THE ALARM WENT off just as I was pulled into a dreamless sleep, its resounding tune penetrating my hazy state and pulling me back to reality. I let out a sigh before rolling onto my back, my left hand reaching over to the alarm on the drawers by my bed to silence its screeching.

                I opened one eye before the other to face the symbol of a spear that was carved onto the ceiling; three stars carved onto its head. It was a habit to study the art that filled my senses for most parts of the day before anything else in the morning.

               I soundlessly slipped out of bed before catching a glimpse of the alarm clock's display. My heart threatened to kill me as it momentarily stopped beating in my chest. I had less than five minutes to shower and get dressed before Oliath came looking for me to personally drag me to the undiscovered depths of hell.

               I scrambled about the room like a headless chicken; picking out a pale blue dress shirt with a grey vest and black trousers before scampering into the bathroom when I realised that minutes were going by like seconds. At this rate, it seemed as if I was dressing up for my own funeral.

               I was out of my room and into the hallways in a flash. Passing numerous doors per minute, I barely had the luxury to stop and study the alluring details that clothed the walls. Even as time passed and I grew older, the beauty of my surroundings never seemed to be anything but enthralling.

               The sun's rays were streaming into the open space and lighting the paintings on the walls with a golden hue, making them almost glow in broad daylight. The uneven texture of the paint reflected different intensities of sunlight, the sight making me momentarily forget that I was mere seconds away from being buried alive by my best friend.

               As the thought came up, I picked up my pace; swerving at corners left and right before finding myself in front of a large wooden door. I barely had a minute to catch my breath before the doors were swung open, Oliath standing in the middle of the doorway with a deprecating look on his face. Given that he rarely ever bore any other emotion on his face, this barely fazed me.

               I quickly wiped my face clean of any lingering weariness from the long walk before plastering on a smirk as I walked into the room nonchalantly. Seeing my indifference towards the look he was giving me, his eyes narrowed at my figure as I walked to stand next to him.

               "Oh loosen up, Oli. I'm only five minutes late," I said as my eyes roamed around the room to see if everyone had already arrived.

               "These men have been in here for ten minutes to discuss the weekly logistics with the Crown Prince of Aldorra, but instead he comes waltzing into the meeting late without even a shred of remorse. God save us all if you're going to be king in the future," said Oliath with a grave voice, as he lead me to my seat at the head of the table.

               "Come on, spare me the sob story. We both know I'll be a great king one day," I said, my eyes crinkling with mirth. He shook his head in disbelief as he walked towards the door, but not before I caught a small smile playing at his lips.

               I let out a long sigh before turning to face the men seated around the table for the first time since I walked in. They were all dressed similarly with their white dress shirts and black vests; the symbol of the spear with three stars embroidered on the material just slightly above their hearts, paired with black trousers. With a few formal greetings, the meeting then finally commenced.

*******

               My eyes might have been fixated on the words in front of me, but my mind was a billion miles away from this world. I had read the book that was in my hands at least fifteen times since it had been given to me, but as always, it felt as if something bigger was at play when it had been written.

               As a citizen of Aldorra, it was punishable by law if you were not well-versed with the history of this beautiful kingdom, and being part of the royal family, it was almost expected of you to be able to recite the words of history by heart. Aldorrians took their history very seriously, even more so after the Exscidium war.

               Even though our book of history was meant to be read as an obligation, I had naturally picked it up as a child due to my curious nature in wanting to know more about the time before me. It was the one thing Oliath had commended me for, and the one thing that had given the members of the government a sense of hope for their future in my hands.

               The first few times that I had read the book, it had been with nothing but fascination and awe. However, it wasn't until when I had sat down to really think about the words on those pages and the timeline of the events that had transpired that the sense of something being greatly off had hit me.

               According to the words of history, it was said that the King of Aldorra had fallen in love with the Princess of Ordinis when he had visited the kingdom to discuss the details of their alliance.

               The King of Ordinis had then married his firstborn off to the King of Aldorra with great joy, declaring that this was a sign that their alliance would not be broken by any interference as his blood was now part of Aldorra.

               It was a time of great joy for all who belonged to both kingdoms as they both flourished due to their shared resources; including arms at war, intelligence in building strategies and impact on both art cultures. Together, both kingdoms brought nothing but positivity to their people and to the other two kingdoms that surrounded them.

               Even though the King of Ordinis had given his daughter to the King of Aldorra as a symbol of peace, the King of Aldorra adored his wife with everything that he had in him. He treated her as his equal, the perfect balance to his kingdom. She was everything that he wasn't and he was everything that she wasn't.

               Their love for each other gained the love and trust of their people as every decision that they ever made together was only for the benefit of the people. They were never selfish during their reign because they had already obtained everything that they ever needed; each other.

