The sound of shoes clacking on the stone floor could be heard as Lazarus paced around the room. The moment he stopped, a desolating silence filled the room. No sound of conversations or the sounds of footsteps outside of the door that he used to hear, nothing. There were no sounds at all.

Lazarus just stood in the center of the small room just staring at the door. He walked to the door, and when he’d opened it. It was there as expected. The thin transparent film of light that blocked his exit, a magical barrier.

For the hundredth time today, he tried to push it lighty, hoping that maybe it would break. But it just pulsed in the area where his palm lay.

Maybe…

Lazarus closed his eyes. Applied a bit of force in his palm as he concentrated, he felt a sort of heat in his palm. He muttered,

“By the will of heroes, by the will of the people and by the will of my heart. Make a path and sunder the earth!”

…

He smiled ruefully.

Yeah, of course nothing would happen. He was manaless.

Lazarus sat back down in the bed and just stared at the ceiling. Again, silence.

After a while,there was a knock on the door, prompting Lazarus to turn his head and look.

Falon entered the room with a wooden cart that had an assortment of food, in its center was a metal cloche, and beneath the cart was also an assortment of books.

“Good morning young Prince. I hope you will enjoy the food I've brought you.” He then proceeded to open the metal cloche and there was a steak with a sunny side-up egg.

Lazarus' eyes widened. It was a lot and all of it looked good. He looked to Falon with an unsure look who immediately understood his gaze.

“This may be a lot more than what you’re used to but I prefer you to be healthy and as a prince you are also entitled to a good hearty meal.”

Falon was a bit strange to Lazarus. His face always had a neutral look and Lazarus wasn’t used to it. He was used to seeing Emilia’s calm motherly smile, Reisha’s sunny smile and Anastasia’s pissed off look or maybe the constant annoyed look Veyron displayed when seeing him.

But Falon’s expression never changed and it made Lazarus feel unsure of him.

Lazarus said nothing to Falon and just approached, taking the knife and fork. He lined-up the egg on top of the steak and poked the yellow part until it began oozing a delicious yellow liquid that flowed down to the steak.

Lazarus smiled. At least he had a good meal.

Lazarus quietly ate his breakfast and occasionally gave Falon a glance whilst the royal adviser just closed his eyes and just stood tall with a back straightened.

After finishing his meal with a couple of leftovers, Falon popped his eyes open and began cleaning. He then took a book from beneath the cart and handed it to Lazarus who received it with furrowed brows.

“Those are story books from my personal collection, you will not find them in the library. I hope you can pass the time with these.” He said, before dropping the rest of the books to Lazarus' side.

Still a bit unsure of Falon, but also not looking forward to the silence when he leaves, Lazarus clutched his pants and asked, “How long will I be here for?”

“That is something I do not know. But I will let you know if anything changes.” Falon said, standing up and leaving with the wooden cart in tow. As he was halfway through the door, he said. “I’ll be back this afternoon to bring you your lunch, then tonight as well for your dinner.”

Lazarus just nodded without making eye contact. Falon pushed the wooden cart out, passing through the thin film of blue transparent light as if it wasn't there.

Again, silence filled the room.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somedays Lazarus would just keep on tapping the stone floor with a small iron rod he found beneath the bed just to make some sounds. Other times he’d think back on the time when Emilia would sit with him in the palace gardens and just talk to him, sometimes even seat him on her laps and pat his head.

He missed those times…

If he could just see his mother…

Lazarus turned to look at the wooden door. He stared at it for a moment before he decided to walk towards it and when he opened the door, there it lied still, the accursed blue film of light.

Lazarus took off his shoe and slammed it as hard as he could, the barrier flickered where the shoe collided but it just bounced back as if it struck stone. He frowned and started smacking the barrier with his small fist.

With no changes to its color despite his efforts and feeling as if it was impossible, Lazarus gave up and just lied on the bed.

Days went by with nothing but the usual routine. Eat, read, then sleep. Amongst the many tries that Lazarus had in breaking out, slowly a feeling of irritation welled up in chest.

“This magic barrier is annoying…” he slammed the barrier with his fist. Day after day he’d see the barrier only to get irritated. Sometimes he’d throw the book as hard as he could hoping it’d break, but it didn’t.

Sometimes he’d try to use the small stool hoping its heavier weight would do something, unfortunately he was met with the same results.

For some reason, the stories he read became stale. Especially those with heavy emphasis on magic. Any mention of it would irk Lazarus and he’d often glance at the barrier when magic was mentioned.

At this point, he kept the door open just to stare at the barrier out of spite.

