Edmund was standing in that small bedroom staring at his tiny son with a look that conveyed his pride as a father and his dignity as a king. While standing there motionless, Edmund's mind was frantically planning out Wesley's future. After a few minutes Edmund who seemed to have gathered his thoughts spoke with a respectful tone:

"Old man Rale, do you mind testing his magical affinities" Edmund said while looking over at the dark robed Rale.

The old man simply nodded and took a small step towards Wesley then placed his hand on his head. He muttered something under his breath and his had small glow but then instantly dimmed down. Old man Rale had a faint smile on face and then he spoke:

"He has an average affinity with darkness, not enough to become a mage"

Edmund felt dejected at Rale's words but he wasn’t too bothered after all mages were quite rare, so next he looked over at the armored warrior and spoke:

"Robert, now test his warrior affinities"

Robert walked forward next to Wesley, as soon as he was next to Edmund and Wesley, He started probing Wesley's body, moving his arms and legs, tapping his abdomen and son on. After a few minutes of probing and prodding, Robert looked up at Edmund and spoke in an almost regretful voice:

"His muscles are average brother, he could be trained but he won't be able to compete with those with innately strong bodies."

Edmund was somewhat disappointed at the words of both Rale and Robert, he instantly knew that this son of his will not be able to achieve great things in the future, but he consoled himself with the belief that at least his line was secure.

After a short moment of silence, Edmund started walking towards the exit with Wesley still in his arms, not even staring at the mother who was on the bed unconscious. The moment he reached the gates of the small courtyard, the soldiers who were lined outside instantly stood at attention. Edmund and the other three climbed into a huge, extravagant carriage and headed towards the Royal Palace.

Castle Holt, for the next few days, was in a celebratory mood. Huge festivals were held in many parts of the castle, numerous merchants, circuses and entertainers rushed towards the castle from all over the kingdom, and it soon turned into one big festival. Even most of the nobles and notables of the Kingdom came to congratulate Edmund on his achievement and littered him with gifts and marriage proposals. For the next few years, Wesley lived the uneventful life of a baby prince, being pampered, with the occasional ball where he was showed of to visiting dignitaries and nobles. Unfortunately for Wesley, on his second birthday, an event occurred that changed his future tremendously.

King Edmund Holt, the thirty first King of the Ject Kingdom, had his second son. When Edmund heard the news he couldn’t believe it, he who was childless for so long suddenly had two sons In the span of two years. The happiness in Edmund's heart could not be concealed furthermore, this second son of his when tested showed that he has a high affinity for fire, and an above average warrior affinity. He was simply ecstatic, his first son and second son were like heaven and earth.

The second son was christened Delan Holt, and was instantly named as the crown prince. This was not a totally unexpected surprise, Delen did not only have far greater potential than Wesley, He was also the son of the queen while Wesley was the son of a concubine.

The life of a Second prince was not that different from that of a first prince, so Wesley still enjoyed his pampered life, however, since Edmund finally had a genius son he hardly paid any attention to Wesley, and because Wesley's mother died shortly after his birth, he was essentially left in the hands of the maids and servants.

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Five years later.

Castle Holt was in a celebratory mood today, because today is King Edmund Holt's Fiftieth year on the throne, a tremendous achievement considering most kings reign for thirty or so years. Numerous nobles, notables and dignitaries from all four Kingdoms came to pay their respects, some also came to see the genius crown prince that became the envy of the world.

Edmund was sitting in his study wearing a formal golden robe, with a blue, green eyed eagle emblem of the Holt Family on its back. Next to him sat the queen with a small child that was around five or so years old wearing a white robe with an emblem similar to Edmund's on her lap.

Edmund was about to head out to the ball, when he noticed that Wesley was not present. In any other situation, he would ignore the absence of Wesley, but he couldn't today since the absence of the second prince from the celebration of the king's reign could be interpreted as a form of insult to the king. So with his frown Edmund turned to one of the servants and barked:

"Find Wesley"

The servant as if ordered by a god darted out of the study. All the servants knew Wesley well, after all they were the ones who raised him, so it wasn't hard to guess where he would be because he spent most of his time either locked in his room or in the Royal library. After checking the library and not finding him, the servant immediately ran towards his room.

Once the servant reached the room, he immediately opened the door and walked in. An action he wouldn’t do on any normal occasion, but the scream from the king terrified him out of his wits causing him to just enter the room without permission.

The moment the servant set foot inside the room, before he could even regret his lack of decorum in just rushing in, he was surrounded by darkness. Unnatural darkness that seemed to stretch as far as the horizon. The servant was instantly terrified and fell on his knees. He felt unimaginable dread in his heart and in the depths of his mind he knew he wouldn’t life was forfeit in this darkness.

While the servant was on his knees sobbing, he felt a hand on his shoulder and instantly looked up only to see a pair of deep green eyes staring at him. He felt his heart shudder. Then he heard a familiar voice:

"You really should knock before you enter"

Looking around him the servant noticed that the darkness was gone, and while the room still looked dark and unadorned, it was nothing compared to the initial darkness he saw, and next to him stood Wesley who had a small reassuring smile on his face. The servant immediately felt at ease, he somehow managed to survive when he was certain he wouldn’t, but he still had a fearful expression as he looked around, then he looked at the only person near him and asked in a shaky voice:

"Young master, what was that"

Wesley just shook his head with a self-reproaching smile, then he helped the servant up and said:

"It was nothing, Now why were you looking for me?"

The servant realizing that he not only entered the prince's room without permission he also proceeded to question him felt deep embarrassment and regret. His voice still shaky, he said:

"The King is waiting for you, the reception is about to begin"

Wesley remembered that today was the Kings' fiftieth year on the throne celebration. He simply snorted then look at the servant who was wiping his face and said:

"I see, lead the way please."

The servant acknowledged with a slight bow and started walking out towards the study. The moment they got to the study, the servant stood to the side of the door and gestured to Wesley to go in. Wesley looked at the servant, then he said with a small smile:

"Oh, and keep what you saw today to yourself"

Saying so, Wesley walked in to the study not glancing at the servant whose face was drained of all colour. The moment Wesley walked in, he was met with a tackle from little Delan. Delan truly liked Wesley, and although Wesley didn’t have any close friends to spend time with he spent all his free time with little Delan. After he met Delan's hug, Wesley simply rubbed his head, which Delan seemed to like and went towards Edmund without speaking a word to Delan. When Wesley was within four feet of the king, he kneeled down and said:

"Forgive my tardiness father."

Edmund looked at Wesley with a face devoid of all emotions and simply snorted saying:

"You have kept us waiting long enough, let us go"

Saying so he simply walked out of the room with little Delan walking on his right and the Queen on his left. Wesley simply smiled then walked directly behind Edmund.

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Hey Guys:

Nice to meet you. if you really like the story, if you just wanted to check it out, or if you simply wanted something to keep you entertained until the new chapter of coiling dragon comes out, then welcome.

I am new to this Writing thing, am sure you noticed a lot of errors- I blame my primary school english teachers- so be strong

and if you like the story, please let me know, and if you don't like it let me know as well, your feedback is a tremendous help to me.

thanks to all those guys who sent me tips about how to fix my spacing. i tried it in this chapter.

Anyway, nice to meet you, and see you next chapter.