               It was nearly two years after their marriage, that word had broken out that the Queen of Aldorra was pregnant with their first child. People came from all across the four kingdoms with gifts and blessings for the child, but when word had reached the King of Ordinis that he was going to be a grandfather, he had nearly brought his castle down with his joy.

               The news was celebrated for a whole week in both kingdoms as the unborn child would be the first physical product of their alliance, and a week that made the King of Aldorra fall even more in love with the Queen, if that was physically possible.

               All was well for the nine months that the Queen was pregnant; the other kingdoms were in order, the crime rates were at bay and harmony was established throughout the kingdom. The Queen was able to carry out all her official duties until she was at full term, being the first Queen in history who was physically able to.

               Though everything flourished with time, most good things didn't last forever. It wasn't almost succeeding three days after the Queen had gone into labour that the news of her death had been issued out to the public. It had felt like a hole had torn through the hearts of the Aldorrians.

                Together with the news of her death came the official statement of the date, time and cause of her death. She had officially left the world on sixth of June, at eight in the evening due to postpartum haemorrhage. As a result of loss of too much amniotic fluid, the baby had been stillborn after suffering through a shortage of oxygen.

               Due to personal reasons, the royal family had decided to not disclose the gender of the baby, and the child had been buried in private with an unofficial funeral. The kingdom mourned the loss of their Queen and future monarch for weeks, but no one was more affected by their deaths than the King.

               The King of Ordinis had officially closed himself off from the world, with no one ever being able to know the whereabouts of his kingdom ever again. The King of Aldorra, on the other hand, did continue to lead his people after that great tragedy as he had seen it as his duty for the kingdom, but he wasn't the same man that anyone had known him for.

               Some say he became eccentric after the event, reaching borderline senile, but no one could blame the man for he had lost two quarters of his soul on the very same night. It was known as the dark ages in the history of Aldorra as all four kingdoms had been closed off to each other, crime rates skyrocketing, and the peace that had once been established in the kingdom falling to ruins over time.

               These great events of history had happened not too long ago but somehow, there wasn't a single living person who ever spoke about the tragedy. It was fair enough for the kingdom to punish those who refused to digest the words of history a few times a day, but how was it morally right to cache specific events from the very book we deemed sacred?

               At first, I had spoken to my grandmother about it since she had always answered any questions that I had about the time before me, but for the first time ever, she wouldn't meet my eyes when she spoke of it. She had dismissed my questions of her hesitance by stating how difficult it was all for her, reliving a time in life when nothing had unfolded well.

               Even as I pushed forward for some sort of crack in the story that she would tell me from time to time to sate my curious mind, she would always recite the story in almost the exact same way that she had told it to me the few times before. She never missed anything, but she never slipped in any extra information either.

               Though it had somewhat affected my relationship with her from my constant pestering, I had not been given another choice. The workforce of the King had greatly reduced in number after the Exscidium war due to both casualties at war and a thorough revision in the staff's credibility; leaving behind only a handful of experienced workers to run the place that we resided in.

               Answers couldn't be given to me by the bustling people down at the servants' quarters, not by the textbooks that we practically worshipped, and not even my own grandmother. This didn't put my mind to rest. My curiosity—almost an animalistic hunger—would not let me move on from a past that I never knew of; a past that didn't feel right.

               I put a great distance between my source of distress and me. "I would do it for me," I whispered to myself quietly, my mind entering a dream-like state as it planned out a list of events that were to be carried out when I wasn't fulfilling my official duties, when a knock sounded at the door.

               I rubbed the weariness away from my eyes with the back of my hand before leaning on the backrest of my seat to study the clock on my bedside drawers. 2100, it read and a sudden nervousness coursed through my body as I launched off my seat and rushed to the door like my trousers were on fire. Today was simply not my day.

               I swung the door open with a sheepish smile as I was met with the cold, icy glare of my secretary and best friend. He crossed his arms over each other on his chest before sucking in his breath to go off at me but I held my hand up to cut him off. "I'm sorry I missed dinner, Oli, but I was reading and suddenly four o'clock became nine—"

               "You are wanted at your uncle's chamber, sire," Oliath cut me off from my blabbering, his voice dripping with disdain. I knew he was only trying to rile me up with the title because he was disappointed with my actions, knowing well enough that it was important for my family to sit down together for at least one meal a day. It was tradition.

               I had only ever missed dinner a few times in my life, but it has been happening more often these days. The incessant voice in my head that kept steering me towards investigating an ancient mystery overtook my life completely a few months ago, restricting my sleeping hours and ruining most of my days by snatching my ability to pay attention to the responsibilities around me away from me.

               I hung my head low as I brushed past Oliath, my shoulders sagging slightly at the realisation that I had been selfish tonight. I hadn't noticed the time while I had been reading, and while I hadn't missed dinner on purpose, I was in the wrong for laying my hands on that book. If I was aware that I could spend hours on it without even blinking, why hadn't I been more mindful of the time?

