Chapter Text
Seventeen years ago, a baby boy was born into the Antarctic Empire, the youngest child of the empire’s royal family. They said the child had hair as gold as the crown he would one day wear, with eyes so icy blue that they rivaled even the cold land he was born on. Theseus was his name, a name chosen by his older sibling, much to their brother's dismay, as he wanted to name the boy. Even so, the name was that of a hero.
The empire cheered for the new birth of a prince; celebrations would bellow through the streets with the new arrival to the royal family. But just as celebrations began, grief would strike the throats of the empire just as quickly.
Fourteen years ago, the prince was kidnapped. Commotion rang through the castle, for when the emperor and empress awoke, they found that the bed that once held their golden son was empty. Guards did everything they could to find the child, but it proved to be a futile task in the end.
The royal family wept as the boy they had just had was ripped from them just as quickly as he had arrived. As word spread across the empire of the missing prince, grief fell upon the residents of the empire.
The royal family would spend years trying to find their missing son and brother, but those fourteen years bore no fruit for the mourning family.
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The kingdom of Essempii Had been an enemy kingdom of the Antarctic Empire for centuries. Generations of the royals before the ones who are now on the throne had fought as their fathers once had.
Whilst the Antarctic Empire had found the wars to be trivial and a drain on resources, King Dream had the same hatred in his heart as those of his family before him and believed in doing anything to cause despair to the empire.
So when news spread of the new prince of the Antarctic Empire, King Dream would have a truly sinister idea to anguish the empire’s royal family. He would kidnap and kill the young Prince Theseus.
Dream called upon his most trusted knight, Sapnap, and commanded him to go to the neighboring kingdom to kill the prince. Whilst Sapnap felt in his heart it was wrong, he agreed to the king's command.
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As Sapnap cradled the sleeping toddler in his arms, his heart beating faster than he ever thought possible, he could help but feel immense regret. It was too late to return the prince to the castle, guards already rushing around the castle, but he couldn't kill the boy either; his body wouldn't let him finish the job.
Logicly, Sapnap knew if he returned to the kingdom of Essempii, he would be hanged for disobeying the king's orders, but looking at this innocent child, too pure for his fate, he just couldn't; it would just be wrong to kill the poor kid.
He had been holding the prince in his arms for hours now. Prince Theseus was crying at this point, and Sapnap was praying to Prime, asking her what to do. Would a loving god let this happen in the first place, to kill a child?.
Most of the lights in the Essempii kingdom were out, making it harder to see, but in the distance, Sapnap saw a faint glow coming from a large brick building. As he got closer, his heart lept; it was an orphanage, it was too late to return the child, and he couldn't bring himself to kill the poor kid, so the orphanage was the only option he saw fit.
With the crying baby in his hands, he slowly stepped forward to the doors. His hands shook as he laid the child on the steps of the building, and his hands shook as they hovered near the doorbell, with one last look at the child. Sapnap rang the doorbell and ran.
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Snow gently fell in soft sheets across the Essempii’s capital city. The day had barely begun yet. Only the working roaming the streets.
“Clem! Get your ass up and get ready!” Tubbo shouted from the kitchen to Clementine. The raccoon hybrid groaned but didn't move. Mildly frustrated, Tubbo walked over and got in the sleeping girl's face.”Did you hear me?! I said get up!” He once again shouted, much louder this time around. This awoke the Clementine with a jolt.
“For Prime’s sake fucker, need you be so loud?” Clementine mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning due to the early hour. “I wouldn't have had to yell if you got up the first time I asked.” Tubbo replied, annoyed.
Clementine shouted back, “I was getting up! Just… slowly…” Her voice trailing off at the end with a tinge of annoyance. “I’m sure you were.” He answered back with a sigh, returning to making breakfast.
Clementine–as dramatically and loudly as she could manage this early in the morning–crawled out of bed and drug her feet to meet Tubbo in the kitchen. Yawning, she asked, “What’s ya making?”
“Just some eggs; I bought them at the market yesterday.” Handing her a plate
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The station was crowded with tired patrons waiting for their train to arrive. People were dragging around luggage, obviously having overpacked, whilst others were just fighting to stay awake for the train.
“This is a new beginning for us.” Clementine said softly, looking at Tubbo with a spark of hope in her ice blue eyes but a gentle smile, like if she got too excited, it would all disappear around her.
Tubbo looked back at her and smiled, “This is a new beginning for us.” He parroted, giving a single strong nod.
An announcer called over the station’s speakers, “Arriving at Essempii, Logshire, next stop, the Antarctic Empire, Stronghold City!”
The pair grabbed their luggage and–with a shaky breath–stepped onto the train. They quickly found their seats among the bustling travelers. Clementine shoved their suitcases into the overhead compartment whilst Tubbo was the one to hand them to her.
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The train screeched to a halt, waking Clementine from her nap and making Tubbo bleat and almost spill his mediocre train coffee. “Arriving at the Antarctic Empire, Stronghold City, next stop, L’Manburg, Pogtopia!”
Clementine's ears were pinned to the back of her head as the announcement blared through the train and train station. “Fuckin’ hell, that shit’s loud.” She gritted out.
“It's too early for this.” Tubbo muttered. “Start getting our luggage; I got our carry-ons."
The sun was just now rising above the horizon, illuminating the thick sheets of snow covering the empire. “We're really here.” Tubbo laughed out, almost not believing what he knew to be true. The empire was vast and grand, a dream for people like them, yet here they were, this was their new home. It was always meant to be Clementine's home.