Songs of the Sky

Chapter One



I put down the plate of meatballs on the table and called my mom for breakfast.

I decided to be



I put down the plate of meatballs on the table and called my mom for breakfast.

I decided to be the one preparing for breakfast today since my mom received a lot of orders from her costumers yesterday so she would be quite busy with her work as a tailor.

It's just a small business that she started ever since she and dad separated. Though I know it's not quite enough to cover our expenses, particularly my tuition and other school bills, so I took a part time job at a restaurant. I spend my 3 hours there after school and come home around 9pm.

When my mom heard about it, she scolded me of how risky it was and demanded me to quit but I never did and was still working on there.

She started becoming over protective to me ever since crime incidents increased four months ago, especially here in Aurora city.

Though I never encountered any such incidents.

The last time something happened to me was the incident four months ago.

I was nearly a victim of a robbery and thought it was the end of my life if not for the masked guy who mysteriously saved me from such unfortunate fate.

Until now, I was still curious about him.

"That smells good." Mom said as she entered the kitchen.

I smiled at her and she went to turn on the tv to watch news before joining me in the table.

"Be careful of not staining your school uniform" Mom said, reaching for the meatballs.

"Yes, mom." i responded cheerfully as I put food on my plate.

I turned to watch the tv as I eat my food. As usual, the news was all about the constant crimes happening to this country. Murders, k********g, robbery, rebels.

With all of those incidents that were happening, we never heard or saw any action from the Sky Castle, except for a single word "We'll do something about it", and that's from a month ago. After that, the Sky Castle became silent.

No one knows the reason why Sky Castle seemed to be abandoning its responsibilities as the country's leader. That's why the number of rebels was increasing.

But as from what I could remember, the Sky Castle has it's own crisis six months ago. The two Princesses, or what we call Keys suddenly disappeared without any traces.

Until now, there's still no news about them. And that soon became crisis of the Cradle itself, our country.

Maybe that's why the Sky Castle was gradually losing its power. The disappearance of those Keys was the core of today's crisis.

Many people recommended to just summon new Keys to replace them, but it's not how this Kingdom works.

There's a rule that Castle can only summon new leaders if specific member is dead. As long as a leader is alive, they are bound to the Kingdom.

And so, the two Keys disappeared but no one knows if they are dead or alive so the Sky Castle can't summon a replacement yet.

Moreover, there were rumours that the Castle was having other issues regarding its other members, the Songs. The so called Princes of the Sky Castle.

Though we don't know what kind of issue it was, but one thing we know was how unstable Sky Castle had become.

The Kingdom of Cradle was on the verge of collapsing if there would be no action to be done.

"Medley, honey, the more I hear about the news, the more I want you to quit your part time job. It's really not safe for you to come home at night.", Mom said, her face and voice etched with worry as she looks at me.

I just smiled at her and assured her that I'm being careful with my surroundings. But we both know it won't lessen her worries.

"I feel bad as a parent. Because of my incompetent I'm putting my own daughter at risk."

"What, no mom. It's me who put myself on this situation. You don't have to blame yourself mom, and I'm stronger than you know. I could beat anyone who wish to harm me, okay?" I said with a mask of assurance on my voice.

I know how risky it was to go home at night knowing all the crimes that were currently happening. But doing this part time job actually did help us with our expenses, especially at school.

I no longer ask mom for allowance and share her some of the little income I get from the restaurant instead.

So having this part time job is actually helpful for both of us.

My mom just glared at me and returned her attention to her food. I just chuckled at her expression and occupied myself as I feasted on the food on my plate.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the class. As soon as the teacher exited the classroom, my classmates started chattering as they walk out the classroom.

I sighed and leaned on my chair. It's lunchtime but I ain't feeling hungry today.

"Hey, what are you doing Medley? Let's head to the cafeteria, I'm hungry. I didn't eat this morning." Diana said, who was already on her feet, frowning at me.



Diana and I were classmates ever since our junior high. And with the years that we've been always together until we turned senior year high school students, we became sort of best friends.

At first, I thought that we wouldn't get along well because of our differences in personality since Diana was a social butterfly and attractive. She has small face and silky brown hair that falls below her shoulders and her small figure just added to her cuteness.

She could get along with anybody without putting much effort. I'm not bad myself, but I was always lazy when it comes to entertaining people. That's why I always stick with her because she's the only one here at school whom I feel comfortable with. Yet I couldn't deny that I was also blessed with good looks, of course.

I showed her no sign of moving from my seat and she rolled her eyes. Maybe I'll just spend my lunch break taking a nap.

I opened my mouth to say my excuse but she cut me off.

