A week later, Jayden had healed enough to train Elizah once more. When he was walking through the palace to leave for the pond he overheard his parents talking in the council chambers.

“He’s a disgrace,” Noxaura was talking to someone else.

“We can’t disown him Noxaura, he’s the sole heir to the throne,”Cyprian said with fatigue lacing his tone.

It sounded like this conversation had happened more than once before and there hadn’t been any good result.

“Your heart for the weak shows in your son too. I should have killed him when I knew his destiny itself. Once people find out the truth, our name will be on the line. It’s not that he’s already been a disgrace,” She was practically yelling.

Cyprian’s voice wasn’t heard by Jayden. He couldn’t hear any more of the conversation. A fear had stuck inside him. He had to prove himself to make things perfect. Given what Noxaura said it seemed more like she was out to kill him.

He knew there was only one way he could stay in the castle, even though he was breaking the laws. He had to reach the expectations of his parents to even try to make sure he could hide his powers, and remain the Prince.

While lost in thought, he walked out of the castle contemplating what he’ll do.

When Jayden arrived in the forest, oddly enough Elizah was missing. She was usually the first to arrive out of the two of them for training every week.

Jayden sat down in the grass and he heard the footsteps of someone running through the forest. Within moments he saw Elizah show up in front of him out of breath.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Elizah said with a sigh, and Jayden shook his head.

“No problem,” Jayden said but he noticed a sadness in Elizah’s eyes, but he didn't question it and stood up.

Meanwhile Elizah noticed that something was wrong with Jayden. He seemed different than before

“Is everything alright?” Elizah asked, after one round of them dueling and she noticed Jayden almost fall over.

“Everything’s fine. I’ve just been training a lot more lately,”Jayden answered curtly.

“Maybe you should relax for a while. It’s taking a toll on you,” Elizah said.

Jayden didn’t answer and Elizah thought that he would rest a bit. But things didn’t change. In fact, he only looked more tired.

Elizah sighed and decided not to argue. The two of them had taken up their stances for a duel and suddenly, it began to rain.

“Maybe we should wait for the rain to stop,” Elizah said and Jayden nodded.

They relaxed a bit and Elizah let her waist length hair fall out of it’s neat bun. The rain coming through the canopy was not heavy but enough to cool her off after the hot day and the sweaty practice. She was smiling wide and her eyes were closed, she was enjoying herself.

Jayden couldn’t help but stare at how amazing she looked. It was his artistic sense that again captured the scene and made her beauty stand out. Compared to the other girls in the town Elizah wasn’t that beautiful, but right now, she looked like a spirit.

She laughed as the drops fell on her face and strands of hair fell into her eyes.

Jayden couldn’t help but smile. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. As Jayden was watching her he felt a sudden wave of dizziness and lightheadedness, they’d become common after he had started pushing beyond his limits at training sessions. He had felt dizzy all morning and had a constant feeling that he was going to fall over. His head was banging, as if there was a hammer inside. He tried to walk to a tree to grip something, to keep from falling over but it seemed too far.

He had a feeling that he was actually falling over. And he knew he was, when his knees sank to the ground.

After hearing the thud of his boots Elizah turned to see that Jayden was falling.

“Jayden,”she called out and ran to his side.

She caught him by the shoulders before he could fall any further and slowly propped him up against a tree.

“You’re really exhausted. Did you even sleep?”she sat by his side and looked at him.

“I’m fine,” he said and tried to push her away. But she remained firm.

“No you’re not,” Elizah said. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Something strange was going on. She felt something on his shoulder. It was like a type of energy or something she couldn’t see but could only sense.

She couldn’t explain what was going on but she felt something radiating. She closed her eyes and she could see an image of a clear scar on Jayden’s shoulder.

“Where did you get the scars on your back?” Elizah asked.

Jayden looked at her bewildered. Her eyes were closed and her hand was on his shoulder, and from what he knew the scars weren’t visible from under his tunic.

“How do you know about the scars? And why do you care?”Jayden asked her. Her hand was now running down his back tracing the length of the scars. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and eyes were still shut.

“For the spirit's sake! Stop being stupid and stubborn and tell me where those scars came from,”Elizah said frustration clear in her tone.

Jayden gave her a confused glance. What was even going on? he wondered.

All of a sudden he felt a sudden energy going through the length of his spine. It seemed both hot and cold, gentle and harsh while wildly unpredictable. The pain that had been troubling him had vanished all of a sudden. And just like it had begun, it ended instantly.

Jayden had closed his eyes when the sensation had begun and he slowly opened them when the pain was gone. He felt a sudden energy ,one he hadn’t felt in weeks. He felt strong enough to stand. He looked at Elizah whose eyes fluttered open. She was staring around the area with her eyes wide and she was gasping for air. She was soaked in both rainwater and sweat.

“Wh-What just happened?” Jayden asked.

“I’m not so sure,” She said between ragged breaths. She felt exhausted, as much as she’d be if she’d had a harsh day of harvesting the grains.

