-Reflections of an Angel-

The Prince's Despair

Chapter 1

Friends

A chill wind blew through the air, making the lightly drizzling rain dance in new directions, so that no part of the mourners was left dry. A slow, sad requiem started to play, and Lyon shivered, but it was not because of the cold. Vigarde turned slightly to look down at his thirteen year old son, and squeezed his hand gently. Lyon didn't look at his father, but instead continued to gaze at the open grave as the coffin was carefully lowered into the pit. "Mother…" Knoll reassuringly put his arm around his cousin's shoulders. Father MacGregor's voice droned on as he neared the finish of the ceremonial ritual performed whenever a member of the royal family died. He finished just as the coffin struck the earth with a hollow thud. Lyon stepped forward, and dropped a single, pure white lily into the grave. His tears fell to mix with the rain water pooling on top of the ivory surface of his mother's final resting place. He turned and walked back to over to his father as the men started to shovel dirt back into the gaping hole that had so eagerly swallowed the dead body. "Knoll… please take Lyon back to the castle. I will remain here a while longer." Vigarde said hollowly. Knoll nodded and silently started walking with Lyon back towards the keep. The two trudged quietly along, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the roar of the rain. "Knoll… I've decided something." Lyon said, his eyes still fixed on the ground.

Knoll glanced worriedly at his cousin.

"Lyon…"

"I will not let this happen again... I will find ways to use my magic to help and protect people. I will make this world a better place… Will you help me?"

"Of course…"

"Cousin… thank you…"

3 Years Later

"Lyon… let me do this. You were injured by spirits only a week ago… you need to rest."

"I'll be fine, Knoll…" Lyon said as he finished drawing the necessary runes in chalk on the floor. Knoll sighed. He was sitting in his own pentacle, dressed lightly in a black tunic and pants. With the many candles scattered about the dark room, wearing robes would have been uncomfortably hot. Lyon, dressed in similar, albeit white and lilac attire, looked like a ghost in the dim light. "Cousin, you haven't been eating or sleeping nearly enough of late. You should take a break…" Knoll said pleadingly. Lyon sat back and rested his hands on his lap. "Knoll… please… don't worry about me. Every day of this research brings us closer to discovering how to use the elder magics in new ways for the good of mankind… my insignificant sacrifices are nothing compared to the importance of doing that." He said, smiling slightly. Then he started the incantation, his gentle voice rising as the power of the magic made the candle flames flicker and leap and stirred his pale purple hair. A vague, misty shape began to form in a third pentacle sketched on the floor. Lyon finished the chant, and the insubstantial form took on a solid shape, that of a little girl with flame-red hair.

She looked around, confused. Then she saw Lyon, and she drew back in alarm. He knelt, smiling kindly, and said reassuringly "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Can you help us...?" The girl-spirit recovered from her surprise and said condescendingly "You're going to die, you know. You all are." Lyon sighed, his shoulders slumping. Another wasted day. "You're not going to help us, are you.""...Nope."He rose to his feet and prepared to dismiss the ghost, who cried suddenly, in desperation "Please don't send me away!" Lyon blinked and looked questioningly at her. Her lip quivered. "I'm so lonely... I can't pass on to the spirit world yet, for some reason. I'm scared..." He looked at her, pity in his eyes. "Cousin, don't-" Knoll cried, jumping to his feet. It was too late, and Lyon smudged a line of the pentacle with his foot, destroying the only protection he had against the supernatural beings he summoned. The phantom stepped out of her pentacle, grinned... and leapt at Lyon. Knoll remembered all too well what had happened the last time a ghost had gotten at his friend, and scrambled forward to help him… but there was no need. The small child wrapped her arms around Lyon and fell against him. "Thank you, thank you!" She squealed delightedly. Lyon winced at the cold feel of the spirit against his skin, but grinned nonetheless. "You're welcome… you'll have to stay out of sight, though, until I can find a way to help you… can you do that?"

"Of course, Kili is a good girl!" Knoll exhaled in relief. "Lyon… you have to be more careful, or one of these days, your kindness will be the end of you…"

Lyon smiled weakly. "I know, cousin, I know…"

The Next Day

Eirika was nervous. She twisted around on her horse, a white mare, to make sure everyone was still there. Seth was at the front, and Ephraim was beside her on his black stallion… It didn't look like any of the soldiers were missing… So why this lingering feeling of uncertainty? She supposed it was because of the trip they were making, and the very thought made her fidget. What would Vigarde's son be like? What if he was a complete booby? Or even worse, what if he was mean, or an arrogant, stuck-up snob? She and her brother were going to be spending a half a year in Grado studying with the renowned Father MacGregor. If they had to spend all that time in unpleasant company… Fidget. Fidget. Fidg-

"CUT IT OOOUT!!" Ephraim howled. His horse whinnied, startled by the sudden noise, and Ephraim patted his steed's flank. "It's all right, Brokenstar. That is such a cool name! Anyway, Eirika, I've never seen you so worried! What's wrong?"

