《File's Cor》


 Chapter 1: Fulfilling a promise

    "Atheron is a nation to the west, it is known for its large mountain ranges and warm climate. It isn''t the most powerful country in the world but still has greater might than that of many others, militarily speaking, around 555,000 knights had pledged an oath of fidelity to King Achard. However, influence wise, the nation has little. It only trades with bordering kingdoms, which mostly includes that of agriculture and mining exports, but what is sold is of the highest quality. Due to its weather, Atheron is graced by numerous grape farms which has lead to the development of the Atheronian wine industry, the sweetest, most delectable wine in the world. This, accompanied by tourism, created a good balanced economy for the country. Still, there are much bigger players on the world map, such as Nalpia or Gotland," he murmured "He shall do quite nicely."


    It was a sweet spring morning, just as it should be. The flowers were ripe in bloom and birds chirped a heavenly song in unison with the calm wind. Ivan was in the garden with 2 of his brothers, Barclay and Gustav. He was dressed in the finest outfit in the country. Gold, rich aniline purple, deep blue, only the most extravagant colours, fit for a prince. Soft yet sharp white hair gelled back. Skin so smooth, not a dimple in sight. Truly the look of one who was high-ranking in society.


    "I do say younger brother, you look positively stunning," complimented Barclay smiling.


    "Agreed, it is your birthday today after all. 18 years, soon brother, I look forward to the day I can achieve such an age," commended Gustav.


    "Come now, you flatter me," chuckled Ivan. Those cold blue eyes gazed upon his brothers and he couldn''t help but feel superior to his kin. Their outfits were accustomed for royalty, yet didn''t hold a candle to his.


    Gustav and Barclay were some of the few people Ivan could call friend, their kind nature always led them to help him. This morality forced them to do much charity work over the course of their lives. So much so that the entire nation was divided on who was more generous. Whilst they had seen it as a duty, an act from the heart. Ivan could only view it as gaining influential support for the throne. Ivan grit his teeth at the thought, their father was dying and they dared to take the throne. It most certainly wasn''t out of obligation to his father but rather to his brothers getting in the way of what he desired above all else.


    "Do you feel well brother?" Wondered Gustav, his moderately long blonde hair, blowing in the wind.


    "I am just fine," replied Ivan.


    "Happy birthday, little brother!" Yelled a voice from across the roses.


    "Julius! How good it is to see you," Ivan''s words came across as pleasant but deep down, this man was the one he held undeniable hatred for.


    "I came here to congratulate you. 18 years old, time seems to fly by."


    Julius was the eldest child and next in line to the throne. His demeanour was strong yet elegant. He harboured great intelligence and demonstrated this on the chess board. His appearance was glamourous, his sky blue hair was long and silky, his dark green eyes were like emeralds and he had no shortage of suitors, instead of taking the hand of one, he preferred to wait until the crown was his. He was practically a perfect person, it was no surprise to anyone that he was favoured by the King.


    "You should come with us for some tea Julius," Proposed Barclay.


    "I would love to however my presence here must be brief, I have more pressing matters to attend to, in fact the main reason I ventured out here was to tell you, Ivan, that father wishes to speak with you."


    "I see, very well, I shall go to him at once."


    "Farewell, until we all meet at the ball tonight," waving goodbye, Julius walked away with his a smile on his face and with an obedient servant following closely behind.


    "Well then, you had best go to father Ivan," said Barclay "we shall have to converse at tonight''s ball, take care."


    "Yes, goodbye my brothers."


    "Have a good day Ivan," said Gustav as he and Barclay departed.


    Once they had left, Ivan was just on his own. The wind had vanished and the sun dissapered behind a cloud.


    "Time to visit that old fool then."


    On his way, he encountered servants and guards alike, all bowing before his supreme prescence. He briefly talked with some of his other brothers sisters who were out on morning strolls.


    Eventually Ivan arrived at the great oak doors that stood as high as mountains. He made his way inside, to the throne room. The largest room in the palace, great marble pillars stood either side of the red carpet. Artifacts and jewels hung on the walls, some retrieved from war, others, priceless items belonging to previous rulers.


    Ivan bowed before the sleepy old man before him.


    "Yes father, you called for me?"


    "My...son...my 4th son and 6th child. Come...closer. Let me see...your face."


    Ivan raised himself from his pose, straightening his back and puffing out his chest, he made his way towards his diseased father who''s large grey beard reached down to his knees and covered his body.


    "I have...decided to give you...a more reasonable...position of your age...you will take part in more...foreign matters of the kingdom." His speech was sluggish with coughs in between each sentence.


    "I understand father."


    "I''m not long for this world. I know what you are like. Don''t forget...who you are. Julius...will succeed me, not you."


    "He is unfit father, I am more deserving of..."


    "No! You are not! You...think I don''t know... about your scheming...and plots! Ivan...do not tear this country apart for...your own selfish agenda."


    "I understand," he replied giving a disgruntled look.


    "Now leave me."


    Ivan made for his bedroom to let out his anger. He slammed the door and punched the wall with force.


    "That old fool! How dare he deny me as such!"


    Hatred burned bright in Ivan''s eyes. The throne was his ultimate goal and everything he had done for 3 years would be for nothing if Julius became king.


    "Julius is always getting in my way! I shall...no I must remain composed, should I fail in this then I won''t even be able to enjoy my own birthday."


    The prince seemingly calmed down. He sat at his desk and called for a cup of tea to ease himself. He ran the bell to signal the servants. Almost immediatly a girl with light brown hair knocked on the door and entered after Ivan had granted her permission to do so. She wore a standardised black and white dress.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Bring me some tea, I don''t care what kind, just get it here quickly."


    The maid said nothing and simply bowed, within a few minutes she returned with the drink. Ivan took the cup in his hands and drank slowly, almost forgetting his etiquette.


    "Thank you, leave me unless I ring the bell again. I need a moment to myself."


    The maid bowed once again and simply made her way out of the room, no questions asked.


    Sipping on the warm tea, really helped Ivan cool off, he was just about finished when he noticed a strange box resting on the desk before him. It was a maroon coloured object, with a golden lock on it. A note sat on top.


    "What on earth?" Ivan wondered.


    He picked up the white piece of paper and read:


    To Prince Ivan Ikhaust


    Congratulations on turning 18, I wish you all the best. I present to you a gift. Not just any gift, the greatest gift any man can receive. It lies within the box, open it and I can assure you, you will never be the same again.


    Sincerely, a friend


    Anxiety crept upon him like a fox, who had sent him this? How did it even get here? It had to be some kind of joke. He saw no devices to be afraid of so he opened the box. Inside was black mist.


    Ivan was confused but his curiosity had peaked, he slowly moved his hand towards it but before he could do that, he was struck with an intense pain in his chest.


    He fell back onto the floor, screaming in pain, so much so that his jaw was on the verge of breaking. His heart! His heart felt like it was being ripped out! Ivan struggled on the floor reaching for the bell to call the servants. The agony was unbearable, the thumping, the thumping, he could hear the thumping of his own heart! Faster and faster and faster! His breathing intensified. Sound grew distant. He tried to utter cries of help but no words came out only drool. Ivan couldn''t hold on, he ceased resisting and everything went black.


    "W..wha...?"


    Ivan''s eyes began to open again. Had he cheated death? His whole body felt limp but feeling soon returned to him. Cautiously, he pulled himself off the floor and looked around. Everything was unfamiliar to him but soon Ivan''s memories began to return themselves and he realised he was in his chambers.


    His eyes were widened with disbelief at the ordeal that had just occured. He was certain he was dying yet here he stood, unscathed. Ivan looked down upon his hands, trying to reaffirm himself that this wasn''t some form of afterlife. He felt fine but what had just happened?! The box! Ivan glanced over towards his desk and sure enough, the box was still there, closed.


    Ivan was afraid to go anywhere near it, let alone touch it.


    But from the small space between the two, Ivan could see that the note on top of the box had been altered. Fear loomed over him but he still moved his trembling legs toward it. Quickly snatching the note, he saw the words and knew it had changed, this time it read:


    To Prince Ivan Ikhaust


    So you have opened the gift I have granted you. How you intend to utilize said gift is up to you, just know that like many things in this world. Good or evil, justice or injustice, that this gift will either be a blessing or a curse. Within this box lies your heart, it is your life and you should protect it as such. Enjoy your birthday.


    Sincerely, a friend


    Ivan couldn''t believe what he was reading. There were so many details to question. Firstly, who was this ''friend'' that had sent this box and the note. Not a single clue as to the identity of this mysterious figure was on the paper, perhaps closer inspection was required but Ivan was still recovering from the shock of what felt like dying.


    Secondly, what did the note mean by ''within the box lies your heart''. Ivan connected one of the dots and he began panicking once again. When he was writhing on the floor, the source of his pain came from the area where his heart was. It couldn''t possibly be? Ivan lifted his hand and, with hesitation, placed his hand upon the box, trying to open it but it would not budge however there was one thing that shook Ivan to his core. His hand trembled as it felt the sensation of a beating heart, the thumps, he could even feel the movements.


    "Aaaaaaaahhh!" Yelled Ivan as he fell onto the floor, yet again, "This cannot be real," he whimpered.


    The resolve to know spurred him on, placing his hand where his heart should have been. He silently waited for those thumps but nothing happened. His eyes widened, the note hadn''t been lying. Everything that had just happened was true.


    The third question was how did the notes change and what was the reason for all that had just occurred. Magic? Ivan had no idea. Did the note alter itself or was it placed? How long had he been unconscious. Ivan examined the grandfather clock in his room. It was around 11:40, he had been unconscious for an entire hour. All of this bears investigation he thought.


    Lastly, the question that was bothering Ivan the most was, what did all of this mean. His heart was apparently inside that box. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He clasped his chest still speechless to the emptiness within him. He gradually started to feel tired, it pained him to have his eyes open. He was too sleepy to perform any action currently so he made his way over to his wide double bed. Removing his jacket, resting his head on one of the pillows and pulling the covers over him. Falling asleep was something Ivan didn''t want to do but the urge was too enormous. Instantly he was in a deep and peaceful sleep. Not a shred of pain, just a young man enjoying his birthday.


    "Aaaaaaahhhh!"


    Suddenly Ivan was awoken by a scream. He felt extremely well-rested, what had he been doing? He had fallen asleep. He must''ve lost any sense right before he went to bed. The sky outside was a beautiful hue of orange and the clouds were horses riding over the horizon.


    "Aaaaaahhh!"


    The scream came again, Ivan rushed out of his room to find a maid running down the corridor, not caring if she slipped on the blue carpet under her feet.


    "His majesty is..." she stumbled on her words as tears rolled out her eyelids.


    What was going on? Everything was happening so fast. The maid could only point down the corridor, so Ivan followed her finger, rushing towards the corner and rounding it. He followed the screams that echoed throughout the halls, they lead him to his father''s room. Ivan couldn''t make sense of anything anymore. He found multiple maids with their backs turned to the door with expressions of sheer terror, for smothered over it was blood, and beneath that blood, a guard. Ivan quickly made sense of what had just struck fear into these innocent girls. Yet it wasn''t the guard who was the main victim here, it was obvious to Ivan. Laying a hand on the door, he slowly pushed it open to find his father, dead, a blade jammed into his chest, lying on the floor.


    Ivan said not a word, instead he shut the door behind him and he could only, smile. He smiled and stared at his father''s corpse. Walking over and standing above it, Ivan couldn''t have asked for a greater birthday present.


    However suddenly a blade sliced open Ivan''s stomach. His smiled faded as he looked down into a sea of red.


    "Aaaa...aaaa...aaaaaaahhhgg!"


    Ivan slammed against the wall, smearing blood over it.


    "Not...again...no more pain!"


    Ivan began losing consciousness as he fell toward a door, opening it and landing on a balcony.


    "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!" Screamed Ivan.


    The next instant a knife was thrown into his neck. Blood came gushing out his mouth. True fear pierced Ivan as he desperately tried to get away but to no avail. Instead he fell off the balcony and plummeted to his doom and once again, everything went black.


    But just like last time, Ivan awoke from his slumber. Paralyzed by shock, he lay there, in the bushes, unable to believe a single thing about reality any longer.


    "This cannot be real. This cannot be real. This cannot be real." He repeated to himself.


    He had died. There was no doubt about it yet he lived. He lived when in all laws of the universe, he should not have.


    Finally deciding that the flower bushes was not an adequate place for a prince, Ivan picked himself up. There happened to be a passing guard dressed in iron armour with the kingdom''s crest on his tunic, a griffin, who had been searching for him.


    "My lord! My lord are you alright!?" Worried the guard, he had a strange accent, perhaps he was a foreigner.


    "I am fine, I fell from the balcony up there, cursed assassins almost sent me on a trip to the heavens above."


    "Thank God that you are well my lord, if you have any injuries, we''d best go see a nurse right away."


    "Like I said, I am fine, just tell me, what''s the situation at present?"


    "It''s confirmed that the king...is dead. The assassins got away and now all royalty are gathering in the throne room. When you didn''t arrive within the hour we feared for the worst."


    Ivan''s ears did not deceive him nor did his mind. Previously when this had happened, he was knocked out for 1 hour and yet again, he was knocked out for 1 hour. It couldn''t be a coincidence, could it?


    "Please escort me to the throne room immediately," commanded Ivan with a stern look.


    "Of course, my lord!" The guard humbly obeyed his orders, like a good dog should.


    They traversed through the gardens. The guard leading his prince, remaining vigilant in case of another attack. And the prince himself who was piecing everything together in his mind. But no matter how calm he tried to remain, that same smile appeared upon his lips again. That hideous smile which came about from his father''s demise. It suited Ivan well, for his goal was now obtainable. It was his, it belonged to him, for he wasn''t just above all men, he was above death itself.

 Chapter 2: Reunion

    Everyone was gathered in that same marble room which Ivan had had his last conversation with his father. A man who he was planning to overstep and claim the most powerful position in the kingdom, however that was no longer necessary, for that obstacle was gone and with it had been brought the foreboding sense of inevitable, impending chaos. The void left by the monarch meant that now everyone in the royal family had a shot at becoming ruler of Atheron. Of course that included Ivan but he was 1 out of a possible 16 candidates, and it wasn''t like the odds were that easy, certain members had better chances, for instance Julius.


    Despite Julius'' obvious favouritism by their father, there was a silver lining, he had not been publically chosen as the previous king''s successor, even if he wanted Julius to become king, he didn''t want to make that statement and have him remain a prince. The reason for this was that Julius was a man who''s past time was fighting skirmishes in the east, just beyond the Caldracca mountain range that separated Atheron and the Vyanyak commonwealth. Should Julius die after their father''s death then the same situation as they have currently would arise. The irony could only make Ivan giggle on the inside.


    Yet whoever it was who had murdered his father, Ivan couldn''t help but feel slightly impressed, many others had tried their hand at assassinating the king but failed. It was all due to the knight who stood by his side through thick and thin like glue. Faramond was his name and his bulky posture and masculine appearance was a clear indicator of his strength. A strength which excelled that of any other warrior in the kingdom, rightfully earning him the title of strongest knight. But Ivan could only imagine the guilt his father''s personal knight would be feeling right now but he didn''t care.


    Those same great oak doors greeted him once again. Two summons to the throne room in one day, it must have been Ivan''s birthday. They opened and Ivan, along with the guard, stepped inside. Not a single trace of positivity was present but that was to be expected. The guards, the royal family, all had a look of sorrow and shock, blinking was of the lowest priority to them, all they could do was lament in their melancholy. Many of the women were crying, including Ivan''s mother, Queen Andrea, Barclay simply sat beside her in his futile efforts to comfort her.


    Ivan paid no heed and simply walked on with a carefree expression on his face.


    "My lord, I had best be going I..." began the guard.


    "Yes, yes, off you go," Ivan interjected, dismissing him, he wanted to dispose of him as soon as possible but also because he seemed like he was in a rush.


    Ivan wandered through the crowds of maids and royalty when he bumped into Gustav.


    "Gustav?" Ivan inquired, he seemed to be crying but was fiercely holding back his tears yet that couldn''t stop his face from creasing up.


    "I...I''m o..okay I...Ivan."


    "You obviously aren''t."


    "It''s just, father...father is...father is...I saw it with my own eyes, his body!" Gustav started to break down so Ivan rested his hand on his shoulder.


    "I saw his body too, it is alright Gustav, father would not want you to weep, you are nearly a man no?"


    "H...how can you...be so...so calm?"


    "That does not matter, quickly make yourself seem more presentable and go see Barclay over there," Ivan spoke with a soft tone as he thought what he just said may have sounded rather harsh.


    Gustav dissapered into the crowd and left Ivan alone, giving him time to reflect on his current situation however, like everything else he does, Julius foiled him and came wandering over. His face bleak yet it had an expression of urgency.


    "Ivan, I am so glad you are safe. I wish the same could be said for father."


    "Agreed, to think a tragedy would befall us of all days," Ivan lowered his head to make himself seem upset, but it wasn''t his true feelings, if he were honest he would have said ''Old fool was already one foot in the grave'', but reading the atmosphere, now wasn''t the best time to be making such remarks.


    "An advancement in age and this is what you receive, God has not smiled upon us this day."


    "I know, but the workings of man are separate from God''s will. The assassins will be punished for their sins, by our hands or God''s," spurting out religious wisdom, Ivan couldn''t disagree more with Julius, their father''s demise was the greatest present he had been graced with and Ivan took great pleasure in this, almost letting that smile appear on his face again. But he stopped when he realised that Julius wasn''t just sad, he had approached Ivan and their conversation so far had been directed at him. It was a test to see his reactions, clenching his fist, Ivan decided to play along keeping up his facade.


    "True little brother, such a crime will not leave them uncondemned. I can only hope we all make it through the week."


    Ivan felt a chill down his spine, why would Julius reference the week? He had to be saying that the assassins might come for the rest of the royal family but his voice, the little pauses inbetween each few words, they were menacing. Julius was smart but to have confidence in stating fore-knowledge like this wasn''t something a normal person would do. Could Julius have ordered father''s death?


    It was preposterous, why would he when he was the favourite, when he was going to be named heir anyway. Then again, Julius did always behave like an actor, his shroud of kindness could only barely be seen through by those of high enough intellect. All that waiting, father clung to life like a beggar to bread and it must have built up the frustration inside. If this was reason enough, accompanied by the fact that Julius could be overly ambitious at times, would set the perfect grounds for a murder of the king. No-one would suspect him either, if he played all his cards here then obtaining the throne was within kicking distance, it was a perfect plan by him and all these thoughts only piped up Ivan''s anger even more.


    "Ivan, are you feeling okay?"


    Unable to hide his contempt now, Ivan raised his face and stared directly into Julius'' unwavering eyes, "I''m just so furious at the attackers, I swear that I will have the head of whoever has committed this haenous act of treason."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "Is that so?"


    Both stared at each other for a couple of seconds until a man in armour walked out and stood atop a few steps on the podium of the throne. He wore no helmet to distinguish himself amongst the other knights and his rugged face and short brown hair instantly made him recognisable as the captain of the castle''s defence.


    "If I may have your attention please ladies and gentlemen, as many of you may already know, it is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform you that King Achard Ikhaust has been killed. We have deemed the castle safe for now but we must keep everyone''s safety our highest priority. So all shall abandon the castle except for us knights as we consolidate with the church a new heir and his majesty''s funeral. Maids shall return home for tonight and not return to work until a letter is received. As for the royal family, please may each member speak with me about where they shall be going. That is all, thank you."


    Everyone began murmuring to each other and everyone who wasn''t royalty began to depart.


    "Where will be headed Ivan?" Questioned Julius.


    "Most likely the second safest place in this kingdom for me, Ukburg castle."


    "The fief owned by Lord Alacar?"


    "Yes, I have an old friend there."


    "Well I wish you safety on your travels," beamed Julius.


    Almost immediatly after everybody had been sorted out. Everyone in the royal family set off in different directions, headed for security elsewhere. Ivan was going north, he sat in the horse carriage relaxed. The soft red cushions eased him who had been on edge ever since almost dying and his conversation with Julius. His arms lost all motion as he slumped into his seat. His hair was no longer gelled back, it was its usual long self with a slight parting on the right. He had changed into less expensive attire, namely a silky white outfit with gold lining and a red collar.


