(Jack's POV)
I awoke quickly to the sound of a servant bustling through my room. She wasn't young but she tore through the room as if she were. The clothes I carried with me were quickly hung up, the clothes I had worn yesterday were already washed, and she had already laid out an outfit for me. A dark tunic with even darker pants, both of them cleaner than any clothes that I had worn since I had left home.
"Ah good, you're up. You have a big day ahead of you prince, better not waste it all in bed." She commanded. I rose quickly and allowed her to dress me, mostly for her benefit than mine.
"There you are. A sharp young lad. I would say fit for a king if your father wouldn't kill me for it." She chuckled.
Something about her reminded me of my mother, and I laughed along with her. "You don't have to call me prince." I told her "Call me Jack."
"Ah yes, that's what you're calling yourself nowadays. I still remember when you were a little boy and you used to hate when I dressed you up nice. You didn't like all of those fancy suits because you couldn't run around and play in them." She smiled at the memory. I couldn't help but smile too, I remembered her now.
"Eris?" I asked as her name appeared in my mind,
"Hmm?" She asked.
"How has my mother been, truly?"
She took a deep breath before saying. "Your leaving was hard on her. You were her pride and joy and shared the same contempt for the courts as she did. Once your sister got older she healed but, she still missed you."
I took a breath to steady myself. "How is she doing now?"
"Stable for the most part, but everyone knows not to mention your old name."
"Alright." She turned and picked something up off of the floor.
"Your father has decided that all of your old effects are to be returned to you now that you have completed your first… task." She said. I had noticed the clothes but she handed me a sword. The sword was elegant but plain, and bore the marks of recent use. The pommel was formed in the rough outline of a dragon, and realization shot through me. This was the sword of a captain of the guard. This was the sword I stole when I was in prison with… I couldn't say her name.
It had been a week since my father told me what happened to her, and even now the room turned cold. I was suddenly furious with the blade and threw it onto the bed. Alice probably let herself die rather than kill the men attacking her. She probably tried to subdue them rather than kill them, and they got to her. It was my fault that she was dead.
Over the week before I had been able to flee from any mention or thought of her existence. I could pretend that she didn't exist, and that it was just my imagination. The sword shattered my facade, and I saw the truth. I had killed her.
"Oh god." I whispered as I began to cry. Eris rushed over and held me as a mother would hold her child. She had no idea why I was crying, but hugged me anyway.
"I did it. I killed her." I confessed and began to cry even harder. I don't know why I was crying. I had barely known her, and I had killed a lot of people. Why did she get to be different?
"Shh, Shh." Eris whispered, as she rubbed her hands up and down my arms. "It's going to be all right."
It took a good thirty minutes for me to calm down. Eris brought my breakfast up to me, and a cup of hot tea. I sat down and explained to her what had happened in that prison, and what had happened after. Like a good audience she gasped in the right places, and murmured sympathetically in others. When I had finished she gave me another hug.
"You have had a hard life Jonathan Ternac. I wish it could tell you that it is going to get easier but it isn't. I can only tell you to use these experiences and become a better Emperor than your father. Although I do have good news. Today is your first day of training, so get on down there and show them what you're made of!"
I nodded tersely and made my way down to the gardens in the back, where a spot had been cleared. A circle had been cut into the grass about twenty feet in diameter. In this circe stood a large pile of lumber, and an aging man who wished to be anywhere but there.
I walked up to him and he nodded in recognition. He cast a wary glance at the Emperor who had managed to get a throne out here, and began to teach.
"Ah Jack. You must uh, you must be my student. Yes. Well uh-" He cast another glance at the Emperor who gave an impatient wave of his hand. "The uh, first thing you need to know about magic is that it is a destructive force. It is very powerful and should uh never be used by anyone who can't control it." He glanced up to the king who nodded appreciatively.
"The second thing to learn about magic is that it is a part of you, just as much as your arm or leg. It is by its nature an extension of itself." He seemed to get into a groove and speak with more confidence. As if he believed what he was saying more than what he said to begin with. "Once you locate that part of yourself you can use it just as easily as you can bend your fingers. Most witches and wizards are only granted control of a single element, although you and your father share a magic from what I can gather is free, and can be used in any way you see fit.
"The only other wizard with your kind of power was the Fannon Sleekwind-" I tensed up, he was speaking forbidden history. "-who in 203 was the first-" He was still talking when the arrow cut through his throat. coughing up blood he fell to the ground convulsed for a few seconds and died. I stepped away as red spread out and coated the grass.
My father materialized near me. He spoke in his dark and deep voice like iron grating along stone "If I had wanted a lesson in mythology I would have asked for it. It was through my great kindness that I allowed you into this empire, and you spit in my face. Hmpf. I suppose my son that we will have to find you a new tutor, a competent one."
I was still on edge from the quick merciless murder, but I still forced out "Thank you sir."
"In any sort I have found a new contract for you, and since you seem to dislike killing, this one should be more to your liking. You also get the opportunity to see a friend." I did not like where this was going. "Yesterday afternoon Alice Springhaven-" I tensed up again, she was dead. What was he playing at? "-escaped from the castle prisons at the fault of an incompetent guard. Your job is to hunt her down, but do not make contact with her. I want you to follow and document everyone she meets, everywhere she goes, and what she does. You are not to signal her, message her, or alert her in any way to your presence. I trust that I don't need to remind you what's at stake. Any questions?"
