The Glory of an Empire, Chapter 1
#3 of The Glory of an Empire
Welcome to part one comrade sentients. Same as before, no copying, please. But at least there is no yiffing or violence in this section of my little endevorous story. Yiffing to come though ; 3 But there is a little M/M cuddling, so if that bothers you, read it anyway and you might like it afterall. After all, it is an aquired trait of sorts. Anyhow, one with ze show!
Chapter One:
Such a delightful little birth I had, no? Ja, I didn't think so. Well then, let's get this train wreck moving. I matured just like any other young pup, except for the fact that I locked in the palace at all times and never spoke with who I thought was my real father, Dietrich V. At the age of twelve I finally started to hate the palace. I longed for freedom, Sergeant Wolf always had new stories to tell me when he returned from a tour of duty. He was the closest thing I ever had to a father. I still remember when he would bounce me on his knee and sing songs from the soldiers. Even though I had the royal treatment of a Prince and his own son was still treated as a servant.
But his own son, Krys Wolf, came to be my very best friend, along with my older brother Dietrich VI, who we just called Six. We all laughed and played as children, the adventures we shared were more than extraordinary. Those are the memories that I will remember the rest of my life, no matter how wretched it is.
"Kiro wake up! Common! It's time to get up now!"
Of course I was not ready to wake; the sun had not yet reached the top of the sky. I growled at my intruder, who by now was bouncing up and down at the side of my bed. I pulled a pillow over my face.
"Krys I'm too tired, just let me sleep, please."
"Oh no, I don't think so. Cause last time we let you sleep, you slept the whole day, and we never got to play! And you promised we would go frog hunting today!"
Krys jumped on the bed some more, and shouted for me to get my lazy self up a few more times to the point where I just gave up, jumped out of bed, and tackled him.
"Ah Kiro! Kiro stop biting me, it hurts, and get off your squishing me!"
"No, you're my prisoner now and you have to do exactly what I say. Now go get my clothes for the day!"
"Kiro it doesn't work like that, I'm older than you."
I climbed off of Krys and folded my arms, it just wasn't fair! He was only a little older than me, yet it worked every time.
"Just cause your older than me, doesn't mean you can boss me around Krys."
Krys looks at me with a smirk, and hoods hid eyes.
"Yes, it does Kiro, you should know that by now. Now get dressed, and we will meet you by the pond like usual."
Stupid Krys and him being older than me. Of course I was cross about Krys always telling me what to do, especially since I was technically a Prince and he was just some servant. I changed out of my night clothes and put on my tunic and pants, play clothes as they were. I was at this time still in a puzzle as to what made me so vulnerable to that stupid friend of mine. Ah alas I couldn't stay mad at him; he was my best friend, and almost a brother to me. At this point I noticed my tail was wagging, and as embarrassed as I was I still made my way down to the pond.
"Kiro you idiot get down!"
A Paw grabbed my tunic and pulled me to the ground behind a bush in front of our pond. There was Six and Krys, both intensely watching the pond with a strong gaze.
"Kiro, Krys, we have to be careful. I was talking to some of the guards who were on patrol outside of the palace and they said they got into some trouble with some bandits. They told me that bandits could never get into these walls, but we still have to be careful. So we should definitely be on our top guard, it's our duty as loyal subject."
I turned to my brother and looked at him with eyes of disbelief. I was angry that my brother would lie to me like that.
"Brother you're lying! We all know nothing could get past these walls. Only the best of father's guards are stationed here."
"No Kiro you must believe me, I heard it from a guard myself! The biggest problem is you don't even realize it is them till the last moment, they are often in disguise. You could just be strolling along, minding your own business when out of nowhere they jump you!"
Well of course I jumped; I had the tolerance for suspense like a five year old girl.
"Yes, they get you! They hold you by the neck and tear from you your every last inside! Your blood curdling screams heard by no one but for the trees and the grass!"
I was hiding my head in my shirt whilst Krys was admiring the thought of adventure with large fascinating eyes uttering the childish phrase "Whooooaaa!" Brother then noticed that I had started to cry and pat me on the back of my head, now knowing how he had really scared me.
"Oh Kiro I didn't mean to scare you like that, you know I was only joking."
I wipe the tears from my eyes and then look up at my eldest brother with hope of new found peace. Six places a paw on my shoulder.
"Yeah, it will be fine Kiro, you have both Krys and I to protect you. We will always be here to protect you, and you know that. Right Krys?"
Brother turns to Krys to find him in awe over the adventurous thoughts of killing bandits, and laying their bloody guts all over the clean floor, with sudden utters of "Whoooaaa!" Dietrich VI nudges him with his elbow.
"Oh yeah, um protection, being nice, and all that stuff. Oh look frog!"
We all snap our head to the direction that Krys had pointed out. Oh the prize was one of amazement. It had to be the shiniest, slimiest, and skinniest of all the frogs I had ever seen. The fat ones weren't worth much because they were easy to catch, but the skinny ones, oh they were so difficult to nab. But if you could catch one, everyone was jealous of you, and cook would make you something special to eat for dinner then. The trick was not to kill it though, if you did, not only would you get no prize, but Frou Wolf would get angry with you, and when she gets angry, the skies turned black and thundered her voice. So we all grabbed baskets that we could throw over it and trap it!
"Ok Kiro you block the door so it doesn't get into the palace, I will stand by the corner there, and Krys you chase it to me."
"Oh that's real fair."
