TW: Violence.

Oliver Cromwell had exited his bedroom and listened to the rain beating down on the wooden roof. Suddenly a bright flash shone through a nearby window lighting up the dawn lit halls of the house. Thunder rumbled overhead.

Oliver felt a sudden coldness in the air which caused him to start buttoning up his plain black coat. Reaching into his coat pocket he grabbed some leather gloves which felt cold and smooth to the touch. Putting on his gloves he felt his hands slowly starting to warm up.

Oliver began to walk down the hallway which caused some of the wooden floorboards to creak as he stepped on them. Walking past Richard's room he heard some loud incoherent grumbling and a sudden bang. Oliver dismissed this knowing that Richard is still bitter about the King being in charge and that it's best not to disturb him and let him calm down.

A couple of minutes later he reached Henry's room and stopped as he noticed that the door was open slightly. This concerned Oliver slightly as he knew that it was unusual for Henry to leave the door open. He pushed the door, feeling the large weight of it as he pushed it open.

Gazing at a burnt out candle on a desk in the room he slowly raised his hand and aimed his index finger at the candle. He felt a sudden surge of dark magic rush through his veins and a tingly feeling in his hand. A small dark purple bolt of energy shot from Oliver's finger and lit the candle. This lit up the room slightly with a purple hue.

Oliver entered the room and shifted his eyes to the floor, noticing a pair of black breeches, a white shirt with long ruffled sleeves, and a plain black waistcoat strewed out across the floor.

He approached the wooden desk avoiding the clothing on the floor and noticed a golden pocket watch on the ground. Grabbing the pocket watch off the floor he felt the small weight of it. As he opened the pocket watch he heard the quiet ticking and he also noticed that it was broken and stuck on five minutes to one.

Oliver closed the pocket watch and placed it on the desk. Upon placing it on the desk he noticed a small black leather diary along with a quill that had been snapped in half.

Grabbing the diary he opened it up and smelt the mustiness as he gently turned every page until he got halfway through it and stopped as he saw a concerning entry.

May 25, 1661
I don't feel welcome at home. Father has returned but he still seems upset with me for not using my powers. I can't use them! I have almost died using them but he doesn't understand that! I feel like I need to leave my brother and father and just be alone somewhere that I feel like I belong. I deserve to be alone...I don't feel loved.

Oliver closed the diary and placed it back down next to the snapped quill. Cold tears started to slowly run down his cheeks as he felt deep regret for what he had said yesterday.

A couple of minutes later he heard a loud creak behind him and shifted his attention to Richard who was standing there doing up the buttons on his coat. Richard noticed the tears that slowly streamed down his father's face like raindrops running down a window. Oliver averted his gaze down to the corner of the room Richard went to approach his father but Oliver signaled Richard to stop.

Richard immediately stopped in his tracks and Oliver dismissed Richard with a wave of his hand. Richard wandered down the hall feeling concerned about his father.

Oliver took a deep breath and felt a sense of calmness slowly wash over him. As if a warm and comfy blanket was wrapped around him allowing the dark, cold, and gloomy feeling to dissipate. Closing his eyes he began to sense where Henry had gone.

After a couple of minutes, he sensed Henry's rage which felt like a blazing fire. But he also sensed a sudden chilliness which caused his hands to tremble slightly even though he wasn't cold. He knew that Henry liked practicing his powers somewhere alone and in a calming place with a view of the landscape.

Oliver slowly opened his eyes and he channeled his dark energy. He felt his hands starting to tingle and suddenly the landscape around him started to warp and change.

***

He eventually found himself standing on a mountain and his feet sunk into the snow. He felt himself starting to shiver as snowflakes began to flurry around him and the wind began to gently blow. It felt as if it was slowly sucking the warmth out of him leaving nothing except the cold.

Oliver started to trudge through the snow looking around and seeing nothing except for a few pine trees that were draped in snow as if it was like a blanket. After a few minutes of walking the wind started to pick up and it began to make it difficult for Oliver to see where to go.

Oliver stopped in his tracks as he felt a sudden uneasiness.

He started to look around and saw nothing except for the snowflakes flurrying around. After a few minutes, he saw a pair of deep purple eyes that glowed with a fiery rage.

Oliver walked toward Henry but a small bolt of dark energy zapped the ground in front of Oliver. This caused Oliver to immediately stop in his tracks out of shock. He sensed Henry's fury and the magic inside him spiraling out of control like a raging storm. Suddenly multiple bolts of dark energy began whizzing in every direction and Oliver used his magic to put up a shield. The bolts slammed into the shield which pushed him back slightly. He lowered the shield and went to take a step forward.

