“ And I would never, ever, stop loving you.”

King Nerune Matellius wandered through the holy gardens, the family's private collection of aquatic flowers and plants, accompanied by his wife, Caera Matellius

"Caera, look at this, " he lifted his hand and with his power, he created a ball of water with his blessings. Droplets trickled down as he raised the water up with ease, remaining the garden soil within, so as not to rip out the roots of the Nightlight Lily. "It's blooming more exquisitely than I ever could have imagined."

"What a wonderful shade," she smiled in awe as he presented it to her. "it was dying when you found it out of the lake," she slightly caressed the watery ball to thoroughly admire it, gasping at the slight glowing of the violet petals and the shimmer it reflected through the droplets. "Once the night comes, this flower will single-handedly outshine its peers, this just may be my favorite out of all of them."

"Is it? I shall find more, it's a shame we only have one growing in our garden," he carefully set down the water back to the pond. "They are very rare."

"...Like you, my dear," he added with a smile.

She pinched his cheeks with a blush. "And you, my caring gardener, who makes my life so beautiful." she grabbed his collar to pull him down for a quick kiss.

"I always make sure to tend and water my most precious flower every day."

"Neru!" they both giggled.

"Speaking of precious, where is our Young King? I haven't seen him since this morning, " he frowned. "The Alumnus said he studied all day long. Have you heard from him?"

"The news we brought home seemed to have bothered him, the poor thing. To have always lived in peace and to suddenly be brought to a possible foreign attack." she sighed. "I fear for what may come in the future for both our kingdom and dear Jodi. There haven't been any major feuds since we've overthrown that monster. We have been really lucky since then."

"If something awful were to happen…on the bright side, I may just see you glisten magnificently in your ice glass armor once again," he smirked with teasing eyes. "I still remember how clear your chest plate was the first time you conjured up your armor."

"And you knew at that moment, you've made a good choice?"

"Always have. It was reassuring, at least." she playful nudged his side and they laughed wholeheartedly. "On a serious note, I think we should finally stop treating our little Jodie so lightly. He's no longer a boy. When I was nineteen, I hunted my first carnivore flower deep under the ocean."

"And you presented it to me as you got down on your knees and asked me for my hand," she smiled and leaned in close. "I've never felt so loved,"

"So did I," they kissed each other once more, unbothered by the garden guards standing awkwardly behind them.

"He's almost nineteen now. I planned a grand ceremony for our boy. I remember when he was eight, he couldn't stop talking about it." Caera placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I would have to call off the bakers, but I already paid in full. At least his present is now finished," she said. "But oh dear, I wonder what kind of blessing he'll receive?"

"He'll be gifted a power by the Stone if he is capable," he pondered and grimaced. "What if he isn't granted anything?"

When the heir reaches the age of nineteen, they must bow down in front of the Tanzanite Stone, which is the source of all Tanzanite blessings, as per tradition. The Stone bestows strength on those who ask for it, and if the Stone believes that they are capable of themselves and are determined, they will be given the blessing that is best suited for them. It takes sheer determination and "kingly" qualities to easily wield the power, and a lack of these qualities may result in the destruction of both the wielder and everyone around them.

She frowned and gave him a look. "He is capable. You of all people shouldn't doubt him."

"I'm just worried. I was under the scrutiny of my father who only saw me as a failure. Everything he had said felt true that very day when I didn't get blessed on my first try. " He warmed both her hands with his own and she smiled solemnly.

"Oh, who cares what he thought? In my eyes, you were a blessing," she said.

"Even if I didn't receive the power that I thought I always wanted, I will always have you—You made me realize that I was good enough and because of that, the Stone had given me a second chance,

And if the Stone doesn't find Jodeus capable, I will give him my power, as I did with you."

-

The atmosphere was thick as they ate breakfast. Jodeus refused to look at anyone for longer than a second, and the odd behavior—along with the injury on his forehead—made the Queen worried. He discreetly ate faster, taking bigger bites and chewing less, causing him to choke on a particularly large piece of the pancake he was eating.

"Calm down, child, the food won't swim away!" said King Nerune, eating his slice.

