Aligned For You

chapter 1

Not for the first time, Julian couldn't help but note how the weather just refused to account for narrative symbolism. As a lifelong lover of adventure stories, tales of knights going into battle, war stories, and great battles of good vs. evil, he knew the atmosphere of an evil kingdom, oppressing its poor, troubled people and lashing out at its better-to-do neighbors was supposed to be dark. Depressing. Cold and barren, with the exception of the occasional ominous crow cawing its predictions of doom in the distance. A noble and good prince escaping into such a kingdom should be surrounded by a more ominous setting. Dark. Brooding, maybe, was the right word.

Instead, it was actually a genuinely beautiful day. The streets were full of people, parents with their children, shopkeeps whose stores had been open for hours now as the morning went by, young couples holding hands and giggling into each other's ears. People who, frankly, did not reflect the oppressed and impoverished people he had been imagining on his way here.

The streets were…maybe even in a little better shape than the town streets at home.

Julian Momento wouldn't be fooled, though. This was the capital of this kingdom, after all, the residents in the immediate surrounding town of its royal palace. Surely this wasn't typical of the kingdom that Julian had spent his whole life growing up hearing about its tyrannical reign and corrupt nobles, its brainwashed soldiers practically throwing themselves onto his father's battalions, preferring to die than daring to surrender and return home for punishment. No, surely even this city was hiding behind their charming, warm smiles that strangers kept throwing him as he passed by (to which he offered friendly waves in return), their exhaustion of having to, for the last fifteen years, deal with this seemingly endless war and their insane, stubborn leadership who put them through it. Certainly, they were brave to put on such proud faces, but Julian knew they wouldn't have to wear such masks for long.

Their soon-to-be hero, Julian Momento, Second Son of the Umina Kingdom, was coming to end this war and save both his own kingdom and theirs!

…yeah!

…yeah.

Jules sighed to himself, looking over a stall of apples. The apples were three copper apiece, which was nothing to him; he had brought plenty of money, despite his garb. He had borrowed his friend Alan's common clothes, Alan and his other friend Alice pretending to be hunting with him in their lodging just outside of the city boundaries. Julian's caravan wasn't actually supposed to arrive for another three days, but they had made great time, and Julian had decided he wanted to use the extra days to get acquainted with the kingdom he had been sent to save. He was, maybe, also enjoying his last brief moments of freedom before a whole heap of political stuff made his movement super limited. Weddings and such.

…yeah…

"Sir!" Julian said to the shopkeep, who was busy with another customer, "One apple, please! Can you make change for a silver piece? I'm not carrying copper."

"Just one apple?" the shopkeep said, raising an eyebrow at the strange-accented man, "Too early in the day to make change, really. If it's just the one, take an apple. Pay me back next time you swing by."

Shockingly, Julian’s heart sank at the easy generosity he had just been shown. It didn't seem like the shopkeep was struggling in poverty. He… This town didn't seem… anything like he thought it was going to be…

…he…he needed to be here, right?

As the Uminan Prince looked a tad nervously around the town that was not matching his expectations in the slightest, not far, another prince was running through the streets. He ducked and weaved through crowds of people, enjoying the feeling of being among them, wind in his slightly tangled hair. His expression was pleased, but…the shadow of the castle, which loomed over everything in the middle of town, weighed heavily on his mind.

He wished the view of the castle offered the same comfort to him that he knew it did for Dicea's people.

There was a simple rule in the city--if someone needs help, go to the boss. Same thing applied to letters, and let it be known that Dicea had one of the best postal services in the world! Probably. Felix had never read of any other country that boasted it, so he'd choose to believe it.

But, the more important thing here was that because anyone could come into the castle, anyone could get out. That was a comfort to its people, but for Felix, it was literally a life-saver. Everyone in the castle knew Felix snuck out to spend time in town, but no one had ever caught him, so they couldn't call him on it. And that's how he liked it! Once he'd safely landed outside of the gates, the world was his!

Or just the city, but that was pretty good too. It was practically his world since he'd never been anywhere else.

The king was all about community, strengthening bonds between his people and making sure everyone was provided for, which Felix thought was hypocritical to have as a stance considering they'd been at war for the past fifteen years. Countless people had died fighting in what he mostly saw as a pissing match. Where was the ‘compassion and coexistence’ in that?

Though, he didn't want to be annexed either. So that was why he was going through this whole "marriage" bullshit in the first place. Fuck. How stuck up would that loser be, Felix wondered? Going on and on about freedom and justice like he knew any better. Would he threaten him to completely take over affairs once Felix took the mantle over? Thinking he'd know how to run the kingdom better, that everything the Oswell family had worked for was wrong.

Gross gross gross!

With a sigh, Felix slapped his cheeks to get his mind back on happier things. Like seeing if there was anyone new in town that'd humor some “kid” for a while, willing to share stories of literally anywhere beyond the capitol. Letters could only rev his imagination so far. 

Stepping into the market, Felix waved to the people who recognized the totally average man in totally average clothes, scanning the crowds to spot any new faces. And, with super stupid hair that rose above the crowd, Felix ran towards the blatant traveler with a hand up, frantically waving. "Hey!! Hey, you! Tall guy!!"

Well…that was unusual. Some kid was shouting his direction, running at a full sprint. Tall guy? Julian looked around curiously to see who the kid was trying to get ahold of. Who here was that tall? Honestly, no one around seemed that tall, not in comparison to himself anyway. But, then, Julian was maybe a little above average, taller than the next person here by about an inch-oh!

