Chapter 1 - Mr Fuzzy

A warm breeze blew across the face of a pale-skinned youth seemingly about 7 or 8 years old, making his messy rich black hair dance around his head in a disorderly manner. His eyes resembled jewels the color of the ocean as they were a clear bright blue and had a natural attractive aura about them.

Despite having such beautiful eyes, they seemed to be void of life and unable to focus on anything. His nervous demeanor showed he seemed to be worrying about something as he sat on a balcony and peered at the light of the silvery moon.

"Why does father not like me...? Is it because of that crystal?"

The young boy muttered quietly to himself as his eyes became red and teary-eyed. He thought back to when he was asked by his father, the king, to come to his chambers. There he was told to place his hand on a crystal, which showed no reaction. He remembered clearly the look of disappointment in the King's eyes and the snide comments from the generals who were in the room at the time.

"Why can't I produce Soul Force like everyone else?"

"Why does everyone be so mean to me?"

"Why am I so different from my brothers and sisters?"

The young boy continued to torture himself with these questions, his hushed voice indicated it was only for himself to hear as if afraid someone would hear it. He had no one to answer these questions for him, so he had to think hard and put the pieces together slowly and it broke his heart when he found out what he had learned. He continued to silently cry and stared at the moon as he asked these questions, still no one answered him.

This young boy was Alexei, son of the current King of Isalia, Alexander Isalias.

This Kingdom was called the Isalias Kingdom and was one of the average sized territories that were under the rule of the Imperial Kingdom, who were rulers of this entire Continent called Falcrest.

**

The next morning, Alexei woke up and as usual begun to ready himself to face his day ahead. He brushed his teeth, took  a shower, and found himself his favorite attire which consisted of a dark black cotton shirt and breeches. The fabric didn't look expensive nor did it stand out and that was precisely the reason it was his favorite.

Alexei always knew standing out for him was never a good thing, especially now that he was born with a rare condition and couldn't produce Soul Force. Even before this knowledge came to surface, Alexei was still mistreated as he was the bastard son of a concubine and as such his status as a legitimate noble was originally in the grey area in the first place.

As Alexei gave himself a quick look in the mirror, he made sure his appearance was well kept and tidy and then he slowly and quietly made his way out of his room. Alexei, unlike his brothers and sisters, slept in a custom made room near the servant's quarters outside of the Royal Palace.

"Look, it's that trash"

A servant nudged another servant next to him as he pointed at Alexei and let out laugh.

"Indeed, I can use Soul Force, but here I am sweeping the floor. Why don't I get to live like him? Why doesn't he sweep the floor? Bahaha"

The other servant nodded and laughed as he made fun of Alexei.

As Alexei left his room, he kept his head low and passed the servants quietly who snickered and made ill comments about him. Whether they thought he couldn't hear them or if they just didn't care, Alexei heard them all but he said nothing.

This type of humiliation Alexei had grown accustomed to and as such carried on as if he had not heard it, but his tightly knit fist showed how disturbed he was. As a child who had these unfortunate circumstances, Alexei started to mentally mature faster than other children his age as he became a running joke in the eyes of the nobles, and even his own servants.

Alexei ignored them and made his way over to the Royal Garden which was his most favorite area in the entire Palace. As a bastard child, no one taught him swordsmanship or military knowledge or anything at all a noble should know, and as such his days he could spend leisurely to his own discretion.

This was the only upside Alexei had as a bastard child, however he would always know deep inside it was because no one cared for him. However, he shrugged off those thoughts as happily rushed into the forest to sate his curious young desires.

The dark-haired youth scampered around the garden and explored the trees and rocks and he loved to immerse himself in his own world within the gardens. He skipped rocks across the small pond, and played with a few smaller animals as he chased them throughout the tiny forest.

Sometimes, Alexei would pretend to be a legendary Soul Force user and summon all the elements and defeat the ever so domineering Death Hamster Lord. This Death Hamster Lord in question was a fuzzy brown hamster he had found within this garden that would always patiently wait for him to come feed it.

After a while the two had bonded and he became Alexei's best friend and companion. Mr Fuzzy slept in Alexei's room in an open cage as he was allowed to go and come as he pleased.

