Disc 1: TSR Audition

Verse One: She's got a smile that it seems to me/Reminds me of childhood memories.

The gentle staccatos, slurs, and ties rang through the surrounding hallway, music from the stringed instrument escaping through the opened door. The few people on the same level as he (the sixth to be exact) didn’t mind at all the sound of their Prince playing his instrument. That was mostly because he was greatly skilled at the violin, a skill that hadn’t come to him naturally, but by his almost obsession with it. He played constantly, learning and improving every time the bow was pulled across the strings.
Prince Ares Sol Totolos’ hand moved towards the music book before him. The sounds pausing for a moment as he changed the page to the next song in his purple 1½ inch binder full of sheet music. His room was large, naturally so for a prince. But it was also unnatural in many ways. One of which was the sheer emptiness of it. In fact, if one from the small village surrounding the castle were to find themselves in Ares’ room, the only thing that would tip them off about it belonging to someone of great importance would be, in actuality, the size.
His bed was normal. White sheets, a light blue quilt on it. He had four normal-sized pillows but he only kept two on his bed at night. One pillow for his head and the other to curl up against. His closet was large, but he didn’t use it. Well, he did hang up the royal clothes in there. The fancy, itchy stuff. But otherwise, his normal clothes rested in a simple dresser he had near the door to the bathroom. His room was completely normal. Except for his shelves. He had three shelves. All very distinct. All very much symbols of the boy staying in the room.
On one shelf, a light brown color against the light blue paint of his room walls were four to five binders. All stuffed completely with sheet music of all sorts. A space was open for the Prince to put the simple black violin case that now lay on his bed. On the very end of his special violin shelf was a single picture. The frame not exactly simple but not exactly expensive- in fact, it was probably one of the least expensive things in the castle. But in terms of sentimental value, nothing was greater. The frame was made out of puzzle pieces put together as a young child would. More in a sloppy pile around the edges then if it were something patterned. And inside this frame was the picture of the child who had given it. A young girl, preserved only in the way shown here. In a photograph in a frame given to her twin brother for their ninth birthday. The last birthday they had spent together.
But that’s another story for another… well, story. As of now we’re looking at his shelves, are we not? The second shelf located against the wall, only slightly lower and completely to the left of the previous shelf, held one of the boy’s other hobbies. This one wasn’t very unusual for a child, but for a man of his age it was rather odd. What was placed on display was several (we’re nearing forty-two in all) bottles of bubble soap. All with different abilities and different wand types. Of course, one should not mistake the wands for real magic wands or the different abilities as actual powers- oh no. The wands were just shaped in ovals and stars and circles, while the different bubbles ranged from plain, unscented, unflavored, fragile bubbles to different colored, beautifully scented, multi-flavored, so-sturdy-that-one-could-catch-them-with-a-thorn bubbles. The bottles were all different too. Some shaped like famed cartoon characters, some shaped like hearts or clovers or just regular pink, blue, and purple bottles. He didn’t really care what the bubble was, he just loved blowing bubbles. But his absolute favorite bottle of bubble soap lied right in the middle of the shelf, surrounded by all the others. It was a green bottle. Shaped like a four-leaf clover. It was small, but the bubble wand created the most beautiful bubbles out of them all and the case was easy to carry- it was a necklace. One would often see it around his neck for luck and… well, just how convenient it was to have good bubbles at your disposal?
The third shelf, located to the right of the other two sat below the first shelf and just above the second shelf. So technically it was the middle shelf. Then why was it introduced so late? Well, simply because it was the most odd. Located on the shelves were bags. But not just any kind of bags, oh no. They were bags with a red label on them. The red label of ‘Jelly Bellies.’ Yes. The entire shelf was full of jellybeans. And smack-dab in the middle of it was a giant gallon container of the sugary treats he loved so much. The bags off to the side were mostly half-eaten, a few empty bags were remaining as well as a few unopened ones. But there was always one missing. Where was that one? Well, it was right in Ares’ pocket.

Verse Two: With orders to identify. /To clarify and classify. /Scramble in the summer sky.

