Chapter 3

He wasn't a fan of carriages and horses dragging heavy loads, but he needed to do it for his preparatory training. Azrael had just spent a vacation too short from his and his father's lectures, and he was to leave his younger sister behind again. Holding unto the ribbon Kayleigh tied to his newly crafted ax, he wished he would've stayed longer. It wasn't her fault that she was mistreated by those people who were supposed to be there for her; Azrael blamed the prophecy and hated their parents more because of it. King Raegon, their father never even dared to celebrate Kayleigh's birthday just to hide her existence and silence the public of their infectious absurd rumors. The queen on the other hand, only cared for her for a few months until she was strong enough to be taken away from her and be under the rearing of the maids of the castle. Thinking of the few months and a year of sadness that his little sister felt, he closed his eyes and leaned back to take a rest. It was still miles away from their kingdom to the academy where he was going to have his preparatory physical training so the silver-haired price was finally rocked to sleep.

The road from the kingdom of Draighart, aside from it being the farthest from Lionidix was also a tiring road to travel on. Not every road was cemented so even the royalties had to have quite a bumpy ride, because it was the only road free from goons and looters. They were almost near the borders of Alticasiber when the horses carrying the carriage took a break. Ghierel, Azrael's knight knocked on the door to find a sleeping prince. The knight leashed both horses as they drank from a nearby lake. As Azrael got down from his rather wobbly state since he jumped out surprised when he woke up, he called out Ghierel from afar.

"How far are we from the part of Alticasiber? I may have left earlier, but in their current state, we'd just be slowed down."

"You're supposed to arrive on time young master. If you made a bad record on your first week, the report sent to the King will be disappointing."

"A day behind schedule wouldn't hurt that old man. And this isn't even academy year yet, I still have two years before proper classes. Let's rest for today."

"As you wish. Talking you out of this would just be tiring."

It was getting too hot and the horses that just got back to carrying the carriage were already tired. Even Ghierel outside was feeling dehydrated with the humid atmosphere and striking rays of the sun burning his head. They were now out of the Kingdom of Draighart and were already entering the town responsible for producing resources for the capital of Alticasiber. The mountains on the sides of the roads were mining entrances and on the foot of the mountains were grazing grounds for cows and sheep. Although they were on the southern end of the cold and barren like the Kingdom of Casteedius, the home of the empire's tigers was still somewhat cold in the middle of the year. Sadly for all the preparatory academy students like Azrael, the start of their six-month training starts in the middle of every year.

Getting rather worried about his knight and the state of the horses he brought with him, the young prince opened the small window in front of him. He slid it slightly so he could talk to his knight whose slouched back gave off the tiredness he felt. There was no spot for them to rest by now since it was a lonely road and the houses that they passed by seemed to be empty.

"Ghierel, is there a business or trading town near us? We really should take a rest. This journey is so tiring and the things that these horses carry are so heavy."

"We're near the capital young master, just a few more miles. The gates of the trading district are almost up ahead."

"You should look for an inn later. It should also have a stable."

"Okay. Maybe we can catch the young prince of the Gilgiven Kingdom in the capital if we arrive just before the west gate closes."

Speeding up more than their usual pace, the hooves were sounding lighter yet he knew that the faster they went, the more tired they will become. They finally arrived in the capital's trading district, and it was bustling with people. Maids and butlers were following around their young masters and misses. A lot of them were now like Azrael, children who passed the pre-assessment examinations of the barons who roamed around the entire continent to look for new 'brilliant' lights. The usual age for entering this state would be at a tender age of nine, but there were those promising ones who showed that they could hold their ground despite still being at the younger age of eight.

"Don't take the luggage inside the carriage out Ghierel. No one would want baggy trainer clothes, paper, ink, a weirdly cut ax, and some weird parting food for gifts."

"You seem to develop a liking to weird things now. May I ask what struck your fancy to the word?"

"Don't be too formal with me, please! I already told you to call me by my name."

As they finished the task of finding comfortable stables for their horses, they walked and entered the swinging door of the small yet lively inn. The pair was about to go up the stairs when a strikingly handsome silver-haired with pastel lavender highlights, pastel lavender eyes, and a pearlescent skin called out the nickname of the Derdracken crown prince which caused the latter to look back.

"Greetings Sir Ghierel, I'm pleased to have met you today. And hello to you once again, Real." His hand waved and the Gilgiven prince smiled.

"Long time no see Ai. You're still as respectable as usual." Azrael smirked as if the last words were to serve as a friendly diss.

"And you're still as clingy and as caring as you were." He replied with a sly smile that made the other silver-haired prince feel taken aback.

"Hey, I'm not. And how are you I this area and not on board with one of the ships headed to the Academy."

"I was just teasing. I got stuck here since my mother wouldn't let me go early and even till noontime. She'd been doting on me nonstop. It sucks to be the only child in a clingy family."

Laughter in the once-bustling small tavern floor of the inn soon died out, as drunkards and merry men alike exited the inn since the capital's curfew was catching up on them. Soon after, the two friends were left with their own company. Compared to the other three-story inns in the business district of the kingdom's second busiest district, the inn they were staying in was a little shabby. The only receptionist in the whole property slowly approached the two preadolescents as they were sitting on the table nearest to the stairs.

