Chapter 4

Nestled delicately in the habitable zone of a particularly large blue giant existed a planet covered predominantly in freshwater. This celestial body is recognizable far and wide by its sister star systems and is famous for its extensive plant and animal diversity. It remains stagnant on the evolutionary timeline in regard to intelligent life, but does not disappoint in the abundance of heterogeneity. To survive, the residents must be adept observers of their environment and, as a consequence, have been unable to partake in metaphysics. Every now and again, a denizen of this planet will attempt to invent poetry, philosophy, or self-awareness, and meet their demise in the stomach of a more attentive carnivore. Regardless if it’s flora or fauna.

On a splendidly temperate afternoon, a certain spacecraft came careening into the atmosphere and collided violently into the marsh which scattered a variety of animal life with screams of terror. The occupants didn’t waste a moment thrusting open the hatch and scrambling over each other to gulp down the fresh air.

“We’re alive!” One of the men declared, stumbling into the silty mud and practically disappearing amongst the reeds. He collapsed on his back into the murky water, his cropped wavy blond hair getting engulfed in the muck. He closed his yellow eyes in a moment of thankful bliss, letting out an exhale of gratitude, before remembering to keep his guard up. In an instant, a green scaly reptile emerged from the glades, snapping its jaw with a beastly snarl until the second man swung a sword and slashed it in two.

“Don’t be a moron, Rowan.” The older man growled, flicking the blood from his blade. Rowan couldn’t help chuckling at the situation.

“That’s why I keep you around, King Reign.” He replied, sitting up and climbing to his feet to stretch his sore limbs. The three of them had been cooped up in a small escape craft after abandoning their ship in the midst of mutiny. The king stood tall, his long dark hair matted with the blood of his retainers he’d been forced to cut down. The battle was arduous and divisive, they’d been forced to fight against many warriors they’d once allied with. King Reign darted out a hand and collected the collar of the younger man’s uniform in his grasp, lifting Rowan’s smaller frame until he was balanced on his toes.

“Do not make light of this.” He seethed in a warning tone before dropping him with a shove. Rowan stumbled back, but before he could reply, he caught something from the corner of his eye and drew his gun. Four shots rang through the swamp as the tentacle of another hungry creature attempted to ensnare the king and was thwarted.

“Apologies, my liege.” Rowan stated, holstering his gun.

“Would you two quit bickering?” The quivering voice of the third traveler requested, finally popping his head through the door of the spacecraft with a heavy hint of green in his complexion.

“Apologies, my prince.” Rowan added, extending a hand to help the young man step out. As he turned to assist the other, King Reign raised an eyebrow at what had attached itself to the back of the blond man’s neck. He reached out and pinched the tale of a leech, ripping it from its perch and flicking it into the reeds.

“Of all the places, you picked Pantano.” The king grumbled, watching as his son gracelessly climbed into the muck holding onto Rowan for dear life. He glowered at the sight, turning away when he couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

“There wasn’t a lot to choose from since we crammed ourselves into an escape pod meant for one passenger.” Rowan reminded the king, taking a step back when the prince finally doubled over and lost the contents of his stomach. “You alright there, Abe?”

Prince Able was first in line to the throne, a constant irritant in his father’s expectations when compared to his younger brother. He was short and physically unimpressive for a man, didn’t have a single whisker on his chin, and his figure was far more feminine despite the clothing he wore. Where he attempted to excel in strength, strategy, and masculinity, he fell short due to his passive personality type.

“Get a hold of yourself, you’re an embarrassment.” King Reign demanded, using his sword once again to slice up a slithering vine from a carnivorous plant.

“Come on, we’re all tired and hungry. Let’s not go…” Rowan attempted to mitigate the situation and fell silent as he was immediately spoken over.

“When am I not an embarrassment, father?? Maybe you should’ve left me behind! Then there might’ve been enough oxygen to fly off and find Leo!!” The prince argued back, his voice rising in pitch.

“...Picking fights.” Rowan finished dismally, letting out a heavy sigh as he leaned against their ship and folded his arms.

“You’re too old to be acting like a spoiled brat! If you haven’t learned yet how not to be a miserable disappointment, you’ll never understand what it takes to be king!”

Rowan cringed at the family drama, raising his hands to try and calm the two down. Prince Able sputtered indignantly, trying to say a dozen things at once until he settled on one.

“What it takes to be king?? You ran away! You’re on some swamp planet and our entire planet is…!”

A throwing knife suddenly whizzed by and sunk into a hairy mammal’s skull a short distance away, dropping it instantly.

“That’s enough, the both of you!” Rowan declared, stomping through the water to stand between them. He glared first at the prince, then at the king until his expression dissolved into bitter annoyance. “Fighting will get us nowhere. We need to focus on finding Prince Leonidas and Princess Tyra, they could be in grave danger.”

Prince Able slowly relaxed, silently admitting the other man was right. It was no use fighting each other when they might very well be the last of their kind. The thought sickened him, but for now it seemed in his best interest to try getting along with his father.

“Maybe now you’ll listen to me when I tell you to marry a man like Rowan.” The king muttered in poor taste, catching both off guard. Abe and Rowan shared an equally distasteful frown, staring at each other incredulously before the prince turned on his heel and marched away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” King Reign demanded, watching the young man stomp through the muddy waters.

“Away from you…!”

The prince was almost cut off when he found a hidden sinkhole and plunged through feet first, disappearing into nothing. Rowan gaped at the sight, panicking when the other was completely swallowed by the marsh. However, before he could leap in after the other, King Reign trudged through the water and plunged his arm into the opening. He dug around for a moment until he found what he was looking for and yanked his son back to the surface. Able coughed and sputtered, choking up murky water as he shook his hand and sent a long-toothed fish flying through the air.

“I hate this stupid planet!” He announced, tears of frustration brimming at his eyes while three leeches adorned his face. Rowan grimaced at the sight but marched forward to help the prince compose himself.