All great stories start basically the same. The hero does something stupid, usually involving other people and the adventure begins. Well, my story starts very similarly. Except for the heroes and other people involved are my parents, and the something stupid was thinking the could fool around in the wine cellar after my brother Alec had gone to bed. Nine months later I was born.

My Parents named me Calliope Elena Diamanto, but really what could you really expect from parents who were named Yelro and Nemesis. I was doomed from the beginning to have a stupid named. I just tell people to call me Callie. But my family is stubborn, and refuse to let me have my way.

Speaking of my parents. You’re probably wondering what they do for a living. Well, my Father is Emperor Yelro Emilios Diamanto. The region we live in calls him the Great Emperor. To be honest, my father is great, he rules with a kind hand and a willingness to serve his people. Something he likes to instill in his children by locking us out of the palace for a few hours. But we don’t mind anymore, we enjoy helping people any chance we get, especially if I can push Alec into a pile mud every once in a while.

Our father believes that we rule to help the people, but not everyone in the empire believes the same way, including our mother, Empress Nemesis Diamanto. I don’t remember much of her. All I can remember is that she was extremely beautiful and that she hated the way my father ruled. She believed that people should fear the royal family. It’s the only way to rule. Which she like to remind us very often when she was enraged with my father. Usually over something stupid, it was always something stupid. When her name was ever mentioned around us, some people would try to hide their disgust for her. Others would say that she should be our leader instead of my father. Either way, I never got to know her too well, nor did I try to bother. She was a women who only cared for herself above all else. I was really young when she fell ill one night and never recovered. My father sent her away to seek treatment, but I never saw her after that. She was always so kind to us as children, but you could always feel her bitterness behind every hug and jealousy behind every kiss. And when she passed, I couldn’t even muster up a tear for her death.
Alec, the eldest brother, is the next in line to the throne. The empire loves their Alexander Demetrius Diamanto III. I mean, I think he’s pretty great, so I don’t doubt everyone else believes the same. Our Father has been training him up to lead the same way we have for generations. He seems excited to rule, but he gets bored with his studies on occasion. Sometimes when I’m in language class he’ll distract the professor so I can escape and we can go on an adventure into the city.

Our best adventure, by far, was when we found our sister, Liliah. Alec found her hiding behind some trees on the eastern part of the city, outside the limits. She looked pretty scared, I don’t know what happened to her, and we’ve never really tried to ask in case we make her sad or angry with us. But Liliah is really sweet and always happy. My father took her in when we brought her back with us. I mean, he was PISSED when we heard how we found her. Going outside of the city without permission is on top of dad’s long list of stupid crap you’re not allowed to do. But, Alec convinced him that going out was good because we found Liliah. It was fate, he says. And with a bunch of other BS he made up, we didn’t get in trouble and we got a sister too.

As the second child, my father made it a point to say that my role in the future was far more important and very necessary to the future king. I was put in many classes growing up. Man, were those classes really boring. Language after language. History after History. Combat classes. Royal classes. I ended up being fluent in four languages in the end. Because three was just not enough. I was also brought up learning every form of etiquette known to man. Did you know that you can offend some by how you grab your fork? There are 6 nations in which how you greet the king could result in a great a alliance or a full out war. I can recite the royal lineage or every empire and kingdom, as well as when they were born and died, who their spouses are and how many kids they had. I’m apparently supposed to know this for intellectual conversation and to be more interesting. I’m pretty sure I couldn't even turn on a historian with all those facts. I can also kill a man while knowing the right color to wear to a spring ball. But, as my father every likes to say, there in reason for every lesson. Even ones that are mandatory by him.

After a couple years, dad sent me to study with my uncle Yannis, Yannis is dad’s twin. He also has a really long title, so the empire just refers to him as Sir Yannis. It’s just easier on everyone else’s sanity. Royal families, am I right? Yannis taught me that every family has dirty secrets, including ours. It was up to members of our immediate family to keep these secrets. Special members of our family are trained in the Art of the Rogue, and I was now apart of these ranks. My Job is to protect the future King. I am to protect him at all cost and my work is to remain behind closed doors. Basically I do all the dirty work for my family. I guess having to clean my room really wasn’t for nothing. I’m definitely not the greatest rogue in my family yet, but I get the job done.