Cursed Wings

~The Fated Children and the Earl's Promise~

As with all fairy tales, this story takes place once upon a time in a far away land ruled by the good King Mana. Under his reign, the king's people lived in peace and prosperity, the danger of war and civil dispute far from the minds of even the most skeptical of the villagers. Still, Mana was growing old. He'd never married, and as such, he never produced an heir to his throne.

Then, one Christmas before the King retired to his bedchamber, a servant hurried toward him carrying a bundle carefully wrapped and squirming in her arms. Mana was surprised to learn that it was a child: A small baby boy, barely 6 months old with a peculiar scar upon his eye and a small tuft of white hair upon his head. Even more puzzling was the note attached with the child addressed to him from an unknown source. It stated the following:

This child was the son of your most recently deceased brother. Please accept his final will and raise this boy as your own. Let your kingdom be ruled not by the shadow of some other monarch, but by this little piece of your beloved brother.

With shaking hands and tears in his eyes, the king carefully scooped up the tiny boy and cradled him in his arms. A small deformed hand reached out to him and the king smiled warmly.

He named the child Allen.

News of the king's mysterious heir quickly spread, and soon Kings and Queens from all over came to see the baby Prince. Among them were the Lee family with their children, 8-year-old Prince Komui and little Princess Lenalee, who happily clung to her brother with shaky toddler steps. The Great Scribe and his boy assistant, Lavi, had also attended to record these mysterious events. More so the old man rather then his bubbly red-haired apprentice, who was eagerly exploring the grounds with excitement and the smallest twinkle of mischief gleaming in his non patched green eye. More importantly there was the King Tiedoll and his young son, Prince Kanda.

The quiet, dark haired youth approached the cradle of Prince Allen with an air of curiosity. He stared down at the baby who continued to play with a small wooden rattle, happily giggling and cooing as babies did. Then the child paused, as if sensing the older boy's gaze and blinked up. Large grey eyes stared into Kanda's own cobalt blue. Then baby smiled and laughed again, pointing happily up at a now confused and slightly hesitant Kanda.

The young prince soon realized what was the cause for Allen's delight as he heard Lenalee clap her own hands behind him and chant, "Rabi! Rabi!" Said scribe's apprentice was standing directly behind him, making goofy faces and hand gestures around his stoic companion. The pleasant chatter of the Great Ballroom was instantly shattered as Kanda ran after the pesky red-head knocking over several waiters and sending platters of food to scatter everywhere in their chase.

For some inexplicable, seeing the children together, namely Allen and Kanda, sparked an idea between the Lees, Tiedoll, and Mana. It was decided that Lenalee, Allen, and Kanda would be brought together each summer in hopes that they would become the best of friends and unite their kingdoms in a great alliance that would further enrich their lands. The Great Scribe would of course bring his eager trainee along to observe them.

Unknown to the happy parents was another plot taking place deep within the darkest corners of the kingdom. The Great Millennium Earl and his family, the Noah, had been scheming to take control over Mana's kingdom, and eventually overpower the neighboring kingdoms surrounding it. Allen's arrival meant little to them as the Earl was a powerful practitioner of dark magic and had taught his children well. In their secret lair, the enchanters carefully laid out a plan in which they would overthrow and kill Mana and his son, and stake their claim to his lands.

However, Mana's departed sibling had gotten wind of his plans, and before his death, he left what he knew in the hands of Mana's Captain, Cross Marian, in charge of this information. On night of the assault, Mana's personal guard led by Cross attacked and set about destroying whatever dark crafts and books they could find. The Earl and his followers were arrested, and despite the urging of his kingdom and his advisers, Mana let the Earl live. He and his family were escorted under heavy surveillance on horseback and banished into the Dark Forest resting on the edge of the land. As the Earl and his followers were release, the oldest son, Cyril laughed pleasantly.

"My, I do believe these cuffs cut off my blood circulation. You may want to instruct your guards not to man handle royalty like this, your majesty."

"Yeah, that's great," drawled Cross pointing his gun at the Earl. "We'll keep that in mind next time you come for tea. Now get the hell out of here before I 'accidentally' pull the trigger."

"Please, Cross," Mana held out an arm to silence his captain. He then gazed sternly at the Earl who was still smiling amiably back at him. "Leave, and may you never return to my boarders again."

"Oh, I'm not finished with you yet, Mana~ Not with you and certainly not with your great allies," The Earl grinned, a slightly sinister look crossing his features. "Someday, I'll get our powers back. And once I do, everything you own and love shall be mine~"

With that the fat old man skipped ahead into the woods followed closely by his minions, all laughing and waving cheerfully as they vanished into the darkness of the forest. Cross lowered his rifle slowly and veered his horse around to face the king.

"He's serious, you know. About coming back."

"Yes..." Mana lowered his eyes, troubled. "There is nothing we can do now, but wait… and have hope."

Many feared that the king was too kind in his methods. But as time passed, the threat faded in the back of the back of everyone's mind, and all thoughts now fell to that fateful summer when the children would finally reunite…

A pity no one could foresee the disasters that awaited them.

To be continued...

That prologue went too quickly, I think. May have to go back and amend that...

Anyway, so the obvious main character roles are Allen and Kanda as Odette and Derick, but notice we have Lavi and Lenalee there beside them. I can't say much, but I will tell you that there are two swans in this story. It will all come together (I hope) later in the fic.

Please feel free to comment on any errors you find, and see you next chapter!