Today was no different, Lazarus was just reading a book and the moment some magic came up he scoffed and just skipped the text. He found himself just focusing on the plot and sometimes the character interactions.

Another scene came when the main character began chanting his powerful magic to defeat a dragon, Lazarus only rolled his eyes and skipped the text to the part where the dragon died.

Sometimes as he was about to sleep, he would think of his mother who was kind and gentle.

What did she think of his imprisonment? She never visited, nor has he heard anything from Falon.

Eventually a week had gone by.

Just as usual, Lazarus was reading a book and skipping over some magic scenes when Falon came knocking.

“Excuse me young Prince. But I’ll be locking the door for a bit.”

Lazarus just furrowed his brows, wondering what was up as Falon closed the wooden door shut. He then could hear a jingle of metal, probably Falon getting the keys and the door made a clicking sound as it was locked from the other side.

“Young Prince?”

Lazarus felt a surge of emotions the moment he heard the familiar feminine voice.

“L-Lara!? Is that you!?”

“Uhn.. Indeed it is.” Her voice was soft, and solemn.

Lazarus ran to the door, excited to finally meet Lara after having only been stuck with Falon.

Lazarus began twisting the knob. He heard a sudden clacking of heels on the stone followed by a gasp. He felt that Lara had took a step back.

A muffled voice from behind the door spoke,

“Do not fret. I’ve locked the door and there is a barrier in place.”

What was she doing? Did she stumble? Lazarus could only wonder what was happening on the other side.

“Young Prince.” Falon said calmly but with a hint of irritation in his voice as he continued. “Please, do not attempt to open the door.”

“But I wanna see Lara…”

“Y-young prince, I apologize. But please-.” She pleaded. “I want to say my farewells to you in a proper manner, so could you please listen?”

Hearing her words, Lazarus' stomach dropped. “W-what? Farewells? W-what do you mean farewell?” It was so sudden… Did Veyron realize that it was Lara who broke the Valencia heirloom? Lazarus wasn't sure but that could be the case.

“I will no longer be working as a maid…”

“Huh...? Why?”

There was some silence from the other door. Lazarus just looked and he could imagine Lara’s grimace from her voice as she spoke,

“It’s complicated… As you may know,” Lara spoke softly, almost a whisper and Lazarus could hear her voice almost breaking. “I-.. I lost the ability to use magic. But I’ve since recovered.”

She lost her ability to use magic? In other words, manaless, like himself? But Lara had recovered so it was fine.

“So you're alright now?” he wanted to confirm and was relieved to hear Lara’s reply.

“Yes, I am. I’m quite relieved…”

Again a long silence. Lazarus was getting antsy and wanted to say something, but before he could Lara continued.

“I’m leaving because-...I-” Lara became quiet then she spoke with an uneven tone. “Something happened back home, and I must take care of my brother that’s why-..”

“I thought you wanted to be honest?” Cut-in Falon, interrupting Lara who Lazarus felt was looking at Falon with a pale face.

Again, silence.

“Lara?” Lazarus called out. Was she lying to him?

“I-...”

Falon sighed. “I’ve allowed you to bid farewell to the young Prince since you insisted so much. I thought that was a show of loyalty to the prince you served, and I obliged. However, if you are just going to lie then there is no point in this. It is rude to the young Prince. So please lea-”

“N-no! I-..I’ll be honest.” Lara pleaded to which Falon sighed and said ‘As you wish, but tread carefully.’

“What’s going on?” Asked Lazarus who at this point was feeling confused and anxious.

“Young Prince. Please, allow me to apologize. However the truth is.. The truth is-..”

Lazarus gulped in apprehension.

Lara hesitated, her heart trembling painfully with every word that came out of her mouth just imagining how the young prince, whom she came to care for, would react.

Lara tried to recall the visage of the young prince as he stood up for her. It reminded her of the loyalty she wore to him that day. It was painful and yet, she resolved her heart as a final act of loyalty to her prince.

“I’m afraid… I’m afraid I’d lose all the ability to cast magic at all! I-..I’m afraid that the next time I get sick will be the last time I use magic… and as such I’ve decided to leave...Please forgive me...”

After her spiel, Lara could just stare at the wooden door, hoping that her departure wouldn’t hurt the six year old child.

“So you’re leaving.. Because of me..?” Hearing a crumbling and anguished voice from behind the door, Lara felt her heart twist painfully.

How badly she wanted to say ‘No, I’m not leaving because of you.’ How badly she wanted to comfort him. However, taking a glance at Falon’s stern gaze, it gave her a bit of strength to continue.

