Lightning flashed across the dark sky, rain falling hard. A clap of thunder rumbled the castle, almost loud enough to drown out the screams of the Queen.
Queen Kuchel Ackerman, was laying on her bed, a midwife between her legs, her husband clenching her hand.
"You're almost there, Your Majesty," the midwife said.
King Alexander kissed his wife's hand, watching her pale, sweaty face.
A few moments ago, her face had been a very angry red, but now, it was pale and clammy.
He was about to mention this observation to the midwife, when Kuchel gripped his hand, and screamed, pushing so hard, she trembled.
"The child is crowning, just a few more pushes," the midwife instructed.
Kuchel panted, before pushing again, and when age fell back onto the pillows behind her, the cries of a baby filled the room.
Alex watched as the midwife and her assistant tended to his child. Cutting the cord and wrapping it in a blanket. The midwife then handed the little bundle to the King.
"Your son,"
Alex grinned, letting go of Kuchels hand to take the baby. His son's face was red, and he was bloody. Alex smiled, touching his sons nose with his finger.
"Kuchel, darling, look" he turned so his wife could see him. "Look at our son"
Kuchel blinked open her eyes, though they weren't open much. She smiled weakly.
"Levi" was all she said before she closed her eyes again.
"Levi" Alexander repeated, turning his attention back to his son. "Levi Ackerman, crowned prince of Stohess"
All of a sudden, the midwife grabbed his arm and pulled his from the seat. "You need to leave Your Majesty," she said, shoving him out the door.
As the king turned, he saw the midwife and her assistant rushing around the Queens body, before the door was slammed shut.
"Brother!" A voice called down the hall and Alex turned to see his brother, Kenneth, or Kenny, walking towards him, "I heard Kuchel went into labor"
Alex grinned and showed the small bundle he held. "Kenny, meet your nephew, Levi,"
Kenny looked down at the baby, smiling, though a bit strained, "how's his mother?"
Alex opened his mouth, but didn't answer, "do you want to hold him?" He agreed, changing the subject.
Kenny blinked and then took the small babe from his father. "He's very … little" he said,
"Yes, he is"
The door to the bedroom opened, and the midwife walked out. She looked solemn.
"Your Majesty," she started, got choked up, cleared her throat, and started again. "The Queen as passed away"
"What?!" Both Alex and Kenny exclaimed.
"She hemorrhaged. She bleed out before we could do anything" she bowed her head. "I'm sorry"
"No" Alex shook his head, and then shoved the midwife out of the way and ran to his wife's side, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Wake up! Wake up dammit!" He sobbed. "You can't leave me! You can't leave us!" He screamed.
Kenny watched his brother from the doorway, his own vision blurring in tears. He heard a soft gurgle cone from his arms and he looked down at the child.
His opened mouth quickly clenched shut, his teeth gritted as he stared down at the prince. "You did this. You killed her" he growled, inaudible to the others in the room. "She died for you. Why did it have to be her, and not you?" His grip tightened on the baby. His glares and words went unnoticed by the grieving audience.
And the thunder could not deafen the sounds of the Kings cries.
—————
"Wake up, Young Master"
Prince Levi stirred at the voice and he opened his eyes to look up at his Nanny, Amelia.
She smiled warmly at him. "Happy 7th birthday"
Levi grinned. He sat up in his overly large bed. "Good morning" he said.
She placed a silver tray on the bed next to him. "Eat up, you have big plans today"
Levi said nothing, and started eating. Amelia went to his wardrobe and started looking for something for him to wear.
"What am I doing today?" He asked, wiping crumbs off his face with a napkin.
"Whatever you wish. It is your birthday"
Levi thought while he finished eating, and then while he dressed. As Amelia was cleaning the dishes, he went to the balcony attached to his room.
Stohess didn't snow, but it rained. It was a chilly day, frost was layered on the window. He had to stand on his toes to be able to look over the stone railing.
The castle was huge, as well as the grounds, and when the grounds ended, was a tall wall, surrounding the entire perimeter of the palace grounds. Levi could just see the village over the wall.
Levi turned back to his room. "I want to go past the walls"
Amelia froze at his words and looked at him. She sighed and walked over to him. "We've talked about this, Young Master." She kneeled next to him. "Your father does not want you to go to the village"
"But why?"
"To keep you safe"
Shortly after Levi was born, and Kuchel died, the king became over protective. The iron gates protecting the palace wasn't enough, and he had craftsmen working on the wall none stop, until it was too his liking.