    All of a sudden the carriage hit a bump and was launched ever so slightly into the air, startling Ivan. He clenched the object next to him, ensuring it was safe, feeling those intervals of a beating heart. It was the maroon box. The words on the note stating that it was his life inside the box remained fresh in his mind. By whatever means, he no longer had a heart and by what experience so far had taught him, it meant he was unable to be killed.


    Whenever he was destined to lose his life, in great mockery of nature, he didn''t. Instead Ivan would simply fall unconsious, if it could be called that, for an entire hour and then awake to find all his injuries gone. This was only the bare minimum knowledge he had acquired and frankly, it was just theories to him at the moment.


    "I should consult the court wizard about this at some point," Ivan muttered under his breath, thinking to himself.


    The moon shone like a crystal shard in the sky. The stars were an army of fireflies dancing in darkness.


    "Considering it is night, I should get some rest but after having a short sleep halfway through the day, I feel no weariness," Ivan peered into the veil of the night sky, hypnotized by it''s beauty, "no, if I shut my eyes for a while, it should lessen the trip. We still have a ways to go after all."


    So Ivan laid his head back and closed his eyelids and remained in a comfortable position until he arrived at his destination.


    He had awoken a bit before reaching the castle but it was no trouble. A couple hours later the horse carriage pulled up through the gates to Ukburg castle, the green banner of Lord Alacar flew high above the battlements and gracefully swerved in the cool wind''s breeze. The carriage came to a halt in front of the polished castle''s front entrance.


    The driver quickly removed himself from the front of the dark red carriage and quaintly opened the door at the side, reaching out his hand to support Ivan on his way down the steps. Several servants appeared out of the entrance along with a tall slender man, wearing an extremely dark green outfit and carrying a book in his right hand.


    "It is an honour to have you stay here at our lord''s house my prince, you may remember me from previous visits but I am the steward of this estate, Markett."


    "Thank you for having me and yes I do remember M..."


    "Ivan! What a pleasure!" Came a voice from the door to the castle.


    "Andrew? My friend! How long his it been?"


    A dashing young man with brown hair and a grey and green coat, with hints of navy blue, came rushing down the stairs leading to the door, a massive smile brightened up that childish face as soon as he saw Ivan.


    "It honestly has been far too long," said the youthful noble.


    "Indeed," replied Ivan as the 2 boys hugged each other briefly, "we have much to discuss."


    "Agreed but first do come inside, the courier gave quite a specific time when you would arrive, so I already had some tea prepared."


    "Thank you, in truth I really need a soothing drink, with everything that has happened, you would not believe it."


    "You can tell me all about it once we are inside, oh and I know it was yesterday and you should have recieved my present saying this but, happy birthday"


    "Thank you."


    Ivan followed his best friend into the castle. It had been 2 months since they last spoke, all thanks to Ivan''s expedition to Gotland. But now they were reunited, at last.


    "Please take Ivan''s bags up to his room immediatly," Andrew pleasantly ordered.


    "As you wish my lord," the servants responded together.


    "If I may make a request?"


    "Hm, yes Ivan?"


    "You may move all my luggage, however please do not touch the box in the passenger seat."


    The servants simply nodded without question.


    "I wonder what is in there," chuckled Andrew.


    "Something so very important to me, more than you realise."


    The halls of the castle were just as Ivan remembered them as a child, intricate patterns and shapes of various colours littered the floor, velvet drapes hung from the wall and the sound of stepping on the floor could make the most inelegant of steps sound graceful. Ivan and Andrew always used to play together as children. One could say that Ivan grew up in Ukburg castle and the 2 were brothers, twin brothers almost, apart from slightly similar appearances, they both were the exact same height and age.


    A fine room had been prepared for them and a cute round table sat in the middle with a large window allowing a fair amount of sunlight in to brighten up the room and negate the use of any candles, unless night came. The smell of warm tea filled the air accompanied by the scent of freshly baked biscuits served on a silver platter.


    "Please, have a seat," requested Andrew.


    Ivan sat next opposite and quickly took a sip of his tea.


    "Splendid," he complimented.


    "You sure do get over tragic things rather easily."


    "Hm? Pardon?" Said Ivan confused.


    "I mean, your father is dead and on your birthday aswell."


    "I know, it is tragic."


    Ivan kept on sipping on his tea as if to brush the conversation topic away but then decided not to neglect something so horrendous in the eyes of most people.


    "I have learned to accept the death of those who are closest to me, there was nothing I could have done for my father."


    "I see." Andrew sounded disheartened for some reason but Ivan hastily changed the subject.


    "Is Lord Alacar not in today?"


    "My father is not in most days, he is always off on trips, leaving me alone, it can get lonely sometimes but I have gotten used to it."


    "Poor you."


    "You''re the poor one here, what with everything that has occured. Do you even know who did it?"


    "No, the assassins managed to escape but they will be found and caught."


    "That is quite an optimistic view."


    "I know what you mean however on a matter which I will go into detail on later, trust me, they will be caught."


    "This is not a very good conversation topic, we can talk about your travels next but I want to ask you one question. Did you actually see your father''s body?"


    "Yes, I walked in on his corpse laying on the ground with a blood-stained knife in his back, I didn''t have time to get a good look due to me being..." Ivan cut off mid sentence, realising what he was about to say.


    "Due to what?" Andrew prompted an answer.


    Could Ivan tell Andrew about what had happened to him, about his heart, about his supposed death and revival. Andrew was his closest friend and more of a brother than any of his actual blood relatives would be.


    "I was attacked."


    "You were attacked! Goodness gracious! Did you come out unscathed?!"


    "You could say that."


    "Well tell me, what happened?"


    "I may have been stabbed, I could have died."


    "Ivan?"


    "Andrew, I think..." but as Ivan uttered these words, he halted and his lips fell limp.

 Chapter 3: Unknown future

    Those words never escaped his lips, why would Andrew believe him? It was pointless, the inability to die, it was just stupid, but those times at the palace, what were they? These thoughts did cross Ivan''s mind but the sentence he was about to utter carried the full intent of telling Andrew about his predicament, so why didn''t couldn''t he say them.


    "Ivan? What is it?" Andrew gave a bewildered look.


    Nothing, absolutely nothing came out, it was like he had swallowed his voice, and it tasted foul because a burning sensation began welling up inside of Ivan''s stomach.


    "Ivan, are you alr...Ivan!" Andrew''s voice alerted Ivan to the presence of a red substance in his tea, small scarlet spots floated in the light brown drink and it took a while for Ivan to realise it was dripping from his mouth. One hand clenching his stomach and another touching his lip, he removed his fingers to reveal the same red substance. Immediately Ivan knew what this was. Blood.


    The churning in his stomach only grew greater in pain and caused Ivan to remove himself from his seat. Standing up, panicked. Looking desperately at Andrew for help. Coughing up blood. What was this? The effects of trying to tell Andrew? Or something else?


    "Aa..aaa...argh...argh!" Ivan''s words still never left his mouth and even then, it was difficult to yell. He slumped on the floor, his breathing erratic. The sounds that entered his ears were muffled. It was like he was paralyzed, his arms were dead, his legs were dead, his body was dead. No more pain, he begged.


    He could make out Andrew screaming at the top of his lungs for aid. Servants racing in, trying to save him. It was pointless. Ivan''s eyelids began to encompass his pupils in a world of darkness.


    "Hel..." was the only word he could say, along with a mouthful of blood. And then, just like the last 2 times, that scene repeated itself and the world disappeared.


    "Iv...Iv...Iva...Iva...Ivan!" The constant calling of his name awoke the snow haired prince, prompting his eyes to open.


    "W...what?"


    Ivan looked around him, the first thing he felt was a cool breeze rubbing against his cheeks, a window open next to him allowing the gentle wind to enter. He was in a different room from before but one of similar design.


    "Thank goodness that you are alright''" beamed Andrew.


    Ivan raised himself from the bed he hadn''t even realised he had been laying in, pushing off the white covers and reaching his foot out to stand up.


    "Woah, not so fast there ol'' chum. You just woke up, rest a while."


    "I feel perfectly fine Andrew."


    "That doesn''t equal true well-being. I plead you, rest a while," Andrew stood up saying these words and delicately pushed on Ivan''s white shirt, furthering him back into bed.


    "Very well. I have a multitude of questions so let us begin. What on earth happened to me?"


    "Well, I can only tell you half the story, the tea you drank had ''dragon''s bile'' in it. It isn''t the literal substance but rather an exceedingly powerful poison, how it made its way in there is beyond me."


    "Someone tried to poison me?"


    "Yes and what worries me most of all is that in all likelihood, it was someone in the castle who did this."


    Ivan sank deep into thought. This meant that this wasn''t some sort of after effect of almost revealing his secret to Andrew, however someone working under the Alacar family had just tried to assassinate him. The lord was out and Andrew was completely out of the question. Him being clear of suspicion stood as a testament to their friendship.


    Ivan already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask but he still posed it, for appearances, "how was I saved?"


    "We have an apothecary who works in the lower dungeons, running all types of experiments. We rushed him up here and he confirmed it to be ''dragon''s bile'' within your system, he gave you some medicine to slow down the process but his face was grim and told us that death was coming for you. He said there is nothing he could do so our next course of action was to consult the castle mage. He stated that a healing potion was the best thing for you and reluctantly gave you his strongest one. But he too said it most definitely was insufficient and you would die, yet I had high hopes you would come back to us safely and I was correct, that potion must have worked."


    "Yes, I suppose so."


    Ivan knew it was his immortality that had caused him to be revived and that this was the 3rd death he had been subject to. Perhaps the mage would know more about this. That was a secondary goal at present, right now he needed to speak with Andrew about what is to come and then investigate this attempt on his life.


    "Andrew, as I said before I feel perfectly alright, I wish to finish our talk we were having at tea now."


    "Very well then, what is it you want to discuss?"Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "As I am sure you can guess, I am trying for the throne now that my father, has passed away. I am going to require a substantial amount of support in order for this, I have good connections with some nobles and I know I have your assistance but, and I mean no offence, but your word doesn''t exactly reach the ears of the council. That is why I require the support of your father."


    "True, my father holds considerable influence in court, more so than many others. I have heard him talking about this subject before any of this started, he said that the 2 he thinks are most suited for the throne are you, and Julius. However, he is indifferent about it."


    Ivan furrowed his brows at the mention of his accursed older brother, "I see," he responded.


    "I am sorry, with enough convincing I am certain my father will support you."


    "You have no need to apologise, I could not be happier at your answer, when Lord Alacar returns I shall have a little chat with him. Now onto my second way to gain support for my claim."


    Ivan unloosed his shirt''s collar and cleared his throat.


    "As I mentioned before the, ahem...incident, I said that the assassins will be caught no matter what. What I meant by this is that I plan to catch these fiends, which will make me seem like a hero, you can use your head to figure out the rest."


    "Hmm that will give you an excessive amount of popularity amongst the populace, but accomplishing such a task is indeed difficult," spoke Andrew with a hint of worry.


    "I concur that they are most likely skilled but I have faith that I can bring them to justice."


    "I believe you," said Andrew smiling softly.


    Ivan nodded to signify the end of this topic but he hadn''t disclosed his full intentions to Andrew. Whilst they were the bestest of friends, Andrew was a kind-hearted person who preferred diplomacy over violence, even though Ivan also saw it this way, he was not afraid to resort to the latter straight away to get what he wants. The truth was that the path to kingship would be one paved in blood, more specifically his rivals and those who opposed him. Despite all this, he most certainly was not the only one plotting. Julius, Barclay, all were carefully playing their cards in this game and whoever had started off had just tried to strike Ivan, which would be the worst mistake of their life.


    "There is something on your mind, I can tell," Andrew smirked.


    Unwilling to disclose his actual thoughts, Ivan went onto his next topic, "I can plan how to capture the perpetrators at a later time, the most crucial thing to discuss is the attempt to poison me."


    "Agreed, I have interrogated all my staff, including Markett but all deny it. Yet I will not trust them so entirely for this transgression in my house, and against my dearest friend, be that as it may, will not go unpunished," the same stern look Andrew always makes when angered appeared on his face.


    "I thank you for your loyalty Andrew, I would like to speak with the person who actually made the tea."


    "That was the first person I tried my luck at retrieving information from but to no avail, she seemed rather innocent and in fact did not know the tea was for you."


    "Hmm I see," Ivan placed a hand on his chin, "Sorry to doubt you but did you speak with every servant in the castle?"


    "I can confirm that, we do not have a large number of workers here so all their faces are known to me and I most surely did not miss a single one out," Andrew raised a finger along with the sentence.


    "So it is unlikely a servant had avoided interrogation. Besides where would they acquire some ''dragon''s bile'' from? A mere cook or cleaner would only be able to afford the cheapest of poisons, not something as deadly as ''dragon''s bile'', I am not very knowledgeable about this subject but feeling its effects first-hand I think it is safe to say my judgement is scrupulous. I shall have to speak with that alchemist about it, that mage sounds interesting as well. Anyway, I am getting side-tracked, the only way a servant could have obtained such an item would be from a wealthy sponsor. If I was to take my best guess, I would say one of the royal family who wants me out of the picture. Most in my family are cunning so narrowing down the suspect is no easy task." Ivan muttered all this to himself but at a level on which Andrew could hear.


    "So you wish to speak to Adolphus the mage and Gorvenal the apothecary, this can be arranged. Who do you want to talk to first?"


    "I shall have a chat with, Adolphus was his name? Yes, I will speak with him to begin with."


    "I will return shortly with him the," stated Andrew as he prepared to exit the room, only to have Ivan cut him off by getting out of his bed, "Ivan!"


    "I am well my friend, I can walk just fine, now before I leave do go fetch me the remainder of my clothes."


    "Hmph, you''re just as stubborn as you have always been, ok, the rest of your attire is on the chair over there."


    Ivan glanced over to his left, neatly folded was his white jacket, sitting there, eagerly waiting for him to put it on. He walked over and fashionably slotted in his arms, deciding not to do up the buttons due to the heat.


    "Let''s go," prompted Ivan.


    Andrew nodded his head and they both set out for the secluded part of the castle, which required walking through a garden of daisies and yellow roses with the satisfying scent of lavender in the air. Statues stood proudly in front of hedges and bees pollinated the paradise with every intention of preservation.


    Finally they arrived at the mage''s lair. A damp old building made of stone with moss growing in between the crevices stood in contrast to the heaven they saw earlier.


    "Not very welcoming is it?" Remarked Ivan.


    "We tend to leave Adolphus alone so he may proceed with his work," replied Andrew.


    "Work?" Questioned Ivan.


    "You know, dabbling in magic, trying new spells, those sorts of things."


    "Ah."


    Ivan never had a fundamental grasp of magic, he remembered long ago that the court wizard had said he had an truly impressive affiliation with magic but it was still merely raw power that lied within him, however Ivan never trained to become a mage, he didn''t think it was cool nor did he want to devote his entire life to it, magic took a lot of practice to master and to be able to master even one element was incomprehensibly hard for a child. Still, maybe this mage could shed some light on the mystery of his immortality.


    Andrew knocked on the decaying wooden door but no reply came, he knocked again and there was still no reply.


    "Perhaps he is not in?" Wondered Andrew.


    "Tsk."


    Ivan just pushed open the door without hesitation, tired of postponing their meeting.


    "I...Ivan!?" Said Andrew startled.


    "Apologies for entering so rudely but we have a serious situation and several questions for you!"


    Still no reply.


    "He is not present?" Said Andrew bewildered.


    "It would seem so."


    The dark, grimy room was filled to the brim with flasks, potions and other weird objects all stacked on shelves. Cobwebs had conquered the corners and space was a fantasy. Furthermore, everything was disorganised and the mage who lived here was nowhere in sight.


    Andrew gave a worried look, although he had no clue as to what kind of experiments the mage partook in here, the fact he wasn''t located in his usual place after Ivan''s assassination could only mean one thing.


    "Tsk," Ivan repeated giving an irritated look.


    But just then a voice behind him whispered, "why are you still alive?"

 Chapter 4: Guilty

    In a flash Ivan spun around, the wind ruffled his hair as he stumbled back, clasping onto the nearest table. Andrew did the same, knocking over a few books in the process.


    "Oh, I''m truly sorry for startling ya, my young masters," the voice definantly originated from someone who came from way out in the country and it most certainly did not fit in with its speaker''s look whatsoever.


    A man with long black hair expertly cut, reaching down to his neck prostrated himself before the boys. He was immensely tall, reaching well over 6ft, his cheekbones stood out along with an abnormally long smile across his pale face. He wore a fine dark purple outfit that covered his slender body, accompanied by a black cape going across his back and hiding his right arm. He had the true look of a mage but his voice box must have wanted another career choice for him. At least he made himself presentable.


    "So you are my murderer," stated Ivan glaring down at the man, in a position ready to send his shoe right into that smug face.


    "Don''t jump to conclusions my prince, I only asked why ya were alive?"


    "That can be misinterpreted. Especially by one who is absent from his work space and shows up suddenly from behind."


    "Aha, yeah sorry ''bout dat but seriously why are ya still alive? I doubt that ya can just shi...I mean excrete the ''dragon''s bile'' and be looking dandy afterwards."


    "Well there is a reason for that and considering you are a mage, you might know."


    "Mage? My prince I ain''t a mage, I''m an apothecary."


    "Pardon?" Ivan''s hostility quickly turned to confusion.


    "Ivan, despite his appearance, this is Gorvenal, the apothecary I mentioned earlier," said Andrew.


    "Oh, I see, well the mage gave me a healing potion, it must have worked and saved me," equivocated Ivan finally deciding to answer the man''s question.


    "Odd, must''ve been a strong one, not a lotta people come out fine after getting that in ya system."


    "Um, right," Ivan was still unable to get over the accent and voice of the well dressed man before him who had ceased bowing now, "I have questions for you too so if you wouldn''t mind, please wait here with us and answer. Perhaps if we remain then that mage shall show up."


    "Yeah, I got no clue where Dolphy has run off to."


    "Well that skips my first question. My next one is what are you doing here?" Ivan resumed his solemn expression.


    "Good ol'' Dolphy asked me to bring ''im some ingredients."


    "Very well, where were you the moments before I arrived at the castle?"


    "I was at my room, experimentin''."


    "You are an apothecary, which means you are quite knowledgeable on things such as poisons, am I correct?"


    "Yeah, I was the one who identified ''dragon''s bile'' in ya body after all."


    "So you would be able to craft such an item no?"


    "Oi oi, are ya accusing me of tryna kill ya, my prince I would never do some''ing like dat!"


    "Unfortunately I cannot take your words at face value."


    "Aw c''mon my prince, ya gotta believe me, I''m innocent!"


    "As I said, I cannot take your words at face value, so answer the question."


    "Hmph, afraid not my prince, to make ''dragon''s bile'' ya need a rare flower that grows far down south and trust me when I say it''s not cheap, the only way I could''ve got it is if I asked master Andrew ''ere."


    "Andrew, did he ever make such a request?"


    "No, never, Gorvenal only uses local supplies within his potions."


    "Ok then, but that does not eliminate the presumption that you acquired the ''dragon''s bile'' from an outside source," said Ivan pointing a finger.


    "I wouldn''t be able to do dat either, I stayed in my room for the past week, only comin'' out on rare occasions like this. There''s no way I could''ve met someone and they tell me to kill ya with a bottle of ''dragon''s bile''. It ain''t possible."


    "Andrew, have any guests visited the castle recently?"


    "No, ever since my father has been on his trip we have had no visitors, the only exception being you."


    "Hmm interesting which means if we are talking about an ordinary person then they must have received the ''dragon''s bile'' before even coming to the castle and considering the short amount of time between my father''s demise and my arrival, very few people could have poisoned my tea. It would have to be someone from inside the castle who had knowledge of my arrival. How long did it take me to arrive after the courier?"


    "Roughly about 2 hours I would say," responded Andrew.


    "2 hours huh. Approximately how long before my arrival was the tea made?"


    "Um, 5 minutes, we wanted to make sure the tea was still warm for when you came."


    "So our perpetrator had 5 minutes to poison my tea and escape."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "That can''t be right," cut in Gorvenal, "''dragon''s bile'' takes at least a couple of hours to fully get into a person''s system before they start feelin'' the effects."


