We all turned to Mother, surprised. Mother walked over to me with a triumphant smile. She continued, “I will approve of your request, dear one. I believe that you are doing what should be done.” “Amelia!” James shouted before he walked towards her. “What do you think you are doing?” he growled as he towered over her to intimidate her. “As I recall, the very reason why my parents agreed to marry us is because of your promise to share the same amount of power with me,” Mother smirked. “That only means that I have the right to make my own decisions for our children.” James turned Mother to face him directly. “I honoured that before as your parents were still alive. Ever since they were buried, that agreement has no power.” “As long as I live, my parents’ agreement with you will hold its power,” Mother replied. “You should know that I have the ability to summon people from the dead. Should we discuss this with them instead?” she threatened. Mother was supposed to look at me, only to
James’ eyes widened in horror, his mouth slowly hung open in shock. “Your Highness, why would you do such a thing?!” Gonzalo ran up to me. “Since the king has his conditions in order to approve my request, that is mine,” I replied as I stared James completely in his eyes. I added, “I am now closing any kind of opportunity for you to prove yourself to me.” “But, Your Highness–” “Say no more, Gonzalo,” James replied as he stopped Gonzalo, “If this is what the prince wants, so it shall be done.” He returned to me and continued, “You will not rule Western Wind once I depart from this world. Let us see where you will last.” He then turned back around and proceeded to the door. “I prefer to rule somewhere else than to wear the crown of the monarch who failed as father,” I raised my voice, enough for my words to echo throughout the entire room. James paused for a brief second before he walked away completely. And as soon as he was gone from our sights, I let out a deep sigh. I was not
As soon as we arrived, James immediately summoned the guards for an immediate meeting in the throne room. James and Gonzalo laid out a table with a map that included both realms: Mortal and Immortal. I examined the map as I carefully scanned the entire illustration. It had small holes in it, which probably came from miniature flags used to plan combat strategies. I marvelled at its antiquity, the possibility that it could have been used in different battles added to its majestic feel. Without warning, the doors of the throne room bursted open and the guards marched in. Once they filled the entire space, the captain of the guards walked towards us, with his helmet held by his hand. “Your Majesty,” the captain bowed to my parents. He then turned to Elizabeth and me, “Your Highness.” He returned to James and asked, “You called for us, my king?” “Yes, and I would like for all of you to listen very carefully,” James said as he looked at every guard in the hall. “I implore that everyone
In my mind, Laura pushed through the crowd with her beautiful smile. She seemed so carefree. And from the simple image, I was able to feel her warmth, her calming presence. Slowly, I couldn’t help but let a smile crept up on my face. “Hm, a smile from the young prince,” James taunted once again as he put his hands behind him. He asked, “Can it be that you are finally seeing the joke that you’re making out of yourself?” Laura’s image smiled at me one last time before she faded completely. I took a deep breath and looked James straight in the face. “On the contrary,” I replied, “I smiled because I realised that someone like you will never understand her importance to me.” “Someone like me, huh?” James smirked once more, surprised that I was calm despite his constant insults towards Laura and my dedication to rescue her. I nodded as I slowly walked towards him. “A person who has treated everyone as inadequate. A person who believes that he is above everybody else, all because of a cr
I immediately looked at my page and said, “Let her in.” I folded the scroll as my page left my room. I fixed myself as I walked away from my chair. As soon as Nana entered the room, I smiled as I greeted, “Hello, Nana.” “My dear boy,” Nana walked up to me with open arms. We shared a quick embrace as the door closed behind her. “I hope I didn’t disturb anything, Nana,” I said as we pulled away. “Of course not, dear one. I will always have time for you,” Nana smiled as she caressed my face. “Now, what is it that you need?” she asked. “I need to speak to Mallory. Do you know where she is?” I asked. I explained, “Most of the maids said they haven’t seen her today.” Nana took a moment to think before she replied, “Perhaps, she was sent to the town market to buy some ingredients.” “What time will she return?” I asked another. “That is something that I am not sure of. Is there something that you need from her?” Nana asked. With a sigh, I carefully led her to the chair by my desk. The
The world around me came to a screeching halt. Stunned, my ears rang as it barred itself from hearing anything else. My page continued on but his voice was muffled. My mind raced with questions as my heartbeat picked up its pace after it stopped for a second. Massacred?? My men, massacred?! How could this have happened?! Why would someone kill innocent people?! And if they were killed, what happened to everyone in the bakery?! What happened to Grandpa Ben?! “Your Highness,” my page raised his voice, which finally brought me back to reality. His hold on me tightened further as he asked, “What must we do?!” I grabbed hold of his arms and asked, “Where are the guards??” “Those who survived brought the fallen back home. I sent them to the guards’ keep to avoid commotion from the other servants,” my page replied. I bolted to the door and rushed to the keep. I was followed closely by Gonzalo, my page, and the two guards who stood by my door. ~*~*~*~ As I barged into the guards’ ke
