The Maze

Nicholas massaged his temples as he tried to figure out his way back to his wing of the palace. The Ganti wing, Brie's part of the palace, was like a maze with many branching hallways moving up and down.

He looked around as he tried to find a way out, but he seemed to just get more and more lost in the halls.

"What the fuck is wrong with this place?" He groaned as he looked around in search of a servant to guide him.

There was a hazy gray mist that surrounded everything in this area of the palace, Nicholas assumed that it was the so-called death that his sister had taken from his pores.

"Your highness!" A familiar voice called out from the end of the hall, making Nicholas turn around.

It was the man from earlier, the one Brie had called Alec.

He seemed to be the same age as Dion, possibly older. Like all Ganti Mages his eyes were as dark as night and so was his hair.

"Alec, right?" Nicholas asked as the man ran towards him, panting as if he had been running around the halls.

"Yes, your highness. Your royal sister sent me to guide you back to the main hallway." Alec said as he gave Nicholas a deep bow.

"Very well, lead the way." Nicholas said with a nod as he gestured for Alec to walk ahead of him.

"Your highness, Prince Nicholas, do you know how long you have been walking the halls?" Alec asked Nicholas as he led them down a path Nicholas had found to be quite unfamiliar.

"I don't know, about ten minutes I guess." Nicholas shrugged as they continued to walk down the hall until the mysterious haze vanished.

"Your highness, you were gone for an hour. Your sister, Princess Brie, thought it was ample punishment." Alec explained, shaking his head.

Nicholas was surprised to hear that he had been walking around for that long.

"Several of the servants reported you going in circles, your sister felt bad after that." Alec told him as Nicholas gave him a confused look.

"There were no servants in the halls." Nicholas pointed out, confused with what Alec had just said.

"The haze hides them and any other person that the Princess does not want you to see. You might have thought you were alone, but there were people around." Alec sighed as he gestured for Nicholas to take the hall to their right.

Nicholas nodded as he took note of the additional safety measures in the Ganti wing of the palace. He knew from what memories he had that the dark Ganti mages were the most mysterious.

They kept everything about their magic a secret, even when one had been king the details of their magic had been kept hidden.

"Her highness asks if you have a response on whether or not you will agree to try the transference technique she and Ryenne had discussed with you." Alec asked as he eagerly awaited Nicholas' response.

"Do you know anything about the technique my sister and the lady Ryenne spoke of?" Nicholas asked the man.

He knew that Alec was Brie's minister, he could tell that she trusted him above all her other ministers, that's why he was the one she had called. That's why he was the one sent to led him out and relay her message.

"No, your highness." Alec frowned, it was clear he was disappointed in the fact that Brie and Ryenne had decided against sharing with him details of their plan. "All her highness had told me was that this was crucial to your attempt at the throne."

Nicholas was silent for a moment as he considered what it would take to harness magic from Ryenne.

He did not dislike Ryenne, as a matter of fact he found her to be quite attractive and didn't mind the required intercourse for them to complete the transference.

What worried Nicholas was a distant memory of the dangers of a prince fathering any child before the sitting king passed.

As young children they were told of how children fathered by fallen princes were murdered. Even children of princesses that were not allowed by their brother kings were killed. It was because each child posed a danger to the line of succession.

"Tell Brie, I'll do it." Nicholas was determined to do everything and anything to regain his power. If an additional benefit was for him to be able to use the mysterious Vale Clan magic, then he would be more than willing to give it a try.

"I shall inform her and Lady Ryenne. We will find a more convenient time and opportunity. It is quite dangerous now since some of your brothers have been sending spies to this part of the palace." Alec told Nicholas.

"Thank you." Nicholas nodded.

"Pass the hallway to your right. It leads to one of the gardens. You can find your rooms from there. We don't want people seeing you leave the Ganti wing of the palace." Alec explained as he turned and left.

Nicholas followed Alec's instructions and ended up in a hallway quite close to his own wing of the palace.

"Prince Nicholas!" Dion exclaimed as he came running down the hall to meet his prince.

"Dion." Nicholas nodded calmly as he saw Regan and Regina join Dion.

"You've been gone for hours. We were beginning to worry." Dion told Nicholas as they entered the safety of the Corporali wing of the royal palace.

"There were matters that my sister wanted to discuss. It took longer than expected." Nicholas explained as they made their way to his chambers, which were at the end of the hall.

"Your brother had been searching for you." Regan informed Nicholas with a scowl.

"Which one?" Nicholas asked as the door to his chambers closed and Nicholas collapsed on a couch and closed his eyes.

He hadn't realized how exhausting his trip to the Ganti wing of the palace had been.

"The Prince Edward." Regan informed Nicholas, making the latter sigh as he recalled his eldest brother's earlier invitation.

"We can always inform him that you are unwell. They don't really expect you to be healthy, your highness." Nicholas shook his head at Dion's words. He knew he needed to meet with Edward, he wanted to see what he was planning.

"Edward will want me dead, but I think he will have a lighter and better option for me. I want to know what it is." Nicholas told Dion. "Have his ministers come by?"

"Yes." Dion responded with a nod.

"Send a message to Edward. Ask him where I should meet him, inform him that I was in the library and lost track of time." Nicholas ordered as Regan bowed and left to execute Nicholas' orders.

"Leave us, Regina." Nicholas told his guard. He knew that what he had to tell Dion would not only need to be kept confidential, but would also hurt his chances with Regina.

For some reason, as early as now, he had already set his sights on making Regina one of his wives.

He knew the nature of women, they were envious and didn't like to share their men. He wanted things to go as smoothly as possible when he took Regina as his first wife.

"What did you need to tell me that Regina nor Regan could not hear about?" Dion asked as he studied his nephew with increased scrutiny.

"There is a way for me to gain more power, more mana, and even some of the Vale Magic that Ryenne possesses." Nicholas calmly informed Dion who could not hide his shock with the prince's announcement.

"How?" Dion asked, eager to find out more.

"By having sex with her." Nicholas said as a sly smile crossed his lips and look for confusion spread on Dion's face.