Elizah placed her hand on his back after asking for Jayden’s consent and felt only smooth skin.

“The scars are gone,” Jayden said in awe. It was a strange feeling, but at that moment his heart was beating harder than ever for some weird reason, he didn’t want to leave Elizah’s side at all.

“They’re gone alright. There’s no trace of a cut of any sort,” Elizah said and moved so that she could see his face.

Jayden knew he could trust her, he didn’t think twice before he said, “That has to be some sort of magic.”

Elizah wasn’t surprised. There was no logical explanation so the next best thing was magic. They couldn’t heal themselves.

“How can you be sure?” Elizah asked.

He took a deep breath and held his palm out in front of him and concentrated until he saw a steady ball of flame in his palm.

“You have magic,” Elizah said and watched not in fear, but in sheer awe.

“Yes, but from what I’ve done, I’ve never seen accelerated healing happen before,” Jayden said, “I can only work with any type of flame, make it move by my will.”

Jayden began to show her how the flames grew larger and smaller until exhaustion settled down on him slowly.

“I see you’ve discovered your powers, young prince,” a voice was heard. Elizah immediately lifted her dagger from the sheath. Jayden smiled upon seeing his gift to her being put to good use and was also surprised that she carried that blade.

“Who’s out there?” Elizah asked. She tried to stand but had to take the support of the tree next to her.

“Don’t fear me. I’m not allied with the queen,” A woman said as she appeared from the dense part of the forest on the other side of the pond.

She had red hair and amber eyes. She was wearing all white from a white cloak to a white gown. By the look of her face she looked around the age of 40.

“I’ve been watching the two of you for quite some time now. I’ve known about you since the day you were born,” The woman said.

“Who are you?” Jayden asked, as he straightened a bit and Elizah sat on the grass.

“Call me Jade, I was the seer who saw your destinies. I knew your father as well Elizah,” the woman said. There was no humour or smile on her face, just seriousness.

At the mention of her father, Elizah’s strong demeanour faltered.

“How are you still in the empire?” Jayden asked.

“I’ve lived in this forest all my life. No one came looking in here fearing the lore and legends,”Jade said.

“You both may have stronger powers than any I’ve ever seen before. But for the safe use of these powers you will need to be well-trained,”Jade continued.

“How does magic work exactly? My powers are entirely different from Jayden’s,” Elizah asked. This was the first time she was talking after Jade mentioned her father.

“There are three main types of magic, child. The ones that control fire and occasionally water for their defense form the category of battle magic users or the warriors. Jayden has the powers of a warrior. While there are others who use life and energy as the source of power. They can heal wounds, grow plants and even extract energy from their enemies and use it for their benefit. They fall under the category of healers or healing magic users. Elizah, you are a healer. And the last category consists of seers like myself who can sift through minds and memories and see things that are oncoming,” Jade said.

“There are only three types? I’ve heard stories about a fourth from my mother,”Elizah asked, “Isn’t that why there are four spirits of magic?”

“Yes there is a fourth, but it’s the most dangerous form of magic that exists. This can be possessed by all the different magic users or even non-magic users. From the magic types, a person can be either a seer, healer or warrior. They can’t have more than one of the types, but each of the three types has a dark half and a light half. The dark half is considered the magic of destruction and death, sadness, loss, despair and fear, though it truly isn’t. Typically those who have flame abilities, energy transfer capabilities and the ones who can shapeshift are considered the darker half. Those with darker magic actually tend to be safer from overuse of magic, but still can die due to it. That is where you were lucky prince Jayden,” Jade said.

“Hasn’t dark magic been wiped out fully? That’s why the spirits disappeared,” Elizah said with confusion in her tone. Both Jayden and Elizah were still processing what Jade had been saying.

“Not necessarily. No one can wipe out dark magic. Without dark magic there can be no balance. It’s always there but not as much as before. But that’s all supposed to change now,” Jade said.

“What do you mean change now? Magic isn’t even legal here,” Jayden’s voice was laced with frustration.

“I’ve seen the future. It shows a change. Practically oncoming within a few years,”Jade said, “Majorly it will happen because of the two of you.”

Jayden and Elizah shared a glance. They were both very confused by what she just said. Mirrored images of bewilderment showed on their faces.

“Does this have anything to do with our destinies?” Elizah asked cautiously.

“It is a part of your destiny. The two of you share the same destiny which is the first of its kind,”Jade said, “You will be the ones to change the magic system for once and for all.”

Jayden and Elizah couldn’t believe what they just heard. They were the ones who were going to bring back the sources, or limits of magic, from wherever it was. But it seemed impossible.

“Are you serious, and what does that even mean?” Jayden asked and gave an incredulous look in Jade’s direction.

“I’m not lying. If that’s what you’re wondering, young prince. It means you will bring back the limit system that magic once had, and that in turn will bring back the spirits and restore balance,”Jade said and gave him an irritated look.

“Well, it does make sense. I for one have always believed that the spirits actually exist, even if they were just stories,” Elizah said, as a thoughtful look came upon her face.

