Birthday Party

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was a golden glow just above the horizon, and the sky had already tuned a brilliant blue. Hundreds of different types of birds could be heard from the ancient forest, chirping their morning song. It was the perfect day for traveling to the imperial palace.

Finally, the day of the party had arrived. After a week of etiquette lessons, Benedict felt Theodore was well prepared enough to go to a single party. It would last quite a while after they arrived, but the trip to the imperial palace would take even longer. So, the servants prepared the carriage early that morning, and Benedict was loading his son into the passenger compartment.

"Father, will the imperial palace be very big?" Theodore had been asking questions non-stop for the past week, and now that the time for traveling had arrived, the questions were centered more around the sights he anticipated to see.

"Yes Theo, it will be larger than any building you have ever seen." Benedict responded, although his manor was the only house Theodore had ever seen.

"We are going a long way, right? Will I see the farming fields I read about?"

"Yes."

"Will there be animals?"

"Most likely."

"I'm so excited!"

"Me too, Theo."

Despite his endless grilling, Benedict never grew inpatient with his adoptive son. Over the years he had grown attached. More attached than he expected. He doubted he could have ever loved the boy more had he been born to him from the start.

In reality, Benedict was not excited about actually going to the party, but he didn't lie. He was excited to see Theodore so happy, and excited that he might finally be around some children his own age. The party was a celebration of the second prince's ninth birthday, so many children close to the prince were bound to be there.

After Benedict had climbed into the carriage after his son, they were off. Theodore continued to rattle off his questions, and Benedict had an answer for every single one. The journey took them ten hours, but Theodore's excitement did not diminish in the slightest for the entire ride. Though, he did doze off for a couple hours in the middle of the voyage. When he woke up, he frantically asked Benedict if he had missed anything exciting. His father reassured him that all they had passed while he was asleep was endless wheat fields.

When they finally arrived, Theodore jumped out of the carriage before the driver had a chance to open the door. And suddenly Benedict thought he should have given the boy more lessons after all.

"Father!" Theodore exclaimed, "It could be the size of a country!"

In front of them stood the imperial palace. And Theodore did not exaggerate. Perhaps somewhere on the continent, there really was a small country the size of this palace. Magadha Kingdom was a wealthy country, attributed to their recent success in war against the Colchis and Lydia Kingdoms. A war that Benedict had fought in. So, a palace of such splendor was only to be expected. But it was not only the palace. Every church, every public service building, all the manors belonging to nobles, and many government-owned businesses, each and every one was a reflection of the wealth and reputation of Magadha. It was a Kingdom expected to never fall.

Benedict stepped out of his carriage, and they were led along a path towards the main entrance to the palace's reception hall. Around them, carriages of many glamorous colors and decorations swarmed with activity, as nobles from every class hurried to prepare their gifts for the second prince. Every noble in the kingdom, and many from neighboring countries, had been invited to the birthday celebration, and each family was expected to present a gift. It could be anything from a sword made of rare material, to the allegiance of a noble house. Though the latter was less common, because swearing allegiance meant backing one as heir to the throne. And no one would take such risks when the prince was so young.

The gift Benedict had prepared was one befitting of his status. After the war, he had been granted the title of a Grand Duke, a position second only to members of the imperial family. So, the magician prepared a magical artifact for the boy.

Magical artifacts were incredibly difficult to get one's hands on, as there were probably around only ten existing artifacts in the world. But with Benedict's gifts, he was able to produce a new one. It had been a very difficult process of trial and error, but finally Benedict had mixed the correct type of "orb-chis" to create a healing artifact.

Healing wounds was not a miracle easily achieved through magic, as creating human blood and flesh was nearly impossible for the people of this world, whose knowledge surrounding science was limited. But Benedict's artifact allowed for at least three fatal wounds to be healed, used on anyone at any time, more than once until it ran out of magic. Surely, the emperor would be satisfied.

Theodore was overwhelmed by the size of the event, "Father, do they hold a celebration like this every year for his highness the prince?"

Benedict smiled at Theodore's proper addressing to the prince, "No Theo, this birthday is special in particular because it is what the people of this kingdom call a half-arrived being. A ceremony is held for coming of age when a child turns eighteen, and another is held once before that at the age of nine, when they are halfway on their journey to becoming an adult."

"I see," Theodore said thoughtfully, "Will I have a half-arrived birthday party when I turn nine?"

"We shall see," Benedict chuckled.

They continued up the path towards the palace, still led by one of the many servants dressed in cream-colored uniforms. When they finally reached the entrance, the servant asked for their names and their house name. When Benedict told him, the servant's eyes grew wide for a moment, but then he moved to tell another worker the names.

