2

Two months later

Kaito ran. His legs moved without thinking and his lungs gasped for air. He didn’t have time to apologize to all the other servants he bumped into while trying to leave the palace. They muttered grouchily or shouted angrily after him but they had no idea.

It can’t be true. This isn’t happening. Kaito was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t see the tall figure step out from around the corner. Kaito slammed into the burly man so hard that he fell back onto the stone floor.

Kaito began to hastily apologize when he looked up to see the king glaring down at him. The king. Before the most powerful man in the kingdom could speak, the prince stepped in between their line of sight.

“Kaito? What’s wrong?” he asked, crouching down to the stunned boy. Sora could clearly see the tremendous panic in his eyes.

“I was… from up in the tower… the smoke… I saw the smoke… my home… the fire… my parents, Sora!” Kaito shouted desperately, grabbing Sora’s arm as if he could somehow help. Gasping and out of breath, his mind swam out of control. What was he supposed to do?

Sora’s eyes went wide after he made sense of Kaito’s rambling. After that, he didn’t waste another second. He grabbed Kaito by the wrist, pulled him up, and ran.

“Sora!” his father yelled after him, but they both disappeared from sight.

They made their way into the village as fast as their legs could carry them. Sora didn’t have to ask where Kaito lived since it was evident from the dark pillar of smoke reaching up into the bright blue sky. The boy took the lead and the prince followed close behind. It wasn’t long before Sora stood gaping at the house engulfed in flames, Kaito a few steps in front of him looking on in shock. Kaito snapped out of his daze and frantically searched the crowd of spectators for a familiar face. His heart thudded faster with every passing second he couldn’t find his parents. Finally, he ran up to an older woman.

“Have you seen my parents?!” he shouted over the roaring of the fire.

“Oh, Kaito! No, I don’t believe anyone has seen them come out,” she admitted, looking at him pitifully. “But I’m sure…”

Kaito didn’t let her finish. He turned and ran in the direction of his home and would have gone straight into the flames if Sora hadn’t seized him from behind.

“I’m sorry, Kaito!” he yelled, dragging him backwards and away from the collapsing house. Kaito attempted to fight back, but exhaustion and despair took hold of the poor young soul and he crumpled to the ground in defeat. Sora got down on his knees in front of him and held him at arm’s length to keep him from falling over. Kaito sat in stunned silence, his eyes staring into nothingness, just waiting for this terror to process.

“Kaito?” The prince’s voice shook. He couldn’t imagine the pain this boy was going through. He remembered the boy telling him how close he was with his mother and father during one of the days they had spent together in the palace. They hadn’t met often, but the prince would occasionally show up and ask if Kaito could have the day off to keep him company. Of course, no one could say no. After this short time getting to know him, Sora knew this was the worst possible thing that could happen to him.

Out of nowhere, Kaito giggled senselessly. He’s lost it, Sora thought, biting down on his lip.

“Today is my birthday,” Kaito muttered dreamily, his eyes closed and all ration gone.

With those four words, Sora’s heart broke into millions of pieces.

~

For the second time today, Kaito found himself running. But this time, it was away from his problems instead of towards them. He didn’t remember getting up and taking off into the forest for no reason, but now that he was going, he didn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

“Kaito!” a voice behind him yelled.

It’s the prince, he realized, startled that Sora would follow him. But Kaito didn’t stop. His legs kept going until his foot caught on a tree root and he tripped, falling with full force into the dirt. Sora was at his side in an instant, gathering the dark haired boy in his arms. Kaito laid there trembling, not saying anything and doing his best not to feel anything. Because feeling nothing was better than accepting the truth.

Everything that happened next was a blur. Sora dragging him along. Kaito stumbling up the palace steps.The tall man from earlier exchanging a few words with the prince. And the light haired boy begging in response. Eventually, Kaito found himself in a very large, extravagant bedroom with a maid tugging off his dirtied clothes and slipping him into the softest nightwear he’s ever been in.

“Come along now,” she said gently as she guided him to the bed. Once he was situated comfortably, the maid left and Kaito heard the sound of a door closing in the other room. He turned on his side to look out the window. It was already nighttime and the moon cast an eerie glow over the town he knew so well.

There were no thoughts going through Kaito’s head, only a silence that gave him temporary peace. But that nothingness was a dam on the verge of breaking due to the weight of so many emotions. If it burst, would his emotions be released in a violent furry or would he be swept along by the current and drowned underneath it? He didn’t know how long he had been laying there, incoherent thoughts drifting in and out of his consciousness, when the door in the next room creaked open again.

Sora had not been able to stop worrying about Kaito after they split up. He had paced around in his room long after his servants left for the night until he couldn’t take it anymore and came to see him. He carefully shut the door to the guest room and silently made his way to the bedroom. A tiny figure laid underneath the covers in the large bed.

“Kaito? Are you still awake?” Sora softly asked. Kaito tried to block out the familiar voice, not wanting any memories from earlier to return.

When he got no response, Sora walked over to the side of the bed, Kaito’s back to him. He could tell that the boy was awake but he did not expect him to do any talking. Sora knew there was nothing he could offer that could bring Kaito’s parents back so he promised himself that he would do everything he could do to fill in that void.

Kaito began to shiver under the bedsheets despite the warm summer night. He continued to hold back his sobs, his composure slowly slipping. “It hurts…”

Sora crawled into the bed and wrapped his arms around Kaito, as if holding him together. “I’m here,” he said softly. “I’m sorry I can’t replace your parents, but I promise I’ll take care of you.”

Kaito turned his body around to face the prince and, burying his head in his chest, finally cried.

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