I wasn't planning on this to be my day. I stared at the downtown venue in shock. Seth was trailing behind me as I walked down the road. Stands were set up and merchants of all kinds were stationed all over.
"What am I supposed to do again?" I whispered to Seth.
"Mingle with the common folk, your Highness." Seth said calmly.
"But why?"
"You hate being cooped up in the palace, so I had the council handle your meetings." Seth said while moving over to a stand to purchase a bouquet of flowers.
Seth had a veil over his hair and was outfitted in formal attire. He was eye-catching for sure and I couldn't help but notice, people glancing at him from time to time. Seth smiled gently at the older woman who was holding his flowers while he paid her two silver pieces. Flowers are usually four copper pieces, but Seth is generous to people and usually over pays for things. The woman blushes and thanks him. Seth took the flowers from her and turned to look at me. He reached up and fixed my hat. I was in a disguise so I could travel freely.
"Here." Seth pulls out a flower, he uses his arm to hold the rest of the flowers while he fixes the stem on the one in his hand. He pulled me down a bit and placed the flower in my hat. Seth adjusted it so the flower would stay. He turned away and we walked down the cobblestone street. Seth trailed me like a shadow.
I originally found Seth living in a small village with his parents. I'm around the same age as he is. We met when I was ten. My butler at the time took Seth back to the city due to his powerful gifts. We call our elemental powers gifts, because the gods bestow their powers upon those deemed worthy. Gifts don't just appear in magic, they also display in crafts and healing.
Aetherials are what we broadly categorize people with these powers. Subcategorized into Halosis, Mira, and Auxilium. Magic, crafts, and doctors. Though Auxilium aren't your average doctors, they heal from the blessing of Kinnarus, the Pegasus.
Seth and I later met again at the school designated to teach Aetherials. Of course he didn't remember me, but I did. Over time I slowly became his friend and I told my father to move him to the palace. My father had him tested and without trouble, Seth made a mess out of my father's guards.
"Wow, he's strong." My father commented, "Where did you find him?"
I ignored my dad and Seth was made my personal guard.
"Why me?" Seth has asked me countless times.
I would never tell him why, except that he's my friend, which he wouldn't question much after I gave him an answer. I guess I have him as my guard because-
Seth suddenly yanks me aside and I am pulled back to reality. He quickly handed me his flowers and I saw a flash of his sword as he slashed it forward.
The ground shook and dust flew up. I covered my face and people yelled in surprise. A few Aetherials standing nearby, possessing the power of Ventus, blew the dust out of the air. Seth was blocking a Kaelos bear. Red sparks danced at Seth's black sword.
Bystanders stood there in shock. Kaelos monsters have never breached the city walls. The barriers placed by the Mira were strong. Seth hissed and a faint golden glow rose up from his body. Seth was tapping into his gifts. Water droplets began to rise up from the ground and a huge jet of water erupted from underneath the bear, sending it flying up.
Seth used the floating water droplets as steps by condensing the water into a solid. The footsteps left behind looked like a small rainbow in the air as they dissipated like mist. He went after the bear and with one powerful swing of his sword, the bear went flying up and over the city walls, back into the forest. A huge explosion erupted where the bear landed. It was more than likely dead.
Cheers went up from the city and Seth, who somehow lost his veil, landed next to me. People thanked him and Seth blinked in panic. He smiled gently and told them it was no problem. I smiled also and pulled him away to calm his anxiety. I draped an arm around his shoulder while handing him back his bouquet of flowers. I still had no idea why he bought them.
"This isn't good." Seth sighed and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. His black hair was full of mist. Seth is a Halosis with the gift of Unda, water. He manipulates it in a totally different way than other Unda users. Seth bent the laws that should be capable to his element, but he somehow makes it make sense.
"We did tests on the barriers this morning!" Seth adds on.
We continued to walk back to the castle. Seth was deep in thought. He was rambling off about possible reasons on why a Kaelos monster made it through.
