Journey of the Son of Ares

A few hours after dawn in the Great Zalfarian Empire, a wooden carriage arrived at the gates of a large yellowish mansion in the woods. The guards at the gate stopped the carriage at once and demanded that it be turned around. No appointment had been made. The one in the carriage knew that.

He jumped out, his long golden hair obstructing his sight. He swiped it to the left, away from his blue eyes, and threw a friendly smile at the guards. "Hello, gentlemen. Fine morning."

The guards were both startled, but recovered from the shock quickly and bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Majesty," they said in sync.

Alexander waved a hand. "No need to be so tense. Act as if I'm not here."

"Ah, I'll open the gate right away, Your Majesty," the older one of the guards said, running to the side.

"Don't bother," Alexander said, and he jumped over the gate, his white and gold robes fluttering in the process. He landed lightly on his feet on the other side of the gate and immediately began striding toward the mansion.

In front of the mansion, there was a set of stairs that led to a platform that had two sets of stairs on its sides. After he climbed those stairs, he came to the mansion's entrance, and as he was about to open the door, two children with completely different hair colors came rushing out.

They noticed Alexander and quit running around.

One of them pointed at him. "Hey, you're His Emperorness."

Alexander chuckled. "Gabriel's told you about me?"

"He talks about you all the time," the other one of the children said.

Alexander smiled and asked, "Where is Gabriel now?"

"He's on the balcony. We can lead you there," the child answered and ran back inside.

Alexander followed after him onto the second floor and into a smallish balcony with only a couple of chairs and a round table. He wasn't there to see the chairs or the balcony, though. He was there to see his dirty-blonde-haired, one-eyed friend.

Gabriel turned as he heard them approach, revealing his only working bluish-green eye. "To what do I owe this visit, my pri— excuse me... Your Emperorness?" he said as a lively smile appeared on his face.

Alexander laughed. "So it was you who taught them that." He ruffled the hair of the two boys, and said, "Thanks for the help. You can go back and play now."

He then looked back at Gabriel and went to sit down.

"Good kids you have here."

"They're fine when there's less than three of them," Gabriel said with a warm smile. "When it's all six of them, I feel like I'm drowning."

"Drowning in affection."

"The best thing to drown in, I suppose."

"I'm happy that you're happy."

"I'm happy that I'm happy, too." Gabriel sipped his coffee. "No, but seriously, adopting was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Alexander let out a soft breath and looked at Gabriel's cup briefly.

"Does Your Emperorness yearn for a cup of coffee?" Gabriel asked, pointing at his own cup with an uneraseable grin.

Alexander looked at the backyard of the mansion, which was filled with trees, bushes, and bright yellow flowers. "No, His Majesty doesn't yearn for coffee." He turned to face Gabriel. "You know it's 'Your Majesty', right? You used to take this stuff so seriously."

"I'm not in the Elite Troop anymore. I'm just an old man nowadays. You're an old man, too, it seems. No longer a prince. A few more years, and you'll have gray hairs popping up."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get why my father was the way he was. I've only been emperor for a little over 3 years, but it has felt like 30 years."

"Eh, I'm just kidding. You look great. I bet, Her Majesty thinks so, too. I heard she's pregnant again."

"That she is. Five months now. But what do you mean again? It's only the second time."

"Second time means it's happening again, doesn't it? Also, have you thought of any names yet? Don't say Alexander. That would make him the eighth Alexander in the royal family's history, right?"

"It would, but naming him Alexander would make things a bit complex. You remember my firstborn, right? Alexander, the seventh of his name. How do you think that would go?" Alexander looked to his side and started acting as if he were addressing his children. "Hey, Alexander. Not you, Alexander. You, Alexander. Or no. I was actually talking to myself. Me, Alexander."

Gabriel laughed so hard that he barely managed to not spill his coffee into his lap. If it were anyone else, Alexander would've suspected the authenticity of the laughter. Especially when the joke wasn't even really that funny. "What's with you royals naming your children the same thing over and over?" Gabriel asked.

Alexander dug at his ear. "I don't know. Maybe we're just especially unimaginative folk. It could be that you can't run an empire properly if you have too many ideas."

