Chapter One

The hum of the city was probably what woke him up.

The monotone groan that he'd become accustom to hearing in the background of every single one of his waking thoughts penetrated even his sleep it seemed, pulling him from the slumber he'd held.

He knew he'd been asleep since he'd dreamed, though what he'd actually dreamt about fluttered away from his recollection as he sat up and stretched a bit, the book in his lap sliding off his legs and clumping against the tiled floor.

Slowly, each sense came back.

The, albeit bleak, colors of the world began to sharpen as he shifted his gaze and the dusty, old smell of the library graced his nose again. Even though he didn't mind the smell, it still took him a second to get use to it once more.

Even the hum of the city became louder, like a drummer inching ever closer to him.

As he shifted around, he noticed the plush feeling under him and glanced down to realize he was settled on one of the many couches sitting in the library. They were almost useless; since most people grabbed what book they wanted and left, but he'd always found them comforting when he was engrossed in the brittle pages of one of the ancient tomes.

Why was he even lying down?

One of the memories came back to him with relative ease.

Free time had once again reared its head and he'd retreated into the depths of the library to help ease his boredom.

With a glance, he examined the faded cover of the book he'd been reading, memories about what was held in the pages coming back as he took in the worn blue cover and gold lettering.

The Ancient Kharlan War

He'd gotten to chapter twenty five in the rather large historic edition of the war. Assassinations, battles, victories, defeats, deaths and births, all things mixed into one giant volume of knowledge, though, from his understanding of the subject, at least half of it was already wrong.

Sighing, he stretched again and snatched the book up. Without even marking his page, he tossed it onto a nearby table and glanced around the vast library.

Shelves from the floor to the ceiling, stacked with books. The dull colors of the spines creating the only atmosphere the rather gray room had.

Just as he was thinking about finding another book, a rather irritated voice from out in the city caught his attention.

"Lloyd! Where are you!" There was a slight pause, "Come out here right now! You cannot keep evading your lessons!"

Lloyd sighed in annoyance, flopping himself back onto the couch.

That reminded him of the other reason he had fled to the library. He was being hunted.

Closing his eyes for a second, he thought about where he could go next. There were plenty of hiding places that had been useful in the past but his pursuer seemed persistent.

As if to prove his point, the voice rose from the background noise of the city once again, "Lloyd! Get your ass out here!"

He let out a frustrated string of silent curses before glaring at the ceiling.

Today of all days he was being hunted relentlessly.

Truthfully, the brunette was in a sour mood. Of course, he always got that way when it was his birthday. Even though it was a rather large event that was highly celebrated, the teen wanted nothing to do with it.

Unfortunately, no one would listen to him when he brought it up. Every single person waved him off, so he'd grown accustomed to just getting moody and disproportionally emotional about it. Not that did anything but earn him glares from everyone else who was trying to make it a good day.

However, he'd learned to ignore the angry glances with each passing year.

Closing his eyes once again, the brunette exhaled, feeling his lungs deflate, the air that was forced through his mouth, the way his muscles moved…

"Lloyd!"

Brown eyes snapping open, above him was none other than the person who had been hunting him so fervently before.

"Hey," Lloyd gave a pause, staring into the angry green eyes glaring down at him, "Yuan."

The angry half elf above him only twitched an eyebrow as a response. Despite his earlier shouting, he seemed rather controlled. There was clear disdain on his face though, and his posture, arms crossed tightly over his chest, showed as much as well.

"Are you aware of the time?" He asked.

Lloyd didn't know whether lying would benefit him or not. Regardless, the teen surmised that Yuan had been looking for him for quite awhile.

He went for the carefully neutral response, "Sort of?"

Way to go Lloyd, end it in a question, that'll prove your innocence for sure.

Yuan scoffed at the remark, the normally calm half elf slowly beginning to show his irritation, "You're 'sort of' aware of the time?"

"Pretty much."

"So, are you also 'sort of' aware that you've missed your lessons?"