"But no one saw it till it appeared downtown." Seth says outloud, "It's like it just spawned."
He brought up his hand, preparing to call David using the system, a Mira stationed at the HQ. I grabbed his wrist and he looked at me.
"Relax darling." I winked at him, "We'll ask later."
Seth looked at me disgusted, "Darling? Really your Highness? I'm just your guard."
I smiled, "Really. Well, it got you off of said topic, so it worked like I wanted it to." I paused then continued, "Also, call me Kliene. You don't need to use formalities Seth." I let go of his wrist and we turned toward the main street.
"I could never, your Highness." Seth said dryly.
"Kliene." I corrected him.
"Kliene." Seth said super forced.
"Good. Sounds pretty from your mouth." I smiled.
Seth fell a few paces behind me in response. I only continued to smile. Seth is way too tense, so I try to joke with him, by calling him names, like hon, dear, or darling, just to shake him up a bit, which, in some cases, doesn't go so well. I turned my head and instantly sighed. Seth had his screen up and was reading reports as he walked.
"Boy!" I yelled.
Seth looked at me through his screen. He closes it and casts me a passive glance. "What? You didn't forbid me from looking at the news, just calling David." Seth catches up to me.
"Same difference." I said.
We got to the castle gates and the guards let us in. Seth and I walked up the stairs and another set of guards let us into the castle.
"Welcome home your Highness." One of the guards spoke.
I walked a few steps into the castle then backed up. I looked at the guard who spoke and he began to sweat.
"Did I overstep your Highness?" He gulps.
I grinned, "Wow~ No, no you didn't. It's just barely anyone welcomes me home besides Seth. It was very sweet of you." I put my hands on my hips, "I'll up your pay, what's your name?"
"Stop flirting with the palace guards, your Highness." Seth yells from inside the castle.
I ignored him.
"T-Tristan sir." The guard replies.
I nodded, "Well, Tristan. I'll have Seth increase your pay next pay period." I walked back in.
"Um. Thanks, your Highness." Tristan said quietly.
I turned to walk up to Seth who was reading a document handed to him by a maid. She was… wait, is she blushing? I figured as much. Seth is eyecandy. I walked up to him and the maid quickly bowed before leaving. I took the paper from him and looked at it. I quickly skimmed the document.
"Your family… again?" I sighed.
Seth grumbles.
I burnt the paper, pulled him over, and we walked up the stairs together. We passed attendants and they glanced at us as we passed. I paid no attention to them. Seth wiggled free as we entered my room. He went to my vase on the table and pulled the semi wilted flowers out and replaced them with the ones he bought from the stand. I raised my eyebrow in question. Seth examines a rose that has yet to wilt in the batch he pulled from the vase. He trimmed it and set the others aside. I watched him encase the rose in a sphere of water and it slowly solidified like glass. Seth's eyes were glowing in a golden hue.
Every Aetherial's eyes glowed when they tapped into their gifts. It's the easiest way to find out if you're one.
The doors bursted open and I heard a shriek of excitement. Auri. The little girl ran up to Seth and jumped into his lap. Auri is ten in age and lives here in the castle with Seth. Seth found her in a box in the city. She was six at that time and Seth took pity upon her.
Auriana is also a Pylae. Pylae are a rare category belonging to a select few. Only a handful of people fell under this category. The High Priest of the Church, the High Warlock of the Court, the High Lords of the Clan, myself, and Auri.
When Auri began displaying powers, I was so grateful Seth found her before anyone else. She would've been scary to face off as an enemy. Her authority is Death.
Each Pylae has sovereignty over a force that binds all of humanity as one. Auri controls Death and her opposite is the High Priest who controls life. The High Warlock controls time and the Lords of the Clan control Destruction and Chaos. My authority is Creation.
