The intense rays of sunlight that beamed through the window sill were enough to remind him that his sleep schedule was far beyond repair. He awoke with a sigh and shot a quick glance at the clock, before grabbing a toaster-pastry from the freezer and taking a seat in front of his massive television. Crumpled papers were scattered all across his kitchen table. Test scores and other assignments. He'd scored around ninety percent or higher on a majority of them, but no amount of A-pluses could make him return to that dreadful place.
“Jeez. . .it’s almost evening.” He thought, not entirely convinced of it himself. It wasn’t like he enjoyed missing out on large portions of the day, but staying up at ridiculous hours in isolation had it’s price.
“Hmm. . .maybe I should take a break from this game”.
And with that, he began to flicker through the plethora of channels he had access to. Naturally, he let the local news station sit. He groaned when he noticed that it was the usual redhead girl’s segment. Her bubbly voice was too annoying for him to handle.
“It’s Sara, live from Cygnus City! With these next few days, we’re nearing the second turn of the year! There are sure to be all sorts of wonderful celebrations throughout the region in the coming weeks, so be sure to check them out! Stay safe! Now back to you Jaime!”
In the background, a blurry figure with blue hair could be seen twirling his fingers, conjuring all sorts of magical sparks and explosions. The women that surrounded clapped and cheered endlessly, as a flicker of static concluded the segment. The focus switched to a younger man standing in front of a towering golden castle.
“It’s been a rough six weeks since our very own Halford Kingdom has seemingly vanished from any sort of public activity. As of now, there are no official statements from our Majesty himself and no explanation as to why the Kingdom has suddenly ceased all functions. As another week passes, we see another twelve percent increase to the overall crime rate. Our Capital city continues to regress as criminals run rampant, taking full advantage of the situation. In the last seven days, eleven citizens have gone missing, and most direct communication with neighboring estates seem to have been terminated. We will continue to update you as the story develops.”
A vibrant logo that read “Grandolis Region News” appeared on the screen as the program went on commercial break.
He sighed, and turned his head towards the pristine looking envelope that rested upon his kitchen counter. He’d received it in the mail a while back, but had all the reason in the world to disregard it.
He wished he hadn’t let that news program eat up even a minute of his day. With dread, he picked the envelope up off the counter and gently sat down. He carefully peeled away the golden seal, and opened it up. The piece of paper that unfolded in his hands appeared to be rather worn, and ridden with coffee stains. Upon first glance he noticed it was unusually poorly written.
“Dear Prince Auric,
With a heavby heart, it pains us deeply to inform you that your brother, King Preston, has passed as of Aaranth 19th,932. The cause of death is still unknomwn. We understand your requests and permissions granted in the past, but we regret 2 inform u that you will be taking over as the new King of Halford as of Juunth 24th, 932. We kindly request that you be preparefd, as this will be no eas task.
PS: Don’t bother trying to escape this. We know where you reside and WILL find you. :)”
Amongst the whirlwind of emotions that rushed to his head. “Fuck”, was the first thing that came to Auric’s mind.
*****************************************************************
Towering mounds of paper and folders were stacked around the cluttered room. In the middle sat Auric, who still refused to believe he was confined here. He tapped his pen in annoyance and looked over at the girl sitting on the other side of the room.
“You know. . .for a death notice, a spell check would’ve been nice.”
“Oops”. She didn’t even bother to turn her head.
“Isn’t this your job anyways?”
“Technically.”, she replied with a yawn.
“Then why am I here?”
“It’s still the King’s quarters. Plus you have nothing to do right now”
“But you aren’t even helping . . . ”
She quickly spun her swivel chair around to face him, and leaned forwards.
The girl wore what appeared to be some sort of gold and black secretary outfit. Her left shirt pocket was adorned with a prestigious looking name tag, which read “Amie”.
Amie,didn’t particularly have any outstanding skills or talents, she wasn’t friendly, and she was severely unmotivated to do anything. Auric came to the conclusion that the only reason his brother hired this girl and kept her around was because he found her attractive.
“Here’s a hint: READ. You did learn how to read right? In that prestigious private school?”
