The playful expression quickly left his face when my Dad stepped out of the cart. He dropped quickly to one knee with a hand stretched across his chest. "Lord Saint, Sir." He said nervously. "Smooth," I said under my breath, grinning at the young prince. "Shut up," He snapped back, one eye open, leering at me.
Adonis, the prince of Alestrios, does have a higher station than my father but, for some reason is obsessed with him. And always became quite the mess around him.
"The prince?" Dean said cocking an eyebrow. "Funny seeing you here." Adonis let out a forced laugh, somewhat unstiffening from his bow.
"Have some self-respect, Prince," I said, my eyes narrowing into a squint.
A stone pathway with carefully trimmed grass on either side led up to the large manor. Two stone columns, fifteen feet high, held up a balcony that stretched over the entrance. A greenhouse was outfitted on the left side of the manor. Two guards were stationed outside the oak doors. They usually have council meetings at well.. the council hall. The confusion must have been poorly hidden on my face because.
"We've had the last few meetings here because of the nature of the discussion," Dean said, walking past me and Adonis. "I'm going to head in and see how everything is going in there." I nodded, then looked back at Adonis, who was standing again. He was a year older than me, at least in this world.
"So, have you manifested an affinity yet?" Adonis asked, inspecting me closely.
"Have you?" I responded. The edges of his lips twitched upward into a smirk. He lifted his hand, palm facing upwards. A few sparks jumped from his palm, and then a golden red fire spiraled into existence, floating gently above his hand.
"Woah," I said in a breath as I carefully observed the flame. I raised my hand over his almost subconsciously. The warmth from the flame was barely noticeable. "Can you do anything else?"
He smiled. "Step back," he said pompously. He closed his eyes, and the flame jumped. I could feel warmth radiating from him and something like a premonition. Like the mana informed me of the shape it was going to take before he even manipulated it. A sword?
He waved his hand in a wide arch, the flames taking the shape of the movement. The crescent snapped into a rigid, straight line, then took the form of a sword wreathed in flame. Shortly after, it crackled and faded into nothingness.
"I think I'll show your father maybe, then he'll train me. A student worthy of a sword saint." He peeked at me from the corner of his eye, but I gave him no reaction.
"Take him," poor kid doesn't know what he's asking for.
"You take your father for granted," He said, pulling at the ends of his waistcoat. "Let's go inside. I'm sure Rein will be excited to see you." We began heading for the doors.
"Uh… Your Dad is literally the king." I said, looking at him a little bit concerned.
"Yeah," he looked off to the side. "But that's mostly pageantry. Your Dad conquered one of the nine realms and killed a deity. BY. HIM. SELF." He pumped his fists excitedly at his sides.
"One of the nine realms?" I questioned. Of course, he'd leave that part out. Although I guess he did get cut off.
"You don't know how your father became a sword saint?" He said with a blank expression.
We finally reached the doors. The two guards looked at Adonis and then nodded, clicking their spears on the ground and opening the door.
"I guess not," My voice echoed through the hall. Red and white tiles covered the floor. A shimmering chandelier dominated the center of the room. Two wooden staircases on the left and right walls led to the second floor, and beneath them, an archway that looked like it connected to a sort of ballroom.
"Well, I guess we can't even enter our first trial until we're fifteen, so it's not too big a deal yet," Adonis said, trying to make sense of my lack of knowledge on the matter. He opened his mouth to continue what I assumed was going to be an explanation.
"My.. my look at how big you've gone and got, Canaan." Her light voice floated through the room like a feather. I bowed politely. "My queen."
"Oh, stop it," She said, waiving away my formalities. Her brown locks flowed past her shoulders. The glimmer of the chandelier highlighted her flawless features. She wore a white dress with a navy blue corset and white gloves that came up to her elbows. Sapphire jewelry around her neck and wrist. She descended the stairs, exuding a poised grace.
She squeezed my arm. "Ooo, and strong, too?" She said coyly. "The king is getting older, and so is your father I will be needing a new protector."
Adonis' expression turned sour. "Hey!" He said, offended. Her eyes sharpened. "You need to learn to pick up after yourself first." I snickered.
"So, Canaan, I'm sure my son here wasted no time in showing you his affinity. Any luck with yours?" My head dropped when she asked. It never bothered me much until she asked but when would my affinity manifest, if ever. She gently picked my chin up with her hand.
"Now, now, no time for that. You should consider yourself lucky that you don't have to join the politics of the mages and academy just yet." Then she bent down, looking at me at eye level, with her hand placed on my shoulder. "I don't have to remind you who your father is. Even without an affinity, you'll be fine." Queen Vanessa was always radiant and kind.
In my old life, I had grown disenchanted with people. Kindness was a mask people wore to hide their true selves. To ingratiate someone towards you so they would be more accepting or amenable to you. The cost of true kindness came at the expense of yourself. The Queen however paid that price willingly.
