Wistcoástia (On Hiatus)

Chapter 10: The Duke Houses

Lance: “Good evening. Has everyone already assembled?” I ask.

“Yes, sir but except for his majesty. He still has papers yet to review but I think he will not be long.” The head butler says. I nod. “This way, my Lords…”

We are about to follow him when we hear a shout from somewhere.

“Lance! Ralph! It’s been a while!”

The shout comes from the top of the stairs where a tall young man is standing. He has beautiful features and light blonde hair that almost looks like silver. He is beaming at us as he hurriedly got down the stairs. He has an air of noble dignity and authority around him that only befits his position as the next king of Wistcoástia.

He stops in front of us while me and Ralph bow and greet him.

He grasps our hands. “I’m so glad to see the two of you.”

“We are happy to see that you are in excellent health, Prince Carmichael…”

“Thank you.” The prince says. “Oh, Lance, do you mind if me and Ralph go out to have a walk in the garden. I want to hear updates from him about…you know.” He smiles.

“Of course...” I reply. “What do you think, Ralph?”

 “That’s fine by me.” Ralph says. “Good luck with your meeting, Lance.”

“Sure… see you later.” I say as I follow the butler towards the inner palace, leaving the two behind.

I continue walking for a few minutes. At last, I have finally stretched my legs after staying a long time in the car.  During meetings like this that happens twice a month, Ralph always accompanies me. He’s always near me and is a very reliable person. Now, I suddenly remember the dream I had in the car.

I sigh. Looking back, that happened a long time ago. We are still innocent children then that doesn’t know any pain but only happiness. I promised Uncle Arnold that I will take care of Ralph. It’s ironic that it became the other way around.

We also didn’t know at that time that we will lose our parents at the same time. That became the worst nightmare of our ten year old selves. I can still remember how I felt back then when I learned what happened.

My world crumbled into nothing and there was only darkness around me. I didn’t know where else to go. I wanted to die because I thought that I lost everything. I felt only coldness but warmth suddenly enveloped my body.

 I didn’t know where it came from but I realized that someone was hugging me very tightly. It was Ralph. ‘I’ll take care of you, Lance…You can always count on me. I will never leave you…’ he told me.

 Starting from that day, I became like a different person. I suddenly saw what the world really is like. Ralph who was always weak became my pillar of support. We trained ourselves to become strong to be able to conquer everything that comes our way. We both learned our true potentials and honed our skills to the utmost level as fitting members of our family.

 The day I was given my father’s title, I became the youngest duke in the whole history of Wistcoástia and then I named Ralph as my successor if anything ever happened to me. Afterwards, he told me, ‘Lance…the day you die shall also be my end…’  I firmly disagreed telling him that it is now our responsibility to take on the duty that our parents left us: to continue the legacy of our ancestors that started out as humble sword smiths. ‘We are a proud family of our country and we shall surpass what our parents…no our forefathers did. We shall be the number one in the whole world’ I told him.