Chapter 9: 1-Chapter 6

"By the way, Princess. This is Snizel, my younger brother. He is just thirteen and my only sibling. Also, he is the most precious bond I have in this world."

Hearing that made my brother blush, and he stepped forward, bowed down, and kissed Alyssa's hands.

"I am Snizel, princess. I am glad to be of your acquittance," he said

"I am glad to meet you too, you seem a lot more mannered and civilized than your older brother. Raise yourself, prince, we don't need these formalities between us, you can just call me Alyssa, drop the princess, " Alyssa said, smiling at Snizel.

[She never told me that!! I cannot call her by her name, but my younger brother can?]

"Thank you, but I would prefer to call you Princess instead. We are from royal families, so these aren't formalities; this is just the proper way to address royalties." Snizel rubbed under his nose with his finger and smiled.

[Huh? So you are going to act like some big shot now?]

Alyssa was impressed by my brother, and they both continued their talk, leaving me and Beth to our own devices. I made up with Beth for not giving her attention today and apologized as well for what happened yesterday. She was at the top of her heart and was constantly clinging to me.

"So, Prince, what is your tic? I know Prince Charles' and Beth's tics. You are the only one who is a mystery now." Alyssa asked.

"Wouldn't it be appropriate if you told me about your tic first before asking about mine, princess?" he said.

"Aha, you are a smart little kid. Your brother should learn one or two things from you. Well then, my tic is 'God's time minor' of God's root."

"Woah! Like the Blue Dragonlord's powers?? You have complete control over existing Space and Time?" he asked.

[Ahh yes, now that I recollect, in the legends Blue Dragonlord also had some similar power?]

"Ahem, what you are speaking about is 'God's time major,' prince. I fear, only the Blue Dragonlord possessed that power, and he is long but dead now. However, my powers, or perhaps, Ice-Queen's powers in general, are closely related to him. More like it's a watered-down form of his powers, thus the adjunct 'minor'."

"Oh, that is a unique ability. I sure hope to see you using it someday in the future. My power, unlike yours, isn't very interesting. My tic is from the Phoenix root. But, it is a mutant variant, so it belongs to no family. My tic grants me immortality, I cannot be killed no matter what happens to me or my body." he said, and I could immediately see the awe in Alyssa's eyes.

At this point, I felt like I should interfere and change the topic, but Beth was too involved with me to let that happen.

"Immortality? Amazing, too overpowered if you ask me. I did hear, there was a Phoenix's root mutant in the royal family of Bezereck. But, I never thought it would be Prince Charles' younger brother." Alyssa said.

"No. It is not overpowered. In fact, it is quite weak and liability for me. More like a curse with which I have to live on. I am better off without this tic." he said while looking down to hide his expressions.

[Yeah, the conversation was definitely headed this way. Any more talking will just hurt my brother.]

"Nonsense! You are speaking about extreme scenarios, if we think that way, then every tic will have certain downsides. Immortality is something all living beings seek! You have no idea what I would do to be in your shoes, to have this blessing to live forever and protect the people you love forever."

Alyssa was furious and had raised her voice, expressing her strong opinions.

[Yeah, except that in his case those extreme scenarios have occurred.]

Snizel's eyes were filled with tears, he turned away and was about to burst. My eyes were about to swell up as well, as I recollected the events that occurred two years back. But, my sadness got overshadowed with hatred against my father for being a peace freak and wimp.

[Alyssa doesn't know his past, the same way Snizel doesn't know Alyssa's concerns. If I let this conversation continue, it might hurt both of their sentiments..]

"Now, now, Princess. My brother is young, just 13 years old. Don't you think it's too early for him to understand all that you said? You should go easy on him,"

"By the way, Beth, the Military warden was calling for you. You should better hurry," I said.

"The warden was calling me? You didn't say that earlier!" Beth said.

I kissed Beth on her lips and gently held her left hip with my right hand.

"I was so lost in you, that I forgot everything else. You should hurry back and see why he wants you there, once you are free we can come back here, just the two of us," I said.

"Darling, you know exactly how to melt my heart. I am looking forward to our small date."

Saying that she prepared to leave and so was our small evening coming to an end. Alyssa noticed the sudden change of mood and on our journey back whispered to me about it. Asking me how she made Snizel upset. It wasn't exactly easy for me to talk about it so I remained silent.

***

The time of departure was approaching. Our spaceship was ready, all settled in the space station, there were just 2 more hours for us to leave this planet.

