The castle halls buzzed with activity as many servants moved back and forth, up and down the stairs, in and out of corridors; doing their very best to make sure decorations touched every nook and cranny of the castle.

The curtains were fetchingly draped to allow every bit of sunlight in. The dining room was also equally adorned with all kinds of delicacies for the evening. The floors were mopped to perfection such that one's reflection was impossibly vivid when they looked down.

There was not a single room with a trace of dust or dirt as it was made a point to clean the entire castle until marbles seemed a disgrace.

A young lady hustled up the servants, ordering them in her feathery tone of voice to see to it that the grounds were clear of any leaves as many guests were to be present at the grand celebration.

"You, go tend to the horses and make sure to muck out the stables."

"Cut those vegetables in bits."

"There's not enough wood in the fireplace."

"Those frames are not set right."

"Place the table this way."

"Forks to the right, knives to the left."

Voices boomed all around the castle as everyone tried insanely hard to put things in order.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the East Wing the lady of the house, Belle was engaged in a conversation with her daughter, Antoinette.

"How are the preparations coming along?" Belle asked, picking up a large book to set it in the right spot on the shelf.

Her brown hair had turned a slight grey at the roots but nothing else gave away the fact that she had aged. She wore a simple white gown. There was a white ribbon around her held up ponytail. One might have mistaken her for a simple servant but the silver crown resting in middle of her hair made the difference very clear.

"It has been so loud down there that coming up here feels so. . . incongruous." Antoinette replied.

Belle grimaced.

"What? You are not the only one that has been reading, mother!" Antoinette defended.

"I am sure very soon we will have our own book club." A new voice added from behind.

"Papa!" Antoinette cried going over to hug her father who had been away for a long time.

King Adam had traveled far North for an exclusive kingly meeting with a strange ruler who, over the years, had constantly made threats concerning the shared border with Adam's kingdom. Miraculously, he had reached out saying he had thought of a peaceful way to form a strong alliance - one that would undoubtedly prevent future disputes.

Adam and Belle had ruled their kingdom peacefully for nearly thirty years and had been blessed in between with a daughter whom they named Antoinette.

Antoinette had too much of her mother's looks and was mistaken many times for a young Belle while growing up. She even had a passion for reading like her mother but chose her royal duties over digging through the library.

Antoinette had grown up and fallen in love with a local Frenchman named François. Of course, Belle and King Adam wasted no time in giving their blessings to the pair as François was the epitome of every thing good on earth and loved their daughter dearly as well.

The young couple welcomed their first son and heir to the throne - Frances Adam Jnr, three years after their union.

Now, sixteen years later, Frances was to be publicly named heir to the throne and of course, celebrated for turning sixteen hence the preparations.

Frances was genetically a replica of King Adam, hence his last name. He had the same long auburn hair and striking blue eyes, thick brown eyebrows and a polite look about his face. He was an oddly beautiful young man, yes - Adonis style beautiful - and the ladies swooned whenever he was around.

While his grandfather was built like a mountain, Frances was noticeably smaller in stature. He had a fetish for hunting and would spend weeks in the forest nearly sending his entire family into panic countless times. The young prince was his grandmother's favorite; not that she had any other grandchild but still, they both had something they could fawn over - books.

Antoinette used to be an equally adept scholar but as the years dragged on, she abandoned the fantasy world and stuck to her family. When Frances was born, Belle was thankful as she could continue to share her passion with the little boy who picked interest in books the moment he could crawl.

He would, however, shuffle between hunting and spending quality time with Belle but had decided to stick with the former over the last few years.

"How was your journey?" Belle asked coming over to kiss Adam on his cheek. He bent slightly to allow her reach him.

"Let us just say Thunder and i are not on good terms for the time being." Adam said distastefully but with a slight tinge of humor.

"Did you not leave with the royal carriage, Papa?" Antoinette asked, failing to get the joke.

"I did but the horse wanted to make friends and i wanted to see the mountains. Let us say that different interests and bad timing caused the drift." Adam explained.

"You will be fine, you always fix up these little tiffs." Belle said amidst laughter then her eyebrow creased in worry.

She turned to her daughter. "Where is Frances?"

"Oh, he is yet to return from his hunting trip." Antoinette replied.

"How long has he been gone this time?" Adam asked, his bass tone rumbling with worry greater than Belle's. It seemed there were numberless cases where the young Prince had fallen into complicated mishaps on or during his hunts.

"Nearly a week. He comes back once in a while but leaves before we even realize it." Antoinette said with a tired sigh.

"There's just no stopping him, is there?!" Adam exclaimed and sat down.

"I bet he does not even remember that his birthday is today." Belle complained.

"I reminded him over and over last night so i am sure he has not forgotten." Antoinette assured with a tinge of uncertainty then heaved a sigh. She knew her parents were usually more worried about Frances than she was and so it took about an hour of convincing to get them to calm down.

"He is still very young." Belle pointed out.