Honesty is an act of loyalty. Even if he was a child, he deserved the truth as he was her prince. Lara clenched her fist, gazed down at the wooden door to where she expected Lazarus to be and said,

“Yes. I am. I wish that I could have resolved to stay-.. I really do. But I cannot part with my magic. I need it so I can work-... so I can support my aged parents and my younger brother… I believe that by staying I might doom myself to a fate I would come to regret so-..”

"I-...I-.. I understand..." Lazarus forced a smile as he felt a ball on his throat. He wasn't worth fighting for. He had long since realized but just hearing it from the person whom Lazarus became attached to-... it was just painful.

“Young Prince, I apologize.” Said Lara, bowing her head to the wooden door, clutching her skirt from the frustration. As a kid, she knew how he would take it, she had prepared for him to lash out. But instead he accepted it. The young prince was just too kind, she thought.

That fact alone crushed Lara's soul as she realized that the very young prince she swore to be loyal was getting crushed by her words.

But it wasn't her fault. He had a very deadly disease and so it couldn't be helped. She justified it in her mind. But the faint sobbing noises she heard from behind the door made her look with widened eyes.

"Young prince..." She called out softly. But there was no answer. She looked to the shadow that was behind the door and it was no longer there.

Lara’s hands began trembling as she once again called out, “Young prince..?” There was no answer. “Young prince? Young prince!?”

Was their farewell going to be like this? It shouldn’t be… Lara wanted to at least hear his voice one last time. She reached for the knob, turning it hurriedly but it just clicked and clicked, it was locked.

“I locked it for your safety. Did you forget?”

“N-no..I-.. Can I see the young prince?”

“You were hesitant before since you were afraid of his disease, and yet now you want to see him? Do you wish to be robbed of your magic again?”

Lara just stared. He was right, but at the same time, the desperation she felt was becoming too much to bear. Just one last time-... maybe-..

Falon stopped leaning against the wall and said,

"It's time." Before placing a hand on her shoulder

“W-wait.” Lara pleaded. Was this how she was going to part with prince Lazarus? To just leave him with scars as his only maid would leave him? Lara felt a bitterness in her heart and wanted to talk some more, maybe see him one last time…

Falon's grip on her shoulder tightened, prompting Lara to twist the knob faster and faster.

“N-no…wait.” Lara resisted, for a bit but Falon’s eyes flashed a bright purple, making Lara feel a pulse of energy wash over her entire body. Then she felt weak and her hand that was gripping the knob became numb and she could no longer move it. Her weight slowly became heavier and heavier for her legs and she stumbled a bit.

In that instant, Falon caught her before she fell back and lifted her up, carrying her in his arms as he looked to the wooden door and said, “I’ll be taking her away now young Prince.”

“...”

Lara, with the last bit of her strength, tried to reach for the door handle. Desperate to see the young Prince for the last time, consequences be damned. But Falon began walking and her hand could only touch the knob as her consciousness began to fade.

“Y-young prince-...I’m truly, sorry.” she muttered as her eyes closed and her hand fell and dangled as the royal adviser carried her away,

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A loud bang echoed in the room. Veyron who'd slammed his fist on the table clutched his head as he stared at the tax documents.

It showed a slight decrease compared to the month before but the worst part was-

"Less and less merchants are coming here..." Emilia mutterd, looking down as she said, "Not only that. The Azure Kingdom has sent us a letter, stating that further contact with the Twilight Kingdom from now on would be limited."

Veyron felt his stomach seethe as he clutched his head. "What are the damages we should expect from this?"

Emilia was silent for a moment.

"If this continues...then I'm afraid that prices for things previously brought in by traveling merchants would get higher.."

"Hahahhaa!"

Emilia looked worriedly at Veyron. Upon seeing her look, the Arcane King smiled. "Who knew that worthless brat would deal this much damage simply by existing?! Hahahah!"

Emilia once again looked down on the floor. Lazarus was by himself in the corner of the castle… How lonely was he getting? She wanted to go to him and comfort him, and yet she was afraid.

Afraid of losing her magic and perhaps even infecting her husband and family if she went. Maybe if she could be locked in there with him it would be better. Even if she became manaless, she was prepared for it. But-...

That would leave Reisha, Anastasia and Clovis without their mother. Just imagining their looks and asking for her-... the imaginary scenario Emilia conjured up in her mind made her heart squeeze painfully.

It was Lazarus or Reisha, Anastasia and Clovis…

Why? Why did things turn out this way??