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*̢̛̪͙̭̱̳̭͒͛̉̏̾́͟͜͠͞*̢̨̯̱̙̩̍̏̀͒̈́̔͟*̶̘̗̱͇̜̲͑͌͊́̽͞*̨̨̪͕̅͋̋͋͋̇̾̈́̂ͅ*̵̫̣̯̐͛͋̉̌́̾̚͜ͅ*̵̡̡̳͖̹͎̦̎̓̃̒́̈́͒̿̌͘*̯̟̱̲̳̽͋̊̽̃̕ͅ*̶̬̦̤̭͇̻̦̗̹̔̍͋̏̓͘*̡̛̝̟̤̫͛̏̇̓̐̑̉͢͢͡*̸̢̼̼͔̥͐̒̅̇̓̐̕͟͝ͅ*̡̪̜̤̤͆̇́̈́̑͟*̴͈͈̺̜̲̗͊́̈́̇̀̀̑̏͢͝͞*̵̡̝͔͎̼̹͖̜͉͕̊̃̎̿̑̀̄̓̅*̣͇̣̮͕̯̫͐͆̑̿̄̓̈́̀͂͘͜*̤̯̝̗̤̩̥͐́̿͒͆̐͜*̴̡̰͕͔͉̀͆̋͋́̈́̾̉̚̚*̵̢̹̻̻͕̲͖̭̬̑̾̏̚͡ͅ*̘̦̩̖̗̪̺̍̈͋̀͋*̵̭̟̗̬̠̦͎̓̄̓́͂̐̆̊͘͢͡*̢̛̹̱̟͉͓̳̂̑̾͌̌͝͝͝͠*̸̮̲̜̦͕̗̣͓̳̜̎͒̍̊̔̕͡*͉͕͉̝̳̙͗̃͂̋͠*̸̨̡̫̝̳̘̌́͂̈́͑͞ͅ*͖̥͍̺͗̈́̏̎̇́̈́̀͜͡*̪̜̮̼̭̀̄́̔̽*̧̨̹̫̗͎̜̈̃͋̄͘͞͡*̷̫̬̯̖͎̤͚̹̄̇̑̿͗̽̕*̦͖̱̺̣͚̯͙̯͑̀͌̀̓̍̽ͅ*̵̡͓͔̗̓́̃̌͑͛̽̄̚͟͠ͅ*͎̦̲̝̣̯̩͇́͑́̎̊̈́̾̓͋

[What the fuck was that creepy voice? Did I seriously hear that again? Well whatever, I am done with this planet anyways.]

I was again filled with an eerie feeling which I just couldn't shake off.

As the time for the rendezvous approached, I went to the throne room. In the throne room, I saw all my military officials, nobles, my little brother and my parents assembled. My father, Azmuth was about to give his parting speech.

[Why don't I see Alyssa here? Does she really not care about me leaving? And here I was crushing over her.]

"Myself, the king of Bezereck, am extremely proud to see that our planets are doing well and have a good relationship with each other. Even after so many years since the treaty of the partnership was signed between us, we haven't strayed from our ancestor's wishes... Out of concern for the recent threatening situation related to the incident of Shura, I would be keeping my most experienced Military officials and the support team at bay here for a further two months..." Father spoke.

*Xing Xing, you have an urgent emergency voice message, my Highness.*

His speech was interrupted by the intergalactic receiver, reading which, made him panic. And knowing that it takes at least 3 days for messages to be transmitted from Bezereck to Ice-planet, made me worry as to what the context of that message was. Since it was an emergency message, it couldn't be anything good.

He called off his speech and the rendezvous, and after a brief talk with the Ice-Queen, he gave orders to his ministers to speed up their departure.

[What? We still have half an hour more, why are we leaving this soon?]

Later on, he apologized to the gathered crowd about the sudden stop and withdrew his proposal of leaving his experienced military officials behind.

He stared at me, I could see him repeatedly rubbing his face with a stooped posture. He waved his hands towards us, indicating for me and Snizel to meet him. It was an intense atmosphere as we approached him, he directed us away from the crowd and commotion to a separate place where no one was around.

"Sons, you need to listen carefully to what I am about to say,"

The sound of his tapping feet filled the room as he started telling us the details of the message

"Our country is under attack by Rehlasia and West Hun Chiu's army. The message was sent to us by my brother Gandalph, 3 days ago, so I am not sure how much damage has occurred,"

[ [ [Whaat! Did they dare to touch our territory? Is everyone safe back there?] ] ]

"But, I will have to urgently leave to deal with the issue. I need both of you to understand that you have the direct royal inheritance in our country and if something happens to us, I want both of you to continue the leadership under your uncle's guidance. That's why I won't be taking you both with me back to Bezereck." he said while touching our shoulders gently.

"Wait? So we aren't coming with you! That is absurd! We aren't small boys anymore, I am part of the military and one of the strongest warriors! You cannot do this to me." I shook off his hand from me.

"Big brother, please don't talk against our father. Father, I apologize for his rudeness."

"It's alright Snizel, you don't need to apologize, Charles' reaction is natural. And I am the one who should apologize here. Charles, I know you are not a child anymore, I very well acknowledge the might you possess. But before a warrior or a prince, to me, you both are my children. And I cannot let you witness a war at your age, let alone participate in it. You both will be staying here, as Ice-planet will be safe for you, and this is my final decision which will not change."