"-fowwy, i'm'ungry"

All eyes were on him as he chugged the glass of water he was handed, thanking the maids and gesturing for them to go. Still coughing and his eyes still watery, he stood up and excused himself, not wanting to embarrass himself further. As he walked out of the dining room, he felt the Queen's gaze on him, he knew what'll happen after breakfast.

An hour later, he heard a knock on his door, and without having to look, he knew who was on the other side. "Come in," he said as he continued to work on something on his desk, too bothered to look up at the person entering.

After a few minutes of silence, his mother cleared her throat and he looked up at her. She was in her court attire so she wouldn't be long and there was a first-aid kit in her hand. His mother walked to his bed, patting the space beside her and Jodeus made his way to sit beside her.

He refused to look her in the eye, even when she tilted his head for her to see his injuries. His mother cleaned his head wound in silence, only muttering a "hold still," or a "sorry" whenever he flinched.

Finishing up with a small smile and a kiss on the forehead, his mother returned the stuff she used back in the kit. She glanced at the clock in his room before sighing. "Jodi, you had me worried. You missed dinner and the guards told me you were still awake way past midnight. And don't get me started with that bump and your wound."

"I know, Mother, I'm sorry I worried you. I was just… reading the book you gave me. The story was so enthralling that I didn't realize the time flying by. And the injuries I have, I was putting away the books on my desk and they fell on me."

He almost winced at the half-baked lie he told. It was obvious that his mother didn't believe him, based on the deadpan expression on her face and the fact that he was a lousy liar. She smiled at him, shaking her head in amusement before ruffling his hair gently, to avoid his injuries.

"Jodi, you don't need to lie to me. I know you were running off in the woods like you always do, but please, do be more careful." He looked up at his mother, finally meeting her eyes as she smiled down at him.

"I'll try, Mother. I'm sorry for lying to you."

"It's alright Jodi."

Jodeus' nose scrunched up as his mother kissed his forehead and boop the tip of his nose. She opened her arms and Jodeus happily accepted her hug, muttering an "I love you".

The hug lasted for a few seconds, broken by his mother pulling away before cupping his face with her cold hands, something she always did ever since he was a small child.

"I love you too, Jodeus." The sincerity of his mother's words made him all warm inside. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes at the oddly calming coldness of his mother's caress. "And I would never, ever, stop loving you. No matter what."

Her words comforted him as he willingly pushed down the feeling of guilt he felt that made him almost sick. Sure, she loved him now, but would she stay that way when his relationship comes to light?

Ignoring the crushing weight in his heart, he pulls away and looks up at her again. "Do you… Do you have time for a song?" She had no chance of saying no with Jodeus looking at her pleadingly.

Smiling to herself, she nodded and he waltzed to the piano in the corner of his room. Jodeus sat beside the piano, his arm propping his head up to look at his mother. She played a few keys first before finally playing the song she used to sing him every night when he was young. He watched as her gentle fingers played each note, her eyes closed and a smile played across her lips as she sang. Her voice was as soothing and pleasant as always.

In the middle of the song, he joined in, his smooth voice blending with hers very beautifully. He closed his eyes, swaying as he sang along with her, a smile painted on his lips as well. Not long after, they sang the final word and she played the final note, and the song was done. Silence filled the room, the both of them smiling at themselves. After a few minutes, the silence was shattered by a knock on his door, a guard's voice reminding the queen of the time.

The smile wearing off, and he looked at his clock. "How long will you be?" She glanced at the clock before sighing. Standing up, she straightened her gown and grabbed the first aid kit.

"I should be back before dinner. I should go now, I wish I could spend more time with you Jodi, but court duty calls, especially with the attacks happening." His mind returned to the village, attacked and burnt down. Without knowing what urged him to do so, Jodeus calls out to his Mother, his voice making her stop, her hand reaching for the doorknob, freezing halfway.

"I love you, Mom," He rarely calls her 'Mom', and every time he does never fails to shock her. She turned around with a huge smile on her face.

"And I love you, my dear."

Before opening the door, her smile fell and her expression became stoic. She handed the first-aid kit to a maid before walking down the hall, back to her husband.

Plopping down on his bed, he closed his eyes and hummed to himself. He had an hour or two to prepare before a guard comes into his room to call him for his sword training, so he decided to relax for a bit.

