Chapter Text
As far as I can remember, the village where I lived with my parents when I was child was attacked during a war between our kingdom and the neighboring empire. Then my parents and I were enslaved, we were separated and bought by different owners. In my case, the one who bought me was a landlord who needed cheap labor.
After the years went by I became apathetic, like an empty shell, just following the same routine every day, until he arrived... Reo Mikage, the crown prince. Our meeting was accidental. In the plaza where I was going to be sold a second time for being considered worthless, a runaway horse charged in his direction. By pure instinct I pushed the prince aside, and my hands pulled the horse's reins. Then the animal lost its balance and crashed sideways into the mud. The prince was impressed; according to him, I had a natural talent. After that, he bought me and made me his personal knight, his treasure. I swore to protect him with my life, but I failed... That's why I'm here
I never thought I'd make this decision someday in my life. I genuinely could have expected it from everyone but myself. Yet some things don't always go as planned. I, especially, should be used to that by now. After all, that's why I find myself standing on the edge of a bridge, as far away from the city as possible so no one disturbs me. Just asking myself, "How could things have gone so wrong?" until the memory that I didn't protect him as I should have comes back. If I had another chance... just one last chance, I would do everything differently... With that final thought, I renounced my life, throwing myself off the bridge into the deadly waves underneath.
Everything was black until…
I started hearing a strange whisper, a distant voice that grew louder and clearer as the seconds passed, and suddenly I felt... a pang in my chest? Opening my eyes abruptly, I felt someone squeezing my chest tightly.
—Get up, you useless thing!— a burly man said, aggressively stepping on me again. —You're the most useless slave in this place! What's the point of keeping you alive if you're so worthless?!— my face turns pale as soon as I hear the man calling me a slave —What?…— My reaction seems to have enraged the man even more. —”W..W..What?” Stop whining and get to work!!— After that last shout, I felt how he threw at me a bucket filled with cold water and then left the barracks muttering insults under his breath.
When the man was no longer in the room, I quickly pinched my own arm to check that this wasn't a dream, then let out a hiss from the pain. After that, my eyes scanned the room, recognizing it instantly. This was the place where I lived before meeting Reo.
—It has been years…I never thought I'd see this place again. What am I doing here?—Suddenly I see my reflection in the water on the floor and realize I LOOK YOUNGER just as how I looked when I lived in this place. What does that mean? Was it all a dream? Did Reo never exist and did I never escape from this place?...No, it's impossible. I couldn't have dreamed it, could I? What day is it?!
There must be something... proof that this was real. I stumbled out of the barracks and ran to the landlord's office, where he kept the town's newspapers for trade news. My hands trembled as I reached for the top one on the pile.
The paper was old, rough, smelling faintly of smoke and damp ink. I rubbed my thumb across the title and saw the letters smear. This kind of paper hadn't been used in years…
My eyes went to the date printed at the top—November 10, 1853—I froze.
I remember that date; it was less than two weeks before the prince arrived in the plaza of this village. Scanning the newspaper headlines, my stomach dropped after reading a crucial line: "Royal heir to tour southern provinces, according to official palace statement”.