In the middle of the cheering crowd and of the loud sound coming from the orchestra, those words rang in my ears. A little girl who was about six years old told me those lines. But beneath that little frame was a warlock, set to torture the hell out of me. I was about to head inside the carriage last month to visit my fiancée’s house when the little girl suddenly showed up beside me and took my hand.
My family was wrong. The challenges won’t end once they succeeded in making me sit on the golden throne. In Arameth’s case, the real battle, and the toughest one, would start right after being crowned. There will always be a very powerful wizard who would appear to test the new King. According to the rumors, that wizard was our ancestor and also the biggest contributor in creating Arameth. And testing the King was the wizard’s way of making sure that Arameth would remain in safe hands.
Aside from that, most people believed that when our ancestors died, their spirits remained in our Kingdom. They were watching us, guiding us, and taking care of us in their own way. And that became possible through the spell they performed before they died. They also believed that if something bad happens to Arameth, all of our ancestors’ spirits would cease to exist.
Everybody knew that the new King was going to be tested, but nobody knew what that test was all about. The previous Kings who succeeded the test did not reveal what they had gone through. They did not even divulge the wizard whom they encountered in honor of the agreement they had with him.
But I’m a hundred percent sure that the little girl beside me was our ancestor. He just possessed another body.
The glow in the girl’s eyes was far from being innocent although she looked like any other ordinary kids. She was wearing a colorful dress, a blue long sock on her left foot, and a yellow short sock on her right foot. She also had a big pink ribbon on her head. She was holding a huge rainbow-colored lollipop. She was colorful from head to toe. And I would have been amused by how she dressed up under ordinary circumstance.
But the way she looked at me was not like a little girl. In fact, it was as if she knew me more than I knew myself. It was as if her eyes could see right through me.
“I see you and I see a woman, a little girl, and this entire realm all tangled up because of one mistake. Listen to me, Alexandros Sormont, and listen well,” the little girl said in a voice full of authority. “In a few months’ time, every single thing in Arameth is going to change. Whether that change is for better or worse is up to you and to the people. It depends on how you will all view it. You will be sent to a place you have never imagined before in order to discover the truth about the greatest magic in the world. Because you are destined not just to rule the Arameth, Alexandros. You are destined to do something special, something greater. And that was to teach everyone, especially the younger generation, all the important things that we failed to teach your parents.”
“But why me? I’m sure that you know about my family’s secret-“
“I do. That was the reason why we chose you. You have a unique blood, Alexandros. We’ve been waiting for you to accomplish this mission. At the end of this mission, I am certain that you will get to answer the questions I have asked you earlier. This test is more important than the previous ones. And this could also be the hardest. Because even the ancestors are not sure where this thing will lead all of us in the end. This could either ruin the entire realm or strengthen all of us.”
My eyes squinted. “I don’t understand you. Where is that place you were talking about? Where do you plan to take me? At least let me know so I could prepare-”
“No, son. This time, no matter how powerful you are, you could never prepare for what’s about to come. But I could give you a clue. Destiny will take you back to the beginning. Until then, be strong, Alexandros. We wish for your safe return.”
The little girl smiled mysteriously. I was about to talk but she disappeared the second she released my hand.
“Young master? I mean, my King?”
“You’re saying something?” I asked Theron, disoriented, as the little girl’s words kept playing in my head. For someone like me who was raised like a puppet, the change the wizard was referring could mean my freedom. That’s why a part of me was looking forward to it. But a bigger part of me was telling me that I’m not going to like what was bound to happen.
I felt like the former Kings all fooled me by calling the tests as some sort of an adventure. My father, most especially, sugarcoated a catastrophe by saying it was a blessing probably to pacify me. Because the wizard clearly indicated that a storm was coming my way. Strange. She mentioned that fate would take me back to the beginning, but the second I heard that, what I could only think of was the ending.
“I see everybody’s excitement and their full support in your reign, Your Majesty. How about you? What do you see?” Theron asked once again, his bright mood did not falter even a bit.
“I see people… tons of people, who are pleased to see what they only wanted to see in their King. But that’s only fair, right? I should not feel disappointed knowing that they only liked me because of what I did for them. Because I’m just fooling them,” I said in a voice filled with remorse.