"Good evening young masters, would you like some tea, coffee, or hot chocolate? Oh, I'm sorry; coffee should be out of the choices. Although winter just ended, it's still rather cold night. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you for the offer, but we were just going up to our rooms. Good night good sir."

"Have a good rest mister innkeeper."

Few hours have passed since the two princes arrived in the academy's exclusive training grounds and training quarters which was located near the restricted woody forest which borders the west side of the institute. The moment they got into the registry inside the training ground's dormitories, they were greeted by a rather tall and buff, grey-haired, yellow-eyed man in uniform who sent them running twenty lapses around their huge arena. Sweat dripping from their faces and breathing that seem to have been chased by wolves, a golden-haired, blue-eyed, and pale-skinned boy approached them. He relayed a message to them that they were ordered to stop running, and head to the assembly grounds immediately.

With relief now starting to get painted on their faces, they dried themselves off of their sweats, changed into their uniforms, and followed the now impatient crown prince of the empire. The three have been friends since they saw each other in one of the rare private tea parties that the empress hosts. When the ladies were busy flattering themselves and discussing academic affairs, the three goons would group and pull petty pranks on the busy people attending to the party's needs. They were the infamous trio of the children of the royal families to the staffs of the castles and to those who fell victims to their 'fun' and 'entertainment.' However, in the eyes of the little girls in the continent of Iarthar Dorcha who knew them, they were like the golden demi-gods, too perfect and somewhat too unreachable.

"I was expecting too much from you Azrael aus Derdracken. Your parents told General Ezikiel that we should be seeing you in this place earlier than most people since you took off a day before they were supposed to send you off."

"I had a few problems on the way. I may be late, but I still arrived here. Isn't that what matters. I mean it is better to be late for some time than never appearing in an event, am I not right?"

"You are too boastful coming from a Kingdom that almost got nothing to neither give nor contribute to the empire." The black-haired general scoffed after.

"Hey mind your manners general, you are still talking to a future ruler of a kingdom," Elhai stated as he took a step in front of his row.

"And what of it pretty boy? You are here in the training camp, you are under our command. What we say you follow; unless you'd want a bad report sent to your parents. The world is cruel; it's not all pranking and having fun. Remember that."

"But dragging them down is still a form of disrespect general. We may still be young but at least we know our place, you seem to have forgotten yours." The empire's crown prince voiced out from behind Azrael's row; his radiant royal blue eyes now having a darker glint.

"How dare you?!" The general was about to land a slap on Leo's face when a hit strong enough to knock him unconscious was blown to his neck. It was made by none other than the Lionidix General of the First Order Sir Ezikiel himself.

The row of the pre-adolescents was hocked with the surprising event. After a while, Ezikiel announced the events that were bound to happen in their six-month training. Every pre-academe were to train using their family's traditional weapons and have two year-end assessments for the two-year program, the final one to be verified by the barons themselves.

Words of the event that happened before lunchtime spread like wildfire inside the camp. Some cheered them on as they gave the rude and frightening general what he deserved. On the other hand, some were pissed at them for getting away with voicing out to a general and just getting away with it. The three of them appeared as either brave or an entitled spoiled price that had the chance to "abuse" their power just because they were all crow princes. Everything was too loud and too annoying for them, so they skipped lunch and headed to the arena.

"We haven't played with these for a long time now. Should we try and spar? I'll score; the first one to reach the head will be the winner. Three rounds fine?"

"Yeah, I'm up for it. I would really want to lift this weight off. I don't want to receive a letter from my father telling me about my 'disappointing' decisions."

"Hah. Its fine Real, I'll spar with you. Hey Eli, I do pray you don't yield to favouritism. You might've known and befriended him earlier, but you should score fairly."

"Okay! Begin!"

From afar, two watchful eyes and smirking lips were amazed by the brilliant usage of the offense and defence with a sword coming from two young boys. He hasn't seen this swordplay during his five administrative years in the training camp. Wooden swords were clashing with each other and with their 'little' force, it was enough to make some dents and at Azrael's last blow on Leo's sword the latter's sword broke and he won by touching Leos head with the tip of his now nagged sword.

The once lonely arena was now full of claps as both equally talented first years put down a marvellous "fight." They were swarmed by people curious about their capacities, abilities, previous efforts to enhance their skills despite their young age, and so forth. After the attention receded, they waked to their room. It was just their first day, and only a few hours have passed by when the two princes arrived; they were restless. Expecting to finally stake a break and sleep for a few more hours before dinner, they were stopped by the same curious general on their hallway.

"Your performance has brilliant. I commend your strength to be able to break a hardwood sword by just sparring and playing."

"You two are gifted, no blessed, or even more than that. You are incandescent! I know that your weirdly coloured hair could also par with your friends! Your eyes could see past through their speed and judge the outcomes too perfectly!"

The general was too excited with the scene he witnessed earlier this rather cold aura was nowhere to be seen. He was feared by almost everyone in the military. His reputation I the battle earned him respect and fear, both at the same time. He was sought after by many kings and dukes to train their kids, but he bent to the emperor's commands, and his liking as well as old favours before he entered the world of killing and protecting.

"You three could even surpass the last year's students of this camp!"

The general was too focused on taking to the three boys now in front of their door when paused and looked back to find a glimpse of a familiar ocean blue eyes that once stared at his back before it hid with a bunch of incoming students ready to change into their nightly garments.