Oh what the hell? Lloyd decided to play with the conversation, knowing that it'd only anger his teacher more, "yeah… sort of."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the blue haired man heaved a sigh and looked back down upon the teen. It was almost comically obvious that the man was trying to keep a hold of is anger. Lloyd found it a bit amusing, since half of the conversations he and Yuan would engage in turned into a debate; each one of them constantly trying to outmaneuver the others, weaving careful lines of deception and thinking two steps ahead of the other.

Since the man was clearly trying to remain composed, he either sensed the foul mood the teen was in or had higher orders to remain pleasant throughout the day.

With a smirk, Lloyd looked up at the half elf. He had a strong desire to see how far he could push the young man. Not only to check which of his assumptions were correct, but just for the simple reason of pushing the young man's limits.

"No," Yuan stated.

The word jolted the teen from his thoughts and he gave his teacher a look, "I didn't say anything."

"It's that look in your eyes." Lloyd raised an eyebrow to the statement. Yuan gave a hard sigh, "You always get that look when you're planning something."

"I'm not planning anything," the brunette commented lightly, smiling. Dismissing the half elf with a wave of his hand, the teen sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the couch. "So, what else do you need?"

With a huff, the blue haired man responded, "Your father wants to see you. He said, 'after your lessons,' though he's probably wondering if you've fallen off the face of the earth by now."

"How much time has passed?"

"It's been several hours since your lessons."

With a smirk and a bit of sarcasm, the teen commented, "wow, you've been looking for me for that long? That takes some stamina."

If the half elf was displeased with the response, he didn't voice it, "at any rate, it'd be nice if you made an appearance. It is your birthday after all."

Standing, the teen shot his teacher a glare before looking around the library again. The old spines stared at him, greeting him like an old friend, almost begging him to remain in the comforts of the room.

His birthday…

"I guess it is."

Yuan didn't comment on the statement, and instead, glanced around. It was almost like he was trying to see what the teen did, if only for the reason of understanding why the brunette had ditched his lessons.

"Where is he now?" Lloyd asked, not entirely curious.

The idea of seeing his father caused a small shiver through him. He couldn't say he didn't care for the man, but the icy relationship between the two wasn't something easily ignored. It had improved, over time, but the teen could still remember the chilled meetings between the two of them.

It had seemed like his father had dealt with him in reluctance, though he chided himself for thinking like that.

Lloyd knew the man cared, he was just constantly busy. His father had, on more than one occasion, expressed his love, though the brunette was always hesitant to return it.

As if reading his mind, the half elf spoke up, "If it's of any consolation, he seemed excited to see you." A knowingly sad smile lit up the blue haired man's face and the teen had a hard time ignoring it.

Yuan was just trying to help.

Instead of taking comfort in the words though, the teen stood and responded, "Thanks."

The man, anger apparently dissipating, pointed a thumb over his shoulder, "he's waiting in his room, last I heard. He wasn't supposed to have a conference till this evening, and I believe he wanted to schedule a dinner with you, to celebrate-"

Lloyd gave him a hard glance, ending the half elf's statement.

"Alright, why don't you contribute something to this conversation then?" Yuan responded, following the teen as he exited the library.

While the brunette didn't want to speak to the blue haired man, a flicker of his defiance came back and with it, a desire to push his limits.

"Yuan?"

"What?"

"Why don't you give me my lesson? We can head over to your room and you can give me every inch of the lecture you'd had planned for today."

"Lloyd, that's hardly reasonable."

"You said it yourself, I can't keep skipping. I need to know this stuff."

Yuan almost seemed amused at the statement, "You and I both know you don't want to learn this."

"Maybe I've had a change of heart."

"In five seconds? I doubt it."

"You can't really tell me no, can you?" He glanced over and watched the half elf's face twist into one of bitter acknowledgement, though he hid it pretty well. His green eyes scanned ahead of them, seemingly unaware of the teen's prying eyes.

"Lloyd, your father wants to meet with you."

"And I want to learn."

"No. You don't want to meet with your father." The man stopped and looked hard at the brunette, "and you can't avoid him because you don't want to see him. It's your birthday, whether you like it or not, and he'd like to celebrate with you."

