THREE

 

“And so as I child was a very brave young boy, even among my peers. I knew what I wanted and I went for it. Headstrong, purposefully, determined to clear everything on my path that stopped me from getting it” 

 

 

Maids and servants scurried around noiselessly, their heads bowed as they set the dinning table. 

 

 

“You are king father, you can and have always had what you wanted”, princess Aileen replied in an amused voice. 

 

 

“You are so ignorant Aileen, you are never interested in history”, he took an olive from his glass and popped it in his mouth, he savored the taste on his tongue before he continued, “Father was not born a royal, all he has today he had worked for it” 

“Take it easy on her Cedric, Aileen is only a child”, King Javaid chided, he was a strongly built man, sturdy with a wide frame and although he was in his late fifties. He was very much fit, with a handsome face, the only indication of his aging was the white beards on his chin. Then he turned to Aileen, “Aileen every pleasure you see today and enjoy is as a result of my hard work”, king Javaid said placing his hand on her shoulders. 

 

 

“So your throne was not hereditary?” Aileen asked in bewilderment, “I always assumed it was” 

 

 

“Well you would have known that earlier if you were interested in family history and not just fancy ball gowns, diamond studded tiaras, handsome princes and latest balls”, prince Cedric butt in. 

 

 

“Oh come on Cedric, do not tease your sister so much”, Javaid said, he was laughing aloud. 

 

Aileen folded her hands and pouted. 

 

 

“You both are the best thing that has ever happened to me…” 

 

 

Queen Charis cleared her throat loudly, “I am so sorry to interrupt this charming family moment”, she smiled politely, however it was obvious the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes with no sense of remorse whatsoever, “Aileen would you please pass me the salt?” 

 

 

Aileen waved her hand towards it, the salt bottle levitated and floated in the air towards her mother and when she kept her hand down, it landed on the table in front of her mother. 

 

 

Queen Charis sighed, “You do not have to do every single thing with magic, you could have simply just stretched your hand and picked it up for me, it was just beside you”, Queen Charis said with apparent disgust. 

 

 

“Well I could have quite alright, but I do not want to, magic makes things easier, magic is the new world mother. The whole world is run by it, every thing is possible with magic. It makes even the strongest of men cower…” 

 

 

“Oh spare me Aileen!”, Queen Charis shook her head, “I am not willing to listen to one of your boring sermons about magic”, she interrupted and pushed her plate forward, “I think I just lost my appetite for food” 

 

 

She got to her feet and with a single clap of her hand, her maid rushed to her side, 

 

 

“Your majesty”, the maid greeted with a bow of her head. “Olivia I think I will retire much early tonight”, she turned to Javaid and without as much as an expression on her face said with a small voice, “Good night your majesty, sleep well my beautiful angels” 

 

 

She walked away without waiting for a response, Olivia hot on her tail. 

 

 

“Why does she have to always be so bitter?”, Cedric asked as soon as the doors shut. 

 

 

“Well she is the only one in the family who can not cast spells or perform magic”, Aileen shrugged, “That is sure to make any one bitter” 

 

 

“It is a privilege my dear, not something any one can possess”, Javaid said, “To be the last of the blood race alive and the only people who can perform magic”. He got up from his chair and paced about the length and breadth of the thoroughly furnished dinning hall. Mahogany wood and chairs of standardly and beautiful carved draped with gold colored coverings, the candelabra that hung from the ceiling was wide and made out of pure gold, the walls were in golden marble. It was like a pirates treasures chest. 

 

 

His purple with gold patterned robe trailed behind him, “It is more than a privilege, it is your right one you have earned by merely being my descendants”, with one of his hand raised above his head, fisted, he said, “You wield the greatest powers in all of the universe, think of what you can do with it. You can take on any enemy, the world is at your mercy” 

 

 

Cedric and Aileen stared at their father, a dazed expression on their faces, they loved when he talked like this. 

 

 

“People fear the kind of power you possess and so their reaction will turn to one of anger, it is only normal that they do that”, he continued, “You have what no one else has, they are at your feet, their lives in your hands to do as you wish and so they hate you for it…”. He walked back to his chair and sat on it. He drummed with his fingers, then all of a sudden he banged the table, “It is power!, This is exactly what power looks like” 

 

 

“Absolute power…”, Cedric smirked. 

 

 

“I like the sound of that”, Aileen said with a perky smile plastered on her face. 

 

 

                               

                                             *** 

 

 

Javaid was king of all of Salvador and other conquered kingdoms stretching far through out the lands. He was a tyrannical king, the last of the extinct blood race alive. He wielded mystical powers and was undeniable the mot strongest man to walk the earth or so he thought. He ruled Salvador with an iron fist bending everyone and anyone to his will either with coercion or magic, however he deemed fit. 

 

 

He was the most revered and feared king and was on the lips of everyone, kingdoms crumbled before him, allies were crushed in shambles. Kings from afar and wide for fear of his terror, came to pay allegiance to him. 

 

 

His wife, Queen Charis did not possess these powers but his children did and he was willing to shape them into the kind of people he desired them to be, they were his descendants, he wanted to leave his mark on the sands of time so that generations to come would tremble when they spoke of him and his lineage. 

 

 

He had fought his way through thick and thin even as a child to rise to prominence, there were scars on his body to prove. He had killed the ruler of Salvador and chosen it as a home base.  

 

 

He stared a into vanity mirror, he removed his crown from his head and twirled the ring on his finger, “It would be a long process but they will learn eventually”, he smiled shrewdly, “I have worked so hard for this to throw it away. If Cedric will become king he has to be a fitting king. I can not afford a weakling as my successor. He would be over thrown and all I have worked for would be taken away from me” 

 

 

He paced about in his chambers, his hands behind him, “I must keep the blood race, protect it with my life. I have to ensure it becomes the most dominant race just like it has always been. I have been given this responsibility as the last of my generation and I must…” 

 

 

The door opened up and a servant walked in, “Your imperial Majesty, your evening tea”, he handed him a small mug on a saucer. 

 

 

“How dare you?”, Javaid growled out livid with anger for being interrupted. 

 

 

The servant shuddered in fear, “I promise...pro...with...I knocked, I thought I heard you tell me to come in”, he backed up until his back was up against the door. 

 

 

Javaid stealthily walked towards him like a lion would if he had his prey in a corner, his eyes were a different hue from the usual brown they were, he had a wry smile on his face. It looked like he was possessed…the look on his face was terrifying. 

 

 

Javaid suddenly stopped short of the servant then he raised his hand in the air and squeezed it, the man who was on the floor at this point began to choke and writhe violently, he gasped for breath and struggled against invisible forces choking him but there was nothing to hold on to. 

 

 

“This is power!”, Javaid said maniacally, “Surely you can’t see it but I know you can feel it!”, he laughed aloud then he stopped squeezing. Immediately he did, the man let out the last gust of air and dropped dead white as clear snow. His eyes telling the story of the horror he had just felt in his last minutes.