In the pouring stormy rain, with a dark and sad atmosphere.
A funeral had been held for Jonathan Ashford, where many friends, families, and people who knew him attended. Violet and Xavier cried their eyes out, except Aleksander, who tried not to show any tears with all his might, as he wished to stay strong for his little siblings.
Thomas gripped his fist in pure anger and sorrow, making his fist bleed as tears dropped down his eyes. "I can't believe he's gone", Thomas said sorrowfully.
Miss Charlotte then comforted her beloved husband in his lowest moment, as he cried over the death of a man he didn't just
consider a best friend, but as his brother, whom he loved deeply.
Grandfather Graviil slowly walked up beside Thomas, calmly reassuring him that Jonathan's death wasn't his fault, but his. If only he had insisted more on Jonathan, on providing trained armed soldiers or secret assassins for their protection, this tragic incident wouldn't have happened, Graviil thought to him in a mix of sadness about their situation and hatred towards himself for not being able to do anything to change the outcomes.
Grandfather Graviil slowly walked up to his grandchildren, gently placing his hand on Aleksander's right shoulder and calmly saying, "It's okay, son, let it go.".
At that moment, Aleksander couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and a series of tears poured down his eyes as he kept his emotionless expression.
"Mother left; now Father is gone.".
"Why did they leave us and Grandfather all alone?".
"Is it because I am weak?" Aleksander thought as tears continued to flow down his eyes.
Grandfather Graviil, seeing the state of his beloved grandchildren, whom he loved more than his own life, vowed to seek revenge and justice on Percival for taking away the life of someone who brought smiles to many.
September 15th, 1808.
A few days had passed since Jonathan had passed away, leaving his now-orphan children devastated.
News spread about an incident that happened in the capital city of Lithuania, Vilnius, in which many reported seeing some kind of flying structure that was out of this world. Right after, the city was suddenly left devasted and in ruins, with many innocent lives being lost.
But what caught the world's attention was the sudden revelation by the Great Ivanovish Family that Saint Graviil secretly had grandchildren who came from his now-desisting beloved and only child, Princess Fyodora Ivanovich.
The reveal of Aleksander and Violet being the grandchildren of the Great Saint Graviil was an absolute shocker to everyone who knew them, especially the fact that the heroic boy who risked his life to save his comrades from a varmint attack and slew the beast was also one of his grandchildren.
Later on, Graviil moved his grandchild to their mother's homeland, the Imperial Kingdom of Russia, where they would live with their grandfather in the grand castle of the Russian nation, Tsarigrad Citadel, also known as the House of Ivanovish—the primary palace of the royal Ivanovish family.
As they arrived at the Tsarigrad Citadel, heavily guarded, Xavier and his elder siblings were warmly welcomed by numerous well-presented servants, maids, chefs, butlers, and all the rest of the workers who worked there.
Then, a butler suddenly bowed their heads in respect, saying, "Welcome home, young masters and mistresses; my name is Viktor Mirovich, and I am the main butler of the Ivanovich family and the butler of your beloved grandfather, Headmaster Graviil.".
Aleksander calmly greeted Viktor Mirovich back, but Violet and Xavier did so in a more nervous tone.
Grandfather Graviil chuckled at their reactions but then introduced them to their maid or butler, who would be serving them from here on out.
Nikolai Petrov, a noble butler known for his loyalty and discipline who has served the Ivanovich family for years now, would now be in charge of guiding and aiding Aleksander in whatever he needs.
Irina Kuznetsova, a diligent and efficient maid, always ensuring that everything is in perfect order, would now be in charge of aiding Violet in her needs.
Lastly, Anastasia Orlova, a kind and nurturing maid who has been with the family since a young age, would now be responsible for taking care of and protecting Xavier.
"Greetings to you, masters and mistresses. It is an honor to be at your service," the maids and butlers said, bowing down to their new masters they would now be serving.
Before leaving with his butler, Viktor Mirovich, Grandfather calmly told Aleksander, Violet, and Xavier that should they need anything, please do not hesitate to call upon him. He has no problem using their family's entire fortune to give them whatever they want.
Hearing that, Graviil's butler was left in utter shock, which made Graviil reply, "Oh, relax, Viktor.".
"I was only partially joking.".
To which butler Viktor replied, baffled, "Why would you make such a joke, my Lord?".
"You know my fragile heart can't take any more of your pranks.".
And Grandfather Graviil, with a more annoyed tone, said, "I'm just as old as you, you know.".
Grandfather Graviil and his butler, Viktor Mirovich, both bid Aleksander, Violet, and Xavier, as they had very important things to attend to.
which their now-assigned butler and maids hurriedly took their heavy luggage and accompanied them to show them where their new rooms would now be.
Reaching his new room, Xavier was left speechless as his maid, Anastasia Orlova, opened the door to his new room, revealing a grand and lavish room covered with expensive decorations, paintings, and gold. He even had a table that had every single one of Xavier's favorite sweets, chocolate, and snacks.
Placing Xavier's luggage down, Anastasia, Xavier's maid, asked Xavier if he needed anything else. But Xavier calmly yet coldly responded, telling her that he didn't need anything and that he just needed to be left alone.
Maid Anastasia was surprised by the response and began to nervously panic, as she thought she had done something gravely wrong to anger her new master.
She then calmly yet nervously bowed her head, replying, "As you desire, Young Master.".
As she left Xavier alone in his room, she calmly closed the door behind her and collapsed to the floor in despair.
Thinking to herself, "Did I do something wrong for him to be so cold towards me?".
"I know this is my very first time serving another master other than Lord Graviil.".
"But I didn't think I would mess up this badly.".
Taking a deep sigh of sadness, she continued, "What have I done?".
Back in Xavier's room, Xavier slowly walked up to the large curtains on his windows and closed them, depriving his room of sunlight.
Xavier slowly lay on his immense bed as tears slowly began to drip from his eyes. He lay there in tears and sadness about his beloved father's death.
As he cried himself to sleep in his now sun-deprived room, the scene swiftly shifted to the deepest void of the abyss, where Excalibur lay embedded in an immense yet shattered boulder, standing within its dimensional realm on a small yet vast floating island. Slowly, it began to sparkle and light up, sensing the pain its master was enduring.
In turn, this caused the Dragon egg from Alcmena, which Xavier had placed in the dimension, to slowly begin to crack.
Now, unknown to everyone, this would be the last time Xavier would step outside again, as he completely cut himself off from the real world and locked himself in his room, not even attending school, which left not only his friends and family deeply worried for him but his teachers as well.