Emilia sighed while looking down. Was there really no other way?

“It’s time for Reisha’s magic lessons.” Said Veyron to which Emilia protested,

“But we need to-..”

“It’s fine. Falon will be here assisting me with the damage control, we should not neglect Reisha as she will one day fulfill my ambitions.”

Reisha… Emilia couldn’t help but think that Veyron didn't know this, but Reisha easily got lonely and also clung to Emilia when they were alone, much like Lazarus did. She wanted to see her too so-

“I see… You’re right. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

It was a long walk in the castle corridors… Emilia wondered what she could do for Lazarus but at the same time not leave Reisha. But no matter how she thought about it, there was no solution in sight.

Emilia also knew that if she’d do what she initially planned and go to Lazarus and just be locked up with him, then Anastasia would once again be hurt. She didn’t want to hurt the daughter she’d neglect again, but-... what could she do for Lazarus?

If she’d leave Reisha’s studies to Falon like before, then… No, Veyron wouldn’t accept that. Not to mention that Reisha was always at risk of being assassinated. The second most powerful person in the Kingdom right after Veyron was Emilia herself, so there was no better person to guard and teach Reisha but herself-... But what about Lazarus? He was alone in a small room, just by his lonesome.

Emilia was filled with never ending thoughts with no solution in sight. She felt powerless.

The moment she reached a large door, she sighed.

Emilia shook her head to get the nagging thoughts in her mind out of her head, but it was futile. Instead, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, took a deep breath again and then, force a smile as she opened the door.

“Good morning Reisha.”

“Good morning mom!” Reisha beamed happily, waiting in the door with both of her hands held together in front of her and she was already wearing her blue dress. She must’ve been waiting for her.

“I see you’re already prepared.”

“Yes!” Reisha smiled, but then she leaned a bit to the side, trying to see if there was anyone behind Emilia. “Are there no maids?”

“No,” Emilia said with a shake of her head. Reisha’s smile became wider.

“Mommy!” She lunged and hugged Emilia’s waist who closed the door behind her.

Emilia felt a wave of relief wash over her mind and a warm feeling engulfed her heart. She leaned down and hugged little Reisha back and patted her head. Truly, Reisha was a precious little child who always held back and had to act all prim and proper always as she was the crown princess.

Emilia knew her burden as she too was filled with so much burden the moment she became engaged to Veyron. Even when she was already trained in mannerism, her mother trained her some more in how to act as a proper lady with even stricter lessons.

At that time, Emilia was already a girl of age unlike Reisha who had to bear this burden whilst being five years of age. Emilia tightened her embrace on Reisha who also tightened her little arms back.

After a while, Reisha pulled back and looked to Emilia who was somewhat shocked since Reisha was never the one to pull back from an embrace and it was Emilia who needed to pry her off.

“Big brother Lazarus isn’t in his room anymore. Where is he?”

!

Emilia felt her stomach drop to her knees.

“I haven’t seen him in a while… I go to his room every night yet he’s no longer there.” Reisha said, looking down. “Do you perhaps know where my dearest brother is?” she looked hopefully to Emilia who looked away.

What should she tell Reisha? They never broke the news to her and simply tried to keep her busy but wait… if they were keeping her busy, then why did she know Lazarus wasn’t in his room?

“Reisha,” Called out Emilia to which Reisha looked expectantly, “Did you perhaps sneak to his room?”

Reisha’s eyes widened and she looked away, “I do not know what you are talking about, I-...”

“Reisha.”

“Y-yes, I may have…”

“You know you can’t do that, I-.”

“But he's my big brother! I should be able to see him when I want, is that not the case? Isn’t that what you told me when I was in Elerun before?” Reisha said defiantly, frowning.

Emilia sighed. Never had Reisha acted this selfishly before, she would always do as she told but in recent months, she became defiant when it came to Lazarus. And yes, Emilia remembered she promised Reisha she could see him as much when the time came that she’d be introduced to the family.

But that was before they realized Lazarus truly had a disease and could infect other people.

It wasn’t just Lara who’d lost her mana, but there were a couple of maids who did too. They all blamed Lara and she was ostracized for causing their predicament. Emilia had heard that she defended Lazarus but when she had been asked ‘Then where did you get this sickness from!?’ she would fall silent.

Emilia wondered how much of the report was true, but it seemed like Lara had to deal with a lot before she decided to resign…

But how could she tell Reisha that she was no longer allowed to see her big brother? Emilia knew how much she came to love Lazarus and it pained her to see Reisha giving her a lonely and pleading look while being defiant.

