"You care about Rosa, don't you?" Setsuko's voice echoed in my head as I walked down one of the halls of the white tower in the center of Munil.

Did I really care for the junior princess?

I glanced up at the peasant who was still several meters ahead of me.

Even if I did, that care wouldn't translate into anything beyond friendship. She only has eyes for him. I shook my head. Why would I want it to be something beyond friendship? Even being friends with that naive girl would be difficult. We're basically opposites.

"Is something the matter?" Setsuko asked, catching up to me.

Tetsuya came to a stop and turned around. "You're asking him? Isn't he usually silent?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and leered at him. "Indeed I am. There's nothing wrong with me."

"You being silent isn't it. It seemed as if you were thinking about something and disregarded it right away," the crown princess said.

The shield knight tilted his head. "Now that sounds off."

I scoffed and walked past him. "What do you know about me?"

"Well, I know that you're a jerk who loves to play the lone wolf," he yelled with his hands cupped around the edges of his mouth.

"I'm not playing," I said, scoffing.

My eyes drifted around in search of some color in this vast world of white. It was worse than my homeland which at least had grayish clouds or even sometimes a blue sky. A blue sky...

***

[Years Ago]

"Where are we off to today, Papa?" I asked, glancing up at the tall young man wearing nothing but a long brown robe despite the cold. Not that it affected me either... well, not much.

"We're going to search for some black seraphium."

"Black seraphium?" I asked, staring back at the vast white wilderness. Today there was no blizzard.

He patted my head and smiled. "Yeah. It's the name of the ore seraphium comes from. It's often mixed with black iron which gives it its name."

"So, we're looking for iron deposits?" I asked, adjusting my backpack.

"Yup! You sure are a smart one, Hyo!"

I beamed. "I'm not that smart!"

He chuckled. "Now, you're just trying to be modest."

My right foot kicked up some snow. "Mmaayybbee."

He laughed again. "You are as transparent as water."

"Water?" I asked, looking up at him once again. "Why water and not glass?"

"Well, it's because..."

"Going out without telling me first?" a voice called out from behind.

Papa gulped. He slowly turned around to look at the beautiful white-haired woman standing behind us. In her arms was a red-haired baby boy.

"Mi...Miyuki!" he said, feigning a smile. "You were feeding Kohri, so I figured not to barge in."

"You could've told one of the guards to tell me once I was done, you know," she said, sighing. "So, where are you off to?"

"To get black seraphium!" I blurted out.

Mama narrowed her eyes at Papa. "You aren't going to the Zakarias mine, are you?" she asked, taking a step forward.

Papa shook his head. "Nope. Well... kind of."

She raised an eyebrow. "Kind of? I rather you tell me things straight. Are you going there or not?"

Papa sighed and raised a hand. "Alright, just hear me out. We're going to the Zakarias mine, but we aren't going inside it. Instead, we're going to try to locate a spot for a new potential vein."

Mama glanced at me. "How will Hyosetsu help with that? He's too young for the harsh labor such a task would entail."

"This is mostly a scouting journey," he said, giving her a shy smile.

He glanced down at my little brother. "Kohri, is Papa telling the truth?" she asked.

"Why is she asking my brother that?" I asked, glancing up at Papa.

"Your little brother has a gift," he whispered back.

A gift? Do I have one too?

"Goo," Kohri said, bringing a hand to his mouth.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means he's telling the truth," Miyuki said, patting my baby brother's fuzzy head.

He giggled and began to kick the air.

Mama laughed. "You sure are hyper, little one. Let's go inside and play."

"Goo!" Kohri said, clapping his little hands in excitement.

"Hey, do I have one too?" I asked, my eyes glistening.

Papa put his hands on his hips. "You mean a gift? I'm not sure if you do..."

My head slumped. "Oh..."

I should've known... There was nothing unique about me at all.

A large hand patted my head. I looked up at Papa, the corners of my lips no longer facing upwards but downwards.

"Don't feel down, Hyo. Just because I don't know it, it doesn't mean you don't have one. As you grow and experience more of what life has to offer, you'll find out more things about yourself." He glanced up at the sky and smiled. "Look up there!"

I raised my head up and saw that the sky wasn't its usual grayish color, but a nice cyan shade of blue. My eyes widened as my mouth formed into a large 'O'. It looked like something out of a dreamscape or something.

"Sooo preetty!" I exclaimed, jumping.

"Yup! Though it's a rare sight here during the autumn months. Throughout your life, you'll see moment like this, sights and other experiences you wouldn't expect. Admittingly, some won't be good, but some are sure to be. It's best to look at the good than the bad."

I blinked. "Why?"

He laughed. "Because, the good makes one happy! Of course, that doesn't mean that one should just dust off all the bad. Just don't wallow too much in the negative that you lose sight of what's good."

"I see," I said, still staring at the sky.

"Hey, Hyo!" a voice called out. I turned around and saw a couple of kids wearing white chatique fur coats. Chatique was a rare creature that was the size of rhino. It was a relative of the unicorn, but had a softer coat, though its meat was less tasty. Not that I had ever eaten unicorn. That was just what I heard.

"Hey guys," I yelled, waving at them.

"I see you're with your care taker today," a girl with purple hair said, smiling at Papa. "Nice to see you again, sir."

"Hmm, caretaker?" he asked, glancing at me. "Haven't you told them who I am?"

"I didn't get a chance to," I said, running toward them. "Allow me to formally introduce you. The boy with greenish-blue hair is Asil, the girl with the purple hair is Nolce, and the boy with the brownish-red hair is Liam."

