I walked through the corridor, accompanied by guards with which I am unfamiliar. They seem to be palace guards; mother and Faye left me to them due to their unfortunately busy schedules.

The atmosphere of panic pervades the palace as servants hurriedly moved to and fro. They were bringing with them decoration and necessities.

The morning seems to be excellent as the sky remains clear for a good day out. What should I do today then? Such thoughts were broken as sounds of fighting echoes outside the window. I look towards it only to see Julius holding a sword.

Sparring with a child his size, they exchanged blows fiercely. As he finishes, I stick my head out the window, waving at him excitedly. He waved back and sat, beckoning me to sit with him.

I nod and weave my way through the gaggle of servants. As I go the corner, I bumped into Aron, holding what seemed to be necklaces. The necklaces fell loudly, and the servants and guards move to pick them up. Aron gestures them to stop and looks at me as I stood there, reorienting myself.

"Well, that's certainly one way of greeting," Aron dusts off his clothes as he looked at me annoyed and gestures towards necklaces. "I'm assuming you'll be helping me pick this up."

I nod apologetically, I help him pick it up, and as we do, I ask him. "What are these for?" He looks at me questioningly while holding the necklaces in his hands. "Did you not have magic lessons?" He gestures towards the necklace he's wearing. "This is the necklace we use for magic."

I look at him weirdly. "But it's so small." Aron looks at his necklace and back at me. "Really? mother said this is the best one we had available." Huh, so then those bracelets the size of rocks were the exception.

He shrugs. "Well, maybe that's just your family then. I've read that the Caedebrad holds an insane monopoly on large-sized caellum." He spoke as we stood up. I help carry it for him. We take five each as we move forward.

I look at him in wonder, "large-sized caellum?" He continued to face forward and lectured me. "Yes, Caellum can only be mined in powder form or the size of pebbles," He stops and moves the necklaces towards his arms, opening one showing the powder and pebbles within.

"The only one that has access to the mines filled with rock-sized caellum would be the Caedebrads." We start moving forward, and I nod at him as we continue. So that's why Timothy's biggest specimen was the best he had.

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"Where are we going anyways." I look at him, unaware of this part of the palace. We take a turn to the stairs, and He looks on with displeasure. "Julius and I are going to spar with swords and magic."

I notice his displeasure. "Oh, then why do you look like you hate it?" He looked at me with his face filled with dissatisfaction and spoke with a bit of force. "Because it takes time away from my reading, It is sooooo obvious who is going to win anyways."

He shakes his now depressed, and I guess he's on a losing streak then. As we reach the first floor, I ask him a question hopefully. It'll pull him out of his depression. "But then, why are you bringing ten with you?"

"Oh, we plan to tie it with on our hands and feet." He proceeds to tie the necklaces, by encircling it until it fits. We continued to walk in silence until we reached outside.

As we got closer, a thought comes to mind. "Oh, did you know the reason as to why the servants seem to be panicking?"

A loud voice responds, "Apparently, there's this delegation from Germania coming for your tenth birthday." I look towards the voice to see Julius sweaty from sparring. I nod to him, so it's probably a surprise visit then.

Aron speaks out in a voice filled with disgust. "Ugh, at least wipe your sweat off before you enter my proximity." Huh, he's a clean freak. Somehow I'm not surprised.

A burst of amused laughter comes from Julius. "HAHA, NO." Julius walks towards Aron, prompting him to hide behind me.

A giggle escapes me, and I guess this is what it means to have brothers. The laughter captures both their attention, the moment which Julius used to hug us both. Prompting a disgusted scream from Aron. And a burst of laughter from me.

"Ugh, GOD, do not do that again." Aron backs away. "Then don't run." Julius smiles teasingly. We move to the middle of the courtyard, a dirt arena surrounded by guards.

"Try to win this time." Julius smiles smugly. Aron looks at him, annoyed and mumbles, "This was a waste of time."

We settle down, and I sit down on a bench. As they both settle in the middle of the courtyard, readying their stance. They move with precision, the sounds of clashing swords echo through the square.

I watch them keenly, noticing the difference in their battle. In contrast, mother and Faye used magic in creative ways. Quick and precise projectiles and fast-paced movements through magic.

The two of them use magic as an augment instead of maneuvering using magic. They overpower the other with constant barrages, using the magic to create an opening to strike with their swords.

Though in the end, Julius wins from swordplay alone. Perhaps due to the fact that they are evenly skilled when it comes to magic.

Maybe the reason for such a difference in style is the abundance of caellum, giving more leeway to perform maneuvers and projectiles. I nod to myself until such thoughts are interrupted.

"So, do you want to spar with me too?" Julius asks me, tired. I shook my head. "Not really, and besides, you look tired already." He nods as he proceeds to wipe his face once more.

I look towards Aron, expressing his disappointment. To see him walking towards us, and once he arrived, he sat at my side.

Silence settles between us. As we sat other enjoying each other's company.