"Besides, I need to talk to you about something."

I glanced at her and noticed that her face softened. I sighed and grabbed my bag before rising from my seat.

"Knew it, you'd fall for that!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice then laughed when she saw me glaring at her.

She stopped laughing and smiled at me, her face softened again.

"No, I really want to talk to you."

I let out a long sigh and put my hand on my face.

"You are an i***t. "

"We're the same, then." She said, chuckling and I shoot her a glare.

"Just stop talking."

We carried on with our bickerings as we headed out for the cafeteria.

Diana greeted cheerfully anyone she knows while I just smiled sheepishly at whoever notices me.

As we were eating peacefully, Diana suddenly blurted out her thoughts.

"So, my brother and I fought."

I looked at her but she is facing down, eyes staring at her plate.

I waited her to continue so I didn't say anything.

I remembered that her brother was the only family she has right now. Her mother died in cancer when they were still young. And their father went abroad for work three years ago. They were looking out for each other ever since.

Diana's brother was five years older than her and was now in college.

"He didn't come home last night."

Diana told me what exactly happened to her and his brother. when her brother started going out with this girl named Cherry, who turned out to be his senior, things never went right with her brother. He always come home late, and sometimes reek of alcohol. He also spent a ridiculous amount of money for the girl.

When she met her, Cherry has the attitude of a b***h. She treated Diana like a little kid and if Diana she talks back, Cherry would complain about her on his brother. Shockingly his brother would always side with her and scold Diana which upset her.

Yesterday, Diana finally confronted her brother regarding with his girlfriend but his brother got mad at her for interfering with his relationship. That's when last night her brother didn't come home.

"I don't know what to do, Medley." Diana said, teary eyed.

She's worried that her brother was really upset at her but didn't regret hating Cherry. She believed that Cherry wasn't good for her brother.

I tried comforting her but I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

I understand how she feel right now, the fear of losing her brother.

Because I once had a brother.

My brother was three years older than me. I lost him when I was just 11 years old.

It all happened when my parents separated and my father took Max with him by force. I never expected that since he always hurt my brother and never cared for him.

Then one day, we heard from someone that my father had a car accident, but fortunately he survived.

But when I asked about my brother, all they said was that there's no boy with him.

I never stopped crying after that, thinking that Max probably got lost or worse, dead.

After our lunch break, we headed back to our classroom and I spent the remaining time napping.

Diana sure was strong. She never showed any signs of worrying until the class ended. She kept her act of enthusiasm while she hid her real feelings deep inside. I envy her strength.

I went straight to the restaurant for my job after school.

I greeted my coworkers nonchalantly as I walked to the changing room.

As soon as I was all prepared and headed out the room, I heard excited voices and checked to see what the ruckus was all about. The people's eyes were looking at one place but I couldn't see what got their attention since some of them were on their feet, huddled around the table where that certain person was seated.

"What's going on?" I said out of frustration.

Ray, my high spirited coworker put his arm across my shoulders.

He's also working part time here and was a year ahead of me.

"My, my, Medley. It normally happens when there's a leader here."



I frowned at him in confusion. Did he just say leader? So there's from Sky Castle in here right now?

"Someone from Sky Castle?" I asked, dumbfounded.

It's actually surprising for me since we never heard of them for so long and now we have one as costumer?

Looking at their faces, they show little surprise compared to mine.

Maybe they had them before a lot of times and I'm only working here for a month, so that explains my stupid expression right now.

"Yep. And he's a Song."

I stared at him, dumbstruck. I never actually had any opportunity to see any member of Sky Castle this close, particularly a Song.

Songs were actually Princes that serve the King and the entire Cradle Kingdom with their beautiful and magical Melodies.

Those melodies were magic from Songs which serve as protection for this country of any harm or misfortunes.

But ever since the Sky Castle became silent, a country dull of melody weakens that protection.

I jumped as Ray suddenly clapped his hands as gesture of reminding the crowd of their behaviour.

"Now, now, we don't want to scare away our precious guest, do we?"

Surprisingly, they returned to their seats and I took that chance to peek at him.

I gasped as I realized I was looking at a real prince. He was honestly good looking with that wavy blond hair of him that shines under the sunlight that comes from the glass wall. His eyes twinkled as he laughed coyly at the people around him.

He's wearing a fancy suit that made him more attractive. Looking at him while he laugh innocently felt like looking at a prince from a fairy tale. Like there was this light around him that made his whole existence shining.



"So this is how looking at a Song this close." I muttered and Ray glanced at me, grinning.

"Oh I see, this is your first time having one as a costumer, eh?"

