The Sparkles From a Distant Memory

Chirp, chirp…

Little birds sang amongst the trees beneath the clear blue sky. The forest was bathed in gentle light from the sun up high. Beside a young boy and a little girl, a calm river flowed quietly through the woods.

“So if you keep following this river to that side, you will arrive at the bottom of a… um… waterfall! It is a very nice place and the sound of the waterfall is very calming…” The little girl pointed her finger, her golden eyes gleaming.

“...waterfall,” muttered the young noble boy.

“...Oh. Do you perhaps… like birds? Um… If you keep walking to that side, you will end up in a small open area with a huge tree in the middle. It is a nice place because in spring, the flowers were blooming and in autumn, the leaves would fall like rain. And um… if you go there in the morning, you will find a lot of small birds gathering around and singing under the tree…” The little girl pointed her finger at the forest in front of her as she explained.

“Hmmm…” said the young boy as he stared at the little girl’s eyes from the side.

“Um, also if you go that way, you will find a cliff where you can see the whole village from above. Which is also a nice place, especially when it’s time for the sun to go down…”

The young noble boy smiled and placed his hand over the head of the little girl and gave her a head-pat.

“I can see you like this place a lot.”

“Eh? Ah, yes. It’s calm here. Hehe…” The little girl giggled.

“It is indeed a serene place. Do you live here?” The young boy glanced at the treehouse behind them.

“No, I don’t. I only stay here while waiting for my mother to come home.”

“Then, I can find you here again tomorrow, right?”

The girl nodded. “I… think so.”

***

The orange sun slowly sank towards the horizon as the young boy and little girl sat down side-by-side on a cliff.

“What do you want to do tomorrow, Rey?” asked the girl with a smile.

The young boy gave her a gentle head-pat, which made the little girl giggle. He smiled thinly as his eyebrows slightly slanted down.

“I’m sorry, Nettie. It seems I have to leave tomorrow.”

The little girl looked at him innocently. “Oh. Then, the day after that…?”

“I don’t think I can come here for a long time.”

“Can’t you live here together with me?”

“Only married couples would live together, Nettie.”

“Married… couple? What is that?”

“Hmmm…” The young noble boy placed his hand under his chin, thinking, before he continued. “It’s when a boy and a girl live together.”

“Can’t we just become that um… married couple?” asked the innocent little girl.

The boy chuckled. “Only adults can do that, Nettie.”

The little girl’s shoulders drooped. She went silent for a few seconds before she looked up at the young boy and said, “Then, when we become adults, can we become a married couple?”

Seeing that the innocent little girl looked somewhat disappointed, the young noble boy couldn’t help but feel bad.

“Hmmm… Well, if one day we meet again as adults, maybe I can marry you.”

“Really?”

The young noble boy smiled and gave her a nod. He also gave her another head-pat as their goodbye.

***

A dream?

Henry woke up from sleep. The sun seemed to have already risen and seeped into his room through his curtain.

Knock, knock…

“Your Highness, it’s Lucas.”

“Come in.”

The door to his chamber opened as Lucas walked in with some attendants who brought clothes and breakfast for the prince.

The first thing Lucas did was to pull open the curtain and brighten the whole room before he approached his master.

“It’s rare that you have awoken before I come, Your Highness. Especially since today is a day off," Lucas said.

“It is indeed rare. A nostalgic dream had awoken me.”

“Nostalgic dream, sir?”

Well, more like an old memory that I have long forgotten.

He smiled as an image of a book-loving girl came into his mind.

She reminded me of that little girl. Obviously, though, that’s merely a coincidence.

The other attendants soon left the room after they finished their duties, leaving only Henry and Lucas alone.

“Henry, about last night…” Lucas said as he assisted his cousin prince in changing his clothes.

Last night, Lucas had belatedly joined the talk Henry had with Miss Cynthia and Annette in the library. It seemed that Miss Cynthia didn’t have any choice but to share everything with them, including everything surrounding the guardian’s visit, now that the prince had found out about Annette’s ability.

“I still could hardly believe such a young girl is actually a master of four seasons,” continued Lucas.

