In a Kingdom Where Only I am Erased

Chapter 1

"Serafina!"

A band of kids pressed through the busy crowd as they noticed a beguiling golden-haired girl, waltzing across the street filled with merchants that just arrived at the kingdom of Vlezio who were introducing new and mysterious items in the market.

"Come play with us!" they beamed, certain that she would agree since she spends most of her time with them.

"I can't, I have to visit the temple today." Serafina turned around to face the other kids, trailing ever so delightfully behind her. They all made a grunted noise in unison that almost drowned out the festive sounds coming from each shop with different merchants yelling about the enigmatic items they acquired from neighboring kingdoms.

The kids strongly persisted, stomping their foot on the bricked floor with even more gusto since they wanted to be with Serafina that much. The younger ones even clung to her long and white dress just to stop her from going to her daily visit at the temple to pray to their Goddess. 

"You always visit the temple, why should you be there?" Maeri, one of the younger kids, asked Sera at the same time while wiping her snotty nose with her ragged sleeves. Almost all of the children following Serafina were homeless and orphaned, with her beauty she can easily sneak in and mingle with other nobles at her age of 7 but she chose to be with the kids who have nothing else.

She smiled delicately and crouched down to match with their small and malnourished statue. "If you come with me to the temple and pray then I will accompany everyone. After all, it is such a waste not to enjoy a clear afternoon like this." 

She pointed her slim index finger towards the blinding blue sky and they all looked up, it was only then that the kids noticed how clear and vibrant the weather is. They all jumped in joy whilst putting their hands skyward as if reaching for the scorching sun. The Kingdom of Vlezio was bordered with barren wastelands that constantly envelopes the place with arid dust and sandstorms so having a clear sky like this was enough to lighten the kingdom's usual desolate atmosphere.

Vlezio is one of the kingdoms in the Nethilor Empire. A land so vast and abundant that they divided it into four. One kingdom, Ocealle, was ringed with huge bodies of water. Sankori, that is located in the far east is covered with clouds as the kingdom was built on the tallest parts of the mountains. Zariya, out of all the kingdoms, has the largest portion of land and is surrounded by lush and green forests while Vlezio, unfortunately, was the unluckiest by being established at the land where it is impoverished and parched. All the Kings who have reigned over the citizens dare not to fix this dull situation because everything they do is considered futile since they can't go against a natural phenomenon. Instead, they lavished in the wealth and luxuries they have as Royals, constantly raising the tax that pushed poverty even more among commoners.

"Now then, let's hurry along," Serafina raised both her hands, Maeri and another kid reached for it and began walking while the rest trails giddily behind them. They wandered through the festivity of the busy street, gaudily telling each other how their adventures from yesterday turned out while Serafina was busy casting her eyes on each shop they pass through. The shops weren't establishments but tents that the eccentric merchants built along the artery and placed wooden tables to display their extraordinary items. Gems, pearls, exalted silks and fossils of strange animals that serve as interior design were strewn sporadically on each table.

Sera sniffed the air and noticed a hint of salt in it that initially led her to believe that these items were from the Kingdom of Ocealle where large bodies of water surround them. It was also rare for merchants to come here in Vlezio since the weather is unlikable but as expected since the sky is clear, they rushed to sell these items they have to the commoners who rarely see such exquisite items.

The sound of merchants yelling and the festive music played by street musicians gradually died down when they made a far distance from the busy square. When they finally reached the most desolate part of the capital and spotted the familiar run-down temple with a fading color of white, Serafina and the children stopped in their tracks as soon as the loud footsteps of horses were heard, clamping against the concrete floor that reverberated in every direction. They all looked up to see the imperial knights mounted on each of their white horses, all positioned in a ceremonious line and at the end of it was the grandiose carriage of the King, coming back from a long journey. 

The knights were rather of the sort that shuts off anyone who dares block their path since that is how the current King taught them to be. Maerie, as the clumsy child she is, tripped and fell on their path that startled one of the horses causing a disruption in the line.

"Out of the way, peasant!" The knight that was mounted on the startled horse angrily spouted that made Maeri freeze on her spot and grovel in fear. The knight was furious and allows the horse to trample on her small body but Sera was quick to pull Maeri back to her side together with the other children who were also cowering.

"Apologize," Sera spoke in a low tone that astonished everyone at the scene mainly because no one dared to talk back to an imperial knight, she stood strong in front of the rude knight all the while letting the children hide behind her.

"Why you!" The fuming knight instinctively drew out his sword and the rest of the other knights were even entertained by the scene and just watched. He was about to strike Sera down but the sound of the King's much scarier voice interrupted him, causing all the heads to turn to the golden carriage at the back to see him peering angrily from the window.

"Attacking someone without a weapon and what's worse is just a child, how pathetic." His majesty, Elias Mordecai, commented that ultimately humiliated the said knight and crestfallenly placed his sword back in his scabbard. "Don't waste my time, fool." 

With those words from the King, the expedition continued that somehow saved Sera and the kids from possible execution. When the carriage passed through Sera, she saw the king cast his sharp eyes on her as if studying her demeanor but Sera paid him no attention. What caught her attention was the little boy that was sitting across the king who was also staring at her but not with eyes of scrutiny but rather of curiosity.

They both stared at each other until their no longer in each other's sights, Serafina immediately realized that that boy was the prince to be able to sit across the intimidating king.

"Thank you, Serafina, for saving me." Maeri was teary eyed, still absorbing what just happened to them and what was possibly about to happen if the King didn't intervene in their dispute against the rude knights.