Once again she was facing her desk, switching through all sorts of tabs on her computer.
A tall, slightly muscular man confidently stepped into the room. His golden hair framed his slim face and rested along his shoulders. With a gasp, his eyes widened.
“My god. . Amie still hasn’t cleared any of this mess out?”
Auric smirked.
“Hey Galavaine.”
“Lord Auric! I still can’t express how deeply sorry I am for your loss. . .”
“Nah man, it’s cool. Don’t worry about it.”
Auric hadn’t really spent enough time with Preston to feel overly close to him. In the eleven years he lived in the kingdom, Preston was usually nowhere to be seen as he was being trained for kingship. Despite all of this, he was the one that permitted Auric to live outside of the kingdom once he was eleven and funded all his living expenses.
“We know you’d rather not be doing this right now, but trust me, you will come to love it!”
“Well ,he was half right”, Auric thought. This was the last possible thing Auric wanted in his life, and a large bulk of the reason he abandoned the Kingdom in the first place. He assumed he was safe from being pushed into rule due to the age gap between him and Preston being relatively small.
“Ah yes, this coming Friday you will be making an appearance on G.R.N to make a speech and formally announce your position as King.”
“Nnnoooooooo I’m not.”
“Unfortunately, you must. You realize our current situation is of great importance correct? Currently, even though the public is not aware, we have about as much power as a petty thieves guild. A new king will come as a shock to many. . . .and the fact that you are a teenager as well. . . .”
“If we’re in such a dire position, then why do you have your new “king” trapped in a room, drowning in papers?”
“I told Amie to take you on a tour of the castle. . . I don’t know why she has you doing her work.”
Auric placed his eyes on her desk only to find that she had fallen asleep at some point in the past few minutes.
Galavaine sighed and stretched his right arm outwards. With great power, he opened his palm and in a gust of lights, two luxurious looking shields spun into existence. Each of them were trimmed with a majestic gold border, and engraved with a series of ancient patterns that Auric failed to understand. Their middles, bore a symbol that appeared to be something of a winged crystal-like object.
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The two shields levitated, circling each other until Galavaine abruptly closed his palm. With immense force, they clashed, blasting the room with an explosive noise.
As expected, Amie jolted upwards, knocking over her coffee in the process.
“What the hell!?”, she screamed, swatting at the mass of wet papers that clung to her desk.
“I thought I asked you to show Auric around the castle?”
“Oh for fucks sake, he’s lived here before!”
“A lot can change in five years”
“If you want someone to show him around the castle, get Lola and Tayn to do it.”
“I would’ve considered that had you actually been doing something.”
She glanced at Auric with an irate look, who responded with a beaming smile.
Galavaine waved his hand, causing the shields to disappear, and took a seat on Amie’s desk.
“Look, half of the reason this kingdom is such a mess right now is because you refuse to do what you’re supposed to. I’d rather not have Auric’s growth as a king be hindered by such incompetence as yourself, so please. . .I kindly request that you clear out some of this. I can get Auric to help you later if you care that much.
As if she had morphed into a mannequin, Amie’s face was blank and speechless. It wasn’t like she could argue with anything Galavaine had said. Seemingly satisfied with her response, he left the room.
“Auric, come with me”.
The two slowly strolled through what was possibly the most draining hallway Auric had ever witnessed. It felt endless and the walls were covered in the paintings of ancestors he would never recognize. Galavaine went on for a while about how their utmost priority should be making their presence known again, and getting the city to function as usual. Until now, Auric hadn’t taken into consideration what exactly the kingdom was supposed to do in a city. The word “rule” could only mean so much to him, but this had become far more complicated than he could have imagined.
“There are still lots of thing we must go over in the coming weeks.”
“Yeah uh. . I kind of understood that from the moment I entered the castle”
They came to end of the hallway, which opened up to dome-like area that split into a variety of much smaller corridors, each filled with rooms. Through the corridor facing them, the entire dining room could be seen. An enormous chandelier hung above and illuminated their surroundings. . A majority of the walls in the castle were painted a radiant gold. It was extremely hard on the eyes and he wondered why anyone would have thought it was a good idea.
