32. A Shocking Display

.

Grand Mage Sidian excused himself after discussing with Taze and Celia, and the door had barely shut when Taze pulled Celia into his arms.

"Taze!" She gasped in surprise, as his arm encircled her waist, and he lowered her to the bed.

He leaned down to whisper, "Celia! I missed you so much..." He raised his head and his soft gaze took in her delicate features, marvelling at how the light danced in her eyes, and how soft she felt in his arms.

Celia felt him harden against her, and her lips parted in a soft gasp, which only made his irises drop to her lips...

It was almost too much for him to bear, and he quickly tore himself away!

He shot to his feet, turning his back on the bed.

"Ahem!" He gave a small cough, as she quickly sat up behind him, straightening her wrinkled gown. "We-. Ahem! We should wait till the appropriate time, before we do such-."

He never finished, because Celia appeared in his front, rose to her toes, and gently touched her lips to his.

Then just as quickly, she covered her lips with her hands and ran from the room, leaving him frozen in place...

'Ce- Celia! This was supposed to happen when we're eighteen!!'

But far be it from him to complain!

A surge of pure happiness rippled through him, and with a delighted spin, he swivelled and landed on the bed.

He lay there on his back, wearing a silly grin on his face, and the sky through the ceiling window was the most azure it had ever been!

'What a wonderful day!'

.

.

After two days of some planning, Grand Mage Sidian requested an audience from King Vien, pleading for Taze to be pardoned.

Before long, Taze was set free, and the palace nearly flipped on its central axis when the long hidden Crown Prince suddenly came out of the East Wing to take a leisurely walk round the Palace.

"Wah!" said a maid to another. "Is that His Highness?!"

"Is that Crown Prince Tazeus?!!!"

"No way! Wasn't he on his deathbed?!"

"Not a single bit of him looks sickly!"

"He looks divine!!!" They chorused.

"Ah, let me help you with that." Taze politely offered to a group of maids carrying heavy baskets, and with a swish of his hand, the baskets lifted on their own, following the excited women to the Laundry sheds!

Later that day, he caught a maid who slipped on the stair, and he floated down with her to the lower landing.

He steadied her on her feet and she hastily bowed.

"Th- Thank you so much, your Highness!" She said, completely dazzled by his presence.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." He waved her away, and his irises darted to his right.

'Ei?!' He could sense a clearly annoyed aura wrap itself around him, and he didn't need to see the pair of narrowed ruby eyes to know Celia had seen everything.

~"You better find ways to impress the ladies that don't involve touching them!!!"~ Her voice boomed loudly in his head!

~"Ahaha! understood, understood!"~

After that, Taze helped a few of the cooks freshen some stale vegetables, and then he spent several hours chatting freely with them and the other maids, helping wherever he could.

"It's the least I could do!" He responded to their hearty thanks. "During the years of illness, I received your good graces from your services and the many delicious meals sent to me!"

'Such a charming young man!' The Head Cook concluded, and by the end of that day, most of the females in the palace had a new target to admire!

The next morning, the guards were surprised when Taze arrived to train with them, but several of them looked down on him, because everyone knew the Crown Prince was ill...

"Crown Prince Tazeus! What a surprise!" The Head Guard bowed politely, but his words had a tight edge to them. "Please don't make things difficult for us! We only have a few hours for exercises! We won't be able to slow down too much for-!"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Taze waved him away. "Just ignore me. Continue training as usual!"

They both turned at a slight commotion, and gasped to see more than half the Palace's maids rushing to watch the day's training.

"Your Highness, you can do it!"

"All the best, Your Highness!"

A few of the guards hurried to coordinate the ladies, making sure they didn't cross into the training grounds.

The annoyed Head Guard didn't share the ladies' enthusiasm... Embarrassing the Crown Prince with so many people watching, would not brighten his future in any way!

Feeling somewhat cornered, he began yelling out the easiest exercises, but as Taze began outperforming his men, he found himself barking out more and more complex exercises!

Still Taze remained on top, and soon the guards were plaguing him for personal duels so they could learn from him!

.

Meanwhile, from the window of a high tower, a pair of blue eyes watched the shocking display amidst a myriad of emotions.

Awash with shock, disbelief, anger and worry, Vitav gripped his water glass so hard that it shattered.

'Well played, Brother...' He acknowledged, his piercing blue eyes narrowing. 'You hid your sword rather well!'

.

Three weeks...

Three weeks was all it took to confuse the citizens of Luxia!

On one hand was their hero, Prince Vitav... But on the other was a formidable opponent...

The Crown Prince himself, who was apparently excellent in every single way!

Crown Prince Tazeus had partaken in duel after duel, emerging victorious each time, and adding to his long list of conquests!

