The Boy King

Seven years ago...

Horo-Horo reluctantly entered the throne room of the Kouri palace. The five-day sea voyage was long and tiring but his father instructed him to meet him there as soon as he arrived. There was no one in the throne room but the bulky monarch who waited for him by the window. The king of Kouri looked grim the entire time.

"I'm home," the prince called out for his father's attention in a whisper. The king turned to face him with his eyebrows almost meeting in the middle.

"For just barely a year, you had broken the academy's rules, caused two security school personnel to lose their jobs, interfered with the royal police operations and got your friend killed in the process. My son, I had expected a lot from you," King Lycan spoke these words dangerously calm.

Horo-Horo wanted to melt into nothingness. The last thing that he wanted to do was to disappoint his father.

"I'm sorry… " That was all he could say. He tried to hold back the tears. He did not want to cry in front of the king of Kouri.

Seeing the tears welling in his son's eyes, King Lycan's facial expression slightly softened. If Yukina were there, she would have reprimanded him for shouting at their traumatized son.

"I'm relieved that you were not killed much less hurt during the whole ordeal. I will be forever grateful to your friend. I had lost my wife. I can't imagine my grief if I were to lose my son. You may go and rest in your room. I only asked the head master to give you a month-long break. Make use of the time to reflect and forget about what happened."

"Yes Father…"

King Lycan strolled outside to breathe fresh air hoping that his anger would dissipate. He had wanted to scold Horo-Horo badly but he couldn't do it. How could he? His usually over energetic son seemed broken in spirit. He was not answering back like he used to and that's what made the king of Kouri even more worried.

How can I bring him back to his normal self?

He was passing by a tall apple tree when a newly hatched birdie suddenly fell down from its nest. It lay dead on the ground, its body smashed by the impact. The king felt an unusual wave of coldness.

A bad premonition.

Intuitively, he ran towards the balcony of the prince's room. He was calmed to find his son sitting on the balustrade. Yet there was something uncharacteristic in the way he stared into the endless horizon. The death of his dear friend must have such deep impact on him. Out of the blue, Horo-Horo leaned forward and dove headfirst into the ground.

King Lycan frantically dashed forward and spread out his arms to catch his son with all his might. He successfully caught him but his shaking knees eventually gave way. They both tumbled down on the grassy ground.

"What in Great Spirit's name are you doing?" he bellowed at his son.

"Damuko died because of me… I don't want to go back there." Horo-Horo started to cry.

"Then why didn't you say so? If you don't want to go back then don't!" He said exasperatedly. "But on one condition," King Lycan grabbed his golden crown and plopped it on his son's head. "…from this moment on you will be king of Kouri. If you tried to kill yourself again, you are leaving the people of this kingdom with no leader. Do not betray the people's trust by abandoning your post."

Horo-Horo stared at his father in astonishment. He was not able to speak anything out of shock.

"Do not let your friend's death go in vain. She sacrificed her life so that you may live and what did you do in return? You go on performing this daredevil stunt to kill yourself. Pathetic!"

The young boy lowered his head in shame.

King Lycan tried to breathe normally to control his swelling anger. "I'm appointing one of my trusted soldiers to be your personal bodyguard. He will keep an eye on you in case you do something crazy again. I will telegram the Royal Patch Academy tomorrow to inform them that you won't be coming back and that your sister will take your place instead. I will also ask them to ship back the rest of your things here."

Everything had happened so fast. He was suddenly made king, he was allowed to stop schooling and now his little sister will be studying at the academy. "Wait, why are you sending Pirika over?" the prince had finally found his voice.

The king let out an audible sigh, "It's what your Mother had wished for before she died."