Once Upon An Arrow

Chapter 4

Present day

King Xavier's POV

It has been a week since my wife has sent for that hunter, and within that week I have grew even more tired than I was before. My people are starting to notice how tense everyone is, my son seems to have make the library his permanent residence, his fiancé seems as excited as ever and my wife seem to have gained a lot of confidence. My mind had to work overtime just to keep up with everything, none of these things are normal. The time we are living in is not normal. The people were always at ease, my son was always out and about never having any interest in books, his fiancé is usually calm, and my wife used to practically rule the kingdom from my shadows.

According to my calculations, it should take the hunter another three weeks to get here and another eight weeks for my final group of knights to return. That is, if the knights didn't let me know that they would return within the span of the next two weeks, they too have come to a dead end. It's frustrating to know that even my elite knights were unable to make any progress, this hunter better knows what he is doing, or I might just decapitate him myself. I have been going through all possible enemies that would want my son dead for any reason, so far, my list grows every time I go through it again. You would be surprised at how many people would want to kill the heir to the throne, especially an outgoing lad like him.

I turn down a hallway heading towards the garden for relaxing tea, I have been spending my time there for a while now, it is the only place that still seems to be the same. That is, until I finally reached the garden to see my son inspecting a rose as if he has never seen one before. In his left hand he holds what seems to be an old journal. I walk up to him, slightly stomping as to alert him but didn't seem to have any effect and stopped right beside him. He was completely focused on the rose, so I picked up a rock and balanced it on his head. Only then did he notice me there and with a suspiciously squeal like sound jumped back and raised his sword and looked at me with wide eyes. I tried to cover my laughter by coughing slightly and giving him a smirk. The only look I got in return was a glare of annoyance, which was extremely entertaining since he is usually the one to annoy people.

"So, is there any gold in that rose that you're studying it so intensely?" I ask while taking my usual seat at the table, my tea already waiting for me with a piece of cake. He hesitated for a bit before answering me.

"I'm just wondering Father, what is the family crest for Mother's family?" he looked a bit puzzled, staring more intently at the rose.

"I believe it was a rose, I haven't seen it for many years now, your uncle and aunt isolated themselves after I married your mother." I pause for a bit, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Oh nothing," he mumbled without removing his eyes from the rose, "just curious."

Sceptical, yet unconcerned, I bid hi farewell and go to look for my wife. Knowing her she must be preparing for the hunter, probably fantasizing about him.

I should start training again, maybe eat a salad...

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Prince Nathaniel's POV

I couldn't tell Father of my suspicions, especially now that he has confirmed one detail, the family crest. I still couldn't believe where I found the information.

It was last night, I lost count of the hours I have spent researching, I was about to give up on finding anything and retired to my room. I could not sleep however, and went through some old chests that my mother forbade anyone from throwing away since it contained my infant clothes and toys. As I was shifting through everything, I stumbled upon old story books and with a fond smile I started to read through some of them. I picked up the one that looked quite worn out. I remember my mother telling me with a gentle look that her brother wrote and illustrated it. A frown started to form on my brow as I read the story and realized with a start that it was about a hunter.

The hunter was quite young and wanted to play with others his age, but his father forbade him and forced him to train endlessly. The hunter became sad, until one day, a little baby girl was brought by the storks, right into his arms. He immediately felt protective, and when he saw hungry wolves approaching, he used all his training to protect her and defeated the wolves.

Turning back to the very first page, I read the message at the front:

To my Little Sister, 

though in the past I may have hated what I became, I will rise up and ensure that you will have a beautiful future. Only hunt, when the season is right.

With Love,

Herveus

Marvelous, more questions.  

I'm tempted to throw the book across the room and slammed it shut, but then the cover caught my eye. Knowing what the book is about now, the rose at the front does not seem as miniscule as before. I study it closely and note metal thorns that form around the rose, or so I thought. The thorns were in fact daggers. I quickly stand up and walk toward my desk, quickly shuffling through the mountain of books until I find the one containing crests. I find the page that I marked and compare the rose on the cover with my mother's family crest. It is close, however hers is a rose on a shield with more flowers surrounding it.

A shiver runs down my spine, there might be more conflicts than the war, and I have a bad feeling that this might be much worse...

Midnight's POV

Looking at the fifth troop walking by this week, I feel annoyed already. What kind of kingdom has knights that give up that easily? All well, I guess blood is thicker than water.

"HELP! SOMEONE! ANYONE!" a voice cries from deep within the wood, the troop barely hears it as they keep moving like corpses going home to the morgue. I sigh, I guess I should go help. 

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A/N

I'm back!!! *after 2 years.... oops?*

I hope that you guys enjoyed that cause I got a new source of inspiration, it's going to be epic ^-^

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