He had powered all the palace crystals in just one move, displaying not one, or two, or three magical cores, but four!

He could recite half the Palace's magical books without looking!

He had beat the eldest grandmaster at chess!

He had defeated Luxia's best Archer, best Swordsman, and best Swimmer!

And he had almost defeated Grand Mage Sidian in a magical duel!!!

Taze was now being dubbed the 'fastest growing genius in History', a term which had followed Celia around during her rise in the Academy.

"Can you blame them?" Celia beamed down at Taze, who crouched and hid behind her skirts, as yet another high mage sought him out for a duel. "You're even more excellent than I remember!"

"It's too much!" Taze complained. "It's spiralled out of my control!"

.

Meanwhile, in her disbelief, Lady Flora had incited the Magic Council to investigate Taze.

"Surely you find it strange..." She cajoled. "One who was so sickly, suddenly displaying such strengths... He has been bedridden for years! How did he learn anything?! It's unheard of in our world! Unless..." She paused prettily, as if she couldn't dare utter the words.

"Unless it's dark magic!" She finished in a booming whisper.

Her words did make sense to most of the Magic Council, and they voiced their concerns to the King.

"What is the meaning of this?!" King Vien thundered. "First, you insisted he was too weak to remain Crown Prince, and made me summon him. He passed all your tests that day, despite having a raging fever.

"Shouldn't that tell you he has always been a genius?! Now you have a problem with him being too strong?!!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive us." Grand Mage Patiel, Head of the Magic Council, bowed his apology. "However, we must insist. We have to eliminate the possibility of Dark Magic!"

A severely pissed King Vien summoned Taze before them, with almost all the notable Mages and Nobles present.

Also in attendance were Vitav and Lady Flora, who hid a scowl when Taze strutted in, agile and seemingly in good health.

~"Don't worry!"~ Lady Flora mentally calmed her son. ~"They'll find the flame when they examine him! He'll be accused of dark magic!"~

~"Foolish Woman! We'll be worse off if it's found! Didn't you consider what would happen if father defends him and they investigate further?!"~ Vitav mentally growled, and Lady Flora fell silent.

However, though several powerful Mages examined Taze, nothing was found.

~"How is this possible?! Did someone break our curse?!"~ Lady Flora wondered, struggling to hold a polite smile on her face.

Taze smirked, reading her polite, but strained expression. He had foreseen this move, so he had fortified the magic orb containing the dark flame!

"Young Man, can you tell us the source of your magic powers?" Grand Mage Pariel, Vice Head of the Magic Council was asking, a kind smile on his face.

Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel were identical twins, down to the tiniest tip of their gray beards, but Grand Mage Patiel was so unapproachable that one could tell them apart with their demeanor alone.

"Grand Mage Pariel, my magic source has never changed through the years." Taze replied. "I was just ill for a while."

"A while, you say?" Grand Mage Patiel raised a brow, twirling the tip of his beard. He scowled at Taze. "Surely, you mean you were ill for almost seven years."

"No." Taze affirmed. "For about three years. I'll make a confession, because Father has already punished me for it."

Everyone present turned to King Vien who exasperatedly shook his head.

"Truthfully I wasn't always sick..." Taze continued. "In my Eleventh year, I snuck out of the Palace to attend Elfsworth Academy, but as you know, that was the year my ailment struck. I got a little better in my thirteenth year, spent two years studying, and then returned to Elfsworth for my sixteenth year. I apologize for fooling everyone."

"Hmm? So you attended Elfsworth?" Grand Mage Pariel twirled his own beard.

"Brother, don't believe his lies!" Grand Mage Patiel folded his arms. "How could he have fooled Grand Mage Sidian?! And even if His Majesty says it's so, we have to consider that it might just be to protect the boy!"

"Oh?" King Vien leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So you think I would lie to protect my son? Then why don't you hear it from someone else?" He turned to his right. "Grand Mage Sidian, say it yourself."

"Hmph!" Grand Mage Sidian folded his own arms, matching Grand Mage Patiel's stubborn pose. "I'm not ashamed to say I was fooled! Might I remind you that this young man nearly bested me in a duel recently?"

"Forgive me for saying, but it could be a lie!" Grand Mage Patiel remained adamant. "You've always doted on the Crown Prince, and you might be under a command... Why should any of us take your word?!"

"Enough!" King Vien slammed a hand on the arm of the throne, and the room rumbled softly. "There's someone who can clarify whether Tazeus is lying or not... Someone who would never listen to me, and someone who won't condescend to lying." He glanced at the doors.

"Let him in!"

The large doors swung open, and the entire hall turned to see a most unexpected guest...

.