Potion or Poison

"Marcus, drop it." The king commanded his youngest son, he knew that he was the one that had sent up the pillar of energy to protect Nicholas.

"But father-" Marcus tried to explain his actions but the king looked at him with his piercing purple eyes.

Marcus glanced at Nicholas and frowned as he dropped the pillar of energy. This act allowed Owain's attack to hit Nicholas, sending the fourth prince flying across the training grounds, slamming him against the wall.

"I'll call for a Corporali Mage to heal him." The king said as he turned and left wanting to ensure that his weakest son was healed soon.

Having seen how strong of an attack Owain had sent towards Nichiolas, there was no doubt that the damage would be great.

While the King left to get help, Nicholas used whatever magic he could muster to heal the worst of his injuries. Had he not done that he would have passed out or maybe even died due to the force of the attack Owain had used.

Owain clicked his tongue and shook his head as he approached Nicholas.

"You are a shame to our bloodline." He hissed as he picked Nicholas up from the ground and pushed him against the wall.

Nicholas glanced to see if any of his siblings would come to his aid, but the others simply ignored him while Marcus remained glued to where he stood.

"Why does our father favor you? Treating you like a glass figurine, rushing out to seek help the moment you get hurt?" Owain asked as he looked Nicholas in the eyes, trying to instill fear in his younger brother.

"Pathetic." Owain spat as he threw Nicholas back down on the ground, just in time for Regan to come rushing in to heal Nicholas.

"Your highness." Regan bowed as he waited for the prince to allow him to approach.

"Make sure to patch him up well, father will have a fit if this one is broken too soon." Owain mocked as he walked away, calling Marcus over to spar with him.

"I've healed the worst of them." Nicholas said quietly, making sure his brothers and father did not hear them.

"Make it quick." The king called out to Regan. "Time is of the essence."

"He is almost fully healed, your majesty." Regan called out as his magic mixed with Nicholas' in order to hide the fact that the prince was healing himself.

Nicholas glanced at Regan's mana mark, he noticed that it had barely moved.

"You need to do more work, if you have too much mana they will suspect me." Nicholas whispered as Regan did as he asked, not bothering to ask the prince any questions.

"Are you done?" The king called out from where he stood, watching the two elder princes practice their magic against one another.

"Yes, your Majesty, his highness has been healed." Regan told the king as he closed the last visible wound on Nicholas' body.

"Good, good, go ask for someone to give you a potion to replenish your mana." The king ordered.

"Thank you, your majesty." Regan bowed as he rushed out of the training grounds, past the king and the other princes. He stole a glance back at his prince to ensure that Nicholas was well.

When the doors closed the king resumed observing his elder sons.

Nicholas moved closer to observe Marcus and Owain spar. From the corner of his eyes he noticed flashes of orange interacted with blue Cruor magic.

"Zeph!" King Alexander called his son's name in a stern tone as the fighting came to a halt.

From what Nicholas could recall, orange magic was the tell tale sign of Natum magic being used, Zeph, the king's second son was his child by the Natum clan.

Nicholas couldn't help but wonder why Zeph's Natum magic was orange while his Corporali magic turned blue. He made a mental note to ask Dion and Connor later when he saw themmin private.

"I said Cruor magic only." The king scolded his second son, who bowed his head and apologized.

"I am sorry, father, I got carried away." Prince Zeph waited for the king to acknowledge his apology before raising his head and resuming his training with Prince Edward.

The eldest prince, Prince Edward, seemed unbothered by Prince Zeph's use of his Natum magic. As a matter of fact, Nicholas noticed that Zehp had only tapped into his Natum magic out of frustration because he couldn't land a hit on the eldest prince.

Out of all the other Princes, Nicholas could tell that Prince Edward was the most powerful. Not only was he the eldest, but he had the best control over his magic and most importantly his temper.

"Hey!" Nicholas heard Marcus shout at the older Owain as he threw the contents of the vial in his hand on Marcus.

What came next shocked Nicholas, he could feel Marcus' mana drain itself on its own. His eyes quickly snapped to glare at Owain who was victoriously ginning at his younger brother.

"Remember, Marcus, use up your mana and you can lose your magic, or worse, die." Owain laughed as a blue blast of energy threw Marcus to the ground.

Angered by Owain's tactics, Nicholas ran over and punched Owain on the jaw. As his fist made contact with Owain, he felt his magic pulling on something.

By the time Nicholas realized what was happening, Owain was weakened on the ground and Prince Edward and Prince Zeph pulled the two younger brothers apart.

Nicholas felt as power surged through him, he took Owain's mana, a feat he could not imagine he was capable of. In less than a second he had reduced the powerful Prince Owain into someone barely clinging to what mana was left in him.

"It seems that Nicholas knows when to take advantage of when opportunities present themselves." King Alexander commented as he approached his sons. "Marcus must have improved a lot for you to be weakened like this."

It was clear to all of the siblings that Owain barely had any mana left.

Prince Edward pulled out his hand and checked his mana mark and shook his head in disappointment.

"Did you not learn anything from our classes, Owain?" The eldest prince said, finally speaking up for the first time.

Prince Edward nodded at Prince Zeph, who rummaged through their brother's pockets in search of a Mana serum.

He was not disappointed when he found one that was clearly labeled.

To their surprise when Zeph tried to give it to Owain, the younger prince pushed it away, breaking the glass vial on the ground. When the glass broke, it started to sizzle and smoke.

"Poison." Nicholas hissed as he glared at Owain. It was clearly meant to harm someone else, the question was who.

Nicholas considered for a moment that Prince Owain was trying to hasten their father's death so that he could take the crown. Or maybe he carried it on his person at all times in case their father died and he needed to use it against one of his brothers.

"I think you boys have had too much excitement for the day." King Alexander told his sons as Owain drank the real vial of Mana Serum.

"Good job today, Marcus. I see you are getting better control of your Cruor Magic." The king praised his eldest son.

Prince Marcus gave him a forced smile and thanked his father for his praise.

"Let's go." Prince Marcus pulled Nicholas away as they bowed in front of their father, taking an alternate exit.

"Where are we going, Marcus?" Nicholas asked as Marcus took them around in what seemed to be circles within the winding palace halls.

"We both know Owain and probably Zeph will come after the both of us. We need to lose them before-" Marcus was cut off mid sentence when rocks covered with orange Natum magic began to fly in their direction, with one hitting Marcus on the temple, making him fall to the ground.