Title: Do I Belong Here?
Author: Laheara
Summary: This is my take on Dastan's early life just after the King brought him to the palace. How does he win over his brothers, the problems along the way and how he sets it straight in his own mind that his world has changes. Dastan has some hard memories and lots of new challenges to deal with the first year he's in the palace. Will his new brothers ignore him or try to help?

"Brother, take him up."

Dastan was in awe as he passed through the palace gates. No one ever got this close to the palace without the guards shoving them back. It was a very open space beyond gates and the stairs were lined with servants wanting to help the King and his brother. They stopped and servants came to help the King off and another took his horse. Nizam waved over a tall man who stood ready beside the horse. The royal nudged Dastan's arm and pointed to the man.

"This man will help you down, boy."

"I don't need help." Dastan quickly pulled his left leg over the saddle and jumped down right in front of the man.

The King smiled at the boys energy as he came over while Nizam dismounted. "I will let you get cleaned up and have a proper meal then I will introduce you to your brothers."

"I have brothers?"

"You do now. My two sons, Prince Tus and Prince Garsiv, will become your brothers." The King put a hand on Dastan's shoulder and pointed up at the beautiful golden exterior of Nasaf's palace. "This is now your home Dastan. You will be a Prince from now on."

Dastan looked up at the immense building before him. You could see this place from all over the city but few had ever gotten close to it and no one he knew had ever been inside. It was known as a forbidden place for people like him. And now to be told that he would be living there with the King and Princes was a lot to digest.

Dastan seemed very lost in thought so Sharaman waved a woman over and ordered a room be made ready for the new Prince along with a meal and a bath. The woman hurried away to the pass on these orders and as she vanished into the palace another woman came to take Dastan. She took his hand and guided him inside as he watched as the king and Nizam pass there swords and outer cloaks to waiting servants.

"Come, brother, we have news for you to pass on to our friends here and abroad on your visit to Avrat tomorrow."

The two royal brothers disappeared down a long hallway to the left and Dastan was guided to the right into the living quarters of the palace. He was taken to a room with a long table and placed in a large seat and told to wait.

Dastan had no trouble with the request he was still staring at all the beautiful things around him. He was interested in the polished marble the most and found it funny he could see himself in it. When a servant came in with a plate of fruit to get him started he pointed. "Will there be more of this stone in my room?"

The young girl looked at where he was pointing and smiled as she nodded. "Oh yes, there is marble all over the palace."

"Great!" Dastan picked up an apple, his favorite fruit, and smiled as he bit into it.

Shortly a full meal was in front of him and it all smelled delicious. He had to lean forward to see everything he had to choose from and finally piled about one of everything on the plate in front of him. He would start by looking to see if he recognized it first, then sniffed it and then tasted it slowly. Some things he liked right away and other he found to sour or spicy or just didn't like the taste. The things he didn't like he put to the right hand side and the things he did stayed to his left. He noticed the pile on the left was certainly bigger and smiled. He remembered his mother teaching him not to be picky with his food and that you should try everything and be happy you have it.

He was surprised at how hungry he was but then remembered all the running from the guards. He managed to take a good bite out of everything on the table before he was to full to eat anything else. He sat and let his stomach settle for a few moments then jumped off the chair and walked around the room looking everything over. Finally his eyes fell on the one thing that he wanted to see the most. He walked over to a large blue pedestal with a white stone on top and bottom that had large purple vase sitting on top. He also remembered his mother teaching him not to touch anything that looked valuable in case you broke it by mistake. So he was very careful to observe the vase without actually touching it.

Instead he circled the vase about five times looking at from every angle he could at his current height. Then he wanted to see the top of it so he pulled the chair over and climbed up. He was no tall enough to see inside. It was empty but the gold detail on the top was just as beautiful as on the sides. He hadn't realized how long he was staring at the vase until he felt a hand on his arm. He looked down to see the same young serving girl from before.

"Your bath is prepared, my Prince. Please come with me."

Dastan wrinkled his nose at her calling him a prince but remembered what the King told him before. He took her hand so she could help him down and he followed her. She smiled at him as they walked. "I think you will like your quarters, it's not far from your brothers but still close to the baths and banquet hall. It looks out on the city below."

