A/N: Thank you to the person who posted that constructive criticism. It made me laugh. I have taken it into account and will make an effort to update my previous chapters with some of your advice in mind.

It's dusk, and Father and I are sitting in a Stilts tavern. Back before Father became king, this place was amazingly poor. Now, not so, but it has a reputation for attracting interesting clientele. Not only Father and I, but Cal used to frequent this tavern. In fact, this is where Mother met Cal, which in turn landed her a job at the Palace, which led to where she is now. It's funny how things change. Now, the tavern is quite popular. Attracting Silvers and Reds of all class, nearly full every night. They could make a lot of money by bringing in live entertainment. The Reds are richer than they used to be, however some people still complain about how silvers get the best jobs. It's because they have superpowers, idiots. Who would you rather want in a construction team? A regular man or someone who can lift tonnes? What about, say, a flower shop? Every time I'd choose the one who can grow flowers with a thought. However, some Reds do have the smarts and ability to make it rich. Not just the newbloods, either. In fact, the third richest man in Norta is a Red with a serious head for economics. How's that for inequality? At least enough of the Reds have been happy with the changes that we shouldn't get another Scarlet Guard for hundreds of years, even if other people start getting blood like mine. Statistically, there should be at least one more, a newblood having children with a Silver. We can rule Shade out of a possible parent – He's hooked with the ex-revolution leader, Farley. He persuaded Mother and Father to let her go, and now she's one of our leading military strategists. That brings up a thought. What did happen when the King and Queen found out that Shade was a member of the guard? I voice my question to my father, and he chuckles. "Well, Mare actually knew he was Scarlet Guard for a while. That's one of the reasons she wanted to join up". Father sees the confusion on my face. "Yes, your mother and I were originally part of the Scarlet Guard. However, we later quit. We dismantled the Scarlet Guard relatively easily, due to our new Red laws. So it was a simple matter to simply offer Shade a job". Well, that does explain a lot. But there is one more thing. "If the Guard was easily disabled, why was Farley going to be executed?" "Farley killed people. It wasn't until Shade told us that Farley was under orders, and that the Guard was in other regions as well, that we let her go. We have an alliance with the Guard now, and give them free movement to help liberate the other regions. However, their actions have slowed down, since they realised you just need good people on the throne". He finishes his drink and stands up. "Come on. We got some deer to hunt."

We're crouched in the forest, fifty yards away from a deer. Father quietly hands me a rifle. "We're not using our powers here. That's what training's for". Sneaking through the underbrush like this makes my heart race. This is fun! Just me and my father, doing some regular father-son activities that don't involve running kingdoms or shooting fire from our hands. We're close now, and it's amazing it doesn't notice us. I lift the rifle, and aim through the holo-scope. Suddenly my chest clenches up. The deer in my sights, helpless. I at least want it to have a chance. Before I can stop myself, I throw a rock. The deer darts away. As it runs, I lift the rifle and pull the trigger. Slow and steady, like Father taught me. It collapses. A perfect hit. I walk over to my prize, afraid of looking at my father, but he claps me on the back. Huh? I look at him and he's beaming. "What you did… you gave it a fair chance to escape. That wasn't cold-blooded murder. That was an honorable kill. I'm proud of you". He ruffles my hair and I beam. Praise like that from a man like my father? Priceless. We tie the deer up and carry it to our camp, two tents and a campfire. I get to work making a spit, and Father clicks his fingers and the fire lights. No matter how many times I see him do it, or even do it myself, it still amazes me. One second there's nothing and the next, there's a force of chaos and destruction, completely under his control. As we cook the deer I think about what he said. About the difference between cold-blooded murder and an honorable kill. Things like that… That's the difference between a man like Cal and my Father. Cal had a reputation for being ruthless. Mother was horrified about the way he hunted down some rogue Guard members, with the ferocity he would use to kill his most sworn enemies. Even bound, powerless, he gave them no mercy. That's why Cal on the throne would have ended in disaster. We eat our prize, and it isn't half bad. Though I guess if it were undercooked, well… that's not hard to fix. It's a refreshing change from the air-cured ham be have at the castle.

I'm woken up by a roar. It's the middle of the night, and there's what sounds like a bear attacking the camp. I rush outside and stare. It's huge. But my father is nowhere to be found. The bear charges me and I realize it's things like this that my training has prepared me for. As it's about to reach me, I jump and I'm on its back. I flail, off balance, and my hand grips the bear's fur. My lightning is unleashed, twisting through the bear, throwing me off. I try to burn it and nothing happens. I can't concentrate. I'm too scared. So I do what I've been practicing for all my life. Calm. Let it go. I let out another blast of lightning straight into its head. The bear stops moving. I killed it. I, someone who has never properly fought in his life, killed a massive bear. My father crashes through the trees, sees me, and gasps. "I heard – only gone for – your mother will-"

I hold up my hand. "Don't worry, Dad. I won't let Mom kill you yet!" He sees the bear, and realizes what I've done. "You killed the bear?"

"Yeah… but I was scared. I forgot how to do anything. All I could do was electrocute it."

He smiles. "It's okay. You aren't a warrior. It's just not in your nature. And think of how proud your mother will be."

I've been confined to my room for 3 days. My punishment isn't as bad as Father's, however. Mother isn't even talking to him. I can tell she isn't really angry, though. Just relieved that my worst injury was a bruised leg from hitting the ground. And, hey, I did kill a bear. Wait till Bree and Tramy hear this story.