Kingdom of Creatures [Discontinued]

Chapter 9: Way Back When

It all began... Back when we were 10. Or, more likely when we were 7.

I was just a little kid. I didn't know what to do. All I did was live in the kingdom with my mom and dad as the little prince without a care in the world. Everyone loved me. I just ran around through the halls and down the streets and people would watch me zoom past and laugh. Sometimes they'd stop me and give me things. It was nice.

But, then, by the time I was about 7, we went to war with another kingdom. The kingdom was called Erei, if I recall correctly. They were just filled with tyrants and thieves. Just a place that bad people were created; born or raised. They got too greedy and kept stealing from us and all of our allies, so we went in to fight and end their evil acts once and for all.

I, however, being a little boy and the only heir to the throne, was forced to stay back at the kingdom. I waited patiently in the castle on my father's throne, waiting for them to return. The only company I had was the guards, who stood there silently, paying little to no attention to me. I got lonely, sometimes. But did I have a choice? No; there weren't many other little kids like me in the kingdom. And most of them tried to steal from me when I brought them over to the castle to play with them.

But that all changed when my parents came back from the fight. They brought something back that changed my life forever.

I remember running down the steps in front of the castle to see the army walking back through the gates, and my parents up in front on their horses. What my mother had with her surprised me.

I ran up to their side and noticed another child, a bit younger than me. He looked as if he was only behind about a year. He had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes that looked down upon me with intense confusion. I bet I had the same dumb look on my face. But, when he smiled, I couldn't help but smile right back at him.

And I remember my dad chiming in and saying, "Jordan, this is your brother, Aleks."

I didn't know if they had him while they were gone, if they had found him, or if he had been hidden away from me for all those years. But, now I know that he was found in the ruins of Erei after the war. They said that he was trapped underneath one of the burning houses and decided that they could take him in. That's what I was told, at least. At that age, I could've believed anything I was told.

My parents knew I was lonely but could never spend much time with me between running the kingdom and all. And, hey, if anything bad ever happened to one of us, there'd be another heir to the throne.

So Aleks became my brother. At first, we didn't like each other that much. I would keep my toys and trinkets from his grasp after he had tried to put his grubby little hands on them, but he'd scream and yell and my parents would force me to share.

I hated the sudden change, and hated him coming into my life. He just kept trying to fit in and be nice to me, but I didn't like it. I didn't trust him. Sooner or later, though, we had begun to get along. We spent every minute together and I no longer had to run around alone.

We were always up to something. Aleks liked to steal things a lot and claimed that it gave him a rush. I didn't like it at all and tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn't. Soon enough I got drawn into it as well, even after how hard I had tried to stop him. I would steal apples and other small things from carts every once in a while, while he went big and pickpocketed passerbys. Aleks would just keep stealing, and soon he got caught. But, he dumped the goods onto me when he got the chance, and I was the one who got in trouble. Hell, I don't know how he did it, and I may never know the secret, but he did it somehow. My parents were deeply ashamed, and Aleks just stood there at my side while I got scolded with a stupid grin on his face. I'll never be able to erase the image from my mind.