A man walked down the corridor of the sixth floor of the castle. He was nervous to say the least as his feet followed the sound of the music. The music he had been told was made by the Prince. This man’s name was Jan, a former peasant of the village whom- with much effort- somehow managed to find himself as a servant to the king. It wasn’t his first day on the job however. Oh no, he had been there a full week. Of course, he didn’t stay at the castle- instead he went home every night at around seven thirty and woke up in the morning to arrived by about four. He had so far only dealt with the King and his wife. He knew they had a son, but he hadn’t met him as of yet.
Alas, as fate would have it though, now would be the time for all that to change. One of his first actual tasks (aside from the simple bringing of breakfast out to the King and his wife and other miscellaneous servant duties) was to fetch the Prince and bring him to his father. Apparently the King had to discuss the matters of a great competition with his son, but aside from that, Jan didn’t know anything really about what the task was for.
But the reason for needing his son was none of Jan’s business. He was a worker, not a P.I. Though he did find it odd that he hadn’t seen the Prince much around the castle. It seemed the guy liked to keep to himself a lot. In fact, he had never seen him around the castle. Sure, he saw him at the Royal Dinner Party- held every Friday night. Everyone was invited of course (as long as you were a citizen)- and activities included things from bingo to basketball. But even then- the Prince would only make an appearance and then leave.
From what the man had seen of the Prince in the brief glimpses he got and the appearances he could figure out that the guy had a bit of a following already. By teenaged girls, but a following albeit. From those glances he could make the conclusion that the Prince wasn’t bad looking in the least. Of course not. It was in the Prince Handbook that one had to be at least somewhat good looking in order to be a Prince. And there was a certain appeal to the way he dressed in royal clothes- every piece of royal garb he wore had sequins sewn on them. He glittered in the light almost all the time- and every single time he made an appearance, he was wearing a cape.
Now, when the teenaged girls were mentioned, it should also be pointed out that even though they flocked to him, their parents preferred them to stay away. The Prince’s reputation among the peasants of the village had not necessarily been a good one. His brief appearances allowed the rumor that he was cold and cruel far precede him. Of course, this might also have helped the increase in flocking teenaged fangirls as they split their time between fawning and writing ‘amusing’ fanfictions about him and the new boyband in town- the Lonas Brothers.
Jan sighed. Naturally he’d be stuck with this job then. He would have to just try hard… right? Or not try very hard actually… Just deliver the message and lead him to the throne room, open the door for the Prince and then leave. There. That would be fast, simple, and wouldn’t have any trouble associated with it. Right?
As he neared the door he noticed something rather peculiar. It was open. He rose an eyebrow as he moved closer. Then the music stopped. Why did it stop? He was close enough to hear the sound of a page turning. Ah. Changing music. Well, now would be as good a time as any- while the Prince was paused. He knocked on the inside of the wooden door as he peered into the room. “Sire?” Of course, what he saw wasn’t quite what he had expected.

Verse three: Isn't he sweet?/Our fav'rite flavor.

