The North

Eric

The North was the part of the Royal Kingdom everyone considered exotic. It was beautiful and untouched. Nature thrived and technology died a natural death. It called to the wild side in every royal. A royal visited the North for very specific reasons. One, to find their mate. Two, discover their power's limits. Three, peace of mind after a life changing experience. I was here for neither. I just wanted to see if I could teleport that far. Guess what? I could. Exhilaration filled me as I beheld the enormous mountains, dense forests and the ocean that was as far as the eye could see.

My parents had been preparing me for a season in this place. Future kings always came to North Royal. It gave them complete control over their immense power. I was eight but my power was growing with each day. I looked forward to seeing my limits if I had any. Intending to return before anyone spotted me I concentrated on the arena back home but an invisible barrier pulled me back.

I sent out my power to scare off anyone who might want an encounter with me. Father spoke of the North often even though most of the secrets of this place were not to be shared. Sending out your power meant one could recognize you as a royal. If the invisible barrier was a royal trying to keep me in the North they would reveal themselves soon. So I waited.

"Nice ring Your Highness." I immediately recognized my brother's voice. Only Edin would try to introduce his presence in that manner.

"Leaving without saying hullo to your only brother?", he drawled.

"I am not welcome here Edin, at least not yet." My eyes took him in and I could not help but wonder what growing up with him would have been like. Same height, different eye color, different hair color and yet our features were almost similar. His gun metal grays studied me as he walked towards me.

"You are even more powerful than I expected." he murmured.

"Does that surprise you?" I asked as I watched him circle me like a predator.

"How is father?", he asked.

"Same as always."

I kept my guard up because everything about Edin screamed trouble. His obsidian black hair, his calculating gaze, his snapping power just at his finger tips, the way he circled me and his bipolar personality. He would always look at me as his rival. The brother who possessed his greatest treasure. My eyes widened as he sent out his power. I immediately got paralyzed as his wave vibrations wrecked my body. I tried speaking to his mind but searing pain gripped me. Such was the beauty and menace of his abilities. The North had made him stronger. His power fed off fear but that was not the only thing his his abilities thrived on. Extreme power fueled his own.

We are the same age but if anything happened to father, you'd be too weak to rule.

Tell me what kind of fool teleports to the one place he can get his ass handed to him? He laughed like his own voice amused him.As he went on and on, I manipulated the current in my body to free myself and as soon as my mind was not cringing from pain I seized his mind. He was strong but his anger and pain blinded him to the truth. Within minutes he was howling in pain as my current washed over him.My mind immobilized his making him shiver. If I was an illusionist giving him a nightmare would make me smile. Family was complicated. Mine more than most. The responsibility of being the future king weighed heavily on me every single day of my life. The constant expectations from everyone and the undeniable power I was not allowed to abuse made my life one big struggle. The only thing that felt like clear skies was a green eyed dimpled five year old.

Our explosion of power attracted many royals. Two princes fighting was sure to do that. One of the elders put an arm band on Edin. I released him and watched as hatred unlike any I had encountered filled his gaze. His thoughts screamed his loathing for me. He felt betrayed but what was worse was the fact that something seemed to awaken inside him. A deep and loud chuckle, a whisper in the depth of his mind said,

"You'll regret this Your Highness."

The Elder waited until Edin was teleported away then his eyes snapped to mine, "It was very unwise of you Eric to come here without warning. King Ezra always warns us before his arrival. Edin is out of control and today he proved that the remedies are not working. As soon as he saw you, everything we've done for years was unravelled, rendered useless."

"I was wrong Elder Azel. Forgive me", I turned to leave but he spoke his voice taking on an eerie feel, "Your time will come sooner than you imagine. With every reign comes a test, an obstacle only the King can attest. Beware your greatest enemy might be closer than you think Young Prince. A beacon of light can only be your sight if you let it."

