Once Upon The Life of The Wise King

The Bracelet

ONCE UPON THE LIFE OF THE WISE KING

Volume 2

The Fall of The Royal Family

Chapter 39 - The Bracelet

Azazel walked closer to one of the men. He pinched his jaw and asked, "Do you want to swear loyalty to me?"

The man stuttered. "I-I N-n-"

Pinching the jaw harder, Azazel opened the man's mouth. With his curse, he engraved the symbol of the anti-royalist faction, a goat. The intricate design burned on the man's tongue and he screamed out his pain.

Back at the southern border, General Huns wrote a letter addressed to King Wenhart. He requested back up in case the Jin Kingdom suddenly attacked. However, before he could send the letter, a soldier came into his tent and told him that the men he sent was finally back.

General Huns kept his letter hidden in the drawer. Then he stood up, stepped outside of his tent, and went to see his men that had returned from the Jin Kingdom.

Upon seeing them, he noticed that there were some people missing. "Where are there other?" he asked.

"The King of Jin Kingdom asked them to stay back as he needs some assistance. They lacked manpower in building infrastructures," one of the soldiers answered.

"Is that so? Anyway, what's the status there?"

"The Jin Kingdom faced internal conflict so they temporarily closed the Kingdom from outsiders, afraid that it would affect other Kingdoms. But, right now, they opened the Jin Kingdom again since the conflict has been resolved."

"I see. Take some rest. I will send a message to His Majesty about this matter.

General Huns went back to his tent and wrote another letter addressed to King Wenhart.

Prince Luciel later learned the reason why his parents wanted to see him. He was tricked by his father to wear a silver bracelet that was reinforced with majika. Whenever Prince Luciel used majika, he will be electrocuted.

"This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed as he tried unlocking the bracelet.

"You can't take it off no matter what you do. You need to finish your training first before it can be unlocked," King Wenhart said, although it was not the whole truth but it was the only way to convince the Third Prince to start training.

"Luciel," Queen Cielisse spoke, "General Calver is waiting at the training ground. Go now."

Prince Lunciel grumbled under his breath and reluctantly went to the training ground.

Just as the Third Prince walked out of the throne roon, a servant came in, delivering a letter from General Huns.

King Wenhart took the letter and dismissed the palace servant. Then, he ripped the envelope, took out the letter, and opened it. After reading, He told his wife that he had to go to his study to write his reply to General Huns' letter.

"What is the situation now at the southern border?" the Queen asked.

"It turns out that the Jin Kingdom faced internal conflict that's why they closed off but everything has been settled."

"What about the slaves sold off to the Jin Kingdom?"

"Yes, I also want to know so I'm going to send a reply to General Huns regarding this matter.

At the training ground, Prince Luciel and General Calver stood in the middle with their swords unsheathed. "It has been awhile, Third Prince," the General said. "I still remember clearly the first time Prince Colin trained under me. He lacks strength back then but he has potential. He can easily used majika to strengthen his muscle and now he knew how to extend that to his weapons." He laughed lightly and said, "And now it is your turn. I just hope you won't escape again, Your Highness."

"Well, yes. Look forward to it. Even if I want to I can't escape this time because of this thing. It won't come off unless I train." Prince Luciel raise his right hand with the bracelet and shook it.

General Calver laughed upon seeing the bracelet on the Third Prince's wrist.

Prince Luciel frowned. He did not like that he was being laughed at. "Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I just can't help it," the General said. "So, you said it won't come off unless you train?" he asked.

"No," the Third Prince replied with a straight face. "I need to finish my training if I want my freedom back or I will get electrocuted with this."

"Ahahaha!" General Calver laughed loudly again.

Prince Luciel waited for moment for the General to calm down but he was impatient. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Oh, screw. I am out of here." He turned his back on the General and was about to walk away when General Calver grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back..

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. Let us start now."

The two of them stepped a few meter back. Once they were on their figjting stances, Prince Luciel took the initiative to attack first.

The Third Prince's held the sword clumsily and he was off balance, so when the General stepped aside, he fell on his face first.

"It looks like we need to go back to the basics. Your foundations are not good," General Calver commented.

Prince Luciel spat sone sand out. He stood up, dusted himself, and yelled, "What!? No way! We already went through the basics and now you are telling me to take the lessons again?"

"What do you think? You don't know how to even hold a sword properly let alone fight well."

"Nonsense! Let us keep fighting so I can take this off faster! If I defeat you, I can gain my freedom back!"

"Okay, if you insist." General Calver shrugged his shoulders and prepared to fight again.

For the next thirty minutes, Prince Luciel did his best but was instead beaten by General Calver. He sprawled on the dirt, panting, and watched as the General turned his back on him and walked away.

"I am afraid you really need to learn the foundations again, Your Highness. We can't go on like this forever. At this rate, you will never defeat me. Even with your majika, you are bound to loose to someone since you lack understanding of your opponents."

"Oh, yeah? Then what about this?" Out of frustration and anger, Prince Luciel forgot about his bracelet as he raised his right hand and aimed at the General. He tried producing majika but was electrocuted instead.

Seeing the scene, the General laughed loudly. After awhile, the electric shock stopped, leaving the Prince weak on the ground. "You still don't have enough? You want to laugh more?"

The General wiped off the tears from his eyes. "I am really sorry, Your Highness. I did not think the bracelet is working."

"What? You thought I was lying about this cursed thing?" The Third Prince narrowed his eyes.

"No, no of course not, Your Highness." The man shook his head and said, "I just thought you were tricked into wearing that-"

"So, you are saying I am gullible? Is that it?"

Geez, it is hard to talk to him, General Calver thought to himself. "I did not mean it that way, Your Highness. Anyway, let us end it here and take some rest. We will continue tomorrow."

The young man quickly got on his feet.

"No! Let us continue! The faster I defeat you, the faster I get my freedom back."

"Your Highness, please understand that even if you think you can still fight, your body can't take it anymore. Your body needs rest as well." The General explained to the young Prince.

"But, in real fight soldiers don't rest."

"You are right on that, Your Highness. But, we are not in a real fight. Besides, you need to gain more experience and slowly build your endurance. Endurance in fight does not happen on the spot. Experienced soldiers conditioned their bodies for that." He paused then said, "Let us continue tomorrow, Your Highness."

"Fine, then. You are dismissed," the Third Prince snorted.

General Calver bowed his head and left the training ground, leaving Prince Luciel alone.

The Third Prince dropped his sword and stared at his hand. He had the urge to release majika, but he stopped himself. It was difficult for him to not use his majika because he was so used to using it everyday. Without it, he felt that he was not complete. It made it irritable.

Maybe there is a keyhole here? I can try picking the lock if there is one, he thought to himself as he checked his bracelet, but he found that there was no keyhole or even a small hole in it. Sighing, he decided to return to his room.

He walked out of the training ground and went in the direction of his room. When he arrived, he went straight in his personal bathroom and took a bath. He cleaned himself thoroughly. When done, he grabbed the bathrobe that was on the hook and covered himself. Then, he opened the door, stepped out, and strode towards his wardrobe choosing some comfortable clothes. After changing, he jumped on his bed face first.