#4

👑 Dilemma~

Without being given a proper reason or explanation, the only thing the Prince had been informed by a guard was that his father wanted to have a "talk" with him.

And whenever Prince Edward would receive a message from his father saying that he wanted to have a "talk" then Edward would immediately know that something was not right; and truly, not only something but everything wasn't right.

Standing in front of the huge gates of the throne room, Edward took a deep breath and pushed them open. "Father," He called out to get the King's attention as he entered the room and stood in front of  the King. "You called for me?"

The King looked back at his son with a cold and piercing gaze as his crown shimmered under the light of a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, adding to the overall beauty of the room.

"Yes, my son. There is something I want to ask you."

"What is it father?"

"It is regarding your friend circle. How is it? How are your friend's?"

Edward was taken aback at this sudden unexpected question as he stood silent for a bit, as if lost for words. Finally he spoke with a cautious tone in his voice, "They...are good."

"How many friends do you have exactly, Edward?"

"Uh, around five."

"And who is the closest to you among them all?"

Once again, Edward found himself at a loss for words as he looked at his father, trying to guess where the conversation was going. "It's a boy I met at the university a few months back."

"What is his name?"

"It is Damien, father."

Silence filled the gap of the conversation between the two as the King got up from his throne and walked towards the window, looking out at the village that lay ahead. "My son, have I ever told you about the war which took place many years back. A war which killed many innocent people. A war which also marked the end of the former Dark ruler?"

"Yes, you have. You have told me about it ten timed already." Edward replied, giving a light chuckle in the end.

"Good." The King exclaimed as he continued to look out of the window. "Then tell me, what did the war's story teach you?"

"Never hide any truth or valuable information from the others because that may be the key to end the sufferings of all beings. Muggles, animals, witches and wizards alike."

At this, the King finally looked at Edward as he walked towards his son and stood near him. "Yes, that is what the war has taught us. Edward, you do know how much trouble I am going through in finding the Dark Lord's son, don't you? If I find him, I do not intend on harming him but rather, just intend on keeping a close eye on him. This is for the safety of people after all."

This was when Edward finally started catching up on what was going on in the King's mind. His eyes involuntarily widened as disbelief took over him.

The King noticed this and sighed quietly. "Edward," He said. "This friend of yours, who is he exactly?"

Edward looked at his father, trying to calm down as he spoke with a steady voice. "He lives in the village, near the small coffee shop. That is all I know."

The King raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms and gave a stern look to his son. "I did not expect you to lie, Edward. A good King never lies, I thought you knew. Your friend, Damien, is the son of the Dark Lord. How could you turn a blind eye to this and decide to not tell me? Answer me!"

Edward backed away as his breaths became uneven. He looked around the room, trying to figure out how his father got to know about Damien's true identity, and that is when it struck him that he had somehow been followed.

"Father, I-"

The King raised his hand causing Prince Edward to fall silent. "Enough of this nonsense. I order you to tell me where Damien is. I know he is your friend and probably does not have any bad intentions, so I wont harm him. But if you insist on not telling me where he is then I would need to take matters in my own hands, which may not turn out to be very pleasant."

"Father, please. Please leave him alone. He is not what you think. He does not have any intention of harming anyone. Please father."

"Edward!" The King said in a loud voice causing the Prince to fall silent once again. "Either you bring him here or I go and hunt him down on my own. Either way, I want to meet that kid."

Edward looked at his father in disbelief as he fell into a dilemma as to what he should do. With his heart thudding in his chest he knew that his decision would hurt Damien and he would make a coward of himself by not protecting his friend. But if the option in his mind meant Damien not being harmed then it was exactly what he would choose. "I'll go to him and bring him here."

#5

💔 Heart of Glass; Mind of Stone~

The next day

A gentle wind, more like a breeze, blew while the sky was clear and blue.

Birds flew around, chirping and singing their delightful songs while the grass moved in the direction of the wind.

Each footstep he took was like a stab to his heart as he walked towards the boy who stood a few meters away from him.

