CHECKMATE.

FREDERIC.

"He's bleeding." I stood over his body, trying to shake him awake. The blood on the floor was darker then his red hair, polluting the floor and staining my hands. He wouldn't move. I couldn't stop panicking. He wouldn't move.

Mother grabbed my hand, pulling me to the side, stopping me from staying by his side any longer.
"Yes." She stated flatly, blue eyes threatening me with their cool gaze.
As the men behind us covered his body in a tarp, she  squeezed my shoulders, nails digging into them as she threatened me with her steely smile, teeth hauntingly white and pristine.
"Now sweetheart." My hands started to shake.

"This is our little secret, okay?"

I woke up in a cold sweat, desperately gasping for air. Realising my hands were shaking, I held onto them, trying to calm myself. Usually I'd talk to Anthony about these episodes, but knowing he was asleep, I didn't want to disturb him. I sighed, taking deep breaths and tying my hair back into a low pony.

I needed some air.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

If there was one place that made me feel safe no matter what, it was the central tower. There was something about being in between the worlds of dark and light magic that felt so...invigorating. For once, I felt more like a spectator then a person in the story. For once, I could simply watch what others were doing, depersonalising myself from this life I'd been trapped in all my life. When I went up this tower, I felt like Frederic. Not Prince Van Halen, Not the son of Queen Elise, Just Frederic.

But that couldn't be me, right?
King is what I've always wanted, right?

I walked up the winding staircase, using my light magic to give myself a way to light the path forward. But I froze when I heard voices. God. Of course, when I needed this place most, someone else was here. What was I thinking? I should just go back to my room.

"Oh lord. You're so strong, hun. Those damned monsters are horrible. I'm glad we'll make them pay."

I froze. Against my better judgement, I destroyed the orb, hiding in the darkness as she continued to talk.

It was Anya. Someone was talking to her. A voice coming from a thin box in her hand. She nodded, responding to the voice.

"Yeah." She sighed. "I'm glad too. And trust me."
I saw her eyebrows furrow, the contemptuous look in her brown eyes shocking me to my core.
"They will pay."

As she hung up, I felt anger in me growing. I suppose my suspicions were correct after all...she really wasn't to be trusted. Though I was more afraid then indignant, I blocked her view. She bumped into me, looking up at me in surprise. And for the first time since I'd seen her, the confidence she had completely faltered for a moment there.

"They'll pay, huh?" I said, laughing to myself, baffled and disgusted that I ever fell for her ruse.

"Now just who were you referring to?"

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Almost seconds after my accusation, Anya regained her composure, crossing her arms with visible annoyance on her face.  She stared at me for a moment, brown eyes analysing every part of me methodically. But then, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Well," She cackled, not bothered by my visible confusion at her reaction. "I suppose the gig is up, huh?" She grinned, clearly amused by my perplexed expression. My face turned red.
She was insufferable.
Trying to regain control I crossed my arms back, huffing. "Well, I suppose I should make my mother aware of this. If you're lucky, the most you'll face is an expulsion."
"Are you sure about that?" She coyly replied. "I know you're a nepotism baby, but none of that's worth it if you don't have proof, pretty boy."

"Don't worry my dear, they won't catch us." Mother dismissed me, turning back to the men who were moving the lifeless corpse.
"After all, they don't have proof."

I clenched my fists.

"Watch your back, Mazhar. At any moment of weakness, any moment of failure, I'll pounce on it like a predator annihilating his prey. You won't get away with this. That's a promise."

She grinned, her brown eyes staring at me challengingly. "Oh, I hope you do, Van Halen. I hope you do."

I turned away from her, storming off. There was no way I was going to let her get away with this. As of today and now, she was simply an obstacle. A means to an end. If I would be able to find decisive proof that she was a traitor, my role as prince could stay with me for the rest of the entire year. It wasn't just about the school, it was about the Van Halen name being potentially tarnished. I couldn't mess up again. I needed to get back in my mother's good favours once more. So as I returned to my bed and hid under the covers, I silently pondered what to do with this information, hoping to formulate a strategy.

Eventually though, I drifted from my consciousness, falling asleep.

Tomorrow. I would fix this all tomorrow.

Because I had no other choice.