Grandpa Ben was slumped onto the floor. Blood trickled down his face. HIs brown shirt was soaked in blood. He looked exhausted. He was left there to die. “Grandpa Ben?” I knelt beside him as I turned him around. Grandpa Ben whimpered as I laid his back on the counter. He struggled to open his eyes. But when he saw me, he was able to utter, “Robert?” “Young man,” the old lady called from the door, clearly worried, “Is everything all right in there?” I peeped up from the counter and replied, “Yes, madam. It is Grandpa Ben. And he is gravely hurt.” I returned to Grandpa Ben and gasped as I saw his bleeding arm. “Don’t you worry, Grandpa Ben,” I said as I grabbed my knife. I tore a long piece from my shirt, gently wrapped it around his arm and continued, “I am here. I will take care of everything.” “Robert…” Grandpa Ben then reached his hand out towards me. I held his hand and slowly put it down. “Rest yourself, Grandpa Ben. You must not move too much.” I shouted towards the old lad
My jaw clenched as those words played in my mind, over and over again. Unwanted yet terrifying situations haunted my brain. It made me sick to the stomach. “Robert?” I turned around as James called me, “What does it say?” As I tried to control my emotions, I handed the note to James. My hand shook as my mind scattered to keep myself calm. James read the note and returned to me with a tense look. For once, we had a mutual understanding. This matter wasn’t just about saving Laura anymore. It suddenly became a matter of importance as innocent people were brought into the problem. “Gonzalo came out of the guest room. “Your Majesty,” he bowed as he approached us, “The visitor is now in a better state. I will have some of the maids work on rotation to ensure his swift recovery.” “Well done, Gonzalo,” James said as he turned to Gonzalo. He then instructed, “Take some of my guards with you to the bakery. Hold an investigation on what happened. And I want the results within the day.” “As
A prince had a peaceful night all to himself.His fireplace burned brightly as it kept his quarters warm against the harsh, cold atmosphere outside the old castle he currently resided in. A direct view of the beautiful moon outside his window. And a scrumptious meal right in front of him.He happily dug into his meal, which was something that he hadn’t done in a long while. Not after all the sleepless nights that he had. As well as the days where he pretended in front of his family.‘Ah, finally,’ he thought to himself as he cut through the tender meat on his plate. ‘A night where I can finally enjoy my food.’Just as soon as he was going to take a bite, a knock came upon his door. He groaned as he put his fork down. “Who is it?” he answered, irritated.The door creaked open and a servant called out of the dark. “Prince Benjamin?”“I thought I made it clear that I wanted to be left alone for a few hours,” Benjamin replied as he scratched his forehead.“My apologies, Your Highness, but
“Grandpa Ben?” my brows knitted together as I called out.“What are you doing here? Where did you come from?” I asked as he approached us.Grandpa Ben stopped right before us. He immediately glared at Gonzalo. But Gonzalo didn’t back down. He stared right back at Grandpa Ben.Grandpa Ben then cleared his throat and returned to me. “Go ahead. Bring Laura back. However, I want for the both of you to return safely. If I don’t see you with her, I will never forgive you even in death.”“Have you no regards to his life?!” Gonzalo protested, making us turn to him. “For the sake of getting your daughter back, you’re willing to put the prince at risk?! Don’t you mortals ever think of anything but yourselves?!”“And what about you Immortals? Don’t you do the same?” Grandpa Ben snapped. “I may look like a weak, old man. But I’m well-versed with stories of your kind. I never imagined that the myths of gods and goddesses being selfish were actually true. But you,” he pointed a finger at Gonzalo, “
The moon shone high in the sky as I looked out my bedroom window.The whole room was pitch black, dark as the night sky above. And only the powerful moonlight was able to illuminate my room.Well, at least a portion of it.I was incredibly frustrated with everything that I never bothered to light my torches as night fell.After I returned from James’ study, I remained in my room and did absolutely nothing. I simply sat by the window and drank tea without any signs of stopping. I also requested for an early dinner, an attempt to avoid James during dinner time.I just wanted to be left alone.I just wanted some space.‘I just want progress. Was that too much to ask for?’ my mind shouted, helpless as no one could hear it. And no one bothered to listen or even ask me.Then, a knock on my door echoed throughout the room. But I didn’t answer. I already rejected persistent knockings as I remained in my quarters. Even though someone from the other end called for my name, I never made my prese