Behind him, hidden from plain sight, a huge troop of guards hid in every possible nook and corner making the idea of somehow letting his friend run and escape seem impossible.

"Edward!" He heard his friend call out. His friend, the one who at the moment wore a bright smile on his face, not knowing the fate that awaited him.

"Damien...hi." Edward greeted in low spirits as his friend seemed to notice that something was wrong.

"I will be going today, Edward. A kind uncle had lent his horse to me and after a few hours I will be heading to a land far away from Azmaar."

"Oh" Was all Edward could say as he looked down to the ground, unable to bring himself to meet his friends eyes. He found himself increasingly wondering of what Damien would think of him once he would do what had to be done and deep inside his heart, he knew, that things might never be the same between them.

Damien looked ahead at the beautiful sky and clouds. A smile crept up his lips as he took a deep breath of fresh air and let it fill his lungs. "I'll surely miss this place but above all, I'll terribly miss you my friend."

"Me too." Edward softly replied.

Damien, who was enjoying the last few moments he would ever spend in Azmaar continued to look ahead at the sky and failed to notice the glowing eyes of Edward.

With his hand raised, Edward's heart trembled as he felt like bursting into tears.

"It's all for Damien's good. I am sure he would understand once I explain him the reason behind my action." He kept reminding himself with the same thought over and over again as he slowly muttered under his breath, "Statify."

It was right at this moment when the spell was released that Damien moved ahead to look at something he found interesting and due to this, the spell missed him and zipped towards a tree, hitting one of the guards who stood behind it.

It caused the guard to fall and the fall lead to a thud sound.

This was when Damien finally turned to Edward and noticed his glowing eyes. He then turned his gaze to the fallen guard and by putting two and two together figured what was going on.

"Edward!?" He called out in surprise and disbelief as Edward's expression fell and guilt took over him.

 "I am sorry, I have to do this." He whispered as he raised his hand once again and aiming it at Damien shouted loudly, "STATIFY!"

The spell zipped towards Damien as the boy jumped away in the nick of time.

"What are you doing!?" Damien asked in shock as he started to back away in hurry.

"Damien please. Don't do anything. Just stay still and don't do anything sudden. I promise, I will explain everything to you when the time is right."

But Damien did not pay heed as he quickly activated his powers, causing his 'dark brown' eyes to glow. This action was noticed by the guards as they quickly came out of their hiding place and towards the Prince in order to protect him.

Some also charged at Damien as the boy in panic threw a spell at them, causing them to fall back.

The others on seeing this charged at Damien too and now, due to their big number, Damien knew he would not be able to defeat them so he ran towards the only safe place he could think of; the small shack located nearby.

"No, stop!" Edward shouted at the guards but his calls were not paid any heed. The guards now started circling around the shack and pounded on it, trying to break it down. Another spell from Damien's side was thrown at the guards as a loud thundering sound exploded in the air.

"DAMIEN!" Edward shouted in worry as he headed towards the shack, but before he could even reach it, it exploded and a fire broke out.

Edward's eyes widened as he saw a burnt and injured Damien struggling to remove a heavy piece of wood which had fallen on his leg. His heart raced and his mind started fogging as he tried to think of what he could do to save his friend.

Amongst all this confusion, he knew that if he would help Damien and somehow bring his friend out of that burning mess, his father wouldn't be too happy. Other than this, seeing how Damien had killed a few guards (unintentionally), the King may even punish the boy for his deed.

Keeping all these points in his mind, Edward took a deep breath as with a determined heart, he advanced towards the burning shack. Fixing his gaze on his friend and letting go of any other thought in his mind he whispered to himself continuously, "I have to help him."

His eyes glowed brightly as he could feel an immense amount of energy forming inside him. Slowly, but surely, by using his powers to their full extent, he removed the log of wood from Damien's leg by using the special magic he was born with; and that being, telekinesis.

Using this power took a huge amount of energy from the Prince. Telekinesis, though being the magical power Edward was born with was never used by him much and thus, because of less experience and practice, it would always leave him exhausted and fatigued.

