I had one big problem that I had not given much thought when I thought it was simply a dream.

If this was reality, which I had become sure it was, I was in a very bad state.

I had no money, no home, no food and no place to sleep.

I did not have my sword, which had been glued to my hand since The Fourth Prince gifted it to me after I finished training with a wooden one.

I did not even have the training, with this childish body that was still too young and too weak to do anything.

I had…

Nothing.

And while this was not anything new, I had no idea what to do about it.

This day had been the day I was so desperate I stole the apple.

The apple that nearly cost me my life.

The apple that cost me my future.

The apple with the tiny perfect bruised spot that looked back at me with taunting.

I would never eat an apple again, no matter how hungry I was.

My stomach growled in protest, but I held firm. Not that I had an apple to give it, either way.

I could feel myself getting sleepy. A child’s body could only take so much. Between the beating, the moving around, the little food and the multiple mental shocks, it needed to rest.

But where?

Thinking back was hard. This was a time I did not like. I had no pleasant memories, nothing to hold on to, and it had been so easy to let everything leading up to this moment go.

Did I have a spot in an alley I usually slept in?

No. I remembered how finding a spot to sleep in was a daily struggle.

Maybe I could sleep in the trash pile near the bakery again?

No. Now that I had decided on my plan, I could not risk The Fourth Prince seeing me anywhere near The Sixth Prince, before I had gotten all the information I could from him.

An answer came to me, then.

I should find somewhere to sleep near the ‘meeting spot’. That’s where my former master would look for me, and my willingness to be there would be obvious if he found me sleeping, waiting for him like a dog.

He did not know who I was, but I knew him.

No.

No.

Stop.

This was how I had almost given myself away. 

Do not think, I told myself, shutting down my brain.

There was no reason for me to act. I was currently a child, and that would be all he saw me as. I had the upper hand from that alone. The fact that I had smacked his hand away and he only laughed was proof of this.

I did not know why, and I didn’t need to know why at this moment. I just had to play along and let him tell me everything himself.

Mind made up, I went to the alley.

Night had fallen, and yet the shadows seemed more inviting than when The Fourth Prince had been hiding within them.

I found a little spot between trash, ignoring the hunger I could do nothing about.

Being hungry was something I thought I would never be again. Despite everything The Fourth Prince had done, he had fed me, as he had promised. I had never gone hungry.

I went to sleep, not wanting to feel grateful for that. It was horrible to think about how far I was willing to go. I deserved to starve if I had learned nothing. I should not let myself be controlled, I should find a way to feed myself.

And with those thoughts, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

“He’s over here,” I heard a rough voice call and instantly woke up. I had always been a light sleeper, but was still surprised how easily this body was able to be fully awake.

“Ah. He must have waited for breakfast,” said an amused voice I knew all too well.

The Fourth Prince did not look like he blended with shadows as he walked over to me. Rather, his clothes were colorful and stood out in the alley in a way that made me want to instantly cover my eyes. It was too bright. Too wrong.

When he had gotten all the way over to me, he held out his hand to the side in a familiar way, and one of his guards—

I looked around.

He only had one guard with him today.

I looked around again, I had to make sure the other one wasn’t standing watch somewhere nearby, but there was nobody to be seen.

It was not entirely out of the ordinary, but it was enough of a change that I could not let it slide.

The Fourth Prince liked things to be a specific way. He liked to present himself in a way that made it clear he had the upper hand, and having only one guard did not do that. One guard could give people ideas that they could take him down. 

But two? That looked like extensions of himself. They made him look like he was big and strong and that nobody could ever take him down.

So where was the other guard?

The Prince must have noticed me looking around in confusion, but did not say anything.

I now noticed that he held a bread roll in his hand, and that it had been held out to me the entire time I had been looking around.

“I’m sorry, My Prince,” I said as I started to lift my arm to take the bread, but before I did, he snatched it away.

I looked up, feeling the air having changed around him. The icy gaze he so often used when he was in a bad mood was staring directly at me, and for a while I was too dazed to figure out why, until he spoke.

“How did you know I was a prince?” He asked, voice so cold and brittle I felt like it would never get warm again. It took me a moment to fully understand the question, but then it came crashing down.

From habit, from years of service, I had called him ‘My Prince’.

I was a fool.

But I knew him.

“I didn’t know you were a prince, My Prince, I just was taught to call really important-looking people My Prince so they wouldn’t get mad at me!” I said, starting to bow down so he couldn’t look into my eyes. So I didn’t have to look into his.

My skin prickled and I noticed I was holding my breath.

I endured the silence, waiting for him to decide my fate.

And…

“What a clever child you are. I see my eyes did not deceive me. Here, take the bread, eat up, we have a lot to talk about,” The Fourth Prince said, laying a hand on my shoulder, and holding the bread roll out once more.

I took it, gratefully, because I did not have any other choice. Refusing would ruin the opportunity I had just regained after nearly ruining it entirely.

I started eating like the beast my hunger made me, and the prince looked on with a weird look in his eyes. He did not look angry, but he did look… sceptic.

My little act had put him on edge, even if he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Come with me, child, and I will make sure you will never go hungry again,” The Fourth Prince said as I ate, not expecting any answer as he kept talking, “as you now know, I am indeed a prince, and I want you to come work for me.”

I kept eating, but the words he said started to sound the same as what he had said the very first time we met.

He saw I was almost done with the bread and he motioned to his guard, who immediately handed me another one.

Eating accomplished two things. While I ate I couldn’t mess up and say the wrong thing and… I was hungry.

My childish mind must be weighing me down.

I did not feel my usual form in body nor in spirit.

I kept eating, listening to The Fourth Prince. I realized he had kept talking and only caught a “so I am sure this sounds good to you?” before he looked at me expectantly.

If this had been my former life, I would have nodded without hesitation, but this time was different.

“I am so pleased to hear that. You will follow me at once, and we will get you into some nicer clothing and start your training.”

…What?

Had I nodded?