The room was still, save for the faint flicker of the lantern casting long shadows on the walls. Morvane sat in silence, his gaze locked on das, waiting for the promised truth. das leaned back in his chair, his expression distant, as though he were gazing back into a ti long gone.
"It all started when I was a boy," das began, his voice low, almost hesitant. "Long before I ever knew you, before I understood the weight of what it ant to be a prince."
He looked at Morvane, his eyes heavy with mories. "You know I was born into nobility, destined to follow the path laid out for . But what most people don't know is that my childhood was... lonely. The palace was gilded, beautiful, but it was a prison. I was surrounded by tutors, advisors, and expectations—but no friends."
Morvane listened, saying nothing, his curiosity piqued.
"And then," das continued, a faint smile tugging at his lips, "I t her. Hiraya."
"She wasn't noble or educated like the people in the palace. She was just... Hiraya. A commoner girl who lived on the edge of the forest, near the river. We t by chance one day when I wandered too far from the palace gardens. She was climbing a tree, barefoot and fearless, and I was... well, a pampered prince who'd never climbed anything more dangerous than a staircase."
das chuckled softly, the mory bringing a brief lightness to his tone. "She teased for being too afraid to climb. Said I was more 'bird in a cage' than prince. But that didn't stop her from helping up the branches. From that day on, we were inseparable—playmates, best friends, despite everything that should have kept us apart."
Morvane raised an eyebrow, his skepticism creeping in. "And your family just... let this happen? A crown prince playing with a commoner?"
das shook his head. "Not exactly. My parents weren't as strict as most nobles, but they didn't exactly approve. Thankfully, they didn't see Hiraya as a threat—not at first. She was just a child, after all. They thought it was harmless, that I'd grow out of it."
He paused, his expression darkening. "But then... one night changed everything."
Morvane leaned forward slightly, sensing the shift in the story.
"Hiraya invited to play by the river," das said, his voice quieter now. "It was late, and I knew my mother wouldn't allow it. But Hiraya begged, and I didn't want to disappoint her. So I went. We didn't tell anyone. We thought we'd be back before anyone noticed."
He exhaled deeply, the weight of the mory pressing down on him. "We laughed, we played, we chased fireflies by the water. For a mont, I felt free, like I wasn't a prince or a prisoner of the palace. But then, I slipped."
Morvane's eyes widened slightly.
"The river was deeper and faster than it looked. One wrong step, and I was pulled in. I tried to scream, but the water filled my mouth. I was too panicked to think. If Hiraya hadn't been there..." das trailed off, his voice breaking slightly. "She acted fast. She found a long branch, extended it to , and pulled out just before I went under completely."
He closed his eyes briefly, reliving the terror. "I was gasping for air, soaking wet, and trembling. But I was alive because of her. She saved ."
das' expression darkened further. "Unfortunately, we weren't alone. A palace guard had been searching for —apparently, my absence had already caused a commotion. He saw everything. The river, Hiraya, nearly drowning."
Morvane frowned. "So what? She saved you. She didn't do anything wrong."
"To us, it wasn't wrong," das agreed. "But to my family... to the court... it was chaos. The guard reported everything, and my parents were furious. They didn't see Hiraya as my savior. They saw her as the reason I'd been in danger in the first place."
"Why?" Morvane asked, his tone edged with disbelief.
das sighed. "Because to them, Hiraya was a commoner who had no business being in my life. She'd taken away from the safety of the palace, put in harm's way. They didn't care that she'd saved —they only cared that I'd nearly drowned because I followed her."
He clenched his fists, the mory still raw. "That night was the beginning of the end. My parents forbade from seeing Hiraya. They told she was a bad influence, a source of chaos. They said I had to focus on my duties, my future as the crown prince. And Hiraya... Hiraya was cast out, warned never to co near the palace again."
das looked at Morvane, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and sadness. "They didn't see her the way I did. They didn't see the kindness, the courage, the joy she brought to my life. To them, she was a threat—a reminder that I wasn't as controllable as they wanted to be."
Morvane was silent, his expression unreadable. Finally, he spoke. "And you just let them do it? You let them tear you apart?"
das flinched at the words, his gaze dropping. "I didn't want to," he admitted. "But I was a child. I didn't have the power to defy them. All I could do was watch as they destroyed the only real friendship I'd ever known."
The room fell silent again, the weight of das' confession hanging in the air. Finally, he looked up at Morvane, his expression somber.
"That's where it began," he said. "The rift between and my family. The choices I've made since then. And everything that brought us to this mont."
das took a deep breath before continuing his story, his voice laced with bittersweet nostalgia.
"After that night by the river, Hiraya and I were forced apart. My parents made sure of it. They tightened their watch over , and Hiraya was banned from coming anywhere near the palace grounds. We hadn't seen each other for years—not until we were both fifteen."