Papa smiled and waved them. "Nice to meet you three!"

"And this man here is my father," I said, pointing at him.

The three exchanged looks.

"Your... father?" Nolce asked, taking a step back. "Isn't he the help?"

"For a noble, he dresses like a hobo," Asil said, looking Papa up and down.

Papa just laughed. "Not the first time I heard of that! And for your information, I am not actually a noble. I rejected all titles offered to me, except for 'Seven-Hill Knight'."

"So, you're peasant?" Liam asked, snickering a bit.

"Liam!" Nolce snapped, elbowing him on the side.

"Ouch! Why did you do that for?" Liam asked, elbowing her back.

Nolce grunted and tackled him to the ground.

"Hey, don't fight!" I yelled, stepping forward.

"So, are you a peasant?" Asil asked, staring at Papa.

He smiled. "I guess you can say that."

"Eww, you're half peasant!" Liam yelled, pointing at me.

"Huh, I'm not!" I said.

"Yes, you are."

Asil turned around. "Let's go you two. Liliana's waiting for us."

"Hey, wait! Why did you call me!" I yelled, running after him.

He slapped my hand away. "Don't touch me, peasant," he snapped.

"But I'm... not a peasant..." I said as my eyes began to water.

"Look, the peasant duke is about to cry!" Liam sneered.

"Liam, knock it off!" Nolce said, slapping him over the head. "He might be one, but he's still the heir! Sorry, Hyo, but we should get going now. Liliana is waiting for us to make snow forts."

"I want to play too!" I said.

"Sorry, no peasants," Liam said, sticking his tongue out.

I sniffed. "But I'm not a..."

"There's nothing wrong with being one," Papa said, picking me up. "Come, Hyo. We got a job to do."

"Bye, peasants!" Liam yelled, waving. "Have fun doing peasant stuff!"

"Liam!" Nolce yelled.

I buried my head in Papa's shoulders.

"Don't cry, Hyo. It's alright. If those kids won't respect you regardless of your rank in the hierarchy then they aren't your true friends."

"B-but I like playing with them," I said, clenching his robe.

He sighed. "I know how it feels, Hyo," he said, running his hands through my hair. "But you're better off without them, trust me. If you try to keep such people as friends, you'll only end up getting hurt."

***

['Present']

I should have listened to him...

My icy-blue-eyes glanced over at my sheathed Baldo. Come to think about it, did Father use the seraphium we found to make this and the other four Knights of Prophecy angel tools?

"Hyo," Setsuko said, catching up to me. "Don't run on ahead. For this training session, we must work together."

I closed my eyes. "I rather not. You have Tetsuya to bond with. Now, leave me to do my own thing."

My eyes opened wide as someone tackled me from behind.

"I'm not letting go of you, not until you come with us!" she yelled, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Hey, unhand me!"

She shook her head. "No! Not until you've given in to my demands!"

"Come on, don't be unreasonable!"

"I said no! Not until you've agreed to join Tetsu and me!"

"Ugh. Fine. I give up!"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Really? You aren't just saying that so that I can let go of you?"

I sighed. "I won't run. I promise."

She grinned. "Seriously? That was easy!" she said, slowly loosening her arms around me.

I rubbed my back. Her tackles sure hurt when one wasn't prepared.

"To think I thought you were the mature princess," I said, sighing.

She laughed. "You seriously thought that? My maturity level varies with my needs. That has always been how I've functioned."

"Oh, so you're willing to be a spoiled brat to get what you want, is that it?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes, if that's what's needed. Now, let's go," she said walking past me.

Is she trying to act mature again? This girl... she's more confusing than Rosa...

"Seems the crown princess and you really did use to be friends," the shield knight said as he walked past me.

"Did she tell you that?" I asked, leering at him.

"I heard about it, but even if I didn't, it's obvious by the way you behaved just now." He flashed me a grin and went on his way.

"Obvious? How so?" I asked.

He snickered. "Weren't you the one who said not to waste time?"

I smiled as my pace picked up. "Right."

"How about a race?" he asked.

"Sounds good," I said.

"A race, huh?" Setsuko said, turning around. "May I join?"

"Of course!" the Agnes Knight said as he came to a stop.

"It will be a pleasure to defeat you two," I said, coming to a halt. A grin plastered my face as I got into position.

"Did you run track?"

"I thought you had quit," Setsuko said, staring at my bent legs.

My eyes closed. "Sometimes, it's hard to run away from something you love..."

"I know how that is," Tetsuya said, laughing.

I opened my eyes and saw that he was trying to imitate me.

"You need to bend your legs more," I said, pointing at his knees. My eyes darted toward the crown princess. "As for you, Setsuko, fix your back."

"You know, you would make a good coach," Tetsuya said.

I scoffed. "A coach?"

"Yeah! You give off that vibe. You're stern when it comes to giving directions, but not overly rude as to crush your students' spirits. Come to think about it, you remind me of my old high school basketball coach. He would yell at us for goofing off, but sometimes he would join us."

"Is that so? Then I would expect you to have more discipline," I said, looking away. A coach, huh? Never thought about it before... Come to think about it, didn't Father want to be one when he was a kid?

I snickered. That probably explained the air he gave off... My left hand shifted over to Baldo. Father. If you were here, what would you tell me? Have I done enough to become strong like you?

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter, if so then please click on that star! Thoughts on the story thus far?**