The man blinked. He almost had to check to see if he had gotten the right room. He was almost positive he had made some sort of mistake. But no, he recognized the face. The sloppy brown hair, the bright blue eyes. The Prince, however, wasn’t very prince-like. Not in the ‘I-don’t-want-to-be-a-Prince way, but in the I-really-don’t-care way. His chocolate brown hair was sloppy around his face, his large blue eyes gazing at the man at the door to his room. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a black shirt, his violin sitting idly on his shoulder. He just had a certain something about him that surprised Jan the most. The fact that the guy just didn’t seem to really care.
The boy didn’t respond to Jan verbally. Oh no. Instead he simply tilted his head in question and acknowledgement, inviting the man to continue.
“Um… right. The King, er, your father wishes to speak with you,” he said. The Prince just nodded- not uttering a sound as he placed the violin gently back in its case. He reached deep into his sweatpants’ left pocket, taking out a half eaten bag of jellybeans.
Ares had done none of this with any intent of disrespect. He just chose not to say anything. He walked towards the door, turning down the hallway towards the Royal Elevator with Magic (or R.E.M). See, after watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Ares’ parents had very much enjoyed the concept of an elevator that could go every which way, and so they employed the help of the local magician to create one for themselves. But like many things in this audition- that’s another story for another character. Namely the magician who created the elevator.
Anyway, the Prince started his trek down the hall before realizing that Jan hadn’t been following. Truthfully, Jan was just stuck at this point. It hadn’t been in the job manual (of course, not a lot of things had been- the King was rather lazy when he told the Royal Secretary what to write, and so basically he just said ‘write whatever, we’ll just avoid hiring people of the unintelligent type.’) and so Jan could only stand there, slightly confused on what move to make next.
Thankfully, Ares was the one to help Jan with this. He stopped a moment and turned to the servant, giving a slight wave with his hand, a movement that Jan took as a sign to follow the Prince. He nodded showing his understanding and Ares simply turned, continuing the walk.
This caused Jan to have to trot a little at first to catch up, but once he did he made sure to stay just slightly behind the member of the royal family. It just seemed like the right thing to do. And then the Prince did the most unusual of things. He held out his hand to the side so it was right in front of Jan, and in the palm of that hand was a bag. The bag of jellybeans. It was open at the top and tilted just enough for Jan to be able to reach in and take a few. Or was he supposed to carry it?
Ares looked back and just adjusted the bag a little so the top of the bag was open wider, giving permission for the man to take some if he chose. But Jan just raised his hand in polite refusal, “Oh, no thank you, I don’t like sweets terribly much,” he said. Then he realized it: he had just refused something from Royalty. You don’t refuse things from Royalty. You run the risk of making the Royal upset or worse…. But Ares didn’t seem to care. He just shrugged and brought the bag back to his front, reaching in and taking out a blueberry jellybean for himself, popping it in his mouth and chewing slowly.
He had just finished chewing a cinnamon flavored one when they stepped out of R.E.M, Jan was still a bit flustered from his first time in the magic elevator- coming up he had just used the normal elevators located in the hotel portion of the castle, Geeze. If one of those things gets public it’ll be the end of the world as we know it, he held his head, his stomach felt upset. But he couldn’t… he wouldn’t… not here in front of the Prince- or worse, on the Prince.
Luckily, Ares could guess where this was going. He raised his hand once again, this time pointing towards a white basin-looking thing. It was extremely elegant, an ivory basin atop a handsome wooden cupboard attached to the wall. A false door on the front carved with the family seal was lined with what seemed to be a golden trim. The gold was matched in the glistening white basin as well, creating a gentle yet pronounced swirl of gold and white matching the golden faucet and handles, the drain lined with glittery gems. On the cupboard part just above the seal was a sign written in flawless calligraphy as well as a beautiful arrow outlined with the same gold trim. It read “Please Vomit Here.” He glanced up at the Prince who had turned his back in order to give the man some privacy.
“Thanks,” Jan said sheepishly, still embarrassed to have to do such a thing with the Prince there, and while he was eating no less. But what must be done, must be done and in the proper place.
Once he was feeling better the two started walking once again, shortly reaching the door to the throne room on the third floor. Jan, figuring it was in his job description, moved towards the door- opening it for the Prince. Ares nodded a ‘thank you’ with a slight smile before gracefully walking in.

Verse four: No one should sleep.

“Thank you Jan. Now if you don’t mind standing off to the side? We’ll need you in a moment again,” the King nodded towards him, gesturing towards the corner of the room near the thrones where he and his wife were sitting. He was a bit less friendly to his son, however, as his eyes narrowed. “Ares Sol Totolos,” Jan almost flinched. He knew what it meant when parent used their child’s full name. Royal or not. "Do you know how old you are?”
There was a pause as Ares thought for a moment. Then he nodded.
He had to think about it? Jan’s eyes were wide with surprise at the Prince. What kind of Prince was he? He definitely didn’t fit into any of the categories Jan had thought of. But, the question did raise some curiosity in Jan. How old was the Prince? He couldn’t be older than eighteen, nineteen at the absolute most- “You are twenty-four years old! And you still do not have a wife!” The Queen’s voice entered the area, scolding her son.
Twenty Four?! As in two four?
“Indeed,” the King said, supporting his wife before taking out a parchment from his breast pocket, “That is why we, as your parents, have decided to enter you into this contest.” He unrolled the parchment, revealing the words of the invitation. Though, at the moment, Ares was trying to find a good jellybean to eat. Previously he had picked up a cappuccino jellybean. One he greatly disliked. And so he put it back and was now searching for particular flavors to mix in his mouth. He knew that if one put French Vanilla, Very Cherry, Strawberry Jam, Crushed Pineapple, Chocolate Pudding, and Top Banana together, they would get a banana split flavor. One he had been craving recently.
“Ares! Are you even listening to us?” His mother scolded once again. Ares paused a moment before looking up and putting his hand out, holding the jelly beans he had gathered between his thumb and hand as he gave the ‘so so’ gesture before going back to his quest, “Do you understand at all? You will win this. Jan,” the Queen looked sharply over at the servant. He looked up, startled by the sudden calling of his name.
“Y-y-yes your highness?”
“I want you to accompany Ares and see to it that he succeeds in this simple task, and please, make sure he doesn’t pack any sweatpants or just plain shirts. This is a competition, he should only have his best clothes,” the Queen said before looking back at Ares, “Now don’t come back until you have a wife or an affair. Affairs equals sales in those trashy magazines. Of which we get forty percent profit. Now go. No ands, ifs, or buts.”
Ares just blinked before nodding in understanding.
Then he ate a banana split jellybean creation.