“MOTHER! YOU CALLED FOR ME?”

bang

I burst through the doors leading from the main hallway to the living room. My mother greeted me with a vigilant smile and a book thrown directly at my face.

"You monkey! How many times have I told you to act accordingly as a son of The House of Felmourne? Don't you have any shame left in you? Ah...Sorry, Doria. He's quite a handful. I hope we don't trouble you too much."

"Please, Princess Aliya, you don't have to humble yourself to a servant like me. If there is anything I could do to help, please feel free to tell me."

After recovering from the massive blow to my face, I gazed at the woman dressed in an all-black maid’s clothing. Her dark hair flowed down to her back, and she gently looked back with a composed look in her eyes. I expected her to be half confused due to my entrance, but she released no facial expression. The surrounding maids, however, were stunned by my indecent act.

"Call me Lady Aliya from now on, Doria. You don't have to be so formal. When I'm in this house, I'm not the Princess anymore. Come over, Richard. What are you doing standing there?"

Like my mother ordered, I came over to the sofas and sat down next to her. Up close, Doria seemed fairly young, around the age of 27 or so. She had a sculpted figure which was twine-thin. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes.

"This is Doria, and you will be in her care from now on. Please treat her properly and stop your stupid games. If I ever hear a word from Doria about your games, I swear to the gods that you'll be scrubbing the horses for a month."

I’d better be careful then. I wouldn't be able to do anything fun with that torture hanging over my head. So, I complied with my mother's wishes.

"It's nice to meet you, Doria."

I greeted her warmly. Both her eyes and expression gave off a sense of security and tenderness.

A week ago | The Felmourne's Manor

Both Roland and my brother took a few men back to the wall under the approval of my mother. The majority of the knights stayed back to protect the manor and the rest of my family. Like always, my father remained in the capital of the Ozen empire to support the King in his ruling. Tutor Strayer also left the manor for some family business two days ago, leaving me with piles of books to read.

For the last three months or so, Doria had stayed by my side most of the time. Despite any of my actions, her stoic expression never changed, and she never reported anything back to my mother. Furthermore, she often told me about stories beyond the wall made by the gods; tales of ruins and magic left in the Ozen Empire. Thanks to this, I'd started to like her a lot.

Last night, Doria told me about the ancient remains of a magic school at the outskirts of the Felmourne's land. It seemed like her father was some sort of an academic on this topic, so she picked up a thing or two. She said that my mother would allow me to go if I asked and behaved subtly for a bit. I found it a bit eerie that she made me promise not to tell my mother about it, but I did as she said.

I told my mother that I found a map depicting an ancient ruin in our territory and promised to keep my manners if she allowed me to visit the site. After a couple of days of begging and promises, she finally agreed to my request upon learning that the remains were real and inactive.

| Half a day ago | The Manor & Outskirt of the Felmourne's Territory

A group of knights was sent ahead of our carriage to scout the route beforehand. After hearing confirmation that the road was clear, we began our journey from the mansion towards our destination.

After three hours of traveling and exchanging pleasantries, Doria asked me an unexpected question.

"Have you heard of the god Protius, Master Richard?"

"Yes, Tutor Strayer drilled mythical stories and tales of the Betrayer in me. The gods destroyed him for his fault in opening the rift to the monsters. Honestly, I thought he had it coming. So many had to suffer because of him.”

I answered her earnestly, but her eyes twitched slightly. Was it anger I saw in her eyes?

"They say that instead of killing him for his deed, he was banished to the world beyond the Rift."

The air inside the carriage turned stuffy. Doria's eyes were glued in my direction.

"What's with all this talk about gods and killing, Doria? Richard's only ten, so he really shouldn't be hearing about all this kind of stuff."

My mother barged in to change the subject, but our carriage stopped abruptly in the middle of the dirt road.

clank

"They say that if you offer him children to satisfy his thirst, he will give you incredible powers exceeding anything that exists in this world."

Doria's face twisted to that of a wild animal. Her eyes changed to a yellow colour, and her pupils shaped into vertical slits. The corners of her devilish smile pulled back towards her cheekbones.

"Run, we need to get out of here, Richard!”

My mother yelled.

thud. thud. thud.

Doria's hair split into three sharp branches and stabbed my mother in her stomach. Cries of men could be heard, deafening the midday sky outside of the vehicle.

Before I could understand what was happening, my mother had dragged me outside and run towards a nearby forest with the remains of her strength.

You already know the rest of this story.

The death of my mother.

Captured by Bakin.

Cultists dressed in black hoods.

Locked in a cage with children.

Screams echoing through the castle.

The voice that greeted me upon my awakening.