The Lost Prince pt. 1
"There was a time, not long ago, when we lived in an enchanted world of elegant palaces and grand parties. The year was 1916 and my son, Allistor was the king of all of Great Britain."
The sound of joyful music and laughter is heard echoing throughout the grand palace of King Allistor on that cold winter's night. All of the guests of the palace are clothed in beautiful garments of the finest material, dancing the night away in the grand ballroom.
"We were celebrating the 300th anniversary of our family reign in a palace in Russia that we had owned for many years. However, no star burnt brighter that night than that of my sweet Arthur, my youngest grandson."
A little boy with very feminine features with green eyes and messy blond hair is seen wearing a uniform that is far too big for him, dancing with the King, smiling and laughing as he picks him up and spins him around. They finish their dance, and the boy is then seen running up the steps on the side of the palace to where the thrones are set in place for the royals. He is carrying a drawing he made to give to his grandmother seated at the top of the stairs.
Meanwhile, an eager young servant boy about the same age as the prince, with bright blue eyes and golden hair is seen spying on the party, holding and eating an apple.
"He begged me not to return to Paris, but I had brought him a gift to make the separation easier for both of us."
The Empress is seen holding out a small green object with a necklace and charm used to open it. Arthur stares at it in amazement. "For me?" He says, "Is it a pincushion?"
The young servant boy is eventually spotted and dragged back into the kitchen where he works.
The Empress holds the necklace is to the object and starts to fit the charm into the lock. "Look." She says as it opens. Two figures who seem to be Arthur's mother and father appear out of the box and start dancing as a sweet melody starts to play from the porcelain box.
Arthur smiles and his eyes light up as he recognizes the song, "It plays our lullaby!"
The Empress smiled, "You can play it at night before you go to sleep and pretend that I'm singing to you."
As the music gets to the chorus of the song, the Empress starts to sing with Arthur following shortly after her.
'On the wind,
Cross the sea,
Hear this song and
Remember.
Soon you'll be,
Home with me,
Once upon a December.'
They both giggle and the Empress hands her beloved grandson the necklace, "Read what it says."
Arthur holds the necklace closer to his face, squeezing his eyes tighter to see the inscription, 'Together in Paris'. At this, he excitedly hugs his grandmother and they both laugh together happily.
"But we would never be together in Paris for a dark shadow had descended upon the house of the Kirkland's."
The party is interrupted suddenly by a tall dark figure making his way into the palace, wearing a long hood over his face and a white bat following him. The guests scatter as he makes his way towards Allistor at the bottom of the stairs.
"His name was Ivan. We thought he was a holy man, but he was a fraud, power mad and very dangerous."
The man lifts the hood covering his face to reveal white hair and amethyst eyes that held insanity in them. He is holding a glowing green glass tube in his hands with demon carvings on the sides, holding it fastened together.
Allistor approaches him threateningly, "How dare you return here! Leave at once!"
Ivan looks startled, "But I am your confidant." He has a thick Russian accent.
Allistor scoffes, "Confidant. Ha! You are nothing but a traitor. Get out!"
Ivan grows angry, " You honestly believe you can banish me? The greatest wizard in Russia?! Well then... By the unholy powers vested in me, I banish you... With a curse!"
Arthur and his grandmother look on from their ruined tender moment in shock and fear.
The servant boy eventually comes back into the ballroom to witness what was happening.
"Mark my words," Ivan continues, "You and your beloved family will die within the fortnight!"
Allistor looks back at his mother and son with a helpless look, then returns his gaze to Ivan.
He yells, "I will never rest until I see the end of the Kirkland bloodline...Forever!"
The green charm then casts a ray of glowing magic toward the giant chandelier in the middle of the ballroom ceiling, causing it to drop, making pieces of glass fly everywhere and the guests to scatter away from the scene.
The scene now shows a dark lair with many spellbooks and potion. A red and black smoke-like substance filters out of a deep well in the cavern.
The Empress continues to speak, telling the story, "Consumed with hatred for Allistor and his family, Ivan had sold his soul for the power to destroy them.
Ivan is then seen having his robes, skin and life be sucked into the deep well, leaving only his still moving bones grasping for the glass vial of green magic that appeared out of the smokey void.
