Chapter 1

In the land of elemental beings, several kingdoms were established according to their remarkable origins. Over hundreds of years, each region evolved in terms of gaining merit, connections, and status. Although there were some kingdoms that made a grand repute for themselves, only two stood tall with overarching powers. Those were the Woodland Realm, Tallis, and the Night Realm, Dremine. The two were renowned for their competitive nature against each other as rivals, since no other were crazy enough nor were able to keep up with them despite exceptional efforts.

As if this wasn't enough, it was less than a joyous occasion for the lower realms to hear faint rumors of a kin from Tallis and Dremine to forge an alliance together. They simply dreaded it and would rather undergo another bloodbath than hear a whisper of anything related to the Princess Donna and Prince Keyon.

They weren't the only ones who were displeased with this news, however. Back in the lightless Night Realm, deep within the woods and passed the castle barriers, all through to one of the lounge rooms in the north wing, the royal family held a discussion.

"Leave us," the crowned man ordered, he was none other than the ruler of this expanse.

At the wave of his hand, the shadow dismissed itself in an eerie manner, drifting out towards the hallway as the dark oak door slowly closed. It was pointless though, since not long after someone came bursting in the room, "Father, I came as soon as I received your message from my military base. What's going on?" the female asked with a sense of urgency, to which the Queen raised her hand, causing her to immediately stop talking. "Calm down, Camilla, it is not polite to barge into rooms. You of all people should know this. Also, it was already trouble enough for me to have told you to change out of your armor. The least you could do is act like a proper lady for a few minutes, you are a princess after all," the woman reminded harshly as she was seated on the single armchair, revealing her obvious habit of stroking her silver ring whenever her only daughter wasn't showing discipline.

"Oh… sorry mother," the young princess excused herself, sending over a brief curtsy before scolding herself on the spot as they waited for the remaining to arrive. As if on accord, the sound of metal clanking caught their attention as the door opened to welcome their eldest child and son, "Apologise for the late arrival, mother, father." The male bowed, oozing an aura of great elegance and charisma; his entrance certainly pleased the King to see such a perfect heir. As his amethyst eyes scanned the room, the older male turned towards his parents, "If I'm not mistaken, this is a family meeting. Where is Marshall?" they asked, earning a dismissive head shake from the King before he laid his eyes upon his two eldest children.

"He is busy right now since I've given him a task to complete. Don't worry, I've already told him of the news. You two were busy serving the Kingdom so I decided to tell you a little later… do you remember your cousin's engagement?" the King explained, causing them both to perk up at the mention of Donna.

"Yes, of course. She is to be betrothed with Prince Keyon, isn't that right? I'm happy for her, she has found someone special," Ayu smiled except for Camilla, who only cringed at the mention of marriage, "I'm glad to hear you think so," the Queen added. The moment felt fulfilled until a thought popped into Camilla's head, "What about Marshall? Him and I for one, still have our suspicions of that man…not to say the Woodland Realm of all kingdoms. How do we know this isn't another scheme of theirs?" she commented, crossing her arms firmly. The room went quiet at the brought-up topic of grudges. "Camilla, please. We've already gone over this; your brother has given his wishes for Donna and so should you. Don't you want her to live comfortably?" the Queen's question caught her off guard.

Of course, she wanted her easily lovable cousin to have a happy ending, but it still disturbed her how accepting everyone was despite the dark history they shared with those people.

"I do…" the silver-haired female muttered, earning a pleasant smile from all of them.

"Then it's settled, I've just received a message from the King of Tallis; we have been invited to their Realm to stay for three nights," the King stated.

"What?! Who will protect the Kingdom if we're away?" she exclaimed, only lowering her voice once she felt a glare thrown towards her way.

"Your brother, Ayu, will stay here and protect our barriers when we're away." He stated, causing her to quickly protest, "Wait, Father! I can tend to our army. Why don't you just bring Marshall and Ayu along instead?" she claimed desperately, but they weren't planning on changing their schedule.

