Jayden rushed down to the archival chambers in the castle. They were usually well guarded by the soldiers who watched the chambers all day and night long, but today being the banquet, the guard was spread thin, and it wasn’t difficult for Jayden to make his way through. However, convincing his mother that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to miss the banquet was harder. Despite his excitement to figure out the truth about his abilities, he waited patiently until a few hours after the feast had begun before he took his leave, saying that he wasn’t feeling good. At that point, even his mother didn’t protest and let him go quite easily.

He’d chosen a black cloak, which helped him hide in the shadows and keep the king and the others from finding out about what was going on.

He turned to the locked doorway where two guards were busy discussing something. He took the key he’d stolen from his father’s room and looked the two guards in the eye before they acknowledged his presence. 

He turned the lock, and the giant iron gate swung open. The room was dark with only the light of the candle that Jayden had already been carrying. He waved the candle around to get a good look around. Most of these books were about magic, to his surprise. Since the decree had come into effect almost sixteen years ago, making the public practice of magic a punishable offence, these books were hard to find. A large number of books about magic had been purged, so Jayden was surprised to find many books on the topic here.

There were full shelves with books on various subjects related to magic and potion recipes. There were also a variety of pouches and amulets as well for which Jayden didn’t understand the purpose of.

He picked out a large bound book with fraying edges, titled ‘A Basic Study of Magic’. He dusted the volume and settled on the ground to read through it.

He tried to flip through the pages, but the text inside had either been smudged or covered by layers of ashes. Some other pages were torn out and burned away, and his earlier surprise vanished instantly.

Jayden gave a sigh and put the book back on the shelf, and tried to find a useful scroll in the piles spread around him, but the language was far too different and difficult to understand.

The mild feeling of exhaustion that had existed as he came out of the forest had begun to make him feel dizzy and faint. He decided it was best he headed before things got worse since someone could find him here.

He gave up on searching for any good information about magic and snuffed the candle before he locked the gates and went back up to the corridor.

He was lost in thought about what his powers really were that he didn’t realize Noxaura coming towards him and bumped into her.

“Sorry,” Jayden said, and he felt the world spinning even more than before as he looked up, so he bowed his head.

“Where were you?” she asked as she observed his dusty cloak and clothes as well as the soot on his hands, face, and hair.

“I’d gone to check the archives,” he answered with all the strength he could muster.

Noxaura raised an eyebrow at him and asked, “And whatever for?” 

“I wanted to search for a relic down there,” Jayden lied.

“Don’t lie to me, Jayden. If I find the real reason you were down there, you’ll be in big trouble,” Noxaura taunted.

“Why? Don’t I have every right to roam freely in the castle?” Jayden asked angrily. He was tired of always listening to all of her restrictions and just wanted some rest.

“Careful with your tongue, young prince,” She said as she looked Jayden in the eye, “I have every right to tell you what you can and can’t do. More answers like that and your title will be at stake.”

Jayden was stunned by her response and kept quiet for his own safety. He gave her a nod and walked back up to his chambers in the large tower of the castle.

There was no way she could do anything like that to me, was there? Jayden wondered. But all of these thoughts vanished as soon as he managed to make it to his chambers. He went over to the bed and fell fast asleep.