Young Writers Society

Prologue

The Milky palace, 1110 of the Year Of Light

Prince Edward opened the doors to his father's study revealing a neat room decorated with gold furnishings. A pristine red carpet ran through the room. Edward stared at the red carpet trying to ignore his moribund father who lay on top of the bed. Edward focused on the carpet trying to blur out his father from his peripheral visions. He was fighting with himself a part of him wanted to look at his father before he killed him and another part of him was overrun by emotions, emotions of impending grief and regret causing him to distract himself from looking at his father.

‘Edward is that you’ his father says. Edward doesn't respond. ‘Edward is that you’ his father asks again. Edward stop being so cowardly, reply dammit reply to your father, you cowardly moron Edward thought. ‘Edw-’ Before his father could ask again Edward responses ‘Yes father it is me...your son’. Edward's voice was quivering, and his father seemed to have noticed that,his father then says ‘Edward my son, I know it is hard for you, but you must do it. Your father cannot protect the realm i-’ his father then breaks into a series of brutal coughs. Before he could run to his father his father extends his arm indicating not to come close. He knew that his father feared the illness might pass to Edward. The feeling of helplessness filled Edward's mind. After recovering from the series of brutal coughs his father continued again ‘As I was saying...I your father cannot continue to act as the Light, you have to become the new light and fill my now soon-to-be empty space’. Edward slowly approached his father.

Upon coming closer to his father's bed his face became clear, his father's face had lost all of its youthfulness and was replaced by wrinkles and a tinge of sickly red. His hair was white and his eyes were robbed of the golden color and replaced by a dull yellow. ‘Edward....refrain from looking at my face, it will make it harder for you’ his father said. Edward obeyed; he focused his gaze on his father's throat.

Edward slowly raised the silver dagger with both of his hands. The point of the dagger was directly pointing at his father's Adam apple. Stop hesitating you idiot you are just making it harder for yourself; Edward thought. Edward then in a swift and precise motion digged the dagger in his father's throat. Edward let go of the dagger, crimson blood started to gush out like a geyser. His father couldn't move because of paralysis –one of the symptoms of the illness but he was able to see the tension in his father's face, his father was trying to hold in the scream. Edward didnt want to make it more painful for his father, so he got hold of the dagger again and pressured it in more. His father finally let go of the tension and tried to scream, but he failed.

After some time, his father stopped struggling indicating his death. Edward looked at his blood-covered hands, he wanted to scream but he couldn't. It was as if he had lost his voice. Abruptly, phantoms appeared on top of his father. Upon looking at them Edward started to feel two emotions, fear and dread. It was his first time seeing the phantoms. It's not that he didn't witness any deaths before, but the phantoms were only visible to the people who were involved with the person's death. The phantoms were dark and hazy absence of any limbs. Slowly from his father's body, the soul started to leak out. the soul was like the Phantoms except it had all the normal human futures. Inside of his father's soul, there was a glowing marble that dropped out from his father's soul and fell on top of the bed.

Edward then looked back up to find the phantoms and his father gone. Edward quickly picked the marble up. It was blazing and warm. Slowly the marble that contained the “Gift” was absorbed into Edwards's body. Indicating that the ritual was over and that he had become the new Light.

Edward broke into the floor, the trauma of killing his father and witnessing the works of the soul takers left him immobile. Loneliness and grief filled Edward's heart.

Edward then proceeded to spend the rest of the night in his father's study. 

"The Kings, guardians of the realm, are not gods. They live among us like mortals, so do not bow to them." — 1st law from the Kings Code, by King Magnus(The founding Light).