"Really? Do you think I'll be able to see where I lived from the window?" Dastan asked as he skipped beside her.

She smiled and nodded. "I don't know but you can see a lot of Nasaf from up there."

They went up a couple beautifully ornate staircases and down corridors with windows. Dastan ran from window to window looking out to see if he recognized anything. Things seemed so different seeing them from above, but since he spent so much time running on walls and roofs he did see some he knew.

The halls seemed to get even more ornate the further they went and finally they reached a room with a large bath in the center and Dastan walked over to put a finger in to test the temperature. He smiled that it wasn't too hot or cold. The girl held out her arms and pointed at his clothes. "I'll take your clothes to be washed. You can keep them if you like but you'll be given new ones that are more appropriate for your new position."

Dastan thought for a moment but liked having his old clothes around to remind him where he came from and in case he decided he wanted to go back. "I'd still like to keep them." The girl nodded and waiting while he undressed. "Has the King ever done anything like this before? I mean, just take in someone off the streets?"

She actually laughed this time. "No, never. You must have really impressed him today with that rescue. My brother was one of the honour guard out this morning and he told me what you did. It was very brave."

"It wasn't anything important, I was just helping my friend Bis. He's good at getting into trouble and I always have to get him out of it. When can I see him again? I really want to show him this place and tell him he can visit whenever he wants."

Dastan looked a little nervous as he stopped disrobing. "Could you?" He made a circle with his finger of her turning around. A great smile spread across her face and she quickly obeyed. He took off the last layer of clothing and climbed into the bath. "Alright, I'm in."

She turned back around, the smile still on her face and passed him soap and a cloth. "I'll go get you something to wear, just call when you're done. And don't forget that hair." She flipped a strand of hair off his forehead before turning around and leaving.

Dastan giggled and just sat there soaking for a while before he started cleaning. As ordered he dunked his head to get his hair wet and put the soap to it. He was enjoying the scented water when the girl came back and placed a white shirt, silver and gold trimmed jacket, black pants and shoes on a chair nearby.

She walked over to observe his progress and handed him a bottle of scented oil. "Here, put this in your hair and we'll put more on your skin when you dry off, it will make you smell nice."

Dastan tipped the bottle towards him to smell and liked the scent. She leaned down and whispered, "It's lavender and jasmine." He did as instructed and then look back at her.

She held out a large towel that could wrap around him at least twice and looked away while he climbed out. She couldn't help but smile at the boy's modesty. She dried him off then took some oil in her hands and rubbed it on his back. He took some and put it on his arms. She helped him get dressed and held him at arms length to look him over.

"Would you like me to brush your hair?" She pointed to a table and a mirror against the wall next to a window. He ran over and hopped up looking at the detailing on the mirror. She picked up a brush and started working the knots out of his locks. She put some metal clasps in for decoration and combed it all back from his face.

She pointed to a door to their left. "Your room is in there."

He turned quickly and looked at her with a big smile of anticipation. Then jumped down and ran across the room. He opened the door and stepped in to see and enormous room with a big four-poster bed, three large windows, another table and chair, a table for eating and lots of decorations everywhere. The ceiling had incredibly detailed painting and gold work and the white drapes flowed in the gentle breeze. It smelled like a combinations of his bath salts and the oils and he saw candles and incense burning.

Dastan turned around to look at the girl. "This is all mine? You could fit fifty people in this space."

"You're a Prince now, Dastan. You're going to have a lot of nice things."

"Is this what my brother's rooms look like?"

"Close, but they have personal things they've acquired over the years. You'll get to add lots that you like in time also. Like this."

Dastan looked over to see she had moved to a space near the double wooden doors. He saw the pedestal and the vase he had been admiring from before. "I can have it? I won't get in trouble?"

"The King said you can have anything you like. I saw how interested you were in this so I had it brought up. There are plenty of these to take its place down there. If you see anything else you like just tell me."

"So I'll be seeing you more?"

"Would you like that?"

"Yes, you've been very nice." He blushed a little but kept eye contact with her.

She smiled and nodded. "Well then, it's a good thing they King has made me your personal servant. My name is Cora."