"I want to see my people!" He stomped his foot.
"Not until you are older"
Levi screwed up his little face. "I hate you!" He shouted, before running out of the room.
Amelia sighed, and followed after him.
Levi ran to his father's study. He shoved open the doors and ran crying to his father, who was sitting at his desk.
Alex jumped when the quiet of the study was interrupted by the doors opening and then the crying of his son. Alex pulled Levi onto his lap, and stroked his hair. "What is it, child?"
"I-I-I" Levi sniffled. "I want to g-go to the village"
Alex sighed. "No"
"Why?!" Levi shouted.
"It's dangerous."
"I'm the Prince!"
"Yes you are, meaning you're valuable" the past few years, Stohess has had an issue with kidnapping. Alexander was working tirelessly to find a solution. "I can't lose you," Alex whipped his sons face. "You're all I have left"
Levi grumbled and buried his face in his fathers chest. Amelia stood by the door, silently watching.
Alex saw her and gently pushed his son away. "Go spend some time with Amilea. I'll finish up here, and then I'll come find you, okay?"
Levi nodded, tears dry and a smile on his lips. "Okay"
A few hours later, Alex found Levi and carried him down to the stables, listening to Levi ramble about the game he and the staff had played while waiting for the King.
The arrived at the stables, and the stable boy lead out, not one, but two horses. One, was Alex stallion, Stark, a Dutch Warmblood, a dark brown color. The next one was about a year old, Friesian, and black as midnight. Her coat was silky, and mane wavy. She had a red ribbon tied to her neck.
"She's so pretty" Levi gasped, letting the young horse sniff his hand.
"Happy birthday, son"
Levi blinked at his father and then at the horse. Then his face lit up. "Really!?" He cried, startling the horse and he quickly shushed her. Levi had always had a gift with animals, horses especially.
"What shall you name her?"
"Bell" he said, without any hesitation.
"A lovely name for a lovely mare" the stable boy said, and Levi grinned.
"Come. Let's ride for a bit" Alex mounted Stark, and the stable boy helped Levi.
The stable boy followed them. Keeping a hold on Bell's reins, leading her.
She was still young, and needed a practiced hand to help train her, and Levi needed lessons on riding.
"Father?" Levi asked after some time.
"Yes?"
"When will I be able to leave the palace?"
"When you turn 18. On your coronation"
Levi nodded.
They rode a bit longer, before coming to the crypt. It had the Ackerman crest on the doors. Alexander dismounted and Levi did as well, with the help from the stable boy. The two walked in to the crypt together, and towards the end.
Kuchel was in here, buried and preserved.
Alex has stopped by the garden, and picked a few daffodils and violets. He gave a few to Levi, and they both out it near the grave. Alex was kneeling next to the grave, tears in his eyes. Levi pressed his lips together. He felt a pang or lost. He never knew his mother, would never know her, and he always felt like a part of him was missing. Her.
They sat in silence for a few more moments, before they left.
After dinner, Levi sat in his balcony. He could hear music being played. Celebration of the birth of the prince.
The festivities went on all night. Music, food, laughter, and fun. Levi wanted to be down there.
Two hours before the party, the villagers had a memorial for the Queen, mourning her death, before celebrating the birth.
Levi watched the fireworks, eyes glossy as the colors danced in the air. —————
"Thousands of years ago, humans were not just humans. They had a secondary gender. First, the physical. Make of female, and then the secondary.
Alpha: strong, powerful, protective, and stubborn. Alphas has the ability to impregnate, no matter the gender. They also had ruts, a part of mating. They had an uncontrolled amount of lust.
Beta: the closest to that of humans in the present day. No scent, no intense desire. The primary gender is what determined if they carried it sired children.
Omega: the nurturers, the small, the timid, the family provider. Omegas are the weakest, but they are not pathetic. Omegas carried children, whether they were male or female. And like Alphas, they had uncontrollable lust, called heat. During a heat, all the omega can think about is mating and gaining a child. Omegas and alphas are most compatible, fertility between a heating omega and rutting alpha was almost 100%.
Omegas and alphas can mate with betas, and betas can mate with each other, the fertility goes down below 50%.
After centuries, the secondary gene evolved out of the humans, now no longer struggling with under population."
Levi closed the book he was reading. It was interesting to read all the details of this, rather then the censorship that Amelia would give him when telling him this story.
"It's rumored that humans still have the gene of the secondary gender. It lies dormant, wanting to be awoken by another with the gene" he recalled Amelia telling him one time. Though, no one had an awoken gene, so there was no way to know for sure if it was true. As far as Levi was concerned, it was just a folk tale.
