Arc Chronicles

Chapter I Part Three

One of my favorite things to do was explore the castle. Ever since I started watching Game of Thrones, I had been obsessed with old-world architecture. The stone streets of Kings Landing, the Red Keep, and the free cities. It was a completely different world from the one I had grown up in and never getting to see Europe was my biggest regret.

Game of Thrones Season 3 ended on a high note. The Red Wedding and the Lannister consolidation of power. It was a shame I would never get to see Season 4 and beyond, but I was practically living in Westeros. 1920s Westeros.

The palace was huge and even after two years of life, I still hadn't memorized my way around. Luckily, as a prince, servants were lining up to get on my good side, so I always had a guide.

My home was called the Phoenix Palace, and it sat straight smack down in the center of Aquroya. Aquroya was the imperial capital, the fantasy equivalent of Paris I suppose. Though I guess I shouldn't keep calling it a fantasy, since it's my reality.

The Phoenix Palace was sectioned off from the city by a wall. A wall that looked as tall and thick as the Great Wall of China in my world. It was manned by guards with machine guns and even had artillery batteries mounted on the top. Which I thought was overkill, but who was I to judge?

In between the wall and the Phoenix Palace was a deep forest that had appeared almost untouched. Other than the stone paths crossing through it and the random building here or there, it looked pristine. I couldn't even find a hint of litter anywhere. I wasn't allowed out of the palace without a small retinue of guards and servants, but I learned to ignore them. I could almost pretend I was out in the countryside, far away from any city.

Despite living in the center of Aquroya for a year, I had never laid eyes on the city. My father insisted that I remain behind the gates until my official debut, whatever that was. Or that had been his position until last night.

Four years ago, Kaiser Karl had directed the armies of Prussia to attack Aquitaine and other neighboring countries. Then, Prussia had the most advanced and powerful army in the world. The empire would have fallen if the Commonwealth of Britannia and the Tsardom of Roslachny hadn't joined the war against Prussia.

The commonwealth and the empire had come out as the victorious powers. The Tsardom had fallen to a communist revolution, mirroring my own world's history. The Romanov family of Gaea managed to escape west, unlike the Romanovs of Earth. I suppose they had met a happier fate. If rumors were to be believed, my father had invited the family to stay in Aquitaine. He had even given them a palace we rarely used and the estate around it.

Prussia, as the losing power, had to sign a humiliating treaty that resembled the Treaty of Versailles that I was familiar with. It was called the Treaty of Marsailles. Given the hindsight I had from coming from Earth, I was against it, but who was going to listen to a one-year-old child in matters of state? Even if he was a prince.

My father declared victory of Prussia and announced a parade through Aquroya in celebration of imperial victory. Of course, that wasn't all my old man was doing. He announced an increase in spending for national defense that outstripped even Prussia before and during the war. Aquitaine, my father declared, would never again suffer at the hands of an aggressor. So he wasn't a complete fool, even if he did impose the Treaty of Versailles on them. I could only hope fantasy Hitler didn't make an appearance.

My father, my mother, my father's other wife, and us children were loaded onto a parade float. We were given silver thrones to sit on, while my father and his wives sat on golden thrones. We were to remain seated the whole time and wave to the masses as we passed.

I was dressed in the best clothes money could buy, all the while servants reassuring me that I was a handsome boy. When I was older, I would give Henri and Xavier a run for their money.

"He just might," Henri said, wearing his suit that was every bit as elaborate as my own. "Calixte. You shouldn't squirm so much. They're just trying to get you ready. What would father say if he heard?"

He'd have some choice words for me I imagine, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "Henri! What are you doing here?"

"I finished early and I thought I'd see how my little brother was fairing. This is going to be his first time out of the palace grounds. I thought he might be nervous and instead, I found him squirming away."

I made myself sit still. I already missed my tee-shirt and jeans. At least it didn't take an hour to put them on. As a prince, I was going to have to be princely when I'm in public and that meant suffering through getting ready.

"It's almost time to leave. Father will be most displeased if we have to wait on you."

Wasn't that the truth?

When the servants finished, I was escorted to what I could only call the imperial garage. My father had a fleet of luxury cars that looked like they had come straight out of the 1920s and 30s. Behind the cars were five carriages that at one point had carried the imperial family of Aquitaine. Since the first season of Game of Thrones, I had wanted to ride in a carriage but the servants escorted me past them.

We were going to take a limousine into the city, where we'd get on our parade float and I'd get to play the part of a Disney princess. Or Disney prince, in this case. Just smile and wave at the crowd.

Three limos were waiting for us. One my father would take alone. One myself, my brothers, and my mother would ride in. The other my sisters and their mother would take. I don't know why we didn't all take the same limo, but I wasn't the emperor, so it wasn't my place to question.

As we rode into Aquroya, I was marveled at how much it looked like Paris. The architecture was the same, and I could even see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Though I suppose it must not be called the Effie Tower here. The city was beautiful. People even cheered us as we drove down the street, protected by a motorcade of soldiers.

I got to see more of the city in the parade. The limo ride didn't last long, but I was on the parade float for the rest of the day. Even well into the night, only given brief breaks. I saw every single street of the city, sometimes twice over. It was a huge parade. An elaborate spectacle that most have cost thousands of lyre.

The parade also doubled as a feast and every citizen in Aquroya was allowed to partake in the food. It was a day of celebration. Four long years of war had finally come to an end and people wanted to celebrate.

I thought people could celebrate just fine without draining the national treasury, but no one was going to listen to me. What was the point of being a prince if no one took you seriously?

I needed to grow up and fast. People took Henri, Victoria, and Xavier seriously.

By the time we returned to the Phoenix Palace, I was already falling asleep. It was getting progressively harder to keep my eyes open and a servant had to carry me to my room. She gently put me down in my soft canopy bed, and I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillows.

I dreamed I was walking through the streets of Aquroya, not as Prince Calixte, but the real me: David Burrow. I watched from the sidelines as the parade float carrying the imperial family came down. Almost everyone was there, but the youngest prince.

I waved at the float as it passed by, my father and mother on either side of me. I told them how sorry I was for everything I put them through. I wished I could have been a better son and man, but I couldn't change the past.

Of course, they forgave me. That's what parents did.

As we talked, I began to change. Suddenly I wasn't David anymore, but Prince Calixte. Servants from the palace had come to collect me. It was time for me to come home.

As they picked me up, I waved to my old family one last time before they were lost in the crowd. I couldn't be David Burrow any longer.

Chapter I: Rebirth and New Life