Ignorance is the mother of all pain, and the bastard father of all betrayals.
-The Dark Prince
"My King" Weisheng said bowing before Godefroi
"Yes, Weisheng" Godefroi said folding his hands
"For two years I've searched everywhere for the name Prince, and today we finally have a lead."
"Tell me more," Godefroi said, leaning forward on his throne.
"It is unclear why, but it seems the Baron of Vertus has been killed, and a new man Lord Lindor has taken his place."
"Yes yes I've heard, what does that have to do with Prince?"
" Zoe and Richard… they ended up turning up as well." Wei answered "But they have been badly beaten and tortured... It seems we will be unable to retrieve any significant answers from them in their current state."
(Back at the castle)
"Baroness Alicia... What are you doing here" Zoe asked, meagerly looking up at her from her chained cell.
"We're alone now" Alicia said taking out her whip. "I won't forgive you for deceiving me! How dare you do that to Prince!"
"So the Baron of Vertus, he was the ally of my nephew… But then who killed him? And why?"
"That is uncertain, but there is one other thing, something that is too remarkable to be a coincidence"
"What is that?"
"Two years ago, a man known as the Dark Prince began rising in infamy under Lindor's Den of Wolves. It's also rumored that he is responsible for the murder."
"I see," Lindor said scratching his beard. "So the trail to Prince ends with death, and reappears with Lord Lindor…"
"Shall I bring him in for questioning?" Weishing asked.
"No, a man like that is too slippery when wet, if we try to grab him now he will slip through our fingers" Godefroi said "Let's wait for him to dry out, and reveal himself"
"Sir?"
"Infiltrate his ranks and get close to him, I'm confident you can find someone for the task correct?"
"Yes it shall not be a problem at all! I will begin at once!" Weishing said leaving "Also here is a present from Meilin" He said throwing a Godefroi a violet flower. It gracefully spun through the air, landing perfectly in the palm of Godefroi's hands
"Prince… "Godefroi thought, admiring the flower. "You've killed your own family and butchered your friends to cover your tracks...You've even begun working with contract killers…. your heart.... has truly faltered".
"The uncle part of me wants to embrace you, it wants to apologize for all the pain my ambitions have caused you these past two years…" He said softly stroking the petals of Meilin's flower
"But the King part of me is different" He said squinting his eyes.
"It wants to trample you into the ground, and burry you alive! Suffocating you before you even have the chance to make your peace with god!" He said ,crumpling the flower to dust in his hands.
"When we meet, I wonder which side of me you will see." He said letting the dust drift from his hands. The remains of the flower drifted out of the castle carried by the winds of fate. Godefroi remembered one of his last conversations with Prince.
"Let's pretend I was someone who killed your uncle long before you were born, and impersonated him just to get close to you? Would you still love me then?" He asked
"No… Because you would have lied to me" Prince answered "But maybe I could learn to love this new person… Maybe, I could learn to understand them…"(Godefroi remembered)
"I wonder if you meant your words back then, do you still think you can learn to love me now?"
Prince sat on top of a building overlooking Vienne square. He stood with his eyes closed, holding one hand over his breast, looking over the same spot he had seen his mother pass 2 years ago.
"Mother…" He said lamenting.
As he said her name, the sweet smell of a fragrant flower overwhelmed him.
Opening his eyes, he saw a violet dust flowing past him, filling his nostrils with its beautiful scent. For a moment, it felt as if there was something there, something tangible. Reaching out into the violet mist, he grabbed the dust and pressed it against his forehead.