I just nodded, still distracted by the presence of the Song when Ray continued.

"He's the First Song, by the way. Thought you might want to know."

I put down the plate of meatballs on the table and called my mom for breakfast.

I decided to be the one preparing for breakfast today since my mom received a lot of orders from her costumers yesterday so she would be quite busy with her work as a tailor.

It's just a small business that she started ever since she and dad separated. Though I know it's not quite enough to cover our expenses, particularly my tuition and other school bills, so I took a part time job at a restaurant. I spend my 3 hours there after school and come home around 9pm.

When my mom heard about it, she scolded me of how risky it was and demanded me to quit but I never did and was still working on there.

She started becoming over protective to me ever since crime incidents increased four months ago, especially here in Aurora city.

Though I never encountered any such incidents.

The last time something happened to me was the incident four months ago.

I was nearly a victim of a robbery and thought it was the end of my life if not for the masked guy who mysteriously saved me from such unfortunate fate.

Until now, I was still curious about him.

"That smells good." Mom said as she entered the kitchen.

I smiled at her and she went to turn on the tv to watch news before joining me in the table.

"Be careful of not staining your school uniform" Mom said, reaching for the meatballs.

"Yes, mom." i responded cheerfully as I put food on my plate.

I turned to watch the tv as I eat my food. As usual, the news was all about the constant crimes happening to this country. Murders, k********g, robbery, rebels.

With all of those incidents that were happening, we never heard or saw any action from the Sky Castle, except for a single word "We'll do something about it", and that's from a month ago. After that, the Sky Castle became silent.

No one knows the reason why Sky Castle seemed to be abandoning its responsibilities as the country's leader. That's why the number of rebels was increasing.

But as from what I could remember, the Sky Castle has it's own crisis six months ago. The two Princesses, or what we call Keys suddenly disappeared without any traces.

Until now, there's still no news about them. And that soon became crisis of the Cradle itself, our country.

Maybe that's why the Sky Castle was gradually losing its power. The disappearance of those Keys was the core of today's crisis.

Many people recommended to just summon new Keys to replace them, but it's not how this Kingdom works.

There's a rule that Castle can only summon new leaders if specific member is dead. As long as a leader is alive, they are bound to the Kingdom.

And so, the two Keys disappeared but no one knows if they are dead or alive so the Sky Castle can't summon a replacement yet.

Moreover, there were rumours that the Castle was having other issues regarding its other members, the Songs. The so called Princes of the Sky Castle.

Though we don't know what kind of issue it was, but one thing we know was how unstable Sky Castle had become.

The Kingdom of Cradle was on the verge of collapsing if there would be no action to be done.

"Medley, honey, the more I hear about the news, the more I want you to quit your part time job. It's really not safe for you to come home at night.", Mom said, her face and voice etched with worry as she looks at me.

I just smiled at her and assured her that I'm being careful with my surroundings. But we both know it won't lessen her worries.

"I feel bad as a parent. Because of my incompetent I'm putting my own daughter at risk."

"What, no mom. It's me who put myself on this situation. You don't have to blame yourself mom, and I'm stronger than you know. I could beat anyone who wish to harm me, okay?" I said with a mask of assurance on my voice.

I know how risky it was to go home at night knowing all the crimes that were currently happening. But doing this part time job actually did help us with our expenses, especially at school.

I no longer ask mom for allowance and share her some of the little income I get from the restaurant instead.

So having this part time job is actually helpful for both of us.

My mom just glared at me and returned her attention to her food. I just chuckled at her expression and occupied myself as I feasted on the food on my plate.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the class. As soon as the teacher exited the classroom, my classmates started chattering as they walk out the classroom.

I sighed and leaned on my chair. It's lunchtime but I ain't feeling hungry today.

"Hey, what are you doing Medley? Let's head to the cafeteria, I'm hungry. I didn't eat this morning." Diana said, who was already on her feet, frowning at me.



Diana and I were classmates ever since we're first year. And with the years that we've been always together until now in our third year high school, we became sort of best friends.

At first, I thought that we wouldn't get along well because of our differences in personality since Diana was a social butterfly and attractive. She has small face and silky brown hair that falls below her shoulders and her small figure just added to her cuteness.

She could get along with anybody without putting much effort. I'm not bad myself, but I was always lazy when it comes to entertaining people. That's why I always stick with her because she's the only one here at school whom I feel comfortable with. Yet I couldn't deny that I was also blessed with good looks, of course.

I showed her no sign of moving from my seat and she rolled her eyes. Maybe I'll just spend my lunch break taking a nap.

I opened my mouth to say my excuse but she cut me off.

