♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 8//: I promise♕✿~♕✿~

Nathan's POV

My hands clench around the remote control, a crack echoing through the small room I'm in.

Lounging in a chair, my eyes scan the T.V. as I listen to the reporter.

"As you can see, the palace is a busy hustle as the servants and maids are trying to get everything set up for His Highness' coronation, which will happen in two to three weeks from now. Delegates from the Lakelands and the Piedmont princes will be-"

Clenching my teeth in annoyance, I forcefully push the button on the remote to turn the T.V. off. I sit quietly for a moment, the screen before me black.

I knew I couldn't, wouldn't, allow for Ahren's coronation to go smoothly. I plan to never let Ahren have the chance to be king.

I would never allow any Calore monsters be on the Norta throne ever again after what Ahren's wretched father did.

17 years ago

I follow the man from a distance. I had been tailing him for the last 10 minutes. My little hands twitched, wanting to just reach into the man's pocket and run away, but Carlo had taught me differently. Thievery required patience.

And Carlo was the best thief around.

But night was coming, and I didn't want to be out here alone in the dark. I hated the dark. It hid monsters.

I had to do it now. Now, or live on the few coins my mother might have gotten from the street by begging. Determined, I walk forward and crash into the man, distracting him from my roaming hands in his pocket.

The man eyes me, noting my appearance, and pushes me away with disgust. But I got what I needed, so I didn't cry out as the man kicked me for good measure.

"Watch where you're going, you filthy peasant," the man hisses at me before walking off. I stay on the ground until he turns a corner, then open my hand to eye the money I took from the man. I feel myself smile proudly. Mom would be proud of me.

Happy now that I got the money my mom and I needed, I start to skip back home. As I turn the corner where my house is, I see an old woman on the street, begging passerby for money. Many ignore her. I hesitate at the doorstep of my house. Then, I shrug and walk up to the woman. Taking some coins that I stole from the man, I place it in the woman's palm.

She looks at me with gratitude. "Thank you, boy. You are a blessing," she murmurs as she holds my hands. A sense of pride fills me, and I puff out my chest as I smile at the lady.

"It's no problem, miss." I tell her honestly. She shakes her head.

"I have no doubt you will inspire the world later on with your kind soul," the woman tells me earnestly. I feel myself start to blush.

After exchanging a few more words with the woman, I tell her goodbye and head up the stairs to the ramshackle house my mom and I live in. It didn't look like much, but it was alright because I had my mother.

Inside, mom is chopping up vegetables for a soup. As I come in, announcing my presence, she looks up from the cutting board to give me a smile.

She puts the knife down, opening her arms up for a hug. I run into her arms. "How's my birthday boy?" Mom asks me, pinching my cheek. Whining in protest, I move away from her pinches.

"Mom, I'm not a boy. I'm a man!" I tell her heatedly. Mom laughs. "Yes, of course. You're so grown up. 9 years old already." I nod in agreement, to which my mom laughs softly again.

Mom returns to the vegetables, picking up the knife to continue to cut the vegetables again. The sounds of the knife hitting the cutting board echo through the empty house.

"'Mom, look what I got!" I tell her excitedly, opening up my palm to show her the money. She pauses from cutting the vegetables, looking at the money. The smile on her face disappears.

She sighs, and I frown. Mom didn't sound so proud of me like I expected her to be. "Sweetie, how many times have I told you? It's wrong to steal from others."

"But mom," I protest. "Don't we need the money?"

Mom brightens up again. She looks at me with a smile. "No, we don't, sweetie. Because your mom got a job!" I gasp in excitement as mom laughs at my reaction.

I run up to her and hug her around her hips. "What kind of job?" I ask her.

"Well, Mrs. Jenson offered me a housecleaning job today with a generous pay! I accepted, and I started cleaning today. I got the money. Do you know what that means for you, birthday boy?" Mom tells me excitedly, a smile on her face.

My mouth drops open as I say in a breathless voice: "Do I get a cake this year?" Mom giggles and picks me up.

"Yes! You get a cake this year! Isn't it exciting?" Mom asks me. I nod enthusiastically, throwing my arms around her.

"I love you, mom. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaim. Mom plants a kiss on my cheek, then puts me down.

"Just let me finish cutting up these vegetables and then we can go, okay?"

I nod. "Okay," I say with a big smile.

Walking around the room to pass the time, I wait for mom to finish with the vegetables. As I'm doing so, I suddenly hear a yelp and the clatter of the knife.

Turning around, I gasp. "Mom! Are you alright?" Mom is holding her finger, having cut it.

Mom gives me a shaky smile. "Of course I am, sweetie. It's just a cut. It'll stop bleeding soon."

Mom lets go of her finger for a second to grab a cloth from the countertop. As she does so, red blood drips to the floor.

