The prince stood by himself, leaning against a pillar in the palace courtyard as he watched other members of the court talk among themselves. No one said anything to him, though he was clearly in the sight of others. He decided that he would return to his room. He started walking.
"This way, Aoiki!"
"Wait up!"
Someone slammed into his shoulder. He lost his balance and fell, ungracefully, onto his bottom.
The dark-haired male who knocked into him did not even look at him as he continued on his way. "Sorry 'bout that!" he shouted, but he did not slow in his movement, and within seconds, he was already too far away to merit the effort of chasing after him.
Another, smaller male ran after him. "Wait up!" He shouted. "Niisama! Wait!" This one did turn to give him an apologetic look, but it was no more than a glance, and then he returned his attention back to the person he was chasing after.
He stared after them for another few seconds before the surprise of what had happened passed and all that was left was a growing sense of anger and humiliation rising within him. How dare they! How /dare/ they! Did they not know who he was?
He knew them. He recognized them immediately, even though he did not get a clear look at their faces. The boy who knocked him down was from the Dragon Clan. The other who chased after him was his younger brother.
He clenched his fists. Those treacherous dragons! They thought they were everything!
He remembered how his father had returned home after the war, defeated and angry.
"It would have been me," his father said. "I would have won. I would have been the one to rule the others. It would have been me. It should have been me."
His father patted him on the head. "I'm sorry boy. You should have been the prince of the Tenkai. You should have been the one who would stand and lord over the other clans, and have them obey your every command. It should have been you.
The hand gripped his hair.
"It would have been you, had it not been for the Imperial Dragon!"
His father yanked his hair. He cried out in pain, but his father did not notice.
He was now shouting. "THAT CURSED DRAGON! I WOULD HAVE BEEN THE EMPEROR OF ALL, HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR HIM!!!"
The hand descended again, yanking out more hair. He cried louder.
"I WOULD HAVE BEEN THE GOLDEN EMPEROR!"
Another yank.
"IT'S ALL /HIS/ FAULT!"
His vision blurred with tears.
"Had it not been for him.... had he not helped the other...I would have been the one to rule the Tenkai!"
His father gripped what hair he had left and lifted his head to face him.
"Listen to me, boy. It's the Ryuushu. The Dragon Clan is our enemy. If not for them, you would someday have been emperor. Instead they dishonored us, humiliated us by defeat. CURSE THEM! CURSE THEM ALL! MAY THEY NEVER FIND PEACE!"
He had vowed then to reclaim the honor that his clan had lost in that war, lost to the dragons.
And there they were, the arrogant creatures that had been the cause of so much shame and pain. The anger within him became so strong that he felt physically ill. His face burned, his stomach felt stony, his fist closed in such a tight grip that his nails dug into his palm, causing him to bleed.
I will make you fall.
"Are you all right?"
The soft voice startled him out of his thoughts.
The speaker was another male, probably no older than the dragon (curse him!) that had knocked into him. He had seen him a few times before, usually near the outskirts of the Palace Gardens, though he had never spoken to him. He did not even know his name or his rank in court. Probably another defeated clan's prince, like himself.
The exquisite being leaned down and offered his hand. "Are you all right?" he asked again. He had a lovely face. His remarkably beautiful blue eyes arrested his own.
He took the offered hand, and the other helped him up.
"Sorry about that. He's racing his brother, so he couldn't slow down."
He listened to that low, soft voice though he did not really hear the words. He was too busy staring at the boy that he had never really paid attention to before. Who was he? Why was it that he had seen him once or twice before, but had never known his rank or anything about him?
How could he not have noticed him before?
The other smiled at him in apology. "Sorry."
It had been so long since someone had sincerely smiled at him that seeing it had a shocking effect on him: it made him feel warm and happy and he found himself smiling in an automatic response.
The beautiful boy turned and ran off to chase after the dragons, leaving him alone with his face flushed, and his heart beating against his chest.