The tone of voice Yuan used irritated the teen. He felt like he was being patronized and that caused an angry spark inside of him, "he wants to celebrate with me? Then why didn't he come looking for me?"

"Your father is a busy man, he can't get bogged down with-"

"Too busy to come find his own son!" Lloyd snapped. He could tell the half elf was cursing his choice of words.

"What I mean is, he can't wander around the city to find you. You're already avoiding him, so tell me, if you'd heard him calling your name, would you have gone running up to him, or avoided him like you always do me?"

The two glared at each other.

"You can't tell me no," Lloyd went with, mostly because he didn't want to answer Yuan's question.

He could tell that the blue haired man noticed since a dark smirk passed his lips before he spoke, "No, I guess I can't." That confirmed Lloyd's suspicion, and the teen was going to say more when the half elf continued, "However, I could call anyone up here and they could drag you in themselves."

Anger rushed through the brunette's system, but he held back a quick retort.

Of course Yuan was the only one under that type of restriction.

While his thoughts had been confirmed, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Crossing his arms, he glared to the side, russet eyes scanning the bleak buildings.

The small bout of rebellion dwindled to nothing and he looked back towards Yuan, who seemed pleased. His earlier irritation had vanished in light of the new victory.

"Fine," Lloyd spoke.

"And after you eat," the blue haired man said, a smile creeping onto his face, "we can have your lesson since you've had your 'change of heart'."

All the teen could do was scowl at the half elf. Turning on his heel, he strolled down the long corridors that housed the gray buildings, not caring if the man followed or not.

He was, however, secretly disappointed when Yuan decided to tag along, to make sure everything went well, the man had said. Lloyd knew that meant to keep tabs, but didn't say anything. Instead, he showed his disapproval by staying silent.

Taking the most convoluted route he could imagine, the teen let his hollow footsteps fill his mind while the half elf attempted at conversation.

"So, how are you?" Yuan probed.

The brunette offered no response, so the blue haired man filled the void.

"I'm doing pretty well myself. I have a lot of paperwork, but that in itself isn't a bad thing."

He left a pause, Lloyd assumed, for any comment, but the teen didn't give him the satisfaction of a conversation.

As the man continued on awkwardly with his one sided discussion, the brunette and him stepped on the warp at the front of the city and reappeared at the foot of the castle.

To the teen, there was something foreboding about the black walls that reached into the dark sky. The sleek walls twisted with the storm that seemed to always be raging overhead and the tall arches that served as doorways gave a glimpse into the building, exposing long narrow pathways laid with tiles and furnished, on the walls, with portraits that had long since aged passed identification.

Without a pause in his footsteps though, he made his way into the castle, feeling the weight of the atmosphere crush him. He always tried not to pay attention to it, but couldn't keep it out of the back of his mind. The overwhelming feeling that took him strongly each and every time he laid eyes on the castle consumed him as he slowly reached his destination.

The distinct feeling that he wasn't welcome there.

As he stood in front of his father's door, he examined the extravagantly imprinted designs. The cascading leaves accompanied by the dragons that set the fantasy world ablaze…

It was then, in that silence, that Lloyd noticed Yuan had continued carrying on the conversation.

"-standing, but he's always focusing on other things, not caring whether-"

The brunette turned him out again.

It's a bit depressing that he can successfully carry on a one way conversation.

"Yuan," the teen spoke, finally interrupting the man, "I can speak to my father myself."

There was a pause, causing the brunette to glance over at his teacher. The half elf was looking at him, rather strangely, before shaking his head and fixing his green eyes upon the door. Even with only half of his face shown to the teen though, Lloyd could tell something deep was on the man's mind.

It was as if he was somewhere else, contemplating other things.

Lloyd could almost see the gears turning in his head, and almost asked about it. Almost.

Instead, he reiterated what he'd said earlier, catching the half elf's attention.

"Yeah," the blue haired man muttered. He was quiet for a second longer and then spoke up, "well, have a good time. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"What about my lesson?"