I was shocked, and I needed to know. "I thought she was dead."
"I knew that you cared for her more than you should, so I used her to force you to release your magic. I wanted to know if you would be a worthy heir and soldier." I could have killed him in that moment, but I muttered a quick "Then I will begin right now, sir." and walked off. I didn't even notice that the pile of lumber had ignited.
(Alice's POV)
The great castle loomed behind me as I walked through the streets of Vellhaven. Nobody looked at me twice as the thousands of people walked quickly to wherever they wanted to go. I walked by a store with delicious looking cakes in the window, and my stomach growled in response. I hadn't had anything good to eat in a week.
I quickly realized that I wasn't going to be able to get anything without any money. My stomach growled again and I knew that I was going to eat one of those cakes before sundown.
Scanning the crowd I saw no lack of wealthy individuals. Vellhaven was where you went when you were too wealthy for one of the smaller cities. Although the slums here were just as populated.
On this street only one beggar sat ignored pressed up against a wall. He held a small cup which was no doubt empty. The people in Vellhaven weren't prone to giving away money. I watched the poor boy sit there. He was ignored by everyone except for a particularly nasty looking noble with a disgusted sneer. He walked over to the boy and kicked the cup out of his hands. The cup banged against the ground with a clang, and just as I had expected there was nothing in it.
The noble snapped something at him, but the boy did nothing. He just sat quietly until the noble got bored and walked away. I followed after him. I faked being in a hurry and started to run. I sprinted as fast as I could until I collided with the noble's back. Before he could turn around a sharp burst of air cut his coin purse from his waist, and it fell into my hands. He turned around, already with a look of superiority across his face.
"Ah!" He snapped already pleased from my apparent lower class. "Go back to the slums girl, we don't want your kind begging on the street, stealing our hard earned money." I apologized profusely, and started running in the other direction. I heard a snort of satisfaction.
A minute later he grabbed his chest as suddenly his heart could no longer pump blood. He fell to the ground and died shortly thereafter. I smiled to myself, an unfortunate accident.
I rounded back to where the boy was still sitting, and dumped a majority of the noble's purse into his cup. He looked up his eyes sparkling.
"Th-Thank you miss. You are too kind." I smiled at him and went into the shop with the delicious looking cakes in the window.
After purchasing the most decadent chocolate cake I could find, I stepped out of the store. I already had a massive bite in my mouth when I heard a voice to my right.
"Not from around here?" It asked. I turned to see an a young man, no more than 25 years old looking at me.I forced myself to swallow, and answered. "No, how can you tell?"
He chuckled. "Well nobody who has enough money to give away does anything for the beggars on the street, and nobody who has lived here long enough enjoys those cakes as much as you do."
Color flooded my cheeks as I wiped a bit of chocolate off of my face.
"Where are you from?" He asked. I knew that this was a loaded question so I vaguely answered. "The Eastern Kingdom."
Recognition dawned on his face, and he quickly said "Can you come with me for a moment." He glanced out behind me, scanning the crowd. Then he ducked into an alley. I followed behind him as me had several twists and turns, and he even tore through a couple of alleyways that we had already been through, before leading me to an old door and shoving me through.
We emerged in a dimly lit room, with several people sitting around a table. On the table sat a map of the Empire, although on closer inspection it still had the names of the old Kingdoms. This was a map before the Emperor took over.
"I think we lost him." He said.
"Lost who?" I asked confused.
"Your tail. He was good, but I saw him. A dark haired boy who looked like he was buying something, but kept turning his head to look at you."
A dark haired boy, no, it couldn't be.
"You must be important to have a tale. Now tell me what is your name?"
I flashed back to the prison, but I answered as honestly as I could. "My name is Alice Springhaven." Every head in the room turned to look at me, one head in particular that I thought I would never see again. The Queen of Spera. My mother.
Realization dawned on her face, but I quickly shook my head. I didn't want them to know who I truly was. She nodded.
The man who guided me her shook his head in disbelief. "The witch? No wonder the Emperor is so keen on finding you. Although the stories say that you are a ruthless killer. We cannot have you here, you are too unpredictable."
An aging man that I had never seen before snapped at him. "Bite your tongue Ashryver, she may be our only hope to rival the Emperor's power powers. "
Ashryver looked back at him intensely. "Wesely, I will not put our queen in danger just because you think that we have a chance."
Wesely looked to my mother. "Queen Alena, what say you?"
She looked at me and smiled the smile that had haunted my dreams for a decade. The smile that used to lull me to sleep and calm me when I had nightmares. "I trust her. We should giver her a chance." She said in a voice filled with such authority that no one dare question her, but also so much kindness that anyone who listened knew that it was the right decision. That was the true voice of a queen.
Ashryver grudgingly looked to me and said "Well according to your Queen you are now in, if you are willing."
I found my voice and said "I am willing."
Queen Alena stood up and said. "Then by my authority, welcome to the Band of Spera."
Author's Note- I uploaded two stories tonight because I originally wanted to write this chapter, but needed the previous one to provide context. I quickly wrote the previous one and immediately got to work on this one. I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for reading.