"Well it's every wolf for himself then!"
We all scattered in a frenzy of trying to catch the ultimate prize, each one of us running into each other and the various tools around the garden. I actually caught it once, but it was too slimy and jumped right from my paw. But everyone else had gone elsewhere to look, and had lost sight of the prey. But I saw right where it was, and I followed it right into the palace. I tried to get my basket over it, but it was much too fast. I jumped right into a door, and got right back up and went into that room. I silently followed it, creeping ever so softly. I entered the room, and just when I got in there, it had jumped out the window.
"Damn!"
I cursed under my breath.
"Aren't you a little young to be cursing, boy?"
I didn't even notice the wolf sitting at the desk, with his monocle in his eye, glancing over the papers on his desk. The silent tick tock of a clock was the only noise in the room now.
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
Just as I turned to leave, the wolf called out again.
"Where do you think you are going? I'm not finished with you."
I turned around, I really did it this time, and I'm in deep trouble. Who is this wolf anyway? I am a prince after all, and he has no right to address me like this.
"First of all young wolf."
He takes tobacco from a small box that he stuffs a pipe with and light it, taking small puffs from it.
"You should always knock on a door that you are unfamiliar with before entering."
"Ja wool, it won't happen again."
"Wait, I'm still not finished. Second, never bring wild animals into the palace, they make an awful mess of the clean floors, and thirdly, you should know to address your Kaiser properly, with a bow."
The Kaiser?! I've never seen him before, let alone speak to him. The servants are very good at making sure I stay away from his path and sight. My heart sank, I felt like I was going to faint.
"I... I..."
"What is your name anyway boy? You seem awful familiar..."
The Kaiser dropped the pipe from his muzzle and let it fall to the floor, breaking in two pieces. The few seconds we spent staring at each other, felt like hours. The constant tick tock of the great clock in the study was the only noise, a pin could be heard if dropped onto the floor. He then stood from his desk, and slowly walked over to me. He knelt on one knee in front of me, and placed his arms around me. He whispered to me, as a tear ran down his cheek.
"Kiro... My son, I am so sorry."
At first I was taken aback by his sudden move to hug me, but it felt right, like he was serious. So I returned the clasp. The Kaiser, I never imagined him like this, in such a sorry state and I never would have imagined the Kaiser would kneel to anyone.
"Kiro, you have grown so much since we last met. So many tears have been shed, since we last met. You are the only one who could ever give me peace, and accept my sorrow."
"I do not understand, mien Kaiser."
"Kiro, you are young, but you are strong, you have her eyes, and you have her strength. Kiro listen to me, and listen well. Kiro the night you were born, I was mistaken, I had thought you mother had betrayed me, and so my son, I had killed her."
My heart stopped, the world seemed to slow, almost to a halt. My mother, I had never known what had happened to her, nor my father. Now kneels before me, the answer to the question, the murderer. I let go of his grip and looked into his eyes, he was truly sorry, but just couldn't forgive him. He stole my mother from me, he killed her.
"I'm so sorry son, please, forgive me."
I just couldn't, I just couldn't let this go.
"I... I can't"
I ran from him, I ran as fast as my legs would take me. I didn't even know what I was doing; my body just knew what to do. I threw my door closed and locked the dead bolt. I jumped in my bed, and buried my face into the pillows. I had never even known what my mother looked like, and my father who I had not known until now was the one responsible. My mind screamed revenge, to get back for the deed committed against me, but my heart said to forgive. He was truly sorry, and his pain from guilt was punishment far more wounding than vengeance. But I still mourned my mother.
The sun set and I still had lain in my bed thinking of what my real mother would have been like, she must have been beautiful. Then I heard a rattling at the door, as if someone was trying to get in. After the failed attempt at entry, a wire came from the crack in the door and unlatched the deadbolt. The door slowly opened after the click of the lock and a head poked through the doorway. It was Krys. I nestled my head back into my pillow.
"Kiro what's the matter? Six and I were worried sick about you, we couldn't find you anywhere, and your door is locked."
He closed the door and re fastened the dead bolt, I still had my head buried in a pillow and couldn't bear to look at anyone now. I heard his footsteps a crossed the floor to the side of my bed, where he knelt at the floor beside me. He ran his digits gently through the black hair on my head. It felt as if all my pain was suddenly taken from me, and a calming wave passed over me, from my head throughout my whole body. He gently whispered in my ear.
"Please Kiro, tell me what is wrong? Who hurt you?"
I took my head from my pillow still sobbing, as Krys dried my eyes with a loose handkerchief.
"My mother, she was murdered. That's why I never had one."
"Who would do that? How do you know?"
"I met the Kaiser, and he was crying. He hugged me and told me that he made a mistake and killed her on accident."
"Oh Kiro I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this fate. I would have rather it been me."
"No Krys, I would not have survived this long without you. You are the closest thing I have ever had to some sort of family, aside from Katie and Herr Ludwig."
Krys brushed the black hair from my eyes and wiped the sobbing tears.
"I know Kiro, thank you for considering me family. I had always hoped you would call me that some day."
Krys had patted me on the head and had whispered good night to me.
"Krys wait, please don't go. I'm scared."
"Alright, this once."
Krys steps to the other side of the bed and pulls back the sheets and climbs in. He pulls the sheets over himself and I. Then he clasps his arms around me, and gently sighs. For the first time in my life, I finally felt... ...peace.
Votes and comments appreciated! Danke!