"No, my word is final. You are to come as a representative of our family with exceptional behaviour and etiquette. Understand?" he demanded, leaving no room for denial. After coming to an agreement, they separated once more.

"…I can't believe he's doing this to me! What have I done wrong? I'm the chief commander of the Eastern wing, he can't just make me abandon my branch like that!" the furious princess exclaimed, her hand tightened around the crystal pin that once held her braid together.

"Well, what do you expect? You came waltzing in the palace in full silver amour with blood dripping down the tip of your sword. Talk about giving mother a heart attack. Father is probably punishing you for that," Ayu states, turning towards his sister with his hands behind his back.

"Whatever, I'll prove to him I'm better off in the military than becoming some noble's wife," she clicked her tongue then headed towards the door.

"Oh? Good luck doing that in your dress and porcelain shoes," the male chuckled, earning a death stare. It was obvious that she had a worse temper compared to him, to which was clear as he felt something fly pass his face at the speed of light.

"Oops, my hands slipped," the young girl apologised, her eyes showed a clear shade of anger as it glowed vibrant lavender and she left the room after having thrown the hair pin at him, though it ended up becoming stuck to the wall. He was left to stand there, wondering where all this audacity comes from.

——————

On the other side of all this was the Woodland realm. A mysterious Kingdom, filled with dirty rumors and secrets.

Through the bright halls of the palace, contrary to the Nightrealm, a young prince can be found in the huge library of the kingdom.

Porcelain white skin, soft and delicate features with rose pink irises and hair. It was the 2nd prince of Tallis, Kiel.

The prince let out a sigh, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear as he leaned on his chair.

"I really don't get anything" he complains.

"Mmm, you were never really the type to read situations well" a friend of his, Yuran, states.

The prince glares at him before closing the book and tossing it aside. "I'm done for the day" he gets up from his seat.

"You'll have a family meeting right? Wonder what it's about.. although Prince Keyon has been acting strange lately. I rarely see him" Yuran comments.

The prince shrugs "probably busy dealing with matters involving other kingdoms. How am I supposed to know? They never tell me anything." He says before sighing "safety my ass" he complains.

"You shouldn't say things like that, especially here. Or else I'd get scolded, they'd say I influenced you!" Yuran places a hand on his hip.

Kiel let's out a laugh and rolls his eyes playfully "alright I'll get going" he starts to walk out the library.

Yuran follows him "wait for me" he chases after the prince and Kiel lets out another sigh. He used to live separately. Living peacefully surrounded by butlers and maids, they were his family for a while until his family called for him to stay in the kingdom about 4 years ago.

They assigned Yuran as a body guard who ended up being his friend. "You know, there's some rumors that the reason the king and queen don't show you off is because you're… how should I say this.. hideous?" Yuran playfully grins and lets out a snicker since there was no way that was true, for the young prince looked like an angel in his view.

Kiel couldn't help but chuckle at that as they walked through the hallway to the dining room where they gather. They were in front of the door and Yuran opens the door for him. "You're late" the king says. Kasa bows "Apologies, father. I was caught up in my studies" the prince spoke, looking down.

"Smile, Kiel" the Queen spoke, crossing her arms.

Kiel sighs "right.." he looks up with a smile. "I apologize".

He walks towards his seat, side eyeing his brother.

In the dining room, a few officials sat. It was a rare occurrence and Kiel wasn't exactly sure what the occasion was.

"Ok we can start" The King starts and looks at his eldest son. Keyon nods before announcing; "I have agreed with princess Donna of the night realm. We've been seeing each other for quite some time and we have confirmed our engagement. Both kingdoms have given their blessing. I've talked to father about it as well, if there are any concerns or objections according to this matter, please voice them now".

Kiel raises an eyebrow in amusement, as the side of his lips curl upward. This was the last thing he expected.

"I'm happy for you brother, although if I may ask. Are you marrying for love or for the sake of an alliance?" He asks innocently.