"He is sixteen now, mother. He will be able to take care of himself, he always does. There is absolutely nothing to worry about." Antoinette said then kissed her father and mother on the cheek before exiting the room.

Belle stared expectantly at Adam who immediately understood the hidden question she held from asking.

"We reached a compromise. But i do not think it will sit well with the rest of them or him." He said, his tone laced with sadness as he spoke.

Belle walked over to him and sat down, taking his hands in her own. "What is the compromise? What does Joseph want?"

Adam stared at her for long then stood up, holding out his hand. "We need to speak with our daughter and François immediately."

Whilst preparations went on progressively in the castle, deep in the woods at the heart of the Black Forest, the sound of cloven hooves crunched heavily against dead leaves causing nearby birds to scamper in different directions but once the wild rider whipped by, they gathered on the spot once more.

"This way boy!" Frances urged as he steered the reins of his brown horse to the left. The horse whinnied in disagreement and tried to turn from the dark path up ahead. The path was oddly cobbled but was shielded by multiple intertwining vines below and low hanging branches above.

The wind carried a low discordant sound toward them and a chill of excitement ran up Frances' spine but his horse wanted nothing to do with a creepy entrance to the not-so-emerald city of Oz.

"Come on, we have been here before remember?" He asked trying to steer the straying horse to the left but the animal protested by turning away.

"Are you scared all over again?"

neigh!

"We will be just fine, i promise."

neigh!

Frances sighed and dropped from the horse.

"Alright, how about i go on and you wait for me out here?" He asked and pulled his hair back with a band.

The horse neighed in approval at his suggestion. He tied the animal to a tree and rubbed its mane reassuringly.

"I will not take long, Phillipe." He said and picked up his bow and quiver.

The Black forest was home to many dangerous creatures, some from other realms and some native but all made sure to keep from being spotted by humans. Ever since the young prince had glimpsed an animal he claimed to have been a baby dragon, he had spent weeks searching for it and was yet to find it. He had traced the animal to this very spot where it suddenly disappeared the last time.

He ripped off the short cape that hung over his back and threw it away to prevent getting entagled in any vine or branch. As he approached the dark entrance, he glanced back at Phillipe whose expression had turned grim.

He placed one foot on the cobbled floor and Phillipe began to trot around, whinnying as loud as possible.

Frances turned and placed a finger on his lip to shush the horse but the animal only got louder.

"Phillipe, we do not want to let anyone know we came uninvited." He whispered but the horse barely paid any attention. He shook his head and turned to focus on the path in front of him. It was too dark to see three feet ahead and a wicked storm was brewing up in the sky.

He crouched to avoid a low branch and placed another foot over a vine. The branches were too low and bore too many thorns for anyone to be able to walk upright so he proceeded to crawl through.

From the distance, he could hear Phillipe's worried whinnies but the more he moved forward, the more the path seemed to stretch out until every sound was blocked out.

The atmosphere was dominated by darkness so thick Frances could almost feel it. The air was heavy with mist and became as thick as the surrounding blackness as he moved forward. It became impossible to breath without gasping loudly.  Frances looked around but there was nothing to see. Thankfully he could make out the figure of low hanging branches and vines thicker than a grown man's thighs.

He suddenly regretted leaving Phillipe behind. It seemed pointless to go back now so he continued moving forward. At last, he came upon light - warm, multicolored light that hummed slower than a snail could walk.

At first, the blinking lights startled Frances who had mistaken it for a burning campfire and drew his sword but as he got closer, his eyes widened and he lowered his blade.

The humming light came from a strange hole. The hole was not dug into the ground or drilled into a roof - it was suspended in the air only a few inches from the ground. Behind it and all around it was nothing; no walls, no path, no leaves or trees or vines - just nothing.

The colors looked like oil in a bowl mixed with ground chalk and burnt stones. A certain heat came off it and in the middle, a smaller hole shone bright. It was about the size of a human fist and looked like the end result of a huge nail that rammed into a wooden wall.

He took off his bow and inched closer to the strange circle. A few inches more and a violent gust of wind suddenly erupted causing the oil-like colors to swirl. The incredible force pushed him down, knocking his sword off his grip and straight into the circle with a bright flash. Then, the strange force began to draw him in. He grunted, kicked and twisted but the force seemed to have lassoed his legs.

He stretched his arm and made to reach for his bow. He always carried a special arrow in his quiver and only one shot would save his life if the circle wished to take it.

His fingertips brushed against the fine curve of the weapon and managed to go underneath it but it only jerked away from him. He strained to go forward but the strange magic slowly pulled him back as if enjoying his efforts to escape.

Thunder rumbled from nowhere as the sky was no longer in sight. A loud crackle and another, and another - suddenly a heavy pouring sound followed but no single drop of rainwater fell on the ground or within sight.

The wind suddenly stopped and the swirling colors returned to its dormant form. Frances realized that his his legs were free again. He rose and gasped for air, hurriedly picked up his bow then dashed toward the dark corner from where he had come. He crouched back into the path and hurriedly crawled over vine and bricks, ignoring the multiple scratches he got from rushing past the thorns from the branches.

