Crown prince Etraon was painfully aware of the fact that having your mother brush your reddish-orange hair in public, no matter how handsome she claims you’ll look afterward, was embarrassing the minute you turn ten. Being coddled in public was something that he was determined to have outlawed; well, he would, just as soon as he was old enough to understand the language on all those papers that his father had to leaf through every morning. When he mentioned this to his mother, she encouraged him to do so, that he was very wise indeed, but that it was the queen’s job to love her son. She had said this all in that warm, honey-toned voice that made it very hard to disagree, regardless of the amount of embarrassment one felt afterwards. He very quickly took up the habit of brushing his hair in the morning, but began to question, as he passed his smiling mother, who really won in the end. She seemed a little too pleased at the change and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.

On his way to play with his friends, Etraon would often pass the kitchen. Large, low-beamed with stone walls that kept in the heat of the roaring fires that the head cook had to shout over to be heard filled the room with all kinds of noise that Etraon found fascinating. As royalty, particularly, the crown prince, he had been told countless times to watch his tone, to watch his volume when in public, to control his emotions, and above all, his facial expression. The method of communication within the kitchens was anything but. Cooks that stood by pots on hot flames were typically red-faced due to the heat, made even more confusing as one could never really tell if they were simply conversing or if a fight was about to break out. Occasionally, and inevitably, shouting escalated to fighting and Etraon would tactfully retreat from the kitchen to visit other, safer quarters of the castle.

Some of these quarters belonged to Derek and his family. The most important man in the castle, aside from his father, Emperor Utarion, was Derek, his advisor. He was a very serious man, neither tall nor short, who knew where he stood on everything. His very presence often commanded the room. He treated Etraon respectfully since birth, but Utarion had encouraged him to view Etraon as his own son and to advise him as such. Derek had hesitated at first, though with Utarion’s continued badgering and his own growing affection for the crown prince, their conversations soon became very much like one between a boy and his father. Etraon knew of Derek’s wisdom, having seen it firsthand every time he entered the throne room, and valued it greatly and sought it quite often.

“Perhaps, Etraon, it would have been best to devote your energy to thinking about a solution instead of getting angry about the situation,” he would advise. “Your mother might not have punished you quite so harshly if she had not seen your unwillingness to apologize on your face.”

“I had no such expression,” Etraon would insist stubbornly.

“You and I both know that’s not entirely true. You were very angry that day, Etraon,” Derek would respond with a knowing smile. “I myself would be hard pressed to swallow my pride in that situation and your mother is especially skilled at seeing what’s in your heart translate to your face.” Try as he might, Etraon had nothing to say after that.

And so, it continued. Derek began instructing the prince in the qualities that he had observed from Utarion, teaching him tact, diplomacy, and the best way to avoid having others find loopholes in commands. Interestingly enough, Utarion was doing the same, but in reverse, to Derek’s son, Lance, as well as his own. Before long, the two boys had a similar level of friendship to what their fathers had cultivated over a great many years.

As the Crown Prince, Etraon’s companions were carefully monitored before he was truly allowed to befriend them with his parents’ blessing. Utarion explained to him that this was not done due to any sense of decorum or superiority, but that a child, in addition to characteristics he was born with, would absorb the qualities and habits of his peers. In addition, he added, a certain level of trust would be built as they grew up, and it was essential that Etraon develop these friendships with the right people. There were many children in the castle, as the birthrate had increased over the course of several years of peace, but two in particular were often seen in wake of the prince.

The first of these, of course, was Derek’s son, Lance. Tall for his age, and just skinny enough to be considered as such, it was a running joke among them that he was beginning to resemble the weapon that shared his name. Good-natured, as one could tell by the fact that he put up with that terrible joke, Lance simply remarked that he had every intention of choosing that weapon as his principal as soon as he was old enough to join the army. Etraon was convinced that this decision was borne solely from spite, but he never quite felt the need to ask for confirmation.

Lance had an easy-going, disarming manner about him that endeared him to all and many children in the castle viewed him as an older brother figure of sorts. His own rank among the children was second only to the princes as he was the son of the head advisor, but Lance often reminded them that his family did not, in fact, possess much of the royal bloodline, save his many times over great-grandmother who had been the youngest princess at the time. The kindness with which he treated the other children inspired Etraon to do likewise. After all, children become trend followers at one time or another and Utarion was greatly pleased when Etraon declared his intentions one evening at dinner. Etraon was still too young to realize it, but what he thought was a trend was going to serve him well in the future as an extremely rare character trait.

The second was Aurelius, Etraon’s cousin. Utarion and his wife, Lilith, cared for the boy deeply, as his parents had passed in a tragic accident when he was younger, and they raised him as their own. The nation had mourned the death of the lovely Princess Danica, Aurelius’s mother, as her sunny disposition and angelic appearance was well-known throughout the empire. Aurelius was always asking questions, searching for answers, and was more often than not, seen running about the halls in his ‘quests’, as he called them. He was an odd sight to see every morning, peering deeply into bushes where he was sure a bird had made its nest, or looking the castle guards up and down in his attempts to decide whether sweat or rain was the cause of rust on their armor. Most pursuits were harmless, though many were often accompanied by the dirtying of freshly mopped floors with footprints of soot or mud and a general shared opinion that Aurelius simply had no sense of personal space. He was often caught and subjected to some light form of punishment every time, but his happiness at every accomplishment was infectious. His seemingly carefree attitude was not the focus of Utarion’s attentions, but his brightness, optimism, and humility was something that Utarion very much hoped would rub off on Etraon over time as it was far too easy for Lance and Etraon to get into their own heads and take things too seriously.

Blond-haired, green eyed, Aurelius was extremely handsome even as a child, having inherited his mother’s features, and a simple pout from him when he was caught often let him get away with just a light warning. It was he who would often end up with extra treats from the maids and he would bring them along on his quests, very often pulling food out at seemingly random times from among his clothes. While no one could keep him from keeping on with his quests, he genuinely felt bad about inconveniencing others and offered to help in the cleaning of all his messes. These offers sometimes made the halls messier, as chores didn’t come second nature to him and he had a tendency to speed through without much attention to detail, but he received critique well and was always willing to redo a job that wasn’t up to par with the head maid’s standards. Because of this, no one really minded his adventures.

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Author's Note:

Hello, lovely humans! Elfarine here. Thank you for stopping in to read what's hopefully the first book of a trilogy, "Flight" (The Kitesong Trilogy). This is a fresh start of a project that began well over a decade ago...These characters have been living in my head rent-free for many years at this point, and I would like to push these baby birds out of the nest so that they can finally fly and be free ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ I hope you come to love them as much as I do.

This story was originally created back when I was in high school and has evolved many times in the past decade or so...but don't think like...Pichu > Pikachu > Raichu. More like...ALL THE EEVEES.

Many thanks to my super-talented artist friend, Blizz-Mii for drawing the characters for me (as seen in the novel's cover). It gives me a way to gaze upon my darling babies like a proud mum and I'm forever thankful.

Additonal thanks to friends that have loved these characters over the years and to my amazing husband, chorte, whose continued encouragement and support is the main reason this project is finally making it online.

xoxo,

Elfarine