2 Prologue- I

Too much emersed within the whirling winds of thoughts- was a lad in his teens, garbed was he in an attire with silver and satin, as he himself, sat on the farthest humble chair possible from the lecturer . His pale-toned hand held a quill as he doodled on the parchment laid on top of the table. The topic that his educator have been yapping since morning have bored him to the brim, thus led him to focus more on the ink splotched paper, while letting his mind drift into different places. He was bored, and the fact that his only classmate was currently sick hadn't helped the situation either.

As the son of the emperor, the eldest at that- he was bound with responsibilities eversince his birth. He was the heir to the throne, and the one who will govern the lands that his father currently looks after, even if the future is against his will. The crowned prince doesn't want to ascend and become an emperor, nor did he like the idea of ruling an entire nation. He wanted to be a simple person, alike those villagers who lived by the town nearby. He'd wish to live a normal life if possible, but such wish was impossible to be granted.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that hour, he resumed with his previous ministrations, scribbling and scrawling lines on the paper to form an image that his hand have absentmindedly drawn. It seems like hours have passed by, before the instructor have called out their session a day, and was very eager to leave after informing the prince's progress throughout their previous and current lessons (even if he literally just ignored most of it).

Wasting no second, the prince left the premises of the library built within the castle walls- heading straight towards the tower that rested in the east wing of the palace, in hopes of finding a certain magician who happens to be his friend. Right, the royal witch of the royal family was the very first person to ever treat him as an equal.

As the heir, people alike tend to address him with supremacy in second to his father, and heavens know how much he was uncomfortable of that.

"Your face is somewhat gloomy today, Aethan- is it because, Her Highness, Princess Isabelle is absent during today's session?", Ah, there she goes, the familiar cheeky tone of the magician who appeared out of no where, letting her long white hair flow alongside the wind. She grinned at him, tipping her head sideways as she awaited the answer to her question.

"Shut up, Clementine. Princess Isabelle is currently sick and is suggested to rest until recovery", Aethan replied, glaring slightly on a patch of healthy white roses that crawled from the grassy grounds and towards the pillars that stood tall and mighty- fighting away the cerise tint that slowly crept on his cheeks, as he thought of the aforementioned princess, disregarding the giggling magician up front.

"As I heard and seen. I have just visited their castle after all. It was just your usual type of cold, nothing more and nothing less", she replied boringly, while waving a hand in the air- as if her notion would somewhat change the view of the prince. Her statement received a scoff, along with a faint grumble of incoherent words, which she only did responded with a smile on her face.

Aethan Dei Celeste- the first crowned prince, was secretly in love with the princess of the neighboring country, Isabelle Ellysia. And Clementine was quick to notice this, whenever the said princess would come by the castle in order to study with the prince. It's amusing to watch him flush bright crimson at the mere sight of the blonde lass, trying his best to remain composed, when he was already fumbling his brain for words, making himself a literal fool. Young love, always so admirable yet tragic- the magician thought, humming out a tune from her childhood as she walked beside him.

They shared silence, one that was filled with serenety. Aethan was a person who doesn't talk that much, and is often really quiet as he is now, with Isabelle as an exception of course. He'd be too talkative around the blonde princess, sharing their logics and insights about various things. It was adorable nonetheless, but also disgusting at the same time. The magician had always hated the concept of love- often trying to avoid the topic whenever it was mentioned by her friend. It was simply unsettling and terrifying.

"I don't get how you royals fret over such small things. Even going far as to send two of the four magicians to cure a simple cold", she groaned, bending down to pick a small rock from the ground in order to toss and catch it out of boredom. Being one of the four magicians throughout the country was a hard task- people tend to seek them out a lot, claiming for help when those mortals (with class or not ) were all just greedy beings who thirst for wealth and glory. Even the family whom she served and sworn loyalty were also one with selfish desires. Aethan included- albeit his wants isn't that of power and praise, but to love and be loved by the woman whom he deeply desire for. Perhaps, there are still some civilians out there whose intentions are pure- but still. . .

"Don't be narrow-minded, a simple cold could turn into a flu, and a flu could've turned into something far more worst", he concluded, glancing at her sharply, before turning his gaze back on the pathway that'd lead them to a secret garden that they both called their lair. None but the two of them were the ones to discover the vast meadows filled with forget-me-nots and dandelions, and gods forbid- the place was so gorgeous that Clementine would've always feel guilty whenever they'd conduct their daily study of magic in the very field.

Magic that would often cause destruction, due to Aethan's tendencies of bombing the place without intention. Amongst all things that he excelled at, he failed the most in harnessing his prowess, finding it too difficult whenever the magician would teach him her ways of coping, which are a lot more harder than what is intended. His magic was just too powerful, and even if Clementine had already sealed some of it- it's force was still too much to handle.

