Warrior's Heart

Brother, Where Art Thou?

-Merun-

Father was in another one of his moods. He stood at the edge of the room, a scowl on his face as he watched me spar with my combat instructor. The instructor, a middle-aged man named Larec Shaw, was kicking my ass that day, not that he didn't usually. I wasn't very good in combat, one of the many qualities I possessed that caused my father to deem me unworthy of the throne.

It hurt, to be honest. I hated that he didn't think I was good enough, and honestly strove to do better. But I couldn't make myself into a good fighter with my nose in a book all the time. At least, that's what my best friend Ollya always said. And she was usually right.

Larec attacked again and again. I blocked his blows, but I was losing ground. The next thing I knew, my sword was at my feet and his was at my throat.

"Well that was an absolute failure," Father growled from his corner of the room. Larec lowered his sword, standing up straight. He opened his mouth to speak, but the king continued before he could. "Good job, Merun. You have made an idiot of me once more."

My gaze dropped to the ground as my father continued to berate me.

"Spineless, pathetic excuse for a prince," the king spat. "If you take the throne, it'll be the end of this country."

With that, he stalked from the room. I dropped my sword and left as well, hearing his shouts from down the hall.

"Send out more scouts! Double the reward! I want my first son found at all costs!"

I escaped to my room, sighing as I settled onto the bed. The tears streamed down my cheeks, reinforcing the idea that I was far too weak to be king anyway. And as much as I loved this country and adored the people, my father would never allow me to take the throne.

And that was when I had the most brilliant idea ever. Or perhaps it was the stupidest. I honestly didn't care at the time.

I was going to leave the castle and find my brother. When I defied the odds and did what none of his scouts had been able to do in seven years, my father would have to be proud of me.

Maybe then he would stop seeing me as the screw-up.

***

The next day, I stood at the harbor, my eyes scanning the waves. I had heard rumors of a group of men kidnapping boys and shipping them to Illeium by boat. The alleged kidnappings had begun around the time my older brother Airum had gone missing. Therefore, I would ride a boat up to the port in Illeium, hopefully tracing the steps of my older brother and somehow tracking him down.

"Are you ready to go?" A crewman asked from the deck of the large sailboat, "Or are you just going to stand there all day?"

I snorted sheepishly and made my way onto the boat. It rocked gently as the waves lapped against the shore.

"Welcome aboard, Your Highness!" The crewman exclaimed. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you," I responded softly, adjusting the bag hanging from my shoulder. I had been trying to travel light, choosing to carry only a few essential things. Even so, I had also brought with me a few books. Those were, perhaps, what was weighting the bag down. Even so, I wasn't willing to give them up.

The room I was to stay in wasn't very large. It was at the starboard side of the ship, a porthole in the wall. The room came complete with a bed, pitcher and wash basin. I set my things down on the bed, sighing. This was going to be a really long journey.

***

Once we had left the harbor, I ventured out to explore. Moving about the ship was a little difficult at first, but I adjusted quickly. The ship itself wasn't huge. It was perhaps of average size, meant to carry cargo from Estraleon to Illeium to sell. The crew mates were interesting, although my first impression of them was that they were strange people who drank far too much alcohol.

"Want some rum, boy?" A crewman asked, offering me a flask.

I shook my head, "No, thank you."

Another one laughed, "Can't hold your liquor?"

"I don't drink," I muttered, blushing and moving away from them. My father drank wine casually from time to time, but I had never really cared for alcohol.

Instead, I passed to the bow of the ship, looking out over the waves. We weren't too far from land now, but the shore had disappeared hours ago. I stood at the bow for a long time, the cold air coming off of the ocean and blowing across my face. I closed my eyes, hoping that all this wasn't in vain. If I couldn't find Airum, I would be publicly disgraced as the prince who wasn't good enough for the throne. I suspected that my father would choose to crown one of my cousins, who, of course, were much better at battle strategy and fighting and whatnot. A prince who didn't always have his nose in a book, perhaps.

I sighed softly, wrapping my arms around myself and heading towards my room once more. I read late into the night before finally retiring to bed. Sleep did not come easily, despite the soothing rock of the boat, and I found myself tossing and turning most of the night. Once I finally found sleep, it was restless and tiring, littered with shadows and shattered dreams.