"N-nothing…" Eirika said, blushing, although she didn't know why.

"Oooh… you're wondering if this prince is cuuute, aren't you?" Eirika stuck her tongue out at her twin. "Just because YOU'RE obsessed with the opposite sex, Ephraim, doesn't mean I am!"

"My lord, my lady... We've arrived." Seth called back over his shoulder, and the twins left off squabbling and looked around in fascination. Grado was well known for its beauty, and its capital was no exception. Flowering trees were everywhere, and small, brightly colored song birds sang joyful little tunes as they flitted through the air. The dull roar of the tide could be heard, even this far inland. Small houses made up most of the city, jostling with one another for space, but managing to look graceful and gorgeous at the same time. A few larger buildings, most noticeably a cathedral and the castle known as Grado Keep, had also forced their way in. Laughing, happy people were everywhere. "Wow… it's so pretty!" Eirika said in awe. Ephraim turned around. "Oh, yay, an armory! Weapons!! Pointy!!"

"Oh, EPHRAIM…"

"Welcome to Grado, my lord and lady!" A servant said, bowing politely. "Thank you…" Eirika said as she waved goodbye to the group that had accompanied her here, who were just now starting back towards Renais. "Prince Lyon is waiting for you in the castle's inner garden… If you would just follow me, please…" Eirika did so, while Ephraim happily ranted about the spear he was going to buy. Finally, they entered the gardens, the servant bowed again and walked away, and Eirika's breath caught in her throat at the magnificence of the scene. Cherry trees swayed gently in the wind, and crickets chirped lazily in the warm air, their calls mixing with the trill of the birds. A large water fountain, erected in the shape of an angel, sent crystal clear, brilliant aquamarine water cascading down to land in a surrounding pool, where fat koi in tints of gleaming golden could be seen swimming lazily. "It's so beautiful…" She said reverently. "I know… that's why I spend so much time here. It's the perfect place to read a book… Also, this is where my mother is buried. Father MacGregor says the spirits of the dead live on in the trees until they rise to Heaven, so that they can protect those they loved in life…" A quiet voice said from the left of them.

Eirika spun around quickly, and Ephraim looked up from the tree he'd been poking at in his boredom. A boy of their age stepped out from behind a nearby tree, a book clutched in his hand. He had pale violet hair that fell gracefully to his shoulders, and kind eyes in the same color. A golden coronet with an amethyst inset into it gleamed on his forehead. He was dressed in the purple and black robes of Grado's royalty, and wore a long tunic over his pants in the fashion often worn by mages. The tradition of doing so had been started long ago to keep over-excited young magic users from rushing out into battle and getting themselves killed, and was now a firmly set standard for aspiring users of the arcane. He blinked in surprise as his eyes met Eirika's, and her heart jerked suddenly. This stranger… there was an aura of kindness and love about him, identical to her own. She felt instantly drawn to him, as if they had some invisible bond connecting them. He flushed, and Eirika had the strange feeling that he felt the same way. Then, unable to meet her eyes any longer, he shyly looked at the ground, and Eirika also turned her head, heat rising into her cheeks.

"Oh, are you... I'm... My name is Lyon. Uh-huh. That's me... The son of the emperor. You're Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika from Renais, aren't you? I heard you were coming, and I've been waiting here all day. I've always wanted... I don't have any friends my own age... So, Prince Ephraim... Princess Eirika... What do you say? From now on, let's be friends..." Lyon looked up again, and smiled weakly. Eirika also gazed upwards, and she smiled back. "Of course…" Ephraim's head swiveled back and forth between the two for a moment, and then he laughed, shattering the emotional moment. "Yup! I have a funny feeling we're all going to be really good friends!" And with that said, he threw his arms around the two. "Group hug time!!"

"E-Ephraim! Forgive him, Lyon, he's crazy…"

"Ha ha… ha ha ha! Knoll, please, come here!"

"…Yes?" A black robed figure said, sighing, as he stepped out from the shadows of another tree.

"That's Knoll, my cousin. He doesn't talk much, but he's really nice…"

"That's okay, he can be our friend, too! And all new initiates must join the group hug!"

"…I don't really want too-" Knoll's protests were cut off as Ephraim pulled him in.

And thus did the closest friendship of the four most light-filled souls that Magvel would ever know begin…