Nicholas Cliffdale Vechnost – the sole heir of the Emperor and the late Empress, the official Crown Prince of the Vechnost Empire. He has golden hair that shines like the brightest gold, and eyes resembling a beautiful sapphire that shines in the moonlight. He was cosseted by the Emperor and all the servants in the Imperial Palace at a very young age, he was known throughout the entire Empire as the most beloved son of the Emperor. Little did the Emperor know, it would result in the prince having a delicate heart towards his people.
“I made you eat every peach in the Empire so that your body can tolerate the fruit, but no matter what I do, it will only lead to disappointment!” the Emperor once again lost his temper in front of his son.
“Forgive me, Father. I will continue to train my body until it won’t react to peaches anymore.” Nicholas tried to suppress his emotions and gripped his hands. He still felt the burning pain caused by the hundred peaches the Emperor made him eat after discovering that he had severe allergies with the fruit.
“You better do it properly! An Emperor doesn’t have a single weakness! Keep that in mind!” the Emperor slammed his desk, which made Nicholas flinch in fear.
“Yes, Father. I will do as you say.” Nicholas bowed as a courtesy. “When you were young, I thought you’d be a great successor for the throne! But when you turned 6 years old, no matter how hard I tried, you grew too soft towards your people, including a lot of weakness in your body! I spoiled you too much, I should’ve neglected you to make you stronger!” the Emperor screamed in frustration. Nicholas couldn’t utter a single word, he only tried to listen to his Father’s outrage even though he already wanted to get back from his chamber to rest.
“Because of this weakness of yours, you failed to satisfy the daughter of Grand Duke Ambrose! Even a single display of yourself would suffice her curiosity, but what did you do? You made her interested in you, making her wait for nothing! She almost entered that damn mountain alongside your garden! How pathetic!” the Emperor gripped his hair in disappointment.
“My apologies, Father. I never wish to shame her, I didn’t foresee the after effects of my training.” Nicholas clenched his fist trying to keep his anger building towards his Father. He never sent the Princess a letter even once for he wanted to meet her personally, but the other butler residing in his Palace who only listened to the Emperor was the one who wrote every invitation sent to the Princess and stamped it with his seal.
“What an upsetting reason! I sent an invitation to the Princess, and she’s on her way here so prepare yourself and meet her properly. Be glad that Grand Duke Ambrose allowed her to comeback! Be on your way, and do your duty responsibly!” the Emperor commanded and Nicholas bowed his head once again before leaving his Father’s office.
“YOUR MAJESTY!” Before Nicholas could leave the office, a Knight suddenly barged in and alarmed the Emperor.
“Anton, what is this disrespect!? Has no one informed you that the Prince is still inside? Why are you suddenly barging in and screaming your lungs out!?” Emperor Louis asked in vexation, massaging his frowning eyebrows.
“Your Majesty, this is urgent news!” Anton, the Knight assigned to the Main Palace, said in panic.
“What is it?” Emperor Louis asked, Nicholas also didn’t leave right away, for he wanted to know the news that caused the Knight like this.
“The Princess’ carriage had disappeared in the City!” hearing what the Knight said made Emperor Louis and Prince Nicholas’s eyes widened.
“Who informed you that news!?” Emperor Louis yelled in panic.
“T-The Princess’ personal maid your highness!” Anton stuttered in fear seeing the Emperor’s rage.
“Call the General Knight! We must search for the whereabouts of the Princess at once!” Emperor Louis commanded in haste, “Also, you must do it discreetly! Don’t let the Grand Duke be notified of this incident. Keep the Princess’ personal maid in check, understood!?” the Emperor strictly ordered in order to prevent consequential difficulty, and the Knight firmly obeyed his command, leaving the Emperor’s office immediately.
“Kino! Make sure all the servants won’t spread rumors about this! If a word gets out, be sure to execute all the servants.” Emperor Louis apprised to his aid. “U-Understood your Majesty!” Kino acquiesced in his command.
“Father” Nicholas finally got a chance to speak after all the chaos that happened seconds ago.