There was no other choice…

“Reisha, your big brother is sick.”

Reisha’ eyes widened. “W-what? He is sick?” Then she looked worriedly and began looking around, “Maybe I can heal him? Where is he? I need to go.” Reisha tried going past Emilia but Emilia stopped her, raising her hand, blocking Reisha from going past her.

“He is being treated by top tier mages so-..”

“But I have to see him!” Reisha shouted and clutched Emilia’s skirt.

Emilia was surprised, she’d never seen Reisha so distressed before and the fact that she had to lie to her was also very painful.

“Reisha, you might disturb the healers so you can’t.”

Reisha looked down. “B-but I-..”

She was frustrated. Emilia could tell, as she herself was also very frustrated with herself. No, they didn’t call a healer as they knew it wouldn’t help. No healing magic could help Lazarus as Emilia herself tried it. Never had once her healing spells took effect on Lazarus.

“I miss big brother-...”

“It’s only just been a week…”

“A week too long!”

“Come here.” Emilia held the sobbing Reisha. This was the only thing she could do for her. And somehow, holding the frustrated Reisha eased her own heart.

Right now, this was the only thing Emilia Valheart could do.

If only she could hold Lazarus like this once more.

The child must be torn right now… Today was also the day Lara would wish Lazarus her farewells so-..

Emilia tightened her embrace on Reisha, squeezing her as if she would if Lazarus was the one she held.

“Mom.” Reisha called out to which Emilia loosened her embrace a bit to see her face. “Can you teach me strong healing spells?”

Emilia’s eyes widened and she asked 'Why?', even knowing what the answer may be.

“I want to learn healing spells so I can heal big brother…”

Emilia could only force a smile as she nodded along.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days continue to pass, then weeks until a month has passed.

Lazarus was lying in his room just staring at the ceiling. He looked at the soft beam from the sun pouring from his window and frowned.

It was too bright.

He closed the windows and covered it with the blinds and went back to bed.

He was already used to the silence.

What would he be having for breakfast he wondered?

And on cue, Falon came rolling in with the usual wooden cart with a big meal.

This time it was eggs with some bread and salt. A couple of side dishes that Lazarus had no idea was, but it looked good.

Lazarus sat on the wooden stool as Falon began preparing his meal and as soon as it was ready, he began eating.

“Prince, You’ve been awfully quiet these past days.”

Lazarus said nothing and continued to eat. After that, he stood up, only to seat himself on his bed.

“Young prince? Was there an issue with the meal?”

“No. It was great.”

“That’s a lie. Your expression barely changed when you were eating.”

Lazarus scrunched his face. He hadn’t been able to taste anything for a while for some reason but he was full, so that’s all that mattered at this point.

“What do you want me to say?” Lazarus asked, wanting to just say the right words so Falon would leave.

“Tell me if there are any problems. I wish to address them early as I don’t want lady Emilia to be worried. Every single day she would ask of you and how you are doing and it takes too much of my time with every question she’d ask.”

Lazarus scoffed, “Just tell her I’m alright.”

Falon seemed to study Lazarus, prompting the young prince to frown defiantly and ask ‘What?’

“Why did you just scoff?”

“Why else? Why would my mother be worried about me when she hasn’t come to see me? Just tell her I’m alright and be done with it.”

“You know why she can’t see you. You might infect her.”

“Hmph.” Lazarus just lied on the bed and covered himself with a blanket.

Infected. Yeah, so what? She should’ve at least talked with him like Lara did-...

“Lara…” Lazarus muttered, tightening the blanket around him.

Falon only sighed and began cleaning up, then leaving the room. He knew that Lazarus was simply being emotional and childish so there was nothing more to say. He left.

After he was gone, Lazarus unwrapped himself and took a book from underneath the bed. He opened it and began reading the folded part.

It was a story about a mother who was protecting her child from a pack of monsters. She was bitten and clawed but still, she shielded her child only for a hero to come to her rescue. That hero was the main character of the story. And Lazarus just stopped reading at that point.

For some time now, this scene caught his attention and he has been reading it over and over again.

Each time, it pained him to read the scene but he somehow couldn’t stop.

“Mommy…” Lazarus uttered as he closed his eyes.

Night came and he was already finished with his dinner. Lazarus was lying on the bed when he suddenly heard a knock.

“Hmm?” Lazarus frowned. He wondered if Falon forgot something but the knocking was soft and low. It was unusual since Lazarus had long gotten used to how Falon did things.

“Big brother?” A muffled voice resounded from behind the door.

Lazarus’ eyes widened.