Dark Queen: The Cybelline Prophecies

Chapter 28

His Worst Memory

"Abomination...Abomination..." The whispers followed the little boy in ragged clothes as he walked down the steps of the road. Wild grass grew through the cracks in the road. If a stranger had entered this part of the palace they would have thought it was part some ancient ruins.

The kingdom of Londaros was a rich and powerful kingdom, its people hardy from the cold northern winters and long campaigns of war. The king had built a palace that was famed for its opulence and the beauty of its women.

However, tucked in a corner of this slice of heaven lay an isolated little island, on which a black and ugly tower jutted out among vines and ruins of previously conquered kingdoms. Surrounded by a treacherous lake and a walkway that only appeared once a day, no one wanted to go near it.

The servants waited impatiently for the boy, who made his way slowly towards them.

He was six or seven years old, in clothes that even the worst of servants would not wear. Hollow cheeked and bone thin, he looked starved. Around his thin face, a thick blue band covered his eyes.

Despite the ragged clothing and desolate appearance, he carried himself with dignity as he walked down the path towards a wall where three servants waited.

"Why can't he just die, along with that wretch of a mother. Why are they still here, polluting our kingdom?" The leader among them asked, he spat on the ground, "He's a curse who'll get us all killed."

"I wish we didn't have to come, today of all days. I heard that all the foreign dignitaries are coming to here." One of them said as he stretched, "The Dragon Festival is starting once the sun falls down. I even bought some masks especially for it. That stupid little scum sure is taking his time."

The little boy held high, and pretended not hear them.  He dropped the basket in front of the sneering servants.

"This is the third day you've brought rotten food with mold." The little boy said coldly to the servants, "Do it again and I'll cut you down."

The servant laughed, "Right away, little majesty." He then swung his arm to slap the boy's face.

Though his eyes were covered, the boy dodged the blow. The servant fell to the earth, grunting in pain and cursing, "You unclean thing, you cursed scum!"

A small foot came down on his mouth with surprising strength, breaking the man's teeth and causing him to faint. 

The boy looked down at him, and while no one can see his eyes, they could feel his distain for them, "I am your prince, the eldest prince of this nation. You would do well to remember that."

His faced turned to the two remaining men, who took a step back. They looked away from the blue cloth that covered the boy's eyes. He turned around to go back to the Tower of Isolation.

"You're Disgusting, an abomination... why don't you just die?" A servant in blue cursed at his back, the other, in red looked at their fallen comrade, "That little boy is evil, why doesn't the king just kill him?"

Everyone in the kingdom knew the story of the cursed prince, who was born evil. He was the shame of the nation, the eldest son that the king didn't even bother to name.

"That mother of his is a Grandmaster Mage. One of the two in the kingdom." The man in red sighed, "She's powerful. That's why the king has this filthy pair locked up. If it was me, I would have killed him the day he was born."

"I heard that when he was born, the sky turned red. When he opened his eyes, half the people in the palace died." The servant said in a low voice, "If it wasn't his mother protecting him, the king would've killed him on the spot."