"Besides, I need to talk to you about something."

I glanced at her and noticed that her face softened. I sighed and grabbed my bag before rising from my seat.

"Knew it, you'd fall for that!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice then laughed when she saw me glaring at her.

She stopped laughing and smiled at me, her face softened again.

"No, I really want to talk to you."

I let out a long sigh and put my hand on my face.

"You are an i***t. "

"We're the same, then." She said, chuckling and I shoot her a glare.

"Just stop talking."

We carried on with our bickerings as we headed out for the cafeteria.

Diana greeted cheerfully anyone she knows while I just smiled sheepishly at whoever notices me.

As we were eating peacefully, Diana suddenly blurted out her thoughts.

"So, my brother and I fought."

I looked at her but she is facing down, eyes staring at her plate.

I waited her to continue so I didn't say anything.

I remembered that her brother was the only family she has right now. Her mother died in cancer when they were still young. And their father went abroad for work three years ago. They were looking out for each other ever since.

Diana's brother was five years older than her and was now in college.

"He didn't come home last night."

Diana told me what exactly happened to her and his brother. when her brother started going out with this girl named Cherry, who turned out to be his senior, things never went right with her brother. He always come home late, and sometimes reek of alcohol. He also spent a ridiculous amount of money for the girl.

When she met her, Cherry has the attitude of a b***h. She treated Diana like a little kid and if Diana she talks back, Cherry would complain about her on his brother. Shockingly his brother would always side with her and scold Diana which upset her.

Yesterday, Diana finally confronted her brother regarding with his girlfriend but his brother got mad at her for interfering with his relationship. That's when last night her brother didn't come home.

"I don't know what to do, Medley." Diana said, teary eyed.

She's worried that her brother was really upset at her but didn't regret hating Cherry. She believed that Cherry wasn't good for her brother.

I tried comforting her but I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

I understand how she feel right now, the fear of losing her brother.

Because I once had a brother.

My brother was three years older than me. I lost him when I was just 11 years old.

It all happened when my parents separated and my father took Max with him by force. I never expected that since he always hurt my brother and never cared for him.

Then one day, we heard from someone that my father had a car accident, but fortunately he survived.

But when I asked about my brother, all they said was that there's no boy with him.

I never stopped crying after that, thinking that Max probably got lost or worse, dead.

After our lunch break, we headed back to our classroom and I spent the remaining time napping.

Diana sure was strong. She never showed any signs of worrying until the class ended. She kept her act of enthusiasm while she hid her real feelings deep inside. I envy her strength.

I went straight to the restaurant for my job after school.

I greeted my coworkers nonchalantly as I walked to the changing room.

As soon as I was all prepared and headed out the room, I heard excited voices and checked to see what the ruckus was all about. The people's eyes were looking at one place but I couldn't see what got their attention since some of them were on their feet, huddled around the table where that certain person was seated.

"What's going on?" I said out of frustration.

Ray, my high spirited coworker put his arm across my shoulders.

He's also working part time here and was a year ahead of me.

"My, my, Medley. It normally happens when there's a leader here."



I frowned at him in confusion. Did he just say leader? So there's from Sky Castle in here right now?

"Someone from Sky Castle?" I asked, dumbfounded.

It's actually surprising for me since we never heard of them for so long and now we have one as costumer?

Looking at their faces, they show little surprise compared to mine.

Maybe they had them before a lot of times and I'm only working here for a month, so that explains my stupid expression right now.

"Yep. And he's a Song."

I stared at him, dumbstruck. I never actually had any opportunity to see any member of Sky Castle this close, particularly a Song.

Songs were actually Princes that serve the King and the entire Cradle Kingdom with their beautiful and magical Melodies.

Those melodies were magic from Songs which serve as protection for this country of any harm or misfortunes.

But ever since the Sky Castle became silent, a country dull of melody weakens that protection.

I jumped as Ray suddenly clapped his hands as gesture of reminding the crowd of their behaviour.

"Now, now, we don't want to scare away our precious guest, do we?"

Surprisingly, they returned to their seats and I took that chance to peek at him.

I gasped as I realized I was looking at a real prince. He was honestly good looking with that wavy blond hair of him that shines under the sunlight that comes from the glass wall. His eyes twinkled as he laughed coyly at the people around him.

He's wearing a fancy suit that made him more attractive. Looking at him while he laugh innocently felt like looking at a prince from a fairy tale. Like there was this light around him that made his whole existence shining.



"So this is how looking at a Song this close." I muttered and Ray glanced at me, grinning.

"Oh I see, this is your first time having one as a costumer, eh?"