All Pylae has a god their authority is tied to and we can sometimes hear and see them. Auri's god happens to talk to her a lot. I think the old god feels bad for her. She's the youngest Pylae by a large margin and Auri doesn't really understand that she's special and not normal.
"Momma?" Auri looked up at Seth.
Hearing her refer to Seth as "mom" pains me. Auri views Seth as her parental figure since she only remembers Seth taking care of her. Seth at first had issues accepting it and the palace staff has countless rumors about Auri's origins. Some speculate Auri being Seth's actual child, but the oldest staff tries debunking that theory because they remember Seth bringing her home to the castle. Plus Auri and Seth look nothing alike.
Seth was braiding Auri's hair and was using the unwilted flowers as decorations. I walked over and sat down next to them. I looked at Seth's work and it really surprised me how well he does hair.
"I had some of the maids teach me." Seth said to me as if reading my thoughts. He slid another flower into the braid and shoved a bobby pin in. "Auriana Marie, sit still." Seth hissed.
"I'm bored…" She sighs.
"You wanted your hair done." Seth pulls her back.
Auri puffed out her cheeks and kicked her legs. She then looked around the room and spotted the rose Seth encased on the table. "Oo! Did you do that momma? It's so pretty!" She said happily.
Seth shoves another bobby pin in and replies, "Yes. Do you want it? It's fragile so you have to be careful."
Auri nods.
"Take it back to the room when I'm done okay?" Seth said gently.
Auri sighed and looked at me. Her green eyes sparkled with curiosity. "You're the Prince."
"Yes." I said slowly.
"Momma moved here because you wanted him." She continues.
I blinked, where is this going?
"Does that make him your consort?" She tips her head.
Seth froze mid way placing a flower into Auri's hair as the flower vase explodes.
"Heh?" I stared at her. Where did she get this idea? Ah… must be the maids.
Auri was staring at the vase, which is now just pieces and clumps of Seth's newly bought flowers. Water was dripping from the table and Auri slowly turned to look at Seth, who had his own head turned away from us.
"Oh… S-sorry, did I get the wrong idea?" Auri said meekly. She put her hands up to cheeks and slumped, "I just want two parents…"
Seth sighs and rubs his head, "It's fine, you're lonely… I'll think of something." He lifted Auri off of his lap and set her down, "Go get some cookies from the kitchen. I'll meet up with you after I clean up this mess, okay?"
Auri nods and slowly walks out of my room and shuts the doors behind her. I cast a look at Seth who was pondering. He held his hand out to the water on the table after some time and the water turned to vapor.
I examined the vase remains and sighed, "This was my mother's."
"Sorry." Seth mumbles and he rested his chin on the back of his hand with his elbow on his thigh. "Tell your mother sorry."
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "She's dead! You know this!"
Seth mumbled and spoke slowly, "Right…"
I face palmed, "Are you alright? Obviously not." I paused and looked back down at him, "Seth, Look at me."He looked at me and I walked back over to him. Seth was depressed. "What's troubling you?"Seth quickly looked away. I reached out and turned his chin back. He gritted his teeth. Hell no, we aren't doing this. I narrowed my eyes at him, "Don't you dare block me out! Talk Seth." I said sharply.
Seth grabbed at my wrist and pinched it. I held firm and sparks began to zap around us. Oh? He's trying to challenge me in terms of our strength. Energy waves rolled off of us and the doors burst open, guards were running in.
"Your Highness!" One yells.
I didn't look at them, "Stay back!" I ordered, "It's okay." The energy around us began to violently fly off of us, pushing the guards back. I heard a small laugh in the back of my mind coming from the god that I'm tied to.
"Wow… he's gutsy." Ry's voice sounded.
Not now… why is he back.
"May I?" Ry walked over and stood behind Seth's back. He gently touched Seth's shoulder.
Seth narrowed his eyes in response, "Don't you dare…" He said coldly.
"You're literally attacking your Prince that you're duty bound towards. This would be seen as treason." Ry whispers into his ear.