But Edward held on for the sake of his friend.

 Using his power further, he moved a few pieces of wood with care and created an illusion such that it covered Damien from view, making it seem as if the boy had disappeared into thin air.

After all this was done, he walked towards the guards and standing in front of them all shouted with a voice full of authority, "Put your arms down, right this instant." 

His loud command was heard as each and every soldier looked towards the Prince in confusion. One of them even shouted back, asking, "Prince Edward, the order given to us by the King was clear. We are not supposed to stop until we find the son of the former Dark Lord. The King wants to see him."

The Prince turned to look at that soldier. "Can't you see that our enemy is dead?" Edward asked as he put a calm yet stern expression and put a special emphasis on the word 'our'. 

The soldiers looked at each other and then at the burning shack as to their surprise, none of them could see or find Damien. 

Seeing the confusion taking place, Edward took advantage of the situation and continued to speak, "My father wanted to see Damien, I agree. But what would he do with Damien's dead body? And it's not like any of us will be able to find his body anyways because that fire must have surely burnt him to ash. It's no use wasting out time now, the Dark Lord's son is dead and our job is done."

Edward waited as silence fell. He could feel his stomach churn with nervousness but he did not let it show and kept his calm expression on.

Finally, he saw a few soldiers starting to nod their heads as his hopes rose and he almost smiled in relief.

"You are right, Prince." One of the soldiers shouted as he saw them put back their swords. The soldiers then started assembling themselves as one of them suddenly asked, "What do we do about this burning shack, Prince?"

"Leave it. Let it be a sign for those who ever try to cross their limits and bring evil to our lands." Edward replied.

The soldiers nodded, as if satisfied and then started marching back to the castle with a false sense of victory in their hearts.

Edward, who was standing near the burning shack quietly headed towards it. His head felt heavy while legs wobbled due to the amount of tiredness that kept pulling him down, calling him like a hypnotising melody.

But he fought it because there was still one more thing Edward had to make sure of before he could go with a heavy yet relieved heart.

So he walked, with his hand covering his nose as he tried his best to stay away from the fire as much as possible.

Using telekinesis to bring Damien out of the shack was not an option because if the Prince would do so, he would fall to the ground due to extreme exhaustion.

Finally, after walking for a few seconds, Edward came to a stop as he caught a glimpse of a person. "Damien..." He quietly called out as he saw the person limping towards him.

His heart ached on seeing his friend in such a situation, because after all, it was because of his carelessness. Tears formed in his eyes as he saw his friend's once bright face, covered in pain and misery.

"Edward...?" He heard his friend call as Edward was about to help Damien when a call came from nearby, causing Edward's eyes to widen.

"Prince Edward, are you in there?"

Judging from where the voice came from, Edward realised that the person searching for him was very close by. So, without thinking twice, without thinking of how his action would be interpreted by Damien, Edward pushed his friend to the side. Damien stumbled and fell down with a groan as the voice came once again.

"Prince Edward, are you ok? Is there someone else with you?"

Edward turned to leave and gave one last apologetic look to his friend when Damien held Edward's arm causing him to stop.

"Don't leave me, please." Damien begged as tears slipped from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

The footsteps of the soldier came closer and closer as Edward looked at his friend with an emotionless face, a face which showed neither mercy nor care, or so it seemed in Damien's eyes. "I am sorry, my friend."

And that was the last the two ever spoke with a genuine friendship between them...

That was the last of Damien's faith in goodness and love...

That was the last of the friendship two boys once shared....

It was the moment when Damien learned the bitter truth of this world, that nothing is permanent. Not even love.

///

Warning: If you are someone who is sensitive to horror and blood descriptions then read at your own risk.

Maybe, if Edward would have had time to explain Damien the reason of his actions, things would have been better between the two.

But destiny had something else planned for them.

After the incident of the burning shack, Edward returned to the castle and somehow influenced the King to believe that Damien was dead.