“That’s why Miss Cynthia had begged us to keep it a secret.”

“Anyone with evil intentions might take advantage of her, indeed.”

In the present day, people had referred to the magical attributes as “elements” for simplicity since it was easier to understand. However, the royal family members were educated with a mix of ancient and modern terms from a young age.

In the era of the Great Hero, the magical attributes were originally called the “seasons” as they were each the elements of four seasons, and the Great Hero Arthur was the only person known to have ever mastered all four seasons.

“What’s more, the fact that someone had stolen such an unbelievable thing and hid it in Athenya is…” Lucas added.

“Seems like there are some shady businesses going on right under our noses, but I think it would be best to investigate them secretly. Once they move the Heart to somewhere else, it would be even harder to search for it.”

“Even from the palace people?”

“Yes, for now.”

“Understood. Also, once again, I beg you to not leave me alone like last night, sir. You insisted on staying in the academy, and then you were injured while trying to check the murder scene without me!” Lucas protested, squinting at the prince.

Henry silently glanced at his aide from the side as he corrected his clothes. “I’m not injured, all good,” Henry replied.

“Because that girl happened to have light magic that could heal you, yes. That’s what would happen if you didn’t bring me along! If something happened to you, I need to pay with my head—”

“My injuries weren’t serious. I was just caught off guard once. That won’t happen again. Besides, who would dare to behead my aide?” Henry kept his face straight as he turned to face his cousin before showing a mischievous smile on his face.

A heavy sigh escaped Lucas.

***

A new week had started with an uproar in Athenya. Talented mage apprentices of Athenya seemed to always have their way to get information about what happened in their beloved academy.

The news about Mia—the fake one—had been spread like a wildfire among the students.

“Can you believe it?”

“The missing students were also found!”

“But they are in a miserable state, right? How cruel!”

“More importantly, it was Prince Henry who caught the culprit!”

“Oh my, oh my! As expected of the prince! Look at him and Lord Lucas!”

In front of a bunch of female students gossiping was a battle training ring where Henry was fighting, while Lucas was in the other ring.

The battle ring was essentially a spherical dispelling barrier, preventing any magic from passing through its boundaries. Whoever stepped outside the barrier was deemed the loser.

The winner would remain inside the ring, ready to face the next opponent until they chose to withdraw or were finally defeated by a new victor. Each battle lasted no longer than five minutes, and it was common for two rings to be active at the same time during a class.

Prince Henry had been winning several battles, and so had Lucas, which caused their female classmates to make a fuss.

“Alright, Prince Henry’s win again! You can go back now, Ignatius,” announced the professor.

Henry had pushed his opponent out of the ring and collected his victory yet again. He then walked towards the male student, who sat on the ground after being knocked down by the prince, and offered him a hand.

“Are you okay?” Henry asked.

However, with a scowl on his face, Henry’s opponent rose up on his own, then bowed to Henry before he walked away silently.

“Kyaaaa~!! Prince Henry had won again!!”

“The prince offered his hand!! Oh my!! What a waste! I’d love to take that hand!”

A group of female students, who seemed to be overly excited about Henry, squealed on the side of the battle ring.

The professor shook his head and let out a small sigh.

“Would you like to continue the battle, Your Highness?” the professor asked.

“Hmmm… I still have plenty of mana left but I shall withdraw here, professor,” Henry replied.

On the other ring, Lucas had also just won his battle again and withdrew.

“Alright. Battle won by Lord Lucas again! You can go back, Soren. Two new pairs may enter the rings now!”

Lucas walked towards Henry and then they walked away, leaving the training ground early.

“You’ve stayed in the ring longer than usual, Your Highness,” said Lucas.

“Well, weren’t you the same?”

Lucas squinted as he said, “I know I won’t catch up to you, but it’s my duty to be strong enough so I can protect you.”

“You sound like an overprotective mother, do you know that?” Henry showed his usual mischievous smile.

“Why mother?” protested Lucas as both of them headed towards their classroom.

In the distance, a pair of eyes had been watching the whole thing all this time in silence.