    "Wait, so when I drank the tea I shouldn''t have felt the effects straight away?"


    "No, now that I think about it you would of have had to drink the ''dragon''s bile'' 2 hours prior to your arrival," stated Gorvenal.


    "But that was...hmmm," Ivan trailed off into thought at this new information, "I need to speak with the mage."


    "That would be easier said than done if we knew where Adolphus was," chuckled Andrew slightly.


    "We are in his laboratory, let us search for clues to his whereabouts," suggested Ivan.


    All 3 began to move objects off desks, look inside containers and read books, although they were all hesitant considering that the majority of items were probably magical in nature. Nothing turned up that would be of any use, just spell tomes, strange crystals and other eccentric devices.


    Ivan noticed a large open book on a pedestal with odd symbols and writing in it. He approached it and examined its contents.


    "Lilliputian?" Ivan read.


    He slowly raised his head to a weird sound coming from behind the book, on a desk. It was a minute noise but still, Ivan walked around the pedestal to find another pile of dusty books of various colours. The noise only grew louder but still remained at a low frequency. Pushing aside the volumes he discovered a tiny man sleeping on the wood.


    "Uh, can either one of you tell me what this thing is?" Ivan asked, taken slightly aback.


    "Hmmm, A...Adolphus!" Yelled Andrew in amazement upon closer inspection.


    "So that sound I heard was him snoring," said Ivan bluntly.


    The small figure awoke from his slumber rubbing his eyes. He said something but at his level no-one was able to discern it. Sparks and lights suddenly came out of nowhere causing the 3 to take a step back and witness a man appear almost out of thin air.


    "Terribly sorry, I used a spell that made me shrink and I guess I...haaaahhh..."


    The supposed mage Adolphus, the man standing before them, looked nothing like a mage, in fact he looked more like a carpenter with his leather apron and dirty white shirt. He was a plump little old man with a round red nose and chest hair sprawling out of his shirt that intertwined with his brown beard.


    "Is he awake?" Questioned Gorvenal noticing Adolphus'' eyes were half closed.


    "Huh! What...oh you wanted to talk, yeah what is," the mage paused upon realising who was standing before him, "P, p, p, p, prince Ivan!? And Master Andrew!?"


    "Oi why''s my name not included!"


    "So sorry for not...haaahh...I should probably stop yawning, for not realising sooner that it was you two...haaaahhh...damn it."


    Ivan was revolted at the lack of respect that he was ready to shout at the old man but Andrew saved him the lecture by butting in.


    "Yes we understand, my friend has some questions he would like to ask you about recent, events, is that alright?"


    "Why yes, of course, please, ask away."


    Ivan''s temper had calmed down but there was still a hint of exasperation in his voice but not so that anyone could recognise.


    "First off you must be wondering how I am alive and the simple answer is your potion and no other sources of aid," Ivan lied once again, keeping hisimmortalitya secret, his reason was because he felt that very few would believe him even if he could prove it but also for another reason, "I thank you for saving my life and I am indebted to you but brushing that aside, the question I wish to pose upon you is only 1 in fact and that is, I want a list of all your magical abilities."


    "Eh? Why do you want that?"


    "If I can see them then you will be clear of suspicion and I will know who tried to murder me. I know hardly anything about magic but to me there is a myriad of ways a mage like yourself could have accomplished such a feat, although coming from me means it holds no credibility."


    "It''s a long list Prince Ivan, are you sure?"


    "Yes."


    Adolphus produced a beige coloured piece of paper out of his sleeve that was almost as long as Ivan himself.


    "I''m more of, a magician, I guess you could call it but anyway here''s the list."


    "Thank you," Ivan began rolling up the overlong list with a disgruntled expression.


    "Let us head back to the lounge, it will be easier to review the notes then, you and Gorvenal can come also, considering how mixed up you 2 have become, I am sure you would like to see the conclusion to this mystery."


    "Splendid idea," approved Ivan.


    "Thank you Master Andrew," both Gorvenal and Adolphus said in unison.


    After heading back to the lounge and taking a seat on the velvety armchairs, all 4 of them sat quietly, unable to eat or drink anything due to the worry of being poisoned themselves, although Adolphus had already fallen fast asleep. Ivan quickly scoured over each spell, sometimes waking up the sleepy mage for reference to what each spell did. After what seemed like half an hour, did Ivan finally finish reading.


    "Well?" Inquired Andrew.


    "There are a few here that caught my attention but I doubt that he could use them to his advantage."


    "So Adolphus is clear of suspicion?"


    "Yes and I never really thought it would be him, considering how he acts."


    "Pardon me, my prince," spoke up Gorvenal, " but maybe Dolphy gave ya a fake list with missin'' info."


    "A good point but I doubt that also considering his personality and how he left some rather embarrassing spells on there, he probably wouldn''t have hid some of them," Ivan mocked Adolphus with unrequited disdain for giving him such a long list even though he said he wanted it, luckily for him, the old man was snoozing in the chair.


    "So now that that is finished, do you know who the culprit is?"


    "Indeed I do but first I must go collect the box I left back in the carriage and I am very glad that I did leave it there."


    A morning breeze blew against Ivan''s hair as he walked towards the dark red carriage, he saw the driver polishing the fine vehicle and promptly waved hello to him, the man who''s face was as average as they come stared at Ivan but then smiled back. It was a smile of disbelief. Opening up the door, the maroon box still remained in the spot it had been since the last time Ivan had seen it. Good no-one has touched it, he thought.


    Placing his hands around it, the sensation of a beating heart instantaneously travelled along the fingers of the prince. I need to get it away from here as fast as possible, Ivan thought to himself. He couldn''t go too far so he decided to stroll away and place it in a nearby bush when no-one was looking.


    "Say Mr driver, what is your real name?" Asked Ivan, not even facing the man being questioned.


    "Ah, well, why do you want to know my prince?"


    "I was just curious."


    "Well, it''s Walter, Walter Argon."


    "I see, tell me Mr Argon who would you prefer to become king? I won''t discriminate against your opinion."


    "Ah, it is a matter of debate so I don''t really know my prince."


    "What if one of the candidates were to suddenly die from poison?"


    Ivan sensed the slightest twitch in Walter''s demeanour and it was all the justification he needed to know that it was him. Turning around to face him, Ivan smiled maliciously.


    "You see I was very fortunate to have left the box in the carriage otherwise you might have left, and I did not want to miss out on the opportunity to have get better acquainted with my murderer, but, surprise, I am not dead."


    Walter stumbled back, whipping out a knife from his pocket, the fear on his face was sostupidly obvious


    "You were contracted to poison me by one of the royal candidates, I am going to guess Julius, that sly fox, considering he was the only one who knew where I was going."


    "S...stay away!" Screamed Walter, "you''re supposed to be dead!"


    "So you admit it, very well."


    Ivan raised his hand and clicked his fingers. Adolphus and Gorvenal appeared out of the doors to the castle along with Andrew who had a face that said ''how dare you''.


    Like a duet in perfect harmony the mage and the apothecary rushed forward to attack.


    "Trying to poison me when I was asleep, how very cowardly of you," sneered Ivan.


    "I''m not dying here!" Walter raised one arm and pointed his palm out towards the attackers, a strange sensation hit the group and with an incantation. He disappeared, everything disappeared, it was all just black


    Did I just die again? Wondered Ivan.

 Chapter 5: Chasing the lamb

    "This cannot be right."


    Ivan was bewildered by the unease he felt emanating from within himself. Something about the situation struck him as odd, he thought the shroud of death had covered his soul once more but instead he was alive, in an ocean of darkness.


    Normally when he died he would lose consciousness and then wake up 1 hour later, clear of injuries. Originally Ivan thought it only related to physical wounds but, as he had recently discovered, poisons inside him would be expelled from his body. So what now had caused him to die?


    That was the reality he thought had happened but he was mistaken. In actuality Ivan wasn''t dead, he could still feel the air on his skin, the movement of hands, he was very much alive yet there was nothing around him, just a void. He soon realised what had happened when he heard:


    "Ivan! Ivan! Where are you!?"


    He recognised that voice, it was humble and full of concern, a wave of kindness and trust. It was, Andrew.


    "Andrew, I am here!"


    His mouth seemed to function properly but judging by Andrew''s words, was he in the same predicament as Ivan.


    "Andrew can you see anything!? Is there just a fog of darkness!?"


    "Yes! I can''t see anything!"


    Their words reached each other''s ears perfectly but both decided to stop shouting as their sentences struck the other''s eardrums violently like they were standing right next to one another. Just then Ivan felt something grab his arm, it was like someone was reaching out for support, trying to find their way.


    "I just grabbed something," stated Andrew.


    "That is my arm."


    "Oh, thank goodness we are both alive."


    That confirmed 2 things for Ivan, first that they were both surrounded by the darkness and were together. Secondly that they had been blinded, it was obvious by how every other part of their body worked except their eyes and how they remained in the same location.


    "Dispel," Adolphus'' words reached Ivan''s ears instantly and then just as fast, the darkness dissapered. Without any warning a completely opposite white light blinded him, it was only momentary but it burned his retinas and caused Ivan to immediatley shut his eyelids and press his fingers into them.


    "Take it easy my prince, let your eyes adjust."


    Ivan''s eyes slowly opened and with slightly less pain, the world began to take form. The stone road was there, the carriage was there and Adolphus was there, scratching his beard, looking up with an apprehensive expression on his face. Feeling a sense of relief about the escape of a rather bothersome situation, Ivan''s shoulders relaxed as he thanked the mage for aiding him, who simply nodded in return.


    Looking to his right, Ivan could see Andrew standing there, still in the trance. A pitch black mist covered his eyes and obstructed any hope of vision. It was just like Ivan had predicted but still, he had no clue what had caused this.


    "What happened?" Asked Ivan to Adolphus.


    "That man used shadow magic that temporarily blinded you. I never thought a casual assassin would be able to do such a thing but it''s clear we''re dealing with someone stronger than I imagined," as he said this, Adolphus walked over to Andrew and used the same spell he had used on Ivan, on him, "dispel."


    "Argh."


    "Do not open your eyes so soon Andrew, let them get used to the light," recommended Ivan just standing in the same position.


    "Right."


    After both of the noble boys were safe. They turned their gazes towards Walter, who had vanished along with Gorvenal.


    "Where did they run off to?" Wondered Andrew.


    "The assassin tried escaping but Gorvenal and some other guards began chasing him. He managed to dodge the magic so he immediatly took off."


    "Which way did they go?" Questioned Andrew.


    Adolphus pointed towards a corner near one of the castle walls some distance away. Andrew was prepared to break into a sprint but was halted by a hand grabbing his shoulder.


    "Ivan?"


    "Let us not be too hasty, we need to think of a plan first."


    "Of course, sorry, I was caught in the heat of the moment."


    "It is quite alright. Now, the first piece of information I need is where does around that corner lead to?"


    "There is a dead end with a single door which leads into the kitchen."


    "Good, so he will be inside the castle, order your guards to converge on there from every angle," said Ivan placing his hand on his chin and resting that arm on the other.


    "Very well," Andrew dashed off into the castle leaving both the mage and prince alone.


    "Next, Adolphus tell me what do you think of his magical prowess?"


    "It seems nowhere near to mine but he has enough mana to cast that blinding spell a good few more times."


    "He may have other spells in his arsenal so we must be wary. For now I want you to use that vine magic of yours that I read about from the list to cover up all the doors and windows of the castle. Do you think you can achieve this?"


    "It will prove a strenuous task and I will only be able to cover say, 2 quarters of the castle, but I will cover as much of the castle from around the kitchen."


    "That should suffice."


    Adolphus ran off aswell but in a peculiar style which almost made Ivan chuckle.


    "One more thing Adolphus," Ivan called out.


    "Yes?"


    "Should he use that same spell on me, how do I avoid it?"


    "Well, I don''t know exactly how it works but I recommend ducking and leaping aside whilst at the same time closing your eyes, not looking at him."


    "Thank you."


    In the next moment Adolphus was gone.


    "Time for me to find the perpetrator then."


    Ivan wandered through the halls, in search for the culprit. The nostalgia he felt when treading across the blue carpet was immense. He loved playing hide and seek in the castle with Andrew. They would laugh and have fun until the sun set, Ivan would always use reverse psychology on Andrew and make him think he was in a really good hiding spot but was actually in plain sight, right behind him. Andrew eventually caught on and their games seemed to become null and void after many years. Still, those days were most likely the happiest of Ivan''s life.


    He was never any good at making friends as a child because he was always depressed. He remembers his father saying that he was acting like he was always grieving. The disparity within Ivan during those early years lead to the beggining of his childhood being one of solitude. His mother consistently gave him special treatment due to this but it was never enough to ease the pain in his heart, a pain he could never determine the origin of. He was just born like that he used to think. A sad and lonely child. Yet, Andrew seemed to brighten up the world, erasing those nights of Ivan crying himself to sleep, instead they were replaced with ones of excitement for what games they would play the next day. Yes, Andrew truly was Ivan''s best friend, and for saving him, Ivan was indebted to him.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "If only I could have remained a child and played with Andrew forever," he said quietly to himself, "but then, the world is a cruel place, such luxuries are reserved for the heavens."


    As he was walking, 2 guards wearing pieces of armour came running from behind, they stopped upon realising who they had just darted past, bowing in respect when someone usually encounters a member of royalty.


    "Prince Ivan, you should probably return to your room," requested one.


    "I am on the hunt for the assassin aswell, do not fear, I can protect myself but to ensure my safety, I would be most obliged if you were to escort me, I was heading in the same direction as you anyway."


    "Of course my prince," they both said.


    So the trio set out down the opulent corridors, keeping an eye out for any sign of the criminal Walter. They passed a corner, seeing another group of knights at the other end of the hall. They went to rendezvous but were interrupted by a man running out of a side corridor. A terrified look on his face.


    "The driver!" One guard shouted.


    "Catch him!" ordered Ivan.


    Walter began casting the same spell from before directly at Ivan and his escorts. That same circle of purple runes appeared leaving the guards agitated but deciding that their roles were more important, they rushed forward with their spears in hand.


    Thinking back to his conversation with Adolphus, Ivan instinctivly knew what to do. Deciding to sacrifice the guards, he ran to the side with his eyes shut tight, hugging against the wall. He felt a small wave of power flow through him, it was a tingle that made his hairs stand on edge. When he opened his eyes again, he expected to see the same darkness from before but instead was greeted with the same setting as before. So the mage was right, he thought.


    Then Ivan saw it, the guards yelling out due to their lack of vision and behind that, Gorvenal swinging a sword to and fro, trying to strike Walter but missing due to his proficient dodging.


    "Dammit why did this job have to end up like this!" He screamed.


    "Ain''t no pity for a murderer like ya."


    Feeling that he could no longer avoid the blade that seemed like it was swung with intent to almost kill him. Walter reached for one of the spears in the grasp of the blinded guards. He raised his knee full force into the poor man''s groin leaving him laying on the ground, in agony.


    Clasping the wooden hilt, Walter defended himself adeptly against Gorvenal. But his hope perished when the apothecary raised his sword and performed a powerful downwards strike, shattering the spear in two. Ivan was impressed at the strength and dexterity of Gorvenal, who had subdued Walter by the tip of his blade.


    Ivan walked over clapping, "most impressive Gorvenal. We have finally captured this amateur of an assassin."


    "How the hell are you alive!?" His words were almost like a banshee, but filled to the brim with panic.


    "Try using that measly brain of yours to figure it out," mocked Ivan.


    "You bastard! Don''t make fun of me! Everything should''ve gone to plan! There were no faults!"


    "Do you really think you can kill someone like me? Someone who is above death itself."


    "Shut the fuck up! There isn''t any way a stupid healing potion could''ve...!"


    His words were cut off by Gorvenal smacking the wailing man unconsious using the blunt side of the sword. Ivan felt no sympathy for Walter who had had rivers of tears flowing down his cheeks.


    "Pathetic," he remarked.


    However when Ivan raised his head to meet Gorvenal''s gaze, he saw his face twisted with what seemed like pure hatred and disgust. His eyes were almost bloodshot as they stared at the body beneath his feet. It sent chills up Ivan''s spine, twice now that the apothecary had done that.


    "Don''t speak to Prince Ivan like dat, ya wretch," he said furiously.


    Ivan was almost in disbelief but he shrugged it off, as he began giving commands to the guards, saying that Walter should be placed in a cell and guarded until he wakes up. Everyone obliged diligently and left Ivan and Gorvenal to speak.


    "That was some fine swordsmanship," he commented.


    "Thank ya my prince. My father was in the royal guard so from a very young age I learnt how to wield a sword," Gorvenal''s face had returned to normal now.


    "How is your father?"


    "He passed away when I was still a kid."


    "I am sorry to hear that."


    "Thanks, afterwards I came under the wing of an apothecary and he taught me all dat I know."


    "I see."


    "''Cept I wouldn''t ''ave gotten anywhere if it weren''t for... nevermind."


    Gorvenal turned his face away which instinctively told Ivan that there was something he had to hide but because it was obviously to do with his personal life, Ivan didn''t follow up on the subject.


    Just then Andrew and Adolphus came sauntering over. It seemed that they had already heard of Walter''s capture, evidenced by the smiles on their faces.


    "Excellent work both of you," congratulated Andrew, "with Gorvenal''s skills and Ivan''s planning we managed to catch the perpetrator."


    Gorvenal bowed his head in thanks and Ivan simply nodded.


    "Well then let us head back to the lounge and rest easy knowing that the assassin is in chains. We should discuss everything that has happened."


    "Agreed," said Ivan.


    After the 4 of them relaxed themselves in the lounge once again they discussed the topic of the vacant throne and Ivan''s strategy on sitting upon said throne, except for Adolphus who was already asleep. Sipping on tea without fear of the prospect of being poisoned was a relief they willingly enjoyed.


    "I feel bad Ivan, you came here in the hopes of security but almost died. You came here to plan for your ascension but we have only slowed you down."


    "You have nothing to apologize for Andrew, you are most certainly not to blame, my poisoning took place before I had arrived so from my point of view you have done an outstanding job at keeping me safe."


    "Thank you."


    "The second thing is that whilst this may have been a hindrance, I can use this to my advantage."


    "How?"


    "I do not know if I already told you this but it is clearly Julius who had set Walter up to the task. He was the only person who knew where I was going who would have wanted me dead. Unless the guard captain had ordered my death as such but I highly doubt it. Now how do I use this to my advantage you ask, well I shall tell you. We will spread the news that I wasalmostassassinated but I came out of it unscathed, add the details and spell it out for the less educated so the mastermind behind it all is plainly someone a member of the royal family or at least somebody backing one of the royals. This story will most likely be the first news that anybody receives so it will draw more attention to itself. Not only will it lower peoples opinions of the other candidates because it demonstrates how far some will go, it will show my strength and how a measly assassin cannot halt my goals. It will also provide me with an increase in popularity so more people will come to know of my name. However there are 2 things I want to state about this plan. Firstly that Julius'' name must be included as apossiblesuspect and I use the term possible loosely but I do not want to openly make any statements against my older brother due to the lack of evidence we have, we just want to put the idea in the people''s heads. Secondly this news must come out as early as possible but not right now, we should wait a couple of days, the reason being is that the people are still grieving over the death of my father, should I spread this news on the very first day then it may make me look bad. All this is a small step towards my objective but a decent start at that."


    "Honestly Ivan, I am amazed at how you have turned what seems a detrimental situation into one of usefulness."


    "Well done my prince!" Applauded Gorvenal.


    "Thank you, now if you excuse me I wish to go collect something I left outside. Andrew, I imagine I am in the same room I was when I woke up?"


    "Yes, knowing you, you can probably find it."


    "True, I know the layout of this castle like the back of my hand."


    Ivan bid adieu to everyone then made his way to the entrance. He stepped out of the doors seeing the bush he had left the box in. The sky was still a pale blue that seemed to match perfectly with the finely-cut greenery. Pushing aside the leaves, Ivan was relieved to find the box still in the place he had left it. He clasped it and felt the thumps same as always. Ivan needed some time alone to collect his thoughts but also because he wanted to try something out about hisimmortality, he had many doubts about the inconceivable power he possessed so he was reluctant to call it immortality, but there was one thing he couldn''t deny, and that was its usefulness. It may just be the edge he needs to become king.