Tightly pressing the cloth to her finger, mom waits a few moments before the bleeding stops. Mom gives me a kiss. "See? I'm fine. Now, come on. Let's get your cake. The bakery will close soon."

Hesitating, I nod, still worried about mom. But my worry is soon replaced by excitement as mom and I leave the house to go to the bakery to buy my cake.

As we walk down the barely lighted streets, we pass a T.V. store. The T.V.s displayed in the window give off so much light. Around the window, many people are gathered.

"Excuse me. Sorry," my mom apologizes as she pushes through people, holding me tightly.

"And is this your son? Oh, I can already tell he got the good looks from his father!"

Mom stops walking. Her head whips to the T.V.s and her eyes widen slightly. I follow her gaze to see the king and queen on the T.V. with a bundle in the queen's hands.

The king smiles proudly as he puts an arm around the queen. "Yes, this is our son. The future king of Norta." The king places a kiss on the queen's forehead.

Mom's grip on me tightens.

"What's his name?" A man on the screen asks. I realize he was also the man who I heard speak first.

"His name is Ahren. Ahren Calore, crown prince of Norta," the king says with absolute pride in his voice.

Mom suddenly pulls me away. I look at her and see stormy anger set in her features. But there are also tears in her eyes.

"Mom? What's wrong?" I ask.

A tear slips down her cheek, and she wipes it away quickly. She looks down at me, smiling. But it doesn't seem like mom's usual smiles.

"Nothing, sweetie. Everything is alright. Now, let's get your cake."

We arrive at the bakery. I choose a chocolate cake, and mom lets me carry the box home. She smiles at me, happy that I'm happy.

But I'm pretty sure she isn't happy.

I try to piece everything together. The king and queen made mom sad because when mom saw them on T.V., she started getting sad. But I couldn't figure out why she was sad.

While we're eating the cake at our small table at home, I finally ask her why she was so sad when she saw the queen and king.

"Did they hurt you, mom?" I ask her.

Mom, in that moment, looks so sad that I immediately feel bad for asking her.

Giving me a sad smile, she says, "Yes. Yes, they did. The king, specifically."

Shoveling more chocolate goodness in my mouth, I ask with my mouth full, "How?"

Mom is silent for a bit. Then, she says, "Me and the king had a little...fight a couple years back. I was very hurt, but I found out I was pregnant with you. So, I left like the king wanted me to to take care of you."

I feel guilty for some reason. "I'm sorry, mom."

She cocks her head to the side. "Why are you sorry, sweetie?"

"It's my fault you're sad and hurt."

Mom immediately denies it. "No it's not. Don't you ever say that. I am so happy I have you, sweetie. I don't know what I would do without you." She pulls me into a hug. "You're such a good boy, Nathan."

I scowl as I pull away from her. "No, mom, I'm a man now, remember? I'm 9!" I tell her with a proud smile.

She chuckles as she pulls me back in for a hug. "Yes, yes you are. You are a good man, Nathan."

"Don't worry, mom." I hug her tightly. "I won't ever let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

♡

Twirling the remote control in my hand, I begin to recall exactly how I got here.

How, as I got older, I figured out the whole story and realized my connection to the royal family.

How my promise to my mother turned into a life goal. How my valiant attitude turned into something darker. How jealousy and anger took over me every time I saw Ahren and our father on the screen, living the perfect life while my mother and I lived in hardship.

I push up from the chair I'm sitting in, stretching. Bones crack and I sigh in content.

When I had turned 24, after my mother's death, I had finally figured out what I had to do in order to get rid of all these negative emotions threatening to control me.

It was simple: get rid of the royal family, the cause of my jealousy and anger.

And I was already halfway done. At the age of 26, I had accomplished in killing the queen and king. Now, I just had to get Ahren and Juliet.

But I wouldn't allow a quick death for them. No, they have to go through the pain I felt as I grew up in order for my thirst for revenge to be quenched.

Speaking of making them suffer, it's been a while since I last saw Madison. I feel a smirk come onto my face. The first part of my plan was to make Ahren suffer by taking the one he loves. It was a shame, though, that it had to be the same Madison I had befriended all those years ago. It really is a small world.

I throw the remote control back onto the chair I was sitting in. My shoes echo ominously as I cross the room to the door, opening it to be greeted by fresh air. As I cross the grounds to go to the prison underground, Rogue Dawn members stop what they're doing and salute me. I ignore them all, my mind focused on one thought:

I'll make sure your last moments on this planet are a living hell, Ahren.

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

Well, this was a fun chapter to write ;)

It was interesting creating Nathan's backstory and showing how he harbored such negativity and then ultimately let it consume him. I hope you all enjoyed the little insight into a villain's past.

Anyways, I just saw that this book reached 1k reads! *throws confetti in the air* We passed a milestone! And it's all thanks to you wonderful readers :)

Until the next time!

Glass_Sword