“WHAT!?” the Emperor glared at him. “Why are you still here!? Go back to your Palace and don’t you dare set your foot outside unless the Princess is located.” he ordered while gripping Nicholas’s arms tightly.
“But Father! I will help the Knights to find the Princess! It is my duty to protect her, I am old enough to do that and I am an excellent swordsman acknowledged by the Grand Duke Ambrose despite my young age!” Nicholas protested that, piquing the Emperor’s annoyance.
“Your duty is to be safe until you become the Emperor. The Duke only acknowledged you because you are my son, why would he humiliate the Empire’s crown prince? Now, listen to what I said and be on your way.” Jean couldn’t utter a word after seeing how his Father glared at him ominously.
“Understood, Father. I will go back to my Palace.” Prince Nicholas sighed in defeat. He perceives his Father’s temperament will only get worse if he argues more.
*
[Hours when Princess Solliana’s carriage disappeared]
It’s been quite a while since Lucille went out. Maybe the queue for the desserts is long today? Solliana thought, squirming her hands. I am hungry … she let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. Not long after she closed her eyes, she heard strange noises from outside.
“Mr. Edwin, is everything alright?” she asked, but instead of a reply, a sudden silence was only heard on the other side.
“Mr. Edwin?” she’s about to open the carriage when she noticed something’s stuck. N-no! It’s locked! She banged the door multiple times and as hard as she could but a magical barrier surrounded the carriage that prevented it from breaking nor hearing her from someone outside.
“HELP!!!!!!!!!” she loudly screamed but no one even glanced at her carriage let alone cared that something was happening inside.
Screaming like this won’t help me! What should I do!? She tried her best to come up with ideas that can help her escape, but because of the magical barrier, she can’t do anything. What can a mere 14 years old young lady do in this kind of situation? The man who kidnapped the Princess smirked victoriously thinking that he did his job easily.
No Solliana! Think carefully! If you don’t do anything, you might die without even taking Daneyrha to a beautiful place! Solliana argued to herself, I think these people might be some black mages that lurked around the Capital. Countess Aliyah told me one time that the black mages population is lesser than we think so basically the people who kidnapped me might be some low rank mages! This magical barrier won’t last long! She thought while remembering her past lessons with the Countess. We’re almost at the border! Are we going to the west mountain!? No!! That’s where all the slaves come from! I need to find a way fast! She hurriedly inspected every side of the carriage that the magic barrier could not reach. The carriage’s back window! It doesn’t have any magic circle surrounding it! She swiftly removed the curtains and there, she saw another two strange men wearing a black cloak. She was frightened by the sight of the two men in front of her that made her fall on her knees. T-They’re so many!? Solliana couldn’t help but quiver in fear, seeing how these grown men tried to keep her locked in the carriage.
They were about to enter the mountain residing towards the west when the carriage suddenly met a harsh strong wind, causing it to wobble so hard, but the carriage still safely entered the mountain. The man was appalled when he saw how strange the way they were going, realizing that it wasn’t the west mountain. NO! THIS PLACE!!! THIS PLACE IS NOT OUR DESTINATION! The man kept his thought not to be heard by the lady inside the carriage, unfortunately the hard wind brought them into an unfamiliar place where even the young lady couldn’t recognize.
Wait—I have never seen this mountain before! All the mountains from north, east, south, and west, I saw every one of them! I saw every mountain in the book but not this one! Seeing how strange the mountain’s appearance, Solliana couldn’t help but be scared. Of all the people I have to encounter at the Capital, why black mages!? Solliana cried in her thoughts. She couldn’t tell at all if she’s going to be safe or not. I can’t believe I’m experiencing this at this age! Is it because of my rare pinkish white hair? I am the only one who has this hair in this world, selling me might cause them a big fortune! How dare they do this to me!? The daughter of the Grand Duke Ambrose!?Someone, please save me … she pleaded after thinking of many possibilities as to why she’s in this situation. I hope Father won’t get mad at me… she curled up and embraced herself tightly to keep her energy, she felt a little dizzy because of the strong wind they met earlier.