Yuan turned towards the teen, and for a second, Lloyd would have sworn he saw something grave in the man's green eyes. However, it passed quickly and the half elf smirked, "Don't worry about it."

Lloyd could tell that meant you owe me, but didn't comment.

The half elf turned and strolled away, shooting a phrase over his shoulder as the brunette shoved the doors to his father's room open, "Oh, and happy birthday."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The gears in Yuan's mind were already turning as he stepped off through the dark passages into the lower level of the castle. He'd memorized the path a long time ago, and now, his feet carried him without a conscious thought.

It allowed him time to think, at least. He needed to plan out his next move in such a way that it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

The timing, above all else, was critical. Too early and everything he'd worked so hard to accomplish would be blown; too late and he'd be the only one left to pick up the pieces. The thought chilled him a bit. Every single detail had been planned, but he couldn't help but mull over the years of planning, looking at every angle of the situation to see if he'd possibly missed something.

It was agonizing, inching ever closer only to worry at the last second if all of the pieces would fall into place.

Not that I have any control over that…

He shook the thought off. The last thing he needed was to deny himself control. He could and would, if necessary, start things with his own hands, but for the time being, it was better to be at the side lines, letting the events unfold. It was preferable to getting his hands dirty.

At the very least, he could deny any involvement if things went south. Then, if the situation was still salvageable, he could do something about it.

However…

Yuan stopped in front of a large barred door. From the darkness, it was hard to distinguish the black bars from the ink that crept over the half elf's vision. It wasn't impossible though, since he'd seen the place several times before by torch light.

With a skilled hand, he rapped on the bars, a hollow metal clinking filling the stale air.

From within the cell, a rustling sounded and the blue haired man didn't hesitate to speak, "If everything goes correctly, he'll be meeting you soon."

No sound came from the cell, though the half elf had expected as much. Instead, he kept his next statement short and turned on his heel,

"Keep yourself in line till you meet him. That's when you'll want to strike."

The only sound, Yuan's shoes scrapping against the stone floor, permeated the air. There really was nothing else to be said.

All the meeting would do was prove to be a pivotal turning point. Everything else was falling into place, but it was in the upcoming days that everything would change. The make or break of the entire ordeal…

All fourteen years that the plan had been set in motion now came down to one moment in time, where Yuan could only hope all of his efforts hadn't been in vain.

Things being said, hinted at, thoughts impressed or revoked, everything.

It was all on the table and the half elf found himself remarkably uncomfortable with the thought of baring his hand. If this didn't work…

Hell, I have nothing else.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The extravagance of the room always bothered Lloyd slightly, as he stepped through the doors. They swung open with a moan, time proving it was still a formidable foe, even in the angelic castle.

His boots hit the tile harder than he would have liked, making his presence known.

After getting several feet into the room, he stopped, hearing rather than seeing his father moving in the joining room. He could tell there was someone else in the room as well, a muted conversation drowning out the silence.

The teen couldn't focus on what was being said though, since he found his entire body freezing up. Ice filled his veins and panic pumped into his system.

No, he scolded himself, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Still, he couldn't stop his hands from trembling as a man stepped out from the other room.

A pleasant smile split his face and his body visibly relaxed as if he'd been expecting someone far more sinister. Light green eyes lit up and with a graceful step, he strolled forward, long blonde hair flowing behind him. Even though his wings, a multitude of colors, were sprouted from his back, he used his white clad feet to carry him across the foyer, over to the brunette.

As he came to a stop in front of Lloyd, the teen looked up, stifling the shaking in his hands.

"Ah, Lloyd," the man spoke, his voice sweet and melodic, "I see that you finally made it."

It took a second for the teen to react. "Y-yes," he stammered out, quickly biting his tongue. He closed his eyes for a moment, calming himself down. He didn't need to sound as scared as he was, and mentally, he chided himself for being so terrified in the first place.

As he opened his russet orbs again, he stared straight into the eerie green eyes of the man before him and spoke, letting his tenor voice carry throughout the room, "I apologize for being late, father."