The World Beyond The Walls

The layout of the Cruor Palace, the Royal Palace of Merlen, was quite unique. Unlike other palaces, this one was a circle with the sitting king's chambers in the center.

All the princes had one wing that extended from the center like the rays of the sun.

Around the wings that belonged to the different princes were the public rooms and offices where the king and princes worked.

"The king's men were supposed to delay your brothers until you could speak to him, your highness." Regan said as they all rushed behind Nicholas who hastened his step.

Nicholas simply nodded as he rounded the corner leading to the main hall.

To their surprise there were men who did not belong to the royal guard or army blocking their way.

Regan stepped forward, placing Nicholas behind him as he spoke up.

"What is your business in the palace and who are you? These are the private halls of the royal family, you should not be here." Regan said in a stern tone as he noted everyone's position.

"The king should give up power if he is dying." One of the men insisted as he took a step forward, making Regan take a defensive stand as draw out his sword.

"You are not permitted in these halls. As a minister of defense, I have the power to command you to leave." Regan's tone was confident, making the men hesitate.

"You're a Corporali Mage, you can do nothing to us." A man chuckled as he stepped out from the crowd.

"Your highness, you may need to run." Regan warned in a low voice as he glanced at his sister. "Stay with the prince."

"You can't take them on alone, I'm a Bellator mage, I am more useful here." Regina insisted as she glanced at the group of men standing before them.

"What are you even discussing?" The leader of the group asked. "And who are you protecting? Don't tell me, is that the king's son?"

"Once more, leave!" Regan commanded as Regina stepped forward together with Dion who had his sword drawn.

"You need to hide." Glynda said as she stood close to Nicholas. "Find Jorin, get servant's clothes from him and hide in the servants' quarters. Do not let anyone find you."

Nicholas nodded as he inched towards the closest exit.

He knew that he would be nothing more than a liability if he insisted on staying.

He could not fight despite having the power, it was a quite risky for him to show his true strength.

"Hand over the prince and we will not fight you." The leader of the intruders said as he raised a sword at Regan.

"We are sworn to protect the prince from all harm. Leave!" Regan warned again.

This time the man did not speak, he did not hesitate, instead the leader attacked Regina thinking that she was the weakest among the group.

To the man's surprise, a flare of purple magic infused into one of Regina's daggers flew straight at him, piercing his heart.

"No!" One of the men with them gasped as their leader fell to the ground. "Kill them! Kill them all!" He commanded as the other men charged all attacking the Corporali Mages.

"Go." Connor hissed at Nicholas as he lifted his sword, blocking an attacker.

Nicholas quickly did as his minister told him and ran for the nearest entrance to the servants' halls.

Unfortunately, Jorin was nowhere in sight, making Nicholas find his own way around the dark halls as he heard the clashing of swords at a distance.

Eventually, Nicholas found the servants' quarters. It was empty, it seemed that as soon as the attack was noticed the servants were made to evacuate.

Nicholas searched the rooms for Jorin's, he knew that he could hide his own clothes in Jorin's room as well as borrow more proper fitting ones.

Since Jorin was the personal servant of a prince, he didn't share a room with other servants and his was quite large. Nicholas quickly changed into one of his tunics and pants, grabbing a worn out cloak as well.

He stashed his own clothes under Jorin's bed before leaving the room and navigating the dark halls till he managed to find an exit.

"You there! Servant boy!" A guard shouted at Nicholas.

"Sir?" Nicholas asked as he kept his head down, careful that the guard would not get a proper look at his face.

"What are you doing here? All the servants were ordered to stay in the city, the palace is under attack and you are all just liabilities inside." The guard told Nicholas as he pulled the prince through what was one of the hidden entrances to the palace.

"I was sleeping, no one woke me." Nicholas said as he tried to figure out an excuse.

"Well, you better be off then, you will know when the fighting is over. Till then, get out of our way." The guard shouted as he shoved Nicholas out the gate, slamming it behind him.

Stunned and confused by what had happened, Nicholas stared at the palace gate for a while before a passing merchant shouted at him.

"You won't get back in by staring at that gate there." The merchant called out, making Nicholas turn and glance at the man. "You're lucky the guard just shoved you out, I've seen them beat trespassers."

He was a Cibus mage, Nicholas could tell due to the man's green eyes. He wore a simple brown tunic and he was quite thin.

"I am not a trespasser." Nicholas said as he walked over to the merchant.

"A palace servant? Interesting. I thought the lot of you already headed into town." The man remarked.

"I got left behind." Nicholas simply answered, keeping his excuse as simple as possible.

"Must be nice working for the king and them princes." The merchant added. "Or do they mistreat you in there?"

"The prince I work for is kind." Nicholas defensively remarked.

"There are no kind princes, boy." The man said, shaking his head. "They will kill each other in time, do you think a kind man can do that?"

"If needed, yes." Nicholas argued.

"You have been brainwashed by that place." The merchant sighed as he shook his head. "Were you born and raised there?"

Nicholas nodded. It wasn't a lie.

"Poor boy." The man said as he shook his head. He looked around, making Nicholas raise an eyebrow at his odd behavior.

"Is it safe for you to be speaking ill of the palace while selling right outside of it?" Nicholas questioned the merchant.

"They will never hear it, boy." The merchant chuckled as he began to secure his cart and pull down its shutters. "Gimme a hand." He commanded Nicholas.

Not wanting to blow his cover, Nicholas helped the man as he pushed the cart aside.

"The missus won't get mad. With whatever hubbub there is in the palace today, we won't be getting much sales. Come, let me show you around the city." The merchant gestured for Nicholas to follow him.

They walked through the streets of the city, Nicholas looked around as it started to get narrower and narrower, and the streets that were once clean were now full of filth.

"Not something you are used to, is it?" The merchant asked as they stopped by a food stall.

"Who's this? Looks too clean to come from the city." A plump lady, a Liber mage with striking blue eyes, asked as she handed the merchant two mugs and two sticks of meat that Nicholas couldn't identify.

"Some servant from the palace, there seems to be some sort of disturbance and the lot of them ran out. This one was the last out of the gates." The merchant explained as he handed Nicholas a mug and a stick of meat.

Nicholas tasted the drink and he could tell that it was some form of diluted wine, it seemed safe and unpoisoned.

"He seems to like what you're serving here, Cleo." The merchant remarked as he smiled at the woman.

"Least diluted wine in the city!" She boasted. "We'd get better if those royals up in the palace didn't tax us so much and hog all the best things for themselves."

"Hah! They've never even stepped out here, and they claim to be our rulers." The merchant said as he shook his head.

Nicholas looked at the man, wide eyed in shock.

"Relax boy, this is the city, they never come here, they will never hear us, not like they want to." The merchant grumbled.

"And they should stay in that palace of theirs if they know what's best for them." Cleo scoffed as the merchant handed her a few coins for their drink and food.

"Yeah, there are hundreds of people here that would be more than happy to kill them." The merchant chuckled, making Nicholas freeze in his seat as he realized how hated the royal family was in its own capital.