First story - The Prince Of Stars

The Milky Way - an infinite ocean of immortal stars that illuminated space with their sparkling light. But on this very special day, they shone brighter than usual to celebrate in joy and deep magic the great festival of the elves of the Grovius Empire.

Visitors from other planets and systems, even from distant galaxies, all looked radiant and eager for the celebration of one of the most fantastic events ever produced there, and even took advantage of this unique opportunity to wear their best attire. An incredible parade of ships crossed the planet's borders, and circulated freely wherever the eye fell, all accompanied by the hubbub of people happy and excited to participate in such a popular and large-scale phenomenon. It is true that the Grovius Empire was famous for being one of the four largest and most powerful states in the Dorgon galaxy.

Emperor Vergal, a handsome, dedicated, exceptionally intelligent, and unusually charismatic person, ruled his world with a firm and formidable, yet incredibly fair hand, which endeared him to all his people.

He was particularly attached to the celebration of the elf festival itself, as it gave him, unlike some, the opportunity to spend a little more time with his beloved wife, the sublime Empress Krilia.

Thus, everything had to be bright and wonderful.

Unfortunately, in spite of his good mood and his enthusiasm for the present and the future, one thing disturbed him dangerously, and this thing was his son, his only child, very brilliant, very talented, very intelligent. Too much perhaps if one accepted to see and probe reality as it was, and with perfect impartiality. A true prodigy capable of unimaginable things. Thus, he could have been the ideal and unquestionable heir that every father and every nation would have dreamed of having, the beloved heir of the entire Grovius empire, if it weren't for his nature, which was as terrible and complex as his magic. He was totally uncontrollable and unpredictable, a real mystery, cold and strange. And the most worrying thing was that he managed to hide this dark side from the world with a varnish as dazzling as it was deceptive. The imperial couple suffered from this indomitable nature, ignoring all concessions from their beloved child, constantly wondering if, as an only child, they had spoiled him too much, or given him too much freedom, to the point where he was no longer aware of limits, and believed he had the right to do whatever he wanted, not caring for a minute about the consequences.

Besides, at the moment when all the people were waiting impatiently for their appearance, their hearts united in the same pleasure, their eyes riveted to the balcony of the blue palace, this son so worrying had still not returned. In fact, they had no idea where he could be since the day before, and just after they had urged him, not to say begged him, to stay at the palace in order to be as ready as possible for the great planetary celebration.

The worst thing was that the others, except for his faithful servant Kolez, seemed to be totally unaware of his savagery. It is true that if they did not know him in his intimacy and if they did not have access to his dark and deep thoughts, even they would never have guessed what he was. And it was true that outside, in the sight of people, he always wore with perfection a mask of blinding sublimity and inexpressible fascination, and that in paradox, captivated all the people, entirely, irremediably, inspired to his family a frightening and ineradicable fear.

The imperial couple still remembered the case of one of the noblewomen of a great illustrious family who seemed totally flamboyant and innocent to the world, but who, behind the curtains, sent the children to a reformatory for pure sadism and influence peddling. So their son returned her cruelty by simply doing worse than this elegant and skillful woman with a falsely naive face could ever do, he damaged half of her body, letting others see what she really was - ugliness, and then, what she had become, before bringing her to justice, and all this, in total invisibility. No one, except the imperial family, has ever understood what happened, and probably no one will ever know. And that was probably for the best. But it didn't end there!

No doubt, thought the couple, tortured with doubts, that they should have had the courage and conviction to stop him, at least to reason with him, or better yet to lock him away from all light, before the worst happened. However, because of their infinite, unconditional love for this child that everyone seemed to love so much, they did nothing. And besides, the object of all their thoughts and worries was making his grand entrance into the big meeting room.

- Father, Mother, here I am! And you have nothing to worry about, I am already ready to be seen and admired by our beloved people and our countless visitors as diverse and usually lively as you!

He had expressed himself with a joy a little too deceptive but quite casual which made his parents shake their heads.

- What?" asked the prince, looking at them with an impassive and mysterious air.

- Nothing, if we exempt, of course, your delay and your incredible indifference, which undoubtedly pushed you not to speak to us about your outing last night and even less about the place where you had gone, and that, in spite of our begging you not to do it, everything is perfectly fine!

Their son smiled, folding his hands as he approached them with natural nonchalance.

- Dear Father, I can't inform you of my every move, especially concerning my private affairs, it would be too embarrassing.

- A woman?

- Of course, a woman! confirmed the heir with eloquent gestures and a falsely disconcerted expression.

- I don't think there has ever been only one.

- And for my part, I don't see the difference.

His mocking, sadistic expression was frightening to see. His mother, the ruler Krilia, bit her lips in despair and responded by standing majestically in front of her son, staring him straight in the eye.

- With such vanity, I am not surprised.

The prince shrugged his shoulders, unmoved, easily supporting the haunted gaze of his mother.

- Why get angry, mother, as long as these girls are ready to go where she wants to go with their own will, although below mine it goes without saying, the problem does not appear.

The empress considered her beloved child with conscious eyes. Like his father, he wore a sumptuous imperial costume, bearing on his left side, where the heart was, the coat of arms of their family, with a long royal coat streaked with gold thread. His beautiful ashy black hair combed back revealed his slim face, identical to his father's, with fascinating features and eyes as clear as crystal, but in which nothing could be read except his love of life and his total certainty that he was not bothered by anything. As a mother, she didn't really fear him and, as such, he knew he would never hurt her, in any case with premeditation. Besides, the only person who could tame this terrible creature was her husband, but the latter was, despite his fear and torn feelings, so proud of his son's prodigious talents and beauty that he always ended up forgiving, and even forgetting, all his actions and whims. The empress smiled a disillusioned, but inevitably tender smile.

- You are the problem, my love.