I just nodded, still distracted by the presence of the Song when Ray continued.

"He's the First Song, by the way. Thought you might want to know." the one preparing for breakfast today since my mom received a lot of orders from her costumers yesterday so she would be quite busy with her work as a tailor.

It's just a small business that she started ever since she and dad separated. Though I know it's not quite enough to cover our expenses, particularly my tuition and other school bills, so I took a part time job at a restaurant. I spend my 3 hours there after school and come home around 9pm.

When my mom heard about it, she scolded me of how risky it is and demanded me to quit but I never did and still working on there.

She started becoming over protective to me ever since crime incidents increased 4 months ago, especially here in Aurora city.

Though I never encountered any such incidents.

The last time something happened to me was the incident 4 months ago.

I was nearly a victim of a robbery and thought it was the end of my life if not for the masked guy who mysteriously saved me from such unfortunate fate.

Until now, I was still curious about him.

"That smells good." Mom said as she entered the kitchen.

I smiled at her and she went to turn on the tv to watch news before joining me in the table.

"Be careful of not staining your school uniform" Mom said, reaching for the meatballs.

"Yes, mom." i responded cheerfully as I put food on my plate.

I turned to watch the tv as I chop on my food. As usual, the news is all about the constant crimes happening to this country. Murders, k********g, robbery, rebels.

With all of those incidents that were happening, we never heard or saw any action from the Sky Castle, except for a single word "We'll do something about it", and that's from a month ago. After that, the Sky Castle became silent.

No one knows what's the reason why Sky Castle seems to be abandoning its responsibilities as the country's leader. That's why the number of rebels is increasing.

But as from what I could remember, the Sky Castle has it's own crisis 6 months ago. The two Princesses, or what we call Keys suddenly disappeared without any traces.

Until now, there's still no news about them. And that soon became crisis of the Cradle itself, our country.

Maybe that's why the Sky Castle is gradually losing its power. The disappearance of those Keys was the core of today's crisis.

Many people recommended to just summon new Keys to replace them, but it's not how this Kingdom works.

There's a rule that Castle can only summon new leaders if specific member is dead. As long as a leader is alive, they are bound to the Kingdom.

And so, the two Keys disappeared but no one knows if they are dead or alive so the Sky Castle can't summon a replacement yet.

Moreover, there were rumours that the Castle was having other issues regarding its other members, the Songs. The so called Princes of the Sky Castle.

Though we don't know what kind of issue it was, but one thing we know was how unstable Sky Castle had become.

The Kingdom of Cradle is on the verge of collapsing if there will be no action to be done.

"Medley, honey, the more I hear about this news, the more I want you to quit your part time job. It's really not safe for you to come home at night.", Mom said, her face and voice etched with worry as she looks at me.

I just smiled at her and assured her that I'm being careful with my surroundings. But we both know it won't lessen her worries.

"I feel bad as a parent. Because of my incompetent I'm putting my own daughter at risk."

"What, no mom. It's me who put myself on this situation. You don't have to blame yourself mom, and I'm stronger than you know. I could beat anyone who wish to harm me, okay?" I said with a mask of assurance on my voice.

I know how risky it was to go home at night knowing all the crimes that were currently happening. But doing this part time job actually did help us with our expenses, especially at school.

I no longer ask mom for allowance and share her some of the little income I get from the restaurant instead.

So having this part time job is actually helpful for both of us.

My mom just glared at me and returned her attention to her food. I just chuckled at her expression and occupied myself as I feasted on the food in my plate.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the class. As soon as the teacher exited the classroom, my classmates started chattering as they walk out the classroom.

I sighed and leaned back on my chair. It's lunchtime but I ain't feeling hungry today.

"Hey, what are you doing Medley? Let's head to the cafeteria, I'm hungry. I didn't eat this morning." Said Diana, who was already on her feet, frowning at me.



Diana and I were classmates ever since we're first year. And with the years that we've been always together until now in our third year high school, we became sort of best friends.

At first, I thought that we wouldn't get along well because of our difference in personality since Diana was a social butterfly and attractive. She has small face and silky brown hair that falls below her shoulders and her small figure just added to her cuteness.

She could get along with anybody without putting much effort. I'm not bad myself, but I was always lazy when it comes to entertaining people. That's why I always stick with her because she's the only one here in school whom I feel comfortable with. Yet I couldn't deny that I'm also blessed with good looks, of course.

I showed her no sign of moving from my seat and she rolled her eyes. Maybe I'll just spend my lunch break taking a nap.

I opened my mouth to say my excuse but she cut me off.

"Besides, I need to talk to you about something."

