To Make a Prince

Rakuen walked the dirty streets of the city with a stoic look on his face. He didn’t want to talk to anyone there, nor did he want anyone to notice him. It had been a few years since the king had sent guards specifically after him, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have his likeness memorized and a bounty on his head. An outlaw they called him. A ruffian and a thief. A murderer. Never admit he was the last prince in the line of the true kings of the land. Never mind the fact that the current king was the true murderer. No one would step up against him. Why should they? They faced worse then they could possibly gain by such action.

He wandered through the vendors until he spotted the one he wanted and walked forward. He needed supplies, otherwise he wouldn’t be anywhere near this place. The vendor was a naturally suspicious man, and looking at the well-toned young man before him couldn’t help but run through his mental list of wanted men. This guy looked familiar but he couldn’t place where from exactly.

“And what’s your name good sir?” The vendor asked as he took his order and began gathering the things the man was asking for.

“Kataki.” Rakuen responded, eyeing the man warily. The vendor nodded and went to gathering the supplies he asked for, but unbeknownst to Rakuen, who was watching the street, motioned a guard over. Just as he was starting to hand the bag of goods over, Rakuen noticed the many guards that had begun to surround him.

“Shit” he muttered before taking off at a run. He raced around corners and through alley’s, the guards quick on his tail. Seeing a doorway he ducked around and hid in the shadows. As the guards ran past, he sighed in relief. At least until he realized he had knocked somebody over in his haste to get into the shadows.

Rakuen turned in surprise to stare down at the girl he had knocked over in his mad flight. She looked pissed, and for a moment his stoic mask dropped to show the young man he had once been. Eyes filled with concern, worry tracing his lips, an apology written across his features. No longer did he look angry and filled with hate.

He kneeled down and held out his hand, even though she looked like she was ready to tear off his head. He recognized her kind. Creatures of both human form and animal. During his fathers time they had been accepted in society and renowned for their special abilities. But under this traitors reign they were reviled and hated, considered freaks, and ordered to be slaves. Rakuen was not afraid however. That was the influence of Kataki more than anything else. Living as he did, always hunted, he did not fear those who were also the hunted.

“I’m sorry.” He said simply, hoping she understood. He was unaccustomed to talking, and so could not form more than a few words stranded together. Too many years of solitary wandering. The last thing he needed was for her to make a scene and draw the guards to them, though he doubted she would do that for it would put her at risk as well. At least he could hope.

Rakuen looked at the cigarette and shook his head no. He would avoid talking if he could. That was simply the way he functioned.

Slowly, now that she seemed fine, the stoic mask he normally wore was returning. It could never stay away for long. Otherwise emotions long since buried began to return, emotions that he could not deal with. Not when his survival depended on those very emotions staying buried within.

Turning back to look at the girl, his cold indifference palpable in the air, he merely nodded before taking a step out into the street. He didn’t get very far before an arrow whizzed past his face and he jumped back into the shadows nearly crushing the girl all over again.

“Fuck.” he muttered. They weren’t going to give up this time. Did they know who he really was? Or did they just assume he had to be a fugitive?

Rakuen turned towards her and with a martial arts move that not many knew twisted her around so that he had her pinned and a hand over her mouth.

“Please don’t fight me. I need to get out of here. I promise you’ll be rewarded for this. You don’t want them to find you nearly as much as I don’t want them to find me.”

It was the most words he’d spoken in a long time, and his voice seemed to break at the end, showing the evidence.

“Will you cooperate with me?” He asked, keeping his hold tight while he waited for a some kind of affirmative response.

Rakuen sighed in relief and removed his hold on her. As he did so, another arrow whizzed past, nearly hitting them in shadows. He swore again, and turned to her, a wildness in his eyes that made him look fierce and intimidating.

“Theres got to be a tunnel underground nearby right? I haven’t been to this city in so long that I cant remember where it is.”

He looked around the area they were in frantically, his eyes searching for some escape. The arrows weren’t aimed to kill. Just to slow down. Which meant that the guy had recognized him and knew him for what he was. Well, at least for the king wanted the populace to know him as. Had they known that a prince of the royal line still lived, they may have been willing to rise up with him against this tyrant.

But they didn’t know, and if Rakuen continued to live the way he did they never would. These men didn’t want to capture him dead. They wanted him alive, and Rakuen feared more than anything why this king wanted that.

The first thing that assaulted Rakuen was the smell of rot and mildew, though the darkness as a close second. Before thinking about it he summoned some of his innate magic and created an orb of light so that he could see.