He looked at Morvane, his expression softening. "That year was special. It was the year of the Awakening—a tradition where all fifteen-year-olds were brought to the arena to discover their latent powers. For most, it was a day of excitent, a celebration of the potential within them. For , it was sothing else entirely. I wasn't excited about my power. I was waiting for sothing else—soone else."
Morvane remained quiet, listening intently as das' voice grew wistful.
"The day finally ca," das continued. "The arena was packed with young nobles, commoners, and everyone in between. The energy in the air was electric, a mix of anticipation and nerves. My eyes scanned the crowd, searching desperately. And then... I saw her."
das' lips curved into a faint smile. "She hadn't changed much. Her hair was a little longer, and her face was a little older, but her aura... her spirit was the sa. She still had that warmth about her, that kindness that made her stand out in a crowd."
He paused, as though reliving the mont. "I made my way to her. My heart was pounding so loudly, I was sure everyone around could hear it. When I finally reached her, she turned, and our eyes t. For the first ti in years, we were standing face to face."
"What did you say to her?" Morvane asked, his tone softer now.
das' smile grew slightly. "I didn't know what to say at first. I just... stood there, staring at her like a fool. But then she smiled—this big, genuine smile—and said, 'How are you, das?'"
He let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "After everything that had happened, after all those years, she was still the sa Hiraya. And sohow, that made it easier to speak. I said, 'I've been waiting to see you again.'"
Morvane raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly subtle, were you?"
das chuckled. "No, I wasn't. But I didn't care. I just wanted to talk to her, to catch up on everything we'd missed. She told she'd tried to co back to the palace a few tis, but the guards wouldn't let her. The closest she could get was the city outskirts. She said she didn't want to cause trouble or put in danger again."
His expression darkened briefly. "I told her I was sorry. Sorry that I didn't do more to stop what happened, sorry that I let my family tear us apart. I told her I should have been more careful that night by the river."
"And what did she say?" Morvane asked, his voice quieter.
das' expression softened, and he looked down at his hands. "She patted on the shoulder and said, 'That's in the past.'"
He let out a deep breath, his gaze distant. "She forgave , just like that. Hiraya always had this way of making everything seem... lighter. Like no matter how bad things got, there was always a way forward."
The room fell silent as das seed to lose himself in the mory. Finally, he looked up at Morvane, his voice steady but tinged with emotion.
"That was the first ti I felt hope again," he said. "Hope that maybe, just maybe, we could find a way to be friends despite everything."
das leaned forward, his hands clasped together tightly as he recounted the next part of the story. His voice trembled slightly, as if the mory still haunted him.
"And then the Awakening ceremony began. One by one, the fifteen-year-olds in the arena received their marks—symbols of their newfound power etched onto their skin, glowing briefly before settling. The air buzzed with energy and excitent, a spectacle of light and abilities being awakened for the first ti."
He paused, his gaze distant. "When it was my turn, I stepped forward. The magic surged through , bright and overwhelming, and my mark appeared—emblazoned on my arm like a seal of destiny. I rember trying my power for the first ti. It was telekinesis, just as the royal bloodline was known for, and the arena erupted in applause. The cheers, the admiration... I should have felt pride. But I didn't."
Morvane frowned. "Why not?"
"Because as the crowd celebrated, my eyes searched for her," das said, his voice heavy. "I looked at Hiraya. She was standing among the others, but sothing was... wrong. Everyone else was glowing with marks, with power. But she was... markless."
Morvane stiffened. "So she was really markless."
das nodded, his jaw tightening. "Her skin was bare—no mark, no power, nothing. She just stood there, staring at her own shoulder as if waiting for sothing that would never co. It was the first ti I'd ever seen her like that. Hiraya, who was always so vibrant, so full of life... her eyes were dull, lifeless. They lacked their usual shine, and in that mont, she looked... broken."
He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "I wanted to go to her, to tell her it didn't matter, that she was still the sa Hiraya who had saved all those years ago. But I couldn't. The ceremony was still happening, and I could feel the weight of the court's eyes on . On us."
das' voice cracked slightly as he continued. "I could see the whispers starting, the way people were looking at her. In our world, to be markless was to be powerless, to be nothing.
He looked at Morvane, his expression pained. "That mont changed everything. Hiraya didn't just lose the chance to awaken a power—she lost her place in a world that values strength above all else. And for the first ti, I didn't know how to protect her."
Morvane sat in stunned silence, processing the weight of das' words. The room felt colder, heavier, as the story settled between them. Finally, he spoke, his voice low.
"And she just... accepted it?"
das shook his head slowly. "She didn't cry, didn't lash out. She just stood there, silent, like she was trying to will herself invisible. But I knew her too well. I could see it in her eyes, even if no one else could. She was devastated."
He leaned back, his shoulders slumping. "That was the day I realized how cruel our world could be. How quickly it could strip soone of their worth just because they didn't fit its expectations. And it was the first ti I felt truly powerless."
The room fell silent again, the weight of the story pressing down on both of them. For the first ti, Morvane saw a side of das he hadn't expected—a young boy burdened by a world that demanded too much, too soon.
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