    When he returned to his room, Ivan locked the door, removed his jacket and sat down up the bed.


    "Time for some experimentation," he said to himself.


    The first thing he did was look for some sort of sharp object in the room. He found a pin lying on a drawer, he took it and sat down on the bed again, puncturing his index finger with the needle, causing a small amount of blood to seep out.


    "I wonder if my wounds will heal when I''m awake, they most probably will, but I wonder if it will leave no trace of any scars or scabs like what happens when I die."


    After waiting a couple of minutes, the cut did not close, leaving Ivan to suspect that his wounds don''t heal instantly. Thus he decided to check on it again in an hour seeing as how that appears to be the exact time he is unconsious for after dying.


    The second question Ivan wanted answered was if he could age. The ability to negate death was in essence immortality but never dying no matter how much time passed was true immortality. He had no way of finding this out so it would be a lingering question in his mind until an answer came about.


    The third and last question Ivan had was about the box. His heart was inside the maroon object, that much had been clarified but he remembers the note saying it was his life inside the box. If going by what the note said, then if the box and his heart inside is destroyed then he will ultimately die for real. The only way he thought he could test this hypothesis out was to damage the box in some way without killing Ivan.


    Like a brain in a skull, he thought. He threw the box against a wall, although he was hesitant at first, Ivan followed through with his thoughts.


    A soaring pain appeared in his chest, a pain so great it caused Ivan to fall to his knees. After a few seconds the pain went away but it left Ivan gasping for air.


    "That...confirms...it," he said, almost wheezing.


    Ivan steadied his balance, calming himself down. He went a picked up the box, making sure no cracks had come about due to the throw. Thankfully none had.


    "I best keep this thing safe at all times."


    Ivan placed it underneath his bed, hiding it from anybody''s line of sight. Suddenly after a knock came at the door.


    "Excuse me, my prince, the prisoner has woken up, are you are ready to interrogate him?" Asked a guard.


    "Yes, I shall be out shortly."


    Fixing the box in place, Ivan put his jacket back on, opened the door and followed the guard to the dungeons to find out all the information he could gather from the man who wanted him dead.


    Whether this power of mine is a curse or blessing I have yet to see but know this, I am like a wolf who will strike when the time is right, no-one will stand in my way as I build up my pack and when I am strong enough I will claim the title of alpha of the entire land. I am coming for you Julius and I will not lose, not this time.

 Chapter 6: Pain

    Ivan could already hear the wails emmanaiting from the cell, located in the dungeon, a dark and decrepit place but one that wasn''t exactly the average filthy, rodent-infested cesspit that most people would envision. Its cleanliness was most likely attributed to the fact that the castle rarely had prisoners, crime wasn''t exactly high in this area of the country.


    The wails continued and increased in noise as Ivan grew closer with every footstep. He could now make out what the idiot who was chained up was screaming.


    "Let me go! This can''t be happening! No, it can''t be happening!"


    It seemed an aura of disbelief still clouded his judgement. Who could blame him? ''Dragon''s bile'' apparently had an almost 0% survival rate, its lethality and rarity contributed to the high price it went for, so when put into play, a person would get every penny worth of what they paid, assuming it brings the desired outcome of course. For ill-fated Walter, this exact situation had occurred and now he rested in a dungeon cell, where he would most likely rot for a quite a while.


    "He should be dead! Dead! Dead! Dead!" He continued.


    He was correct, Ivan should be dead, the poison should have seeped into his system and made him cease to be. But the power bestowed upon him which granted Ivan immortality had decided otherwise. He had owed so much to his inability to perish, no, rather he owed so much to thisfriend of his. Ivan had no idea who this person was, whether they were in actuality his friend or not remained to be seen but they had gifted him a great boon and for that he was grateful. Still, the day in which he would encounter thisfriendwas yet to come to pass, but just like how he swore he would catch the assassins who killed the king, he would unquestionably meet his benefactor.


    Eventually he came to the cell door, a barrier of rustic bars and blood stains. This room in particular was the most grimy and unwashed room out of all the others, most likely because it was the torture chamber. Ivan remembers Andrew being very upfront and adamant about removing the ''useless room'' as he called it, however his father had always decided to keep it, and good thing he did, situations like this required pain in exchange for information.


    A guard inserted a key into the keyhole and opened up the door with a shrill sound as if a mouse was dying. Ivan took his first steps inside and peered down at the shirtless man, cuffed to a wooden poll, jutting out from the cobblestone ground. His back was bleeding and a pained expression was engraved onto his face.


    "How!? How!?"


    Ivan knew what he was referring to, he felt no obligation to answer the pathetic man at his feet but did so in the efforts to entertain himself, "I already told you, I am above death itself."


    "That isn''t an answer!"


    "Well maybe if you opened your dirty peasant eyes you would be able to see one such as yourself could never hope to kill me."


    Walter stared in disbelief, his head sank with an aura of forfeit, most likely due to the pride of Ivan, he saw no hope in convincing the prince any longer.


    "Please, let me go."


    "After everything you have done, you think I will just unloose your shackles?"


    "I had no choice."


    Ivan feeling like the man deserved pointless penance for his crimes, commanded the torturer, who stood beside him, to whip Walter. The torturer complied, raising his arm and swinging it down with tremendous force and punished the assassin as if he were God smiting the sinners of the earth.


    "Aaaaaaahhhhh!" He screamed as the whip and his back connected.


    "That is one in a long succession if you do not answer my questions truthfully."


    Walter murmured what sounded like a response but he was too busy trying to hold back the tears to formulate any sentence.


    "First question, why do you want me dead?"


    "Grgh," Walter sobbed, clenching his fists.


    "Whip him."


    "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"


    "Answer me, why do you want me dead?"


    "I...I was told to kill you."


    "By whom?"


    "I don''t know, a man in a black robe, he just...said I would be paid 500 silver pieces...for giving you the ''dragon''s bile''."


    "Did you see the man''s face?"


    "No."


    "Whip him."


    "Wait but I...aaaaaaahhhhh!" Screamed Walter, "what did I do?!"


    "So you were paid by a strange man to assassinate me with ''dragon''s bile'', I already have a pretty good hunch who orchestrated everything, but now I want to know who you are."


    "Huh?"


    "Whip him."


    "No! Aaaaahhhh, why dammit?!"


    "It is to assert my authority, for all I know, you could be lying to me."


    "I''m not!"You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Most likely, but enough of your stalling, tell me who you are."


    "I already told you, I''m Walter Argon."


    "Whip him."


    "Aaaaaahhhhh!"


    "I do not know who Walter Argon is. You do not seem like the average carriage driver, especially considering the fact that you can use magic."


    "My...past is none of your concern."


    "Whip him, twice."


    "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh! Aaaaaaaaahhh!"


    "Tell me."


    "Screw you."


    "Whip him thrice."


    "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Aaaaaahhhhhh! Aaaaaaahhhh! Please stop! I''ll tell you."


    "Go on."


    "I''m nobody special, just a simple man from a small village, grew up in a blacksmiths."


    "That does not tell me what I need to know."


    "Goddamn you! What do you want!?"


    Ivan tired of repeating himself nodded at the torturer, and thus, the whip came down upon Walter''s back."


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh."


    "Tell me everything about your past."


    "Okay! Okay! After over a decade living in the village, we moved to the city hoping to get more business. It was at this point I joined up with a gang called Morta, little did I know they were the largest criminal syndicate in Atheron. I learnt how to use magic from the some of my friends."


    "I see, then you became a carriage driver."


    "Yeah," said Walter averting his gaze.


    "That is only half of the story is it not?"


    "What do you mean?"


    Ivan began turning his head but Walter intervened, knowing what would come.


    "Okay! I''ll tell you the rest. It was some time during my life as a member that I met a beautiful lady, she shone like the sun, she was an angel in disguise, I swear. She was friendly too, helping me sort my life out from the drunkard I was then. In due course we fell in love. Happiest days of my life. But Morta had other plans, they kidnapped her, killed her, and there was nothing I could do about it! I tried to exact my revenge but it failed! I only got a couple of them but angering an organisation like Morta isn''t something you wanna do! I had to flee from the city, lay low, then after a while I became a carriage driver. I''m so goddamn poor that a piece of bread is a banquet to me! So there, that''s why I tried to kill you! I need money! And I want others to feel the same pain I did! You blasted royals! Curse you!"


    Ivan stood in silence for a few seconds before speaking, "This reminds me of one of my favourite poems. The first stanza goes like this...


    My beauty incarnate, soul pure as snow,


    Rushing water flows calm at your footsteps,


    God doth fear to touch your sunlit hair,


    My beauty incarnate whom I lost to fate.


    I will try again to see your smile, my love,"


    "What?"


    "I am an appreciator of fine poetry but my, I almost became side-tracked. Whip him."


    "Aaaaaahhhhh"


    "I prefer not to be insulted."


    "Damn you. You''ll let me go now, right?"


    "Sorry no, as tragic as your story is, you committed a heinous act of treason, so you may be waiting in this cell for a while."


    "What! No! Curse you! Let me go!"


    "A murderer is a murderer is he not."


    Ivan walked out of the cell and down the corridor. He felt a slight sense of pity for the man but not enough to do anything so rash as to set him free.


    "How unfortunate," he stated heading back to chat with more enjoyable company.


    The day had passed by and now the veil of night enshrouded the land. Walter had been transferred to a different cell and laid on the blanket on the stone floor with his eyes wide open, his hands clenching the gashes on his blood stained back. 2 guards stood guard outside the door.


    Gorvenal passed by the men on his way to his room further down into the dungeon. The guards bid him a good evening and carried on with their duty. Gorvenal paid them no heed and continued walking, coming to a corner.


    One guard whistled, entertaining himself in his dull job. The other swayed his body to and fro ever so slightly. Both carried spears with sharpened edges at the shaft and long wooden hilts, fashioned together by an iron ring.


    More footsteps came from down the corridor. The guards looked to their left, anything was better than guard duty. But they got more than what they bargained for.


    A man, average height, stood there, in a lengthy white robe, black outlines to detail where different parts were. A white hood covered his face. It wasn''t only attributed to his unknown identity but he had an aura of danger around him. Not just danger, but death also.


    "W...who''s that?" One guard asked.


    The strange man walked towards them, standing beside one. He raised his gloved hand and in the next instant, the man slammed the guard''s head into the wall, crushing it. Bits of brain and skull splattered everywhere and blood smeared into the stone. The man had done so, so quickly that the other guard''s courage deserted him instantly. Such force, it was like the power of a thousand men.


    "Aaa...aaa...aaa...please," the guard snivelled.


    The man approached, wind appeared out of nowhere, surrounding his arm. It flew with such force that pieces of the previous guard began to slowly move away from the man.


    Almost as if accepting his fate, the guard charged at the man but only to meet a grizzly demise. Wind that dwarfed the power of a hurricane surrounded the man''s entire body, and as the guard charged in, he got caught up in this wind and exploded into thousands of pieces. Blood and guts swirled around the man, flowing along with the direction of the wind. Squelching sounds filled the silent corridor as the chunks of human were broken down even further, finally ejected out toward a wall.


    Looking up at Gorvenal who stood at the corner with an expressionless face, the man stared at him before Gorvenal turned the corner and departed.


    Walter gawked at the sights and sounds of these events, unable to bear any strength anymore, he felt a sensation of vomit coursing up his throat. It was abruptly ended by a great wind blowing him back, slamming him into the wall behind him, causing the vomit to be pushed down forcefully. The bars on the cell broke and slammed into the wall along with Walter, some hitting him in the face with large amounts of might, causing his nose to bleed. He desperately tried to utter words as panic soured through his entire being but he was silent like a forgotten melody. As the man entered the cell room the wind increased dramatically, Walter was unable to even breath any longer. He thought he would suffocate to death but instead the wall behind broke and he was sent flying into what appeared to be a cave, although it was pitch black so seeing wasn''t an option, only a dim light from the torches in the corridor illuminated the space in front of Walter. The wind converged into a whirlwind seemingly by default and the spinning, sent him into a daze of dizziness, and pain as his right arm and right leg were twisted beyond imagination and subsequently ripped off, just before he slammed against a rock, injuring his head, laying on the cold damp ground.


    "AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!" Screamed Walter at the pinnacle his lungs could take.


    It was difficult to see but the man approached again, his white rob swaying with his movements.


    "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God!"


    The man approached. Walter could see one of his red eyes that glowed in the dark. They looked into his soul menacingly.


    At last he spoke, "you have committed the greatest of sins and for that I shall punish you as seen fit," his voice carried no air of emotion, only a deep, slow voice that held true animosity.


    "Heeeeelllp! Heeeeelllp!" Walter begged, tears streaming out of his eyes.


    "One such as yourself does not get to speak."


    In the next instant, wind flowed into Walter''s mouth then retracted itself and ripped his tongue out.


    "Aaagharrrgghhhaarghargh!" Blood gushing out of his lips, filling his mouth like a swimming pool.


    "Retribution for your sins shall be severe. To do to you what you do to our lord."


    Next with force like a tornado, two fingers plunged into Walter''s eye sockets, scooping out pieces of retina and other parts.


    "Arghaaarggghharrrrghh!"


    "No longer shall life fill your vessel."


    The man plunged his hand into Walter''s chest, tearing out his heart then proceeding to crush it withing his palm.


    No, no, no, no, no, no, no, was all Walter could think as life began to drain from him. The tears did not end, the pain did not end.


    Gelsey...my...love...


    Were the last words Walter could think before he died.

 Chapter 7: Protruding Light

    A light protruded through the clouds, a ray of what seemed like sunlight, then there was 2, then 3, the skies seemed to open and the clouds dissipated. Ivan was in what he thought was a field, there was no buildings in sight for miles. The only thing that surrounded him was an ocean of purple tulips, they swayed gently every now and then. There was no feeling of anything inside him but it changed when he felt something wrap around his chest, it clenched tightly to him but it had a warm embrace. Ivan didn''t move his head, he only looked straight, raising his hand to touch the thing around his chest. He noticed the tulips around him turn red, expanding into the ocean of purple. His hand almost reached the thing but a shadow came out of nowhere and loomed over him. It had the shape of an enourmous hand. Ivan was now feeling nothing but fear. His eyes widened as he peered down to find that the thing that had been grasping him was a pair of bloody arms.


    "Aaaahh....aaahh....aaahhh."


    They disappeared into blood and then in a flash, the setting changed. In place of the flowers was now a destroyed landscape of castle ruins and fire. Ivan''s mind eased and all feeling fled again, he began walking towards something, something at the end of the broken buildings and dead bodies. What was it? he wondered.


    My beauty incarnate, soul pure as snow.


    As he trudged onwards, a great wind seemed to hinder his progress, the world began to turn red and then Ivan realised that the great wind was blowing blood. A mass of blood towards him, it only got stronger the closer he got.


    Rushing water flows calm at your footsteps.


    The great gusts made it nigh impossible for him to move but he did. Why? Why was he walking? What for? He just couldn''t give up even when he was coughing from the blood in his throat, from the inability to breath due to the wind. He felt like he was kilometres away but yet so close.


    "Ack...a...a....ack...ack...a."


    God doth fear to touch your sunlit hair.


    All of a sudden he sensed the shadow again, and this time, a hundred hands grabbed him and pulled him back. They were hands made of darkness with light surrounding them. Ivan was thrust back, away from everything.


    My beauty incarnate whom I lost to fate.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He screamed.


    I will try to see your smile my...


    "Gah!" Ivan awoke from his slumber which a loud yell of terror. Sweat pouring off his face.


    "What the...must have been a nightmare."


    Ivan pulled the covers off himself and sat on the side of his bed, resting his face in his hands.


    "I have not had a nightmare like that in a while."


    He wiped the sweat off his brow and put on his clothes. Going downstairs into the dining hall for breakfast, Andrew was already waiting inside along with servents standing at the sides of the room like statues.


    "Good morning Andrew," greeted Ivan, stretching his shoulders back.


    "Morning Ivan, did you sleep well?"


    "I did have a nightmare but it was still comfortable."


    "I am glad to hear that, shall we eat?"


    "Yes, let us."


    It was late morning, the aromatic smell of fish and other meats accompanied by flowers created a beautiful breakfast scene. Ivan and Andrew took their seats and indulged in the food that had so masterfully been prepared for them by the castle cook. Both of their mouths watered as they consumed the feast.


    "Do you have any plans for today?" Asked Ivan.


    "Well I was thinking we could stop by the village, it is the day of the festival."


    "Festival?"


    "Yeah, the village of Lille, the closest village to the castle, holds a festival celebrating its founding. Do you not remember?"


    "Oh right, I do recall us going to a festival when we were children."


    "There will be music and many more pleasant things, I usually go alone but this year I would like to go with you, just like the old days."


    "I would like that aswell."


    "Then it is settled."


    Just then a knock came from the door. It was opened and Markett came strolling in with a dark look on his face.


    "What appears to be the matter Markett?" Wondered Andrew.


    "Young master, there are several things I would like to report."


    "Very well, go ahead."


    "These most likely concern you aswell prince Ivan. The first is that prince Hadrian has mysteriously disappeared according to an aquaitance of mine that works under him."


    "My step-brother? What on earth could have happened to him," said Ivan.


    "Hadrian? I remember him, you found him in that meadow and since then he became your step-brother. He stayed with us for a few months, I remember us 3 playing together."


    "Me too."


    "I wonder what Hadrian has gotten himself into now, ever since the mord massacre, he has always been looked after"


    "The second thing I wish to report is that harvests in the north have gone badly, many nobles will be holding a meeting a week from now to discuss how to do deal with this situation."


    "This could be to your advantage Ivan. You can influence the nobles to support your cause," mentioned Andrew.


    "I was thinking the exact same thing. This is a perfect oppotunity."


    "Do carry on Markett."


    "Next is that lady Chienne will be visiting a few weeks from now."


    "Ah, I will have to prepare for that," said Andrew.


    "The final thing is, and I wish I did not have to report this, but our prisoner, Walter Argon last night was brutally murdered."


    Ivan''s jaw almost dropped, utter disbelief travelled throughout his being. Andrew''s arms fell limp and he stared at Markett with the same expression as Ivan. Markett cleared his throat with a sense of regret for ruining the mood of the merry breakfast. Even the servants were shocked, No-one spoke any words for a few seconds until Ivan broke the silence.


    "How can this be, it was only yesterday that I spoke with him."


    "Ivan, you did not go too far on the...did you?" queried Andrew.


    "No, never."


    "Prince Ivan speaks the truth master Andrew, the manner in which he was murdered is anything but humane. I doubt prince Ivan would go that far, considering how it would provide no benefit," comforted Markett.


    "Who...who could have done such a thing? And in my own home aswell."


    "I am afraid I have no clues as to who has killed Mr Argon, we are completly in the dark, unless prince Ivan has some information from last night."


    Ivan scoured every bit of his memories but could not find who would have done the murder. The guards, maybe, but why, it makes no sense. One of the servants, however the same problem as the guards arises if they had done it. Unless, Ivan remembered that there was one set of people in this world who would want him dead, Morta, the criminal syndicate.


    But how could they have gotten inside the castle undetected, killed Walter and escaped, all within one night? Nevermind that, including an organization like Morta with an advocate for justice like Andrew is a terrible idea. Thus Ivan decied to not mention anything.


    "I too have no idea who the perpetrator could be."


    "Was it the guards that stood watch outside the cell?" Inquired Andrew.


    "I suspect not as they were brutally murdered aswell, we only found one of the bodies but from the scene we can make a guess as to what happened to the other one."


    "Markett do you think I can have a view of the cell?"


    "Master Andrew, I say this with absolute loyalty. I think you should refrain yourself from seeing the gruesome scene."


    "I understand."


    "Come let us not ponder on such thoughts, today should be a happy day. We can investigate all this later," said Ivan.


    "I suppose you are right."


    The two finished their breakfast rapidly yet elegantly, almost forgetting everything about Walter. The pair hadn''t seen each other in years so they believed they were well deserving of a meal together. They laughed and made humourous comments, just like the good old days when they were children.