"Viola, mother's favorite flower… On the same night of Lindor's betrayal, '' Prince said, tightening his fists. "I hear you loud and clear mother, I know what I have to do"
"It's just like you said, the actions that I regretted… have led me here, betrayed with nothing… But even then, maybe that will lead me somewhere"
"I had it all wrong before… I was so hell bent on the goal, I forgot about my path there. I only had half of the picture… but now it is complete"
"If… I had never fallen in love with Zoe… I would be dead right now… I would have never suffered, in fact, I would have never even known suffering" Prince said. "Because I lived life caring for others… Because I did the things most people wouldn't, I am alive… but… I am suffering… Why? Because my family was kind and naive… they were betrayed by Godefroi…"
"Because Zoe slept with Richard, she got to experience what it is like to be with a real man, instead of crying over a dead Prince, Richard got his fair play and betrayed someone who was going to die anyway… From their perspectives it makes sense why they did what they did."
"But after those tragic events… because of ignorance… I changed"
"The world is fine! How about you wish for something for yourself!" Richard said
"Something for myself…" Prince said (Prince remembered)
"I started to live selfishly… I started to live for myself. And because of that, Zoey suffered watching me in bed as I did her, and Richard got a knife in the back just as he did me…"
"In this world, the people who live for themselves flourish, the people who live for others suffer, it's because those who live for others ultimately live for those who will only care for themselves, in breaking this pattern, in living for myself, and I thought I could live in a world free of pain!"
"But…"
"I was wrong"
"Because I lived only for myself… I ended up hurting my own chances of progressing, I hurt someone I loved, and I was betrayed…"
"Zoe and Richard's betrayal, my uncle Brugess's killing, and ultimately Lindor's betrayal, the events that caused me so much pain all have one thing in common. They all came from one source…"
"Ignorance."
"If I had just been aware of the things in my life… I would have never suffered… Ignorance truly is bliss, if only that bliss could last forever."
"Living for yourself is a priority… but it can't be your only reason to live. I learned that while in that isolation, but I seemed to have forgotten these last two years. The real reason for my existence"
"And that is to find the truth of all things. If I had stopped and became less ignorant, tonight would have never happened… but I let my revenge and lust for power blind me."
"Those actions inevitably led to me killing my own kin… but even that… Even that will lead me to the truth"
"As of today I will stop going by Lint and other aliases. I'm going to use the name my mother gave me, the name that forces respect out of anyone who utters it. If I'm going to search for truth I have to be true to myself… If my uncle finds me and kills me I will be able to die proudly knowing exactly who I am."
"A seeker of Truth"
"Not good or evil, not darkness or light, not anything that differs on perception."
"The truth may vary in its pronunciation, but it is universal in its definition. In finding this universal truth maybe I can finally be free of pain."
"Today I will reclaim my name, and with that proclamation, I will reclaim truth! Uncle Godefroi, I'm going past you! I will find out why men suffer! And why it is these tragic events happen that push man from one thing to the next! Their must be a reason! Everything I'v been through must be for a purpose! No creator would make man just to suffer!"
Prince spread his arms across the rooftops like he was about to fly. For the first time in his life, he felt free. He didn't have to be someone else, he didn't have to get revenge, he didn't need anything at all. For that moment in time, he felt completely content with his existence. It was as if he had finally come out of his cocoon after 2 years of brutal seasoning during his metamorphosis.
"I can feel it" He said, reaching higher and higher into the sky. "Fate is making its way towards me as we speak!"
From the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of paper, whipping around in the wind. Without so much of a movement, the paper fell into his grasp as if someone had handed it to him.
"January 3, 1613, The Great King's Hearing, King Godefroi invites all to Vienne square for his next proclamation!"
Prince read the flyer finding a list of nobles that would be attending.
"Sir Ivan Dewberry, and… Lord Amadeus Lindor." Prince read out from the list with great interest.
"This should be interesting shouldn't it Pedro." Prince said
"..."
"Pedro?" Prince asked.
"Prince, my shadow eyes couldn't predict this outcome…"
"Heh don't tell me your giv-"
"That is the last time my eyes will be deceived"
"No, that is the last time We will be deceived." Prince said "Tomorrow, we will begin anew, tomorrow we will finally take back my name."
"You have done well boy, you truly are my heir"
"Soon the world will know and respect the name Prince. Mother, I'm going to show the world who I am. I'm going to make your wish come true"