Hidden at the base of the left magnolia tree is a wooden chest covered in dirt and dust. Julien blows on the surface, revealing a gold-plated iron chest. He snatches a key from his necklace and opens the compartment. A flute and a harp—utterly clean and new—were inside.
"These belonged to my grandfather and my grandmother," Julien retrieves them both from the small compartment. "The harp is one of the symbols of our family. My grandfather carved this himself from the trunk of a giant tree that grew at the heart of the Capital. With the instrument, he used to gallivant as a prince, singing songs love and fervor in his youth. Oftentimes he would get in trouble with the king and the royal staff."
"He sounds like a free soul," Gianni walks toward him. He touches the smooth surface of the harp's arch. "This is well-carved."
"My grandfather became the Bard Prince, later the Bard King. It was during his rule in Gallia that the arts and sciences flourished.
Wandering the streets of the royal capital Tracy, Gianni’s hunger overwhelms his senses. His family disowned him after finishing second at the Gallia Academy of Medicine. He comes from an extended family of doctors who finished first in the prestigious institution. He traipses along the cold stone pathway and searches the gloomy alleys for food. He has hypoglycemia, which he developed after traversing the streets without eating anything. His consciousness is about to flee him. He searches for anything that might fill even the tiniest space of his grumbling gut. He finds a rotten apple, but its stench kills his hunger. He longed for when he was still a part of his clan, the noble house of House Saint-Amour. He continues his search, enduring the sheer chills of the evening breeze. He desperately holds on to consciousness as he begs God for food. He kneels and prays that he may find something to satisfy his needs. With the sudden stream of the southern wind, the starry night sky become
With his new butler suit entirely fitting him, Gianni swears in his heart and soul to do his best at his new given chance. “It seems you are ready,” the stranger says. “I am.” “Pardon me for the late introduction. My name is Gabriel Clermont. I’m one of the prince’s butlers.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gabriel,” Gianni smiles. “So, shall we go then?” Gabriel leads the way. While heading toward the exit, Gianni notices that the hallway structure that they are going through is strangely familiar. Strange enough that he would say he saw it in a dream. It is at the tip of his tongue, and he thinks of it until they reach the exit. The front door entrance is now so familiar. When they finally get out, Gianni sees the Gallia Academy of Medicine sign. Surprise colors his face--he stayed at his school. “Don’t tell me you are surprised,” Gabriel smirks while entering the carriage meant for them. Gianni follows Gabriel inside the carriage. The coachman whips the reins and begins their
“So, you are the prince?” Gianni’s face could not hide his eminent embarrassment. “I am Julien S. Montmirail, crown prince of Gallia,” Gabriel, or so Gianni thought Gabriel was, says. “Meet my chief butler, Gabriel Clermont.” “My name is Gabriel Clermont,” the person whom Gianni thought was the prince replies. “I’m sorry if you have to go through this, the prince has a way of doing things.” Gianni stays quiet and looks down. Then, the actual prince, naked up top, approaches him. He holds Gianni’s chin up, whispering, “How does it feel to be spoon-fed by the prince?” Gianni’s embarrassment skyrockets. He blushes redder than apples. He sweats bullets. His knees tremble and shakes. But he stands his ground, acting like he is all right with it. And that he knew it all along. “But it was all right,” the actual prince continues. “I enjoyed feeding you,” he holds Gianni’s right hand and nibbles on his middle finger. “Will you feed me, too?” Now Gianni is sweating rocks. It is all too mu
“Why are you sweating?” the prince greatly wonders as he sees Gabriel’s return.“The great flight of stairs, your Highness,” he replies.“Oh really?” the prince’s curiosity piques on. “It is the first time you are sweating rocks. Something must have happened.”“It is nothing at all, your Highness,” Gabriel answers in haste. “I believe we should go see the adviser now,” he pivots the topic.“Yes,” the prince surreptitiously and silently smiles. “I believe we should go.”Shortly after their small conversation, Gabriel and Prince Julien arrive at the Grand Library for the prince’s lessons. Inside, a sage with a great beard sits at the center of the grand array of large shelves filled with all sorts of texts, manuscripts, books, and scrolls. The old man sits with a sophisticated posture. He studies a large map which shows the great continen
Gabriel enters their room. He slowly and swiftly makes it back. As he holds the steel doorknob, he feels a different kind of heat emanating from his chest. He slowly opens the door, and there he witnesses a sleeping Gianni with a bare top. Before he left, he knew he covered all of him. Surprisingly, Gianni moves a lot when sleeping. He slowly approaches Gianni. He hears the slow and constant breathing that the peaceful sleeper makes for every step he makes. The room is quiet, and only Gianni’s breath is audible. As he gets even closer, he feels warmer. He continues, making his way to Gianni’s bedside. “Gianni,” he clears his throat, “the prince wishes that you take your lunch.” But Gianni does not hear him. He repeats it a little bit louder, but the same result shows. He pats Gianni’s shoulder and tries to wake him up. But Gianni is a heavy sleeper, or so he thinks. This time, he shakes Gianni. His sweat drips from his forehead to Gianni’s chest. He panics at the sight of his moiste
“Let me finish that, your Highness,” Gabriel puts the horseback outfit on a table and wipes the prince. “It looks like your lower undergarments are also wet, we should replace them, Your Highness.”“Yes, you should,” the prince concurs. “Gianni got them wet.”“What,” Gabriel turns to Gianni, “what were you doing while I was gone?”“Nothing,” the prince laughs.Gabriel gets a lower garment from the closet, where he took the fencing suit. The prince bids both butlers to leave the room. And they obey.“What were you doing while I was gone?” Gabriel asks bluntly. “And why were you stumbling on your back the moment I came back?”“I was just wiping his Highness,” Gianni whitely lies. “Nothing happened, honestly.”A knock from the partition then breaks the two’s conversation. The prince finishes wearing eq
After seeing the second prince, Gianni takes a quick peek at the dining hall. He looks for the prince he serves but to no avail. Thus, he heads to Prince Julien’s room.As he comes closer to the door, he notices some maids looking at him, whispering. He thinks something is strange, which is worth inquiring about. But he reserves it for another time and continues his way to the first prince’s room.Upon entering, his olfactory catches the scent of carnation wafting throughout the air. The fresh fragrance of the flower fumes in fickleness. It is a familiar scent to Gianni, perhaps too familiar.As he goes inside, no one is there. But he hears two people talking and splashes of water. He sees the prince’s messy bad and fixes it. He then goes to the source of the splashing sound.Behind the folding screen directly on the opposite corner of the prince’s bed is an open door where the sound is coming from. Gianni approaches the door and h
After eating lunch, the princes, and the princess along with their attendants return to the Grand Library. Beyond the center from the entrance is a space that has chess tables. It is on the opposite corner of the round table and is said to be the most comfortable part of the library according to the librarians.Upon arrival, they see Queen Sophia already waiting for them. She has her maids arrange all the chess tables with their pieces. The adviser and some scholars are also present.“Your Majesty,” all bows to the queen as they approach.“At ease,” she sits on the chess table nearest to them. “Camille, dear, let’s play, shall we?”“Me?” she turns to her brothers, the adviser, and the scholars but all shifted their focus elsewhere. “Fine.”The queen and the princess start their game. Meanwhile, Prince Louis approaches Prince Julien to ask him for one game. Julien agrees and the two p