I glanced at her and noticed that her face softened. I sighed and grabbed my bag before rising from my seat.

"Knew it, you'd fall for that!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice then laughed when she saw me glaring at her.

She stopped laughing and smiled at me, her face softened again.

"No, I really want to talk to you."

I let out a long sigh and put my hand on my face.

"You are an i***t. "

"We're the same, then." She said, chuckling and I shoot her a glare.

"Just stop talking."

We carried on with our bickerings as we headed out for the cafeteria.

Diana greeted cheerfully anyone she knows while I just smiled sheepishly at whoever notices me.

As we were eating peacefully, Diana suddenly blurted out her thoughts.

"So, my brother and I fought."

I looked at her but she is facing down, eyes staring at her plate.

I waited her to continue so I didn't say anything.

I remembered that her brother was the only family she has right now. Her mother died in cancer when they were still young. And their father went abroad for work 3 years ago. They were looking out for each other ever since.

Diana's brother was 5 years older than her and was now in college.

"He didn't come home last night."

Diana told me what exactly happened to her and his brother.

When her brother started going out with this girl named Cherry, who turned out to be his senior, things never went right with her brother.

He always come home late, and sometimes reek of alcohol.

He also spent a ridiculous amount of money for the girl.

When she met her, Cherry has the attitude of a b***h. She treated Diana like a little kid and when she talks back, Cherry would complain about her on his brother, and shockingly his brother would always side with her and scold Diana.

Yesterday, Diana finally confronted her brother regarding with his girlfriend but his brother got mad at her for interfering with his relationship. That's when last night her brother didn't come home.

"I don't know what to do, Medley." Diana said, teary eyed.

She's worried that her brother was really upset at her but didn't regret hating Cherry. She believed that Cherry wasn't good for her brother.

I tried comforting her but I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

I understand how she felt right now, the fear of losing her brother.

Because I once had a brother.

My brother was three years older than me. I lost him when I was just 11 years old.

It all happened when my parents separated and my father took Max with him by force. I never expected that since he always hurt my brother and never cared for him.

Then one day, we heard from someone that my father had a car accident, but fortunately he survived.

But when I asked about my brother, all they said was that there's no boy with him.

I never stopped crying after that, thinking that Max probably got lost or worse, dead.

After our lunch break, we headed back to our classroom and I spent the remaining time napping.

Diana sure was strong. She never showed any signs of worry until the class ended. She kept her act of enthusiasm while she hold on her real feelings deep inside. I envy her strength.

I went straight to the restaurant for my job after school.

I greeted my coworkers nonchalantly as I walked to the changing room.

As soon as I'm all prepared and headed out the room, I heard excited voices and checked to see what the ruckus was all about. The people's eyes were looking at one place but I couldn't see what got their attention since some of them were on their feet, huddled around the table where that certain person was seated.

"What's going on?" I said out of frustration.

Ray, my high spirited coworker put his arm across my shoulders.

He's also working part time here and was a year ahead of me.

"My, my, Medley. It normally happens when there's a leader here."



I frowned at him in confusion. Did he just say leader? So there's from Sky Castle in here right now?

"Someone from Sky Castle?" I asked, dumbfounded.

It's actually surprising for me since we never heard of them for so long and now we have one as costumer?

Looking at their faces, they show little surprise compared to mine.

Maybe they had them before a lot of times and I'm only working here for a month, so that explains my stupid expression right now.

"Yep. And he's a Song."

I stared at him, dumbstruck. I never actually had any opportunity to see any member of Sky Castle this close, particularly a Song.

Songs were actually Princes that serve the King and the entire Cradle Kingdom with their beautiful and magical Melodies.

Those melodies were magic from Songs which serve as protection for this country of any harm or misfortunes.

But ever since the Sky Castle became silent, a country dull of melody weakens that protection.

I jumped as Ray suddenly clapped his hands as gesture of reminding the crowd of their behaviour.

"Now, now, we don't want to scare away our precious guest, do we?"

Surprisingly, they returned to their seats and I took that chance to peek at him.

I gasped as I realized I was looking at a real prince. He was honestly good looking with that wavy blond hair of him that shines under the sunlight that comes from the glass wall and his eyes twinkled as he laughed coyly at the people around him.

He's wearing a fancy suit that made him more attractive. Looking at him, laughing innocently felt like looking at a prince from a fairy tale. Like there was this light around him that made his whole existence shining.



"So this is how looking at a Song this close." I muttered and Ray glanced at me, grinning.

"Oh I see, this is your first time having one as a costumer, eh?"

I just nod, still distracted by the presence of the Song when Ray continued.

"He's the first Song, by the way. Thought you might want to know."

