Elias Leywin POV
"Come on, El!" I shouted, skidding across the patio tiles as I burst outside. "Dad's training!"
My boots thumped against the stone as I ran toward the far end of the garden where Dad always trained.
Sunlight filtered through the tall trees lining our yard, painting the evening grass gold.
"Wait up, Lias!" she yelled, trailing behind me. Her breath hitched as she picked up speed.
We skidded to a stop near the edge of the garden, arriving just in time to see our Father take his stance. His gauntlets gleamed faintly, already pulsing with the warm glow of mana. He closed his eyes and released an exhale. He murmured something under his breath.
The ground trembled with a low rumble. Flames began to lick at the edges of his vambraces. With a cry, his fists began to shoot forward at speeds I could barely keep up with. Nearby branches shook violently from the resultant force, scattering a storm of leaves across the garden.
I stopped dead in my tracks and stared wide-eyed up at him. "That... was awesome!" I exclaimed as I shot at Dad.
Ellie clapped enthusiastically from where we had stood.
"Let me try!" I shouted before he even noticed me. My fists hammered together as I copied the movement he had done moments prior.
Grinning like a madman, I ran forward and shot my arms forward like I had seen my father do. "Okay... Fire boom!" My arms began slowing as my spell failed.
I waited for an answer despite my failings.
Nothing happened.
I stomped and grunted. "Rgh, come on!" I roared as I tried again and again, repeating any of the words my Dad had said.
Eleanor let out a quiet giggle. "Quit being silly, Lias"
"Zip it, El!" I snapped back to my little sister.
She seemed to have found the humour in my failings and collapsed into a cackling fit. "Big Brother, unlike Dad, I think the only thing you moved was your pride."
I shot her a glare.
"Trying to move mountains already, huh?" Dad walked over, asking with a soft smile on his face.
I huffed. "Why couldn't I do it?! I was doing exactly what you did!"
He chuckled and knelt beside me. "Because you haven't awakened your mana core yet. No matter how hard you try, it's like asking a lamp to shine without a flame inside."
"But I want to be strong like you," I grumbled, glaring at the stubborn patch of dirt that mocked me for my failings. I kicked it up.
He let out a snicker as he turned to face me. Dad rested his gauntleted hand gently on my shoulder. He didn't laugh this time. Just watched me with a calm and steady look that didn't suit his kind face.
"I know you do, Lias," he affirmed quietly. "And you will be." He poked the middle of my chest gently. "If you want it to grow strong, then you need to let it sleep for a little longer."
I looked to the patch I had kicked up and the scurry of the groundsman who cleaned it up. "How long does that take?"
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "It's different for everyone." His hand came up to rest on his chin. "Your brother awoke when he was a little younger than your sister." He said, rustling my hair. "But he's an anomaly"
Dad smiled, but there was something thoughtful behind it. "Art had been training since before he could even write his own name. But that didn't mean you were behind. Everyone awakened at their own pace."
Ellie looked toward the horizon. She peered at the trees reflecting in the Xyrus barrier, as if she could see the faraway forests of Elenoir. "Do you think he's nice?" she asked, pivoting towards me.
"El?" I tilted my head at her odd question.
Overhearing my sister's question, Dad's face softened. "He's kind. And protective. He can be a bit serious sometimes, but only because he takes things to heart. You'll like him, and he'll love you both."
I shifted my feet, not sure what to say.
I knew him. He held me when I was a baby, or so Mum told me. She always told me stories about him that made him seem more myth than man, and he's only supposed to be a boy at that.
My fists balled at my sides as my head shot up to look at Dad. "Do you think he'd want to train with me when he came back?" I asked, wide-eyed.
"If I know Arthur," Dad said with a grin, "then he'd want to see exactly how strong his little brother," He looked to his daughter. "And sister had gotten in the time he'd been away."
---
'I should've run when I had the chance.'
"Come on, Elias!" Ellie whined, dragging me toward the garden. "You promised!"
"I said maybe," I protested, heels digging into the floor as I tried to slow her down. "Maybe isn't a promise!"
Before I could untangle myself, we were outside. The warm sun hit my face, but it did nothing to lift the dread creeping up my spine. Because there, in the shade of the big cherry tree, stood a table. A small one. Covered in lace. With dolls. And a tea set.
And somehow it got even worse, Lilia was there too. She turned when she saw us, beaming as if she'd just won a bet.
"Oh, good! You're both just in time," she said, hands behind her back, voice far too sweet for the sadistic look on her face.
I blinked. "Time for what?"
"Our peace summit," Eleanor said matter-of-factly.
"It's a tea party," Lilia added as she gripped my other arm.
They dragged me to the little table before I could run. Let alone fight away. I stared down at the cracked porcelain teacup in front of me and the army of dolls seated like silent witnesses to my doom.
'Oh, how much I wished that the earth would open up and swallow me whole.'
I sighed dramatically. "I'm going to die here."
"No, Sir Elias," Ellie corrected, sitting down across from me in a too-serious voice for her adorable face. "You were here to represent the mountain realm. Princess Rosalie has invited you to negotiate the final terms of the magical fruit treaty."
I glanced at the doll beside her. Its soft, black felt hair fell over its shoulders as twin sapphire-coloured buttons watched me uneasily.
I lowered my head in a bow. "Right. Of course. Wouldn't want to offend the princess,"
Lilia poured 'tea' for all of us with the kind of exaggerated grace I had only seen nobles use at those big formal dinners the Helsteas would occasionally host. The stuff in the pot turned out to be strawberry juice. Not terrible, I suppose.
"To the unicorn alliance," Eleanor said, raising her cup.
"To fruit trees and peace," Lilia added.
