Upside Down

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Summary: At the age of sixteen, Haru Glory goes from farmer to Prince, engaged to the beautiful Princess Celia. But, after meeting a poor girl, he finds himself more in love than he ever was. Unfortunately, another Prince has his sight set on this girl, and will do everything to obtain her – even kill.

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Author's Note: I'M SO SORRY FOR TAKING DOWN If I Fall!!!!!!!!! I truly, sincerely am! It was going in a direction I had wanted it, and then I lost interest…T~T I'm so sorry…please don't hate me. Dx
On a better note, this one's been all planned out, so if I lose interest than I don't think I'll be fit to call myself a writer anymore. =D

Oh, by the way, I meant to throw this in the next chapter of If I Fall, but…well, you know…
I think I have a problem – my friend and I were talking about the Pokémon games Diamond and Pearl, and since I have Pearl Version, I started to play. Well, when I got my starter Pokémon (the water one – Piplup) I decided to name it Haru. Well, that sparked a desire to make all six of my main Pokémon named after the Rave Warriors. Anyways, after deciding that, I went and caught myself a Starly, which is a bird Pokémon, and named him Let because…well, I didn't want to wait so long in the game to catch a dragon type for him. Next, I went to the liberty of catching an electric Pokémon (a Shinx) and named him Musica because he gets REALLY strong as he evolves. Next, I found this water type called a Buizel and since it was a girl, I named her Julia! Next, I plan to catch a Pichu and name her Elie, and some fire type and name it Shuda (this one is still undergoing which Pokémon.)
I have included a site at the bottom the chapter that you can view all these Pokémon. 8D

I know that's long, and you don't really have to read it. Just a little side-info about yours truly.

Disclaimer: I own no character from Rave nor any Pokémon. Just several of their products.

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Chapter One: The Truth?

"S-sir, what do you mean?" a tall man asked, backing away from the man he had been talking to in shock. "Sir Alpine, you can't possibly mean what you've just said. King Gale never married!"

The man he was talking to stared back at him, his light eyes narrowed, "I meant every word, Soldier. While His Highness indeed never married, it would appear that he had begun a family with a farmers' orphaned daughter; a young lady by the name of Sakura. It would also appear," he continued, holding up one hand to stop an interruption, "that he and Sakura had produced two children together – a young girl by the name of Cattleya, and a young man several years later by the name of Haru. Unfortunately, during the King's absence, both Sakura and Cattleya suffered from the disease, leaving young Haru on his own."

The crowd around him fell silent. "Alpine, why would King Gale neglect to tell his own country about this little family of his?" a young girl asked, her black hair framing her tanned face. Next to her, two other men nodded in agreement, obviously at a loss for words. "It's heartbreaking enough to learn of his death, but to not even know of our own King's lover and two children…unforgiveable. We are not fit to call ourselves Knights of the Symphonian Army!"

"Now is not the time to reprimand ourselves, Clea," one of the other men said calmly, his long pipe hanging from his mouth, "We need to find this unknown Prince, and quickly; the villagers have caught wind of the King's death, and questions of his heir are floating around. If we do not act soon, a revolt may very well happen."

Immediately, the crowd around them called out in agreement. "Very well," Alpine said softly, turning to his friends, "Dalmatian, can you take your troops to the northern part of town? Check each farm you meet, and find the boy Haru."

"It will be my honor," he replied immediately, gesturing for a fourth of the troops around to follow him.

Alpine waited several minutes for them to leave before turning to the other man; a large man with hair the color of copper and eyes that were kind and yet intimidating. "Deerhound, I trust you to the southern part of the land. The people there trust you, do they not?"

"'Course they do! Don't you worry, Alpine; we'll find this Haru kid!" Deerhound cried, grinning cheerfully at the green haired man. "Oy, all troops under my command, let's get rolling!" Another forth of the soldiers followed him out, looking rather weary.

Clea bowed to him, clenching her fists tightly, "Alpine, if it pleases you, may I take my troops and head to the eastern front? My daughter's ill, and I was hoping to visit her for the remainder of her pregnancy." Alpine bowed his head, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course, Clea. When you have finished your search, send a messenger back to the castle with your results and come back as soon as your grandchild has been born and nursed to health," he granted softly. The woman nodded, smiling gratefully at him and gesturing for her own fourth of the troops to follow behind her. Alpine turned to a man with jet black hair and dark green eyes, leaning against a wall some feet away, "I am astounded at you Shiba – you have remained silent. What's on your mind?"

