THE PRINCE WALKED through the massive halls of his castle, his footsteps echoing loudly in the silent place he calls home. He bore a pleased expression as he nearly skipped into a large room located in the center building of the entire castle structure. He had just spent the day with the one that he, apparently, loved. He was excited to see her again, as they were going to do so again the next day.
The walls were completely white, except for gold in places, and the dark red rug centered in all of the main halls. There were statues of his comerades, and the kings and queens of the neighboring kingdoms, each made out of pure marble. He also had a statue of himself from when he was younger, except the sculptor made it a little too childish for his liking.
His younger self wore a large cape and wore a smug smirk on his face as he held up a scepter that was also too large for him. What had he been thinking when he posed for this? Shaking his head at the memory, he moved on to the room behind it.
Only he knew about this room. It was where he kept all of his artifacts, the ones that he used as gifts. The ones he didn't share were located in the back of the room, each one of them on pedistals. No one could touch them but him, for he didn't permit anyone else. Everyone who did would become corrupted, for their magic was too strong. All of the other artifacts, the ones that he could share, were located more in the front of the room.
He walked towards the large doors that held all of his prized possessions. Before he even reached the doors, he noticed something was wrong. He didn't feel the usual aura he felt when he walked near it. And... The door was slightly opened. Running towards the door, he flung it open, rage starting to consume him.
What he saw made all of the rage die down, just for a moment, the shock overwhelming him. All of his artifacts, stolen. The only ones that remained were the ones that were broken, too corrupted to be of any use to anyone; even himself. He looked around, blue eyes wide as he walked towards the pedistal. The Seven Artifacts. All of them were stolen, except two of them, The Paintbrush, and The Cubes; except both were corrupted, black electricity sizzling out of them.
The Artifact Room was trashed. As the realization came to him, rage built up in his chest at an even faster pace. He stormed out of the room, un-sheathing his sword and running to the teleportation transporters. He knew exactly who stole them, and he was going to make them pay.
Even though he wasn't a good fighter, he still had his magic, and that still wasn't the best. Fueled by his emotions, his magic sizzled and cracked around him, the floor burning with every step.
Oh, he was going to make them pay; and they were going to pay dearly.
BURSTING THROUGH THE throne room doors, he stormed in, knocking away the pitiful guards with a flick of his wrist. His face was blank as he drew his sword. The prince didn't seem the be able to control his actions anymore, as he watched his first target draw their own sword.
She wore his crown, the artifact of course. Blue energy sizzled around her as her evil smile beckoned the young ruler to fight. The prince never would have thought that the one who showed him so much affection would double cross him. Realizing his time had been wasted with her, he almost did, but was stopped when more kings and queens appeared before him, each wearing a stolen artifact.
His artifacts.
He didn't move, keeping his position in front of the door and his sword ready to block any attacks that may come near him. He waited for them to make a move, his expression non-wavering as his the energy crackling around him turned from it's white color to black, his hands doing the same thing.
"Now what are you doing here, holding that sword? Don't you know it's dangerous? You could hurt yourself. Come on, give it here." said his first target. She held her hand out close to him as if he was actually going to give her his sword.
Before anyone in the room could blink, her body was falling to the floor, her head landing a few feet away. Blood splashed out of her neck as it fell on all everyone in the room. In the same amount of time, everyone else drew their weapons, calling on the power of the artifacts they wore to assist them in the battle to come.
It wasn't like they could do anything of course. They would all be dead anyways.
When he had finished, he looked over the bodies of his victims. Each of their bodies hung on ropes connected to the ceiling. All of the artifacts had been stored in a back, except each of them had become corrupted like he had. They were all covered in blood, because they had been glued to his targets.
Being a rational person, he carved out all the artifacts from their flesh, and neatly placed them in the bag. Blood dripped onto the floor as he hoisted the bag over his shoulder, and looked around the room one last time before exiting.
As he walked out, he realized the blood stains all over him made him look savage; like a monster. He had reached a mirror and examined himself.
His magic had died down, along with the boiling anger, but he had gone too far. The once pure soul had become corrupted, his once blue eyes empty, only the color of yellow remeaning. His white magic had become black, the darkness seeping out of his very being.
Returning to his castle, he walked into the artifact room once again. Placing them in there, the prince called back all of his artifacts and fixed the trashed room the best he could. Placing them all in their correct places, and using the last peice of his magic pure magic to scatter them across the multiverse. No one would ever find them unless they wanted to be found.
After he had done that, he trudged out, exhausted from the day. He could feel the corruption getting worse, the dark energy seeping through his veins. He looked at his castle and decided that it needed to be hidden as well.
Reciting a spell that would keep it hidden, even though his magic wouldn't be perfect, the prince put his hands out, letting the energy come forward. "With these words, you will never fear, for your home, shall dissapear..." he closed his eyes to shield himself from the blinding light that was pulsating in from of him. The castle flickered, the spell starting to take it's toll. "It will find it's own home, to preservere, and keep safe what you all hold dear."
A bright light filled his vision, even when he held his eyes closed, and the castle dissapeared. It seemingly didn't exist anymore. The only thing signifying it had been there, was the massive hole in the ground, standing where the large building had once stood.
The prince dissapeared in the same light, no one to see him again...
"THE PRINCE COULD be found again, but only if he deemed you worthy. You would know that you were worthy if you looked in the distance, and saw his castle, glowing with it's beautiful light." The lavender Hybreedian closed the book, and looked with an amused look on her face at the awed expression of the children she told the story to.
"Is the story real?" said one of them. She bounced up and down in her spot on the floor with excitement," Can we really find the prince?"
"Only if you are good kids." The Hybreedian replied. The sudden chatter of the children made her giggle, all of them recounting their good feats and saying that they had all been good children.
"Who told you the story?" asked a small boy, his big eyes sparkling as he looked at her. The other children quieted down, looking at her expectantly, waiting for the answer.
"I don't think you would believe me..." at the downcast looks she received, the wolf hybrid added; "But, I'll tell you anyways." They all brightened up at this, even their parents looking interested as they had also been listening.
"It was a good person, even though at first glance, he looked scary. Almost like a monster." she waved her hands at them, some flinching back with suprise. "He always said he wasn't good with people, but he always had the most interesting ideas and stories. The people who were fans of him were always excited when he made something, for it was always so amazing. He was only half of himself though, but I personally think It was the best half." she paused.
"He would tell stories to us, and we would always have so many questions, even though he was... weirded out sometimes. He still didn't mind though."
"What kind of stories did he tell you?"
"What was his favorite color?"
"Did he have a girlfriend?"
"What did look like?"
"Well... somesay he looked like a ghost!" she jumped up, all of the children screeching and bursting into giggles afterwards. "He called himself the Ghost of the Woods, and he would scare children who misbehaved. But... If you were a good kid, you could call him The Friendly Ghost."
She was bombarded with even more questions, and the parents interupted their session. It was time for them to go home. The children waved goodbye and chatted with their parents as they all left, and soon, the room was vacant once again.
She felt something in the air, and looked out the window, seeing a flash of blue light, and for a second, she saw a castle. Her smile fading, she picked up her phone and dialed a series of numbers, putting it up to her ear when she finished.
"Hello? Yeah, I saw it to. Send the team to the site now, and make sure none of the civilians saw it. I'll meet you there."
To Be Continued...