Algernon Black

(Chapter 59) A Child's Failure

"Loy, why is the boy that tried to kill you following us?" Selice asked. The little wannabe assassin had followed them since his failed attempt on Loy's life but tried nothing else, just stalked them from a safe distance.

"Well presumably to kill me," Loy replied as casually as he had been treating the situation.

"Ok," Selice said, looking back concerningly at the would be killer, "Did you ever find out why he wanted to kill you?"

"No," Loy chirped, "It seemed too personal a subject to press from some brat I just met."

"We've met before!" Beal yelled in a high-pitched whine from behind them. He stomped his feet and glared at Loy. "You've probably done so many horrible things since then you just forgot about it!"

"Probably," Loy agreed, still mostly unbothered by the assassin but getting annoyed with his squawking. "Anyways, what was your name again?"

The boy's crossed his arms but muttered "Beal."

Selice shot the boy a crossed look.

"Wait. Beal as in King Beal?" Loy clarified so he could justly degrade him. "That's a ridiculous name, what's your real name?"

"Beal is what I named myself!" The young boy shouted. His voice rising at Loy's scrutiny. "After King Beal who killed Etilia's royal family 200 years ago taking the artifact and crown for himself." The newest Beal stood tall, his pride swelling. "He single-handedly wiped out the corrupt monsters ruining Etilia and I'm going to do the same when I kill you."

A sign of immense exasperation escaped Loy.

"You are talking about my great ancestors, you know," Loy explained, immediately deflating Beal's passion. "The primary reasons I'm a prince in the first place. With this artifact."

Beal's face flushed pale white. "I never thought about that."

"You really never put one logical thought into the sequence of events?" Loy criticized. "You know if you're going to pick such a weird name for yourself make sure you're not naming yourself after your sworn enemy's relative."

Beal let out a dreaded shriek, throwing his face into his hands in shame. "Can I change it?"

"No," Loy decided. "You'll keep it as a reminder of how stupid you teenagers all are."

Selice sympathized with the boy and tried to lessen the blow. "It's not that bad."

"It's really bad," Beal moaned.

Selice's face couldn't hide her agreement. It was embarrassing enough to name yourself after one of history's most famous and powerful men but it was another thing to have it be your enemy's ancestor.

"Whoever taught you magic didn't teach you any common sense," Loy stated as he strolled ahead. "Though he did do a pretty good job in that one aspect. With the amount of magic you used any average person would have turned into a devoid."

"A devoid?" Beal repeated blankly.

"Did you seriously learn magic without learning what that is?" Loy saw the complete look of loss on the boy's face. "Wow, you really are an idiot." He snorted. "And your teacher is one as well for not warning you."

"He's not!" Beal adamantly yelled. "He's the greatest man I've ever met and the best teacher that ever lived!"

"Well, does that teacher have a name?" Loy asked patiently but it ran thin at all his teenage quibbling.

"No." Beal denied.

Loy threw a nearby rock at the boy's face done with his typical teenage attitude.

"Ow!" Beal cried as he fell back onto his but and a red mark swelled his forehead. "I'm telling the truth!"