers.
« I hope I'll be able to sneak a flight next molt, before having to clip them again… » he mumbled to himself, a soft smile creeping on his face.
It was dangerous. His father would kill him if he found out - no, he wouldn't. He hated getting his hands dirty. He'd let a guard do it for him.
But the feeling of the wind on his face, the feeling of being weightless and free was worth any danger.
He noticed a crow landing next to him, next to where a few flowers- weeds grew between the Stones making up the ledge, which immediately brightened his spirits.
He chirped quietly to it.
« Hello » his throat scratched.
« Hello » the crow replied in a caw much easier to achieve.
« You're beautiful! » he said excitedly, petting the bird's head. Finally making conversation.
It was rare to see crows around those parts, and the rare times he did he couldn't help but coo over them, they were truly beautiful, their completely dark plumage, smart eyes, slim and sharp beaks.
« I'm Philip, but you can call me Phil.» he whispered, grinning from ear to ear at this friendly specimen. He's a little jealous of it, in a way.
Of course the crow couldn't understand him, he wasn't chirping, but it was nice to talk to someone who wasn't working for him, for once, even if said someone was a bird.
Phil sighed, leaning over the ledge. The crow doesn't have worries, or woes, or reasons to be afraid of the vertigo.
He pulled out the flower from the stones, looking at the dandelion in his hand.
« You know, I could fall off right now, and no one could do anything to save me.» he mumbled, « I did the math, we're some twenty meters from the pavement. The fall would be enough to kill, and no one comes around this place enough to be ready to catch me. »
He let the flower fall down, as the crow nudged on his arm.
« Don't worry little bud, I won't jump. Not now. » he hummed « I can't leave my sister on her own, you know? » he stared off into the distance.
There was silence, but it wasn't the suffocating silence there usually was in the castle.
It was more comfortable, the wind gently messing up his hair.
« It'll be my birthday next week. » Phil found himself saying.
« It's never been a huge occasion, so I doubt it will be this year. »
He turned to the crow again. « Will you wish me a happy birthday? Usually only mother and Charlie do, but it'd be nice hearing it from a friend… »
He huffed, pulling away from the ledge.
He'd need to be more careful up there.
« I'll be going now, there's some papers I need to fill out. »
He started slowly walking down the tower.
He didn't want to leave yet, but he had things to do, he couldn't neglect his responsibilities, no matter how nice it was to relax for a bit…
Maybe he could take a nap?
Just- just for a few minutes.
It wouldn't harm anyone, would it…?
… Maybe later, maybe later.
He walked through the halls, the stained glass of the windows projecting landscapes of a better time on the wall, giving the room a calming yellow tint.
If he finished before dinnertime, he could take a rest.
He walked into his room - which had become more of a study, with paperworks, parchments, pens, and ink scattered everywhere
Most of it was on his bed - not that he ever used that.
He tended to sleep on the chair, too tired to change-
Not that he was complaining,of course. It was his responsibility as a prince.
Just… he wished to have a bit more free time to pass with his sister.
He'd been leaving her behind lately, and he really wished they could go back to when they were younger, playing around in the garden, even flying together, if it was before he'd turned of age.
He missed being that free - like that crow from before. It didn't have responsibilities, people to think of.
It just had to be itself, no one to judge it.
He missed being that free- free of consequences, free to be himself…
No, he had to shake the nostalgia off, he couldn't work while reminiscing of his sister and the good old days.
There was no time for them to do that again.
Not- not for now.
Most of the workload he got came from that “Grian” figure.
The money disappearing, the buildings burning down, the guard posts being attacked… all made for a whole lot of paperwork that Phil had to read over, correct, sign, send to his father - which seemed like a simple enough job, until you noticed all the spelling and grammar mistakes.
He'd spend hours upon hours correcting everything - and if he made too many changes, he'd have to send it back,wait for them to add or remove anything that didn't match what happened, check again for any mistakes and only then he was done with one piece of paperwork.
Multiply that by the 20 something papers that came his way every day or so, and he barely had time to breathe.
Not- not that he really minded. He understood that he needed to help in every way he could, it… It was just a lot.
But he still worked. He couldn't let his father and the Kingdom down.
He was born to do this, and he wouldn't back down.
Phil repeated that quietly to himself, trying to keep himself awake as he sat down to work, the words jumbling together.
He needed a break, some rest… just… a few…
Minutes…