Chapter 43: Exile

"The young prince committed a grave sin on his trip." The red mage announced, causing the crowd to crack in deeper questions. "He encountered an unjust slave trader, was enraged by his cruelty, and he took it upon himself to punish the trader... by taking the lives of twenty four people, killing three slaves in the process."

It was a lie.

The princesses knew it, the workers of the castle knew it, the queens knew it and everyone who knew the truth of the prince’s disappearance knew it.

But what the red mage spoke right now was the truth that the world will know. The truth that will go down in the history books.

"It was a mistake, nonetheless, a sin." If he were born a commoner, he would be hanged for these sins. Alas he was an aureate of a royal bloodline.

The laws were not the same for him.

"And so." The king took over where the red mage stopped, his eyes filled with nothing but cold anger towards his young son. "I hereby Exile Prince Arcos De Mayn Persephone from the Kingdom."

"What?!" The three Queens cried out in utter shock, the whole development a complete surprise to them.

"But my lord-!" They wanted to protest.

"Silence." But the king gave them no chance as a wave of thunderous energy spread from the highest throne, shaking each and every single person present in the audience.

His eyes were still stuck on his child, his hand gripping the throne, his determination still warm as the day.

"If he ever wants to regain his position as the prince of Mayn, he will have to face Sir Mage. And he will have to do so without any handicaps."

The decision was clear.

The princesses were shocked but two of the four were grinning while the eldest princess had tears at the end of her eyes.

This wasn’t fair. To begin with, the whole thing was absurd.

"Does anyone object?" The king asked anyone in the audience as he looked at each and every person present in the room.

He looked at the people present, each one in the eye. He watched how they could not meet his eyes, he watched as their expressions changed from happy to angry to pitiful, and he watched as they stayed silent.

"Father this is not right!" The only one that cried out at the end, was the first princess, Prince Arcos’ blood sister. "He’s just a boy!"

The fact that this was all a setup was too obvious to her.

She wasn’t crying because she knew this was all happening because the king wanted to send the young prince off with the people standing behind him.

She was neither dumb nor emotional. She simply thought of her brother to be too young to go out there in this cruel world and see the dark realities that exist out there.

She knew he was a bright boy, she also knew he had special abilities much different from any of them. But there was no reason for him to go with those unknown people.

"Please father!" She was still unsure about this whole gang.

She knew nothing about them: how they looked, what they were, where they came from. All she knew was how the king and the mage took them to the gray tower and then the whole party came back with the young boy.

The fact that one of those unknown figures was bedridden for two weeks was also a concern. How could someone who stays unconscious for two weeks after just one operation ever be trustable?

She had her worries, obvious worries. But, her father looked at her, unblinking.

With a single stare that went on for more than a few seconds, he reassured her of his decisions.

He had never been wrong in his lifetime. And he was not wrong this time either.

"Apologies." The princess bowed to him as she set back down in her place, trusting her father one more time.

She wanted the throne as much as her other sisters, but it was not to rule. She wanted her brother to be the one sitting on that throne one day.

She wanted to prepare him for that day, teach him everything she knew, everything she could. She wanted to support him much like many people not because of his legitimacy, powers, or because of her love for him.

No. The reason was simple. He was the rightful successor to the person they call the Thunder Lord, the master of Mayn Throne.

He had the qualities, he had the potential, and he had what none of the princesses did: a pureness that transcended basic human evil.

She loved him and she trusted him. But this time, she kept the trust she had in her father as well and watched her little brother with eyes so fragile it shocked the other princesses and attendees.

"Good. Seems like no one objects." Now the king was convinced.

He looked to the front, first at his boy with a look of admiration and then at the people standing behind him.

Not only was he putting him in their care, he was building a future for his kingdom and his people.

He knew there was something they did not tell him, something that was bigger than the kingdom and their child, something bigger than a god and something much bigger than what they were doing right now.

He trusted his teacher. And since she was taking responsibility, he would trust her too.

He loved his son but that love wasn’t big enough for him to stake the entire kingdom and his people on it.

In return for the child, she would look after this kingdom and see that no harm would come to it. He knew her nature, he knew her pride.

If his baby boy was a sacrifice right now, then the return was the divine protection of a Primus.

He would take this gamble.

"Now, Arcos." From this moment forth, he was no prince. "Go."

The boy was stared at by a hundred and sixty five people right now. He was a boy, and yet, he calmly bowed to his father, stepped forward to kiss a goodbye to his mothers and sisters, and after only five minutes, he was standing at the door, no longer a prince, with the strange people still following behind him.

A carriage was already waiting for them outside. So, the conclusion was simple.

Their mission had come to a decent conclusion.