"Take your hand off of me, Auxilium scum." Seth growls.
"Scum? Woah!" Ry said sarcastically and held up his hands, "You wound me Seth."
"Ryan…" I said dryly, "You're only agitating him more."
Oh I know." Ry said, placing his hand back on Seth's shoulder and Seth crumples.
"You didn't…" I catched Seth and looked at Ry, "He's going to be ten times harder to talk to thanks to you."
Ry folded his arms and sighed, "Well, it was either an Aetherial explosion right in your quarters, or Seth being put into a semi coma by fluctuating his energy levels. Pick and choose your Highness."
Ry was pissing me off. He's only my personal Auxilium due to being an old friend of mine and his personality semi sucks when he's over worked. He lets his emotion come out sideways and it just hits at people's nerves.
"Why are you back?" I lifted Seth up and went to the doors. The guards opened them while they looked hesitantly at Seth in my arms. I don't blame them, Seth is terrifying as is, and seeing his powers, makes it even more fearful. I didn't care if Ry was following me out or not.
"Your words hurt me, your Highness." Ry sounded behind me.
He followed, figured as much.
"The soldiers cleared the patch of Kaelos monsters faster than expected." Ry said calmly.
Why do I keep him around?
"Did you even help?" I said sarcastically.
"Why of course. I cleared the most monsters." Ry said almost in surprise, "Why do you ask?"
Right… Ryan Allen has dual gifts. Auxilium as his primary and Halosis as his secondary. Despite it being a secondary trait, his Halosis gifts are stronger than most primary Halosis'.
"Any deaths?"
"One."
"Who?"
"Frank." Ry pulled out a paper and held it in front of my face so I could read.
Frank Myers, Forty, Unmarried, and a farmer in the area they were sent to. Probably the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Does he have family?" I continued to Seth's room.
"Not that we know of." Ry puts the paper away.
"That's good." I passed Seth off to two attendants. Well not good…no one to claim him and mourn, but easier to handle. "Dispatch troops to clean up his leftover possessions and give them to the homeless."
Ry bowed and left. I went to my study and pulled up my screen to summon the twins. Jace and Jakob Blackwater are two gifted Halosis and Captains of the order of knights. I looked outside my study window that was behind my desk. The sun was almost set as I hit the button to request them. I closed the panel and waited for them. They teleported surprisingly fast and they bowed.
"Hello your Highness!" One of them spoke.
I turned and they smiled. The hardest thing about this meeting was remembering who was who. Jace and Jakob are identical twins and their Halosis gifts are also identical in strength and element. Blonde hair and brown eyes.
"Hello, J-Jace?" I tried.
They both grinned at the same time, "Jakob, your Highness." Jakob said.
… I sighed. I can't even tell my own staff apart. "Right, sorry." I sat down and offered them to sit. They took up the two chairs in front of my desk and looked at me patiently. I brought up the knight's reports with my system panel, "I need to visit the Holy City soon. So I need you two to decide which one of your groups is going to accompany me."
Jace and Jakob looked at one another and slowly smiled. Jace finally turns to me and folds his arms, "Seth."
I stared at him, "What about Seth?"
"He'll make due as your personal Calvary, your Highness." Jakob said, "Plus, The Holy City doesn't do well with 'armies'. The smaller the group is, the easier time you'll have in the City."
This was true.
"I recommend taking Seth and Ryan, your Highness." Jace nods, "Couldn't help having an Auxilium with you."
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. Seth is going to eat Ry alive after the stunt he pulled. I dismissed them quietly and went back to my quarters. I looked at the vase that Seth exploded and walked over to it. I picked up one of the broken glass pieces and examined it. What is bothering you so deeply that you wanted to use your powers to get your way?
The castle was quiet… perhaps too quiet. It's been like this ever since my parents passed. I wished I could fix the unending gloominess they left behind, but I'm not that light just yet.