She looked at Adonis, seemingly waiting for the attention to turn to him with his hands clasped behind his back. "Donny, I see you every day." She smiled at him while standing back up. "Did you speak with Professor Valance about your alignment ceremony?" Adonis' eyes quickly darted to the side and he scratched the back of his head. Noticeably silent.
"Canaan?" A questioning voice. A chill ran down my spine and my lips twitched nervously. I looked quickly to my left and then my right studying the room but I knew the answer to my frantic probing of the building. My only exit was behind me.
I spun on my heel when suddenly my momentum came to a screeching halt. A hand wrapped around my wrist. I cursed, slowly turning my head, in an awkward toothy smile. "Rein," I said with forced excitement.
The queen stifled a laugh, Adonis, however, made no such attempt. It was his younger sister. Her Amber hair slowly fell back into place, her grip on my arm unwavering. "And exactly when were you going to tell me you were here?" She asked, frowning with one eyebrow cocked looking similar to a teacher waiting for an excuse for a late assignment. Her eyes were an intense sky blue which paired well with the taupe-colored blouse part of her bodice.
I chuckled nervously. "W-can't you see I was just on my way to?" Her eyes narrowed. She seemed to have taken a liking to me. Whenever I'd visit Telenor, if I wasn't with Adonis, I was running from Rein, who was sometimes prone to violence.
"That's the way to the door, Canaan." She retorted, crossing her arms and haughtily tilting her chin into the air.
"Don't give him too much of a hard time, Rein. That's how you scare them off." The Queen said, winking at me. I shuddered, picking up on her subtle hints. "Well, I should be off now. I'm sure the meeting will be starting soon. Behave yourselves. Canaan, keep an eye on these two will you?" She gave us a quick nod and proceeded down the hall to our left.
That's right, the meeting. Dad said not to go too far from it. I guess it would be too easy if I could just ask to sit in. I quickly took a peek down the hall to see where the queen went. Looked like it was the last door before the entrance to the greenhouse. Now, how do I spy on this meeting?
An Idea suddenly hit me. "Adonis, have you been upstairs?" I asked innocently. A wide grin slid across his face. "You wanna see my Dad's study?" He asked. The king's study? That could be more informative than this meeting. I nodded my head yes.
"I'm coming too," Rein announced. Adonis rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he started towards the staircase.
"So, who's Professor Valance?" I asked the young prince. "Oh.." He said, pausing briefly. Tension clung to the prince's body. "He's supposed to be the Academy's strongest fire affinity mage, maybe even the best in the country." His gaze fell to the ground.
"Why don't you seem happy about it?" I asked. "Well, it's not that impressive. Everyone gets a sponsor at their alignment ceremony, and with my family, I was bound to end up with a good one it's just…" Rein cut in.
"He'd much rather not go to the academy and apprentice with your father." She said sharply. I looked at Adonis, who appeared to be a little embarrassed, confused. He shot an uncomfortable look at his sister.
Why would that be a problem, I wondered. I guess he's royalty, so of course, they would want him educated traditionally. And it would also be weird if the prince refused to go to the country's most prestigious magic academy. I wrapped my arm around Adonis in a side hug like a drunken friend outside a bar.
"Don't worry, you're not missing out on much." He perked up but only slightly, playfully brushing my hand off his shoulder.
"Easy for you to say, you're seven and you can take out military academy seniors. My father just refuses to let me take lessons from yours," He said as we finally reached the top of the stairs.
Ivory carpet covered the hardwood floors, and the warm light from the gas lamps highlighted the square patterns etched into the wooden walls adorned with oil paintings.
The king refusing the opportunity for his son to be trained by the strongest swordsman in, possibly, the world. There has to be a good reason behind that. "It's down here," Adonis said, pointing to our left. Perfect, same side as the meeting.
"Did he ever tell you why?" Rein appeared at my side, grinning deviously. My eyebrow rose curiously. She wrapped her arms around mine. I attempted to rustle it away.
"Not really. He just says that your Dad wouldn't take me on as a student." He said stopping in front of one of the oak doors on our left. It was slightly larger than the others, and the iron was shaped into what looked like vines in some kind of design. Adonis raised his hand over the metal plate with a crystal embedded in it. There was a click sound, and the door slid open.
I tilted my head slightly, curious. A sliding mechanism? Seems a little advanced for this age but then again I'm not entirely sure about what kind of tech they have in this world. And I wonder how that lock works and what it's powered by.
I finally freed my arm from Rein as we entered the room. A large mahogany desk with books and loose paper strewn about sat at the back of the room in front of two bookshelves that covered the wall. Wooden console tables placed by the left and right walls had glass cases with strange artifacts arranged neatly. Just about everything I'd expect to see in a study.
"Cool, right?" Adonis asked, standing proudly with his arms crossed, bouncing on one heel in the center of the room. I traced my fingers along one of the tables, inspecting the cases. My eyes continued to scrutinize the room when I noticed some skid marks under one of the bookshelves.