Legacy's Prince

Chapter Thirty-Seven: It Makes Terrible Sense

Our hands are covered in paper cuts, glue burns, and leather blisters as the sun sets and our punishment finally ends. Ol' Gil escorts us back to the main part of the library while my friends groan and whine as they shuffle along, stretching their arms and rolling their shoulders back, ready to escape to freedom. Though my body is as tired and their's, I have another task ahead of me. Before I go, I quickly browse the bookshelves, looking for books that cover the year 505 K.A.

Heading to the historical section, I run my cracked and aching finger along the shelves until it lands upon a huge book titled "History of Tellura." A thinner one called "The Fifth Century" sits next to it. Tucking both under my arm I grab another one called "The Kingdom Age" and rush to the front desk where Ol' Gil is sitting.

He looks as exhausted as we are, but smiles at me as he checks the books out to me.

"Nice to know you aren't letting a few setbacks get in the way of your studies, Son."

"No sir, good night, sir," I smile back as I take the books back and head into the darkening outdoors.

I inhale deeply, enjoying the fresh air for as long as I can while my feet tread the now familiar path to mine and Dezden's dorm.

Dezden is already sprawled out on his bed, rubbing at his head, but he removes his hands to peak at me as I walk in.

"You got books!" he exclaims. "After spending all day tearing dem apart and putting dem back together? You're crazy!"

I just wave my hand at him, ignoring him as I open the huge "History of Tellura" and flipping to the chapter titled: "Year 505 K.A."

"You're going to turn into a book one day," Dezden continues fussing as he flips onto stomach. "And I'm going to put you on a shelf and let you collect dust and mold! See how you like dat!"

I stick my tongue out at him as I begin to read. The first page of the chapter is just a list of reminders for events that happened in the previous years that carried over into the next. Nothing that would be of any use to me. At the very bottom, however, is a footnote:

"...Hadrian's older brother, Orwin, was set to take the throne after their father, King Lorenzo. But two weeks before the king died, Orwin came down with a mysterious illness that, after four days, left him dead. Many historians have speculated that Hadrian poisoned Orwin so that he could take the throne himself, but there has never been any evidence to support this theory."

A cold chill runs down my spine and clouds my mind. Dezden's usual needling sounding like a distant echo as I re-read over the footnote again, scratching at the scars on my chin.

Is that what happened?

Hadrian killed his brother to take the throne? I'm not sure what I expected to be the reasoning behind Orwin's disappearance, but it wasn't that, though it would certainly explain why he was erased from history. Could someone be so cruel to kill their own brother for a crown, though? I could never!

It doesn't matter now, for though it is a terrible truth it's not exactly the answer I'm looking for. Thus, I try to put it out of my mind and refocus on my research and my mission. I'm looking for information on dragons. I can untangle the web that is my family tree later.

Flipping through the pages, quickly scanning the pages, looking for anything useful, I can't shake the horrible feeling that I'm about to find something that I won't like. Sure enough, an all too familiar name appear once more as I turn the page:

"After Hadrian became king, he wasted no time in preparing his armies for what he considered a crusade. At the time Durcardi was enjoying a golden age. Wealth, prosperity, and peace filled the country, and Hadrian thought that they should share their blessings with the world, even if it meant by force."