The Next Crown

2. Mary

"Althalos?" Favian opened the large windows, causing the bright light from the sun to shine into Althalos chamber.

Favian heard as the prince groaned in annoyance before pulling the red silk sheets over his head. "Althalos!" Favian shouted at the prince.

"You need to get up, don"t you want to visit that witch today?" Althalos quickly sat up with his eyes still closed.

As Favian saw Athalos face, he laughed, "I forget that you"re still just eighteen years old." Favian says as he continues to laugh at Althalos sleepy face.

"And you"re the old man that"s in love with the young prince." Althalos mutter out as he stood up from his bed, Favian rolled his eyes at the prince. "I"m not that old." He whispers to himself.

"Servants!" Althalos shouts as he ignores Favian.

The doors to his chamber open, and in walk two of his servants with large plates of food in hand.

Althalos and Favian watch as the servants quickly come and leave the room.

The prince then walks towards the table that was set out for him in his chamber.

Favian turns red for a moment as he sees that the prince is completely naked. "Are you going to eat?" Althalos asked as he grabbed some freshly baked bread.

He looks at Favian to see him staring right at his naked body. "Once you"re done, leave my chamber." Althalos picks up his red robe from the floor and leaves the room to use his private bathroom.

He isn"t one to mind when people stare at his body when he"s naked but for some reason, it bothered him knowing that Favian was staring at him just a moment ago.

Athalos kept walking as the doors to his private bathroom opened for him before he was able to stop to open them himself. Althalos pulled off his robe and lets it fall to the floor.

He climbs into the large pool of hot water and he lets his body slowly soak in. As he felt his body relax, one of his guards entered the bathroom after knocking. Althalos watched as the guard bowed his head to him before speaking.

"My lord, Cedric is looking for you." The guard spoke. Althalos lazily closed his eyes as he motions with his hand to let Cedric in.

The guard nodded his head and opened the bathroom doors. Cedric walked in, looking a bit nervous in front of the prince.

"Don"t be shy Cedric," the prince spoke as he looked at him. "What do you need?" Cedric tried not to look at the prince that looked more than relaxed inside the large pool of steaming, hot water.

"I want to thank you for everything." The prince looks at Cedric, "if you want to thank me, learn everything that will be taught to you." Cedric quickly nods his head.

"Yes, I will. I promise." Hearing those words from Cedrics mouth causes the prince to smile back at him. Cedric now looks more than motivated to actually learn everything that will soon be taught to him.

"Have dinner with me." Cedric looked away as the prince told him to have dinner with him. "I-I wouldn"t want to intrude." Cedric nervously replies back.

Althalos tilts his head to the side, his eyes never leaving Cedric. "Nonsense, I"m inviting you as my guest to have dinner with me." Cedric accepts without arguing with the prince.

He knows that he can"t deny an invitation from the prince. Especially one as special as this one.

Cedric excuses himself and then leaves the bathroom. As the doors close, Althalos sinks into the hot water. His mind is filled with his own thoughts about what to do. Should he visit the witch? Should he ask her the questions that he so desperately wants the answers to?

Althalos sits up and gets out of the water. The two servants that are standing by the side, waiting for the prince, quickly start to dry Althalos off with red fluffy towels.

He holds his arms up so that the servants are able to dry him off completely. They then put a clean red robe on him so that the prince may go change inside of his chamber.

The guards open the doors and Althalos leaves the bathroom. He makes his way down the large hall, the guards that are standing by, all bow their heads as Althalos passes by them.

Althalos doesn"t pay them any mind and continues walking. "Prince Althalos?" Althalos stops as he hears his name being called out by someone.

He turns around to see a tall, middle aged man standing in front of him, "what is it, Lord Walter?" Althalos answers him. Lord Walter kindly smiles at the prince, "I heard a rumor about you wanting to sell a unique slave?" He tells the prince.

Althalos tilts his head to the side as he seems to think about what Lord Walter has just said. His eyes rest upon Lord Walters bald head.

"I do not have any unique slaves that I want to sell, but you are more than welcome to try out the new ones that have just came in." Lord Walter turns red and quickly clears his throat.

"No my prince, this is a unique male slave. I was told that his eyes are as rare as yours." Althalos body seems to freeze for a few seconds, the expression on his face turns into one of anger and annoyance.

"This rare human that you speak of is mine. He is not for sale." Althalos turns around and walks away, leaving Lord Walter behind.

"Rumors spread fast in this palace." The prince whispers to himself. Althalos pushes the doors to his chamber open, as he enters, his servants quickly start to take out the clothes that their prince will be wearing today.

"Make sure it"s something that I can ride in."

*

The minutes go by like seconds, the prince finds himself fully dressed in clothes that he"ll be able to ride in. His long sleeve shirt and his pants are all black.

As the prince looks at his own reflection through the mirror, he sees that Favian has just entered his chamber.

"Are you going somewhere?" Althalos nods his head once, he turns around and faces Favian. "I"m going to see "my witch" and no, I"m not taking you with me." Althalos speaks, leaving no room for argument.