"Mr Fuzzy! I have a special menu today! I have your favorite! Roasted boar strips, hehe"

Alexei spoke to the little hamster who cutely twitched his whiskers and greedily stared at the strips. Alexei teased him a bit by bringing it closer and then moving it further away, seeing Mr Fuzzy's disturbed look he eventually gave it to him.

As the little hamster dug into his meal, Alexei stared at him childishly and let out a few laughs. Suddenly Alexei lifted his head and turned toward the direction of the entrance of the forest, he heard voices coming from that direction. With Mr Fuzzy in hand, he walked to exit out of the forest as he knew only certain people were allowed to enter this forest.

Alexei knew whoever had the authority to enter this forest was someone he couldn't afford to offend, so he quickly decided it was time to leave. Alexei peered out from the forest, and noticed two familiar figures.

There stood a tall, slender and beautiful woman dressed in an extremely magnificent white dress. She wore a silk white veil on her face that was slightly transparent, showing the outline and color of her rosy red lips. Her long black graceful hair rested on her back, and her gentle green eyes made one feel calm and tranquil. This woman was the Queen, Ariadne Isalias.

In her arms, a tiny cute chubby girl that seemed to be about 5 years old wriggled uncontrollably as her lively eyes flashed around. She seemed to look like an extremely young version of the Queen, this little girl was one of Alexei's siblings and was the princess of Isalias, Avia Isalia.

Alexei stood from within the bushes as he watched the two, a painful feeling emerged from his heart as he watched the mother and daughter duo. He always wondered what happened to his mother and why she wasn't here with him, but Alexei was never brave enough to ask anyone because he knew that would only spell doom for him. A few tears couldn't help but leak out as he had a bit of longing in his heart for a family.

As he looked at the Queen, he wondered if his mother once looked like that. As he thought these things, he was always grateful to the Queen as she never made life hard for him even though she knew his status well. She would never look at him or acknowledge his presence and pretended as if he did not exist, this in itself Alexei saw as a blessing because he knew how cruel adults could be.

"-Ahh!"

As he became conflicted with these thoughts, a sudden pain throbbed in his finger and he noticed Mr Fuzzy had actually bitten his finger by accident as he was chewing on the roasted boar strips.

This noise gave away Alexei's position, and he looked up and noticed the Queen staring towards his direction. Luckily the forest provided a decent amount of cover and he wasn't noticed. Alexei's heart throbbed in fear as he immediately fled and took a different route out the forest, a trail of tears glistened behind him as he made his way to his room.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The Queen continued to look in the direction of the sound, a troubled light flickered in her eyes.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look!"

The troublesome little girl called to her mother and broke the tension, the Queen smiled and continued to play with the girl after taking one more long glance at the forest.

..

Later that night, Alexei awoke to the sound of people bustling and he noticed the servants moving about frantically. He tried to recall back in his memory what would cause such a stir and remembered that today was the princess Avia's birthday. Thinking about this, he got up and he left his room as he walked around the outside of the Palace and pressed his face against the windows so he could see inside.

The event was being held within the Palace as this was an extremely grand occasion and nothing was more suitable. The Ground Floor of the palace was an extremely huge dining room that was elegantly decorated and it's grandeur surpassed anything else with the entire Isalia Kingdom.

As he peered inside, Alexei could see the various nobles as well as the Queen Ariadne, Princess Avia, his elder sister Princess Alea Isalia and the oldest of them all, his brother Prince Avalon Isalia.

His elder brother had short silver hair and dark blue eyes, he possessed a valiant aura and dressed extremely lavishly. However, he possessed a cold demeanor and was as sharp as knives. From time to time he would let out a rare smile and it made him seem a lot more amiable.

His sister on the other hand, was like the sweetest rose. She smiled quite often and laughed loudly but with such grace that others did not find it repulsive or annoying and instead loved hearing it. She had long silver hair and dark green eyes that were shaped like exquisite tiny jewels. She wore a long gorgeous white dress that matched the Queen's and her little sister's and a pretty necklace that was made of a rare and precious emerald colored ore.

As Alexei looked at them, he felt as though they were worlds apart from him and they possessed the aura of a true noble.

They were all seated on a separate table far from the others at the head of the Dining Room elevated on a platform to show their status. Avia was the only exception as the mischievous little girl sat on the Queen's lap, she touched and grabbed at everything in sight, people endlessly showered the little girl with praises and gave endless gifts which made her grin wide with happiness.

