Monster King

Chapter One

Sunlight drifts through my window as I sit at my desk, preparing for the day. My hands pull apart any knots in my hair that may have been caused by my irregular sleeping. A knock at the door tells me that my maid has come to aid me in dressing.

"Good morning Your Royal Highness." She says, fumbling into a stiff curtsy.

"Good morning Isabelle. Have you eaten yet?" I ask.

"Yes, the chef prepared me toasted rye with jam for my first meal." She begins to stalk towards me, hands reaching out for the kohl applicator and breberb moisturizer. The dark eye cosmetic is applied lightly to the underside of my eye and she smudges it with the pad of her finger.

"Is there anything big going on today?" I ask, eyes tearing slightly from the force of her fingers.

"I believe not, Prince." She answers, focused on her work at hand. I scowl.

"Isabelle," I say, taking her hands into mine, "You needn't call me Prince. I would be more comfortable if you called me by my name, not title." I smile at her.

"Ah, my apologies Pri- Artemis." She replies.

She applies a light coating of moisturizer to my cheeks and neck before standing up, placing my clothes for the day on my bed, and excusing herself. I look into my mirror and notice that my eyes have thick black lining around the bottom lid that I know will become smudged during my training. My skin is a pale white, my eyes a venomous green, and my teeth are sharp in every way that counts, and my ears point upward and although my features make me seem fearsome, I know I do not live up to my appearance's expectations.

I stand and walk over to my bed where Isabelle has laid out a pair of black loose-fitting pants, a grey undershirt, and a black tunic. On the floor is a pair of black leather boots with buckle clasps lining the sides.

'What a bold choice of colours' I think to myself.

I appear in front of my mirror once more before grabbing my mother's silver pearl necklace and wrapping it around my neck. My clothing and the necklace do not work well with one another but I have no time left to be worrying about attire. I step outside of my room and nod to one of the guards standing watch near the door.

"Good morning Brutus. How are you?"

"Hmmf." He grunts, clearly displeased at the mere thought of me talking to him. I didn't expect an answer. Much like everyone else in this damned castle, Brutus does not see me as someone fit for respect.

As I begin my walk I see the hallways that are always lined with portraits of relatives and their adventures, I find my eyes drifting to each one I pass as I make my way to the central gardens. Every member of the royal family must undertake a dangerous quest in order to earn the right to their title. Even those who marry into the family from lesser nobility must pass certain tests in order to be deemed worthy. My father's quest was to slay a formidable dragon that was terrorizing the western border cities and battle stations. It took him a whole week of non-stop fighting to defeat the dragons and its minions... no one dared to question his right to rule after that. Despite this tradition causing some casualties to the nobility's lineages, it still remains as a 'coming-of-age' type ceremony. Once I turn 18 my quest will be given to me... I'm not looking forward to it.

I make my way quickly to the training yard, father has ordered for my biweekly spar to take place today, now that my broken wrist has healed up to his standard. I know that today I will be facing Leo again, after almost 14 years of sparring, he is the only opponent I have not defeated, and this only serves to justify my father's dislike of me. I know that if I don't eventually defeat Leo then my father may end up disowning me and naming Leo as heir, blood rights be damned.