But suddenly multiple small dark purple electric tendrils shot out from Henry's fingertips. Oliver tried to defend himself but the electricity struck both of his hands, burning holes in his gloves and severely burning his hands. He let out a scream as he felt the burning pain rush through his hands.

After a couple of minutes, he sensed Henry's shock and he began to approach Henry again. Eventually, he could see Henry properly and stood there and noticed the tears that streamed down his face along with the fiery rage burning in his purple eyes. He went to walk closer to Henry but a sudden shockwave shot out from Henry's position. The shockwave sent Oliver flying and crashing into a nearby pine tree.

Oliver ended up falling on a branch which knocked the wind out of him. He quietly whimpered as he felt a large amount of pain in his chest as if he had been hit by a wooden mallet.

Gazing down he noticed a branch below him which he could try and drop down to. Carefully getting up he edged closer to the edge of the branch. But he ended up slipping and almost falling off the branch but he ended up holding on to the edge. The roughness of the bark hurt the burns on his hands. He felt his heart thumping as he feared for his survival.

His grip started to slip as it was too painful to hang on. Suddenly he felt himself plunging toward the ground after a couple of minutes he crashed into the snow. He heard a concerning crunch after hitting the ground and felt some pain in his left ankle.

His vision started to go dark and he saw Henry sprinting off into the blizzard. Everything faded to black and Oliver lay there motionless.

***

A few hours later Oliver began to regain consciousness. He tasted a thick metallic liquid in his mouth. He felt the comforting warmth of the blankets covering him. He wanted to move but he was in too much pain to do so.

He heard the calming sound of the rain falling on the roof. Slowly he opened his eyes and noticed that he was in his room and that Richard was standing in front of the window watching the rain.

Oliver sensed a mixture of sadness, anger, concern, and a hint of disappointment in Richard. He also noticed that Richards's eyes were glowing a deep purple.

"Henry, you dare do this to our father," Richard grumbled. "Traitorous bastard."

"Richard, watch your mouth!" Oliver snapped. "Stop with the foul language."

"But he is a bas-"

"Richard, I won't tolerate you saying such things!" He said. "Especially about your brother, now go make me some breakfast."

Richard walked out of the room incoherently grumbling to himself. Oliver rolled his eyes as Richard slammed the door. Getting out of bed Oliver winced as he stood up. He limped over to the large wooden cupboard across the room.

Glancing down at one of the doors he noticed a small lock. He sighed, feeling frustrated as he had forgotten where the key was.

He felt a sudden tingly feeling in his hands as he tried to summon his magic to unlock the door. But only small dark purple sparks appeared which caused him to kick the door out of frustration.

Oliver thought to himself out of frustration. "Why did I have to forget where I left the key!? Also, I can't believe Richard says such foul things! Has he been like this since I left!? An undisciplined boy! Probably going to taverns and doing such frivolous activities like dancing and drinking!"

Oliver walked over to a desk that sat in front of a window. He sat down at the desk and gazed out of the window and thought about Henry. Tears started to form in his eyes and began to slowly run down his face.

Suddenly he slammed his hands on the desk causing an empty black vase that was sitting close to the edge of the desk to fall and shatter on the floor. Oliver cringed at the sound of the vase shattering.

Oliver thought to himself out of a mixture of sadness and disappointment. "This family has broken apart like a crumbling old tower in the middle of nowhere. Richard has clearly become undisciplined and Henry is the same. Richard and Henry have a hatred towards each other. Henry now hates me. I thought that they would be able to rule without me. But they both clearly failed and they now want their power back and there is a power struggle."

Oliver rose from his seat and limped over to the cupboard trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his ankle. As he stood in front of the cupboard he began twitching his fingers hoping for a surge of magic.

After a couple of minutes that surge didn't come only a small amount of sparks that flickered brightly from Cromwell's hands.

As he gazed down at his severely burned hands. He felt the rage inside him growing like a raging wildfire in a dry forest on a hot summer day. Slowly he clenched his fists and dug his nails into the palms of his hands causing slight discomfort to the burns on his hands. Eventually, a quiet cracking sound could be heard as he tightened his fists.

A deep purple glow flashed in Cromwell's eyes as his anger violently surged throughout his body. Suddenly magic started to surge through him causing his fingers to tingle madly due to magic wildly flowing through his veins. Stretching his fingers out to the cupboard bolts of magic struck the cupboard violently flinging the doors open and almost ripping them off in the process.