"Final decision? MY ASS" I shouted with a voice loud enough for even the ones outside to hear.

"Charles, Don't you dare disrespect me or my decisions!" Father shouted back with a similar intensity.

"I am really sorry from his side, father! Please forgive us. Big brother, you say it too."

Snizel forced me to bow down with him and made a gesture of apology.

"Hmm. Alright, raise your heads. I will be taking the Military forces with me, as I would need their might. Only the support team will be left behind to take care of both of you. I will quickly finish the war and when peace is achieved, I shall contact you both. Stay put till then."

[The entire military! So even Beth? You expect me to stay on a foreign planet, stripping off my right to participate in an important war and without my girlfriend by my side? Wait!! Peace? What does he mean by peace?]

"Father I am sorry, but what did you mean by achieving peace?" Snizel asked while pulling his clothes.

[Ohh, so Snizel had the same question as me.]

"I meant exactly what I said, after I reach there, Bezereck won't attack back. We would only defend until the other two countries give up, and eventually, they will have to agree to a wave of peace. Now, I need to go. No more time to waste. Behave properly and stay put."

Listening to that made my brother uncomfortable as he clenched his jaws. He didn't show it, but I knew deep down that he was as pissed off as I was.

"Fuckoff! That is bullshit. First, you let those terrorists get away when my brother was in danger, not taking action against Rhelasia and now you dare to further maintain peace with them? Are you shitting me, father?" I spoke, unable to control my rage any longer.

"Big brother stop! Not a word more!" Snizel said, looking down to hide his expression.

"No, I am not gonna stop. My blood is boiling, I don't understand what he is thinking. Maybe he doesn't give a fuck to us or his country, he only cares about chilling in a chair and ordering around. Seriously just fuck off, I am disappointed in you. You are no king and you are no father to me either." I said and stormed off the room, only to be held back by father pulling my wrist.

"It's not easy, son. War isn't easy. Many lives are lost, innocent and kind ones. It's easy to jump under your emotions and destroy everyone and everything that stands before you. But what happens after that? What happens after all the revenge and war? More revenge by them? More war? It only leads to a vicious cycle of hatred, one which I would prefer to avoid. It's alright with me if you are disappointed in me, one you will realize what I mean and you will appreciate my decisions. You both will be staying here on Ice-planet. There is no change to that." he said with a bitter tone.

Before leaving he paused and attempted to hug us, but stopped himself and left the room.

His military officials, nobles, and Beth joined him on the ship. Ice-Queen interrupted them asking them to take a portion of her personal guards as well, father initially objected to this idea but eventually succumbed to her offer when Vazer also insisted.

Beth ran towards me and hugged me tightly and kissed me on my lips.

[ [ [ What are you doing! Everyone is watching us. Including my parents!!] ] ]

"Charles, I will miss you! I got to know about everything from our General. I will miss you so much! Please be safe and don't get seduced by an assassin."

"Seduced by, ahem, assassin! What are you saying?? I am not the kind to get swayed by a female that easily. And you should care more about your own safety after all you would be in war."

She kissed me again and again until Ben pulled her back to the space station up ahead of this city where our spaceship was at bay, she kept on screaming that she will miss me, making me embarrassed in front of my nobles and Ice-Queen's nobles.

The spaceship ELFEIN #12667 commenced its departure. The engine generated tremendous pressure, burning its fuel 'Dragon Stone' and thrust off from the ground.

*10 seconds until crossing the atmospheric barrier*

Dragon Stone was a rare source of fuel, which was basically condensed pure energy used for intergalactic travel. UU3 was abundant with Dragon Stone, and all the Dragon stone which comes to us are from the trades with UU3.

Tremendous roars filled the atmosphere as a smokeless blue fire erupted through the engine of the ship. The ship accelerated through the skies and flew vertically straight from the ground, piercing the atmospheric barrier and entering the space beyond the Ice-planet, essentially disappearing from our field of vision, aiming towards the closest Mega Wormhole. As it entered the space beyond, the support engines of the spaceship detached themselves and safely auto-guided themselves back to the Ice-city's space station.

After watching the space ship disappear from our field of view, I suddenly realized the emptiness and worry that surrounded my heart. And after a quick glance at my brother, I saw similar expressions from him. I felt bad at how I treated my father and cursed myself for being like that.

The Ice-Queen hugged both of us from behind and calmed us down.

"Both of you, don't worry a thing, your parents will be absolutely alright, your father is a strong King. Rhelasians and West Hun Chiuns won't thrive once he reaches there, and my personal guards will always be with him. Right now, you both should relax under our protection," she spoke

As she walked us back to the throne room, we met many nobles who showed us their sympathy and encouragements, everyone except Minister Vazer. While Ice-Queen and Snizel were busy with them, I noticed a smirk. It was slight, but there was one, a small and wicked smile on Minister Vazer's face.

But so little did I know the cost of what was about to happen. And this absence of knowledge would prove very dear to us.