Him! The kid was talking to him. Obviously!

"Hello!" Julian said, waving back at the...kid? Had to be. Turning to give a quick thank you to the shopkeep who had so absentmindedly gifted him the apple, the man in question already working with his next customer who was buying two baskets' worth, Jules put his focus on the kid, swelling his chest heroically as he asked, "Yes, how can I-" Julian’s brain skipped a beat. Not his real name. Couldn't use that. "-Kai Tomen, Legendary Stable Boy of the Barns, help you?! Are you lost?" Julian just had time to ask, taking a precautionary step back as the kid came up fast. Man, he was fast.

Felix snorted, coming to a stop right in front of the stranger and raising an eyebrow. "Hey, you talk super weird--you must be from really far away, right? Where? Is stable duty super vaunted there? Like, enough to have ranks, because if you introduce yourself like that for no reason, that's really lame."

Felix's eyes jumped from place to place over the stranger, taking in as much as possible. If he was brushed off, this was the only chance he'd have to learn about the mystery place the guy was from. Clothes were pretty simple but well-kept, likely extras to wear into town since traveling clothes could get pretty messed up. The style wasn't anything telling of foreign fashion, though. His hair stood out the most out of everything, most of it spiking upwards in an apparently very deliberate fashion, but unless the 'legendary stable boy' said anything, there was no way to tell if it was common or personal style.

"I'm not lost at all, but are you?" Felix laughed a bit--what an odd thing for a foreigner to ask a, presumably, local. Habits of hospitality, then? "If you came here to talk to the boss, all you need to do is look up, silly."

It was a safe assumption since that's what most visitors came for. Again, the castle's ease of access was a comfort and convenience for its people. Asking for an investment for a new business or relief aid for an accident. Coming with ideas for more efficient travel routes or showing off a new invention. All sorts of business. And well, though it wasn't much more lavish than nice buildings in town, just from the way the castle was constructed, it towered over the horizon, easy to spot no matter where you were.

"Are you in a hurry?" Rocking back on his heels, Felix tried to push in his request before he was pushed away. "If you have time to sightsee, I know a lotta cool places in town!"

"Boss?" Jules asked, blinking down at the clearly excitable...boy? No, obviously a boy, in presentation anyway, that wasn't the question. Julian was just struggling to pin the age of the kid. He had a soft, boyish face with wide, sweet eyes, and his mannerisms made him think of Alice's many, many younger 'siblings.' But something about his voice suggested he was older than that. Maybe...15 then? Still, his manner was of someone much younger than that. Perhaps it was better to just assume the kid was on the younger side.

Jules put on his best 'big brother' grin, the one he had, again, mastered for the benefit of Alice's brood. Everyone, even crying children, loved Julian after all! It was to be expected that his mere presence had this boy practically bouncing on his toes, despite the fact that he was, right now anyway, no one in particular.

"Unfortunately, I don't know about any 'Boss.' I'm here to sell..." Horses? Is that what stable boys did? They sold horses? That didn't seem right. Oh well! The kid probably didn't know anything about running stables either. He'd ask Alice and Alan what stable boys did next time he saw them. "-horses! And they call me Legendary because all the horses I breed and raise become Legendary Horses, known far and wide for their speed and strength and beauty!" Reel it back, Jules. He was getting ahead of himself, his mind already whirring with random details about 'Kai.' He had always liked to play pretend.

...huh? Maybe Kai really was from the far edges of the kingdom--or even another country entirely!! How cool would that be?!

"The boss," Felix repeated, pointing back at the castle. "I think people from really far away just call him the king? No one here calls him that, though. Just boss, or Aiichi. Or 'my brother,' if they really buy into his nonsense," Felix rolled his eyes. Even to him, his father had insisted that Felix call him by his first name. Something about not flaunting his influence, when everyone knew Felix was the heir anyway. Just let people call you what they want!

Whatever, though. Judging by his kinda dopey smile, Kai wasn't getting too annoyed with him yet. And that's what mattered! Especially since he was a total weirdo. What kind of place would call horse breeders stable boys? "Far and wide, huh? Then how come I've never heard of legendary horses? This a little too far for ya, huh?"

"Anyway," Julian said, winking at the boy and raising a thumb in approval, "I am, in fact, new in town! Good eye! And I'm not in a hurry actually. My Legendary Horses haven't been delivered yet! So I'm just looking around. I'd be happy to follow you, young..." Julian left a space open for the boy to introduce himself.

The other man seemed like a bit of a dummy, so Felix wouldn't judge him too much for not answering where he was from, but he was still curious! Everything about Kai was so strange and interesting, so how could he not pry to find out what kind of place the man came from?!

Felix rolled his eyes but matched Kai's grin. "You stand out like a sore thumb; I don't have to be a genius to see that. But I'm happy to hear you don't have plans today! There's soooooo much to do a day doesn't do it justice, but I can find a few things to leave out, I guess."

Young. Ah. Well, if Kai wanted to be yet another person to think he was a little kid, so be it. "Aphelion," he offered without missing a beat, grabbing Kai's sleeve and starting to drag him out of the river of people in the market. "You can call me Phe if you want--everyone does."

"Aphelion. What a strong name-ah!" Julian gasped as he was suddenly moving, following Phe's steps the best he could. What a charming young man! A little over-eager, maybe, and a motor-mouth at that; Jules could barely keep up as the kid strung sentence after sentence together, his tone almost thoughtlessly musical.