The man shrugged, looking away, "Maybe this kid doesn't want to be found," he pointed out briskly, "You ever think of that, Alpine?"

Alpine's eyes narrowed. "No man would turn down the opportunity of royal blood, Shiba. I'm entrusting the western lands. There are few farmers that still live there, which is why I'm asking you to go there. The farmers there are less trustworthy of the government due to attacks from the Raregrooves half a century ago, and won't take too kindly if a soldier were to appear at their door," he explained, sighing.

"What, do you want me to do? Lie to those people and disguise myself?" Shiba asked, pushing off the wall. Alpine bowed his head, and the younger one's mouth dropped, "A-alright, if that's what you want. I'll do my best to find this Haru kid!" he cried, grinning at him as he ran out.

Alpine watched him go, gesturing for the remaining soldiers to return to their stations. "You are our only hope, Haru Glory-Symphonia. Please, do not let us down," he said softly, taking one last look at the empty spaces that held his friends before turning on his heel and heading into the castle.

~*~

Miles away, sweat was dripping from nearly every pore from his tanned body, but Haru Glory refused to stop until all of the soil was tilled. It was rough work, tilling soil, and by far the young man's least favorite farm chore. But, it had to be done; he needed the money the produce would eventually earn him. Though, he had to admit, he was much better off than some of his fellow farmers – Shige was several hundred Edels in debt because of a drought he had been unable to fight.

While he disliked having to work so hard day-in, day-out, Haru had to admit that he was good at what he did. His produce was exceptionally large, and the villagers told him each day he was out there selling that it tasted far better than the others. He was modest, and simply thanked them and promised to bring in more next time he was there.

Finally, the man brought the hoe up from the soil, grinning at his work – now for the easy part; planting. Whistling, he slung the hoe across his shoulders, heading back across his field to his shed to grab the seeds. Briefly, he glanced up at the sun and sighed – there would be no time for him to make it into town to catch the crowds before suppertime. As if the mere thought of food had made him hungry, his stomach growled loudly against his patched tunic. Laughing, the man pushed the door of his shed open and placed his hoe on the rack, grabbing the large packet of seeds.

With tired arms that were still sweating, Haru lugged the bundle over the newly tilled seeds, ripping open the top and grabbing a handful. Cheerfully, he tossed the seeds onto the soil, moving around his field slowly to make sure that enough seeds landed in the right place. When he was done, the bundle was completely empty, and he was even sorer than he had been before he started planting. Sighing, he dragged himself into his tiny little house several feet away from his shed, sitting down in a chair and rubbing his sore arms.

"I need a helper or something…" he muttered, groaning as he picked himself off the chair and went to the washroom to get rid of all the sweat on his body before he ate; an old rule of his mother's before she passed away along with his older sister due to some disease.

That had been when he was ten. He was sixteen now.

Silently, he washed himself off and went to the icebox, pulling out a small bottle of milk and one slab of meat, lighting a fire. It wasn't the life his mom had wanted for him, he knew, but it was one he enjoyed.

Several minutes passed until he finally put the meat in a dingy little pan, carefully watching it to make sure that it didn't burn, occasionally prodding at it with a wooden fork to keep it moving. Sighing, he dumped the slab onto a wooden plate, scowling down at it. The sole part of his life that Haru detested was the cooking – he couldn't do it the way his mom and sister had always managed.

He sighed, stabbing the meat with his fork and ripping off a bite, trying not to think of his family, especially not his absent father.

The only thing that Haru had ever known about him was that they looked, apparently, identical. From what his older sister had told him – his mom had burst into tears whenever she was asked about him – the man had to leave when Haru was just a baby for some sort of quest. According to Cattleya, he wasn't really around before, just little visits now and then. Just before Haru had been born was when he vanished, and although his mother seemed to know why, she refused to tell Cattleya.

The farmer sighed, shaking his head and clearing such thoughts away. "I don't give a damn about my dad!" he cried, tearing off another chunk from the meat. Just as he was finishing, a sudden pounding from the door caused him to pause as he was about to begin washing his woken utensils. "What the…?" he asked, placing the plate and fork on the table and heading to the door.