    After several hours of telling each other exciting stories and lunch after that, the sun began its orderly routine of leaving the world in the capable hands of the moon. Its gorgeous glow was still visible from just above the tips of the pine trees but it was at the time when shadows were at their strongest.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Ivan and Andrew set out from the castle, deciding to walk for nostalgia. They strolled along the road leading past the battlements into the main castle, the stones that it was comprised of were neatly placed in a brick like formation. Roads like these stretched out all across Atheron, however they only connected major settlements such cities, there were thousands of dirt roads that branched off these leading to rural villages and such. The roads had only been developed in the past 200 years, it was due to the emperor back then wanting to increase trade and to say the least, it worked.


    Crossing the gate, Ivan looked behind him to the sturdy walls of Ukburg castle, situated atop a rocky hill. The small waterfall that flowed out of the side and into a river, along to a lake near the village they were headed was Ivan''s favourite feature of the fortification.


    Through the forest and towards the village, the pair finally came upon a wooden arch connected to a wooden fence which scretched out and surrounded wooden houses. Colourful banners welcomed them along with the sound of music and laughter.


    "Well then, let us go," said Andrew


    Ivan nodded in agreement, finding the words just seemed impossible to him, he felt something deep down, like he had travelled back in time.


    As they entered they saw stalls selling treats such as strawberries and cakes, children lined up with coppers in their pockets eager to have a taste. Villagers partaking in various events such archery and wrestling. It brought a smile to Ivan''s face, seeing these people enjoying life, especially considering he had history with them. Suddenly Ivan accidently bumped into a man wearing a long white robe, his face was concealed so there was no way to distinguish it but the man seemed to notice Ivan then speedily hurried off into the crowd just before Ivan had time to apologize. Weird, he thought. Whilst wandering around the village elder noticed them and immediately paid his repects by bowing, Ivan assured him that it was not necessary but the elder insisted it was. He decided to announce the prince''s presence, taking him onto a wooden stage and gathering everyone''s attention with a shout.


    "People of Lille! Let us honour here tonight a most welcomed guest, who we are grateful for being here, Prince Ivan Ikhaust."


    Ivan stepped forward, moving his left foot behind his right and placing his right hand on his left shoulder then proceeded to bow slightly. A formal tradition in Atheron when you visit another''s home, it was a sign of thanks for allowing you onto their property. Everyone clapped as per custom.


    "Despite the sad news of our beloved king passing away, we will honour his memory by dancing and enjoying ourselves as homage to his son, something I''m certain our king would want."


    Everyone clapped once again and then returned to their festivities.


    Andrew guided his best friend around the village, showing him the diferent activities and the layout of the houses, they were enjoying a peaceful tour when all of a sudden a young girl with short auburn hair which had flowers in it came running up to them.


    "Andrew! Andrew! I''m so glad you could make it!"


    "Haha, I am glad too Ella. What pretty flowers you have on your head," said Andrew laughing whilst kneeling down to the young girl''s height.


    "Huh? Who''s this?" asked Ella looking at Ivan.


    "Were you not paying attention to the village elder speaking?"


    "Nope I was picking these flowers," she said with an enourmous smile.


    "This here is Prince Ivan Ikhaust, 4th prince of the realm," Andrew quietly said whilst giving Ella a wink.


    "Wow! A real life prince! But he isn''t wearing shiny armour like in my bedtime stories?"


    "bwahahaha!"


    "What are you finding so funny?" teased Ivan.


    "Oh nothing, I am just imagining you in shining golden armour atop a white steed looking all heroic."


    "Hmph, I will have you know I could make a great knight, thank you very much," replied Ivan with a giggle.


    "Andrew, come do the apple bobbing with me! Please."


    "Haha alright. Shall we be off then Ivan?"


    "I have not partaken in apple bobbing for years now, I am most likely no good at it."


    "I am sure you will be fine, much better then little Ella here."


    "Hey! I beat you last year!"


    "One round little Ella, one round, you still have much to learn."


    "Hmph, I''ve improved, I''ll show you."


    All 3 headed to the apple bobbing area but were stopped by another girl, this time looking the same age as Ivan and Andrew. She had slightly redder hair than Ella which was done up in long pigtails.


    "Honestly you need to stop running off Ella."


    "Evening Laila," greeted Andrew.


    "Evening to you too Andrew and...Ivan."


    "Have we met before?" inquired Ivan, curious as to the shock in her voice and the lack of his title.


    "Of course we have silly, we used to play together when we were little, you know, back when you visited the village with Andrew."


    "Apologies, I do not remember much from then."


    Andrew noticed Laila''s fidgeting, "Hah, me and Ella shall continue onto the apple bobbing, you and Laila can talk for a while, catch up like we did."


    "Oh uh, very well, where shall we meet?"


    "The town square. Come now Ella"


    Ivan was left deserted, all alone with Laila, a girl who apparantly knew him quite well but he had no memory of. It was awkward silence for a while until Ivan decided to break it.


    "So Laila was it? Who exactly are you?"


    "Do you honestly not remeber me? Everyday you and Andrew would come down to the village to play, you would say the castle could get so dull sometimes. We would play tag and other games, despite you two being nobles and us common folk."


    Ivan felt like he should remember these things but he in no way could formulate any memories of them, only brief facts such as him going down to the village, maybe the so-called ''friends'' he had meant nothing to him and he never paid attention to them.


    "How old were we?"


    "About 7 I think."


    "7, I do not really recall a lot from then, I have been too preocupied with current affairs within my teenage years to have any time to dawdle on a past memories."


    "I suppose that makes sense," Laila lowered her head, almost like she was in defeat.


    The mood seemed like it needed to be lightened but Ivan was in no mindset to be dancing with peasants. However if they saw him enoying himself and playing with them, that would increase his standing amongst them, an excellent plan even if it only affected one measly village out of hundreds.


    "Say, shall we lighten the mood with a bit of dancing?"


    Laila immediatly blushed which took Ivan by surprise but she timidly accepted. Ivan was no fool to see what was going on here.


    "Damn you Andrew," he commented under his breath.


    They headed to the town square, an open space was provided for them and multiple couples were already dancing which only added to the atmosphere.


    Ivan sighed but reached out his hand toward Laila. Embarrassed she readied her dress, not something fit for royalty but you could tell the girl had tried, and rested her hand in Ivan''s. She clenched his warm palm and the two began a simple waltz. The peasant girl and the prince danced right in the centre as the moon''s light shone down upon them, she was surprisinly well versed in the fluidity of it and even maintained the same level of gracefulness as the man before her which also ttok him by surprise. Ivan could see her face was redder than before and her look was quite passionate that it made Ivan feel uneasy.


    Eventually the music came to a halt and all left the dance space. Andrew and Ella had not returned yet so the pair went off to a more secluded area to speak.


    "That is a nice earring you have," complimented Ivan. It was a deep green like her eyes.


    "Hm, you would say that, after all you were the one who gave it to me."


    "I was?"


    "Yeah, I remember the exact day you did, you said that it matched my emerald eyes and you really like them."


    "I had no idea I was so proficient in flattery."


    Laila giggled a little and startd stroking her pigtails, "You know days like those, days like these, make me really happy."


    Ivan wa sabout to say something when a hand touched his shoulder, he turned his head to find a tall man wearing a tunic with a hood over his head, he looked rather muscular so the imtimidation struck Laila instantly.


    "Prince Ivan, my master requests you speak with him, alone."


    "Who are you?"


    "I mean you no harm, my master will clear everything up, please follow me."


    "Hmph, very well, Laila please remain here until I return."


    The girl gave a worried nod but Ivan knew there there ws nothing to worry about, after all he was immortal.


    The man lead him to a house far from the others and even further from the festivities, so much so that if anyone were to scream, it was doubtful anyone would hear them, apart from Laila of course.


    Inside was an old looking man with grey hair, a droopy moustache adorned the area above his top lip and a goatee below the bottom one. He wore a circular pair of spectacles which hid his eyes and a portion of the emotion that came with them. The room was dimly lit, the only source of light being a candle on a table in front of the old man.


    "Please have a seat Prince Ivan, I am most honoured to have you here tonight," his voice was sluggish and coarse but contain a hint of menacing playfulness like he was schemeing something.


    Taking the seat aross the table directly opposite the old man, their eyes locked and so their discussion began.


    "What is it you require of me? And who are you?"


    "For reasons I am sure you can understand I cannot reveal my name to you but the only piece of information I think that is needed to be disclosed is that I am a representative of Morta, I am sure you know who we are."


    Morta? Here? How? Ivan''s mind fixated on one thing that could have drawn the criminal organization here. Walter. But then that would confirm one thing, that Morta were not the ones who killed him.


    "You are here for Mr Argon are you not?"


    "My, my, how clever, if you know of him then that means his identitiy has been revealed. Yes, we are here for Mr Argon but also for another reason," the old man said, clenching his two hands together and resting his elbows on the table.


    He was correct, the mystery grew deeper. Ivan felt a slight genuine fear, not for himself but for what Morta could do to the others. Kidnap the villagers, Kill the villagers, worse yet, kill Andrew. The man''s lack of visibible eyes was so patronizing, it built anger up in Ivan alongside the fear. He decided to not remain the weak link and pushed for information.


    "Who is Walter Argon anyway?"


    "Walter Argon was a man who operated in the capital''s east district, although he was no-one special, he betrayed us, killing several of our men, Morta does not forget such transgressions and so we have been hunting him. However lately we have discovered his whereabouts and what he has been masquerading as, a carriage driver. We discovered a list of all the names of the carriage drivers who would be driving the members of the royal family to diferent locations. We mainly wanted to know the locations but when his name caught our eye, we knew we had to go after him."


    "Why would you want the locations of each royal family member?"


    "We shall get onto that later but for now, I asume you have Mr Argon locked up somewhere in Ukburg castle."


    "We did but it was actually only last night that he was murdered in a grisly display or so I hear."


    "Ah, I see, well then I suppose we have one less job to take care of. May I ask who was the one who killed him?"


    "I do not know, his murderer remains allusive."


    "Shame, oh well. Now we may discuss the reason for us wanting the locations. You see, we here at Morta have a proposition for you Prince Ivan. Work with us and we can ensure you an easier victory over your siblings."


    "Excuse me?"


    "Morta has a lot of influence over the entire country so by pulling a few strings we can gain you popularity and increase your chances of becoming king of this country."


    Ivan thought long and hard about this proposal. Having Morta under his thumb would be extremely beneficial, he could, like the old man said, gain much influence over nobles that could support his cause. No rather the truth is inverted, Morta would have him under their thumb, the same with any other royal candidates that had agreed. That was another problem, Morta providing for several candidates meant only chaos would ensue. But the biggest factor was...


    "I refuse, it is morally wrong for me as a prince and as a future king to work together with criminals."


    "Are you sure, think carefully," the old man sounded surprised, "you could have a boost in your efforts, use us whenever you wish, we will not make demnds of you that often. Is the fog of morality truly clouding your judgement?"


    "Yes it is, I will nothing to do with you criminals."


    "Unfortunate indeed, I came all this way for nothing, oh well. You may leave now Prince Ivan, it has been a pleasure speaking with you."


    "Likewise," he retorted, making his way out of the door but stopped mid-way.


    "One more thing Prince Ivan. Please give this bag of coins to the person who killed Mr Argon for us."


    "I have no intention to be rude, but I do not pay criminals for acts that I deemed unnecesary, especially considering if it is from another criminal. Give them to him yourself."


    And with that, Ivan left.


    "I..Ivan are you alright?" questioned Laila, who was seeminly very anxious the entire time.


    "Yes I am fine, it was just some business that needed to be taken care of. The moon is well overhead now, the festival should be ending soon, shall we go?"


    "Yes, let''s."


    Laila wrapped her arm around Ivan''s and they began walking towards the town square to meet Andrew and Ella. Upon arrival, Ella scolded them for being late which made everyone laugh. Each said their goodbyes and headed in the direction of their homes.


    "So how was it?" asked Andrew on their walk back to the castle.


    "Decent I suppose," replied Ivan.


    "Hahaha, we can visit again tomorrow if you want."


    "Depends on if there is important business to attend to."


    "I doubt it but we shall see."


    "Indeed we shall."


    The murder of Walter. Morta becoming involved. The wheels of fate had already began spinning. It was not long before each of them would know how this game they play would only bring tears and soak the land of Atheron in blood.

 Chapter 8: Yearn

    Another day had been completed. Ivan arose from his second slumber in the castle. As expected of a noble estate, the beds were softer than clouds, however he had slept in these beds all his life so they were nothing special or extraordinary. Looking out the window, he noticed the sky was not the same as yesterday, rather it was smothered with grey clouds, with small rays of light piercing gaps. A setting that brought Ivan an abnormal sensation of D¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    He sat at the desk prepared for him in his room to the left of his bed, near the window. A small stack of parchment was waiting to Ivan''s right with a quill made from the left feather of a pheasant, already carefully positioned in a pot of jet black ink.


    Running his hand along the underside of the desk, Ivan could feel no dust. The servants appeared to have taken every precaution to create a suitable and clean living condition for one of royal status.


    Well then, Ivan thought to himself. He removed the quill and took a piece of parchment and began writing a poem. Poetry was Ivan''s main hobby, he was highly engrossed in the way poems were structured and how they were wrote, each word holding so much individual power to formulate the whole overall grand design. Obviously some words weren''t as important as others but they laid the foundations. One could even compare poetry to a kingdom, the less important words were the peasants, whilst they had no real value they were what allowed for a kingdom to have a population, allowed for a kingdom to be built. The more important words were the nobles, they gave a poem meaning and that meaning is how a kingdom is judged. Those words have dominion over the others as the peasants work for the glory of the nobles, the glory to make the more important words give function and meaning to the poem.


    Of course Ivan liked to write poems of his own. What topic was on his mind today? He thought. It wasn''t a very pleasurable topic but he couldn''t stop his mind from drifting to Walter''s murder. Who, just who had done it? It was yet another matter that required his attention. But for now Ivan just wanted to write. In fact, he had become inspired by the thought. Let us see, Ivan thought as he commenced.


    A monster sleeps below,


    He is a lonely monster,


    All he has is his game,


    But...


    A knock came from the door. Ivan ceased his writing and answered it. A boy carried a tray with a selection of drinks and foods. He lowered his head whilst Ivan permitted him to enter, this was obviously breakfast.


    "I wonder why Andrew and I are not having breakfast together."


    The boy left and Ivan sat as the desk once again, muching on a piece of bread.


    "I most likely should not relax too much, I have work to do, best to get it out of the way first."


    Placing the unfinished poem in a drawer, Ivan took another piece of parchment and began a letter, a letter to lord Endiel, a noble of the north who most likely will aid Ivan so he may participate in the gathering of the northern lords to discuss the bad harvests. if he was to become king then he needed the support of the majority of the nobles, as was the law.


    From Prince Ivan Ikhaust to my good Lord Peter Endiel


    I wish you the best and hope you and your family are in good health am writing to you to inform you of my visit to your humble property of Crastus Castle. I know your castle is one of the finest in the kingdom and I would be most honoured to stay there for a week or two. I am currently situated further south in Ukberg Castle, I have been resting here for a while, collecting my thoughts about the death of my beloved father. As I am sure you are aware, the harvests in the north have gone terribly, I would like to help you in restoring prosperity. I can provide influence for you at the meetings and in turn you can help me to do so, the royal selection has started so I must. Please know that I will arrive in a few day and I look forward to our meeting.


    Sincerely Prince Ivan Ikhaust


    Ivan ran the bell in his room for a servant to come. As commanded, one did come, and complied with the prince''s request to deliver the letter. Ivan returned to his desk to finish the breakfast that he started eating.


    Once done, he believed a stroll was in order to exercise the muscles so they didn''t get stiff. Although a secondary reason was to locate Andrew. During his walk of the halls, Ivan ran into Markett, asking for where his best friend might be, Markett revealed that he was in the gardens, near the flower beds. Ivan thanked him and began to head straight there.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Oh and before you go Prince Ivan. I have began spreading the news about the failed attempt on your life. It should take a while to extend across the whole kingdom so the people will have time to leave behind their sorrows for our great king, if they have any. Just as according to your plan."


    "Much obliged Markett."


    Upon exiting throught the doors to the garden the wind seemed to pick up, the sound of bees hard at work was prevalent. Suddenly a shrill scream resounded throught he air, hitting Ivan''s ears and his concerns. Oh God no was the only thing running through his mind. He recollected that day when his father was murdered, how the first indicator he had of the situation was of a scream that echoed down the hallways, could a similiar situation unfold here? He knew there was a killer about so it wasn''t impossible. Would they target Andrew next? None of the factors boded well for what was to be unveiled.


    "Not my best friend!"


    Going at a pace which Ivan had not ran in ages, he reached the epicentre of the scream. Complete shock engulfed him but it was quickly replaced with the sensation of relief. Instead of any murder there was a maid sitting on the ground, a spilled flower pot next to her and a black cat snarling directly at the poor woman, its green eyes fixated on its defenceless victim for a while then it scurried away with haste off to another part of the garden.


    "Are you alright?" asked Ivan helping the lady off the floor and onto her feet.


    "Oh I am fine, thank you very much Prince Ivan and sorry for disturbing you."


    "No need for apologies, what happened here?"


    "Well I was supposed to set this flower pot down here behind the beds but then that mangy cat leaped out of nowhere and gave me a fright. He''s always about the place, never been friendly with us. I think he belonged to the lady of the castle long ago."


    "Appears you interrupted its meal," stated Ivan looking over into the group of colours. A dead bird lay there, its torso ripped open. The blood appeared fresh so it could be deduced that the cat was the one who expunged the bird''s life.


    "Poor thing," remarked the woman, "now I''ll have to clean up this mess. Blasted cat."


    "It is just the way the world works, the strong prey on the weak."


    "My lord?"


    "Nevermind, I must be off."


    "Oh of course, don''t let an old woman like me keep you."


    Ivan swiftley walked away from the scene. Although he had no qualms about death his mind thought, such a display is not worthy of my eyes.


    Across more of the garden, the prince arrived at small area after looking around all the flowerbeds, a dented wooden door under an arch of well cut leaves stood in his way. His lunar hair swaying in the wind, he opened the door and entered to find a surprising scene.


    Melancholy weighed heavily in the air. A ceiling of grey clouds loomed above, killing the colour of the garden. Even the leaves of the hedges were void of greenery, just a dark shade of the glory of the rest of the castle vegetation, it was like each one had been kissed by death itself and was grasping onto life. But the leaves were not the plants Ivan was focused on, instead what had caught his eye was the vast number of black roses surrounding the grassy path and in the centre stood Andrew. His head hung low but when he noticed Ivan he wiped away the despondent face and smiled. No, rather he forced a smile.


    "I did not know you knew this place even existed," started Andrew.


    "I did but I do not remember it being so, dispiriting."


    The smile faded, looking down at the ocean of coal flowers Andrew said, "Black roses, a favourite of my mother''s before she..."


    "I take it this garden is meant to honour her then."


    "Yes, it is. My mother was someone who was gentle and kind, she found great beauty in black roses, I do not know why though. Every so often I come here to try and remember her."


    "I may sound impolite in asking but do you know where she is now?"


    "No. I do not even know if she is alive or not. It is a very maddening curiosity of mine, the instinctive desire to know the fate of my own mother. That has been my goal for the past few years but everywhere I look, I find nothing. This world void of knowledge is like a curse. I can hardly bear it. I just, I want to meet her. I want her to see how grown up her son is. How I have always remained a good boy, even when there was no comforting bedtime story to put me to sleep, even when there was no shoulder to cry on, no warm embrace when I tripped and grazed my knee," Andrew''s eyes began to water, "Those few short years of a mother''s love I had and the many years of a mother''s love I missed. I just want her to know I love her still and to thank her for the little but the great amount she did. I just...I just want to know who she is, what she looks like because I...because I..."


    Ivan stood there in silence, a flurry of feelings within him. He had hardly any words of comfort. How could he, he never had a mother who left him, out of all his family members, his mother was the one he saw the most, she was always so caring and although Ivan''s independence had brought him to distance himself from his mother, he still did hold some love for her. All he could do was this. Walking up to his best friend he wrapped his arms around and hugged him.


    Ivan could be cold and merciless but he was not ungrateful. Not for everything the boy in front of him had done. He was a human at heart, and the sense of needing to help those closest to you still remained inside him. After all, this young noble was the one person Ivan held in highest regard. He was more than a friend, he was his brother.


