Character Profile #1: The Prince

Meet my main character!

Hello, friends, and welcome to my first ever Character Profile, a new monthly feature in which you get to learn more about one of my characters. Spoiler alert: I have a LOT of characters. If you’d like to learn more about them, you can click here to read a short story snippet I wrote a few months ago.

See all of my Character Profiles here.

Each character profile will consist of three parts:

• the mood board — where you get a peek into their character as photos!

• the interview — where the character is interviewed and you get to learn more about them.

• the writing snippet featuring that character — where you get to see how I incorporate the character into a short scene!

This month, I’ll be interviewing my main character, the Prince. He’s twelve years old and is part of a long lineage of royals, including his dad, who is king. The Prince was super excited to be the first featured, so let’s get into it!

#1: The Mood Board

#2: The Interview:

Introduce yourself!

Hi, I’m the Prince, and I’m twelve years old. I live in a castle in the capital city of my country, and my birthday is the first of September!

Can you also describe yourself?

Sure! I’m kind of skinny, and I have strawberry-blond hair and pale, sand-colored skin. My eyes are dark blue, and I have a ton of freckles!

What’s your favorite color?

I like the color gray, actually. Not that I see it much. Our whole castle is a gold or reddish color. I also like the color green!

What’s it like living in a castle, by the way?

Well…I’m not sure what it’s like for the servants, but my life in the castle is pretty nice. I’m a prince-in-training, so I’m royalty and am treated as such. My father (the king) has me practice certain skills - like meeting my subjects - that will help me become a better king, but I also have a lot of downtime!

Who do you live with in the castle?

Currently, I live with my father and mother, my cousin, and my aunt and uncle. We also have servants and maids who live with us, but there’s not very many of the royal family left…ever since my aunt and uncle were captured.

Where’s your favorite place to be in the castle?

I like being in the kitchens. Probably because I can usually get a few snacks in the period between lunch and dinner.

What’s your favorite food?

Raspberry cream puffs. They have a special name in my world, but they’re my favorite delicacy to eat EVER.

What’s your favorite school subject?

I have a tutor – I’ve had several over the years – and right now we’re learning about ancient animals. Did you know that griffins once were so numerous that they had hundreds of acres of forests just to themselves? Now there’s only two in the wild, which is sad.

Are you excited to be king eventually?

Yes…and no. Having all the responsibility of a king (like my father has) will be difficult, but I’m also excited to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. Ever since my aunt and uncle disappeared, there’s been a lot of unrest.

What is your weakness?

I look before I leap, and sometimes that gets me into trouble. Like the time I put a frog in the suit of armor. Or the time I ended up wrecking a tapestry because I was doing archery in the castle. Or the time…well, I think you get the point.

What’s your strength?

Well, I’m young, so I bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the table. I’m also pretty detail-oriented, so I can notice small details others miss.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for having me! I really enjoyed this interview.

#3: The Snippet:

“You're lucky I caught you.”

Caiden felt his feet touch the soft grass, and he sank to his knees, trembling. He had never been so happy to be on solid ground.

“Are you alright, lad?” said a voice, and he looked up to see a large, brown-haired man with helpful green eyes watching him. Zortizis had always been his favorite stable hand. He could coax even the most unwilling horse to canter if you asked him to.

“Lad?”

“What—” Caiden blinked. “Oh, yes, Zortizis, I’m alright.” He tried not to think about the terrifying feeling of falling as he shivered, sweat trickling down the back of his neck. “Thank you for saving me.”

Zortizis pulled Caiden to his feet. “What were you doing, falling out of your window like that, lad?” He looked worried, his eyes watching Caiden carefully. “If something had happened to you…it must have been thirty feet that you fell!”

A bird squawked from a nearby tree, and Caiden looked around to see the courtyard mostly deserted. Fall leaves fluttered from their trees to the ground. A group of maids carrying laundry baskets hurried past. No one seemed to notice what Caiden was doing.

BONG!

Oh, no…I’m late for breakfast…

Zortizis looked startled as Caiden took off at a sprint, calling back over his shoulder, “Sorry, Zortizis! I have to go!”

He crossed the open space and turned left into the outdoor corridor framing the courtyard. His shoes slapped on the ancient stone as he ran. Bright red and orange leaves fluttered in from the arched openings and skittered across the floor. Some were swept up into the high eaves of the ceiling before plummeting back to the ground.

Caleb was so focused on the falling leaves that he almost plowed into a maid coming the opposite direction, who dropped her laundry basket. Freshly laundered napkins flew everywhere.

“Your Highness!” the servant girl exclaimed, dropping to her hands and knees and picking up the laundry, which was blowing around with the wind. “I’m so sorry! I should have been more careful.”

“I’m sorry too!” Caiden shouted, already running again. If he had more time, he would have stopped to help, but he was already so late—

As he ran, he scanned each door, trying to identify where he was. Twelve years of living in this castle…and he still got lost sometimes.

He noticed a familiar arched door with decorative curlicues spiraling across it. The kitchens. Caiden barreled through the door, another BONG fading in the distance.

The kitchens were busy, as always. Assistants working at white marble stations cooked and chopped various dishes. He could hear them shouting at him as he weaved his way around, trying to find one of the exits.

“Prince Caiden—”

“Your Highness—”

“Why is he in here NOW—”

Caiden passed another station, almost knocking over a stack of pots and pans one of the kitchen maids was scrubbing. She glared at him. “Your Highness, is there something you need?”

“Sorry!” Caiden said, steadying the stack with his hands. The servant’s gaze softened. “Really, I’m sorry, but I’m late, and I need to get to the Great Hall—”

“Caiden Kingridge, what are you doing in here?” someone shouted, and Caiden spun around to see Cook, her hands on her hips as she glowered at him. “I thought I told you the kitchens are off limits.”

The maid turned her attention away from Caiden and started attacking the pans furiously as Cook stalked closer.

“I’m sorry, Cook!” Caiden said as the girl scrubbed the dishes next to them. “I’m late for breakfast and I’m really sorry and I won’t do it again—”

“Alright, go.” Cook sighed. “But please, Caiden, don’t let me see you in here again.”

“Yes, Cook,” Caiden muttered, hurrying out the door as fast as his legs could go.

Caiden exhaled deeply, the sound of shouts from the kitchen muffling as soon as the door clanked shut behind him. Tapestries hung against the thick stone walls, and plush carpets on the floor muffled his footsteps. The air here smelled stale and musty, like the dust of a thousand old books. The tall windows were shut tightly, and the pathway to the Great Hall was completely empty.

Caiden slowed his run to a walk. Something about being in the Hall of Portraits made him want to be respectful, even if he was late to breakfast.

He passed the crowns that his grandparents wore, the scepter that the first king of Sailim once used. There were also plenty of portraits on this wall, but Caiden skipped them until he came to one that made him stop.

He had seen this portrait millions of times before, but it always felt like he was seeing it for the first time.

*******************************************************************************************

If you enjoyed this profile and would like to know more about these characters and my journey, click here! If you want new recommendations for books and songs, why not check out my March Round Up? And if you like musicals, you might like my two-part series on EPIC.

Thanks for reading, and keep on being kind! 💖

*******************************************************************************************

Thank you for reading The Kindness Cafe! Please subscribe to receive new posts and support my journey!

Disclaimer: if you are under the age of 18, please get parental permission before subscribing.