(Warning: Contains some graphic descriptions and blood-)

<-Jasper's POV->

Run.

My lungs hurt. The clang of armored feet chased behind me.

Get to Lucina.

My bare feet hurt from running. Yells to stop echoed in my ears.

Don't let them catch you.

I was nearly there. To safety. To my little sister.

And then I felt the yank on my ragged brown cloak.

I screamed and dropped the bag of stolen food. It tumbled to the ground, ripping open and allowing several selfish scavengers pick up what they could and bolt off.

"Let me go!" I cried, trying to claw at the guard's armored hand.

I could hear a blood curdling screech, then rock on metal. I turned to see Lucina chucking rocks at the other guards, effectively grabbing their attention away from me. But the guard holding me off the ground remained.

"Scum like you should just die," he whispered to me, and I struggled harder. "Rotten garbage, that's what you are. You'd make a fine corpse on the street, no?"

Panic surged through my veins. He's going to kill me! My mind screamed, and I felt hot tears begin running down my face. I couldn't see his face through his helmet, but I could tell he was smiling.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another guard holding up my 7 year old sister, who screamed, punched and kicked at the empty air. I could tell she was terrified. We both were. I knew that she hated me right now, for getting caught. For not being fast enough. For not protecting her.

The guard put his sword up to my neck, and I froze. "Say goodbye to your friend, runt!" He cackled, the cold metal cutting and drawing little drops of blood from my neck.

I closed my eyes, awaiting the pain of death. Instead, I heard a panicked screech.

"Stop!"

The sword fell from the guards hands, and I felt the dusty cobblestone hit my jaw.

"Your Majesty?!"

The frantic sound of the guards trying to align themselves. I heard the thud of Lucina falling to the ground.

"What are you doing outside the castle, and in the lower district?"

I coughed and tried to push myself up, but a foot came down on my back, forcing me back down.

"My father allowed me time outside the castle. I happened to be passing by when I saw this horrible treatment of this city's children."

I opened my eyes, groaning. Looking up, I saw a boy. He was no older than me, with white hair and rabbit ears. He wore a beautifully adorned outfit of black and gold, and a silver crown rested on his head. But his eyes... a rich, blood red hue glaring straight into the guard above me. He showed no fear, only loathing for these people who he believes are mistreating the people.

The Albino Prince, Maximus Albrena.

"B-but, your Majesty... These rats stole from the shopkeepers down here! You've seen how difficult it is for even the working class down here..." the guard tried to defend himself, but the prince was already set.

"I want you to leave here. From now on, your unit is not allowed to patrol the lower district. I will send one of my own units down here if I need to," he demanded, voice filled with determination and spite.

"... Yes, your Majesty."

The foot was lifted off of my back, and the guards left, leaving nothing but me, my sister, the prince and a staring crowd.

I finally stood up, wincing at the pain in my back. Maximus turned to me, and it took me a moment to frantically get down on a knee. "Y-your Majesty..." I said, trying my hardest to sound as though I was alright, and not in pain.

He tapped his foot in annoyance. "... Just get up. I don't want special treatment," he muttered, and I obeyed, slowly getting to my feet.

I felt Lucina come up behind me, glaring at the prince. I was glad she was ok, considering she was throwing rocks.

The prince waved his hand for us to follow as he began walking away. Lucina and I hesitated for a moment, before walking after him.

---5 years later---

"Your Highness, it is time for you to awaken."

A grumble came from under the sheets, and they moved slightly.

"... Your Highness?" I said again, tugging at the blanket slightly.

This time, the 15 year old albino sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What...? Is the neighboring kingdoms attacking?" he groaned, turning to look at me.

"Wha- No! Of course not!" I laughed, and Maximus smiled tiredly. "I apologize for waking you, but it's already well into the morning. Your father sent for you."

At the mention of the king, the rabbit boy's ears twitched irritably. He and his father didn't exactly have a friendly relationship. Maximus didn't want to rule the kingdom the way his father wanted him to, and it resulted in a lot of late night arguments that made Lucina complain. He wanted the whole kingdom to be at peace, having food and shelter. But his father's continuous taxation of the city made that difficult for his son to reverse when he took the throne.

That's the reason he hired me and Lucina as his personal servants. He was trying to protect us from an unfair life, mistreated by his father's guards and struggling to get along. He would do that for everyone if he could, but his father said he could only have two "slaves". Maximus cringed at that word. He hated "servant" as well, but it was the only thing he could call them with out a scolding about how he was superior to simple-minded slaves.

I think he cares more about me and Lucina than his own father.

The prince slowly got out of bed, and I handed him his uniform. He was something along the lines of a friend to me, and I was happy to obey his requests. Lucina was more reluctant to obey the princes orders, but she learned that it was better for her to do so than to not. She still needed a bit of a push occasionally, though...

I wonder what Maximus thinks of me...

(Word count: 1033)

(10/10 dumb little thing-)