Chapter 1: Marks the Rascal
24 0 0
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

"Marks!!.. Where did this Rascal go again?" Domi yelled with irritation on her face.

"He said he was going for a walk Madam." Shila, the servant, replied with a bit of nervousness in her voice.

"What!? Today is the commemoration day. We're going to be late. This kid will never change his ways! Always doing things he wants without consideration." Domi replied with exasperation.

"Tell the guards to go look for him and bring him back no matter where he is or what he is doing."

"Yes Ma'am!" Shila replied before hurrying downstairs.

A few miles away, in the clearing of the Lumiere, a 12-year-old black hair and tanned skin youth was laying on a boulder a leaf in his mouth, his hands cross at the back of his head, and looking at the sky. The forest was weirdly calm that day only a few bird chants could be heard at intermittence. The boy was Marks Flavius, the son of Veris Flavius and Domi DeVilla, two minor nobles of Wolf Kingdom. The Wolf kingdom was a medium-size kingdom of the Pertic continent, a gigantic continent of unknown size. Legends say that you can spend an entire lifetime traversing the continent from one end to the other. Marks has never heard of anyone ever reaching the end of the Pertic land, and he would probably not care even if he had met one.

"Today is the commemoration ceremony?" the boy murmured.

"Mom must be losing it right now because I'm not at home." he continued to murmur this time with a cunning smile on his face.

The commemoration ceremony was the anniversary of the creation of the wolf kingdom. According to the legend, Lupus I, the first king of the Wolf kingdom was an exile prince of another kingdom that found his way out of the sea of monsters and arrive at a conglomeration of 14 villages called villas. After many years of living with the villagers, he gained their trust and respect due to his charisma, warrior, and leadership skills. The conglomeration of villages despite appearing peaceful was in reality plunged into years of internal conflicts where the successors of multiple clans were assassinated. The internal fights turned into a full-fledged civil war when Arminos, the heir of the Arcmenus clan, one of the most powerful clans, was murdered. The villages were divided between 2 opposing camps. Lupus I camps ended victorious of the conflict and he played a major role in the victory. After the war, the 7 losing clans were forced to exile, and the 7 winning class became the 7 ruling families and Lupus himself became king. The commemoration day is the day of Lupus I ascension to power and the creation of the city Lupus Lacum (The wolf den).

Marks smirked as he remembers the useless historical information he was forced to memorize. To him, this information has become useless since the nobles including his parents care more about how to impress their peers rather than celebrating history. What bothers him the most is the rule set by his parents for him to be present. He would have preferred spending time reading great classic novels, listening to great composers, or painting beauties.

'Everything would be better than these farces' he thought.

"AIGH" Marks suddenly made a sharp cry as he slapped the right side of his neck to take revenge on this damnable insect who dares bite him and disturb its peaceful contemplation. He quickly felt disappointed when he realized the insect got away.

"the sneaky little bastard is probably far away by now." He murmured caressing the right side of his neck to alleviate the pain he was feeling.

Frowning and the mood turning sour, he decided to go back home and share it with his fellow nobles. As he arrived at the gate of the Flavius estate, he was greeted by two guards and a maid seemingly in the hurry. Joel the chief guard quickly accosted him with a worried look on his face and ask with a grave voice.

"Are you alright young Master? Madam is looking for you."

Marks who was in a bad mood put on an air of indifference and said " let's go and see mom before she dies of anger."

When Marks arrived in front of the office, just before knocking on the door of his mother's chamber, he heard an angry voice. "COME IN!! MARKUS DEVILLA FLAVIUS."

When he heard his mom called him by his full name he understood he was in big trouble this time. Therefore, he put his good practice puppy look on his face before opening the door.

"My apologies Mother I-I-I didn't mean to anger you. I was just taking a walk in the forest and- and - and the time flew too fast. I-I-I didn't even realize." Marks said before his mother starts her rant. He made sure to use the right tone and stuttered at the right timing like a good and polite young noble.