Keyon turns to him "For love of course. Does it not seem that way?"

Kasa lightly tilts his head, a small smile still marking his face "would I have asked if it did?"

Keyon looked at him silently, not understanding his intentions. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I probably sound stiff. I feel overwhelmed and pressured to announce this news." He reasons before looking around "is there anything?" He asked and there was silence.

The king looked at his sons in amusement yet he looked at Kiel for a longer time. "It's settled then. If no one opposes then we can schedule a meeting with them. We've agreed to meet in 4 days" the King explains.

The Queen looks at him and nods. "I expect everyone to be of your best behavior. Adelinde and Keyon will handle the preparations" the king explains and looks at the maids and butlers, meaning to listen and wait for the mother and son's plans. They nod and bow in acknowledgment. "You are dismissed. Leave us" The king orders and watches as everyone except the royal family leaves.

Kiel was about to get up as well but was stopped by his mother. He looked at her in confusion before hesitantly sitting back down.

After the officials and maids left, there was a sickening silence in the room. Kiel shifted on his seat from the awkward atmosphere and tried to lean back comfortably.

"Kiel dear, I expect you to be at your best behavior during the meeting alright? I expect no flaws and never falter" Adelinde tells him.

Kiel looks at her "I understand. I'll do my best" he gives her a reassuring smile.

"And I'll expect the best" Adelinde says before she was handed papers and documents regarding the event and the soon to be wedding. It consisted of information about the bride along with her family and kingdom. Keyon was also handed some papers to sign and fill up regarding the engagement. The King watches them before getting up, his attendant quickly rushing to his side. "I'll leave you both to it. I'll head out first to tend to some matters. Kiel, don't forget about your task. I'll be asking the head butler to monitor you" with that, the king picks up his sword, handing it over to his knight before heading out of the room.

Kiel sighs and gets up a few seconds after the king left the room. "Kiel dear, is it alright if I trouble you to hand this letter over to Leila?"

Kiel turns towards her, "of course, I don't mind" he smiles and takes the letter.

"Thank you, dear"

Kiel leaves the room to find Yuran standing by the door and following him to wherever he was headed. Kasa headed to the office right outside the castle and a group of knights had to accompany him. The 2nd prince rarely went out as he simply wasn't allowed to.

He headed to Leila and handed the letter over to the her. "Ah, Kiel, oh my how- I cant believe I had to make you come over like this" Leila quickly fixes the messy documents on the table.

"It's quite alright, I'm grateful to be able to help the Queen with even the smallest task" Kiel smiles politely. "And it's an opportunity for me to get some fresh air. If it is alright I actually want to go around the village for a bit? They wouldn't allow it if I requested but maybe if you ask them in my stead?"he smiles shyly and a little pleadingly.

"Ah, I'm sorry dear but you know I can't do that" Leila says.

"Ah..it's alright, I understand" Kiel smiles and bows. At least he tried. "Them, I'll be taking my leave, have a nice day Ms. Leila" Kasa says before turning to Yuran as they talked about some things, mostly Kiel silently complaining to him about not being able to go out.

Eventually, the common people began to gather outside out of curiosity from the sight of the Imperial knights "Oh my? Why are there so many royal knights" a passerby asks. "I heard from someone that the prince is here? I've never seen him before, did he already leave?" Another person says.

A knight knocked on the door and entered "Your highness, I'm afraid there are a lot of people outside. I hate to inconvenience you but we must pass through the back" The knight bows. "Oh? I think it's quite alright for me to pass through the front. I don't think they mean any harm" Kiel spoke innocently as he tries to hide a grin at his request.

"But- your highness-" the knight tries to reason.

"It's a request. I want to meet the people" Kiel smiles. "I-" before the knight could turn down the request, Yuran spoke "I don't think we have the right to turn down a direct request from the prince" Yuran smiles politely as the knight still looks unsure but eventually complies.

"I will take the blame if anything happens." Kiel reassures the knight as he walks towards the door, the knight opening the door for him.