"That's okay," Sera kneeled down again to match Maeri's small height and rubbed her cheeks to remove the dirt on her face. "Now then, shall we?" She ushered everyone to cross the road so they'll reach the church.

-

Inside the carriage sits the sophisticated Elias together with his demure son, Prince Noah. Elias, despite his old age, still looked graceful with all the expensive robes and pieces of jewelry that adorned his body. Noah was wearing the same extravagant outfit but disliked it since it doesn't match his light brown hair and also has no choice since they just visited a neighboring kingdom to negotiate about some things and has to look the part of a well behaved prince.

"Thank you, father." He muttered after they made quite a distance from Sera and the other orphans to which the king only replied with a gruntled noise. 

"Next time, don't stoop so low and meddle with commoner's affairs. I would have let them strike down that girl if you didn't beg so much." King Elias only focused on surveying the sceneries in his kingdom and was disgusted for only seeing vast barren lands, run down establishments, commoners frolicking around.

"These foolish people are better off dead, they're only spoiling my kingdom with their dirt." He scoffed before finally relieving the smug look he had on his face when the carriage reached the innermost part of the kingdom where nobles built their mansions at, the atmosphere was far better here that made the king smile in contentment which little Noah particularly noticed.

He was aware of how horrible his father is but was unable to do anything about it because of his young age of 8, he has no power yet leaving him with no choice but to tolerate his cruelness. 

They arrived at the enormous castle with extravagant architecture and brilliantly trimmed rose gardens, completely the opposite of the status of the buildings owned by commoners. The doorman opened the door for the two royals and out they came to be welcomed by neatly lined servants with blank faces.

"Welcome back, your majesty." The stout duke was standing beside the king and paid no attention to Noah who was having a hard time to reach the ground because of his short legs. He just quietly scoffed and fixed his expensive navy blue clothes.

The king noticed his son's demise but ignored him, trailing along the burgundy carpet laid out for him to walk on while the corpulent duke tries his best to keep up with his fast pace. With the king already inside the palace, the servants followed him leaving only the tired knights outside to tend to their horses.

Noah gave up and just jumped right out of the carriage like a ruffian, it was okay since his strict father wasn't looking anymore to see him act like his age which is forbidden. 

"Noah!" A servant boy came running to greet the little prince, waving his brown hat in the air to take his friend's attention.

"Samuel, it is so nice to see you!" They both shook their hands vigorously as they reunited after 2 weeks of absence in the kingdom. "How have you been?"

"Terrible," He complained as the two of them began to walk to the opposite direction of the entrance determined not to encounter King Elias again. "Ever since you and his majesty left, the head butler, as well as the head maid, kept pestering everyone to do their job 10 times better to keep the palace in an exceptional condition. I thought that your absence would actually be a good thing since his majesty won't be staring down at us with his cold glares." Samuel tried to imitate how Elias looked like whenever he sees commoners and servants but ended up looking like a deranged villain earning a small laugh from Noah.

"I'm just glad that you are okay," Noah tapped Samuel's shoulder, he was about to say something interesting about their journey, about encountering a mysterious creature on their way back but was interrupted as one of the knights suddenly coughed out blood and collapsed on the ground.

Everyone was startled including the two boys since a pool of blood began to form under the knight's body, he coughed out too much that rendered him unable to maintain his consciousness. His skin began to show unusual colors of black and red, spreading throughout his whole body.

"Take him away from the palace!" The commander of the knights ordered as he raised his arms that shocked the others.

"But he needs immediate help," One of the younger knights kneeled beside the body and tried to help but ended up coughing up blood as well. He was in shock and confused, pondering hard how he ended up having the same fate as the unconscious knight when he just lightly touched his body.

"Someone help them!" Noah tried to order the knights but he was just too small to be taken seriously by anyone and the intimidating presence of the commander was not doing any good. No one listened to him.

"N-no, I'm fine." The knight coughed as he gestured to the other knights not to come near him which they did. The commander was getting impatient and just drew out his sword, roughly approaching the two bloodied knights with a reluctant face before stabbing them consecutively. He knows that keeping them alive would only spread the illness so he sacrificed two of his best knights. 

Almost everyone gasped in horror, stepping away from the scene thinking that the mysterious illness that appeared out of nowhere will spread and create chaos. The untied horses also panicked from the tension and sprinted at all different directions, even the ones who were pulling the brilliant carriage.

"Prince Noah! Go back inside the palace!" The commander roughly yelled while trying to avoid the agitated steeds but Noah was too preoccupied with what he just witnessed that he just stood there, gaping with wide eyes and dropped jaw. Samuel, on the other hand, was getting scared since everyone was practically running away. He also wanted to bolt out of the scene but he was worried about Noah so he stayed with him, standing idly in front of the two bloodied corpse.

The furious commander, who noticed the prince not following his order, ran to his direction, scooped him up from the ground and ran back to the direction of the palace, away from the chaotic stables all the while shouting orders to the other cavaliers to keep the horses calm to lessen the catastrophic scene but something stopped him.

He dropped down to his knees causing Noah to stumble down but Samuel was quick to catch him.

"Are you quite alright?" asked Samuel, but Noah didn't reply and just stared at the commander groveling on the floor as if in pain. He noticed Noah's scared expression so he looked at the commander as well to see him coughing out a lot of blood.

The two of them were seized with fear, not because of the possibility that they too may catch the disease, but because this horrific day might be the beginning of their kingdom's end.