Grabbing a journal from his bedside table, he started to read. He wrote about the legends of each of the Kingdoms' peculiar landmarks; like the floating islands of the Azurite Kingdom, things Brytos had told him. Slowly while reading, he began to doze off and when he finally fell asleep, the book he was holding—which was, fortunately for him, a paperback book—fell on his face.

A loud knock on his door jolted him awake, catapulting the book flying across the bed as he sat up, he squinted at the clock. It was time for his training. Hurriedly, he washed his face and changed into appropriate clothing for training, almost tripping on his feet while putting on shoes. When he opened his door, he was met by his trainer, clearly annoyed at him for being almost an hour late. Not saying a single word, they walked to the castle's training room.

"Focus, Young King. Your stance is sloppy and your shoulders are tense. Eyes on the enemy."

Jodeus tried to relax, his eyes trained on the knight in front of him. His grip on the sword tightened his knuckles whitening. He readied himself when his enemy advanced, blocking an attack aimed at his side. As his enemy retreated, he launched to attack, aiming at their neck, which his enemy quickly avoided.

Taking advantage of Jodeus being put off by his previous attack, his enemy sweep-kicked his feet, throwing him off balance and causing him to fall. His opponent pointed the sword at his neck while his weapon was out of his reach. He surrendered and his training partner helped him up.

"Nice block," Natiya said, offering him a handshake which he gladly took.

"Thank you, nice kick," He replied, handing Natiya a bottle of water while he drank his. They, a pronoun they insisted, took the bottle, thanking him before drinking it all.

Natiya was his best friend, next to Brytos. They beat him at almost everything but they were admirable and had a boyish demeanor, they had also dated every girl in the academy and had a lot more friends than Jodeus did (will ever have).

A blade flew past him, it was his blade, thankfully the adrenaline from the water he just drank helped him dodge and catch it. Unsheathing it, he saw that it was the ice dagger that his mother had given him for his 16th birthday. It was made from unmeltable ice so sharp it could still cut clean through almost everything without being sharpened in years. Although the blade was made from ice, the handle was comfortable to hold, even if it had a couple of diamonds ingrained in it. The Queen doesn't like to hold back on gifts.

"A five-minute break, then you two shall spar. Natiya, you will choose here a weapon of your choice."

Jodeus watched as Natiya browsed the weapons, usually, they would choose a smallsword or twin sais, a needle-thin sword. But the longer he observed, the clearer what weapon they will choose. Thinking about the opponent's weapon of choice, he pondered if he should choose a different weapon or not. They both see sparring with each other with chosen weapons as an opportunity to try out some weapons or master their chosen ones, and usually, they just have fun with the sparring. His pondering was interrupted by his trainer's voice, telling them that the five minutes are over and to pick their desired weapon.

Natiya went straight for the Gurkha Kukri while Jodeus walked to the sparring grounds, playing with the Ice Dagger in his hand. He knew that his opponent was stronger and more experienced than him but he was faster, and with the water he downed, his reaction time was quicker than theirs.

They both stood on the sparring grounds, readying their weapons and circling each other, waiting for the other to attack. Natiya, being the more eager one, was the first to lunge, aiming to slash at Jodeus' chest which he swiftly avoided.

He tried to thrust the dagger into their side but Natiya blocked it, only resulting in a cut on their arm. Wincing at the sting of the cut, Natiya attacked again, now aimed at Jodeus' face which he barely avoids by stepping back, the tip of the blade nicking his cheek. They continued to exchange attacks, Natiya being more aggressive and Jodeus being more defensive, he dodged every attack they threw his way, his skin now covered in small cuts. His attacks would nearly land, only to be blocked by Natiya's arms which are now covered in deeper cuts.

As the spar continued, they were both worn out, Natiya more than Jodeus. Their movements were slower, although their attacks were still powerful. Jodeus on the other hand was faster, albeit not that much. He decided to take advantage of his opponent's slowness, going on the offense and lunging at them continuously. More and more of his attacks were landing, injuring their shoulder, leg, and side.

Natiya, almost covered in blood, decided to try and sweep-kick Jodeus' feet again, which he anticipated, and jumped over, kicking Natiya on the jaw, causing them to drop to the floor, nearly unconscious. Jodeus kneels beside them, his dagger pointed at their throat.