Suddenly his knees buckled beneath him causing him to fall to his knees with a loud thud.

Oliver began to feel sweat slowly running down his face as a wave of exhaustion started to envelop him.

Oliver thought to himself with concern. "What is wrong with powers? They aren't working as they normally would. I wouldn't normally feel this exhausted from using this much power in one day. I also really need to heal these burns."

Cromwell slowly stood up although he was unsteady on his feet. He gazed at the multiple small glass bottles of colorful potions on the shelves. His eyes wandered to a crimson potion on the top shelf.

Grabbing the potion bottle he gently shook it watching the liquid slowly swirl around. Taking the cork off the top a loud pop sound filled the room.

A pungent acidic smell filled the air which caused Cromwell to be deterred slightly from drinking the potion.

Putting the opening of the potion to his lips he slowly tilted the bottle. Which caused the syrup like potion to flow down the bottle. Once the liquid ended up in Cromwell's mouth he cringed at the incredibly acidic taste.

Upon swallowing some of the potion he almost ended up gagging on it and spitting the rest that was in his mouth back into the bottle.

A few minutes later Cromwell stopped drinking the potion and he noticed that he had drank half of it. Putting the cork back on the bottle he put the potion back in the cupboard.

The taste still lingered in his mouth and he wished that he could get rid of it.

Oliver thought to himself "That was such an awful experience. I should have really mixed it in something. But it will help take care of the burns. Dark magic burns can't be healed by dark magic it just makes them worse."

Closing the cupboard Oliver limped over to his bed and climbed back into bed. His eyes wandered to the window and he looked at the cloudy sky and the forest in the distance.

Richard opened the door which loudly creaked as he moved it. Oliver looked at Richard and he noticed a small wooden bowl of a steamy vegetable stew in Richard's hand. Richard walked over and carefully placed the bowl of stew on a nearby bedside table.

"Richard I need you to do something important for me," Oliver said with a voice that trembled slightly.

"What is it, father?" Richard asked.

"Please find your brother," He replied. "I understand that you are upset with him. But he didn't mean to harm me he wasn't himself."

Richard sighed and wandered over to the window and looked out at the next approaching thunderstorm. Oliver sensed Richard's uneasiness and he sighed. Oliver carefully sat up wincing slightly as he moved his injured foot.

"Richard, please he is your brother," He stated with slight sadness in his voice.

"Fine, I will go find him," He grumbled.

"Good. Just be careful," He cautioned.

Richard nodded and he channeled his dark energy which caused a loud crackling sound to fill the room as he disappeared.

***

A few hours have passed since Richard left to search for Henry. Oliver is lying in bed enjoying a deep and dreamless sleep. A few minutes later he heard a loud commotion outside of his room. Which caused him to stir slightly.

Richard suddenly barged into the room while panting a lot. This awoke Oliver from his peaceful slumber.

Oliver rubbed his tired eyes and stretched his arms and legs. Then he groggily stared at Richard who was still trying to catch his breath.

"What is it, Richard?" Oliver asked with concern.

"I found Henry but he doesn't seem well," Richard mumbled. "I don't know if it's from using too much magic or from the cold."

Oliver's eyes widened with concern and he immediately got out of bed. He loudly winced as he put his full weight on his foot. Richard stared at his father deeply concerned about his injury.

"Father I think you should be resting," He said in a voice filled with concern.

"I'll be fine I have had worse than this," He replied. "Now take me to Henry."

Richard began to lead Oliver to Henry. Once they reached Henry's room, Oliver used his magic to light the candle on the desk. Which caused the room to light up with a slight purple hue.

Upon entering the room and walking over to Henry who was lying on his bed. Oliver noticed that Henry was unconscious and slightly pale.

Gently touching Henry's cheek he noticed that Henry's skin was cold. He also noticed that Henry's breathing was shallow.

Oliver gazed over at Richard who was standing in the doorway. Richard noticed the deep concern in his father's eyes.

"We need to keep him warm," Oliver said with concern. "Get more blankets for him."

Richard nodded and promptly walked off. Oliver noticed a silver dagger lying on the bedside table.

Picking the dagger up it was slightly heavy in his hand. Upon looking at the shiny silver blade he noticed that the tip was stained with blood that had dried up. His eyes wandered down to the bottom of the blade and he noticed a name faintly inscribed into the silver.

