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By the time Falena Kingscholar was 20 years old, he was already well-accustomed to being sent across the world in the name of diplomacy. He was the heir to the throne, after all, and it was important for him to establish good relationships as early as possible.
Leona was taken along on these excursions sometimes, when he could be of use; meaning, essentially, when an important kid around his age was involved. His role was to play nice and hope the charming sentiment of aww, look at how well the children get along helped ease forward whatever agenda his brother was pursuing. It was just another political tactic. At the age of 10, Leona understood this much already.
It wasn’t always so terrible, but this one in particular had Leona at the end of his already-limited composure. The kid wasn’t even his age, really; the three years between them were incredibly apparent. And he was annoying.
“Huh? Why’re you sitting down? There’s still so much left to see!” Leona’s overly-excitable companion said with a pout, pulling at Leona’s arm. “We’ve got a park and a zoo and a Spelldrive pitch and a lake and sooooo much more! C’mon, c’mon!”
Leona grimaced. He’d been dragged around for hours now on a seemingly-endless tour of the estate, and he was tired. Not only that, but something about this kid and his desperation to show off was rubbing Leona the wrong way.
“I wanna take a break,” he said.
“Aw, but—!”
“Kalim,” a voice chimed in, quiet but firm. Leona glanced over at the third presence in the sitting room; a boy around the same age as Kalim, who had been following them around near-silently all day. Leona had assumed he was some sort of attendant. The Sunset Savanna royal family didn’t employ child servants, thankfully, but Leona was aware that they existed in other places.
Kalim pouted a bit, but didn’t argue further, taking a seat on one of the pillow’s across from Leona. “Fineeee,” he said. He grinned at Leona, shifting in his seat hyperactively. “So, do you like it here? My house is cool, right?”
“Sure,” Leona said between clenched teeth, his irritation heightening with every word that came out of Kalim’s mouth.
“It’s all gonna be mine someday, y’know,” Kalim continued excitedly. “You have a big brother, right? You came with him. My dad says since I have no big brothers that’s why I get to be the boss when I get older.”
Leona’s teeth ground together. “That’s great,” he said.
“I guess you’re different, since you do have one,” Kalim continued, almost thoughtfully. “Well, that’s okay! I have a whole bunch of brothers and sisters who are like you. I’ll take good care of them when I’m the boss, and I’m sure your brother will take care of you, too!”
Leona stood up, not even sparing Kalim a second glance as he left the room. He didn’t know where he was going, just that he needed to get away, before he started yelling or crying or reacting in some other blatantly immature fashion. Falena would never forgive him if he upset the precious Asim heir.
He eventually found himself on a terrace overlooking the park section of the estate, and he turned his back to it and took a seat on the ground, leaning his back against the railing and burying his face in his knees.
It only took a moment for him to realize he’d been followed. He looked up with a snarl, ready to give Kalim a piece of his mind, Falena be damned.
But it wasn’t Kalim standing before him.
“I apologize on behalf of Master Kalim,” the young servant said with a bow, his face remarkably calm. “He didn’t mean anything by what he said.”
Leona sniffed, hiding his face once more. “Whatever,” he muttered.
There was a pause. “Are you actually upset?” the servant continued. His tone was different, now; rather than subservient, he sounded judgmental. “Kalim’s just an idiot, you know. Ah… don’t tell anyone I said that, please.”
Leona looked up at him with a frown. “Obviously,” he said dryly. “Still… it isn’t fun to have everything I’ll never have thrown into my face like that.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” the servant said condescendingly. He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. “You only get to be a prince.”
Normally, Leona would be furious about being spoken to that way, but any objection was promptly buried under the shock of hearing such things from someone in the other boy’s position. Leona raised an eyebrow. “‘Scuse me?” he replied, lamely.
The servant boy chuckled. “I’m only teasing you,” he said lightly. “You shouldn’t be so sad, though. Look at me, I’m just a servant, but it won’t always be this way. Someday, I’ll be the most powerful magician in the whole world! Just like the Sorcerer of the Sands.”
Leona blinked. “Okay…” he said. The kid had presented himself with incredible maturity for the majority of Leona’s trip, but it was quickly becoming clear that he was, in fact, only seven or eight years old. “Um, good luck with that.”
The other boy hummed, becoming calm and composed once again. “Well, anyway, it’s alright to feel bad sometimes,” he said thoughtfully. “Actually, it’s kind of nice. Most kids like you who come around here are really cocky and obnoxious.”
Leona scoffed. “What’s there to be cocky about?” he muttered, flicking his tail aimlessly. “I’m nothing.”
“Hm,” the boy said, a crooked grin spreading across his face. “You could always become the second-most-powerful magician in the world. I might even take you on as an apprentice.”
Much to Leona’s own surprise, he snorted out a laugh. “How generous,” he said, feeling himself smile back. “I’ll think about it.”
The boy nodded, holding a hand out toward Leona. “Now let’s go back before this turns into a… ah, what is it my dad’s always afraid Kalim is gonna cause?” he said, scrunching his nose up in thought. “An international incident.”
—
“As if you have any room to talk. You look down on people more than anyone else on campus.”
Jamil couldn’t remember ever being so irritated in his life. He was dirty, and freezing, and exhausted, and now on top of all of that he had to deal with being berated by the most pretentious asshole he’d ever met. He was so sick of it. He just wanted to get the hell out of literal hell as quickly as possible.
“Sure I do,” Leona said with a shrug. “But see, I am better than you.”
That brought Jamil to a pause. He was hit with a sudden memory, one that he hadn’t thought about in years. He frowned to himself, unsure where it had even come from.
What is there to be cocky about? I’m nothing.
Jamil observed Leona carefully, from the bags under his eyes to the way his shoulders sagged like they had the weight of the world on them. He wondered whether he’d changed drastically from that little boy he’d met all that time ago, or whether he hadn’t changed at all.
The irritation left Jamil all at once. He pursed his lips, and he let it go.