"Fenric where are you going?" Ravenna called out.
She is Fenric's mother, him running in excitement in the yearly Valthorne festival wasn't an unusual, but this time it was strange, he had a look on his face that made him look stressed.
Fenric" Mom the queen is coming today! I want to tell her something."
Every year during the festival, Queen Seraphina Valerieth visited the outer ring of the Valthorne Empire—the poorest district. She always brought gifts for the children—sometimes clothes, sometimes candy. Often, she brought her daughter, Princess Liora Valerieth, hoping to teach her kindness through these visits.
The Valthorne Empire was made up of three rings, with the royal palace at the center. Each ring housed a different class of people: the first ring belonged to the nobles, the second to merchants and ordinary citizens, and the third to farmers and the poor. The closer one lived to the palace, the higher their social status.
As Fenric ran through the streets, he called out to his friend, "Lucien! Come here, the queen is coming!" Lucien turned his head to look at him from behind. "Today's the day, Fenric. There's no turning back now." "Of course," Fenric replied firmly. "We talked about it last night. We made our decision—we're not backing down." From afar, they spotted a large crowd of children. "Let's go, Lucien!" Fenric said, nudging his friend on the shoulder before heading straight for the gathering. Lucien followed closely behind. In the distance, they saw her—Queen Seraphina—dressed in a stunning red gown. Her golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her blue eyes sparkled with warmth. Her smile never faded. Beside her stood princess Liora, wearing a soft blue dress and sharing her mother's graceful beauty. Both were surrounded by guards.
Fenric and Lucien began weaving through the crowed, trying to get closer to the queen.
Their faces were full of both excitement and tension. They spotted a blind spot in the guards' formation, took the chance, and started running toward the queen. The guards quickly noticed the breach and tried to catch Fenric and Lucien, but the boys were too fast. Eventually, they reached the queen and the princess. The princess flinched, startled, thinking they meant to harm her. Without hesitation, Fenric and Lucien dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.
"I am Fenric Carter."
"I am Lucien Harth."
"We swear to protect the princess with our lives," they declared in unison.
A guard rushed forward to stop them, but the queen raised her hand and calmly said, "Let them speak."
"I promise that I will become a Royal Knight and protect Princess Liora Valerieth with my life."
"To repay all the kindness Queen Seraphina Valerieth has shown us."
They had been planning this promise for a while. They loved the queen because she was always kind to them—always helping those in the third ring. To them, she was as beloved as their own parents.
In their young hearts, they believed that dying for the princess would still fall short of repaying her. Twelve-year-old children don't yet understand that a life is worth more than candy and clothes.
The queen smiled warmly. She looked at Fenric and Lucien and said, "Well said, future Royal Knights. I entrust my daughter's safety to you."
Fenric and Lucien lifted their heads, eyes shining. They looked at the queen, then at each other, smiling as they said in unison, "Of course, Your Majesty. Our lives are yours."
The queen smiled as she looked at them and said, "Usually, when someone slips past the guards and tries to approach me, they're executed immediately…"
Fenric and Lucien's smiles vanished. Their faces turned pale as they froze in place, completely stunned.
The queen laughed softly and said, "Don't worry. I won't kill the future Royal Knights."
The boys let out a huge sigh of relief.
They bowed their heads again and shouted, "We're sorry, Your Majesty! Please forgive us!"
The queen laughed again. "Alright, I forgive you."
A guardian came over, grabbed them by the scruff of their clothes, and whispered in their ears, "If I lose my job because of you two, I swear I'll come for you. You hear me?"
Fenric, clearly scared, replied quietly, "We're sorry…"
The guardian tossed them aside gently and returned to his post, a nervous look still on his face.
Fenric looked at Lucien and said, "We did it…" He paused, then shouted, "WE DID IT!!!" Lucien looked at his friend, still in disbelief. "I can't believe it… I-I thought we were going to die." They both let out another sigh of relief and headed to Fenric's house. It was already night by the time they arrived.
Lucien lives with Fenric's family because he is orphan, his parents were executed five years ago after they committed murder on a guardian.
rumors says he tried raping Lucien's mother while he was drunk, the only people that knows the real story are Lucien's dead parents, since their execution he is living with Fenric and his family.
Fenric" Lucien I guess dinner is ready let's go to eat, I think my mom cooked some soup with rabbit meat"
Lucien" yeah I'm so hungry… I really like Mrs. Ravenna's soup with rabbit meat" stomach sound are coming out of Lucien's stomach.
Fenric makes a teasing laugh" yeah you really hungry".
After they reached the Carters' house, Fenric knocked on the door. It opened, but no one was in his line of sight—until he looked down and saw a little girl eagerly staring up at him.
"Oh, Mira! Were you waiting for your brother?" he said, smiling. Just looking at her cute face and big brown eyes made Fenric forget he'd just done the craziest thing a man could ever do.
"Fenric, what took you so long to come back?" Mira asked. "And look at you! You're all dirty—Mom is going to kill you." Her face shifted into a worried expression.
After being tossed by the guardian, they'd gotten completely filthy. Between the stress, excitement, and fear, they had forgotten to clean themselves up.
Fenric bent down, placed his index finger on his lips, and whispered, "Shh! Don't make any noise—I don't want Mom to hear us."
Mira pointed her thumb back over her shoulder and said, "Bad luck. She's already here."
Fenric lifted his head and saw his mom staring at him furiously. He forced a nervous smile and said, "Hey, Mom…" then closed his eyes, already knowing that what was coming wouldn't be good.
"Fenric!! Why are you so late?! And why are you this dirty?!" she screamed.
"Hey, babe, let the boys be boys. Don't scold them over a little dirt," a rough but calm manly voice called out from another room.
"Oh, babe… don't go easy on them like that. They won't grow up right if we let things slide," her tone shifted from angry to calm and loving.
A tall man appeared, walking toward them while holding a skinless rabbit in his hand. He looked at the boys and said, "Oh, hey Fenric, Lucien. You're looking manly tonight." He gave them a proud glance.
Lucien looked at the man, rubbed the back of his neck, and said shyly, "Hey Mr. Daemon… you're looking great tonight."
Daemon chuckled gently and replied, "Thank you, Lucien. Anyway, babe, here's the rabbit you asked for."
Ravenna took the rabbit and began preparing it. She turned to the boys and ordered, "Both of you—go take a bath. Now."
Startled by her tone, they sprinted straight to the bath. The bath was outside the house—a small, closed room with a campfire-like heat source to warm the water, a large wooden barrel that could hold either one adult or two kids, and a candle sitting on a box in the corner.
After their bath, the boys returned inside for dinner. While they ate, Fenric excitedly told his family what had happened with the queen. Lucien sat quietly, clearly embarrassed. Mira listened wide-eyed, full of excitement. Ravenna looked furious, while Daemon couldn't stop laughing.