While on the other side, Damien had somehow escaped out of the burning shack. Only he knew how much pain he had suffered as he walked those few miles and the next he knew, was him being in a forest surrounded with trees from all sides.

His burns pained but what pained more was the betrayal of his friend. The person he once trusted the most.

"Why Edward, why?" Damien whispered as he rested his back on the bark of a tree and cried in hopelessness and pain. "I trusted you. I believed you. I loved you. But you, you broke it all."

In the wilderness of the Forbidden Forest a lost soul wandered and on hearing the muffled cries of the boy stopped and listened intently.

"I thought you were different. I thought you would never lie. But you showed me, Edward, that sometimes things never go the way we want. You showed me Edward that there is nothing known as love. Nothing known as friendship. Only hatred, betrayal and war."

These words caught the attention of the wandering soul. 

The soul smirked as it devilishly murmured to itself. "Have I finally gotten lucky? Have I finally found my suitable slave?" And so, with the smirk persisting on its deformed and bloody face, the soul floated towards the boy.

"Hello..." It whispered with a creepy voice as Damien looked up with wide eyes. 

The thing in front of him, brought his heart to his throat as he got up in shock. His eyes widened as he started trembling due to the figure that stood in front of him. "Who...who are you?" He asked as the soul tilted its head, as if examining Damien.

"Ooh, you aren't in a good condition, are you? What happened? I am here to listen." The soul said with its hoarse voice as Damien gulped in fear.

"G-g-go away!" He said as the soul sighed and shook its head. 

"You know you are alone and I am the only one who can offer you company. So why shoo me away?"

Damien stared at the soul in disgust as he felt a sudden urge to puke. Blood dripped from each and every part of the soul while it seemed as if its eyes had been snatched out from their sockets.

"I used to be once like you. But they," The soul whispered pointing towards the kingdom. "But they destroyed me, like how they are destroying you."

Damien stood silent, completely speechless...

"But no worries. Now that I have found you, we can come together and built such a powerful empire that would bring down the goody goodies once and for all. What do you think?"

"No, I don't need you." Damien replied as he finally looked away and to the ground. "Please, go away. Leave me alone."

"But whyyyy?" The soul shrieked in a sudden loud voice causing Damien to jump up in shock. "Ten years later, a Prince will be born, dear friend. Do you know, that Prince will be destined to destroy you. And not only that, but along with his birth, a gemstone, unlike any other will come into being. The Sapphire of Eternal Power..."

For some reason that Damien could not understand, the name of the gemstone caused chills to run down his spine. It was as if  a sudden urge grew in him to possess that stone and make it his.

"I, Abaddon, promise you to give you power over the whole world, but you will have to give me something heavy in exchange."

"What is it?" Damien asked as his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

"Your body. I, for years have been wandering without any body to protect me and to give me a permanent form. I require your body in exchange for all the powers this world can offer except one."

"Which one?"

"The power of immortality." The soul whispered.

Silence fell as Damien looked at the soul with uncertainty. "If I let you in my body, will you control me?"

"Oh no, I won't." The soul immediately replied. "I won't touch your soul even a bit. I promise."

Damien thought for a bit as he finally looked back at the tattered and broken soul. "Deal."

"Are you sure kid? This deal does have a curse attached with it. The Abaddon's Curse. If you don't find that stone in time and get it under your power, you will perish from this world forever."

"I don't care. I have had enough of this sick world anyways. If there is one thing left I would like to live for, it is revenge." Damien replied as anger slowly started growing in him.

The soul nodded, looking quite impressed as suddenly a bright red light started shining from it. "Fine, deal." And it entered Damien, capturing him and indirectly making him his new slave, like how he had done to the former Dark Lord.

The soul broke its promise and before Damien could realise, he was no longer under his own control. Damien's eyes changed their colour to a deep red as a new person stood that night, in the deep darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

"Finally, after all those years, I can once again rise to power and bring darkness to the lands. Dear all, in this world of evil and hatred...Abaddon is my name, don't forget it as it is the one who drives this bloody game..."