Chapter 1-It was Bound to Happen

Megami Aneko maneuvered through the bustling crowd. She scanned the security and chuckled. Slipping through would not be a problem, despite the fact that the security consisted entirely of Royal Guards. Pathetic. She thought. This is the best Tristannia has? Nimbly dodging clumsy elbows, she continued the surveillance of the proceedings. Anxiety was abundant on the faces of the guards. Some nervously shuffled their feet, others talked quietly to each other. The Royal Guard. If they represented the royalty, then this would be much easier than snickered to herself. Almost time. She reached the front of the crowd and was satisfied that no one had taken any notice of her. She had kept her hood up, to keep from being noticed, luckily there was a cold breeze blowing from the northwest for cover. Most of the other cheerful crowd members were dressed in their best, all of their best. They thought they looked wonderful, in their layers of ridiculous clothing. Not that the nobles were any better, decked out in grossly extravagant silks and blazing colors. After studying the guards in the center closely, she decided on a guard in the extreme middle. He was staring at the dirt he kicked up with his boots, oblivious to the clamor about him. She took her place a few feet to the left of him. Satisfied, she crossed her arms and waited for the critical moment.

To King Hallivar's eyes observed the jubilation with pride, and tremendous relief. The ceremony was proceeding like normal. Thousands of village people as well as Tristanian city dwellers had arrived. Prince Darius had somehow managed to stay civil during the early morning ceremony. There were no suicidal terrorists from the outlying territories. Maoilrian had sent a delegate from Lady Adira to represent the province. The sun was out; the weather was absolutely perfect. And unlike his own coronation, no one in the royal court had pox. The memory brought a smile to the king's features.
Hallivar grinned at the memory. The High Priest had been bedridden, as
had his father King Darius III. His mother and a priest with a severe
stuttering problem had had to improvise. It had been the darkest hour
in the history of the Tristan Family.
He looked down the short road that led from the Temple to the Royal
Palace. Horas noticed and saluted from his position near the Gates.
Everything was perfect, everything going precisely as hoped. he knew
something was wrong.

A foot trodded on her favorite silk, cerulean cape, nearly causing her
to fall flat on her face. Wish felt the urge to turn around and punch
the offender, but resisted it for the time being. She had always
detested crowds, and this was only a reminder why. Wish heard
trumpets, jarring her from her thoughts. Despite her height, she had
little advantage in the jostling crowd, and was reduced to peering
around moving, bobbing heads to get a glimpse of the Coronation
Ceremony. This is not going to work.
Wish pushed through the crowd ignoring shouted complaints. At last
she reached the edge of the crowd, just in time for the Ceremony to
begin.

The large iron Gates swung open, sounding of rusty attic doors, and
ended in a large clanking as they smashed into the outer wall. Darius
sniffed in disgust and walked through, half expecting the incompetent
servants to allow them to swing closed.
As soon as Darius stepped out of the calm solitude of the castle, into
the bright chaos awaiting, he could feel his guards tensing, poised to
attack. It did not show outwardly; the crowd wouldn't be able to tell,
lost in this respite from their dull, dreary lives. Darius was just as
tense as his guards, being surrounded by filthy, diseased,
unpredictable peasants.
He strolled down the road, followed closely by his father's guard,
Captain Horas, and his own Televen. They were both tense, the aura of
anxiety nearly tangible. Darius sympathized. He himself felt more
than slightly nervous being surrounded by filthy, diseased, drunken
commoners. Amongst the crowd a refined woman in blue caught his eye.
He couldn't suppress a frown at the discrepancy. All of the nobility
was inside the temple, why was that woman among the trash?

Wish quickly glanced at the King waiting on the steps of the Temple.
He was grimacing and he seemed rather stiff. She frowned and moved
closer to the front of the crowd. Nothing seemed wrong. She returned
her eyes to Prince Darius. She instantly disliked him. He had a
cocky smile on his handsome, but arrogant face. He smirked at the
assembled people, as if he were doing them a favor. For a moment, Wish
almost hoped something would happen, and wipe that smile off his face.
Wish impatiently watched the slow proceedings, snapping her fingers
with annoyance. Her boredom was interrupted when a large man shoved
his way out of the crowd, and knocked Darius off his feet.
Immediately, panic ensued, Royal Guards rushed forward, nobles ran
screaming, and peasants alternated cheering and fleeing. Wish edged
through the crowd, trying to get a glimpse of either Prince Darius, or
the giant man. Instead she saw an exotic looking woman reach up and
catch an arrow out of nowhere.
How did she know that was coming? Wish kicked the person in front of
her as hard as she could. Normally, she never would have done so, but
this was a life or death situation. The man yelped and ran off.

"Get your disgusting peasant body off of me!" Wish smiled and headed
towards the voice. She saw the big lug finally get to his feet, and
offer a hand to the prince. Darius took one look at the callused hand
and hit it away. "Don't touch me!" The Royal Guard ran and pushed the
man away from Darius.
"Your highness are you alright?" One asked worriedly, keeping an eye
on the large peasant. Darius scowled at the guard.

"Yes, no thanks to you. I should have you all dismissed. Or beheaded!"
Darius stalked away. The Royal Guards looked from their charge, and
back to the peasant in confusion. Wish stepped forward and smiled.
"Why don't the rest of you follow him, and two can stay here with this
man." She advised. The guards took one long look at her, shrugged and
obeyed. Wish snuck back through the crowd, making sure the Royal
Guards had caught up with Darius before leaving.

"Can you believe it? That man just leaped on me out of nowhere, I
could have died!" Darius ranted at his father. "It was humiliating,
and."

"I know, will you calm yourself! This is not becoming for a Crown
Prince." Hallivar interrupted.

"You don't care! What if that man had had a knife, or a dagger? Then
maybe you would care! And I'm not officially the Crown Prince, if you
can't remember, the ceremony was interrupted, Father." Darius spat, as
he paced the Royal Chamber. Hallivar sighed heavily, and waved his
hand. "I will not go." Darius stopped with wince.

"Is something wrong, son?" Hallivar asked quietly. Darius looked
suddenly ill, his face had turned completely white, and the usual
arrogance was gone. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine!" Darius snapped. He clutched at his stomach, until he noticed
his father's face etched with concern. Darius' expression hardened,
and he bowed slightly and left the chamber. The King watched him go
with a rueful expression, then turned to his advisor.

"Horas, what do you think that was all about?" Horas shrugged, an
unusual gesture for him.
"I have absolutely no idea, your majesty. I will find out though."
Horas bowed deeply, and followed Darius.
Darius winced again, as his stomach tightened again. He heard
footsteps behind him, and saw Horas following. "I have nothing to say
to you, I am going to my room."