"Are you going to keep lurking in the shadows or reveal yourself to me, you snivelling rat," Komnene the witch said out loud while remaining in her chair, slowly and calmly flipping through pages of a book she was reading.
She shut the book and tossed it over he shoulder as the door to her hut opened and a young dark-skinned boy with silver-white hair wearing a backpack entered the room. He wore mostly white outfit covering his entire body and a piece of white clothing covering his face.
"Boy, do you really thought you could hide? In my forest?"
He put his hands up and shook his head no. "I know I could never hide from you, especially not in this forest, you are Komnene, the witch who had lived for eons."
Shebsmiled and tucked a hair behind her ears. "And I know who you are," she said. "You are Magnus Stormbringer, one of Hex's underlings."
"Underling is a really strong word."
The witch raised her brows. "You say I am wrong?"
The boy named Magnus held his hand behind his back. "Unlike my comrades who have chosen to bow at Hex's feet and carry with them menial titles such as 'Dragon of Hex', 'Son of Hex', 'Undead servant of Hex'… I consider myself an equal, a partner of a man whom I share big dreams with."
"Oh, careful there boy, you don't want your Master to hear those words."
"I trust you'll keep my secret safe," he covered his face but his smile could be heard in his voice and could be seen in his eyes.
Komnene picked up a small kettle and filled a cup with its contents. "I assume you came here for the Tome of Discordia?" She queried before taking a sip of the drink.
"Indeed, but seeing as you know what I came here for, I believe it'll mean you have the book?"
"Hmm," she set the cup on the table. "I'm simply keeping the book away from entities that'll use it to bring destruction. See unlike you and your master, I have no desire for Chaos energy, nor do I want the realms to perish, I have plans you see."
"I see. Then I guess I'll just have to settle with taking him back with me." He pointed at Eryth who was still unconscious on a bed.
The witch followed the direction he pointed to Eryth then back at the General of Hex. "You know him?"
He nodded. "Hex has noticed his energy and is out now in search of him, so it'll be a plus if I can return with him, even without the Book."
"Would that be a problem?" He questioned.
Komnene shook her head. "Of course not, all you have to do is offer something in exchange and he'll be all yours."
"I thought you'd say that."
He removed his backpack and dropped it in front of him. "Completely out of context but… have you ever heard of the energy-sapping lily flower?" He questioned.
Komnene smiled. "Of course, it's a flower that when burnt, releases toxins that cling to the energy flow path inside the body and weaken the victim, only enters the system when inhaled. I've been performing some experiments on it to see if it has any good effect on Energy users, it doesn't."
"Good, I'm glad. Then this should work well."
Just as Komnene caught on to what was about to happen, the silver-white-haired boy hurled the backpack at her, allowing multiple energy-sapping lily flowers to pour out of it. He then outstretched his hand and red fire gusted out, burning the flower and a few other things around, including part of the building.
.
.
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"You are crazy," Dibo said to the dark brown-haired boy, Eryth who fixed his armour in preparation for his fencing match with his younger brother, Prince Ijar.
"Maybe if the king had accepted my challenge."
Dibo laughed before tapping the boy's shoulder. "Curse the devils, you are exactly like your father before he became King, completely free with your words and actions and not giving a damn what others think or say."
Eryth raised his brows. "Then what happened to him?"
"He became King. The throne changed him, as it would you if you sit on it…" Dibo's end words rolled off his tongue with a little worry in it.
"Relax, I'm not gonna lose to Ijar," Eryth chipped. "He might be better than me when it's about act, but I am a superior swordsman."
Dibo pushed back the young master's hair. "Indeed you are my boy."
"Lord Dibo," a voice called out from behind. The said name turned to see a light-skinned knight with short red hair and teal green eyes. "The Queen wishes you to sit with her to watch the game."
"Brother!" Dibo shouted out loud. "Oh my brother who chose to be a knight instead of taking up a court position like every member of his family, oh I admire your bravery."
The man remained stoic. "Your presence is awaited."
"Uncle Bu, will you watch my game?" Eryth asked.
He looked at the young master and let off the fastest-changing facial expression. "I'm sure you'd win." He turned to leave but stopped and turn back to his brother. "The Queen is pretty mad at you." He said before walking away.
"What did I do?" Dibo rushed after him, leaving Eryth's alone. He slipped his helmet over his head, picked up his sword and marched out to the arena where he was greeted by cheers from hundreds of people from all over the kingdom. It might just be a normal fencing game between two Princes to the outside, but Eryth knew his father would be taking that moment into account when he chooses his successor."
Eryth stood in the middle of the arena, taking in the atmosphere. He noticed many familiar faces in the very important person's area, his mother Queen Eileen, Lord Dibo, his uncle whom he referred to as Uncle Bu, Sakri the maid who stood behind the Queen, and the ministers. He knew his sister Princess Marcella didn't concern herself with such events and didn't expect to see her in the crowd, but to his surprise, she sat next to his mother with a mischievous grin lingering over her lips. But the most surprising of it was, was that the King wasn't present in the crowd and everyone in the said very important people area, had a gloomy expression on.
The sound of drums filled the air as his opponent made his way into the arena. Eryth's eyes widened with both joy and shock as the King, Thaddeus Whitmore Crownia stepped into the arena, draped in his armour and holding his sword in his preferred arm, the left.
This made the people's chant turn into a silent surprise. "Father?"
"What's the matter? Raise your sword at me, weren't you going to defeat me in front of all my subjects?" The King bolted forward. He moved so fast it looked as though he had disappeared and appeared in front of his son.
He mercilessly swung his weapon at Eryth, holding nothing back.
Eryth swiftly reached for his sword to parry the King's attack but as he did, he suddenly felt his vision darkening and his mind drowning in itself.
….
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