He wandered over to the desk where the candle was burning brightly. Placing the dagger down in front of the candle he tried to read the name inscribed into the blade.

Eventually, he realized that it was his name inscribed on the blade.

Time felt like it had stopped for Oliver. He started to realize that he had also been like Henry and had struggled with his powers at one point.

***

Oliver walks over to the nearby dark wooden dresser and stares at his reflection. Then he folds his arms and lets out a sigh.

Oliver thinks to himself out of annoyance. "I'm going to have to get mother to cut my hair again. I don't like my hair being down to my shoulders."

Suddenly he hears a gentle knock on his door and a young woman with short tidy light brown hair and dark brown eyes wearing a dark grey dress enters the room. The door loudly creaks as she enters the room.

Walking over to Oliver she gently places her hand on his shoulder and notices the slight scowl on his face.

"Oliver, why are you so upset?" She asks.

"Because my hair keeps getting longer. I'm not a girl so why is this happening?" He replies with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Did you really think that your hair would stop growing at 16 Oliver?" She asks while giggling slightly.

Oliver rolls his eyes and continues staring at the mirror. While the young woman starts playing with his hair.

"Long hair suits you," She says while sounding cheerful.

"Well, I don't think it does and I want rid of it," He replies. "Also stop playing with my hair Catherine."

"It's called you are growing up Oliver. You are becoming a man," She says while still playing with his hair. "Next you will probably end up with a beard or something."

Oliver quietly grumbles to himself and then opens the top left drawer of the dresser. Upon opening the drawer he grabs a small silver comb. Then he closes the drawer. He goes to comb his hair but he stops himself and sighs.

"If you insist on touching my hair could you please comb it for me?" He asks still sounding annoyed.

"Alright Oliver," She replies while smiling.

Catherine grabs the comb and starts gently combing Oliver's hair. She notices that Oliver has stopped scowling but he still has a stern look on his face.

Catherine thinks to herself. "Why must my dear brother be so serious?"

A few minutes later she stops combing his hair and places the comb on the dresser. Which causes a quiet clink noise.

Oliver opens the second drawer on the left and grabs a neatly folded plain black coat. The coat feels smooth like silk and as soft as a cat's fur in his hands. Unfolding the coat he puts it on and buttons it up.

Closing the second drawer he opens a small top drawer in the middle. Upon opening it he grabs the silver dagger which has his name engraved in it.

He stares at his reflection in the dagger for a few seconds before closing the drawer.

Upon looking back in the mirror he notices that his sister looks concerned. He quietly sighs and turns around to face Catherine and he looks into her eyes.

"Oliver I know what you are going to do," She says sounding slightly worried. "Please don't hurt yourself again. Your powers are strong but you can't control them yet."

"I will tame this beast that is inside me," He replies with determination. "I will control it. It will not control me."

Wandering out of his room Oliver walks down the hall stepping on many old creaky floorboards in the process. Eventually, he reaches the front door and opens it feeling a large amount of weight as he pushes it open.

Walking outside he feels the icy air on his bare skin. He starts to shiver a little bit. But he continues walking until he stops in front of a small oak tree.

Staring at the silver dagger in his hand he raises it high into the air and aims it at the oak tree. Then he sends the dagger hurling towards the tree causing it to pierce the tree.

Stretching his right arm out in front of himself and aiming his hand at the dagger. He begins twitching his fingers trying to activate his powers. Suddenly he feels a slight tingling in his fingers.

His dagger suddenly flies towards him at a rapid pace. Instead of catching it by the hilt, the tip of the blade pierces the palm of his hand causing Oliver to scream in pain.

***

Oliver suddenly heard thunder rumbling overhead which bought him back to reality.

Oliver gazed over at Richard who was placing more blankets on Henry's bed. Richard noticed his father staring at him and he stopped putting blankets on Henry's bed.

"Are you alright father?" He asked with slight concern. "You seem a bit out of it."

"I'm fine I was deep in thought," He replied. "Nothing for you to be worried about."

"I see," He said still sounding slightly concerned.

"I'm going to get some sleep," He replied trying to hide his exhaustion. "Take care of him, Richard."

Richard slowly nodded and Oliver exited the room. Then he walked down the hallway. Upon entering his room he closed the door behind him which quietly creaked as he shut it.

Walking over to his bed he got in and pulled the covers up close to his chin. Gazing up at the ceiling and listening to the rain loudly pelting down on the wooden roof. He began to feel a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

He allowed the darkness to embrace him as he closed his eyes. Entering a deep and dreamless sleep.