"Young Master!" Amelia walked into the library to see Levi sitting on a sofa, reading. She sighed. "You must hurry, your father wants you in the ballroom, now" she ushered a 12 year old Levi out the door, quickly flattened his hair and clothes.
Levi begrudgingly made it to the ballroom, and to where the ball was happening.
Levi wasn't sure what the occasion was for, but he didn't really care.
He mingled with guests, danced with a few of the duchess, and princess there. He had a feeling his father wanted him to pick a wife. Honestly, Levi was surprised he hadn't promised him to anyone.
Levi was listening to one of the guest ramble on and on about something he didn't care about. He politely excused himself and snuck away. He was getting overwhelmed by all the people. All the strangers.
He walked away from the ballroom, taking deep breaths and trying to quell the anxiety building up inside him. He hated crowds, he hated people, he hated talking.
When he had calmed down, he found himself on the grand staircase, looking up at the portrait of his mother.
He walked up the steps, eyes glued to the painting. When he made it to the base of the painting, he touched it lightly with his fingers. "I wish you were here" he mumbled. He never knew her, but he missed her. They say you can't miss something you never had. That's a fucking lie.
"What are you doing?" An accusing tone made Levi turned around, his eyes sparkled with tears.
"Uncle" Levi said, surprised to see his uncle Kenny. In his 12 years of life, he had only seen his uncle a handful of times, always for work, and he never talked to Levi, not really. Mainly just glared at him.
"What. Are. You. Doing." Kenny said again, the venom in his glare growing.
"I...I needed some fresh air, and alone time"
Kenny's mouth twitched. "No. Why are you near her?"
Levi blinked before looking over his shoulder at his mother's portrait. "She's my mother"
"Fuck that" Kenny hissed. "You have no right to be here, to look at her. She's dead because of you!" Levi was startled by the sudden harsh words. "You fucking murdered her, she died for you, you pathetic shit" Kenny hissed, and Levi felt his eyes water. "You have no right being here! She should be here, not you. You should have been the one to die that day, not her!"
Levi couldn't take it anymore and he ran to his room.
He threw open the doors, slammed then shut and collapsed onto the floor, unable to hold back anymore and he cried, wailing into his hands.
He cried and cried until he could not anymore. Until he couldn't breath, until his head hurt, until he was so weak, he couldn't even keep his eyes open.
"Levi!" The sounds of his father furious voice wasn't even enough to force Levi off the floor.
He could hear his father's steps coming toward the room, and then the door was pushed open, hitting Levi's legs.
"Where the hell did you go-" Alexander started, anger in his voice, but it faded when he saw his son, curled into a ball, face red, blotchy and wet.
He fell to his knees and pulled Levi onto his lap. "What happened?"
Levi said nothing, he couldn't.
"What's wrong? Tell me"
Levi swallowed, "uncle Kenny"
"What did he do?"
"He...he called me a murder" Levi whispered, his voice cracking from both exhaustion and pain. "He said I should have died, not mom"
Alexander was horrified. He gripped his son closer to him. "Do not listen to him. You are not the reason for her death, and no one would trade you for her"
"Kenny would"
"Fuck Kenny" Alex hissed. "You are the best thing to ever happen to me. Yes, I miss your mother, and I would give anything to have her back, except you" he kissed Levi's head. "You are not the reason for her death"
Levi sniffed, a small smile on his face as he hugged his dad.
—————
"Levi" Alexander said, finding his son in the library.
"Father" the tenn said, not looking up from his book.
"We need to talk"
Levi blinked before he looked up at his dad. "About?"
"You; And your future"
"What about it?" Levi asked, closing his book.
Alex took a seat on the chair adjacent to Levi.
"You will be 18 in a few months" Levi nodded. "And then you will have your coronation"
Levi pressed his lips together, anxious and terrified to be king. "Yes""I would like you to be wed a few months after that"
Levi sat up straighter. "I'm sorry?"
Alex gave a small smile at the stunned look on his sons face. "I have been telling you you need a wife since you were 16. I've given you the freedom to choose a bride, yet you still have not picked one"
"I don't want a wife"
"You need a Queen to be a proper King"
"You've lasted 18 years without a Queen! Why do I need one?"