Magic was not a common sight in this kingdom. In fact, the current King had outlawed it the moment he took the throne because he didn’t have the ability. Only nobility could use Magic, and of that nobility, royalty was the strongest in the craft. Rakuen could have kicked himself if he was that kind of person.

‘This is why I don’t stay around people.’ he thought to himself.

Turning to her he opened his mouth to try and say something, but shut it again. Of this, there was nothing he could say. He could only hope she would think him a rouge nobel or something. The likihood of that wasnt high though.

Rakuen walked beside her in silence, grateful that she seemed to put his use of magic as simply an anomaly he had. She seemed far too used to running for her life, and as she said, of strange things. Had she even known what it was like during his father’s reign? It had been over ten years ago, perhaps she had been too young to remember? Some people couldn’t remember, and this hellish world was all they knew. They could listen to their parents or grandparents talk about things fondly, but they simply didn’t know what they were talking about. He hoped that she was not one of those people.

As they continued their walk he couldn’t help but try and get a good look at the girl. She seemed on edge, completely on edge. He figured it had to do with the silence of the place, because other than their steps, which were for the most part very quiet, there was no indication that anything down here was alive at all.

“Thank you.” He said, uttering the only two words he could think of. He was thanking her for so much though, and so it seemed insignificant.

Rakuen, surprised by her question, nearly stopping in the dirty water. It was only a split second’s pause, but enough to be noticed by the girl. Trying to think of something to say to her without revealing anything, he brightened the light orb, allowing a larger realm of sight than before.

“Whats your name?” He asked, turning to her.

Rakuen turned to Sumiko and smiled. Actually smiled. He hadn’t done so in so long that it felt almost wrong on his face, and yet so right at the same time. He was glad that she felt less on edge with the greater light. Hell, he was glad that she was with him at all.

“Ra-” He had to stop. He had almost answered with his real name and that would simply not do. “Kataki.”

It felt wrong almost. To lie to her on that most basic level.

Rakuen looked ahead and saw a small patch of light that didn't belong to his conjured orb. With that light was the end of this little excursion and the freedom of fresh air and no guards chasing them. Getting out of the sewer without being conspicious would be a little tricky but managable. Soon, he could be out of this accursed city and long gone before the guard could send out a formal search for him. Otherwise, he would eventually be caught. The only way to stay free was to keep running. He planned on doing just that.

Looking over at the hopeful expression on Su's face he smiled again briefly. He wondered if she was going to stay in the city. It didn't seem like a very safe thing to do considering the King's orders on people of her kind. He wanted to ask, but once again words failed him and he found himself sighing instead and mainting his forward march towards his freedom.

Rakuen looked up through the mangled manhole and would have laughed if that had been something he ever did. Su had definitely gotten them a way out, and that was all that really mattered. Showing a speed and grace that was uncharacteristic for a human he jumped and swung himself out of the hole, landing on his feet.

Looking around, he couldn’t believe their luck. She had found a sewer covering in a place that was practicaly deserted, making it easy for them to blend into the crowd.

Turning back to Su, he wondered what he should say now. Freedom was in their grasp and normal actions dictated that he run away from this place and leave her behind. Yet, some part of him didn’t want to just leave her there.

“Are you going to stay in the city?” He asked, his voice sounding dead even to his own ears.

((Im sorry it took me so long to reply!! Ive had some horrible writers block and im trying to work through it. so dont mind if the next few posts suck. Just trying to work through it.))


Rakuen raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She seemed, dejected. Yes, that was the right word. Her words struck a chord with him however. He was a drifter himself, moving from place to place, never staying long because he was a hunted man. He couldn’t trust anyone other than himself, couldn’t expose those he could trust to the danger that followed him.

“The city isn’t safe for either of us. I’m glad that you are not staying here.”

The words sounded cold and callous even to his own ears, yet he meant to sound concerned. He really needed to work on the social graces of life.

((Thanks! ^.^))

Rakuen may have not known how to really talk to people anymore, but if there was one thing he excelled at it was reading them. Their eyes, body language, the small nuances that most people overlooked or simply couldn’t see. A person could tell him much simply by the way they held themselves and the emotions that clouded their eyes. And Su was definitely saying more to him then she intended.

She was lonely. He could see that very clearly. She didn’t like traveling alone. And could he really blame her? He didn’t like it either and he was completely human. People like her, the shape changers, they were part animal too. They held those instincts as well, and he was pretty sure her animal was a social one. He hadn’t seen her other form so he couldn’t be certain of course, but as most animals were social it must really grate on her that she was alone. As much or more as it probably grated on him.

“Maybe we should stay together. At least until the next town.”

He didn’t know what possessed him to come right out and ask her to stay around. But something about her eyes told him that she needed companionship far more than he ever did.