    "Andrew, although there is not much I can say. What I can tell you is that you must stay strong and that I will help you in your mission. If you fall down, I will pick you back up. I am your closest friend and you are mine. I have been away for too long, ignoring your suffering, I promise you that together we will find your mother and I will not rest until you do so."


    "Thank you Ivan. Thank you."


    Those words brought tears to his eyes but the truth was he wanted to hear words like those from his mother. Or at least from his own father.

 Chapter 9: Questions

    Pulling himself away, Andrew wiped his eyes, composing himself. Ivan was his best friend and although he did not know the whole truth, he still comforted him, what a great friend he was indeed. But Andrew knew that his friend had many more responsibilities than him, many more things to worry about, so to burden him as such was selfish.


    "Thank you Ivan, I am fine."


    "I know expressing your worries can be difficult however always remember I will listen to what you have to say and I will shoulder those worries with you happily."


    Andrew replied with another thank you.


    "I wish to be alone for a while, my apologies."


    "No need for that, I understand, I will be in the hall if you need me."


    Exiting the garden, Ivan stopped at least 5 metres before turning to see a familiar face. One of a hairy old man with rugged structure.


    "Adolphus?" Wondered Ivan to why the mage was here.


    "I heard the conversation you two had."


    "What of it?"


    "I once met Andrew''s mother, I only came to live here after she left."


    "Do you have any information on her? Have you told Andrew?"


    "I have not told him."


    "Why!? Andrew requires all the..."


    "The reason I have not told the young master is because I do not wish to hurt his heart."


    "What do you..."


    "Listen here, do not try to find Master Andrew''s mother. She is a witch."


    "Excuse me?"


    "Haaaaah..."


    "He fell asleep!?"


    Adolphus briefly closed his eyes then awoke and vacated the garden, returning to his life as a recluse in his workshop of wizandry.


    Ivan had no idea what the mage was saying and thus he paid no attention to it. Continuing to exit the garden, Ivan entered the castle for some relaxation. He simply wanted a moment to collect his thoughts, a lot had occured over the past few days.


    "Let us review the situation. There is a dead man in the dungeon. We have no idea who murdered him. A village with a past I cannot even recall despite visiting multiple times and now Andrew''s mother, that can be cast aside for the moment."


    There was so many things to worry about and the non-stop action had worn Ivan out. Still he wanted to reach the truth but he feared if he dug deeper then he would dig a hole he couldn''t get out of and the only way from there is down.


    "Think Ivan, think. Who could it be? One of the castle staff, a villager? Dammit I just..."


    Suddenly a knock came on the door and Markett appeared.


    "Prince Ivan," he began, respectfully lowering his head, "a young lady from the village has come to visit you."


    He stepped aside and a girl with aubern hair wearing a common village dress entered. She curtseyed and smiled.


    "Hello again Prince Ivan." This time using his title.


    "Laila? What on earth are you doing here?" Asked Ivan surprised at the sudden arrival, normally nobles wouldn''t let common folk into their castles but then again, Andrew wasn''t like every other noble.


    "I thought I would come to chat, you know, since you haven''t remembered much from our time together. I thought I''d help you catch up."


    Chat? CHAT? Ivan had no time to chat. There was a murderer on the loose and it required his full attention to apprehend the culprit.


    Anyhow, perhaps Ivan could extract information out of her about the villagers. Plus the poor girl had come all this way so the least he could do was treat her.


    "Have a seat Laila, I am currently working on something so I may have some questions but we can still talk."


    Laila took her seat opposite Ivan on the red cushions.


    Getting straight to business, the questions began.


    "Has anyone around the village seemed suspicious as of late?"


    Laila seemed rather disheartened by the fact she was being questioned, most likely because this wasn''t what she had in mind when she came here.


    "Not particularly."


    Ivan needed to squeeze as much out of her and keep the questions as precise as possible.


    "Has anyone left the village recently?"


    "No."


    "Has anyone arrived in the village recently?"


    "Yes actually, for the festival. A married couple who used to live here, a merchant and 2 men in white robes, I thought they were monks of some sort of religion but who knows."


    "I see."


    Ivan wanted to talk to these people but first he wanted to talk to the guards posted upon the walls and at the gate although it was his belief the murderer had snuck into the castle by other means, should they have come from the outside.


    "Laila, you have lived in the village, you know the people, has anyone ever demonstrated murderous tendencies?"


    "What? No. Ivan, what''s going on? Murderous tendencies?"


    "It''s none of your concern," replied Ivan with a sharp look.


    "I''m sorry."


    This girl talks as if we''re close friends, thought Ivan.


    "No I apologise. Now then I wish to visit the village again and talk to a few people but first the guards."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Mind if I join you?" Said Laila blushing.


    This girl...


    "Very well then."


    "What about Andrew?"


    "Best not to disturb Andrew currently, I will only be a short while."


    Immortal and mortal set out together. First coming to the guards, Ivan asked them a series of questions to which they answered they had not seen anything abnormal that night. One guard, well versed in the history of the region stated that the castle was now more of a noble''s mansion, indicated by the forest that surrounded the defensive structure. He stated that a long time ago the forest wasn''t there and it was just grasslands which made sense as it was a proper castle then. But now it was diferent and if anybody tried sneaking into the castle, they could do it easily. However that was why they had wall checks to see if any parts of the wall were weakened enough to create a secret doorway in. Apparantly this week''s wall check was, as usual a success. But nothing would stop an intruder from scaling the walls said the guard. If getting in was so easy then this strengthened the idea that it could be someone from the village. Ivan thanked the men and headed for the village once more.


    Upon returning to the wooden arch and entering the village, Ivan accidentally bumped into someone due to him being lost in thought.


    "Oh pardon me, I am terribly sorry. Do forgive my rudeness."


    It was a man in a white robe with black outlines. He seemed to just stand there, doing nothing, his face was not visible because of a hood, he did not look at Ivan, did not speak to Ivan but simply walked away.


    It was then that Ivan had remembered he wanted to talk to this person and so called out to him.


    "Excuse me!"


    The man stopped and turned his head slightly so that his cheek could be seen. But like before, he walked away, ignoring Ivan, even when he called out to him again.


    "How rude!" Commented Laila.


    Ivan stood there silent and still as if he was in a trance.


    "Huh? Ivan? Are you okay?"


    "What? Oh, nevermind, it is just, that man''s face almost seemed to resemble my father''s."


    Despite a rough start, they pressed on. First talking to the couple who appeared absolutely innocent, they seemed completely oblivious to the world, acting extremely cheesy and coming off as completely weird. They treated Ivan unfit for a prince but giving him cookies and calling him ''son''. Laila strangely appeared to be daydreaming or something, whatever it was, she wasn''t paying much attention either.


    Next was the merchant who seemed to be leaving just as he had arrived.


    "Me? Oh I''m heading to the next village over."


    "Oh? And why is that?" Questioned Ivan, sceptical of the man.


    He wore a funny coat and long baggy trousers. Probably wears he obtained on his travels.


    "There''s money to be made of course."


    "Why not stay here another night or 2, it would probably mean more people would buy from your stock."


    "You ever sold stuff? Didn''t think so. I set up shop right in the middle of the festival, so everyone could see me. Everyone who passed by me weren''t interested and everyone who already paid won''t be coming back otherwise they would have bought what they wanted so there''s no-one in this village to sell to anymore. My prices are quite cheap so I doubt anyone won''t have enough money to purchase. It also justifies the reason I travel so quickly, so I can make more coin."


    Ivan''s suspicions didn''t fully go away but the merchants argument was very logical that it was hard to disagree with. The last resort the prince had was to judge by his reaction to a question. It was an awful way to judge someone but it had to be done.


    "Do you know of someone named Walter Argon?"


    A purely confused look came upon the merchants face as he tried to recall the name.


    "Nope, sorry. I know a Walter Wickenmoth if that''s who you''re looking for?"


    "No, nevermind. Thank you for your time."


    "Before you go, see anything you like?" He said opening up his cart revealing many boxes of objects and trinkets.


    "I am afraid I must be going," responded Ivan brushing off the topic.


    Typical of a merchant, at least we know he wasn''t masquerading.


    "Looks like I did not have the chance to talk to either men in the white robes and I cannot seem to find them again nor do I feel like going around every door and asking."


    "What should we do now?" Asked Laila.


    "I will head back to the castle. I need to put all of what I have gathered together and look over the information."


    Laila seemed like she was about to protest but stopped herself. She seemed like she was about to do it a second time but stopped herself again. Most likely she wanted to ask about all of what had just occured.


    "Do not worry we will talk at a later time," lied Ivan, not wanting to converse with Laila anymore.


    "You know, you''re really bad at keeping promises sometimes."


    "Pardon?"


    "You say you will come back later but always fail. Like that time when you said you would come play tomorrow but got ill, or how when you said the exact same thing then never came back for almost 10 years. I know those weren''t your fault, it just seems like fate wants to keep us apart."


    "What are you speaking of? When did I say that?"


    "Why don''t you remember anything from those times?" It almost seemed like tears had begun to form in Laila''s eyes.


    "I do not know."


    "I want to help you remember Ivan. Please let me help you."


    "Like I said, we can talk all we want later," said Ivan getting slightly embarrassed because he felt like they were attracting attention but also a bit irritated as he didn''t want to forget any of the information he had recieved.


    "It''s just that...it''s just that..."


    "Just what?"


    "I...I...nevermind."


    "Very well then."


    "I just want to help you because you are one of my friends even if you don''t remember all the time we spent together."


    "We will talk, as for now I must leave."


    "Swear that we will."


    "...I Swear."


    "Thank you."


    Making his way back to Ukberg castle and into the living room. Ivan sat down and rested for a bit. What was wrong with that girl, he thought, it is obvious how she feels about me but all this stuff about recovering lost memories or something? How could Ivan begin to wrap his head around all of this.


    Finally deciding to analyse the information he had garnered. Ivan took some parchment and began writing to help him keep track of everything. The people most suspicious were the men in the white robes. Ivan had not had the chance to talk to them when he really needed too.


    "What are you writing there?" Came a voice from the door, it was Andrew, leaning against the wall with the same old smile on his face.


    "Ah, just some notes on the um incident."


    "Ah, I see. Well do not let that preoccupy all your time. Markett tells me you visited the village with Laila when she came to visit?"


    "Yes. I had some questions for some people."


    "As always. Anyway, I take it you have not had lunch yet?"


    "No, not yet."


    "Then my friend I shall indulge you!" Shouted Andrew raising his arms into the air.


    "Haha. What has the chef prepared today?"


    "Have you ever tried chicken, rice and vegetable soup? It is a common food in some other nations but it is delicious."


    "Sounds interesting," said Ivan licking his lips.


    "I hope you enjoy it, come on, lunch is almost done."


    "Right."


    As Ivan began standing up, still annoyed at the fact that he didn''t get to talk to the men in white robes, an epiphany suddenly dawned on him. There was a way he could have talked to those men, assuming they were together.


    "Argh! I am such an idiot!"


    "Uh Ivan?" Wondered Andrew.


    The village elder! He could have talked to the village elder! He would know where they were staying and would know who had left the village in recent years. The fact was, why would a couple of monks come to the middle of nowhere? There was no religious sites around here. One of them being the murderer if not both of them was strongly plausible now. But if they were in the village currently then everyone was in danger.


    "Andrew, I am afraid lunch will have to wait."


    "Oh, okay. Uh, what is going on?"


    Ivan quickly rushed out the door and out of the castle. He didn''t know why, he didn''t care about the peasants in the village, he thought. Laila popped into his mind, but why. He simply brushed this off and continued his pace. Upon entering the outside Ivan could see something just above the wall, something grey that dissipated as it joined with the sky. Going atop the wall to get a better look was a mistake on Ivan''s part because that grey thing was a pillar of smoke, emanating from the village and an orange hue seemed to be the source.


    Fire.


    Andrew caught up with Ivan and stood next to him on the wall overlooking the forest.


    "Wait what?" He said shocked.


    Markett joined them shortly afterwards.


    "Master Andrew, Prince Ivan, please come with me this instant!"


    Andrew complied but Ivan refused. If he helped put out the fire then he would earn renown across the country. An assassination, a village fire. Ivan would be the talk of everybody.


    "You men with me!" Ivan called 2 guards to follow him which they did, "tell as many soldiers as you can to bring water, if the fire spreads to the forest then there will be mass devastation!" He yelled to Markett.


    "Ivan wait!"


    He rushed onwards, towards what seemed like death. But he knew, that no matter how time he dies, he will always come back. He may not be able to keep to his promises exactly but he always came back. No matter what. Still, the thought had been on his mind the entire time he had stayed at Ukberg castle. What will happen if he dies again? Will it be different? Or not?


    They began to approach the village, the orange hue was visible amongst the study trees which were soon to be ablaze.


    Another question head come into Ivan''s head. His assassination, Walter''s death, lost memories, Morta, Andrew''s mother and now this.


    "Just what the hell is going on?!"

 Chapter 10: Deadly Love

    Reaching the wooden arch the view upon which was on the other side was like hell. Every plank of wood was ablaze, the cinders littered the air and ground. Ribbons strewn across the dirt which once marked the joy brought by the festival now only contributed to the spreading of the flames.


    But the lit homes weren''t the only things in this hellish landscape, there were black mounds scattered all over the place in strange odd shapes. Smoke was rising from them and the surfaces looked rough and charred. Ivan couldn''t make out what they were but upon closer inspection the horrifying truth hit him. Those black mounds weren''t dirt or burnt wood, rather they were people.


    People most likely burnt from the flames, their hands reached towards different directions, probably towards the exit or towards loved ones. Their mouths wide open from the screams of their agonising fates. But why were they in mounds? Stacked atop each other. If this was the case then it was not some accident that these people died. No, rather it was the work of someone.


    The guards had already begun searching the village, disappearing into the fire to look for survivors. Ivan walked in the main road, through the carnage, heading to the village square, his eyes sickened at the horror. The bodies were of all different sizes, each different people of different ages. Some men, some women and even the children did not survive. There was even a corpse of a mother clenching her baby.


    Ivan thought he had seen it all when something caught his eye, something bright and shiny which stood out from the rest of the bodies. It hung from the face of a corpse, no the ear, it had some burn marks on it but its colour was distinct.


    No, it cannot be, thought Ivan to himself.


    The thing that caught his eye was an emerald earring and not just any one. The same earring that Laila wore which meant that this body was...


    "P...plea..." came a voice from below.


    Suddenly a small warm hand touched Ivan''s leg, he peered down to such a horror he could not put it into words. A small young girl with tears streaming from her eyes clasped desperately to life. Her dress burnt to a crisp, no hair remained on her, just a head covered in scorched flesh, burns coated her entire bodies, the blood incinerated that it looked as if it had popped right out of her veins. She summoned all her strength just to speak.


    "P...please...ave...sis...ter."


    Her weakened finger pointed towards the earring, and as she did it hit Ivan who this was. It was Ella, the little girl who played with Andrew at the festival.


    "Oh my..." said Ivan disgusted and shocked.


    Suddenly, as Ivan stood there not knowing what to do, the fire from a nearby burning building rose in a spiral like shape and came down upon the poor girl with fury of the devil. It slammed down and roasted her like a pig being prepared for dinner. Her harrowing screams channelled through Ivan''s eardrums and into his brain but he was unresponsive. Only his survival instincts kicked in and he fell back and just watched at the little girl before him rolled about on the floor screaming for her mummy to save her.


    "MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY! MUMMY!"


    Over and over and over, that word rang through Ivan''s ears and into his brain, still remaining unresponsive, maybe it was the shock of seeing something so brutal that he had never seen before happen so fast, maybe he was still trying to process it all. Why, although he was immortal, although he had seen death with his own eyes, why was he afraid?


    "L...Laila....Ella...I am...sorry."


    Why did he feel the need to apologise, nothing made sense, this wasn''t real, he kept telling himself, this wasn''t real, this wasn''t real, this wasn''t real, the putrid smell of burnt corpses, the raging heat of the flames. She was innocent, Laila had never hurt anyone, sure she could be a pest sometimes but she...the feeling she felt for him...


    "Now, now, you mustn''t hit our lord," a voice familiar to Ivan began to speak. He turned to his left to see who it was and standing there were 2 white robed men with their hoods up.


    "I knew it, it was...you."


    They bowed, "Of course you knew, I''d expect nothing less of our lord and master," said one.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "W...wha...who are you?!" Ivan prostrated himself against these villains, no these murderers.


    "Yes my lord but first we should make the space more fitting of someone of your majesty."


    The one who was speaking raised his arms in a swift manner and large gusts of wind came out and seemed to either extinguish the nearby flames or push them further away, dust from the bodies although were blown away.


    This was, magic.


    "Now then, we can talk."


    "Answer me! Who the hell are you?!"


    "My identity will be revealed shortly, but first, a question my lord. Why do you weep for such low life commoners."


    Weep? Am I weeping? Thought Ivan to himself. No tears had appeared in his eyes yet he felt so disgusted by the sight before him, although he cared little for peasants as a whole, conversing with them only opened Ivan''s eyes to a realisation he couldn''t understand yet and wouldn''t come to understand for a while. But then the thought crossed his mind, a basic rule of a leader, of a king and so Ivan took a gulp against these men who had massacred so many and said...


    "Is it not the duty of a king to weep for his people? Is it not my role to protect those under my banner and follow me?"


    "But my lord, you are not a king."


    Indeed he was right, he was no king, yet. With the pressure of this situation building up, Ivan took a breath, grasped his missing heart with his hand and bravely stated his intentions.


    "I will emerge victorious in this royal selection! I am the best candidate for the throne! Julius, Barclay, all the others, I will come out on top because I already am at the top, everybody in this world perishes, that fact is none more evident by the scene I stand in now! But I, I am above death itself!"


    Ivan readied himself for some sort of attack but instead he was greeted by the sound of clapping. The 2 men clapped and smiled under their hoods.


    "Well done my lord, as expected of our master! All hail, all hail!" they cheered merrily.


    "Why...Why do you address me as such? Who on Earth are you? You make no sense."


    "My lord Ivan," the man who had been speaking this entire time began walking forwards, "soon you will understand, yes you will understand who we are and what we do but for now I will indulge you on a piece of why we do what we do. Why we killed these villagers and the filthy prisoner in the castle. It''s because of their crimes against you."


    Befuddled Ivan asked, "What crimes? These people have done nothing against me."


    "So generous, as expected of our lord. No these people have dared to exist amongst you as if they are equals. They touch you, look at you, breath the same air as you!"


    Ivan could tell instantly, these were the ravings of a mad man, a mad man who was obsessed with him it seemed.


    "And of course, the worm that tried to kill you had to be severely punished."


    "You are insane. Answer me dammit, who the hell are you?!"


    "In due time my lord. Please allow me the satisfaction of explaining some more before I remove this hood."


    He recognised that voice from somewhere but where? Ivan couldn''t think properly with all that was happening.


    "As I stated we do this all for you. For your assured victory and not for praise. It''s because of the great man you are that we devote ourselves to you, you, who rules over all, who is..."


    Ivan had had enough of this lunacy.


    "TELL ME WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE?!"


    That was the first time Ivan had swore in a long time, the murder, the carnage, the confusion, it had all pushed Ivan passed his limit. The man seemed to recognise this and kneeled down, as did the other man behind him who hadn''t said a word.


    "I am deeply sorry my lord.


    He raised his hands to his hood, grasping firmly.


    "The reason that I do this my...well I suppose I should drop the formalities if you would allow me. I mean it as to make this situation a little less awkward for you."


    The hood started to come off, slowly, the man''s face became visible as the darkness from his hood vanished.


    "I kill people and would do anything for you because you are my world because..."


    The hood had been fully removed now, there kneeled a man with short black hair brushing against the wind, his red eyes glowed with affection. Ivan''s eyes widened the most they ever had.


    "No...no...no it cannot be..."


    That distinctive face, the reason it reminded Ivan of his father was...


    "It is not you, why are you here? This is a dream, it has to be, it makes no sense, please, tell me this is not real."


    Stumbling back Ivan could no longer comprehend the situation.


    "Hadrian, why? Why are you? No, you. You are the kill...no, it cannot."


    "...it''s because I love you Ivan."