Alex sighed, his face was pinched, both from annoyance and sympathy, all at once. "Yes, that is true, but it's so hard. Ruling a kingdom is no fun and games. It's hard work, stressful. It's much easier with someone by your side." Alex watched his son, seeing he hadn't budged. "I allowed you to pick, and if you don't choose one soon, I'll pick one for you"
"I don't want to marry a woman!" Levi shouted.
Alex blinked. It was rare Levi raised his voice, and never at him. "You don't want to marry, or you don't want to marry...a woman"
Levi's eyes widened. He hadn't meant to say that, but now that he was forced to face it, the truth came out. He had been questioning his sexuality since he was 16. At a ball, he had jokingly danced with a prince there. A friend of his named Farlen. He was handsome, and sweet. Levi asked him to dance as a joke, but as they moved together with the music, Farlen's hands on his hips, he felt his heart flutter and butterflies in his stomach.
He had avoided Farlen ever since, and he pushed down the growing feelings. He didn't have a crush on Farlen, not anymore, but the attraction towards men never went away.
He took a deep breath, looked at his father in the eyes and spoke. "I like men"
They stared at each other then. Alex stunned, and Levi, his confidence slowly fading as his father started at him.
"Christ" was all Alex said, finally looking away to run a hand through his hair. "No, no, no" he stood up, and paced the floor in front of Levi. "You can't tell me that"
"D-do-" Levi cleared his throat, choking on his tears. "Do you find me disgusting?"
Alex stopped his pacing to look at Levi, surprised. "No! Of course not!" His words seemed to evaporate the fear in Levi. "I don't care about what you're attracted too. It's just…" he trailed off, shuffling through his vocabulary for the right thing to say. "It's just, you are the only heir to the throne, you are the only hope for the Ackerman name to live on. You can't have children with another man" Levi looked to the floor. Alex sighed, thinking.
"Well, since you aren't attracted to women, it doesn't matter who you marry, I can figure out which one would be okay with just a public marriage, one willing to bare the children of a man that doesn't love her, and she doesn't love, and then you can have as many male consorts as you like"
Levi looked up then, glaring. "I'm not going to marry someone I don't love! And I'm not just going to have consorts! I want to be with a man for more than just his body!"
"You will marry a princess!"
"No I won't!"
"Yes you will! Your mother didn't die giving birth to a failure!"
The shout echoed along the library walls, deafening loud in the now silent room. Alex blinked, his anger immediately melting away at the sight of his sons tears.
"Levi, I'm sorry, I didn't"
"Go fuck yourself!" Levi shouted, before running off.
He threw open the doors to his room, slammed them shut. He looked around his room, seething in anger. He stormed over to his desk, grabbed an ink well that was resting on it, and chucked it across the room. He barely registered the shattering, or the giant smear of black ink on the wall and floors. He grabbed a vase, a candlestick, papers, everything on his desk was thrown across the room, joining the puddle of ink. He grabbed the last thing on his desk, drew his arm back, but then he stopped. His anger slowly evaporated and he realized what he was holding.
He brought the object in front of him, gingerly holding it. It was a jewelry box. A dark blue stone with gold etchings. It was his mother's. It was small, only used to hold her most precious items. His father told him he would put her wedding ring in there if she ever needed to take it off. Now the ring was on a chain, around his fathers neck.
Levi gently placed the box on the desk, and opened it. It played a soft chime when opened, and Levi smiled sadly. Inside was the other item she valued most. A family heirloom. A silver chain and a sapphire, encased delicately in silver.
Levi's father had hoped Levi would give it to his future wife, or daughter. It was a very feminine piece.
Levi took a shaky breath as he unclamped the necklace and put it on. It wasn't a long chain, the gem rested in the hollow of his collarbone.
His put his fingers to the jewel and sobbed. He always imagined his mother to be kind hearted, open minded. She wouldn't force him to marry someone he didn't love. At least he hoped.
A sharp gasp made him turn around. Amelia was there, eyes wide as she stared at the ink staining the walls and floor.
She then turned to him and in four large strides, pulled him into his arms. "What happened?"
Levi told her, choking on his tears. She said nothing during his story, just holding onto him, petting his back.
After he was finished, Amelia sighed. "Your father means well. He only wants what's best for you." She sighed. "I know he didn't mean those things, he's probably beating himself up over it now"
"Good" Levi sniffed.
Amelia let out a small chuckle. "Go to him. Talk this out. Like adults"
Levi sighed, his tears dry. He knew she was right. Most of his anger had faded, and now he just felt sad. "Alright" he let go of her and stood up straight. She smiled and wiped her thumbs under Levi's eyes. Her smile was kind and Levi leaned down to kiss her cheek.
