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Tales Of A Prince: Chapter 1. A hero in the making

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Why am I with these people? How did I get myself into this mess? I am on a small ship with an honourable prince, his guide and retainer, a little girl, my beautiful teacher and an idiot. That is what I thought to myself. But I had never known what adventures that we would go on together. What sorrow we would endure and the happiness we shared. I am Prince Tristan. Son of King Aizen of Mancana. I am a knight of Aizen and a member of squad 2. This is not my story; this is my documentation of a man that would become our greatest hero, a man that would save our world many times.

I will explain my squad. The knights of Aizen is a group of soldiers that have been handpicked to restore and maintain order across the lands. Created by my father, there are 5 squads. Each squad has a healer that specialises in medicine and healing alchemy, a warrior skilled in combat, a magician and a guide that is our tutor. It differs from many groups but it's our skills that make the group. I, prince Tristan am skilled in the art of the sword. My tutor and squad captain is Lorna. A woman who looks 30 cycles old with a great figure and body. Golden blond hair, blue eyes like the sky. No one knows her true age. As our tutor, she is wise and is one of the original knights that served under my father when he was young. Then there is Miina the healer, 16 cycles old. Her personality is perfect for her job; she is a young, compassionate and lovely girl with auburn hair and dark brown eyes. Looks like a doll. Lastly there is the idiot. I had no idea why he became a member of our squad; he is lazy, moody and above all annoying. Scruffy brown hair like a beast, yet calm blue eyes like water. His name is Sky. He will become our savour, my greatest friend and it would be later when I found out how worthy he really was. Enough of that now. I shall begin.

Our first big mission was here. Prince Dahlan of the Luchia Kingdom was about to be married to his fiancé only for a group of bandits to kidnap his fiancé on his wedding day. Now I know what you are thinking, bandits? These bandits were hired by one of his special knights to kidnap his fiancé. A knight called Calst that betrayed him. The thing became a ransom. The prince was to come alone to the abandoned church near the town of Brihm. If he would not comply or bring reinforcements then the woman would die. Needless to say, he was one angry prince. His retainer and body guard was called Phoebus. He was an old man but not a bad magician of dark magic. My father gave the order to aid Prince Dahlan in his troubling hour. This would go against the kidnapper's wishes however my father thought this would be the best solution as the knights of Aizen have always succeeded in our missions no matter what the cost. Lorna with her soft yet demanding voice spoke "Originally this was a mission for squad 1 but I convinced the King that this was a much better job for us". At that time we did not know that she had a cunning plan.

As we sat down on the deck, we drank a cup of hot coco to calm our nerves. It was the first time I had ever tasted such a delicious drink I proclaimed openly to the others then Sky opened his stupid mouth in a babyish whisper "What, the prince never got a cup of coco?" I scowled at him and said, "I prefer good juice and wine unlike you who drank urine from pigs" then we gave dirty looks to each other until Lorna came in "Now you two, calm down or you'll sleep in the cargo bay"
Despite that I was a prince, my father told me to join the knights and become one of them. Lorna once told me that my father wanted me to join squad 2 so I could know what it was like to be a soldier. My father ordered Lorna that I should be treated as an equal to my squad. Pfft! An equal to Sky? I don't think that is possible, not even to this day. This is why my team would call me Tristan whenever we were on a mission however I would only let Lorna and Miina call me Tristan. Miina would call me prince out of respect however Sky seemed to sometimes call me prince in a mocking tone of voice.

After our drink I spoke to Dahlan as he gazed into the ocean. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air but I think it was because he was nervous. We talked about our kingdoms and our childhood, it fascinated him that I was treated as an equal and that he was somewhat jealous of it. I could sense he was not comfortable with this mission and I reassured him that Lorna is one of the best knights of my father, she has never let my father down nor will he.
The next night on the boat was not so easy, a storm came and we were told to help out on deck with the sails. The waves were harsh and I and Sky teamed up to help. Something I did not like at the time. Miina was scared of lightning so she stayed inside but I got to see Lorna soaking wet in the rain so I guess it was not too disheartening.

After three days on boat we finally went into the docks of Cali town. It was a nice few days on that boat however this is where our mission began. We had breakfast at a nearby café to fill our stomachs and went off on foot to Brihm. The road was long and we had to pass the open fields. It began to get dark and so we set up camp. Lorna created a barrier spell around us that would protect us from outside monsters and wild animals while we slept. We all sat at the camp fire telling jokes and stories to clear our minds. Lorna believed that our minds should be clear whenever we would go into battle. Miina told us an interesting legend about a small magical creature that could grant a wish when you capture it; I believed it was a childish story. Sky, the idiot did little to contribute to anything story wise. He just said "There once were two princes that were sitting together at a camp fire. The end"

Phoebus told us an interesting story when he once seen an Arel bathing in a stream. The Arels were not creatures; they were intelligent beings that ruled a great civilisation. They came to our world to seek refuge and created a great city that is now known as the Forbidden City. They had great technology that was beyond us and they helped built our world however a great war began and the kingdoms came together to fight the Arels. Most Arel ran away and fled to their home planet. Some still hide in our world however it is law among many kingdoms to kill them on sight, which is why they are an extinct race. "Why did you not kill the Arel?" spoke prince Dahlan to Phoebus. "She was too beautiful. I don't think I could harm such a thing. Besides you should know the Arel are very dangerous, they possess great speed and strength. You should never fight one by yourself"
"Did you see her wings, what were they like?" Smiled Miina.
"Oh it was wonderful. Creamy white feathers. That's how you can tell if they are Arel" said Phoebus as if he was like an old grandfather to a child.

