Chapter One- The bells on his feet jingled as he walked up behind the curtain.

Musicians of the royal court began to play a soft, lilting melody and all attention turned toward the stage where heavy velvet curtains were parted by a soft, dark hand. It was a small hand, seemingly belonging to a child, yet, it was poised with such steadfast confidence-as though it instead belonged to a professional matador. Upon it was a single golden ring, glinting brilliantly as the hand began to flow and flutter before the audience. Tucked beneath the ring was a corner of a thin veil that draped over the shoulders of the boy behind the curtains.

The veil was a luxurious sheer type of fabric that had been made for this very performance. It traveled from the boy’s middle finger on his left hand, falling over his shoulder and down his back, to the middle finger on his right hand.

There, behind the curtains, the child waited for his cue, the solitary note that would rise above the routine harmonies, a new harshness that would ignite his true ferocity, that would send sparks flying through his legs, guiding him through the song’s first crescendo. The complete shift in the music, its drama urging him to jump into action and merge with the melody itself. And after that? He would desperately await the pounding beat of the drum that would resonate throughout his entire body and turn his mind into a blur of feeling, sending his body and mind to their most primal states, where his instinct would reveal his inner passion.

He waited, teasing his audience with extravagant motions from his hand that led him out from behind the curtain. Slowly, in sync with the breath of the musicians, the boy stepped from behind the curtain, his beautiful, dark brown skin setting a delightful contrast against the delicate gold anklet he wore on his left foot. At the base of the anklet, resting upon the bridge of his foot was a polished onyx stone set in gold. Clear, tiny bells hung from the chain, louder than the orchestra’s own. The jade set at its base told of his high status in his society and the black, billowing, silk pants he wore were embroidered with intricate gold patterns.

The boy could not have been older than eight, yet his body was lithe and becoming. His skin was naturally dark and though his face had not yet fully matured, it was slightly angular and he was set with a strong jaw- most definitely a characteristic inherited from his father.

His cheekbones and eyebrows were much more feminine and produced a look of ethereal beauty such that one could only hope to be bestowed with. His hair, as dark as ebony, was thick and pulled back into a ponytail- even then, it was shoulder length. Upon his head was the royal diadem.

The piece was made from the purest gold the workers could manufacture and it seemed to have been woven into a braid that snaked across his skin, dipping at the middle of his forehead. Dangling from the center laid a single crystal, formed from magma centuries ago and passed on through the royal family- it symbolized the purity one needed when in power.

One could see that he had long since begun his training in combative arts, his biceps already beginning to show definition and his balance impeccable as he stood on a single leg, slowly bringing his left higher and higher off the ground.

Together with his hands, the boy moved his body in sync with the rising and falling of the music. Poised upon the balls of his right foot, the boy kicked his left leg behind him, arched his back and twirled his hands above his head, turning his body full circle. He faced the crowd and gave a slight smile, lowering his left foot and placing his right one out.

He slightly bowed his head with his arms outstretched to either side of him and brought his veil forward. Posturing himself carefully, with as minimal leg movements as possible, he took the veil forward and rotated his wrists alternatively, causing the veil to move in small circles and ripple as though it were a wave. Slowly, he raised his arms until it covered his face. He snapped his wrists and the fabric responded, lifting and straightening itself out only to gracefully fall again.

Before the edge could reach the floor, the child snapped his wrists again and twisted the veil with his arms, bringing it to circle around him when he snapped his wrists again- with much more force this time. The corners of the fabric that had been tucked into his rings fell out into his palms. Turning to his right, again with as minimal leg movements as possible, he took his left hand to his hip and thrusted his right arm forward, circling the thin fabric. He followed the veil; arching downward and slightly crouching, he took a deep breath. Suddenly, a new violin began to play with great fervor.

That was it! The sole sound that would rouse him from the masquerade of tranquility he was confined to.

“A prince is meant to behave with patience!” Brilliant, white pain followed.

“A boy of your stature should not partake in such... trivial activities.” Disappointment and self- loathing with that one.

“You are to be future leader, act as such!” He had been left strung up in the dungeons after that one.

His calm and solemn demeanor faded, and he began to show the true jubilance of a child. In tune with this new instrument, the prince jumped from his position back to the center of the stage, whipping his veil to the left. He began to move around the veil, kicking his legs out and pivoting with each rise of the tune and spinning with each diminuendo. The bells on his hips and ankles jingled chaotically as kicked and jumped about.

At the peak of the violinist’s solo, he jumped high into the air and completed a barrel roll, twisting with a certain expertise that everyone saw he was incredibly proud of. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the violin’s intensity faded and the soft, lilting melody returned. The boy landed and gracefully closed his veil around him, discreetly tucking the fabric underneath his rings. He emerged from his veil and twirled it around his once more before kneeling before his audience and waving it about him, making it float as a breeze would to a leaf. He finally ended his performance by slowly standing, keeping his veil flowing in the air, and then throwing it above him. Still attached to his fingers, the fabric fell gracefully and the curtain closed before it fell upon him.