    "Hadrian, my adopted brother, you...but I thought you were missing."


    "I came here because soon the uniting shall begin."


    "The uniting?"


    Ivan fell to his knees next to the pile of corpses, ash staining his trousers, repeating the scene that had just occurred in his head, trying to understand it all.


    Hadrian stood up to help Ivan but as he did a voice came.


    "Prince Ivan!"


    It was one of the guards. Hadrian quickly pulled his hood back over his head so he did not recognise him.


    "Prince Ivan are you alright?"


    Ivan didn''t understand anything and he hated that. He stood up, composing himself and looked to the guard.


    "Any survivors?" he asked.


    "No my prince," the guard replied in a sombre tone.


    "Unfortunate but now we have our culprits, those 2 men there," stated Ivan pointing at his adopted brother.


    The guard gritted his teeth at the men and unsheathed a sword, ready for combat however he seemed slightly afraid.


    "Can we beat them if they did all this by themselves?"


    "They can use magic but I believe we can so long as I call for the others."


    Tired of being left in the dark, Ivan readied himself for a battle between his pawns and the enemy. He wanted answers and he would get them straight from the horse''s mouth, from his adopted brother, from Hadrian.

 Chapter 11: Sacrifice

    A one on one fight would end in defeat, their opponents were undoubtedly powerful and whilst Ivan had no understanding of magic, he did understand it could turn the tide of a battle, depending on the caster, but he still did not know the extent of power that mages wielded.


    "Come to my aid now!" Ivan yelled, hoping to attract the other guard who had accompanied him.


    No one came.


    "I guess we are doing this ourselves."


    "Prince Ivan, you had best retreat back to the castle."


    Had it been some random people they were fighting then Ivan would have done exactly that but he wanted to confront his brother head on and clear the confusion clouding his mind.


    "I will not run. Rather I have a plan on how to win, but first," turning his gaze to the other man behind Hadrian, "will both of you be participating in our battle?"


    "My lord, we wouldn''t dream of fighting you, however sadly we cannot afford to be captured either. Thus only my friend here will fight you, he is not as adept in magic as I am but he is still relatively strong," stated Hadrian.


    The guard appeared confused whilst Ivan glared. What were they playing at he thought. He still couldn''t shake the feeling of his own brother being someone as vile and grotesque as this but he was determined to reach the truth.


    Ivan went out on a limb here and inferred that magic was long ranged, mostly due to the long list he had read of Adolphus'' spells which contain names which sounded like projectiles. So the man would need distance whilst all they had was close range weapons thus requiring the need to get close.


    "Damn, that old geezer''s spells would really come in useful right now," muttered Ivan under his breath.


    Hadrian stepped far back giving them some space.


    It was time to begin.


    Ivan seemed to be held in high regard to them so injury for him was unlikely, he was still immortal though so there was no need to worry. From his experiments however, he believed he had uncovered that he could not heal whilst alive and had to die in order to return to his original state.


    Ivan leaned in to whisper to the guard.


    "The plan is that I shall charge in straight ahead. I want you to follow right behind me and do not leave my lead ever. Once we get close enough I will jump right and you jump left. We will surround him. I will distract him and you take the swing at his head with the blunt side of your side. Understand?"


    "Yes my prince but I highly object to you fighting."


    "I will not be fighting, just distracting."


    "Still your presence here is completely inappropriate of someone such as yourself."


    "Enough. I will hear no more protest. Now let us begin."


    Taking a gulp, the prince and the guard began to move slowly to the man, cautious with each step, probably because they had no clue as what the man''s magic was, they soon broke into a sprint. As they approached the man raised his arm. The next thing they saw was a ball of fire head towards them, it struck the ground, missing them by a hair an causing them to fall back onto their bottoms.


    The man wasted no time in casting the next spells, this time 2 at once with both arms raised aimed to the left and right. He fired off 2 fireballs which began curving to strike them from both sides. Did he actually intend to kill them both? Questioned Ivan.


    "Quick dodge!" he yelled, "Jump back!"


    Narrowly missing the fireballs again, they collided into each other creating an explosion which warmed Ivan''s body up. It had occurred to him that this fire mage was the one mainly responsible for the burning of the village and the slaughter of its inhabitants. Still, both were equally at fault.


    Trying to get close to the man was impossible so a new strategy had to be devised.


    "I think I''ll go for the soldier first," the man said in a soft, calm, emotionless tone.


    Suddenly fire appeared around the man''s feet, propelling him into the sky. As he fell towards them, he shot another fireball directly at the guard. It was so fast that Ivan barely had time to duck whilst the guard had no choice but to try to defend himself. Pointlessly he swung his sword at the fireball, attempting to slice it in half. He failed and he took a direct hit from the ball of fire.


    Screaming in agony, Ivan could see parts of his skin were burnt, other parts were just sore from the heat. The parts of cloth that were exposed by the armour were destroyed. Yet despite all this, the guard still stood proud. Lunging forward, he gripped his sword and positioned his foot as the man fell from the sky with a shocked look on his face.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "I won''t diiiieeee!" the guard yelled at the top of his voice, swinging his sword with the blunt side, just as instructed, at the man, aiming directly for his head.


    This was it! Thought Ivan. But that feeling faded and the guards proud stance crumbled, replaced by despair when the man put his hand up in front of him and one giant fireball, directly into the guards face.


    Then agony came once again for the guard as his entire face was demolished by the flames. He didn''t even have time to blink.


    Collapsing on the ground, writhing around in the dirt, begging for God to save him, there was no hope for the guard. The man stood silently over another victim and continued to throw smaller fireballs at the guard.


    Ivan couldn''t bear to watch but then he noticed something in the corner of his eyes.


    Doing several hand signals, a new plan had been devised in his head.


    "Stop!" He shouted at the man and standing up.


    The man ceased as ordered, turning around, Ivan could see the man large eyes which sent chills down his spine, not only did they look like those of a fanatic but they were roughly the same colour as his own.


    "So you even comply to commands I give, who in the world are you people?"


    Then out of nowhere the other guard who had come to the village with Ivan arrived right behind the man. Jumping into the air, Ivan''s plan was put into motion.


    First the thing Ivan had spotted was the other guard and he believed he was the only one aware of his presence. He ordered the guard to go around to the other side of the village undetected then attack the man.


    With this Ivan would distract the man and then...


    "I had prepared for this," said the man.


    In an instant rubbed he his hands in a circle around him on the ground and in the next instant a pillar of fire appeared, scorching both of the guards to a crisp.


    "FLAME COLUMN!" He bellowed.


    Their screams rang out for a few seconds then they disappeared along with their lives.


    Ivan was in utter disbelief, not that the guards had been killed but that his plans had failed. How could he have been beaten by these scum, it shouldn''t have happened, the man was too damn powerful. Yeah, that was it, is what Ivan kept telling himself, that and that the guards were weak fools. But it was Ivan''s plans that got both of them killed, how could he miscalculate so terribly, was it because of fear, no, he wasn''t that scared, was it because of something else?


    Ivan wanted answers, he deserved answers. A rage built up inside of Ivan. How could he be denied something so simple as the truth. He out of every single person on this earth deserved it because, he was above everyone, he was above death itself.


    Standing up to face the man who had reappeared from the pillar of fire. Ivan walked toward him, all fear subsided, replaced only by anger. He placed one hand on the man''s shoulders, spinning him around. Reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out the weapon that was meant to distract the man the entire time. It was a small weapon and one he had been carrying on him the entire time, he didn''t care if this move was dirty, he would do it. He clenched it tightly and pulled it out and as quick as it had been pulled out, he put it in, rather into the eye of the man. It was no dagger but instead was a tiny needle Ivan had been carrying since his experiments. It was small but it caused the man to yell and clench his eye, trying to pull out the tiny object. Ivan strolled over to one of the guards bodies and took his sword, it was still burning hot from the flames but Ivan put up with it. He swung the sword directly into the man''s head, smashing it against his skull and knocking him down. Ivan wasn''t that strong so he repeatedly bashed the sword on his head.


    Bash! Bash! Bash! Bash! Bash! Bash!


    The man fell unconscious as Ivan stood above him victorious. It had seemed so simple yet 2 men had just died.


    Hadrian came over clapping, removing his hood, he smiled.


    "Well done my lord. Of course you realised that using those soldiers to defeat my friend was impossible, the difference in power was too great and so you took it upon yourself to defeat him. Even more am I astounded by your strategy, you sacrificed those lowlife scum so that you could help people understand where the credit lies, I am truly in awe."


    "Enough Hadrian! I want answers now!"


    "It pains me to do so but I cannot tell you everything just yet, I hope you can forgive me, just know you are loved and we will do everything in our power to help you achieve your goal because to us and to me, you are the highest form of life, you are perfection, you are the rightful king o this land and we will help you at every step of the way."


    "Who is we?"


    "I cannot answer that, soon Ivan, soon you will understand."


    He raised his hands in such a manner that it almost looked majestic and then wind currents lifted the unconscious man off the ground and into the arms of his comrade. Awesomely Hadrian began to float above the ground and into the sky.


    "I am afraid this is goodbye, for now at least, take care of yourself Ivan, my lord."


    "You cannot seriously be leaving, after everything that has happened?"


    "I am, I am sorry, never forget Ivan, I love you."


    "Dammit, you adopted oaf, GET BACK DOWN HERE AND ANSWER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"


    Ivan''s screams fell upon deaf ears as Hadrian had already flown into the distance. Now more confused than ever, Ivan clenched his fist and stared at the carnage around him, dead bodies were everywhere. A history he never knew he had was now lost, his brother who had turned into a mass murderer had flown away, all that Ivan had was a mind full of questions and no answers.


    "Prince Ivan are you alright!" Came a voice from behind. It was the other guards of the castle, all carrying water buckets. They hadn''t mobilised as quickly as one would expect but most likely something like this wasn''t as frequent.


    Some came carrying weapons ready for a fight if there was one but Ivan dismissed them and said the perpetrators had escaped. Each of the arrivals was sickened by the scene they had found that they were completely lost on what to do, some searched for survivors whilst the majority tried to douse the flames


    And standing in the middle was the prince. Ivan had no expression any longer although there was an aura of sadness. They were peasants, they were nothing compared to nobles or royalty, their lives didn''t matter as much but Ivan seemed to connect with one of them, to Laila, she was gone now and there was nothing anyone could do to bring her back. At the end of the day she was another peasant, there was no need to mourn over her death but still, he couldn''t help but feel bad.


    "Sorry," he said, "but a mere commoner''s death won''t put me down, take solace in the fact that your deaths will be stepping stones towards the throne."


    Ivan began his journey back to the castle.


    "You served the future king well."

 Chapter 12: Departure

    "Ivan!" Shouted Andrew as his friend returned back to the castle, "do not ever run off like that again. Huh what is wrong?"


    Ivan''s front hair flowed left and right in the wind soundly as if the souls of the dead brushed past him on their way to the afterlife. His face was blank and he stared at the ground for a solid few seconds, not responding before finally looking up to face Andrew and Markett standing behind him.


    "Nothing is wrong. It is just a shame, all the commoners are dead. It may work against me but if I follow what Ha..." Ivan stopped mid sentence before mentioning the name of his brother. Could he tell Andrew the truth about the murderers? Perhaps in private.


    "Did you just say the co... the villagers are all dead?" Andrew''s face had turned dark quickly.


    "Yes."


    "How could this have happened? This is...this is unprecedented."


    "I would not say unprecedented but certainly rare. Anyway, the murderers escaped, there was 2 of them."


    "Did you see who they were?"


    "No. They were wearing hoods to cover their faces."


    "What were they wearing?"


    "Woah Andrew why are you so riled up?"


    "How could I not be, people were innocently slaughtered mercilessly."


    "They were wearing white robes."


    "One day the hand of justice will capture these foul humans and make them atone for their transgressions."


    Ivan had never seen Andrew so worked up about something, although he had to admit that that village had affected him in the short time he had stayed here.


    "Leave it be Andrew, send word to the guard captains of the local area and have them investigate it. If they find the perpetrators then all is well, you must not let these things get to you, soon they will be caught and as you said, they will atone for their transgressions."


    "You are right, my apologies for getting so angered in front of you."


    "No worries. Now let us head inside."


    "Wait, I want to see the damage."


    "There is no time," said Ivan grabbing Andrew by the arm.


    "What do you mean?"


    "It does not matter, you would not like the sight of it anyway," Ivan began tugging.


    "So you do not wish me to expose my eyes to those who are supposed to be under my care. My father placed me in charge and I have failed him, the least I can do is offer my respect to the dead," Andrew removed Ivan''s arm.


    "It is a scene from hell, you would find it most unappealing."


    "I do not care."


    "Come in now, there is something I wish to discuss, it is urgent."


    "What? What is so important that it takes precedence over the people who just died."


    "It is a matter to be discussed in the castle," Ivan''s face had now turned aggressive.


    "Whatever it is, it can be said here."


    "It cannot."


    Markett was standing there in silence, he decided to walk a few steps away.


    "Is it Laila? Did she perish along with the others? What about Ella?"


    "Yes, they are both dead but it is not them that I am concerned about."


    "Then what is it? You are acting strangely."


    "Those men killed Walter, they killed an entire village, so I have reason to suspect they were the ones who killed my father."


    Andrew had no words for a minute, "I...I am sorry. I was not thinking clearly."


    Ivan suspected that Andrew thought that he grieved over his father''s death but instead he couldn''t care less about him. No rather it was the fact that Ivan wanted Andrew to investigate Hadrian and his friend and maybe find out if they were part of a larger organisation. Finding the people who killed the king was a main objective and would make a lot of the nobles support him. It would be almost a guarantee to achieve kinghood.


    "Please come inside," ordered Ivan softly.


    "Ok, I will."


    They made their way to Andrew''s bedroom, a place of complete privacy. It wasn''t that much different from Ivan''s own back at the palace. A bed with red covers and intricate carvings on it took up the most space. Chests and other wooden furniture were spread around the room, surrounding a square carpet, that was the same colour as the bed sheets, in the centre.


    Andrew took a seat on the bed whilst Ivan stood up, arms crossed.


    "So you actually think they killed your father?"


    "It seems reasonable to think so. I am sure you already know the benefit it will give me if I catch them."


    "Of course. I am assuming you want me to help you with this?"


    "Yes, but I am not demanding anything of you," said Ivan waving his hand, "It is just that having someone like you who I can trust to look into this will allow me to get on with other business."


    "Ha I understand."


    "Doing this may put you in great danger, in fact it is almost a certainty. I do not want you to get killed so I want you to move with the utmost caution."Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Good grief, it sounds like you do not want me to help you."


    "No I do, it is just that..."


    Andrew rose and placed his hand on Ivan''s left shoulder, giving him a big smile, "I understand completely, I will help you, we will avenge your father and the villagers."


    Ivan smiled back but then reverted back to its grim state, "There is one more thing I have to tell you."


    "What is it?"


    Ivan whole body froze, the pounding of his heart came clear to him, and the one question running throughout his mind was. How would Andrew react? The very thought of the information he was about to disclose scared him. He wished it not to be true but fate, no,hehad decreed otherwise. It washisfault andhehad to pay the price.


    "I lied earlier, I did see one of the murderers. In fact I spoke to him. I knew him."


    "What? Who was it?"


    "You may not believe me but, it was Hadrian."


    The room fell silent, nothing could be heard. Andrew''s eyes widened as much as they were physically able to.


    "You are joking right?"


    "I am not. My own brother did this."


    It was like Andrew''s mind had broken.


    "..."


    "Andrew?"


    "How can this be? This cannot be. Hadrian."


    "I have no clue as to why he would do this but I am going to catch him andreceive answers."


    Andrew still sat there in silence, completely dumbstruck. Eventually he spoke, "Do you remember, back in the old days, when we all shared the same bread under this castle roof?"


    "I do, I partially remember back then."


    "I remember where it all started, in the flowery clearing behind the castle. You and I were exploring when we came upon a strange boy. Tired and starving, we took him in and nursed him back to good health."


    "I also recall the day. We had no clue who this boy was until he eventually told us his name. Hadrian Mord, a noble. At the time I had no idea of his importance."


    "My father realised though and immediately contacted your father. I still can see his grim face as he entered through the castle door."


    "And so we found out that Hadrian was actually my cousin, the son of my father''s sister. They had all been killed in the event known as the Mord massacre and only Hadrian escaped. Soon after he was brought into the Ikhaust family and became my adopted brother."


    "I enjoy reminiscing about the past," Andrew had started to cheer up a bit.


    "Likewise."


    Lowering his head, Andrew said "but now you have to leave."


    "I do, I am sorry."


    "No you have nothing to apologise for. I wish you well on your journey and hopefully at some point you can collect your birthday presents."


    Ivan smiled, stating, "I am not leaving just yet. I cannot until this crisis is resolved."


    The best friends headed for Markett''s office where upon entering Andrew asked how the village incident was doing. The steward replied with a nod saying that the fire had almost been extinguished and a handful of survivors had fled into the forest. Andrew was relieved a little by the news.


    Ivan also had business with Markett. He asked if there was a carriage driver that could drive him northwards. It turned out there was.


    "I suppose the meeting of the northern nobles will be held in Taldera city," he asked.


    "Yes, good intuition."


    "I would like to travel there as soon as tomorrow. If that is alright with you Andrew?"


    "Of course, you do not even need to ask."


    Heading back to his room to sort out his belongings for the trip. Ivan grabbed the box from under the bed and held it in his hand. The thumping of a heart remained and Ivan, knowing this was his lifeline, took it to the carriage he had travelled here in and placed it on the seat.


    "Good grief I treat this thing as if it were my child."


    The incident became known as the burning of Lille. Almost all of the population had been killed and those that had survived wee traumatised forever and felt like they could never return to the lives they once had. Despite this, with the charity of Andrew, the village was swiftly rebuilt but where there was once a large number of houses had instead been replaced by a graveyard with many tombstones. Just like the flames, the news spread like wildfire across the country. It was now apparent to the people that there was an organisation who was trying to destroy the royal family, of course they knew nothing of Hadrian and his disappearance was deemed as the work of this organisation. They instead applauded Ivan for his resiliance, not only for surviving his assassination attempt but also, as the rumours went, fending off the perpetrators of the massacre. Soon the day came when it was time for Ivan to finally make his departure.


    "I will miss you my friend," said Andrew slightly saddened.


    "As will I. You will investigate for me will you not?"


    "By my honour I swear it."


    Ivan hugged his best friend goodbye and with both exchanging determined glances, the prince began stepping into the carriage to begin the next part of his journey. At least he would have if he wasn''t interrupted.


    "Wait! Wait Prince Ivan!" came a voice.


    It was Adolphus, wobbling along whilst maintaining a decent pace for someone who looked like they had never run before in their life. He ws carrying a sack over his shoulder.


    "Prince Ivan...wait...please don''t leave...just yet," said the old man trying to catch his breath back.


    "I am literally not moving, what do you want?"


    *Snore*


    "He fell asleep!"


    "Wait what? Oh right! Prince Ivan, I would be most humbled if you would let me join you on your journey."


    "Pardon?"


    "You see, for a while now, I''ve been cooped up in my little shack, running experiments and the sort. It all started..."


    "Get to the point," grumbled Ivan.


    "Well, I''ve always had a dream and once upon a time I was close to achieving that dream but I failed and my dream was taken by someone else. I started to beat myself up about it then I became a recluse. I want to throw that away and try again."


    "Oh and what is your dream?"


    "To become the court wizard. The one who is recognised as the strongest wizard in the kingdom."


    "That is quite a high aim, you said you once almost obtained the title? So I assume you are quite the powerful mage."


    "I like to think so. Seeing you try to become the king of this land reminded me of how I tried to become the court wizard once upon a time. Also the way you rushed in to save the villagers has made me make a decision. I believe you should be king Prince Ivan and I wish to become part of your council, for my benefit and for yours. If I join you and if you become ruler of this land then I want you to promise me that you will appoint me as your court wizard."


    "So the reason you want to join me is so that when I become king, you will be court wizard and I will have someone reliable by my side to serve and protect me. It is a two way agreement but ultimately we work together to achieve our goals," deduced Ivan.


    "I know it may sound selfish of me but please," Adolphus kneeled and bowed his head to show his respect.