               My soft footsteps filled the empty, vast halls as I walked towards my uncle's chamber. Dinner wasn't just a run-of-the-mill event every night, in fact, it had become almost a necessity every night for my uncle and grandmother since we were all that was left of this family. According to my grandmother, love for the kingdom stems from the love for family. How are we to love and protect our people if we didn't love ourselves first?

               I slowed down my pace before coming to a complete stop in front of the great, wooden doors that I was summoned to. "Uncle? May I enter?" I called to the man behind the doors as I knocked on the door before me.

               "Come in!"

               I entered upon hearing my uncle's deep voice carry from inside the room to me, a deep sigh escaping my lips as I prepared myself for what was to come. The lights were turned down, and the only source of light was the fireplace, filling the room with an orange hue. Not too far from the fireplace sat my uncle, his eyes trained on a book that was placed on his oak table, as his hand moved swiftly across the page with a pen.

               I stood in silence before him as I waited patiently for him to be done with his task at hand. My eyes travelled along the bare walls of his room before coming to a stop at the view on the ceiling. The symbol of the spear was carved onto it—similar to the one in my chamber—but this one was colossal. Smaller stars were carved around the spear and decorated the entire expanse of the ceiling. The sight filled my senses with a warm feeling that I couldn't quite explain.

               I straightened at the sound of my uncle placing his pen on the table, my eyes following his movements as he pushed his seat back and got to his feet. "I didn't see you at dinner, son. Is everything alright?"

               "I'm sorry, sir. I lost track of time from reading." I watched him warily as he walked towards a cabinet that was pushed back to the left wall, unsure of how he would take my excuse.

               He nodded lightly before pulling out a glass and a pitcher of water from inside the cabinet and poured himself a glass of water. He set the pitcher on top of the cabinet as he took a sip of his water before meeting my eyes for the first time since I entered. The look on his electric blue eyes brought me close to a squirm and I quickly averted my gaze elsewhere due to my discomfort.

               My uncle was a formidable man; his years of ruling the kingdom of Aldorra single-handedly shaping him into a hard, private man that not many people had the privilege of knowing. His eyes were hardened by the years of hard labour, his large form built to fight battles personally alongside the kingdom's army.

               Yet, it wasn't his stature or build that terrified people of him. It wasn't his hair that was as white as snow, nor the title that he held. It was those eyes of his that held so much power and authority that could end a man's life if his heart was not strong enough, and it was those steely eyes that were currently directed at me.

               A few silent moments passed, where neither of us said anything, before he let out a sigh as his eyes softened at me. "Are you hungry?" He asked as concern replaced the hardness of his voice. I nodded slowly, my wide eyes unsure of what was happening. Why hadn't he chewed my head off?

               He picked up the cordless phone on his desk and called for some food to be sent up to my room before returning the phone to its base. "I'm not going to eat you, son. Stop looking so afraid." There was a touch of humour to his voice that helped my shoulders sag in relief. I cracked a grin at him before walking towards him, glad that I had been let off the hook.

               "But that doesn't mean that it was okay for you to skip dinner," he scolded and my smile slipped off my face, my heart dropping slightly at his words as I stopped in my tracks a distance away from him. There wasn't anger behind his words as it was merely meant as a reminder for me to understand that though he wasn't upset, my actions weren't justified.

               "We are all you have, son. Time together is so important to help us remember the importance of family, to remember that not everyone is blessed enough to belong somewhere." There was an ancient sadness in his voice that pulled at my heart, bringing a new meaning to the words for me. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair for me to listen to your grandmother's rants on plants alone, now is it?"

               The humour was back in his voice as any remnants of his previous sadness completely disappeared. I laughed softly at his statement. "She might be overwhelming but she is your mother," I said playfully as the King's eyes crinkled with mirth.

               "Oh, and she doesn't let me forget that for a minute," he said as he let out a soft chuckle. I smiled at him and enjoyed the moment for what it was worth. It was moments like these that helped me see who he really was behind the persona that he portrayed, and I would give up anything for the man that stood before me. He might be hard on me at times, but deep down he loved me like a son.

               "You can return to your chamber now, son. Go get some food into that system of yours and sleep well tonight." I nodded at him before retracing my footsteps back to the door. Just as I swung the door open, his voice made me pause in my tracks. "And, son? Try to be on time for your meetings."

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A U T H O R ' S N O T E

It took me a while and a few attempts at writing before I was comfortable with the way the story was going. Hope y'all loved reading this chapter!

Don't forget to comment as you read the story, constructive criticism is welcomed but blatant hate comments will be deleted, and vote if you've enjoyed reading this!

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