"To my slowly dying dignity," I said, lifting my cup. The girls giggled.
I would admit, after a few minutes of sipping juice and bowing awkwardly to dolls, something about the whole thing started to grow on me.
Lilia pulled out the crown free from a bag at her side. It was crooked and covered in glistening purple and yellow glitter.
Before I could react, the crown was laid atop my scalp.
"What's with the crown?" I asked my sister as I poked the paper.
"You're our champion now," she smiled. "You're going to marry the princess to bring peace to the realm."
I sighed again, but... I didn't take the crown off. No, I couldn't. Not with the smiles on their faces.
"I would be honoured to take the Princess's hand." I lowered my head before Doll, whom I was to wed.
The crown sat heavy on my head. Not because it was made of anything valuable. It was glitter, paper, and way too much glue. But because of what it meant to my tormenters.
Lilia handed me a scroll, which was just a napkin with scribbles on it, declaring an 'eternal peace' between the Mountain and Flower Kingdoms.
In that moment, I heard the crunch of leaves and footsteps.
'Please just be servants. Please don't-'
"Oh my God."
I froze in place as the high-pitched voice cut through the garden.
I raised my head from the 'treaty' I was in the middle of signing to see my mother cupping her hands to her face. To her side stood Aunt Tabatha, who wore a similar but confused face.
The pair tried their best not to laugh.
I let out an exhale.
"He's a prince," Ellie said excitedly, walking up to our mother proudly as she embraced the woman's leg.
"And its Champion," Lilia added in an all-too-serious tone, setting down her teacup like it was a sacred relic.
"My mum stepped forward and crouched before me. Her brown eyes sparkled with something dangerous.
"Well," she started, brushing a bit of purple glitter off my cheek, "I thought you said you didn't do tea parties?"
"I don't!" I said quickly. "This was blackmail. I was tricked."
She smiled at me as she reached out and straightened my paper crown. She returned to Tabitha's side as the two addressed their daughters.
I groaned and sank lower in my chair, the crown flopping sideways.
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Lilia, darling, were those my good lace napkins?"
Lilia froze, halfway through refilling a cup with strawberry juice.
---
I hadn't meant to end up this far from the house. One second, I had been throwing pebbles into the creek behind the Helstea's orchard. The next, I was wandering under the dappled shade of the pines. Following nothing but the hum of cicadas and the soft rustle of the wind, I wandered around the estate's wall.
My boots were dusty, my sleeves rolled up, and my fingers were stained red from a few stolen berries I definitely wasn't supposed to eat.
It was peaceful.
But that peace was shattered the moment I spotted three figures moving along the estate's perimeter trail. Their armour caught the sunlight as they made their way through the break in the trees. One of them stood straighter than the others, not wearing armour but a dark shirt with a black armband bearing the Helstea's crest, his stride steady and practised.
"Dad!" I called out, already breaking into a sprint.
The guards stopped in their tracks. Dad turned fully, squinting slightly as I rapidly neared him. When he saw me, a grin pulled at his mouth.
"Afternoon, Elias," Dad said, hooking his thumbs through his belt.
I skidded to a halt in front of them, panting, grinning like an idiot. "Are you on patrol?"
"That's right," he said with a nod. "Keeping watch with Morris and Ellis."
Morris grunted. "Is this your kid?"
"One of them," Dad replied, grinning as he rustled my hair slightly.
I straightened my shoulders, trying to stand a little taller under their gaze. "Could I come with you? Just for a bit?"
Dad looked to the others. Morris raised an eyebrow but didn't say no. Ellis just shrugged, chewing on a stalk of grass.
"Stick close," Dad finally said. "And don't wander."
I nodded fast and fell into step beside him.
We walked along the orchard fence, following a narrow dirt path that wound through low brush and tall grass. The trees thinned out near the edge, giving us a clearer view of the city beyond. Dad moved with quiet confidence, hands resting on his hips, a goofy smile framing his face.
"So what were you actually looking for?" I asked after a minute.
"Anything unusual, really," he answered enthusiastically. "Tracks, damage, people who shouldn't be here."
"Like monsters?" I asked with stars in my eyes.
"Not in Xyrus," he replied with a slight laugh. "But bandits had tried their luck before."
That made my eyes go wide. "Did you fight them?"
"Of course," He tensed and patted his bicep. "Though most tend to run once they realise they've been spotted."
We rounded a corner when the pounding of hurried footsteps broke through the cicadas' hum. A younger guard sprinted towards us from the direction of the main estate, dust flying from his boots.
"Captain Reynolds, Sir!" he called out, breathless.
Dad walked closer to him.
"What is it?" Dad asked forcefully.
The guard, still panting, looked up with his reddened face at Dad. "There's a boy at the front gate, sir. He says his name is Arthur Leywin."
Everything stopped.
For a heartbeat, nobody said anything. The birds, the wind, everything seemed to fall away.
Dad stared at the guard, his brow furrowing like he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard.
"Arthur?"
The name left his mouth quietly, as if speaking it out loud might break the illusion.
"He claimed he was your son, Sir," the guard added quickly as his eyes widened.
My mouth opened and closed. Confusion knotted in my gut before I came to a realisation.
'Wait, isn't that-'
Before I could say a word or even finish processing what I had just overheard, Dad scooped me up, lifting me like I weighed nothing, and turned back the way the young guard came with long, purposeful strides.
"Dad?" I asked, clutching at his shoulder. "Wasn't that Big Brother's name?"
He held me tighter as tears welled up in his eyes.
---
Hello everyone, Rius here,
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. .See you tomorrow for Chapter 2.
Thank you to Lancelot Dragonroad for beta-reading and editing.
Rius Out.