Hello, it's been almost two weeks now.
I'm going to be honest with ya'll, I won't be able to update as often as I did, the work is too much. Aside from school, I have other activities and obligations, I'm also thinking about future books.
So I will prioritize my studies and health first, you will have at least one chapter a month and if you are lucky three.
Writing is hard and I have a lot of exams to pass... Sorry:'(
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I was lonely as a child, from my youngest age, the only people that genuinely looked after me were my father and very few maids,Ms. Adelaide was a mother to me, always there for me when my real mother wasn't, when father was busy or away which means often.
I saw a teacher on a regular basis. They were cold and distant, I couldn't bond with them. I was kind of a shy child and the friends that were introduced to me were always faking it.
I was the crown prince, they saw a potential of getting a better place of upgrading their status.
I was, therefore, left with the many political books, history books and other science related pieces, as my mother, the queen refused to let me read anything other than that and sometimes philosophers that she proved beforehand.
Ideas, inventiveness and a new beginning scared her and the monarchy, she needed a pawn on the throne and was shaping me to her liking.
I was surrounded by wolves and predators, this pushed Ms. Adelaide to build me a safe space where only I could breath and do the things I liked, to finally live.
It was a secluded small cabin, supposed to be destroyed years ago, I used to hide there.
My first nanny had introduced me to this abandoned place where the gardeners used to keep their tools.
Not a place for children, but she had the other id's help her to make this scary place, my sacred sanctuary and I am forever grateful for that.
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I remember clearly the first time we met.
Dad was back at home, taking care of us, the emperor and father were back from the battlefield.
Father and dad were regarded in high esteem by the emperor for serving the crown and the empire without asking anything in return.
Father was badly injured, sliced by the first champion of the caujanese apparently. Dad was devastated, but it was a life threatening wound.
After that he never went back to war, but was indispensable to the king as a war counselor. He would take on the role of the chief of the brotherhood of the shadow knights, and honor his family like he promised. My grandparents were themselves a count and countess, it is out of love for his country that father gave up on his title to become a knight, but mostly for that, let's be real.
The brotherhood of the Shadow Knight is a prestigious and very selective organization, and now school, that regroups the best fighters of the world.
With diverse discipline and knowledge, it brought to life the ruthless and feared army of the empire. Most kingdoms and empires prefer to give up on their territory or find common ground rather than going to war against us.
Anyway, the emperor instructed father to assign a replacement that would fight along with him.
During that time, father and dad had to go to the palace to talk one last time with the emperor before he went back to war.
They brought me with them to introduce me to the crown prince.
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We are in the carriage, I play with my feet, hit the opposite side where my parents both sit.
Dad glares at me.
"Hassan Alicient Vernon... How many times do I have to tell you to stay calm, stop squirming around, goddammit! You're stressing me out!" I pout but father shakes his head in a desapprobative way.
"You will be kind and respectful toward the prince, and keep that attitude of yours in check, I don't want anyone of those nasty vipers to find another gossip on us, telling people around that I don't know how to educate my children or that I am a bad father and husband. So please be respectful, promise me. "I nodded slowly.
" Oh look, the palace! "
It was a gigantic fortress, equipped with guards heavily armed. But besides the height of the domain, one of the most impressive parts of the construction was the garden.
Dad would always talk about it, he would describe the many shaped animals done in trees by the finest artists, the very diverse and colorful range of flowers that you could find but most of all the fountain.
There actually is a very old legend surrounding this very fountain, they say that the very first emperor created this fountain as a homage to his late king to represent their never-ending love. Some say that if you toss a coin in it, with your partner you will be bound for life.