I put down the plate of meatballs on the table and called my mom for breakfast.

I decided to be the one preparing for breakfast today since my mom received a lot of orders from her costumers yesterday so she would be quite busy with her work as a tailor.

It's just a small business that she started ever since she and dad separated. Though I know it's not quite enough to cover our expenses, particularly my tuition and other school bills, so I took a part time job at a restaurant. I spend my 3 hours there after school and come home around 9pm.

When my mom heard about it, she scolded me of how risky it was and demanded me to quit but I never did and was still working on there.

She started becoming over protective to me ever since crime incidents increased four months ago, especially here in Aurora city.

Though I never encountered any such incidents.

The last time something happened to me was the incident four months ago.

I was nearly a victim of a robbery and thought it was the end of my life if not for the masked guy who mysteriously saved me from such unfortunate fate.

Until now, I was still curious about him.

"That smells good." Mom said as she entered the kitchen.

I smiled at her and she went to turn on the tv to watch news before joining me in the table.

"Be careful of not staining your school uniform" Mom said, reaching for the meatballs.

"Yes, mom." i responded cheerfully as I put food on my plate.

I turned to watch the tv as I eat my food. As usual, the news was all about the constant crimes happening to this country. Murders, k********g, robbery, rebels.

With all of those incidents that were happening, we never heard or saw any action from the Sky Castle, except for a single word "We'll do something about it", and that's from a month ago. After that, the Sky Castle became silent.

No one knows the reason why Sky Castle seemed to be abandoning its responsibilities as the country's leader. That's why the number of rebels was increasing.

But as from what I could remember, the Sky Castle has it's own crisis six months ago. The two Princesses, or what we call Keys suddenly disappeared without any traces.

Until now, there's still no news about them. And that soon became crisis of the Cradle itself, our country.

Maybe that's why the Sky Castle was gradually losing its power. The disappearance of those Keys was the core of today's crisis.

Many people recommended to just summon new Keys to replace them, but it's not how this Kingdom works.

There's a rule that Castle can only summon new leaders if specific member is dead. As long as a leader is alive, they are bound to the Kingdom.

And so, the two Keys disappeared but no one knows if they are dead or alive so the Sky Castle can't summon a replacement yet.

Moreover, there were rumours that the Castle was having other issues regarding its other members, the Songs. The so called Princes of the Sky Castle.

Though we don't know what kind of issue it was, but one thing we know was how unstable Sky Castle had become.

The Kingdom of Cradle was on the verge of collapsing if there would be no action to be done.

"Medley, honey, the more I hear about the news, the more I want you to quit your part time job. It's really not safe for you to come home at night.", Mom said, her face and voice etched with worry as she looks at me.

I just smiled at her and assured her that I'm being careful with my surroundings. But we both know it won't lessen her worries.

"I feel bad as a parent. Because of my incompetent I'm putting my own daughter at risk."

"What, no mom. It's me who put myself on this situation. You don't have to blame yourself mom, and I'm stronger than you know. I could beat anyone who wish to harm me, okay?" I said with a mask of assurance on my voice.

I know how risky it was to go home at night knowing all the crimes that were currently happening. But doing this part time job actually did help us with our expenses, especially at school.

I no longer ask mom for allowance and share her some of the little income I get from the restaurant instead.

So having this part time job is actually helpful for both of us.

My mom just glared at me and returned her attention to her food. I just chuckled at her expression and occupied myself as I feasted on the food on my plate.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the class. As soon as the teacher exited the classroom, my classmates started chattering as they walk out the classroom.

I sighed and leaned on my chair. It's lunchtime but I ain't feeling hungry today.

"Hey, what are you doing Medley? Let's head to the cafeteria, I'm hungry. I didn't eat this morning." Diana said, who was already on her feet, frowning at me.



Diana and I were classmates ever since we're first year. And with the years that we've been always together until now in our third year high school, we became sort of best friends.

At first, I thought that we wouldn't get along well because of our differences in personality since Diana was a social butterfly and attractive. She has small face and silky brown hair that falls below her shoulders and her small figure just added to her cuteness.

She could get along with anybody without putting much effort. I'm not bad myself, but I was always lazy when it comes to entertaining people. That's why I always stick with her because she's the only one here at school whom I feel comfortable with. Yet I couldn't deny that I was also blessed with good looks, of course.

I showed her no sign of moving from my seat and she rolled her eyes. Maybe I'll just spend my lunch break taking a nap.

I opened my mouth to say my excuse but she cut me off.

"Besides, I need to talk to you about something."

I glanced at her and noticed that her face softened. I sighed and grabbed my bag before rising from my seat.