Dastan had a huge smile on his face as he walked over and hugged her. "I'm glad, Cora."

"Now I have to take you down to meet your Father and Brothers."

"I can't wait to meet them and we can start to have fun together. They can show me around the rest of this place and their rooms. And I want to thank the King for being so kind."

"You'll be able to tell him that very soon. Come let's go." She fidgeted with his clothes and hair a little longer to be sure he looked his best and then led him to the double doors.

They walked down a couple more corridors and along the way she pointed out his brothers rooms down the hall from him. "This is the Kings private meeting room. You only come in here when invited by His Majesty and always wait to be announced." She spoke to a man on the left of the door and he disappeared inside. Dastan was able to make out a little of the room through the doors before they closed again. A few moments late the man came back and the doors opened fully. Cora waved for him to go in but he hesitated. Then he saw the King stand and wave him forward so he followed.

As Dastan entered the bright room he saw a very ornate table with five equally ornate chairs around it. The walls were covered in art and fabrics and the again the drapes weaved in the breeze and he could smell a different fragrance than in his room. Sharaman sat at the head of the table and two boys not much older than him sat to the King's right. Dastan assumed these were his new brothers. He walked over and a man pulled the chair out for him to sit opposite the sandy haired boy. He saw the boy smile as his new brother came closer and it was sincere. However, the dark haired boy didn't seem as inviting. He followed Dastan with his eyes but didn't smile or nod.

When Dastan was seated at the table the King sat also. "Dastan, these are my sons, Tus, the future Crown Prince of Persia and his younger brother, Prince Garsiv. They will help you learn your way around and get you ready for up-coming events in the short-term."

Dastan looked at each boy as they were introduced and Tus smiled and extended a hand of greeting which Dastan took. When he put out his hand to Garsiv the boy hesitated and looked at his father. Tus kicked him under the table and finally he took his new little brother's hand in a very brief shake. As soon as he was released his hand snaked back under the table and could be seen wiping it off. Tus kicked him again and he just shrugged and sat perfectly still and straight looking at his Father.

Dastan looking at the King and smiled. "Thank you for bringing me here. I never thought anything like this would ever happen and its all be so incredible."

Sharaman beamed at the sweet boy and took his hands. "My boy, you are most welcome. I look forward to getting to know you well, but I have already seen inside your heart and know it to be pure and good. That is why I brought you here, so that goodness may someday benefit our Kingdom. I hope you will see this place as home very soon Dastan."

"I'm sure I will and thank you again."

The King smiled and released the boy's hands. He looked at his two sons and nodded. "Boys, I trust you will be kind to your new brother and teach him what he needs to know. He will be joining you in your studies tomorrow."

Tus smiled and nodded. "Of course, Father, we will do as you request." He waited for a few seconds then kicked his brother again.

Garsiv simply looked up at their Father and nodded. "Of course, Father."

Sharaman decided not to say anything to Garsiv at the moment. He hoped the boy would see the nobility in Dastan's soul that he witnessed today and treat him like a true part of the family. He knew that Tus would follow his wishes and help Dastan acclimate. The King stood and both boys rose with him, Tus waved a hand for Dastan to follow and he did.

"Well, I will leave you all to get to know each other. We will dine tonight and speak more."

"Good day, Father." Both Prince's said and again Tus waved for Dastan to follow.

"Good day, Father." Sharaman smiled and Tus came around the table to collect Dastan and the three newly introduced brothers left the King's private chambers.

End Part 1

I just couldn't resist the cuteness of doing Dastan as a child and seeing how they family finally gelled together. You know there was conflict between Garsiv and Dastan, but what got them over it? LOTS of questions so I decided to take a shot at it. Hope you don't mind. LOL

OK, so the brothers are introduced, now how will they get along? I really have no idea how long this story will be, but knowing me, LONG! I have about 4 chapters right now and plans for at least 10 chapters. Maybe more depending on the feedback.

I have a very bad habit of not finishing stories so I'm holding off posting parts until I know how they will fit in later. I have about another 2 parts ready now. Just need some tweaking.

Question. Does anyone know the name of the fruit that Nizam was holding in the movie and Dastan said he used to buy them for him as a child? I'd like to include a little part on that.