Favian keeps his eyes on Althalos and watches as the prince puts on a dark red hood before leaving the chamber in silence.

The black boots on Athalos feet can be heard through the halls of his palace. They"re made out of strong material that can withstand his power, if used.

Athalos stops in front of his dark palace doors, he looks down at his hands that are protected by black gloves. "I hope I don"t have to use it." Athalos whispers, the two large doors open, giving Athalos a perfect view to his kingdom outside of his palace.

"My lord." Athalos looks down to see two of his kingdom knights bowing down to him. "Do you need us to escort you for the day?" The knights stand up straight as they face their prince.

"Not today. But I need you to keep an eye on the child that came in yesterday." Athalos tells them. "For no reason is he to leave the palace and for no reason is anyone to come in that doesn"t already live inside the palace." Both the knights nod their heads and bow once again as the prince leaves them behind.

Athalos stops and tilts his head upwards to look up at the clear blue sky. The day has just started and Athalos can already sense that danger will be coming soon enough.

Athalos closes his eyes as he breathes in the fresh clean air. He puts two of his fingers in between his lips and lets out a loud whistle.

The wind around him turns cold as it starts to get windier. Athalos black hair is blown back by the strong wind, he watches as a winged lion lands on all four legs, on the ground in front of him.

The winged lion looks Athalos in the eyes. "You called for me, human?" Athalos smirks at the winged lion.

"Your voice seems to get more beautiful by each passing day." Athalos tells the winged lion.

The winged lion stares at Athalos without saying a word to him. As Athalos walks towards the winged lion, it spreads it"s wings out to let Athalos climb up on top of it.

"Are you not speaking to me now?" The winged lion hears Athalos and takes its time to respond. "I do not wish to speak to you if you are just going to tease me about my voice." The prince laughs as he hears this.

"Your voice is beautiful, it"s soft and soothing. It relaxes me whenever I hear you speak." Athalos tells the beast.

The winged lion stays quiet. Once Athalos is seated on its back, it spreads out its large white wings again and as the beast is about to lift itself up from the ground, it suddenly stops.

Athalos pulls himself up and looks down towards the back of the winged lions head. "Why did you stop?" Athalos speaks in a calm tone.

Athalos sees that the winged lion has its eyes set on something. As Athalos follows its view, he sees Favian standing just a few feet away from them.

Favian comes towards them, he locks eyes with Athalos. "What is it?" Athalos speaks, breaking the silence. Favian stares at him and then at the winged lion.

"Let me come with you." Favian tells Athalos who quickly says no.

"I"m not taking you with me. Shadows isn"t allowed to carry anyone on its back except me." Athalos tells Favian who now looks upset.

"Don"t make excuses Athalos, if you order the creature to let me ride on its back, I"m sure it will be okay." The winged lion turns its head towards Favian.

Favian takes a step back, afraid of the winged lion. "I don"t take orders from Athalos, you human." With that said, the winged lion runs forward and then flys up into the sky.

Athalos grabs onto the beast black fur as tight as he can until it"s safe to let go. Once the winged lion is safely flying in the sky, Athalos seems to relax a bit.

Athalos closes his eyes and lets his head fall back. "It"s been awhile since I"ve been able to fly." Athalos tells the beast.

"Perhaps you should get out more instead of being locked up in your palace all day." Athalos laughs as he hears this.

"I wish I could get out more, at the moment I just need to rest." The winged lion stays quiet and doesn"t say anything else to Athalos.

The prince knows very well that Shadows isn"t one to really care about a human’s personal life. In fact, he knows that the winged lion wishes it were with the human it most loves, at this moment.

"Tell me Shadows, why is it that I crave to hear that beautiful voice of yours?" Athalos asks, changing the subject of the conversation. "Is it perhaps because you"re a woman stuck inside a beast body?" The winged speeds up, causing Athalos to hold on tighter.

"Are you teasing me human? My voice is as it sounds to make humans like you fall asleep." As the winged lion says that, Athalos suddenly finds himself feeling drowsy. His eyes close and he falls on his face onto the winged lions back.

"Foolish prince."

*

The hours go by and soon night time comes. As the moon starts to appear in the sky, the winged lion starts to fly down, towards the ground.

Shadows lands on all four feet, causing the dust on the ground to go flying up into the air around it.

As the winged lion makes sure that no one is in sight, Athalos starts to wake up.

He had been asleep the whole time. "I do not appreciate to be put to sleep like this." The winged lion ignores Athalos as he continues to complain.

Athalos jumps down from Shadows back. He looks around to make sure that no one is watching them.

Athalos looks back to see that the winged lion is standing behind him. "I will call for you when the time comes." The winged lion nods its head before running off into the forest surrounding them.

Everything around is dark and the only light is the one coming from the moon above. Athalos knows he has to be careful. He is not in his kingdom and if he were to get caught, it would be a reason to be killed by the ruler of the kingdom that he is on.

Athalos makes sure that no one is following him. After waiting for a few minutes, he starts to walk in the direction of the cabin.