"I- I surrender," Jodeus quickly called the student healers in charge and Natiya was ushered to the tent to get their wounds treated. His trainer approached him, handing him a bottle of water.

"You've improved, son," his trainer beamed at him.

Jodeus smiled at his words, listening to him evaluate his skills and strategies as he gulped down the water.

"Although," he stopped drinking and turned to look at his trainer, "your sword skills are still far from good. I will have to focus your training on sword fighting."

He understood that his sword skills were not exceptional or even great, but heavy weapons weren't his forte, they slow him down and his main advantage against all his enemies is his speed. He felt more comfortable and confident using smaller and lighter weapons, but his trainer and his father insisted that he learned to use a variety of weapons.

His training ended right after the evaluation of his skills, he was sent to the healer's tent to get his wounds treated and he went straight to his room when they finished.

He sat on the balcony, watching the sunset. In a few hours, he needed to get ready for dinner but for now, he felt drained, even after all the water he drank to heal quicker. Staring at the horizon, he rested his chin on his hand.

The sky's color leads his mind to drift to the attacks, he was briefed by his assigned guard—that annoyingly but understandably followed him everywhere—about the current happenings in the kingdom when he was on his way back to his room and he was told that another attack had occurred, another village burnt down, and a few hundred more of his people were slaughtered. He hoped that his parents would find the culprit and punish them before they could strike another village.

Sighing, he tried to get his mind off of the attacks, thinking of Brytos instead. It was incredible seeing the fiery wings unfurl from behind him, the feathers purely made of fire, the warm glow, and the heat radiating from it. They were mesmerizing.

When he saw them for the second time, he stupidly tried to reach out and touch them. Thankfully, Brytos had hidden them away before burning his hand further.

He chuckled at one of his oldest memories and looked at his hand. There was still a faint scar from the incident but it was unnoticeable. In times that he was unable to see or go to Brytos, he would trace the scar and think of him and his beautiful wings. Sighing, he thought about going to see him but he shook his head, discarding the idea since the people in the castle might be suspicious of him.

'Speaking of Brytos, where is he?' Jodeus hadn't seen him at all today, usually, he would check on his injuries or just hang out with him, but the whole day had gone by without him dropping by.

He shrugged. 'Maybe he'll drop by after dinner.' And speaking of dinner, the Sun had already set and it was getting dark out already so he checked the time, he had a few more minutes to get ready before dinner.

When he arrived at the table, the first thing he noticed was that his mother wasn't there. Confused, he sat down in his usual seat—at the right side of his father, who seemed to enjoy tonight's special rib. He took a joyful bite before changing his expression to a serious one.

"Jodeus," he said, placing his utensils down. "Tomorrow, you'll meet the stone."

Jodeus froze at the King's words, unable to utter a reply. "You need not worry, Son. Your mother and I believe that you have what it takes to receive the Stone's blessing. And in the slightest chance the Stone doesn't, I may bestow upon you my own."

After talking to the King, he ate slower, wanting to see the Queen before he retreated to his room after dinner. Half an hour later, the Queen still hadn't arrived, so he put his utensils down and excused himself in disappointment. 'I expected her to be late, but not this late.'

Before he could even leave the room, the castle's horns sounded, indicating an attack. "Jodeus! To the safe room with your ward."

The King quickly stood up and grabbed his sword, barking orders while following the scurrying knights outside. Jodeus stood there confused, watching the people in the castle as they panicked, and before he could even comprehend what was happening, he yelled over the commotion.

"I can help!"

The King's head snapped to look at him in surprise. "No!" Even as the King started to order the knights to drag Jodeus to the safe room, he persisted, pushing the knights away.

"I am the future king of this kingdom! I must protect it even if it costs me my life. I have been training, father, I can help." Conflict flitted through the King's eyes before he gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Fine, but you will stay close to me or your assigned knights. This kingdom needs its king and you can't be king when you're dead." Jodeus nodded, grabbing a sword. He ran outside where he was greeted by fire, everything was on fire. The heat was unbearable but the screams were more horrific.

The villages near the castle were decimated, everything and every one the fire touched. His eyes darted from one person to another. There were so many people dying, screaming, and thrashing as they burned to their demise. His eyes filled with tears, whether it was from the smoke or the sight of his kingdom burning, he doesn't know.