No! We need to go back! This is not the west mountain! Our client is waiting for us at the entrance but why this stupid horses disobeying my commands!!!! The man said, struggling to stop the horses that were galloping continuously inside the deepest part of the mountain. The magic that they cast on the carriage was slowly fading, making it teeter because of the rough road along the way. This stupid horses, why don’t you listen!? I will definitely kill these horses once we deliver this damn young noble to our client! Just wait and see you useless animals! The man angrily said and continuously whipped the horses who wouldn't bother listening to his words.
“How pathetic” the man was startled when he suddenly heard a strange voice.
“You two back there! Don’t you dare say those disrespectful words to me! I will definitely punish the two of you when we’re done doing this job!” the man annoyingly said but his two accomplices didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
“Sire, what are you talking about? We’re carefully guarding the Princess here at the back!” the two protested, making their leader more annoyed. “I won’t let this disrespect be easily forgotten! Be ready, you two!” the man firmly said and continued to face the front and tried to turn the horses to the other way.
“I can’t believe people from the west can be this stupid.” Again, the man heard a strange voice, loud and clear. He is convinced that it didn’t come from his two accomplices; it was too cold and husky. He glanced sideways but to his dismay, he did not see anyone but tall bushes and trees surrounding the road.
“Show yourself you insolent fool!” the man said, slowly making a fit because of his annoyance towards that voice.
“Is left and right the only way to look at each other? This is so boring.” The man couldn’t help but gritted his teeth because of his anger that he’s trying to keep to himself.
Hmmm? My vision is getting blurry, what’s with the ruckus outside? Are they fighting? Solliana’s energy was absorbed by the magic barrier from earlier that affected her body, making her slowly lose her consciousness.
“I will definitely kill you if I see you!!!” the man screamed, “Really? How amusing. You can’t even find me with that brain of yours, killing me might even be hard for you” the voice teasingly said that made the man’s face flushed in anger.
“I am up here you idiot mage” the voice uninterestedly said. The man quickly looked at the way and there, he saw a man with a rare raven black hair.
“Ha! How dare you insult me when you have a disabled eyes!?” The man laughed after seeing the young man with a black hair in front of him who’s both eyes closed.
“I am not disabled. I have a unique appearance that you can’t even dream of seeing” the young man said.
“Ha! You can’t even see my face! Who are you!?” the man said, thinking that he has the upper hand between them because he had a clear vision.
“Hmmm … you can call me the guardian of this mountain” the young man half heartedly said, making the black mage laugh like a madman.
“How can a disabled man like you be a guardian? Hahahaha!” he continued talking while trying hard not to choke on his own laughter.
“So, you want proof? Then I’ll give you what you deserve” the young man smirked and slowly opened his eyes that made the black mage stop laughing. A shining crimson red eyes was revealed, glowing into the darkness like a devil delivering you to death.
“Y-y-y-you! W-w-w-who the h-hell a-a-a-are you!” the man said in panic, even his two accomplices saw how those red eyes glow from the darkness.
“I told you, I am the guardian of the cursed mountain” the young man said and smiled widely that made them cry in fear.
Solliana was about to close her eyes and lose her consciousness, when a wild scream roared. A ferocious scream and loud curses was heard from outside. She can’t stand nor see anything from her surroundings for her consciousness is slowly fading away, but she can feel that the carriage is not going to last long.
Am I safe? She thought when the noise was exchanged with silence. She was about to hold on from the door of the carriage when it suddenly opened. Her vision was still blurry so she couldn't recognize what’s in front of her, but a black hair was visible enough for her to see.
“Princess” she heard a familiar voice that made her feel at ease even though she’s still not quite sure if her guess was right. I heard this voice before! This was the voice of that Panther from the cursed mountain! She thought. Am I saved? Or this is much worse than being with those black mages? She scrutinized the situation she’s getting into. The carriage is slowly breaking apart, and Solliana’s energy reaches its limit.
“Princess, why would you even compare me with those fools?” the young man chuckled, he carefully carried the unconscious Princess and flew to the nearest oak tree. He brushed some strands of her hair that’s blocking her face and softly pinched her cheeks.
“Don’t worry Princess, I won’t let you die.”
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