"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.

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"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.