The Birth of The Prince and The Raven

Part 8

Useless.

Raven had long since known that his daughter was utterly worthless. The mutant daughter to his great lineage, far too human and far too soft to truly be his heir.

Even feeding her his own blood hadn't managed to turn her into an heir worthy of his consideration.

He had found a use for her though. After he'd grown bored with the idea of letting her die at the hands of those loyal to him and greedy for power, he'd finally realized her true usefulness to him.

The royal family had long since been a thorn in his side. Purifying the kingdom and chasing away even the hints of his feathers. They tainted every plan he had and their prophesied son was the worst of any of them.

Ever since he was small, Crown Prince Siegfried had been the model prince holding all the hopes of the kingdom together. A hero in the hearts of the people and a scourge to everything that The Great Raven held dear.

He might not have noticed how useful Kraehe could be if not for that despicable prince.

He'd found her, alone and injured in the wilderness. He hadn't recognized her parentage and had cared for her as though she really was one of his beloved subjects.

It was the ultimate weakness of that disgusting prince.

His soft heart that attempted to protect the feeble and weak, so easily manipulated and twisted.

Raven changed his plans. Why waste his valuable blood on a lost cause like Kraehe when he could taint the future of the kingdom?

Slowly, surely, over the course of years and using his foolish daughter as a tool to deliver the blood.

It was truly a glorious victory. The pathetic prince was none the wiser and when Kraehe had finished serving her purpose, he'd have the prince be the one to finish her off.

When there was no hero left in this wretched kingdom, that would be when he would spread his wings and cover the lands in darkness.

It was a really good plan and it was going well for him.

Crown Prince Siegfried had been growing increasingly emotionally erratic of late, the poisonous blood finally doing its job and destroying his sanity. His pathetic daughter was ever obedient. The people all looked for leadership and found none.

It was the perfect moment for the Raven Tribe to usurp the throne and finally take over this land.

It was such a crucial moment in his plans.

He'd even received support from external forces who liked his idea of drowning the land in dead mana.

So why, when he needed her the most, had Kraehe vanished without a trace?

He needed her to complete his plans. Even with the trust in the royal family weakened, his control over Siegfried was still incomplete. The man had become irrational and volatile but not amenable to Raven's plans just yet.

And with his character becoming more and more aggravated by the day, his paranoia had also spiked. It had been difficult to poison him even with Kreahe earning his trust, now the protection around him was so impenetrable that Raven could hardly even gather information about his status.

How useless was a mad prince to him? Unless his plans were complete, the king and queen could just make another heir!

Worthless maggot–what he would do to that disgusting child if he ever found her. He had eyes throughout the skies across the kingdom but there hadn't been even a hint of her existence.

He even wondered if the mad prince was behind her disappearance. Perhaps he'd learned of her treachery and dealt with her accordingly. It would be just like that useless waste of space to be careless enough to let him find out.

He knew that wasn't the case now though.

The bit of information he'd finally managed to gather after months of pressure had revealed itself.

Crown Prince Siegfried had left with his most loyal knight to find someone.

There was only one person he could be searching for.

A twisted smile grew upon Raven's face.

The clumsy and insane prince wouldn't be nearly as good at covering his tracks as his daughter. Even if she was a failure, she still knew enough about stealth to stay out of sight. It was the only way she survived his wrath as a child after all.

He wouldn't have to search for her. He'd just let that halfwitted prince lead him right to her.

And then–he'd have them both.

The Great Monster Raven hadn't achieved his current power without patient cunning. Subjugating the crows under his command, undermining a powerful kingdom, and even finding time to father his only child.

He was a man of great deeds who would become greater with time to accomplish his machinations. His pathetic daughter running away had initially been frustrating but in retrospect, it was nothing but a minor hiccup in the grand scheme.

This could play out even better for him, if he meticulously handled the situation. The crazy prince had less support and protection outside of the kingdom, foolishly traveling incognito.

Raven might not even need his daughter if he just decided to put an end to him rather than using him. It would be a shame to let go of such a useful pawn but Raven was the sort to save all of his anger and laugh in the face of his enemies.

Only one person truly saw the cruel end of his anger.

"Ahh, Kraehe. My sweet daughter." The cold hatred in his voice caused those near enough to hear to flinch away. "Soon we'll be reunited."

Yes. He'd let the prince frolic freely for now. He truly missed his wretched daughter.

She'd live to regret bringing him such shame.

The dark laughter that followed Raven as he walked towards his office filled the home with a painful finality. First things first, he'd find the prince's trail.

He knew just the person to ask about it as well. The bastard had hardly seemed useful to Raven before other than as a supply of dead mana but now–well, now Raven had a reason to have an interest outside of the Nawsekal Kingdom.

"Send a message to the White Star." He told his attendant flippantly. "Let him know that I've had a change of heart regarding our partnership."