"Knew it, you'd fall for that!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice then laughed when she saw me glaring at her.

She stopped laughing and smiled at me, her face softened again.

"No, I really want to talk to you."

I let out a long sigh and put my hand on my face.

"You are an i***t. "

"We're the same, then." She said, chuckling and I shoot her a glare.

"Just stop talking."

We carried on with our bickerings as we headed out for the cafeteria.

Diana greeted cheerfully anyone she knows while I just smiled sheepishly at whoever notices me.

As we were eating peacefully, Diana suddenly blurted out her thoughts.

"So, my brother and I fought."

I looked at her but she is facing down, eyes staring at her plate.

I waited her to continue so I didn't say anything.

I remembered that her brother was the only family she has right now. Her mother died in cancer when they were still young. And their father went abroad for work three years ago. They were looking out for each other ever since.

Diana's brother was five years older than her and was now in college.

"He didn't come home last night."

Diana told me what exactly happened to her and his brother. when her brother started going out with this girl named Cherry, who turned out to be his senior, things never went right with her brother. He always come home late, and sometimes reek of alcohol. He also spent a ridiculous amount of money for the girl.

When she met her, Cherry has the attitude of a b***h. She treated Diana like a little kid and if Diana she talks back, Cherry would complain about her on his brother. Shockingly his brother would always side with her and scold Diana which upset her.

Yesterday, Diana finally confronted her brother regarding with his girlfriend but his brother got mad at her for interfering with his relationship. That's when last night her brother didn't come home.

"I don't know what to do, Medley." Diana said, teary eyed.

She's worried that her brother was really upset at her but didn't regret hating Cherry. She believed that Cherry wasn't good for her brother.

I tried comforting her but I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

I understand how she feel right now, the fear of losing her brother.

Because I once had a brother.

My brother was three years older than me. I lost him when I was just 11 years old.

It all happened when my parents separated and my father took Max with him by force. I never expected that since he always hurt my brother and never cared for him.

Then one day, we heard from someone that my father had a car accident, but fortunately he survived.

But when I asked about my brother, all they said was that there's no boy with him.

I never stopped crying after that, thinking that Max probably got lost or worse, dead.

After our lunch break, we headed back to our classroom and I spent the remaining time napping.

Diana sure was strong. She never showed any signs of worrying until the class ended. She kept her act of enthusiasm while she hid her real feelings deep inside. I envy her strength.

I went straight to the restaurant for my job after school.

I greeted my coworkers nonchalantly as I walked to the changing room.

As soon as I was all prepared and headed out the room, I heard excited voices and checked to see what the ruckus was all about. The people's eyes were looking at one place but I couldn't see what got their attention since some of them were on their feet, huddled around the table where that certain person was seated.

"What's going on?" I said out of frustration.

Ray, my high spirited coworker put his arm across my shoulders.

He's also working part time here and was a year ahead of me.

"My, my, Medley. It normally happens when there's a leader here."



I frowned at him in confusion. Did he just say leader? So there's from Sky Castle in here right now?

"Someone from Sky Castle?" I asked, dumbfounded.

It's actually surprising for me since we never heard of them for so long and now we have one as costumer?

Looking at their faces, they show little surprise compared to mine.

Maybe they had them before a lot of times and I'm only working here for a month, so that explains my stupid expression right now.

"Yep. And he's a Song."

I stared at him, dumbstruck. I never actually had any opportunity to see any member of Sky Castle this close, particularly a Song.

Songs were actually Princes that serve the King and the entire Cradle Kingdom with their beautiful and magical Melodies.

Those melodies were magic from Songs which serve as protection for this country of any harm or misfortunes.

But ever since the Sky Castle became silent, a country dull of melody weakens that protection.

I jumped as Ray suddenly clapped his hands as gesture of reminding the crowd of their behaviour.

"Now, now, we don't want to scare away our precious guest, do we?"

Surprisingly, they returned to their seats and I took that chance to peek at him.

I gasped as I realized I was looking at a real prince. He was honestly good looking with that wavy blond hair of him that shines under the sunlight that comes from the glass wall. His eyes twinkled as he laughed coyly at the people around him.

He's wearing a fancy suit that made him more attractive. Looking at him while he laugh innocently felt like looking at a prince from a fairy tale. Like there was this light around him that made his whole existence shining.



"So this is how looking at a Song this close." I muttered and Ray glanced at me, grinning.

"Oh I see, this is your first time having one as a costumer, eh?"

I just nodded, still distracted by the presence of the Song when Ray continued.

"He's the First Song, by the way. Thought you might want to know."