In a matter of minutes, he was drenched in the pouring rain and had made it out. Phillipe joyfully leaped around when he saw his owner despite the fact that he was also soaking wet.

"Let us get out of here, Phillipe." He urged and as soon as he mounted the horse, it turned and galloped away as fast as it could.

The rain worsened. A small town came into view. The sound of horse feet clobbering past drew the attention of some villagers who looked out their window to catch a glimpse of the late night rider.

Without need for directions, Phillipe turned toward a long arching bridge heading straight for the castle.

Bright lights and party decorations greeted Frances as he alighted the horse when it finally came to a stop in the grounds.

"Oh no!" Frances muttered, realizing he had indeed forgotten his own birthday after promising his mother that he would not.

"Your highness, where have you been all day long?" The lady with the feathery voice called as Frances led Phillipe into the stables.

Her eyes widened when she saw the Prince soaking wet, sporting bloody scratches on his face. "Oh goodness, your mother would not be happy with the way you look. What happened to you? Are you alright?"

"I am okay, Michèle. I will take care of my mom. And thank you for your concern but i am truly fine." He replied, handing over the reins to the lady who still gaped at him.

A few other servants had come out and were gasping in panic at the Prince's appearance but he only acknowledged them with greetings and headed for his chambers.

The celebration was already in progress so Frances had to sneak past a handful of guests every now and then to avoid being spotted. As he passed the ballroom, he noticed his grandmother, Belle.

Her face was plastered with so much worry, it looked like she had been crying. She was wearing a yellow ball gown with white ruffles at the hem. Her hair must have been rolled up but it seemed she had let it fall to her back in loose curls. Her silver crown had been pushed forward and blended in with the grey hair lining her forehead. She had both hands clasped under her chin while her eyes kept darting back and forth and across the crowd.

Standing next to her on the left was Adam. Frances melted into the wall as his eye caught his grandfather's but it seemed the King had not seen him at all. He held Belle close by her shoulders. His suit matched her dress - a yellow tailcoat with slightly smaller ruffles at the chest opening. He was tall and looked very regal in his attire. His long hair combed back and pleated neatly. His golden crown sat on his throne and just like Belle, his eyes darted repeatedly across the crowd.

They were searching for him.

He snuck past a few guards and waited for one of the chefs to walk by before sneaking through the kitchen. He climbed the staircase railing without effort, jumped over on the other side and quickly hid behind a large pedestal holding the statue of a wild beast as more servants walked past.

They were all muttering about his delayed presence. He sighed and rested against the statue, waiting for the voices to fade away before peeking out into the empty hallway. When he was sure the place was truly empty, he ran swiftly across the dining room.

"Our riders came back with no reports. He's nowhere to be found." A male voice reported.

Frances did not need to stop nor peer to know it was Lumiere who had spoken but he did anyway solely to know who King's advisor and head waiter was speaking to. He backed away slowly realizing it was his mother. She was not dressed for the party but her silk evening gown looked perfect for one.

After much maneuvering and hiding, he finally made it to his bedroom. He unlocked the door and hurried in before shutting it once more, letting out a long breath and a relieved sigh.

"Glad no one saw you, aren't you?"

Frances turned sharply and found that his father was seated on his bed with one leg crossed over the other. He was dressed in a black tailcoat with white ruffles and trousers, mirroring the King's attire but his hair was not neatly brushed. It hung across his face like it had always done.

"Father!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Do not ask me how i got in here. You inherited those climbing skills from me." François said and stood up. He paused when he noticed how bruised his son was.

"What. . .?" He began with widened eyes.

"Father, i can explain alright." Frances interrupted, allowing his quiver slide down his arm to the floor. He stepped forward and attempted to say something but kept shut, a short breath being the only thing that managed to leave his lips.

"Son. . ." François began and walked over to guide Frances over to the study table.

"I know you enjoy these hunting trips; being in the wild, roaming free on horseback. You cannot help it. You have an adventurer's spirit. It runs in the family. I am a hundred percent supportive of the things you do and i will not stop you from doing what you love but when you start getting hurt, it becomes difficult to be supportive. I am a parent, Frances and it is my job to worry about you."

"Father, i do no wish you to be worried - you or my mother, or grandfather and grandmother Belle. I have been reckless and i admit that but i am only trying to reach a goal here."

"And what goal is that? Chasing after imaginary fire breathing dragons? Coming back home with bruises and injuries every week?"

Frances sighed and began to play with his bow. It had been a gift from his maternal great grandfather, Maurice, just before he passed on when Frances had only been seven. The bow had been two times his size when he received it but now, it fit like it was tailor made.

"You know what, just go get ready for the ball. We will talk about this in the morning." François said and gave his son a gentle pat before leaving the room.

Frances hung his bow on the special hook made for it and began to prepare for his birthday. He knew his mother was going to be displeased when she saw the bruises about his face but what he did not know was how the celebration was going to change his life forever.