He seems to have been walking for miles until he finally reaches a small old cabin. He stops and makes sure to look around again, the last thing he needs is someone watching him without him knowing.

Athalos pulls the red hood over his head before walking up to the cabin and knocking twice on the door.

The door slowly opens, barely enough so that the person inside is able to see who"s standing on the other side of the door. As Athalos makes eye contact with the person standing on the other side of the door, the door is closed shut.

The door is then pulled open all the way and there stands a slim young woman with long brown hair that reaches her mid back. Her big brown eyes met with Athalos eyes. She smiles at Athalos and lets him enter the cabin.

As Athalos steps inside, the young woman closes the wooden door and turns to face Athalos, who is now taking off his dark red hood.

"Did you come to see me for another night of pleasure?" Athalos just stares at her as she says that. His intention isn"t to sleep with her, but instead to get answers that he so desperately needs.

"I need to know some answers, Mary." Athalos tells the young woman. She smiles, showing him her perfect white teeth.

"As you wish, my prince." Athalos follows Mary as she leads him to the back of the cabin. There, they enter a small room that has a large star painted on the wooden floor with white paint.

Mary goes and sits in the middle of the star as Athalos sits beside the star, making sure not to touch it.

Mary sits with her leg crossed over the other, she closes her eyes and lets her head fall back. As she does that, the star starts to glow around her.

Athalos carefully watches her every movement. "What is it that you want to know?" Mary ask with her eyes still closed.

Athalos takes a deep breath, he lets his whole body relax. "There"s a boy name Cedric in my palace at the moment, I need to know why he has those eyes." Athalos whispers.

Mary opens her eyes, Athalos stares as her eyes start to glow white.

"That young boy is just like you." Athalos eyes become cold as he hears this.

"What do you mean he"s just like me?" Athalos quickly speaks. Mary"s head tilts to the side, "he"s cursed, just like you." She answers him.

"What"s his curse?! Tell me what his curse is!" Athalos stands up from the floor. His eyes widen as he waits for her answer.

"His curse, his curse is having to spend the rest of his life with you." Athalos looks at Mary with nothing but confusion, he"s confused about what she meant.

"Cedric has to spend the rest of his life by your side in pain. When your time comes, he will die by the hands of those closes to you." Athalos looks at Mary with fear in his eyes.

He knew exactly that his time was getting closer and closer each day, but he never once thought that Cedric would end up dying because of him.

"If you wish for Cedric to live, keep him by your side and teach him everything that you know. Teach him how to live on his own without your protection and show him kindness." Mary tells him.

Athalos seems to be lost in his own thoughts as he lets his mind wonder off. "What about me... what about a heir, I need a wife to give me a ch-" Mary suddenly stands up from the floor, causing Athalos to stop speaking.

Her eyes seem to get brighter by the second as she looks at Athalos. "You won"t have a child of your own. Keep Cedric by your side and a child with rare color eyes will be born in one of the three kingdoms. He will be your heir." With that being said, Mary"s eyes go back to normal.

She falls to her knees and starts to cough. Athalos goes to her side and helps her get up.

"Did you get the answers that you were looking for?" Athalos looks at Mary with kindness in his eyes. He nods his head as he helps her to a small chair nearby.

"With this knowledge, things will just get more complicated for me." Athalos speaks.

Mary smiles at Athalos. "You are a prince, Athalos. You are the only person who can decide your own destiny." As Athalos is about to speak, a loud explosion suddenly goes off a few miles away from the cabin.

The ground underneath them shakes and Mary quickly grabs herself onto Athalos, in fear. "What was that?" Athalos whispers. Mary tightens her grip around Athalos torso.

"They know you"re here." She tells the prince. He looks down at her with wide eyes. As he realizes in what situation they"re in, he grabs Mary by the hand and drags her along with him. They both run outside and Athalos is able to see a massive fire starting to spread in the distance.

He takes a step back, "how is this possible? Shadows made sure that we weren"t spotted on our way here!" Athalos shouts.

"Athalos! Athalos!" In the distance the prince is able to hear his name being called out. As he turns around, the winged lion appears behind him.

"We need to get you to safety. Xalvador knows you"re here." The winged lion tosses Athalos and Mary onto it"s back with its wing.

As the beast is about to take off, Mary quickly jumps off. "Stop!" Athalos shouts, causing the winged lion to stop.

"What are you doing? Get on! We need to get out of here now!" Athalos shouts at Mary who sadly smiles up at him.

"No my prince, you need to get out of here. This is my home, I cannot leave this place but save yourself, save everyone." The winged lion doesn"t wait any longer.

It pushes itself up from the ground and starts to fly up into the clouds, leaving Mary behind. "What are you doing! Go back and save her!" Athalos shouts.

"I have to save you first. She did not wish to come but if you wish, I can go back to save her once I make sure you"re safe." Athalos eyes become glossy with tears as the winged lion tells him this.

He knows that if he were to order the beast to go back, it will only be captured and tortured until it speaks.

Xalvador will end up taking pleasure out of the winged lions cries of pain. He can"t risk the life of the winged lion for Mary.

"No... let’s go home."