As soon as he opened the door, a man that was by far older than he was fell onto him, knocking them both over. "What the hell?!" Haru cried in shock, catching them both on his palms. The man groaned, and it was then that the farmer noticed a series of bruises, cuts, and blood on his skin and clothes, "H-hey, are you alright?!"

"H-help…please…" the man groaned, sounding feeble, "P-please…water…something…" he continued, looking up and staring at Haru with eyes that were darker than any other green the farmer had ever seen before.

Immediately, he set into motion; pulling the man off of him and grabbing some water from his porch-well. "H-here, drink this," he commanded, nearly throwing the liquid down his throat. The man took large grateful gulps, water trickling down his cheeks and dribbling onto his chin. Three more times Haru went back and retrieved water for the man until he was able to deny it. "You sure?" the farmer asked him worriedly, helping him into a sitting position.

"Yes, thank you," he replied gratefully, grinning up at him. "You got a name, kid?" he asked in a strange voice – he didn't sound nearly as weak as he had when he fell onto Haru.

"Name's Haru," Haru replied, sitting in a chair next to him, "You?" he asked. The man grinned happily, jumping up and bowing deeply. "E-eh…? But…but, what about your wounds?" Haru asked, nearly falling out of the chair.

The man laughed heartily, shaking his head. "All fake, my liege! Ooh, Alpine's gonna be so happy when I bring you back to the castle!" he cried, grinning up at the confused boy. Haru blinked at him, and gave him a look that was clearly questioning his sanity. For whatever reason, the man found this insanely funny, and slid into the chair across from him, "Haru, have you ever seen a picture of King Gale Glory-Symphonia IV?"

Haru shook his head, "My mom taught me to read and to write, but she had no pictures of the King." The man grinned wider, looking truly elated.

"Well, you're his spitting image. I've seen the King myself, before he vanished, and trust me – you look identical to him," he said cheerfully, leaning on the table. "Haven't you ever wondered who you really are? I mean, this little farm is cozy and all that, but didn't you ever think of being something…more? Something a lot better than this?" he asked in a low voice.

The farmer wanted to deny every question. He wanted to pretend that his mom's distance towards his father and the longing of the truth of who he was just didn't exist. But, this man's words rung with bells of truth that were impossible to even consider denying. "Who are you? Why are you coming here and asking me all these questions about my family and the King?" Haru replied, keeping his face smooth. However, the man opposite him seemed to have picked something up from his tone, and he leaned in closer.

"Who I am isn't nearly as important as whom you are, Haru. Are you ready to hear the truth? I can answer all those questions that you've been denied since birth," he asked, leaning in closer. Haru stared at him wondrously, shaking slightly. Unable to say anything, he merely nodded, looking down at his hands. "Your mother, Sakura, was the lover of our late King Gale Glory-Symphonia IV. His Highness left the Kingdom sixteen years ago in order to defend our great lands against the Raregroove family, but we've recently received news of his premature death, though the Raregrooves also suffered a great defeat – our King managed to slay their own.

"We also learned, from reading his will, of his beautiful lover of the name Sakura. He left everything to her, and, if the slim chance she is not around at the time of his death, to his oldest living descendant. Through the townspeople, we learned that the farmer Sakura died six years ago alongside her daughter Cattleya with the disease that spread through this town. Through my own private investigation, I learned that a young boy was still living there, a teenager with the trademark Symphonian silver hair…

"I checked each and every farm in this area, Haru, and not one person ran to my aid the way that you did. Not one of these people had hair that was as silver as your own, which is what I was really checking. Anyways, I knew from the instant that you helped me through my false injuries who you are. Have you guessed yet? You, Haru, are the young heir that we've searched for; Prince Haru Glory-Symphonia; the new King of Symphonia!"

Silence followed his exclamation, but the man did not waver. Haru, instead, was unable to stay as calm; tears were flowing down his tanned cheeks, and he was holding his head in his hands. "My dad was the…the King…and my mom didn't even tell us…" he muttered, clenching his eyes closed tightly. "My dad was the King, and that means that I'm royalty. Not just any sort of royalty…the King. Oh, God…"

"Those at the castle have been awaiting your arrival, my King. The crowning ceremony will take place soon, if you are willing to return to the castle with me. Haru," he said seriously, kneeling next to him, "this is your choice. If you do not wish to take up the legacy that your father has left you, I will never tell a soul of your whereabouts. If you wish to come with me, and leave this all behind, then I will take you. I do not wish to take away this life of yours if you do not wish for it, nor do I have any desire to force my King into what he does not wish for. Again, Haru, this choice belongs to you alone."

