The next day, Valentia and I were situated in the central garden of the palace. It was right in the middle of the palace, with it built around the garden. It was a thing of beauty. A large pond was located in the middle of the garden, which the females of the castle loved to swim in, according to Valentia. Trees neatly littered the area, providing cool shade from the sun’s warmth. Then troves of flower beds stretched out far and wide. Almost every type of flower could be found here: Tulips, Roses, Dew, Moonflower, Maskz, Cardinals etc. It was an impressive garden.

I was leaning on the trunk of a tree nearest to the pond, just relaxing; a luxury I wasn’t accustomed to. Valentia, on the other hand, was happily swimming, trying to strike up a conversation with me.

“Hey, Seth?” She started.

“What?”

“Remember when we were kids? How we met here and hung out?”

That question caught me off guard. Our childhood was a topic Valentia didn’t step in often. “I remember yes,” I said leaning forward.

The only reason we met in the first place was due to the fact that the Nox clan happened to be visiting Imperium to train the royal assassins.

10 years ago

“Seth.” My dad called out.

I turned to face him. “Yes?”

“Mom and I will be a bit busy for now; we have to help train some people who aren’t as strong as the Nox clan. So for the meantime why don’t you explore the palace?” He suggested

“Why can’t I come with?”

My mother got on her knees and took my hands in hers. She smiled at me, with that warm, tender smile of hers, something that you normally don’t see from killers.

“Seth, baby, it’s just you aren’t old enough for this sort of training. When you get older, and your body develops more, your training will continue ok? So explore the palace for mom.”

I nodded. “Alright, mother.” As a kid I rarely said no to my mother, she was the only one that kept me reined in.

So I left, while my parents and other members of the Nox clan were busy training assassins from the royal imperial army. As I made my way around the palace, servants and nobles wandering the halls greeted me, tried to make small talk or outright ignored me.

I stared at all the expensive paintings that decked the halls, with the busts of previous emperors. They all looked so serious and old, it creeped me out.

“Can I help you child?” asked a voice from behind me. I looked to see it was a servant of the household.

I shook my head. “No, I’m just looking around; my parents are busy with some training.”

“Oh, you must belong to the Nox family I presume.” He bowed. “It’s an honor to meet a member of the Nox family in person.”

I was a bit shocked at his kindness that I took a step back confused.

“What do you mean? I’m not royalty.”

“Of course not, but surely you must know of your family history. The Nox clan has always gotten along with the Gaia Dynasty ever since the founding of the Empire. Before your clan became assassins, it is believed that they were the highest house of royalty after Gaia, and members of both houses often intermingled and married. It was only until your ancestor…” he trailed off when he saw how confused I was.

“Sorry about that, it must be a lot for someone as young as you. When you get older, you should explore your family’s history, it may surprise you.”

Our talk ended when I asked him a place to rest and he gave me to the central garden of the palace. I thanked him and left. I made my way to the garden, which upon reaching, it took my breath away. It was absolutely stunning. Trees neatly littered the area, providing cool shade from the sun’s warmth. Then troves of flower beds stretched out far and wide. Almost every type of flower could be found here: Tulips, Roses, Dew, Moonflower, Maskz, Cardinals etc. In the middle was a pond with a nearby tree to provide shade. The tree near the pond was the tallest of all the trees and it gave me the urge to climb it.

“Alright.”

I ran towards it, promptly jumping and reaching for the lowest branch. Once I grabbed it I pulled myself up onto it. With one hand I reached for the next branch, and the next and the next. I stopped climbing it once I was about halfway up and decided it was good enough. The branch was pretty thick in width and it could easily hold my weight. I leaned back against it end simply enjoyed the weather.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing in that tree? Get down from there now!” a voice demanded.

Opening an eye, I looked down to see a girl staring up at me, clearly upset.

I thought about ignoring her, but from the looks of it, this girl would probably not leave. I sighed and made my way down the tree to confront this girl.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She yelled once I reached the bottom.

I looked at the tree then back at the girl. “Clearly I was kissing the tree.”

“Haha, very funny. Tell me who you are and what you’re doing here immediately or I’ll see that you’re escorted to jail by guards!”

“By whose authority?”

Her face turned to one of pure shock. “You don’t know who I am?! I don’t know if I should be surprised or outraged.”

She coughed into a closed fist before continuing any further.

“My name is Valentia Crimvern, heir to the house of Crimvern. Our house has been a dear friend to the house of Gaia.” She exclaimed.

I stared at her dumbfounded. I knew who the Gaia family was obviously, but I’ve never heard of the Crimvern family before.

“Is that so? Never heard of your family before.” I said dismissively.

If her face could turn redder from anger, she certainly achieved it. I almost could picture fumes coming out of her head.

“Why you!” she yelled at me and lunged forward.

Present Day

“I remember we only used to fight, I wouldn’t exactly call that a friendship Valentia,” I stated. “We would constantly be at each other’s throats whenever we met.”

She laughed. “Well, of course, you didn’t even know who I was, naturally I’d be upset.”

She swam up to the edge of the pond, resting her arms on the grassy shore.

“You sure you don’t want to take a dip?”

“I’m good.”

“What afraid I’ll see you naked?” she joked.

“No, just not interested.”

She sighed but pulled herself out of the pond. “Mind throwing me that towel?” she asked, pointing to the folded towel beside me.

I flashed a rare smile. “Get it yourself.”

“Perv, you want to see me up close don’t you” she laughed.

As she made her way towards me, I quickly got up and threw the towel at her. “I was joking idiot.”

“Such a shame.” She replied in a voice that I couldn’t find out if she was joking or not.