Hooray! New story by me! However, there are some things I'd like to state.
In this story, there'll be NessXClaus. BUT there will also be NessXPaula. If you don't like, or have some intense hate in your heart for that ship (in other words, you'd obliterate the earth or cry just because you see NessXPaula), I suggest you don't read! However, that ship isn't even what I'm attacking at, or proving my point with. It is for plot only, and to fit in with the story. They're more like friends in my head!
Also, another thing is that this story, is like a story in a story. OKAY WELL, to put it more simply, the things I'll put into it won't exactly be accurate with the game. I'm just using the characters and putting them into a COMPLETELY different story of their own. Wait... didn't this have a name? I think it's AU? YEAH! AU. There we freaking go!
That's mostly it. I hope you take your time to read and enjoy! And sorry for not updating as usually as I do!

A boy sat at his father's desk. He was dressed in a navy blue royal garment. His jet black hair laid tidily on his forehead, perfectly framing his head. Satin-like skin was what he had, not a blemish in sight.

He sighed boringly as he put an elbow to his father's desk, and leaned his head against his hand. His eyes were half-lidded, about to fall asleep. His facial expression wasn't that far from uninterested. Because at this moment, his father, the king was giving him yet another one of his father-son lectures, or how he would've put it. His mother, the queen, sat back and watched.

"Son, you're a prince. It's about time that you start acting like one! And even more importantly, it's time you were seen as one. The meeting of your betrothed will be coming in two days!" his elder demanded. He paced back and forth.

"Okay..." the boy trailed off. He started to tap his fingers on the desk from impatience while yawning at the same time.

His father furrowed his eyebrows. He took out a thin, extendable stick and smacked his son's arm that he leaned his head upon. The young prince grimaced and held his arm in pain.

"A prince does not lean!" his dad scolded. Then dropped his head in defeat. "Oh, there is certainly no hope for you, is there? It is as if you were never meant to even be a prince!"

The young prince winced, saying nothing. When, without permission, he got up, and walked out of the room. He slammed the door shut as he exited.

The king sighed.

"Oh, darling." The queen got up from her seat and came to comfort her husband. She put a gentle arm around his shoulder.

"I just want him to be the best prince he could be. I want him to show all the people of Eagleland that they have someone to look up to when you and I pass away."

"I understand. But do you not think you were being a little harsh? He is still only a child!"

"He is 14, my dear. A young man. If this keeps up, the residents of Eagleland will fall. They already think that the empire is doomed at this very moment!"

The queen's expression softened. Then she nodded. She knew her husband was right. The prince has lived in the castle grounds since his birth. Home-schooled, and never allowed outside, for royalty shouldn't show itself in the common grounds without it being for a big ceremony.

The wife brought her beloved into an embrace. "Do not fret, I am sure we will think of something."

"Hopefully soon enough," the king breathed. "Oh, Ness."

The young prince laid lazily across his bed, letting out his feelings with only a servant to hear. However, it wasn't just any servant, he was his only close friend.

The servant was age 26. He wore a royal servant's outfit, that looked close to a butler's dressings. It was a bit tattered from his recent ventures through the castle. Also, his hair was a comforting brown, swept to the side to keep it professionally presented. He also had a beard and mustache. Along with that, one of his legs was badly injured, thus, making him limp often. Although, he can still run as fast as the next person. His job was to, not clean, but to keep the people who clean, on track. And to deliver messages throughout the castle, and help when needed. His name was Duster.

"Why is my dad such a... such a-" Ness was furious. He nearly tore his hair off. At the moment, he was at a loss of words, not wanting to swear in his father's name.

"Calm down, Your Royal Highness!" The servant sedated. "Instead of taking your feelings out on me, why not just tell your father or mother how you really feel?"

"I can't! And that's what sucks! They'd never understand!" Ness snapped in a vulgar language that he hid away from his parents. "It's only 'Do this' or 'Do that'! I have to live by their rules. I have to play their game within their expectation. I have no say in anything..." The boy got up from his bed and walked over to his large window that allowed the sun to shine brightly throughout his room. He looked out the opaque glass, and down at the kingdom beyond. There it was, the peaceful kingdom of Eagleland. And within that kingdom were people, or commoners, as his guardians would put it. However, Ness never addressed them that way. In his state of mind, there was no difference between the people of Eagleland, and the nobles in the castle at this very moment.

Duster looked at how focused Ness was at the village. "...You really want it, don't you?"

"Yes, please. I'd give anything for it!" Ness' brilliant violet eyes sparkled in the sun's rays. It displayed hope. "I want to live amongst the citizens! I want to live inside a house rather than a castle! I want the ability to do as my heart wishes! I want to be free!"

"You know, anyone of the citizens would just love to swap places with you," Duster pointed out.

"I'd happily oblige!" Ness smiled brightly. "Living in this castle is hell. Sure, you can get anything you want, but materials can't measure up to what a human wants internally. Face it, as long as I'm here, my life is set for one path and one path only. To be king."

"Wait, you don't want to be king?" the servant asked surprisingly.

"Does it look like I want to be king?" Ness asked in a 'no duh' tone.

"Not really."

"Great! You're learning! Good boy."

"Shut up, I'm years older than you."

They both laughed at that.

"Ah... You see, you can't speak like that in this castle. But in the kingdom we rule, you most likely can." Ness smirked. "If you told me to shut up in front of any duke, duchess, or anything, you'd probably be executed." He traced a finger across his neck.

The servant started panicking. "DON'T TELL ANYONE! AH!"

Ness was sent into a fit of laughter. "Don't worry! As if I'd tell anyone! Telling me 'Shut up' feels as if you're treating me as an equal." Always, the prince hated the discrimination between commoners and people of the royal family. However, he knew it was for the best. Without a king or queen to lead the land, everything would fall into a pit.

