Until they were thirteen years of age,Arius and Emrys always thought that their mother was just an ordinary woman.Just like Mrs.Keyra,the kind old woman who take cares of their mother during her pregnancy and babysit all their siblings during their toddler years.Just like the chatty Miss Celia,who can talk for hours without letting go the person infront of her.Just an ordinary person you can find anywhere in the world.Someone who leads a normal life,have a family and die in their old age.
It's not until the illusion shattered they realised who their mother was.Or how old their father really was and what he used to be in the past.
When they started to work at the Lavina Bar,they found out there was no one was ordinary in their little village in the small land of Ormskirk.
It was an accident,really.They really didn't mean to snoop around their parents room when both were absent from the house.
Nor they meant to find an old box carefully hidden in the bottom drawer that filled with letters stamped with the Imperial City crest and a worn out picture of a blonde timid girl and a chestnut-haired young woman with a puzzling description behind it written in Mrs. Glemt handwriting.
Princess Athanasia de Alger Obelia,aged 16 and her beloved nanny,Lilian York.
While both of them were just 13 then,a lot of people including their parents stated that the twins are already matured beyond their age and experience,thanks to their early education.And both of them immediately understood that the picture look very,very wrong.
Despite described as a princess,the blonde girl that has an uncanny resemblance to their mother wore an old gown.Worn out and filled with subtle stitches all over.Her smile was strained,as if she squeezed out all of her joy to stretch her face.Her blue jewel eyes were dull.Despair and anguish clouded her gaze.
A far cry from their mother's shining and clear blue jewel eyes.Full of freedom and delight.
The young woman besides the princess has a beautiful pair of clear blue eyes.Her gentle hand around the younger girl's shoulder speak volumes of deep affections for her.Her thin pink lips stretched into a motherly smile.By the name behind the picture,this woman is Lilian York.
The letters underneath the picture was neatly arranged the oldest from the bottom to top.All of the letters was mailed to the main post office at the centre of the village.None of them was mailed directly to their home.Each letter was signed with the initial L.Y. at the bottom.
The latest letter dated a few months after they were born with the sender wishing the best of health to their mother.
There were marks of water all over the letter.As if the sender knew that it will be the last contact they have to their mother.
When their parents caught them red-handed while absorbed in reading the letters,little did they know that there was no more going back for all of them.
Their mother's face visibly turned pale when they questioned the picture and letters.Her usual cheery demeanour was gone.They can see how her body was slightly trembling when she struggled to give them an answer.
It was not until their father stepped in that she slightly managed to calm herself down.
Lucas sternly gazed to his older children. "Listen carefully,boys.I will answer all of your questions but understand that the story that I will tell cannot leave this room.Ever."Lucas warned while firmly gripping their shoulders.Their mother was seated on the bed,not daring to look at their faces.
Little did they know that the story will change their view on their parents,the empire and the world forever.Now,they will see the dark past that was crucially hidden in the strained smile of the blonde girl in the picture.
The reason why their parents hid their jewel eyes in public.
The fact their mother can give them higher education than any schools in their village can by herself.
The evidence that supports their strong mana since birth and why it seems to be so much different from everyone else.
The reason their mother totally abhor the idea of going to the capital city.
And they listened to a story where an innocent princess with the name of immortality was supposedly hanged for others political scheme,tricking every single soul in the empire to live up the expectations of her name.With the help of the infamous Magician of the Black Tower.
After the story ends,Arius and Emrys finally received their conclusion - if anything would befall the royal family of the Obelian Empire...
...they would gladly watch them burn to the ground.
***
The palace is in a state of chaos.
The Emperor's health is declining rapidly,much to the worry of the crown princess and court.He barely could keep his consciousness for a day before fainting for several days.Every time Claude managed to open his eyes,he can barely eat his food before collapsing again.
A cycle that keeps going on and on.The royal magicians have tried their best to cure the Emperor but Claude showed no signs of improvement as they couldn't tell what is going on with him.
To make matters worse,Princess Jennette refused to attend to the court affairs and pushed her responsibilities to her husband,Prince Consort Ezekiel.She insisted to take care of her father and be by his side from dusk until dawn.However,there was only much he can do without the involvement of the direct royal family.
The fact that Princess Jennette never have any heirs that can carry the royal responsibility despite being married for 15 years also worsen the situation.She and the prince consort tried to have heirs a lot of time during their long years of marriage but every attempt will end up a failure.The princess has dismissed any concerns from the court about the lack of heir,merely stating that both she and her husband are still young and they have plenty of time since she believed Claude still have a long time to reign in the future.
Looking at the present state of the Emperor,almost everyone in the royal court believed that Claude's reign might end up shorter than the princess predicted.Duke Alpheus and Countess Rosalia tried to coax their former ward to at least supervised the state affairs.It will better for them if Princess Jennette have a strong backing of the nobles in order to be the next Empress but the princess refused to leave Claude's bedside,firmly stating that the health of her father is more important than the country.
The reasoning would be perfectly accepted if both of them are not part of the royal family.
Due to the princess' stubborn behaviour,some nobles are beginning to doubt the woman's ability to lead the empire in the future.A future monarch should understand that he or she must be ready to tackle the reins of monarchy anytime as the death of the current reigning king is not easily predicted.
Other half of the nobles,however,are happy with Jennette's indifference to state affairs.The princess has a bad habit of entrusting important matters to the ones she deemed to be on her side,giving them a full responsibility without the thought of its aftermath.This would make Jennette easier to control than Claude as she naively trusted everyone around her if they acted nice to her.
The once united court under the Emperor's cold gaze are slowly beginning to split into two factions when there was nothing to fear as the Emperor barely able to stay awake.When the loyal courtiers of the Emperor started to pressure the princess to fix the rift between the nobles,Jennette could only cry at her comatose father's side for help.She has never took any interest in governing the empire,simply content in enjoying the luxury of royal life as Claude always pampered her.
When the pressure finally began to cracked the princess,she finally decided to do something to lessen her burden.
"Call every single magician in the empire.Release an official decree that every single one of them are required to help the Emperor regain his health or a harsh penalty awaits them."
If the royal magicians could not save the Emperor,there must be someone out there in this vast empire who can cure him.Jennette needs Claude to survive the harsh scene of politics or she will be dragged down by their games and become a puppet ruler when they realised that she,the Crown Princess of Obelian Empire,has no talent at all to be the next Empress.
Little did she know her careless decision will lead to the downfall of the Alpheus and her own.
***
Author's note:Hello again,everyone!To all of you who might not be aware yet,this story will have a quite a long plot line.I have many ideas all messed up in my head.I will try my best to organise it in the story.
And just to be frank,I don't have any updates schedule.I will try my best to update every few days,though.This is my first fanfiction and I thank each one of you who read my story.
Please support me again in the future by leaving comments and your thoughts below(or anything you want to say to me)😄.