RainAway

In a kingdom far away, lived a royal family called the Farbridges. The King and the Queen had a son, their heir. His name was Nathaniel, and he wanted the farthest thing from being King. He wished to be a pilot. However, his parents would not even consider this idea. They believed that as he got older, he would give up this silly dream and finally understand his legacy. The King and Queen spent hours teaching their son about the importance of royalty, and the things he would need to know when he became king. But as he took these classes, he would only think of the fresh air up in the sky, and the plane he would fly to the farthest reaches of the world. So, as it would seem, he was not prepared for being crowned king.
When he was five years old, the King and the Queen had another child. Naomi, they named her, and from an early age she wanted to be Queen. But the King and the Queen thought it would be demeaning to have a queen rule, so they let her take some of her brother’s classes and forgot about her. However, as the King and Queen aged, they began to accept the fate that Nathaniel would have to be King. However, Nathaniel hated this idea. He decided that he would not pay attention, no matter how much his parents wanted him to. Maybe this way they would realize how horrible it would be if they let him rule. Naomi, on the other hand, was trying her hardest to let her parents notice her. She would agree with everything their parents said, comment on royal matters, and do as their parents wished. But it was not enough to change their minds.
As Nathaniel grew older, he paid less and less attention to the classes taught to him and more to his dream plane, the one he was going to buy one day. Then, something horrible happened the week before Nathaniel’s twenty-fifth birthday. Their chief advisor was caught assassinating the King and Queen, in the throne room. The King and Queen had always promised Nathaniel that they would only retire when they were physically incapable to rule anymore, leaving a hopefully smarter Nathaniel in charge. But now, his parents only being forty-nine, they had died, leaving an unprepared Nathaniel to take the kingdom.
Now, Nathaniel was sitting in the dining room, poring over the newspapers about the King and Queen’s death, looking for something to prove they weren’t dead. Naomi walked in and sat at the mahogany table, sipping a glass of water.
“How are you so calm?” Nathaniel asked, not looking up from his work.
“Because I know you will be fine,” Naomi said. “You have been practicing your entire life, and, if worse comes to worst, you have me, Nathaniel.” Over the years, Nathaniel and Naomi had become great friends, and Nathaniel knew Naomi would have his back.
“Very true,” he said, pushing the papers aside. But that still did not affect the stress that was building in his brain.
“Now you have to get ready for your coronation,” Naomi said. Nathaniel sighed.
“Ah yes,” Nathaniel said, not even bothering to hide the nervous tension in his voice. He got up slowly, then pushed his chair in. He walked down the velvet carpeted halls, Naomi following closely. She broke off into her room when they passed it, and Nathaniel walked into his. His maid, Mrs. Serrano, was sitting on his bed holding something.
“King’s crown,” she said. Mrs. Serrano was married to a Duke until he unfortunately passed. Although, Mrs. Serrano had hundreds of stories talking about her and her husband’s adventures. They were full of detail, and those stories turned Mrs. Serrano into Nathaniel’s favorite helper. But Naomi did not like her, choosing to side with their parents when they said that her stories were too fantastical to be real.
“Thank you,” Nathaniel said, taking the crown and laying it on his pillow. He covered it with a blanket and motioned for Mrs. Serrano to leave. She nodded solemnly and gave Nathaniel a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he got dressed in royal apparel, an indigo suit that was his father's when he was crowned. Then Nathaniel pulled the crown out of its blanket prison and held it against the light. The jewels gleamed and glowed, filling the room with the reflections of their beauty. Then he set it back and started practicing his half-smiles. He knew these smiles needed to be perfect for the coronation, but he was half hoping someone would walk in and say:
“The prince is sick!” Then they would postpone the coronation for some time to let the prince get better. All the while, Nathaniel is preparing for kingship.
“Nathaniel?” Naomi walked in the room. She was wearing an indigo dress that went down to her ankles, the same shade as his. Her hair was styled nicely, and her makeup was impeccable.
“Yes?” Nathaniel said. He looked at his sister and saw the pride in her face. It made his stomach turn.
“Breathe,” Naomi said, reaching behind Nathaniel for the crown. She positioned it on his head in the most royal way she could think of. Nathaniel took a deep breath, the reality of it all beginning to sink in. Then he looked into Naomi’s eyes.
“When I become King, I will resign and you can take my spot,” Nathaniel promised. “Then I can fulfill my dream, and you can be Queen.”
“But no one will let you resign. Even if they do, they will make you pick an heir, and kick me out of the way,” Naomi said. Nathaniel knew she was right, they had both spent years studying the royal customs. “The only way I can get the throne is if you suddenly die now. No heir, no one else to take the place besides me.”
“What are you saying?” Nathaniel asked, a sour taste filling his mouth.
“What I am saying, brother, is that Mother and Father have had it with me and knew what would happen if they were to die. It was hard to frame the chief advisor, such a sweet guy, but it was possible. Now I can pretend he escaped and killed you. I promise to double security and pretend I am the people’s new ruler. The only issue is,” Naomi paused. “Killing you.” All the blood drained from Nathaniel’s face.
“But Naomi, you wouldn’t,” Nathaniel said. The logical part of his brain was forming a response, something that would make her realize her mistake. Then they would both move on, and continue living their lives like normal. But, he was frozen. He watched, dumbfounded as Naomi pulled a small dagger out of a hidden spot in her dress. With no hesitation, she plunged the dagger into Nathaniel's heart.
Nathaniel blacked out, but felt no pain, just the numbness of betrayal. A small part of his brain was still working, trying desperately to find a way to wrench the kingdom away from Naomi. But nothing could be done. He was dying, and nothing was going to work. Lead filled his veins as his body stopped working properly, and he began to succumb to his injury. But, deep inside, something awoke. A small dream, a small hope. With his last moments of life, Nathaniel took this small hope and sent it out into the world, hoping that it would reach someone. With it, he attached a small message.
“Wherever you are, I need you to find my kingdom. My name is Nathaniel Farbridge and my kingdom, RainAway, is being taken over by my power hungry sister, Naomi Farbridge, but she does not deserve to wear that name. When you find my kingdom, I want you to take the fight straight to my sister and tell her that you are Nathaniel Farbridge’s heir and want to claim your throne." And with his final wish finally sent out, Nathaniel let his mind drift into death.