Galavaine took a sudden turn into the hallway on the right and Auric followed.
The two found themselves in what appeared to be a fairly worn classroom. The chalkboards were filled with intricate diagrams of weaponry and most of the desks were pushed to the back of the room. Hundreds of thin scratches covered the wooden floor. On the teachers desk, rested a variety of tools. Rows of quality swords were mounted along the walls.
“Arrricckkk! It’s been a while!”
A sturdy looking man rose from beneath the table. Upon his face lay what seemed to be an awkward cross between a welding mask, and a pair of goggles. Judging by his thick voice, full of grit, Auric assumed the man still smoked like a chimney.
“Roggus, you’re right, man.”
“Around five years! My god have you grown.”
Since he was a child, Auric had always found Roggus a quirky figure. He was a friendly guy, but the mask, combed with his floral polo-shirt and shorts made it hard to take him seriously at times. Galavaine took a seat on the desk. Auric began to wonder if this happened frequently.
“I request that you craft the finest sword for our new Lord, Roggus.”
“Galavaine! Have you forgotten that the kid once lived here!?
He eyed the wall to the far left, and began to examine the arrangement of swords. Amongst the grey atmosphere of the room, they glowed with beauty.
“Ahhh. Here it is!”
Roggus plucked a thin looking sword with fine point from the wall. It’s hilt of gold shined brighter the sun. A series of pale-blue jewels fastened the hilt to the blade, which was adorned with symbols that appeared more to have more history the Kingdom itself. In the center of the hilt sat a sky-blue orb, seemingly pulsing with energy. He smoothly tossed the sword to Auric, who barely managed to catch it.
“Remember this!?”
A smile crawled it’s way onto Auric’s exhausted face.
“Of course! Cervielle!”
Roggus then proceeded to search for a weapon of his own. Within seconds, a massive axe came towering down on Auric, who narrowly sidestepped it and slashed forwards. His blade fiercely bounded off the axe’s handle.
“Heh, man. Are you forgetting I was trained in this kind of stuff as a kid?”
“Hell no! It was I who made you that sword, after all!”
Roggus rested the axe on the table next to him and opened one of the cabinets behind his desk. He rummaged through it for a few minutes before grabbing another axe, much grander in size and appearance than the one he'd held just moments ago.
“Glad to see your skills have not diminished after doing nothing for five years, but I bet they haven't grown much either!"
Wielding the handle in his two meaty hands, he swiped for Auric's head. The axes head swept through the air. forcing Auric to swiftly roll to floor. The blades silver finish scraped against the side of the wall as Roggus pulled it back towards him. He ferociously chopped down as Auric hurriedly spun to the side, and flipped to his feet. Despite spending half a decade doing next to nothing, his body remained fit, and it seemed to perform all the right actions on instinct. He jumped and bounded off of the chalkboard. Leaping forward, he shoved his sword ahead aiming for Roggus' shoulder.
Evading the attack, Roggus stepped aside and maneuvered behind Auric. He dropped the axe and delivered a destructive punch to the back of his head, violently toppling him over.
"Not bad! But lad, you need practice."
Auric rolled over and groaned, giving Roggus a thumbs up.
Galavaine. Have you taken him to see Grecia yet?”
“Soon.”
” Isn’t Grecia that famous Exiscian? Waaittt a second, I’m king now. Isn’t that enough?”
Auric felt like the amount of “bad news” he’d experienced in the past few days was torture. He knew he’d eventually have to deal with being a king. . . .but seeing an Exiscian? No. That was probably one of the most irreversible things he could do.
“Once again, you have no choice. It is a simple requirement of being a King I’m afraid. You really won’t be able to rule this city, let alone our entire region without some sort of power. Plus, you’re only sixteen. Anything that can help you out at this point is needed.”
Auric smirked and twirled his blade.
“Dude. You saw my swordplay”
“Pfffftt. My lord. . . do you really believe that everything that inhabits this world can be slain by an elongated piece of metal? Naturally, there are numerous terrors out there that would laugh at the idea.”
“Fuck”
Was once again, the first thing that came to Auric’s unlearned mind.