His legendary premonitions and visions left him drained. He touched my head and all he had seen transferred to my memories. A particular memory of a vision he had, touched my mind but like the words on my ring, I couldn't decipher the words on the wall.

"You'll understand when the time stands my boy."

He put his hand to my chest just as I planned to inquire about Edin. I felt his power push me through the winds of all climates till I arrived the heart of Royal.

I suddenly was in my parents room and what I saw made me teleport away in the same heartbeat. Exhausted I rested my elbows on the balustrades outside the great hall. The hall where every important ceremony occured. Preparation for the Mind Family's celebration was underway. Just as I planned on taking a bath, Reina like some vision in green settled beside me. Her dress was short, round and so pretty it made her reddish brown hair look red instead of brown.

"You are beautiful Reina," I murmured as my eyes beheld hers.

"Thank you Your Highness." She responded as she stared at everything but my face.

"Reina...", I started.

"There you are", shouted Caleb. "You're my partner in crime, why wasn't I invited for whichever crime you were committing? I chuckled as he slapped my back adding, "Go get dressed, Mind Royals care about diligence and punctuality."

Dressed and ready to be named the latest member of the Mind Family I descended the stairs as was customary with Caleb, Josh and Keith by my side. Enzo was part of the Heart family even though he was one of our closest friends. We had all been training since age four. Reina stood next to Enzo and they both laughed at the funny faces Caleb was making. Caleb was that person, unabashed and hilarious regardless of occasion. He was a kid in every sense, even if his observation skills rivaled that of adults. At the moment, his efforts were in reconciling Reina and I by ditching her next to me as soon as the official parts of the ceremony were finished.

The four of us were given tattooes behind the ears that were a replica of the human brain. They were only visible to Mind Royals and one's mate. We made an oath to honor the Mind Family values and to defend Royal with our gifts. I felt impatient with the whole procedure. I looked forward to the Heart Family ceremony and the Spirit one as well. Mind royals tended to be extremely meticulous which made the celebration seem like a funeral. It was bye bye games, welcome seriousness. Only Caleb stayed true to his mischievous attitude.

He poked me as I finished my oath. "lets go get the adult drinks", his mind whispered to mine. I had to keep my eyes on the elder speaking because I immediately had an image of us drunk and laughing our heads off. He had sent that image and my lips twitched.

The evening progressed quietly for me as I intentionally hid from sight. The King and Queen mingled and seemed to have the attention of everyone in the room. I sat on one of the balcony rails and watched Reina laugh with my friends. She had made it clear she detested my lie of omission to be precise.

I longed for her company but my pride kept me away. I escaped to my room and just as I picked up a book that seemed interesting a knock at my door stopped me.

Green eyes greeted mine as soon as I opened the door. The only green eyes I wanted to see.

"I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend. I promised to be there for you and I wasn't." She murmured. I brought my forehead to hers and whispered,

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you exactly who I am. It just didn't seem that important."

"You are very important Eric." She murmured

"I'll try not to let it get to my head." I chuckled

"I'll keep you humble, don't worry", she giggled.

"Thank you, you're already doing it Princess"

Her laugh was everything I had been craving.

Each passing day after that, we talked and laughed about nothing and everything. I showed her my world as a prince and she marvelled at my indifference to the prestige that being me entailed. She showed me her world and every bit of it soothed my soul. Reina became a constant for me. We trained each day, studied together, celebrated our victories and comforted each other in the face of adversity. Her strength amazed me, her wisdom inspired me, her kindness and compassion left me challenged. She would take my hand like it belonged in hers and lead me to our favorite place, the palace falls. I teleported to her home every single day and somedays we watched the stars and talked till dawn. The invisible three coded strand I felt when she came for the tryouts became more tangible as the seasons came and went.

I watched her get accepted by the squad and my closest brothers. They treated her like their little sister. Somedays I wondered how she could make me feel so many things and

yet I was unable to name or understand them.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and five years later we were the best of friends, inseparable, addicted to each other's company and relentless in whatever we set our minds to.