The other servant had a similar reaction when he heard the names whispered in his ear but did not hesitate in his introduction.

"From house Gonidium, Benedict Charlie Gonidium, and his son and heir, Theodore Harris Gonidium!" The announcer bellowed.

Theodore blushed slightly at being referred to as the heir of house Gonidium, he knew what a great honor it was, and what responsibility rested on his shoulders. It made him proud, and very happy however, and he wondered at the servants' earlier reactions. But he was too excited to be distracted by such thoughts for long. Soon, he was too busy admiring the decorations of the palace. Even the reception hall, one of the smallest rooms in the palace, was grander than his own mansion. Although he wasn't surprised, Benedict had never been fond of flashy things.

When they'd made it through the hall, they were led to the ballroom, where the party had already begun. The room was full of beautiful ball gowns and impressive uniforms, worn by the many nobles of the empire, all talking and bustling about. As Benedict and Theodore moved through the room, people stopped to stare and whisper. It made Theodore uncomfortable. Benedict didn't seem to notice.

When Theodore realized the direction in which they were headed, he bulked for a moment. He knew his father was in a high position in society, but was it high enough to be approaching the emperor himself? Every high-ranking noble must greet the emperor, Theodore knew that from his etiquette lessons, but what he did not know was he was the son of the Grand Duke.

Theodore gulped as they approached the royal family. They were all seated on magnificently decorated thrones, with the emperor at the center, his two sons on the right, and his wife and daughter to the left. Theodore wanted to take a look at each member of the imperial family in turn, but he knew it was rude to stare directly, and his lessons had taught him to keep his head down in front of higher-ranking nobility until he was spoken to. So, he remained with his eyes glued to the floor, only the emperor's lower half in his line of sight as they approached.

"Benedict!" Theodore heard the emperor exclaim. His head snapped up; he couldn't help it.

"Your majesty," Benedict bowed, and Theodore followed his example, quickly lowering his head again to hide his embarrassment at his transgression. The emperor had been so friendly in his greeting, is daddy friends with the emperor? But he was so cold just now. Theodore's mind was reeling.

"Come now, old friend, there is no need for such formalities. Please, introduce me to your son!"

Benedict winced but put on a smile, "This is Theodore your majesty, the heir to Gonidium house."

Theodore jumped, "It's my honor to meet you, your imperial majesty."

He bowed again and peeked up at the ruler of the empire. He was around the same age as Theodore's father, and his eyes were soft and kind. His posture held an air of royalty, but also a friendliness Theodore had not been expecting. He relaxed a little.

"Oh Benedict, even your son is so cold to me!" The emperor seemed to whine this statement.

"He is only behaving as he should." Benedict replied.

Suddenly the emperor had a serious frown on his face, "Please Benedict, I know you are still haunted by old memories, but it is me. Your friend."

Benedict's eyes softened, and his posture relaxed. "Alright, fine. Come here you big buffoon."

Then Benedict did something Theodore was never expecting. He hugged the emperor.

"It's been a long time, Darius." Benedict looked to be on the verge of tears.

"It has." His majesty was no less emotional.

Theodore had forgotten everything he was taught and was now staring in unabashed wonder at the sight laid out in front of him. Soon, Darius turned to address the young boy.

"Theodore! What a lovely boy you are, come, say hi to your uncle!"

"U-uncle?" Theodore stammered, unsure of what to do. He looked to his father.

Benedict just laughed.

Darius seemed horrified at the boy's reaction, "Really my old friend, you told him nothing of what to expect?"

"To be perfectly honest Darius, I had been determined to ignore you all night. I had forgotten your natural charisma." Benedict's eyes were full of warm memories.

"You are too cruel!" The emperor feigned offense.

Theodore was still in shock.

"That's enough you two!" Said a female voice. Theodore's surprise continued as he watched the empress approach him. Suddenly he was in her arms.

"You're scaring the boy. He has no idea what's going on!"

"My dear, how could you say such a thing? Also, I don't think you are doing much to remedy the situation sweetheart."

The empress looked at the boy in her arms and gasped when she saw his glazed over eyes, "Oh I'm sorry Theodore! My motherly instincts just kicked in." And she set him down.

Finally, the boy spoke, "Father, what is all this?"

Benedict laughed lightly and averted his eyes, "Well Theo, to tell you the truth. The emperor and I are kind of old friends."

Theodore stared at his father, started to feel dizzy, then passed out where he stood.