"Thank you Amelia" she nodded, and watched him go with a proud smile.
Levi walked down the palace halls, not stopping for anyone, not even the guard that passed him.
He made it to his fathers room. He knocked on the door before opening it. "Father, we should ta-" he stopped dead in his tracks. His feet touched something wet.
He looked down, and watched as blood stained his shoes. His eyes followed the trail of blood, to his fathers bed. On the floor at the foot of said bed, was the body of his father, Uncle Kenny kneeled over the dead king.
Kenny looked up at Levi, the lighting in the room, casting eerie shadows over his face. Kenny slowly stood to his feet. "Nephew. How kind of you to come to me." Once Kenny was to his full height, Levi saw in his right hand was a dagger, dripping with blood, and in his left, the decapitated head of Alexander Ackerman. "I was so hoping I would be the one to kill you" Kenny grinned, stepping over the corpse and towards Levi.
Levi turned, and slipped on his father's blood. He crashed to the floor. He quickly scrambled out of the room, hands smearing blood on the floor as he struggled to move and get to his feet.
Levi ran, wet shoes slapping against the granite floor as he ran to his room. "AMELIA!" He shouted, skidding to a halt outside his door. "Amelia, we need to go!" He looked around his room. "No!" Amelia was laying in the ink puddle, a large gash in her neck. Her big brown eyes, lifeless. "No" he sobbed, his legs shaking.
Hands grabbed him and pulled him away from the scene. He screamed.
He was held by a guard, the one that he had seen on his way to his fathers, then one that was headed to his room. His hands were stained in blood, as was the dagger he had in his hands. The blade that was used to kill Amelia was now held against his throat.
He killed her. With a roar, Levi threw his head back, breaking the guards nose. He then grabbed the guard's wrist and twisted until the dagger dropped. He then grabbed in and plunged it into the guards throat. Blood fished out like a fountain, spraying Levi with it.Levi glanced over his shoulder and saw Kenny and a dozen guards coming his way. He didn't have time to force the dagger out of the guards neck, it was buried in there and he couldn't pull it out with the amount of time he had.
He sprinted down the hall, covered from head to toe in blood.
He got to the end of the hall.
"You're at a dead end, Levi" Kenny laughed. "Oh how true that is"
Levi pushed against the wall and a servant hall opened up before him. He squeezed past and slammed the door shut. He ran down the stone steps. This passageway leads to the kitchen.
He got to the bottom of the stairs and pushed open the door.
He stumbled into the kitchen, where the staff was sitting in a circle, five guards around them.
For a Monet, time was frozen, the prince, drenched in blood, staring at the guards, who were very surprised to see someone come out of the hidden stairway, and the servants, looking at the prince in horror.
And then, time was moving again. The head butler, Alistir, threw himself at one on the guards, and immediately after, the rest of the staff tackled the others. "Run my prince!"
"Run!" "Save yourself!" They were all shouting at him and he was able to run out of the room, fresh tears in his eyes as he heard the cries of pain from his people.
He sprinted down the hall and out the back door. He looked around before running down the steps, and out to the grounds.
He could hear the shouting of guards and Kenny. Following a trail of blood.
Levi stumbled as he went down a hill, rolling in the mud. He hadn't even realized it had been raining.
He pulled himself up and continue running, now with a limp.
He made it to the end of the palace, panting and dripping wet with rain, blood and mud.
With a sneer, he grabbed onto the wall, and climbed, gritting his teeth as he forced his ankle to support his weight.
With more effort than what he should have had he sat on the top of the wall, panting. His ankle was screaming, and now his wrist was starting to ache.
He looked down at where he needed to drop. Shouting could be heard behind him and he glanced back, seeing dozens of torch lights coming towards him.
He looked back towards the ground, took a deep breath, and slid off the wall. He tucked in his body, and rolled.
He groaned in pain and forced himself up on shaking legs. He limped up the mountain, gritting his teeth, his uninjured hand grabbing his thigh of the sprained ankle. The adrenaline was wearing off, the pain was coming in ten fold. Luckily then pain was so bad in his leg, he almost forgot his arm was hurt.
His legs were shaking, and his vision was blurry.
"No, not now" he huffed, taking all his energy to keep going. He collapsed onto his knees and he looked around.
He was in the mountains, the thick forest around him. He had made it up quite a bit before his body gave out.
Levi blinked water from his eyes, trying to clear his vision, and before he knew it, he collapsed face first into the mud, rain pelting his back.