Chapter 1 - A Lazy Prince

Year 4580, Day 124, Five Element Calendar.

A female maid opened a window on a luxurious room. Sun rays passed through the window and lightened up the room that previously submerged in darkness. Birds chirping sounds could be heard in the surrounding. A small pond could also be seen outsides the window. A garden which filled up with flower and small trees lay besides the pond.

All the surrounding looked serene and peaceful. This was a dream-come-true living quarter for most peoples of the continent.

The luxurious room located inside a courtyard. A courtyard surrounded by rectangular walls in all four sides which had 3 m height. Although the wall itself blocked beautiful views of the surrounding, it was replaced by the man-made garden that made this courtyard an excellent living quarter.

Only one entrance could be found in the front wall of the courtyard located in the east side. There was only one building inside the courtyard where previous mentioned room located. Adjacent to this courtyard, few others similar courtyard could be found.

Those courtyards scattered randomly with no special pattern or shapes resemble them. Each courtyard connected by a paved road. The area in between the courtyard filled up with somewhat dense trees resembled a forest. Those trees were probably few hundred years old by the size of its trunks, a lot older than those small courtyards that scattered around.

Some distance away on the south direction from the clustered courtyard, a majestic castle stood glowingly. Compared to this castle, those buildings inside the courtyard could be said as nothing. It was like comparing an ordinary housing to a luxurious villa.

The castle was magnificent.

It was known as the Royal Castle of the Rivermountain Kingdom. As its name implied, it was where the King and his wives lived. Those courtyards that located on the north of the Royal Castle were called Princes Courtyard, where the princes and princesses of the Royal Family lived.

Both the Royal Castle and Prince's courtyard were located inside the Royal Palace Complex. The complex itself surrounded by a wall, called Royal Inner Wall. This was the wall that separated the Royal Families with the rest of the Kingdom's citizen. The royal nobles lived in their own world.

Other than King's castle and Prince's courtyards, only two buildings could be found inside the Royal Palace' inner wall boundary. They were the Westwing Building and the Eastwing Building. The Westwing was a place where the Armory and Granary of the Palace located. The Eastwing was where the Barrack and Library located.

That was the general layout of the Rivermountain's Palace Complex.

Coming back to the previous room, the room's size was around 10 square meters with a wooden bed in the middle. Windows located on the east side of the bed, once the maid opened the curtain, sun rays directly fall to a boy's face which was still sleeping soundly on the bed.

The boy had handsome face with straight black hair and black eyes. His body was small and skinny but he had white healthy and delicate skin. He opened his eyes slowly because of the sun rays that fall from the window.

The maid said, "Young Lord, it is breakfast time, please wake up. Your Majesty is waiting."

The young maid, Semok, was around 16 years old; she was a beautiful maid with blond long hair. She helped the young boy to get up from his bed.

"Is Father already waiting for that long?" asked the boy to the maid.

"No, Your Majesty is still waiting for the other young lords to arrive," replied Semok.

The boy got up from bed and cleaned up himself. The young maid helped him to change the clothes and tidied it up. After couple of minutes, an handsome and clean young boy with luxurious clothing was standing in front of the mirror and smiling to himself.

His name was Jago Rivermountain.

He had Rivermountain as his last name and it implied one thing, the royal blood of Rivermountain Kingdoms ran through his vein. His father was Alash Rivermountain, current King of Rivermountain Kingdom.

Jago was one of Alash's son, which mean he was an actual Prince of the Kingdom. Since 4 years old, Jago lived in his own courtyard, similar to other princes and princesses. All princes owned their own courtyard.

Alash was a King, he had many thing to do. Thus the only chance for the princes to be able to meet their blood father face to face was only during dinning times. Off course, if the King summoned his princes, they would have a chance to meet their father.

But a King's summon would only be done when a Kingdom's subject performed honorable and meritous deeds, this include even for the princes. In short, other than when they dined together, it was difficult for the princes to meet their father, an awkward relationship of a family.

Satisfied with his own looks, Jago came out from his courtyard and walked to the front gate. In front of his gate, a carriage was prepared to bring him to the Royal Castle. Jago never missed this kind of opportunity since he lived at the Palace Complex. Although he might choose sleeping rather than other activity, but breakfast or dinner with his Royal Father is an exception. Jago wouldn't miss that opportunity.

Jago looked at Semok with a little bit disappointed looks in his eyes than vanished into his carriage. He asked the driver to rode as fast as possible to the Royal Castle, he didn't want to miss this.

The 5 years old boy looked at the window and thinking. His maid should wake him up sooner, but she didn't. Jago could only took deep sigh. Nearing his 5 years old birthday, many people start to scheme against him. Since for Five Element Continent's resident, the 5 years old birthday was the first and most important of all.

In the dining room of the Royal Castle, except Jago, all of the princes and princess arrived on the table. The Queen and Concubine sit on the end of the long tables. Between both of them, a bigger chair than the rest was empty. The chair located exactly on the table end.

It was the King's chair.

Now, only two chair was empty on this dining room, Alash's and Jago's chair.