He made his way down the hall towards the sound of laughter. Peering through the door he saw one of his elder brothers along with his mother sitting at a table set tea and lunch.

The mother took a sip of her tea then placed it down.

"Your father is sure to give you the kingdom, my son. As a firstborn, it is your birthright."

The prince threw down his pastry and sat back in his chair.

"That old fossil hasn't died just yet, but I am sure the reason he has requested all his sons to be present is to announce his last will as king. It is just a good thing that my sister isn't my kin. We both know how fond the father was of the dirty little thorn."

The mother's lips pressed together as she recalled the years of Loraz living in the castle.

"Yes, her presence made things a bit difficult for some time. It is, however, just awful that the king has succumbed to such an illness, but this will get you the power and land you need for our plans."

The prince shrugged his shoulders, and a smirk crossed his face.

"We just have to wait and watch the stupid look on my poor younger brothers' faces. Then when the time is right, we will have a section of land put aside for the factory. I wish to start production immediately after the lab is finished."

"With your new poison, we can bring more profit to the kingdom."

The prince scoffed and waved his mother's word away like some bad spell.

"I am not looking to line the pockets of these delusional fools. The council members only have the minds of peasants. My plan is simply to use my invention to gain more land and expand our kingdom" He took a sip of tea, "The financial aspect of this is not what I'm after, it's the chance to rule as the absolute king. Then once our numbers have doubled, we can take down the biggest threat to us all...the queen of Ay Su."

The mother nodded in agreement and the prince chuckled to himself.

Inching away from the door he made his way to his father's bedroom. He would keep the news of his brother's plans to himself for the time being. It was for the best that he didn't make an ever-worse enemy of his eldest brother just yet. While he already knew that he would be the one to inherit his father's legacy he still felt uneasy about what roles his brothers would play. That day wasn't about him finding out if he would be king, but if his brothers would accept him as their king or challenge him for the throne. He stood in front of his father's bedchambers and stared at the large door made of heavy wood. Taking a deep breath in and slowly releasing it he opened the door and stepped in. He hadn't seen his father for so long and he'd only seen his mother a handful of times since he left. The scene he saw before him brought forth a warmth and a chill.

His eyes scanned the room and he saw standing on either side of the door guards who looked at him and bowed. Their weapons are ready to take down any threat that may try to enter the room.

A frail looking woman approached him as he stepped forward. She grabbed his hand in hers and smiled. Then with a shaky voice whispered to him,

"Robert, dear child, your father is resting now. You mustn't disturb him. Perhaps you could visit later."

Robert pulled her hands to his lips and kissed them gently.

"Perhaps you are right, and I should come back later on," He looked upon her pale face. Her eyes held dark bags under them, and her lips gave an indication that she was not drinking enough liquids, "How are you fairing? Have you been taking your medicine daily?"

She patted him on his chest and smiled some more.

"You worry too much about me. I shall be fine as long as your father does not leave us."

"He will not leave without a fight. You can rest assure that death will have their work cut for them."

"Then let us pray to the Ancestors that he has as much fight in him as he did when we were naive and young."

"Let us pray."

They heard a cough and a deep inhale of breath then a course wisp of voice,

"Let him through to me, Zenora."

They looked back at the bed and saw the king slowly raising his hand up to motion for Robert to come closer.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zenora led Robert closer to his father and then bowed her head then walked to her seat in the corner.

"Father, how are you feeling?"

His father coughed and began breathing a bit heavy.

"Like death has a tight grip on me...it won't be long."

Rushing to his father's side he grabbed a cup of water for him to sip.

"You mustn't give up hope, father. I'm sure the doctor will find a way to heal you and help you recover."

His father chuckled.

"I am not worried about death. If the Ancestors wish to bring me home, then I welcome the offer. This world has become too tainted with lust for power."

The king's laughter soon turned into a bout of coughing.

He kept quiet as he watched his father's coughing spout. Looking over his face he could see the lines of his age and the color of his hair was new to him. Kneeling beside the man who had loved him and cared for him he held back tears. To see such a mighty man now frail and sickly brought pain to his heart.

"Father, you will recover. This is merely a test of endurance from the Ancestors."

Waving his hand once he dismissed what Robert said and pointed to the seat beside him.

"That is not why I asked them to let you through. I wish to know, have you thought about any of what I mentioned to you so long ago."

Robert took the seat and nodded his head. The conversation he had with his father before he set off for Ay Su was one he couldn't forget. No matter how much he tried to force the idea away it always found its way back to him.

"I have father and you were right. Trying to deny it any further would be childish. I have accepted my reality and come what may I have taken steps to gain her trust and then one day her love."

His father chuckled softly and smiled.

"You have grown. So has she agreed to any of your advances?"

Robert looked down at his hands as he thought about how to answer. He remembered the last conversation he had with her before he left.

"She has admitted there are some feelings of fondness for me and has stopped seeing me as a sibling..."

The king pulled at his blanket as he looked over his son's face.

"But?"

Robert looked up at his father, his lip held a weary smirk.

"Her heart also races for another. A childhood friend or love. He is an interesting fellow, but I refuse to give up hope. Our last conversation left us all with a bad feeling."

"A rival, eh. Worry not my son. Most childhood romances never advance any further than a 'what if'. Many refuse to see past the friendship and many risk losing said friendship in the search for something more."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

The king closed his eyes and sighed.

