The day had finally come to present William to the kingdom's nobility. All the lords and ladies of the realm arrived to meet their new prince. Everyone of them had to step forward and bow to him.

Behind the prince, stood the royal family. His mother, Princess Cora (whom most feared due to her suspected practice of dark magic and her creeping influence on the king), his father, Prince Henry (who the nobility viewed as a weak man, unfit to be king, as he was so easily bossed around by his wife), and his twin, Princess Regina (who they looked at as a silly-brained girl born from peasant stock, whose very existence tainted the royal bloodline). And on his throne sat a half-asleep King (in-name-only, if the court gossip was correct) Xavier.

Of the nobility, none was more distinguished than Duke Enrique. Though well known not to be a friend to Princess Cora, one must keep up appearances and etiquette, so the Duke greeted the new prince cordially.

The youngest noble present was the teenage Count Rafael. Having inherited his title at a young age due to the untimely passing of his father, Rafael was unused to the politics of the court, but men like the good Duke Enrique were eager to take him under their wing.

Once the ceremony was finished, there was to be a large banquet. William sat next to his sister and father, but remained aloof towards both of them, much to their bewilderment.

Later:

That night, William went straight to bed once finished at the banquet. Entering his quarters, though there was no light, William could sense that someone was in the room with him.

Hearing footsteps rush towards him, William needed only to point a finger at the direction and the figure froze still. Gesturing his arm towards the hallway, the man was flung out the room, hit the wall, and fell to the floor with a groan.

In the light, William could now see that the man was wearing a hood and bearing a knife. Having heard the commotion, two knights rushed down the hallway and wasted no time tackling onto the fallen intruder.

Princess Cora walked down the hall and asked what occurred, to which William told her that the man had made an attempt on his life.

Giving the hooded man a cold glare, Cora ordered the knights to take the assassin down to the torture chamber, where they were to wring information (such as the name of his master) from him. The knights bowed before following Her Highness' command.

Later:

Duke Enrique, while brooding over the failure of his assassination plot, was entertaining Count Rafael at his castle. The Duke still kept his wits about him, urging the young man to keep calm and eat his dinner.

The Duke was about to pick up his fork to eat his meal but found he couldn't move his arm. Or any part of his body. Neither could the Count for that matter.

Out of the shadows walked a man (or what was once a human) that was known and feared by all the kingdoms in the Enchanted Forest: the Dark One. But unlike his usual giggling routine, now he was bearing a stone-cold, murderous look on his face.

Approaching the Duke, he informed the gentleman that his assassin had broke down under the rack and confessed that it was him who was the mastermind. Enrique found he could not deny it-or speak any words at all.

The Dark One gave a wave of his hand to the Count. Rafael found himself, against his will, walking out of the room, as if his legs had a mind of their own.

For a split second, Rafael looked back, seeing Enrique's terrified expression before the door slammed shut.

Now alone with him, the Dark One stood above his seated prisoner, who was unable to even cry out in terror.

With one finger point, the Duke was set on fire. The fire spread to engulf the room-and soon, the entire castle!

Rafael was left standing outside, watching in horror as the castle blazed. And out of the smoke, waltzed the Dark One, who gave him a dire warning:

'Hear me, young count, and bring this message to all the nobility in this land: the Prince William is not to be harmed. And those that will attempt to do so will face the wrath of the Dark One. For if any attempt to follow the good Duke's example, they shall meet the good Duke's fate. I will end them and set their lands afire. And even if you manage to seize the throne over the Prince's corpse, I will burn this entire kingdom to the ground.'