He wiped his face and sheathed his sword, running into a burning village, ignoring the knights' yelling for him to come back and stay near them. As he got nearer, the fire grew larger and the screams were louder, desperation, pain, and fear powering each wail.

His sight was caught by a person… People? He ran to them, recognizing a mother and the crying child in her arms. They stood in front of a burning house, the mother unwilling to move her eyes from the structure. When he placed a hand on her shoulder, her head snapped to look at him, fear in her eyes.

"Young King, my daughter… My daughter is still inside. Mia, she… she can't walk, how will she find her way out?" The mother sobbed in her hands, the baby she was holding crying louder.

"I'll get your daughter, you should run and evacuate to the castle. Tell everyone to head to the castle for safety. I must meet you there when I get your daughter," The woman hesitated, looking back at the house.

"Please, go now," he pleaded then she refused, wasting no time, he ran in.

"Mia! Mia, where are you?" He went from room to room as quickly as he could, kicking the door open, careful not to burn his hand. "Mia?!"

"I'm here! Please! Help me!" Miraculously, he heard the soft voice under all the ruckus and he swiftly ran in the direction of the voice.

"Get away from the door if you are anywhere close to it, alright?" A soft 'yes' replied and as he charged, he kicked the door in, seeing the child sprawled on the floor. He quickly ran to her and carried her, running to the exit successfully before the threshold collapsed behind them.

"Your mother is outside and I'm gonna take you to her, alright? Do you have any wounds?" The girl shook her head.

The mother screamed in joy as they both emerge from the house. He carried her and they began running up to the hill; he almost fell when he ran into someone. A man, along with a woman and three children.

"The five of you should head to the castle, and you sir, please accompany them on your way, stick together, alright?" The man nodded, ushering his children with him.

Jodeus ran off, deeper into the village.

He had found over a dozen survivors in the first two villages, unfortunately, he also had to witness losses. There was a young boy, he was barely conscious, his clothes were torn, and his skin was covered in burns and ashes. Jodeus tried to save the kid, but it was too late. His lungs had already suffered and he was barely even breathing when Jodeus had found him. He tried every resuscitation procedure he was taught to help the kid but they still weren't enough. But he had let go and given the body to one of the knights nearby.

After he had cleared most of the two villages, he ran to the last one. The village was the most populated and was the furthest from the castle, it had multiple markets and held most festivities and fairs. If the two former villages were decimated, this village was beyond that.

There was no sense of structure in any of the houses left, they were all burned to ashes. The corpses of his people were not only burnt but also mostly mangled, insides were scattered everywhere and blood flooded the streets.

And the smell, God, the smell. The scent of burnt and rotting flesh filled the air, the metallic smell of blood was so strong he could almost taste it, his eyes watered from the smell and the smoke. He gagged, almost vomiting at the overwhelming feeling of disgust.

Almost all sense of hope in him drained when he ran deeper into the village. There was nothing. Nothing but mutilated, burning corpses of old and young, women and men. Deeper and deeper, his breath hitched more as the weight in his heart grew heavier. All these people, all of his people, they were all dead.

What could have done this? Why would anyone do this? Why couldn't I do more?

Tears pooled in his eyes, he stood straight up, swearing vengeance for his people. He ran to the center of the chaos, where most of the knights were sent. As he grew closer, the screams and noises of battle became louder, and the chorus of clanging metals and yelling was unpleasant to his ears. Above all the voices he heard a very familiar one. He ran and ran, tripping on rocks and corpses, trying to find where the voice was coming from when finally, there she was.

His mother was commandeering the castle's offense, the knights heeding every word of her instructions. Despite all that's happened, he smiled at the sight of her. At this very moment, she looked very admirable.

As he watched closer, the comfort of seeing her alive shattered when he saw her holding her side, barely managing to stand as she barked every order out loud. His mother was beaten and bruised, most of her armor had been clawed off her, and she was covered in blood.

Jodeus knew that most of it was her own, judging by the large wound on her side, the cut on her arm, and the gash along the side of her leg. Her movements were sluggish; it looked like every move hurt. He wanted to help her, but before he could even run to where she was, a low growling caught his attention.

His breath hitched and his body fully tensed. Slowly, he turned to where the noise came from, freezing in place when he saw what stood in front of him.