"Well, you already know that after I am gone it will be your responsibility to guide and govern the people of this kingdom. To do this you need a partner that will not just see with the eyes of a royal, but with the heart of her people. I want you to form an alliance with Serenity. They are a Kingdom that with proper guidance could grow into something fantastic. We could use such connections to grow ourselves," the king reached for Robert's hand and looked him in the eyes, "We must support Loraz and aid her in regaining her crown. Promise me that you will make this happen."

"I promise to always stay by her side, father, always. Even if her heart flies off with another she will always be a welcomed friend here in Mossca. She is still even to this day with her identity revealed Mossca's first princess."

"Then I will trust your words." He began to cough heavily, and his breathing became short. Robert jumped up to rush closer to him as he picked up the glass of water, he had him sip from earlier. With a move of his hand, he let his son know he was okay and his coughing calmed down. "My time here shortens let them know that I will be giving my last testimony."

The guards stepped forward and made their way to the front door and opened them. With the doors open each man took a deep breath.

"Bring forth the royal family and the Council!"

Their voices echoed through the halls and four guards came out of hiding then rushed off in different directions.

Robert looked at his father.

"Does this mean I have to send for Loraz as well?"

"I would love to gaze upon my only 'daughter' before I go, but time is not on our side. I would be gone before she ever made it here."

"She will always be a child of yours and I will make sure she understands how much you truly care for her."

The king smiled as he closed his eyes and pictured Loraz's smiling face looking upon him.

"She reminds me of her mother. So much fire and passion for others and very little for herself. We need more like her in this world."

Robert chuckled and sat back down in his chair.

"She does have a habit of mothering those close to her. Mostly because I believe she is worried of losing everything she holds close to her again."

They began to hear footsteps coming down the hall.

Robert looked over and saw his three elder brothers along with their mothers walking towards the opened doors. Not far behind them were five members of the Mossca Grand Council.

The three women held their decorative heads down as they all pretended to shed tears. There was only one of the women present that truly cared for his father and that was his legal wife, Queen Zenora, his mother. The sight of the mothers of his brothers sickened him. He knew they all only counted down the seconds as his father, the king lied wasting away and slowly making his journey back home to the Ancestors.

King Fedrick scoffed and waved the snobbing women off as they all approached his bedside. He had Robert help him sit up a bit and stared holes in each one of the three wives that stood before him. If not for the fact that his first wife became sick and had trouble barring him a child he'd never would have slept with any of the witches before him.

"Stop your act...sniveling winches...quite pretending to care...your hearts have turned cold as ice and green with greed years ago."

A gasp escaped them as his words floated through the air. Robert turned his head as his stepmothers looked at each other and whispered to themselves.

Robert's older brother stepped forward and bowed his head. His demeanor is sweet, and nurturing surrounded by the air of a proper gentleman. A rather cunning façade his elder brother had mastered over many years.

"Father, how are you fairing?"

King Fedrick waved his hand for the young man to step back. He motioned for Robert to hand him his glass of water and took a sip then pointed to his eldest son and shook his head slightly as he swallowed his drink and collected his thoughts.

"You have the voice of a snake just like your mother..." He motioned for Robert to step closer and help him sit up a bit more. "I will cut to the chase; my last wish has already been put into action. It is being spread throughout the kingdom as we speak, and the people have accepted it. I ordered that none of my wish was to be spoken until the day I fell ill and landed on my deathbed."

Robert kneeled beside his father and fixed his blankets.

"You have more fight left, father."

King Fedrick smiled warily and patted the young prince's face.

"Unfortunately, son, I can no longer hold off death. My time is limited as we speak."

The members of the Grand Council stepped forward and bowed their heads. King Fredrick nodded to one of the men as they met eyes and looked over at Robert then his mother Zenora. He motioned for them both to come closer and stand beside him. The council member pulled out a scroll and cleared his throat then began to read from the paper.

"This document is bound by the law of the king and the Grand Council of Mossca. The following is, King Fedrick last will and testament. Upon the death of the current king, it has been determined that of his four sons we are to bestowed his eldest son, Prince Charain, the honor of being advisor to the throne. His second eldest son, Prince Destone, is to be bestowed the honor of Ambassador of National Affairs. His third eldest son, Prince Noran, is to be bestowed the honor becoming the new general of the Mossca military forces. His fourth and last son, Prince Robert, has be acknowledged by the king, the council, and the people of Mossca as heir to the throne and ruler over the kingdom. He will be publicly crowned under the sun in the Hall of Kings three moons after the previous king's last breath. These words have been shared with the people and the court as well as the Royal family."

All eyes went in Robert's direction. He stood up straight as the eyes of his brothers and stepmothers burned holes right through him. The silence that filled the room was frightening.

He said nothing as he walked over to his mother and extended his hand to her. Looking over to his father he bowed his head then looked back to his mother and bowed his head to her.

"I vow to live up to task at hand and be the king and ruler you've raised me to be thus far. I will not let the legacy of this kingdom disappear from the history book nor will I be an unjust king and take more than what I am entitled to.", he looked over to his father and met his eyes, "Rule with a firm first and a gentle hand is what you've always taught me and I will honor both my parents, King and Queen by ruling with such words close to me. This I pledge to you."

Robert lifted his mother's hand and kissed her ring then pressed it to his forehead. An oath to his parents and a sign of respect for his mother and father.

The silence after that wasdeafening. Robert's brothers and their mother stared holes into him, and heknew with each icy stare that his life was in jeopardy now more than before.While he didn't wish to resort to the tactics his brothers used if it came downto it for his father's kingdom and the people that depended on his future reign,he would dirty his hands that one time.