Unfortunately for him, Domi DeVilla knows her son way too much to fell for his tricks. She usually closes her eyes on his antiques, but the Flavius family as a minor noble family cannot afford to show any type of disrespect to the king. Moreover, the commemoration is the perfect opportunity to show their goodwill. Being absent or being late could have a negative consequence on the family's future. Thus, she proceeded to scold him for 10 minutes. It would have been a lot longer if they didn't have to hurry.

As they were sitting in the carriage heading to the wolf plaza where the commemoration would be held. Marks dress in his proper noble attire with long vest trousers and boots asks his mom a question to diffuse the tense atmosphere.

"Where is Dad by the way? Wasn't he supposed to come with us?"

Domi looked at him with an irritated look on her face. "He had to leave earlier because a certain someone has to go play around today."

Marks understood that he probably made another mistake, and he tried to quickly change the topic by using a tactic that always works. "Mom your dress is fantastic! you look like a fairy who came from heaven. I'm so lucky to have such a beautiful, kind, and MERCIFUL mother."

Domi cut him short "Don't try to wiggle your way out of this situation with your sweet words. You will be punished no matter what. Even if your taste is well refined as always." Marks was speechless,

Throughout the ride to the plaza, Marks felt a small discomfort in his chest. It is true that he's been feeling weaker than usual but brushes it off as his body's agreeing with his dislike of the commemoration.

As the carriage was getting closer to the plaza, the Flavius mother and son had to get-off and continue the journey on foot because there were too many people at the square. The royal guards and knights were trying their best to maintain order while a mass of commoners was shouting the name of the king in a fanatic manner. Marks was surprised.

'Why are they worshiping the king so much' he thought.

People at the square were divided into 4 groups according to their status. In the center of the square was the royal family where an empty golden throne and 4 other luxurious chairs could be seen. From the center of the plaza were 4 semicircular rows of chairs respectively for the ruling families, the high nobles, the minor noble and influential people, and the respected commoners. There was a path that would lead straight to the center of the plaza that Wolf king Lupus XII would use for his grand entrance.

When Domi and Marks arrived at the border of the first outer ring they were stopped by guards. Joel the guard in chief of the family stepped up and shown the Flavius emblem to the guard that apologized and ordered one of his subordinates to guide the Flavius to their sitting places. Marks never really understood why he needed to be there. There are so many people that it be would impossible for the king to realize if a single minor noble is missing. Since he was here Marks stops his damn monologue and followed the guard to their seats. While making his way to his seat he noticed many nobles he knew talking to each other, and probably gossiping about the latest news in the city. it didn't take them long to reach their seats, and when he looked around, he saw a black hair man looking at him from distance. The man had a muscular body and look just like an older Marks. It was Baron Veris Flavius; the ruler of the Flavius Barony. His ancestors received this hereditary title after receiving 3 hero medallions in the army. Veris Was also a commandant in the army and a high-class fighter according to the kingdom's standards.

Marks, on the other hand, did not care much about fighting. He had to learn a bit to please his dad, but he doesn't see himself fighting in the army and dying for a stupid cause. Moreover, his father never forced him to become a soldier.

Veris who had to come earlier to avoid being late was happy to see his rascal of a son at the square. He knew Marks's personality and understands his disdain for nobility because just like him he is a realist.

When Marks and Veris' eyes met, they smiled.

"I'm glad you came back, son. I thought your girlfriend from the forest wouldn't want to let you go." Veris asked in a joking tone.

Marks replied in the same tone "She wanted me to stay, but a man has responsibilities. Moreover, I have to defeat the evil sorceress if I want us to live happily forever after."

"It seems like you still have a lot more work to do." Veris replied while throwing a quick glance at Domi who sent a dagger at both of them with her eyes.

They both didn't dare to utter a single word knowing the temper of their beautiful queen.

As Marks was sitting on the chair he felt dizzy.

Veris who felt like something was wrong asked him "Are you ok Marks.".

Marks closed his eyes for a few seconds, and replied "I'm fine. I just feel a bit tired that's it".

Suddenly, the sound of trumpets started to resonate indicating the entrance of the king, and everyone stood up.

As Marks stood up, his vision started to blur as he laid his eyes on the king's golden carriage, he falls unconscious.

0