As he looked at this scene, even more pain barraged his poor young heart and he stifled his tears and looked around for the King but noticed he was nowhere in sight. Suddenly a voice came from behind him.

"What are you doing?"

This voice surprised Alexei who turned around and to his horror the King was standing right before him. At his sides were two Generals who were present at his Soul Force testing, sneers written all over their faces as they looked at Alexei.

The King Alexander, had rich black long hair and deep fierce blue eyes. Alexei seemed to be the exact splitting  image of a King Alexander in his younger days and everyone knew for sure that he was indeed the King's son. The King wore a black leather armor with outlines of blue, it was embedded all over with symbols, gold and jewels. This armor gave off an aura of magnificence  especially when worn on King Alexander who gave off a mighty stifling aura.

He also noted another approaching silhouette, a sense of fear welled up in his heart because Alexei knew this man extremely well. This man was his uncle and his father's brother, Lukias Isalias. One of the people who Alexei tried to steer clear of the most was precisely this Lukias and his son Luwin Isalias

Lukias Isalias, had messy brown hair and blue malevolent eyes. The wretched smile that hung around his lips would make anyone look away in disgust. Even though he was the King's brother, they were not alike in anyway. Their auras were entirely different as the moon and the sun, one possessed a powerful and valiant aura while the other gave off an uneasy feeling while it also possessed a sinister vibe.

It seems the King was only just entering and had matters elsewhere, this totally caught Alexei off guard and he immediately bowed his head toward the floor as he spoke in a hushed tone. As the King's eyes landed on him, this made Alexei shudder under the pressure as he could feel the weight of his gaze.

"Y-Your majesty, I was just curious. I-I'm sorry"

Alexei replied as he timidly avoided the King's stare.

The eyes of his father, King Alexander always made him shiver. As a man who was powerful and gifted with Soul Force, he carried a majestic and confident aura about him, Alexei always felt like an ant in front of this man's eyes. He would always remember the disappointment in his father's eyes when he failed to produce Soul Force.

King Alexander looked down at Alexei, a strange glint flashed in his eyes but it was soon covered up.

"Go to your room"

The King immediately commanded.

"Y-Yes, your majesty"

Alexei bowed his head a few times and walked away quickly as his heart pounded in fear.

"Hahaha! Brother! Why do you even bother putting up with that trash? Is it not better to give him a few gold coins and send him on his way? It's better to dig out trash at the roots!"

Lukias immediately roared out in laughter as he gazed at the timid departing back of Alexei, a malicious light glinting in his eyes. This man's tone clearly showed his disregard for the crown, the soldiers beside him laughed as they knew all to well the hidden meaning behind Lukias' words and was jabbing at the King.

However, the King gave him a glance and then proceeded towards Princess Avia's birthday ignoring the comment. This infuriated Lukias as he didn't get the reaction he wanted, for a split second a hatred boiled in his eyes but it quickly dissipated and he returned to his laughing carefree demeanor.

'Well, my son will take care of it anyway, haha'

**

Alexei was extremely depressed and as such he quickly ran towards his room, panting heavily as he slammed the door shut behind him. His breathing was ragged and his face a complete mess, he slid down his back against the door as he cried silently. Suddenly-

*Knock* *Knock*

"Open up trash! It's me! Hahaha"

Suddenly Alexei's entire body shivered, he knew this voice.

'Luwen!'

*Knock* *Knock*

Luwen continued to bang the door but Alexei wouldn't dare open it, he pushed several pieces of furniture to block the door and placed his back against it. His teary eyes alert with fear as he covered his ears.

Suddenly the banging stopped and Alexei uncovered his ears, he began to hope Luwen was gone but he wasn't too hopeful as he knew what sort of person Luwen was. He was the complete worse of them all.

"Hehehe! You don't want to come out and play with your cousin! That's okay trash! I'll play with Mr Fuzzy instead!"

Alexei quickly looked towards the cage in his room, he noticed it Mr Fuzzy was missing. Mr Fuzzy was always in Alexei's room at night, no matter where he scampered through the day he would always return to Alexei's room to sleep.

A terrible premonition suddenly came over Alexei.