"I know. A mere cold can turn into something far more worst", she sang, mindlessly twirling a strand of pearl-hued locks as she nonchalantly watched ahead. "But that doesn't mean that they'd require two magicians at once. The moment I arrived in their humble abode, Florencius have already cured Isabelle", grumbling, Clementine then turned her attention from beyond towards the prince who now watched her, silver along with obsidian hues both colliding against each other.

"It's a waste of time and magic", she added, poking him on the cheek, only to walk past him afterwards, to which he rolled his eyes at before following her silently while observing her from behind.

As much as they've been with each other for so long, Aethan have yet grasped her personality, much to his dismay. One second she'd be gleeful and cheery, and then in a snap of a finger she'd turn back into a closed shell. She's weird as it is, and had become much more weirder as they grew up.

"You're a peculiar one", he sighed, shaking his head while fastening his pace in order to catch up with her petite figure ahead.

. . .

"Try containing the water inside the orb. Envision a circle barrier that'd prevent it from splattering", Clementine explained, sweatdropping at the sight of the first prince who is clearly struggling with the task in hand. She watched as his brows furrowed, sweat cascading from his forehead down to his button-up shirt, panting as he tried his best to concentrate all the water that the magician conjured, inside a bubble barrier.

"I-I'm tryi--",

The water exploded, drenching the magician as she stood dumbfounded on her previous and current spot, as for Aethan- the prince have long let his knees fall on the ground, gasping and panting for air, as if the lass have made him run for miles away. Clementine inhaled a subtle amount of air, releasing it sharply whilst she used magic to dry and fix them up, into their previous presentable selves.

It had already been two hours of trials and errors, and in the end- the prince still couldn't show her a beautiful bubble filled with hydro, and it was quite a bit disappointing. They've been stuck in the same lesson for three days now, and it was tiring to witness mistake after mistakes. She did witness the some small progress,and she is somewhat proud with that, although it doesn't change her slight disappointment to the prince and his performance.

"At least you tried", she shrugged, briefly glancing down at him, smiling as she offered her hand for him to take, to which he gladly accepted. "You did great",

"I barely did", Aethan mumbled, embarrassed at the fact that he failed once again, but at the same time- he was frustrated.

"No, you did great. Every success has a failure behind, Aethan. You're still young after all",

"You talk as if you're ages older than me", He bluntly stated, tugging at one of her braids out of habit. They sat on the ground afterwards, both sitting a meter away from the other as they both indulged themselves with their current actions. Clementine was reading a book, a thick and heavy one that she had magically teleported from the tower and to her awaiting soft hands. On the other side was Aethan, who is mindlessly weaving flower after flower that he had plucked nearby, creating a flower crown out of forget-me-nots that grew abundant on the fields where they were currently in.

It was all silence, well that was until the magician broke it herself. "His majesty have also requested for for me to teach your sibling with magic, which means that our usual daily sessions would be rescheduled", she explained, gaze still focused on the written context of the same book that she had been reading a while ago.

The wind blew past them, rustling their locks and attires as it billowed along with the dancing greeneries that swayed along with the silent tune of zephyr. Hands that maneuvered the stems of forget-me-nots now ceased from doing its previous ministrations, as the owner himself, turned to focus his attention on the lass beside him.

"Brixton? That fool?",

"Don't be too harsh on him. You're his brother, learn to appreciate him more", the magician shut her book, placing it on her lap, while she turned to fix her optics on the prince, who subconsciously glared at her in return. "Why the sudden glare? It's not like I'm going to leave you in order to fully focus my attention on teaching Brix",

"Logical thinking, it's the same thing", he replied, scowling at the thought of his younger sibling that would often irritate him without even trying. Just a mere thought of Brixton Dei Celeste would have his blood boiling in seconds. He had no idea whereas why, but it seems like he couldn't hold his temper around him at all. There's this nagging feeling from within that persuades him to feel hatred to his ever so harmless sibling.

"It's not, your highness", she retorted, flicking his forehead, which he responded with a faint growl that didn't fazed her one bit. "Two days in a week- I get to teach him, two days in a week, Aethan. It means that you have five days of training with me", Clementine added, scoffing while darting her attention on the book that rested on her lap as of current time. "Of course, it wouldn't be a complete whole day, concerning that you have studies with Princess Isabelle, but at least you get to spend some time with me. Be grateful, mister",

"Why would I be even grateful? That's just a short amount of time", He whined, tugging her braids once again, before letting his body collapse on the grassy grounds, eyes closed as he basked underneath the warm glow of the sun that illuminated his features even more.

"I am a fairly busy person too you know. To have the second ranked amongst the four magicians, to help and train you- should already be a privilege that you should be thankful of", She replied, pouting as she crossed her arms, rolling her eyes before glaring down at him, refraining herself from hexing his cute face and turn it into something horrendous. Clementine mentally grumbled, her friend can sure be a brat sometimes.

"Let me talk to my father.