Haru stared down at him, wiping away his tears silently. "I…I will come. I will face my awaiting destiny," he finally said, standing. The man grinned up at him happily, taking the hand that Haru offered for him, "Please…take me to the castle. I want to know who I really am."

"It shall be my pleasure, Prince Haru," he replied calmly, watching Haru look around the tiny house. The only thing he made a movement to grab was a framed photograph of his mom, sister, and him just before the elder two became sick. The man bowed his head to give him some privacy, waiting patiently while Haru took his last looks around.

The silver haired Prince felt a very strange repel from this place – it was the place that his mother sunk into depression before her death, where his older sister was confined against her dreams of freedom, and where he had resigned himself to living in forever. He had never once thought of himself as anything but an orphaned farmer, but now…now, he was Prince of Symphonia! A smile appeared on his face at the thought, and he finally turned back around to face the other man, who had been careful enough to avert his eyes. "I'm ready," the Prince said firmly, standing back up and heading towards him, "When we get to the castle…will everything be explained?"

The man nodded, holding the door open for him, "Of course, Haru. Lessons will begin immediately, and once you are decent with a sword you shall be crowned the King." Haru nodded, taking a deep breath before stepping outside, grinning as he heard the door close behind him.

"I never did catch your name," he asked as they began walking. The Prince gazed out at the fields he had so laboriously worked on the past six years, feeling an odd sense of attachment to them. They, if nothing else on his mother's land, had been his mantra. The work had been hard, there was no denying that, but it was soothing to him. The farm work was an escape to him, a chance to ignore the previously unanswerable questions.

"I'm called the Sword Saint around the castle, but you can call me Shiba," Shiba replied, noticing his longing looks, "My Prince, I will personally find a good family to take control of your mother's land."

Haru nodded, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to continue moving forward. "Thank you, Shiba," he replied softly, clutching the picture tightly as they continued on.

*

"Can you wait here for me?" Shiba asked lowly once they reached the grand castle, "I'm going in to get Alpine – he'll explain everything." Haru nodded nervously, glancing around at the numerous guards patrolling around. "They won't bother you, don't worry," the black haired soldier said, noticing his uneasiness, "I'll be right back."

Without another word, Shiba slipped into the castle, leaving Haru to marvel at the beautiful grounds that would soon belong to him. However, these marvels were cut short by a loud bang from within, following by a thundering of footsteps towards the door that Shiba had just disappeared behind. "E-eh?" Haru asked, stepping back slightly. In seconds, his questions were answered by the door flying open and a crowd of people running towards him.

The head of them was an older man with long, spring green hair, and eyes that were the kind that sparkled even in the night. "My Prince!" he cried, grabbing his shoulders before Haru could sprint away, "My God, you truly do look King Gale!" the man grabbed his hand, and, thankfully, simply held it instead of kissing it. The other soldiers around him strained to get a better look for a brief second before kneeling down as well, much to Haru's unnerved mind.

"H-hey…hey!" he said, shaking his head, "Come on, don't bow to me! I'm no King yet – I'm still a farmer until the crown is on my head, OK?!" he said desperately, gently pulling away his hand and bowing to them, "Please…I just want to know about my family and why my dad really left behind the people he claimed to love."

Silence settled over the crowd at his bow, and no one dared to break it. "Alpine, you explain to Haru what the hell's going on, and I'll send out messengers to the people of our land," Shiba said calmly, smiling at Haru as if he approved. Alpine nodded, shouting demands to the soldiers to disperse before turning away and leaving Haru behind. "Follow him; he's obedient, and if you want him to think of you as a farmer for now, he will," Shiba explained, pushing him forward.

Rushing, Haru followed him, waving at Shiba once before turning back to Alpine, jogging besides him. "Sir, Alpine, where are we going?" he asked breathlessly, nearly running to keep up.

"I will explain all in due time. Now, in here, Prince Haru," he directed, stopping at a large door and holding it open for him, "Wait here for me and the other Knights." Obviously, Haru thought as he stepped inside, this man does not take 'no' for an answer. Before Haru could ask when he would explain, Alpine shook his head, "Wait for me here. The truth shall be learned soon enough."

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Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY. I really, truly, am!!! I PROMISE to make updates MUCH faster than they have been!!! ;___; Don't hate me, lovely readers…