Bethilda’s mouth hung in disbelief.“Your Highness, my heart's already breaking for the sacrifice that I am to make. Against my own beliefs and wishes, I am giving you my men to aid your cause. Just because I want them to have some time to prepare, that doesn’t mean I am on the other side of this debacle,” Bethilda protested.She added, “Your impatience will put their lives at risk. And that’s a risk that I will never be willing to take.”I pressed my lips together as my nose flared after a deep sigh. Truth be told, I gave my full respect to Bethilda as she put her servants before anything. However, I couldn’t wait again for a longer time. We already wasted too much time here and we never made any sort of progress in terms of the rescue mission.I cared for Bethilda’s household the same as I did for my own. But we couldn’t afford to wait another week before we could proceed. We didn’t even have the slightest clue on what could be happening within Benjamin’s territory.The mere thought
Bethilda’s eyes widened whilst James immediately turned to my direction.This was the fastest solution that I could think of. James already exhausted all of his efforts for this debacle. I had to do something, even if he didn’t like it.Bethilda looked to James for a moment before she returned to me. “Whatever the reason is for this sudden request of aid, I am afraid that it will do you more harm than good,” she answered. She added, “My soldiers aren’t fully trained for combat. I only trained them to protect and to distract enemies. And besides, I don’t think that His Majesty is in favour of this decision of yours, Your Highness.”“James has already given his all for our cause. We don’t know who to turn to and we are running out of time,” I answered. James’ stare never left but I paid no mind. I had no time to argue with him.Bethilda asked, “Have you reached out to other kingdoms? I know that you are attempting to rescue a friend. If that is the case, shouldn’t it be advised to ask t
“I already sent some of the guards to gather more troops back home.“We don’t know how many men Benjamin has to protect him,” James replied. “As much as possible, I don’t want to spill too much blood, especially within their territory. I don’t want this debacle to cause a scandal. And I also don’t want to destroy our alliance with them. At the same time, we can’t waste the lives of more men, both on his side and ours.”For James to still honour our alliance with Eastern Sun, even after what Benjamin did, was frustrating.Benjamin betrayed me. Trust and loyalty were values that I held in high regard. But Benjamin disregarded that, all because he didn’t get what he wanted.For that action alone, the friendship between our kingdoms was also destroyed. How could we possibly trust a traitor? Even if that person was our ally, it already destroyed their credibility as someone we trusted deeply.However, I understood why James was still worried about the alliance. Eastern Sun wasn’t simply a
Marcus chuckled as he shrugged.He looked down to his feet and replied, “My loyalty to the duchess is more than just of a servant, Your Highness. And even though that was the case for me,” Marcus returned to me, “I never overstepped nor did I ever use my emotions to my advantage. I respected her as my mistress. The person who gave me a home and a new life. Nothing more, nothing less.”Marcus’ response rendered me speechless.Who would’ve thought that a servant would develop strong feelings towards their mistress?Perhaps because of Bethilda’s care towards Marcus, his gratitude slowly turned into something else. Unfortunately, in this world - or in any other world in that retrospect - a relationship between a servant and their master would never be acceptable.I could only feel the ache on Marcus’ behalf as I once felt the same for Laura. That feeling that we wished we were born within the same kind of beings, just so nothing would be able to stand in the way of what we felt for each o
“Thank you for accompanying me all the way here.“For now,” I turned to the two guards behind me, “I would like to have a moment alone.”After I woke up from my nap, I decided to take a quick stroll around the castle grounds. Luckily, the guards told me that Bethilda had a small garden. So, I asked them to show me its location.The two guards shared glances with each other, worried and unsure. One of them replied, “But Your Highness, His Majesty specifically said that should you ask for our company, we are not to leave you alone. Especially when you are outside the castle.”I chuckled. “There is nothing to be scared of, gentlemen. With the location of the duchess’ residence, it’s a bit impossible for enemies to attack from within these walls,” I explained. “At the same time, I don't think that these walls are penetrable from all fronts.”The guards looked at each other again, still uncertain of what to do.I sighed, which made them turn to me. “I assure you, I can manage on my own. I
“And how long have you been in service within the duchess’ household?” I asked the maid in front of me.An hour had already passed and I was still only halfway through the inspection. I had to be very careful when I asked certain questions. At the same time, I had to discern personalities behind prim and proper facades.I couldn’t rush the process even if I wanted to. I didn’t know who could possibly have dark motives against Bethilda so I had to proceed with caution. I didn’t want to be the cause of her death, all because I chose the wrong people to serve her.“I have been serving the duchess for seven years,” the maid replied.“Ah, that would mean that you are fairly new within the household,” I said as I wrote the information down. “In your few years of service, how familiar are you with everything?”Her response was interrupted when my doors suddenly opened. We turned our heads and watched as James entered my room. Immediately, we stood and gave our greetings.“Did I interrupt any