Lorna spoke with a tint of sadness in her voice "Wings are symbols of freedom but unfortunately some see it as a symbol of a monster. Thank goodness that the Great War ended when Aizen finally became king, the Arel quickly fell before his reign"

We then went to sleep but back then I did not know that the war with the Arel was far from over and that one day we would finally get to see the wings of an Arel.

Next morning we finally went to Brihm. The town head was waiting for us and told us to head into the inn where we would get a debriefing. The town head said that a gang of bandits came into the inn and was waiting for us. As we went into one of the rooms we were we seen Calst sat down drinking some tea. He told us to sit down. Dahlan was furious at him but Calst calmed him down and spoke:

"I see you bought reinforcement but don't worry I won't kill your precious fiancé. Tomorrow at mid day come to the abandoned church alone and I promise you no harm will come to her if you comply with these rules. Oh and no disguises or decoys, I'll know. I look forward to meeting you tomorrow prince Dahlan. Don't disappoint"

The smug swine walked out of the building and went off. Prince Dahlan gritted his teeth "he will pay with his life for such an act" as Phoebus looked at him worryingly. We then sat down and planned on what to do. Phoebus told us that Calst is a formidable opponent who once served under the king of Luchia. Calst knows many magic spells and that this was a trap to black-mail the prince into the church so he and Calst will battle alone. If Calst were to kill prince Dahlan, the only heir to the throne of Luchia then Calst would gain the throne by default. With what Phoebus told us, Lorna knew that if we disguised one of us as the prince with some form of a deceitful camouflage spell it would not work because Calst would set a counter-spell that would destroy such an illusion. This worried Phoebus and Prince Dahlan knew that he would have to go in alone and that charging into the church was no option because bandits would kill the woman if we would do so. We were in a mess and Phoebus with little hope in his voice spoke "Is there something we can do?"

Lorna began to laugh and smiled "Don't worry; this is why we are here. I assure you I have a plan that will not fail and Sky going to show you what the knights of Aizen are capable of". Miina and the rest of us looked at Sky sitting in the corner of the room. I laughed "You better show us what you can do peasant boy" and with that Lorna told us the plan.

The next day we came to the abandoned church and as we suspected it was heavily guarded by the bandits. All of us were outside the church grounds. Prince Dahlan then walked towards the entrance; he stopped and turned around to give us a nod of approval then he continued and entered the church. We waited a while. "Will this work?" asked Phoebus to Lorna. "You seen it yourself, if we remain calm then everything should be fine in the end" answered Lorna. Miina with a shaky voice of uncertainty whispered "I hope that… the prince is safe" but Lorna with her tough attitude harshly confided her "he can handle himself, don't worry".

Suddenly the doors began to open and the future princess came running out with tears in her eyes. Lorna rushed and comforted her. "Are you alright my lady?" she said in a calm tone but the lady was more worried about Prince Dahlan inside the church. Phoebus and Miina held the lady as Phoebus told her "Do not worry my child, your beloved prince is right here beside us" however Miina became worried and yelped "What do we do?" and just like our collective and calm tutor, Lorna told her to pray that Sky defeats Calst.

You see Sky had a special skill. He was an alchemist but he was no ordinary alchemist. He could alter his own appearance; turn his hair and eyes into any colour. Because it was the power of transmutation, changing his body through alchemy, we could fool Calst into believing it was Prince Dahlan without any worries of an illusion spell being broken by a counter-spell.
What lasted for three moments. The church doors finally opened. The bandits ran out so quickly like lightning and then there he was, a bloody and cut Sky dragging the beaten down Calst. Prince Dahlan took off his hooded cape and embraced his beloved fiancé. With a smile Lorna tied up Calst to take him as a prisoner for execution. It was not magic that saved the future princess, it was the power of great alchemy that Sky could only possess. I still thought he was a weak person though because he passed out and collapsed moments after our victory, this worried Miina and she had to heal his wounds but he did make a quick recovery.

Prince Dahlan went back to his kingdom with Phoebus and his fiancé. Calst was executed for treason against the Luchia Kingdom. My father personally dealt with the execution. The kingdom of Luchia was very pleased and our political bond became strong. This I feel pleased my father.
Our first big mission was a success however this is not the end of the story. Our adventures were only beginning. Our next mission was around the corner. As I mentioned, Sky is the hero of this story and every hero has a villain.  A tragic battle that no one could see was waiting for us.
Join Prince Tristan and his comrades Lorna, Miina and the enigmatic Sky as they fight the forces that threaten their kingdom.

Next chapter here: [link]
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