"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.

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"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 was almost assassinated 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 a possible suspect 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 his immortality, 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.