The royal palace of Illyria was buzzing with activities on the day of The King’s Fair. Every person in the castle seemed to have their hands full of something. The palace maids were busy with cleaning and decorating the great hall for the Grand Royal Ball later in the evening. The cooks were also busy preparing the exquisite food to be served to the royal and noble families who will be attending tonight’s dinner party.
It seemed that the only person in the castle who didn’t have his hands full of something was no other than the Third Prince of Illyria himself, Ren[1] Clarendon, who was yawning on top of a tree in the palace’s gardens.
Ren was sleepy and bored to death. His attendant woke him up at the crack of dawn following orders from the King. He was having such a beautiful dream when the old man, Randy, woke him up.
His dream was about a beautiful girl with black hair that was strikingly in contrast with her fair skin. Her eyes, fringed with long and dark lashes, were the color of the clear sky on a fine day.
Ren was lost in his thoughts daydreaming about the raven-haired beauty when he heard a shout from one of the guards.
“Here he is! Your Highness, please come down.”
“Nope. I won’t and I don’t want to.”
He was already thirteen but he still spoke like the spoiled brat that he was. Everyone in the palace still treated him like a baby just because he was the third prince.
He was sick of it! Why can’t they treat him like his older brother, Riven? Sure, Riven was 3 years older than him but still, it wasn’t fair.
Riven[2] Clarendon was the Second Prince of Illyria. He was born with all the blessings heaven had to offer. He was of royal blood, smart, skilled in everything, and blessed with good looks that even in sixteen, captured the hearts of every woman he happened to look upon too.
Ren, however, was still treated and scolded like a little kid who didn’t know a thing or two about life. He snorted at the thought of the many times he was scolded just because he got his clothes dirty or his boots caked with mud.
While Riven was treated like the prince that he was. People in the palace admired his older brother, even the common people of the kingdom. Matrons from noble families wanted Riven to marry their daughters. That was how great Prince Riven Clarendon was.
'Now, where is Riven?' He thought to himself. Thinking about Riven suddenly made him curious of his whereabouts.
Ren always played pranks on Riven and not once, in all the nasty and stupid pranks that he pulled on him, did he see his brother got flustered, annoyed, or seriously angry with him.
He was thinking of yet another prank to pull on The Great Prince Riven of Illyria. This time for sure, he will make Riven cry running to the King. Thinking about Riven filled his head with evil and mischievous thoughts and at the same time, made his blood boil that he forgot he was already making his way down from the tree to go look for him.
His eyes were gleaming with mischief as he was mumbling to himself and fuming with jealousy about how unfair life was to him when suddenly, two guards carried him off right after his feet landed on the ground.
“Hey! Put me down, you jerks!” Ren shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Now, now, Prince Ren. Please stay calm and let the guards carry you to your room. You haven’t taken a bath yet and your cousins are due to arrive in an hour.” Randy said while glancing at his big, round pocket watch that most old people seemed to carry in the palace.
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“Shut up, Randy! I’ll charge you with treason and you’ll go to prison very soon. I’m sure of it!” Ren was wiggling his body as he was carried off by the guards through the hallway to his room.
If looks could kill, the attendant would have already been dead with the way Ren was staring daggers at him. Randy was used to Ren’s empty threats that all of it just fell on deaf ears.
Then, a deep hearty chuckle made Ren look away from the poor bullied attendant. It came from his older brother, Johann[3], the First Prince of Illyria and the successor to the throne.
Johann was lounging on the chair, sipping his tea and reading a book on the balcony. Randy and the two guards stopped on their tracks and greeted the prince.
“Come now, little brother. You wouldn’t seriously charge Randy with treason just because he wanted you to take a bath, would you? I’m sure you don’t even know what that word means.” Johann laughed again and the sound of it grated on Ren’s nerves.
“Aarghh! Johann! Cut it out. Stop laughing. I’M REALLY ANGRY HERE, YOU KNOW!”
Ren was shouting like crazy at his older brother who clutched his stomach and burst out laughing instead. He was scowling so hard by the time Johann stopped laughing.
“Alright, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. That won’t happen again, but make sure you take a bath, okay?”
“Okay.” Ren conceded.
Johann was the only person in the world who could make Ren obey and that’s because he was the only person he listened to, not even their father, the King himself could make him obey.
Ren admired his older brother so much that he would do anything to please him. A complete opposite from his feelings towards his second older brother, Riven.
“Guards, please put down my little brother. He is old enough to walk on his own.” Ren stuck his tongue out to the guards.
“…and next time, Randy, please report to me if Ren is not behaving well. He doesn’t listen to anybody other than me. Even father couldn’t get through to that thick skull of his.”
“Very well then, Your Highness.” Randy bowed to the First Prince.
“Thank you, Randy. You may leave us now.” Randy and the guards took their leave, leaving Ren in the care of the First Prince.
For Ren, Johann was greater than Riven. He vowed to become like him and take his role in the kingdom. Johann was nineteen years old, three years older than Riven and six years older than him but he was already too mature and wise for his age.
Johann turned to Ren and ruffled his silver hair. It was his way of showing affection to him and Ren was glad that Johann cared deeply for him.
“Ren, I want you to stop acting like a brat now, do you understand me? You are the Third Prince of Illyria, you will rule this kingdom one day and being treated as less is simply unacceptable so you must act accordingly from now own. Earn the respect you deserve, okay little brother?".
Ren looked intently at Johann’s deep blue eyes. He knew very well that this time, Johann was serious with him. It wasn’t always that his brother lectured him like this. Johann wasn’t around the palace very often and so he always avoided lecturing him at all cost.
“Yes, big brother. I understand.” Ren replied with sincerity in his voice.
“Good. Well then, I still have things to do. You must take a bath now. You can go outside the palace later to enjoy the fair. I will send one of my knights to escort you to the city. But only after, you take a bath.”
“Thank you, big brother!” Ren smiled for the first time in that day with his eyes twinkling with excitement. It wasn’t every day that he was allowed to go outside of the palace, especially to visit the city. This was a good way to spend the rest of the day and enjoy The King’s Fair.
Ren hurriedly went to his room and a large bath filled with hot water, prepared by Randy, was already waiting for him there. He thought about all the exciting things he would see later in the city. Completely forgetting his schemes for his older brother, Riven.
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“…to you, my love, three thousand years in the future. We vowed never to part. Even death nor any force in the universe couldn’t tear us apart. The gods in heaven envied us. Our hearts were one and our souls were bound for eternity, intertwined by fate and destined to meet again. You were my strength and my shield. So why, my love, why did you betray me?”
[1] Ren is a name of Japanese origin that means “love”.
[2] Riven is a name of Greek origin that means “to tear down”.
[3] Johann is a Germanized name of Hebrew origin that means “God is merciful”.