Once he had grasped it with his bony hand, his skin had reappeared, but his soul was now gone. He smiled with crooked teeth and evil intentions. A skull on top of the vial opened its jaw, releasing small, gargoyle like ghouls that slowly moved, leaving behind a green trail of dark magic.
"Go..." The wizard whispered wickedly. "Reveal your dark purpose and destroy the King and his family, once and for all."
The scene changes to a group of angry protestors trying to get into the gates of the Russian palace. The gargoyle creatures from the vial had disintegrated the metal locks on the gate with fire breath, letting the people inside.
"From that moment on, the spark of unhappiness in our people had spread like a wildfire that would annihilate our family forever."
They rushed inside, knocking over statues of the King, setting fire to the palace and invading with soldiers.
The Empress and Arthur are seen running down a corridor in heavy winter coats, trying to escape with the rest of the royal family. Arthur stops in his tracks and runs back to get the music box. The Empress sees him and begs him to come back, running after him.
Arthur opens a heavy wooden door into a bedroom of sorts, finding the music box and tucking it in his coat. His grandmother comes in the room and closes the door quickly. "Arthur!"
He turns around frightened as the sound of cannon fire explodes outside. The two look frantically around the room looking for a way out.
The servant boy from earlier comes inside the room from a hidden door inside the wall, looking at the two.
Outside the window, the white bat that was at Ivan's side drew near and spotted the two inside.
The servant then comes out of the door and latches onto the Empress' coat, trying to get them to come with him.
"This way!" He yells, "Go out the servant's quarters!"
As the three run, Arthur drops the music box once more.
The white bat grips his fur with despair. "She's getting away!" He yells.
His grandmother runs inside the door, but the prince looks back at the realization.
"My music box!" He looks at the other boy pleadingly.
"Go!" The servant pushes him inside and slams the door shut, leaning against it.
Just as he closes the door, soldiers' voices are heard outside the grand wooden doors and they burst open, filling the room with a small amount of resistance members.
They spot the servant, "Where are they, boy?" One asks harshly.
The boy throws a book at the soldier in anger, but it misses and the soldier hits the boy's head with the butt of the gun, knocking him out near where the music box was.
The Empress and the prince are now running outside in the snow, trying to escape the palace. Arthur is losing his footing and trying to keep up with his grandmother.
Ivan watches from a bridge above a frozen lake in the yard and jumps off, grabbing onto Arthur's ankle, pulling him down in the snow. Arthur kicked and screamed. His grandmother tries desperately to help him get away.
"Let me go, please!"
Ivan chuckles darkly, "You'll never escape me... Never!"
With all of the moving around, the ice around Ivan was starting to break. He gasped, noticing that he was right above the freezing water. He lost his grip on Arthur to try and pull himself to safety, but to no avail as he eventually slipped into the dark water.
The green vial lays in the snow as Ivan calls to the white bat.
"Toris!"
"Master!" The bat flys over to his drowning companion but is unable to help him as Ivan eventually drowns.
Arthur and the Empress run away as Toris mourns his master.
Arthur and his grandmother eventually make it to the train station and the last train is just about to leave.
The two run to the train as it starts to leave, the Empress letting to of Arthur to hold onto some of the passenger's hands to get her into the train's last car.
The grandmother then turns to grab Arthur's hand who is still at the station, running after the train. The two grab hands, Arthur trying frantically to stay latched onto her so he could get pulled into the train's car.
"Grandmama!" He yells.
"Hold onto my hand, Arthur!"
She tries to not let her grip slip, but eventually the train speeds up and Arthur loses his footing, letting go of her hand completely and falling onto the station's hard wood floor, passed out. The chain that served as the key to the music box is still around his neck.
His grandmother screams, trying to make him hear her. However, it is unsuccessful as the train pulls away, leaving the young prince in Russia.
"Arthur!"
A portrait is then shown of the Kirkland family, zooming in slowly onto Arthur's face in the painting. The Empress' voice is sad and pained as she continues.
"So many lives were destroyed that night... What had always been, was now gone forever. And my Arthur, my beloved grandchild... I never saw him again..."