“What stories do you mean?” Jayden looked at her with even more confusion.

“Don’t tell me that you haven’t heard the stories of your ancestors. You must have, being the prince and all,” Elizah said with a bit of shock in her voice.

Jayden shook his head as he bowed his head. He felt stupid that he didn’t know his family’s history, but he never was allowed to try to talk about them. His parents always avoided the topic, and there was barely any information about them in the large library of the palace.

“Well, it’s a lot of truth and lies. I’m not sure if what I know is the truth or not,” Elizah said.

“You start the story Elizah, from what I know Liran was one of the best ones who remembered the accurate versions of the stories,”Jade said.

“My father never told me these stories, I never even knew him. But it was from my mother who I heard them from. But the simplest details were that when the first Larkspear Prince broke off from the northern rulers, and shifted south, the north was ravaged with wars and plague. When he returned to the north somehow, people don’t know how he did it but they say that he did the impossible and people suddenly gained magic,” Elizah said.

“That’s the simple gist of it. But I’ll explain more about this as you gain better control over your powers,” Jade said, “ Of course you’ll both need a while to think over whatever I’ve said today, your training will start tomorrow. Meet me here around the same time as now.”

With that the woman disappeared through the dense forest.

“Is it just me or does all of this seem like a dream?”Jayden asked.

Elizah laughed and said, “If it were a dream I wouldn’t be dreaming with you and be in yours.”

Jayden wanted to say that it wasn’t true because he was constantly thinking about her and he had dreamt about her many times. His thoughts were swirling with what Jade had said and with his personal feelings about Elizah starting to get out of hand.

“So you never knew about your ancestors?” Elizah said as she looked up at the canopy.

“No, I never got the chance to. My parents never gave me the chance, it was always covered whenever I’d even asked,” Jayden said with a bit of shame in his voice. He obviously felt terrible about it.

Sensing his discomfort, Elizah couldn’t help but reach out and grasp his hand and gently press on it. He couldn’t help but smile at the gesture.

“I kind of feel that way when I hear people talk about my father. I never got a chance to know him,” Elizah said softly.

Jayden reached out and gently held her hand. She smiled at him.

“So what happened, about the scars and the bags under your eyes?” Elizah asked and continued to hold Jayden’s hands. She never had felt like how she was feeling just then, she didn’t want to let go or leave him.

“I’ve just kind of been neglecting to rest and trying my hardest to get better at my sword-fighting. I really didn’t want to but the humiliating defeat against my father a few weeks ago, pushed things from bad to worse,” Jayden said. He then launched into a detailed description about what happened at that duel.

At the end Elizah couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the prince sitting in front of her. “You’re a perfect teacher and friend. I’d never ask you to change something about yourself. Maybe you’re not good at sword-fighting, but you still have other skills you are good at. Don’t push yourself too hard,”Elizah said with a gentle smile.

Jayden felt a strange impulse and put a hand on Elizah’s cheek which she swatted away quickly, and gave him a surprised glance.

“I’m sorry, that’s not the kind of relationship I want with you, at least for now,” Elizah said, knowing that he was about to kiss her. She didn’t understand why he would, but she wasn’t ready for that relationship with anyone.

“I’m sorry. I acted without thinking,” Jayden said and swore to himself.

“It’s alright, I’m not angry. I like you, but I’m not so sure if I want that kind of relationship. Maybe I will want that in the future, but I will tell you when I am ready. I’m so sorry,” Elizah said and Jayden nodded.

“I’ll be waiting for that day,” Jayden said with a smile and Elizah laughed.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home?” Jayden asked and Elizah sighed.

“Oh, Micah might but mother’s probably busy, but Micah has his own things he is worried about so I doubt he cares” Elizah said, her expression dimming, “How about your family, won’t they think about where their son has disappeared off to?”

Jayden’s expression suddenly changed. He was no longer cheerful as he was before as he said, “ I wasn’t planning on returning home tonight. This place seems more warm and welcoming than the castle ever is. I can spend the night alone here.”

“You’ll do no such thing. I don’t trust you alone here. I’ll try to figure out a way I can stay here with you overnight. You need some good rest, besides, I really don’t want to head back home as of yet,” Elizah said.

“Why not, is something going on?” Jayden asked as her voice had lowered into a softer tone.

Elizah gave a tired sigh. “I can’t sleep well at home. Micah is slightly upset, he lost someone important to him, and the house atmosphere is a bit gloomy. I don’t want to disturb his mourning,” Elizah said. She was idly looking at the grass all around her.

“Ohl,”Jayden said after a long pause of silence, “At least head back home for a slight bit. You’re soaking wet. You probably would want something more comfortable to wear. Head home, I’ll remain here.”

Elizah gave some thought to what he just said and decided to agree. “I’ll come back to watch over you no matter what. Promise me that you’ll try to get some sleep,” Elizah said as she stood up and tried to pull her hair into a messy bun.

Jayden gave her a nod and a smile as Elizah disappeared into the thicket and he closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.