“What do you mean you don’t believe me?” Tetsu exclaimed, pulling his spiky hair in frustration as he argued with Darien, who was folding his arms.

The two were standing in the Royal Library, where there were thousands of texts written on scrolls. These scrolls were rolled up and organized upon hundreds of shelves. Each shelf had a different category that was defined by the type of wood the shelf was made of. Overall, the library was just confusing, which was why Tetsu never came in here. The reason Darien was here, however, was because he had to read a certain amount of scrolls a day and absorb all the information that he read. It was said that by the time the prince became king, he would have to retain all of the information in the Royal Library. Or at least try.

“You know that I don’t believe in the gods,” Darien murmured, looking at Tetsu with a worried look. “So what if my father’s Magus has some sort of scepter that he claims is from a god? They say that about plenty of treasures. And how am I supposed to believe that Cambyses is out to get my dad? The two of them are brothers for heaven’s sake! Why would a man kill his brother?”

“Power,” Yuu said, sitting in a wooden chair, reading a scroll while listening to his two friends bicker. When the two boys looked at the noble, he glanced up at them. “Well, it’s been seen through history that some humans would do anything to obtain power. Whether it’s condemning an entire nation to oblivion, slaughtering a family member, initiating genocide, it doesn’t matter. Power corrupts. Tetsu is suggesting that your uncle is misled.”

Darien put his hands on his hips, irritated as he looked at Yuu. “And? Do you agree with Tetsu?”

“I wasn’t there. I don’t know if it’s true,” Yuu said silently. “B-But I don’t know why Tetsu would lie about something as important as this.”

Darien didn’t respond. Yuu was right. This was big, and if Tetsu was lying about something messed up like this, it could result in his execution. But why would Cambyses let something like power get to his head like that?

The door of the library suddenly swung open and a dozen soldiers swept into the gigantic room, their weapons brandished as they stormed towards Tetsu. They halted before the boy, pointing their swords at him. “By order of the king, Tetsu has been condemned to death for treason. Come quietly and your execution will be swift.”

“Treason?” Tetsu exclaimed. “That makes no sense! I’ve done nothing!”

Darien stepped between Tetsu and the soldiers, causing the Tulgorian guards to flinch. The sight of their prince made them lower their swords, but they kept their hostile gazes trained on Tetsu. “It would seem that you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, Tetsu. I believe you.” He held out his hands and all of the guards dropped to their knees, bowing before their prince. “Disregard my father’s words! Tetsu is under my protection. If you want to execute him, you’ll have to get through me first!”

Tetsu relaxed, looking at Darien with twinkling eyes. The prince was willing to put his own life on the line to protect him? One from the slums, an ex-slave. His life wasn’t worth nearly as much as Darien’s. But the prince didn’t seem to care. For him, there was no price on a life. Tetsu smiled. If only everyone in this world was like Darien.

“D-Darien!” Yuu exclaimed, sitting up from the table. His eyes were wide and he pointed to a man who was across the room, standing next to a shelf of scrolls. The man was drawing back the string on a wooden bow, a nocked arrow aimed straight for the defenseless prince. “Watch out!”

Tetsu tore his sword from his sheath, the blade hissing as it whistled into the air. The arrow shot from the archer’s bow with a muffled twang and the projectile pierced the air, moving towards Tulgor’s beloved prince. The innocent boy stood with his gaping mouth and wide eyes as the spiraling arrow raced for his heart. Tetsu suddenly shoved Darien to the side and took the prince’s place, using his incredible reflexes to smash his sword against the shaft of the arrow. It exploded into a hundred pieces of wood, the metallic head and fletching clattering to the ground.

The soldiers seemed to have expected the arrow to dispatch the prince immediately. But sly smiles spread across the warriors’ lips and they all unsheathed their weapons, wildly charging straight for Tetsu and Darien like a pack of hungry hyenas.

Tetsu grunted, clenching his teeth tightly. These guys were in on the whole operation, weren’t they? He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and whipped his blade in perfect slashes, hacking the men apart by the dozens. The soldiers were in a complete frenzy. They lacked grace and were utterly brutal with their offensive strikes. Tetsu expected more from the Tulgorian guard. They were acting very oddly, as if all of their training had been sapped away and replaced with maniacal survival instinct. It didn’t take very long before the soldiers that had entered the library now lay in bloody heaps around Tetsu. Little did he notice the small wisps of black magic streaming from the lips of the fallen warriors.