"Oh thank goodness! Don't scare me like that, Your Royal Highness!" Duster smiled in relief.

"But scaring you is fun!" Ness said cheerfully. "By the way, you don't need to call me 'Your Royal Highness'. Just call me...er... 'Ness'."

Duster's eyes widened. "Really, Your Hi- I mean, Ness. Oh~ that has a nice ring to it!"

Ness grinned at his excitement.

"Thank you very much, Ness!" the servant said. Then for a moment, he looked at his watch. "Oh, my break is over. I must go now. See you!"

The young prince waved him off as his friend walked out of the room. After he was gone, Ness went back to staring longingly through the glass window. He examined the beautiful land, and the beautiful people within it. He sighed.

"I don't even know if I'm ready to take care of all of you... but when the time comes, I hope all of you will just believe in me," he said to himself. In his heart, he had hopes for becoming a citizen and leaving the castle, but at the same time, he accepted his fate to become king. "I'm the only thing they'll have when my parents pass away."

He was sad about that, but remained optimistic. "But... my parents aren't dead yet, and I'm still only 14, so..." He smirked, as an idea popped into his head. One with serious consequences.

The king and queen sat thoughtfully in the Grand Study Room. Within that room were shelves of books on the walls, and in the middle was a table for 10 that was layered with biscuits and tea. Right now, with the king and queen, were dukes, duchesses, earls, etc. There were 10 altogether in the room. They were friends of the king and queen, gathered for a meeting.

"So..." The king cleared his throat. "I am sure of it that you know what you all were gathered here for?"

"The prince." they said altogether. They didn't even sound unsure, it was a pure statement. The king and queen nodded.

"Yes... h-how did you know of this?" the queen questioned.

"The prince's vulgar and rebellious acts says it all," an annoying voice, that came from a duke, said.

"I agree," an earl popped in.

"I wonder where the prince even learned such ways of acting," another commented.

"Are you sure you raised your child right?"

The nasty comments just kept on coming, one after another, and the king and queen just accepted it. However, after they couldn't take it anymore, they shouted.

"SILENCE!" they boomed throughout the room. This silenced every single one of them, maybe even scared some.

"We have brought you here not to judge our son and us, but to get ideas," the king snapped. Everyone was ears. "As you said, our son is a bit... not as prince-like as he should be, but maybe we could fix that. Any opinions one would like to share?"

A marquess raised his hand.

"Yes?" The king chose him.

"Sir, it may not be in my right to tell you what to do and what not to do, but please lend me an ear," he said. The king put his attention of him. "If your son is acting un-princelike, does that not mean he is facing problems of his own? Maybe if those are solved, your problems with him will be solved as well."

"Oooh..." everyone in the room nodded their heads thoughtfully.

Then another spoke, a duchess. "Yes, that seems like a great idea. But how will one know if the young prince is facing problems? Moreover, what they are?"

"Ah, you're right," the queen said. She then looked over to her husband. "Dear, I think you know how to do that." She gave him an expression of expectation.

"...How?" The king sweatdropped.

"Talk to your son."

"But-"

"Please."

Everyone in the room looked at the king. The king gave in.

"Oh- fine!" The man stood up from his chair at the table. "If this does not end well, it will not be my fault!"

Most people of the room giggled at that, including the queen.

"Do not worry, dear. He is your son," the queen told the king as he walked out of the Grand Study Room.

After that, the king walked hesitantly towards his son's bedroom. He wasn't scared or anything, but he was just... nervous. One could easily tell that he and his son weren't close, which they weren't. The king was much too busy to establish a true father-son relationship with Ness. And he was pretty sure that his son disliked him in a way too. All he wanted was the best for him, but he just wasn't complying. The king wasn't sure why. He didn't know what went on in his son's head. And now, he was going to find out. That is, if Ness even chooses to open up to him.

Standing at the door to his son's room, he knocked quietly at first, then with more confidence. "Son!" he called.

No answer.

"Son!" the king called again.

No answer.

"I am sorry if you are a bit mad at me this afternoon, but I request a meeting with you."

Still no answer.

The king held back his slowly arising anger. "If you aren't going to open up, I shall come in myself!" Then without further ado, the king opened the door. When he looked inside, to his surprise, no one was there. "Hm, he must be somewhere else...?" the king told himself. He was a bit panicked, due to the fact that the prince usually spends most of his time in his room, but he kept calm, and called over the nearest maid.

"Maid! Report to all the servants of the hold to search for the young prince," he demanded. The servant nodded intensely.

"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" she said loudly, then darted off to spread the word. The king went back to the Study, where everyone still remained.

"How did it go, dear?" the queen questioned.

"He wasn't in his room, but one should not worry, he must be around the castle somewhere," said the king, still a little nervous. "All that is required is patience."

And that's exactly what they all did. Wait. Wait and wait and wait and wait. It wasn't until half an hour that Duster came rushing into the Study.

"SIR!" he shouted.

"What is it?!" the king asked uneasily.

"THE YOUNG PRINCE IS GONE!"

The queen, who was sitting next to the king, spit out her tea, onto him. Surprisingly, the king didn't let that bother him. Feeling the tea running down his rosy cheeks, the king yelled at the top of his voice, "ALERT THE GUARDS! ALERT THE MILITARY! THE PRINCE HAS GONE MISSING!"

That's it, and more to come! I've actually started on this earlier, so I got a few chapters finished with already. Just need to edit them. OH OH! And if you didn't enjoy, or this didn't spark your interest, it's okay. Shh...Shhh... *puts a finger to your mouth* Just go cut some firewood.

AND STAY AWESOME! :D