    Ivan thought about it long and hard before saying, "I give you permission to join me but only with the approval of Andrew," looking over to his best friend.


    Andrew nodded and walked over to the kneeling mage, "Adolphus, you have served me well for many years, it will be sad without you around but I will not hold you here. If you want to leave then you may leave, go out into the world and make you dreams come true, I believe in you."


    One could almost think Adolphus started tearing up but he raised his head and smiled giving his master a thank you.


    "Right then Adolphus let us be off and make sure to take a bath when we get to our destination."


    And so they set off as a pair this time to their attain their aims. Which they would do in a minute as they were interrupted again.


    "Wait! Wait! Prince Ivan wait!"


    "For crying out loud, who is it now?" said Ivan annoyed.


    Gorvenal came running over at an incredible speed, most likely due to his lanky legs. He too was carrying a sack.


    "What do you want?"


    "Prince Ivan, please allow me to join ya on ya journey aswell."


    "What benefit would having you around do for me?"


    "Ah well, I can, make tea."


    "I meant as an apothecary."


    "Well, in the case ya should have another assassination attempt on ya life, I can help you."


    "No thank you, I am fine on my own, also I believe it was Adolphus'' healing potion which helped me more than you."


    "Oh I see," Gorvenal began to look disheartened,not that Ivan really card.


    "The exact same event could happen to Andrew so I want you to look after him for me and make sure he drinks no poisons. If he dies and you were not there, I would never forgive you."


    Gorvenal bowed his head and apologised for his rudeness.


    "Speaking of which, Andrew, although one may be hard to come by, find a magic user who can heal you in case of the worst."


    The others seemed a bit confused but Andrew understood completely.


    "Now then, does anyone else wish to join me on my journey?


    Silence.


    "Good, then let us be off."


    Ivan and Adolphus entered the carriage and the driver shut the door behind them. The horses came alive as the whips hit them and they began trotting off towards the castle walls'' exit.


    "Make sure you receive my present at some point!" Yelled Andrew.


    Ivan rested his cheek on his shoulder and smiled. To the North!

 Chapter 13: Obstacle

    The carriage had been driving for almost an hour now, 2 horseback guards accompanied it. The road to Taldera city was long as it was situated in the north''s mountains meaning that getting there wasn''t as easy as travelling in a straight line.


    "Have you ever been to Taldera?" Asked Ivan looking out the window.


    "No sir," replied Adolphus.


    "Neither have I to be honest, it shall be an experience for both of us."


    "I''ve heard many tales about it though," Adolphus stated.


    "As have I, it is the second largest city in Atheron and is built into a valley in the mountains, the poor live at the bottom whilst the rich live at the top. Quite befitting a nation such as Atheron, would you not agree?"


    The carriage continued to drive on until it came to a stop. They couldn''t be at Taldera already, it would take a lot longer until the city was in sight.  All of a sudden the guards began shouting at the top of their voices.


    "Get out of the road!" They bellowed.


    "I wonder what all the fuss is about?" Wondered Adolphus.


    "Have a look," ordered Ivan.


    The mage opened the carriage door and poked his head out. A man with quite long  brown hair and spectacles was on his knees in the middle of the dirt road. He appeared to be begging.


    "I beseech you, please help me. The guards of this town won''t because they''re all corrupt!"


    "I said, out of the way!" One guard unsheathed his sword and looked about ready to gut the poor man open.


    "Stop!"


    "Adolphus? Wait what on earth are you...?"


    Adolphus rushed to the man''s aid telling the guard to calm down. He helped the man to his feet, despite him being several inches taller.


    Ivan arrived also as murmurs and whispers filled the streets of bystanders.


    "Adolphus, what are you doing?" A rather annoyed face has appeared.


    "I was simply saving this man."


    "Goodness, what does it matter, sir please move out of the road and we shall be on our way."


    "Y...you''re Prince Ivan aren''t you. Please your highness, help me!"


    The man''s face was in the dirt now and any fool could tell he was desperate.


    "In what way would it benefit me at all?"


    "Uh...well you see...um"


    "As I thought, now move out of the road."


    The man sulked and wiped the dirt off his glasses and began wandering off to somewhere unknown.


    "Say Adolphus, I am actually quite parched...Adolphus?"


    *snore*


    "Why do you keep falling asleep!?"


    "What is it Prince Ivan?"


    "I was going to say that we shall be resting in this town for a bit because I am in need of food," said Ivan raising a finger.


    "Very well then, there should be a tavern somewhere in this town. Let''s ask someone."


    Ivan first told the carriage driver of their plans then they asked a resident of the town who pointed them in the direction of a tavern.


    "Taverns, how repulsive."


    "Gah come on Prince Ivan, it''s not that bad."


    The pair sat in the further most corner from everyone, away from prying eyes and belligerent drunks. The tavern was quite dark with a few chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the floor and walls were made of wood and were full of holes. Ivan ordered a nice glass of white wine whilst Adolphus ordered a tankard of ale and some food for the two of them.


    "Why do I feel like we are being looked at," said Ivan.


    "Probably are."


    "How reassuring and you had best not vomit or do something stupid because of the drink."


    "Of course not...my *hic* prince."


    "It is most likely worthless trying to communicate with you but I wonder  how are healing potions made and what do they do?"


    "They heal you."


    "I asked how not what."


    "Oh sorry...healing potions heal you cause...they''re made of magical fairy armpit fish."


    "And you are drunk, wonderful."


    "Eh? Wha...didja sah...I''ll ''ave you know I am...*hic* Prince Adolphus of..." the so-called prince''s head hit the table and he fell asleep immediately.


    "Good grief, your tolerance is low."


    Ivan noticed the man from before sitting down at another table in the tavern. A woman in a green village dress came up to him and started talking, it was loud enough for Ivan to eavesdrop.


    "Oh what am I to do? I''ve got nothing left, absolutely nothing."


    "I imagine you asked the guards for help already Mr Fence," replied the lady.


    "I have but those scummy dogs are only interested in coin and nothing more."


    "I saw you beg Prince Ivan for help, still can''t believe he is here in town. Lousy royals don''t care about us common folk."


    "It''s not his fault, he was busy I suppose."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "He could''ve at least heard you out."


    Ivan knew that popular opinion of himself amongst the peasants was essential to becoming king and he knew that this tiny town would make no difference if he decided to leave it be but still, he disliked being hated upon. Also he had nothing to do considering his only companion was snoozing. Once the lady left Ivan stood up and went over to the man.


    "Good day sir, my apologies for earlier."


    "P...Prince Ivan, what are you doing here?" The man appeared to have had a couple glasses of alcohol, most likely to drown his sorrow from whatever his problem was.


    "I may have come off as impolite earlier, I was in a rush, you understand right?"


    "Oh right, yeah."


    "Anyhow I would like to hear your proposition."


    "Ah yes, well you see,  I was coming into town to sell some things, I''m a merchant. I was on my wagon just minding my business and as I approached the town''s outskirts I was stopped by a group of bandits. That villanous bunch robbed me of everything I had and left me in the dirt. I went to the town guard for assistance but they said told me to sod off, I bet you anything that they''re being bribed by the bandits."


    Ivan really didn''t want to get involved and was certainly inclined to walk away so he did just that.


    "Sorry but I have no interest in helping..."


    "We shall help you!"


    "A...Adolphus!?" A drunk old hobbit came out of nowhere offering help to the stranger at the disagreement of his master.


    "Y...you would?!" The man seemed filled with joy.


    "Would you please excuse us for a moment sir."


    Ivan shoved his companion away for a moment and bent down to speak to him in private


    "Listen you foul-smelling, intoxicated, bovine, ancient halfling. We shall not help that man and you will sober up or God forbid I smack you right here right now for your moronic antics."


    "That''s a lotta big words, do you royals just make this stuff up or do you all get taught a different language to us on which case I must say it doesn''t do well for the country if we speak different *hic* languages. Really aught to change that, in fact do you have another word for cheese? I''d love to hear it."


    "Shut up you fool."


    "You know *hic* we don''t actually have *hic* any money for the drinks."


    "Eh?"


    Ivan checked his pockets and sure enough he had no money on him whatsoever.


    "What the hell?"


    "Yeah."


    "What the hell?"


    "Heh you already said that."


    "What...the...hell?"


    "Something wrong?"


    "I''m a prince, how do I not have money on me?"


    Trying to figure out how he forgot the most important thing in the world, Ivan deduced that in all that had happened recently he just never took his money pouch with him.


    "Wait, surely you must have money."


    "Nope I''m poor."


    "Great. Absolutely great. Explains the smell."


    Ivan walked back over to the man.


    "We shall help you in exchange for a share of your profit."


    "Oh of course. I was going to pay you handsomely if you agreed to help me. But seeing as you''re a prince I would figure you''re actually very rich."


    "Indeed I am but it never hurts to have a bit more," sarcastically said Ivan.


    "That''s the merchant''s spirit!" Proclaimed the man standing up, "so how will we retrieve my items?"


    "It would be best to begin with how many bandits there are. How many were there when they robbed you?"


    "About 6 I think but I doubt that is all of them."


    "Agreed there is probably more and however many more, we do not know."


    "So we require a force greater than 6 but I''d go as high as 10."


    "Yes. The more the merrier."


    "The only problem is how will we obtain this force," said the man.


    "I have 2 guards accompanying me and Adolphus will not be much use."


    "I can fight! Sort of."


    "I am trained in using a sword so I may be of use but I would never lower myself to participate  in such trivialities."


    "So we still don''t have enough."


    "You said the town guards wont help but perhaps they can be persuaded by someone such as myself."


    "I guess it''s worth a shot."


    "Go fetch the captain of the guard here for me."


    "Um, wouldn''t it be best if we went to go see him together," wondered the man.


    "I would much prefer it if he came to me. Just go tell him that Prince Ivan wishes to speak with him."


    "Very well."


    The man wandered off for a few minutes before returning with the captain of the town''s guard. He was a brutish man who, despite his looks, donned well polished armour which was in pristine condition. Any silliness halted as soon as the captain entered through the doors. The man stood behind him looking rather imitated and afraid.


    "You must be Prince Ivan."


    "Indeed I am captain."


    The pair''s glares were equally strong and terrifying, it was almost like they were having a staring contest.


    "Why did you call for me?" He questioned in his coarse tone.


    "The man behind you is a merchant that was attacked by bandits recently and had all his possession stolen. I wanted to ask you whether you would aid him in driving away the bandits so that which is his may be returned."


    The whole room was silent.


    "This again? Look I''ll tell you what I told him. We don''t have the manpower to face off against them, I wont send my men to die for nothing."


    "So you know how many there are, what equipment they have and where their camp is."


    "Oh uh, yes we do," the captain seemed to stumble on his words.


    "Then do you mind if you tell me these 3 things?"


    "Oh right, not at all. Uh let me think, there''s about 30 men there, they have a good set of bows, swords, spears and armour. They also have horses and are held up just northeast of the town in a cave."


    "I see, well then it seems that there is no way you could possibly fight but you are in luck."


    "Luck?"


    "Yes because I have come here with a mage who is equivalent to at least 10 ordinary men and I have brought quite a large contingent of soldiers as guards. At least 10. I ask you how many guards are in this town currently?"


    The captain began to sweat a lot more and his eyes began to avert from Ivan''s, breaking his glare, "I can spare at least 5 men."


    "Damn what a shame that we don''t have more men to fight but with careful tactics I believe we can win. So captain order your men to be ready and meet on the northern part of town and we shall bring justice to these vermin," Ivan found it hard to maintain his glare and not break into a smile. Against his wits, the captain was but an ant.


    "Ah um well some men are off on another mission and the rest are in training so currently I can''t spare any men, we will have to wait until later for us to make our move."


    "I see, then we shall meet later, I will remain here until that happens."


    "Uh yes, now I must go, important business to attend to."


    The captain quickly hurried out of the tavern like a rat running from a fire.


    "What an idiot. You were right sir, he most definitely is in league with the bandits," stated Ivan, cross armed.


    "So what do we do now?"


    "I have an idea but it depends on you. How much money do you have in your wagon?"


    "About 120 silver coins."


    "Let us say that for any towns-person that helps us fight the bandits, we give them 5 silver coins."


    "That seems fair but I wonder if the people will have the courage to fight, none of them did before when I tried begging them."


    "All they need is a rousing speech and I shall be happy to oblige."


    Taking a stand atop a table, Ivan cleared his throat and lightly tapped a glass.


    "If I may have your attention please."


    All eyes were on Ivan now.


    "Many of you may know who I am but those who may not, I am Prince Ivan Ikhaust. A kind-hearted merchant here was recently robbed by a local bandit group and had all his belongings stolen. He has nothing left, no home to go to, no money to feed himself, he cannot even retrieve his belongings because the guards of this town are corrupt and spineless and refuse to aid him! They work with the bandits! A man who is completely innocent and has done no wrong against you or anyone else in this entire world was unjustly treated all because he was slightly wealthier than the foxes who lurk in the darkness and feast off of the gain of others! I ask on behalf of I as royalty and this man''s generous heart, that you take up arms and fight these fiends and reclaim the stolen goods. Of course there will be rewards for those who fight. At minimum 5 silver coins but perhaps more depending on the number who join and with my power as a member of the royal family I will do my best to ensure prosperity for this town. So come and join us in fighting for our righteous cause. But before you do ask yourself, how long will it be until these bandits come for you and your belongings!"


    The room was silent for a while until a bit until a few men rose from their seats and shouted "Ay I''ll help!"


    Many more began to join in, some of them knew the merchant as their friend, others saw the corruption of the authorities and wanted justice whilst others were only interested in money.


    They all went home and collected wooden axes and such and set out in a group of at least 20. The 2 guards that accompanied Ivan joined in also and so did the merchant himself.


    "I guess I must make good on my promises. Give me a blade and I will fight too," lied Ivan, " hey Adolphus, sober up you buffoon."


    *snore*


    "This sword is going straight in your abdomen if you don''t wake up!"


    "Wait...wha...argh my head."


    "Utter buffoon. Now then, let us set out and press forward like Feidhlim the great!"


    "Gah, not so loud Prince Ivan."


    They all headed northeast, to reclaim the merchant''s stolen items and mostly so they could pay for their meal.


    "Thank you again for this," said the man.


    "You''re most welcome, by the way, I never caught your name."


    "My name, oh, it''s Fenston Fence."

 Chapter 14: Fear and Hate

    They encroached in on the bandit camp. Hiding in the bushes, they surrounded the cave entrance. It was quite a walk away from the town, in an area abundant with vegetation so it was well-hidden.How the guards discovered this, placed only more suspicion on them but then again, it wouldn''t be too hard and Ivan had no idea of how long the bandits had been infesting this land.


    He gave a hand gesture ordering everyone to move closer, still maintaining their level of stealth. Ivan whispered to a man beside him to go around and for him, or someone else, to kill the man standing guard at the entrance.


    As they were all in wait for the man to die, they all heard another man approach from behind them.


    "Hey! How long we gotta stand around doin'' nothin''!"


    "You done taking a piss then?"


    "Yeah."


    Crap, if we''re discovered then one of them may alert the rest of the camp. My aim was to do this stealthily, thought Ivan.


    However, his allies knew instinctively what to do. In near unison the men were stabbed to death, hands covering their mouths to prevent them from screaming. Ivan took a sigh of relief as he and everyone else removed themselves from the bushes and got ready to cleanse the cave of bandit scum.


    "All right, onward."


    The cave funnelled a light breeze through it, lanterns adorned the walls and the occasional bandit could be found shirking their guard duty and resting. They were easy to remove, and the group moved further up. Ivan kept a tally of the enemies killed. 6 thus far. Eventually they reached a split in the path and now was when Ivan''s initiative took over.


    "We should obviously split into 2 groups. I assume the group I am not with will be able to conduct themselves properly through stealth but if the situation takes a turn for the worse then you are allowed to engage at will. My greatest concern however is that this is a trap, the town guard captain will most likely have informed the bandits about our arrival and desire to see them removed. Thus, they would be presented with 2 options. Increase their security at the entrance or set a trap for us. The latter seems the smartest so, just as a warning, be vigilant."


    "It also says quite a bit about their strength," inputted Fenston, "If they set a trap for us then they do see us a threat and do not have overwhelming numbers, instead relying on the element of surprise to defeat us."


    Ivan was amazed at the merchant''s intelligence but if that was his trade then it made sense.


    "Agreed, press on men."


    Ivan thought to himself, splitting up could be dangerous but it was their only option.


    The cave grew danker and drearier, a nervous atmosphere began building up around the men. Adolphus appeared to begin sobering up. The bandits could strike at any moment, at any given time they could appear out of the shadows and use whatever they had stored for them. Would they attack head on? Use a booby trap? That would be the smartest option for them but were they that clever? Dammit, when will they strike? Ivan asked himself continuously. The cave grew darker further on, only a few poorly lit lamps gave an outline of the path. The men started to feel uncomfortable as their armpits became sweaty.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The pit pat of footsteps was all that could be heard.


    I wonder how the other group is doing? Thought Ivan.


    Water dripped from the ceiling as they carefully walked.


    Drip.


    Drip.


    Drip.


    Where, where, where, where Goddamit? Ivan kept thinking.


    Crunch!


    The sound of bones shattering in front of Ivan startled him to the point he fell over and every fibre of his body was sent into high alert. Screams broke the maddening silence as the commoners from the town were murdered by something. Pools of blood appeared at Ivan''s feet, he barely had time to react.


    More screams came but it was accompanied with threats such as "Kill them all!". Ivan hastily tried to stand himself upright only to have a sharp pain appear in his shoulder. His head turned right to see a sword thrust into his flesh.


    "Aaaaarrrggh!"


    The metal tore through his muscle and cracked his collarbone. Ivan''s right arm felt completely numb yet burnt at the same time. Ivan looked up to gaze upon the one who had stabbed him. A man whose face was concealed by cloth. He raised the bloody sword again, readying for a second strike but halted when he heard.


    "Stop it you fool!"


    A man many inches taller than him grabbed the sword bearer by the left shoulder, span him around and sent a fist straight into his face.


    "White hair idiot, white fucking hair! How many times have I said it?!" Bellowed the man, "that''s the goddamn prince!"


    "Sorry boss, I couldn''t see in the dark."


    "Don''t use that as an excuse you boarbrain!"


    "S... sorry boss."


    "Oh well, go kill the rest. I''ll deal with the prince."


    Several townsfolk stood terrified and then there was Adolphus slowly sobering up next to them, making sense of the situation.


    The giant towering over Ivan held his head high and cracked his neck. His smile revealed his crooked black teeth and unhealthily red gums. The flexing of his cheek muscles made his pores all the more visible as the man also began scratching at them with his yellow nails. His arm which more muscle mass than all of Ivan''s limbs combined raised an axe that, from the blood stains and dents, had seen its fair share of skull smashing.


    Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, I''m gonna die, screamed Ivan''s mind. Ivan''s fear consumed him to the point he forgot he was immortal. As the axe came down it cut something next to Ivan''s face, missing him by a hair. It was vines? In a cave? But then Ivan realised what it was.


    "Adolphus!" He shouted, looking back at the dwarf.


    Ivan had collected his thoughts and swallowed his fear. He had a mage, one chosen by God himself. The brute had no chance.


    "Ah so you''re one of those filthy fucking degenerate inhumans. I hate your kind, you all brag about how you''re so much greater than us normal people. I don''t give a rat''s arse if the church says you''re all chosen by God or something, having a share of his power or whatever. No God of mine would ever proclaim inequality like that. Your kind are just... just," the man¡¯s muscles contracted revealing his network of veins, clearly he was getting frustrated, "Just the absolute worst of humanity!"


    What the hell is this oath blabbering on about? Thought Ivan. The Church and teachings of the wisemen teach how God gifts part of his power to select humans who are destined to do great things. Ivan was never much a devout follower, but he did believe God existed. Yet his ideology was that God made him this way, so he saw no reason to repent for who he was.


    "Maybe," Adolphus finally spoke up, "maybe I am inhuman, but the fact is that I was born with magic, born with a rare ability, an ability which can manifest destruction and creation. All men are not born equal, that is the reality I have faced for most of my life, equality is a facade. So, hate me all you want, I don''t care, I have lived my life hating everything, even myself, so I feel nothing but sympathy for you."