Gabriel exhaled through his nose and sipped his coffee. "So, what is it that you came here for?" he asked with a serious expression. He knew very well that the Emperor had no time to converse with friends just for fun.

"Mm, right," Alexander said, reaching his hand into the insides of his robes. He wished he could've enjoyed his best friend's company for just a little longer, but it was over now. "Take a look at this," he said and handed a poster to Gabriel. A wanted poster.

Gabriel eyed the poster before raising his eyes. "Aurelius."

Alexander nodded. "He has left the Thropes, and begun to walk his own path."

"Hmm, it seems so," Gabriel said slowly.

"What will you do about the letter now?"

"I will deliver it to him when the time comes. But that isn't what you came here to hear. So let's get to the point now," Gabriel said. "You're here to ask my predictions and council on whether you should get involved or not, correct?"

Alexander nodded.

"Well, my advice is to do nothing," Gabriel said and handed the poster back. "Kendrick is making his preparations to restart the war, and when it starts again, we won't have Ares here to save us. You can't focus on things on the other side of the Great Ocean."

"I know, but I'm asking whether it's better to have him fighting Numen alone or fighting Lundkirk with his people."

"Your father promised Ares that his son would not be involved in the war. That promise comes with the crown. Are you going to break that promise?"

Alexander buried his face in his hands. "No, of course not. But he's already in trouble. If we just ask—"

"Of course he will come if you ask. The boy is the most pure-hearted being in this world that I have ever seen. There's also the fact that Kendrick killed his father and grandfather and is now threatening to kill you as well as your entire bloodline, including him."

"That just means it involves him already," Alexander said with his arms spread.

"Perhaps, but his father fought 12 years away from his son because of that promise. He had a reason for that."

"I understand that he didn't want his son to ever become like him, but we need Aurelius."

"He isn't ready, Alexander. And he has his own fight going on. He's trying to carve his own path. He wants to help the people of Mircrest, so leave him be. If we really do desperately need him here someday, he will come."

Alexander tapped on the round table. "What did you tell him? What did you tell Aurelius?"

"I taught him everything he needed to know."

"Everything needed in the Thropes? Didn't you think he would go out into the world?"

"He will survive with what I taught him, and he'll learn more as he grows."

"Does he know about Kendrick? Does he know about what the Conqueror of the West did to his family?"

"You expect me to tell that to a child?!"

"He has to know! No wonder he's in Mircrest and not here, since you didn't tell him what danger his home is in."

"Stop it," Gabriel hissed. "I understand you want to survive, but don't put it all on Aurelius. It's not his responsibility. I chose to omit information to keep him safe from himself. When he learns that his father and grandfather were both poisoned, he'll be furious and will probably want to go deliver justice to Kendrick right away, but he won't be able to. Not yet. So let him grow in Mircrest. He wants to help the people there, and the people there need help. He's adequate to save Mircrest. Trust me. He's a world changer, and his type doesn't die easily."

"I'm sorry." Alexander raised his hand with his gaze downcast. "You're right. But do you think Mircrest is safe? Aurelius could very well die, despite his strength and potential. Numen's leader is dangerous. Rumors say he took control of Numen two years after joining at the age of 18. I've also heard he plans on expanding. Apparently, he wants to destroy Nexus and expand to Arkryk before challenging the Conqueror of the West."

"He's on our side, then," Gabriel said, raising his cup.

"He's an abstract genius. He's on no side at all. He creates and destroys without any meaning." Alexander scoffed. "A maniac is what he is."

"I guess so, but safety is an illusion. Mircrest may not be safe, but neither is any other place in the world. Some places just feel safer than others, but it's all part of the same mess." Gabriel looked at the flowers in the garden. "Besides, if you let him be, he will grow far more capable in Mircrest than he would by training here."

Alexander breathed the fresh air radiating from the garden deep into his lungs. He then stood and bowed. "Thank you for the advice."

As he was about to leave, Gabriel stood as well and embraced him. "Thanks for coming to me about this. You're doing well as the emperor. Just don't become your father."

Alexander pulled away and nodded before walking inside from the balcony, a dark expression on his face. 'I won't break the promise. But please grow strong and help us in this war, Aurelius, Son of Ares.'