A DRAGON'S JEWEL: the Ancient Mage and the dark arts

Chapter 16: The Prince and the Pauper

I'm assuming that some of my readers, at this point in time, might be a bit curious as to how the original story went.

Therefore I shall use this chapter to elaborate.

The original so-called book – the one whom Alythia remembered reading – mainly revolved around Ray and Blake.

Their story is sweet no doubt – sweetest when told from Blake's perspective.

You see, when Alythia recalled the story, she recalled it from Ray's point of view. Thus anything Ray did not know – or more specifically could not remember knowing – was omitted.

So I will indulge my readers and give them a shortened version of the sweetest part of the tale that had up till now not yet been told.

Their romance, unlike what the original story would lead one to believe, did not begin only after Ray had entered the Academy.

Oh no, it happened years before.

For now, let us turn to Blake in order to shed some light on the matter, since he is the only one – apart from Izana – who knows it.

It is currently a sunny day in mid-April.

Blake sat under an oak tree in the school garden with a petty girl's head resting on his lap. He stared down at the girl's sleeping face and was again made aware of his deep affection for her.

His mind started to drift as he thought back to everything that had happened since the day they first met.

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That particular day was a day like any other.

Our young 12 year old boy, with his black hair and golden eyes, had just escaped from the palace and was bravely venturing off into town in search of some adventure.

He dressed himself up in rags and used a piece of cloth to cover his head and hide his face.

As he was walking he heard some kids laughing nearby and went to investigate.

When he drew near to the boys he realized that they were making fun of a younger child. This younger boy was an Elite as the Prince could clearly see the red 'X' marking the child's hand.

The older children were Commoners.

Now the reader must understand two things.

The first, as I mentioned in a previous chapter, is that Commoners generally hate Elites.

The second, as I will now elaborate on, is Blake's nature.

Although he has his faults, and Alythia would say they are many, he also has his merits.

One of these merits is, and had always been, an intense distaste towards discrimination. Even at a young age he understood that human life held immense value and wanted to grow up to be a good king who would treat his people fairly.

Thus the moment he saw the actions of these boys his indignation flared up and awoke a fire deep within him. He gathered magic in his hands and shot the older boys with a gigantic ball of water – drenching them to the bone.