Descent To The Throne

It was a beautiful midsummer afternoon. The sun was glaring overhead, and the sky was a light shade of blue. It was roughly 12:00 PM and in the courtyard below, many figures could be seen wearing full suits of armor with sweat dripping from their foreheads.

There was a cobblestone opening where a young boy of 12 years was swinging a greatsword that was larger than his body. The boy had handsome features and had his eyes closed. Despite his eyes being closed, with each swing he took he adjusted his feet and moved his body as if he was actually fighting someone. Suddenly, the boy dove to the side and brought his sword to the side of his waist. He then swung upwards at a speed so fast that it caused a sonic boom.

After this swing, the boy stood still for a moment with his sword held out in front of him.

"Ha… Ha… Ha… I wonder what Kai's gonna think of that move next time we spar." Said the boy whilst gasping for air. The boy walked over to the side of the opening and picked up a sheathe. He slid his sword into it and slung it across his back.

An old man wearing a butler uniform walked over. He had white hair and a white mustache that gave him a reliable look despite his age.

"Young Master Cole, the banquet starts in 2 hours. There are some people arriving early to see you, so you must get ready." Said the man.

"Got it, Robert. I'll be ready in a bit." Replied Cole.

"Your father has high expectations of you today. You are to meet the woman who will one day become your fiancee. If you do not give an appropriate first impression, punishment may be needed."

"I got it, I got it. Don't worry, Robert, your lessons haven't gone to waste!" Said Cole with a toothy grin. Robert smiled back and bowed down to Cole as he walked away.

As Cole walked away from the opening, he couldn't help but to observe his surroundings. He looked towards the metal fence that separated the castle from a forest. He could see the sun peeking through the heavy leafage above onto the ground. Unbeknownst to him, he had actually stopped walking as he observed the forest.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His eyes bugged out and he struggled to stay standing.

"Ugh!" Groaned Cole as he grasped at where his heart would be. "I've got to get back to my room quickly."

Cole sprinted away while grasping his chest. His face had a pained expression on it. As Cole was running, he approached a massive castle. He sprinted towards the entrance.

"Good day, young master." Said the guards who were posted by the entrance.

Cole gave no reply as he ran inside. When he passed through the entrance, he entered a massive room with one giant staircase on each side of the room. The walls were decorated with paintings of warriors in battle.

Cole ran up the staircase to the left, skipping two steps at a time. When he reached the top, he took another left.

Cole ran past two doors before entering the third and locking the door.

"Damn it, why did it have to be today, of all days?" Said Cole, gasping for air with each word. He ran over to his closet and opened the door. On the inside of the door was a mirror. Cole quickly took his shirt off to observe his appearance.

Cole's spiky, black hair had become wavy and red with a few black strands here and there. He also now had two white horns on the side of his head. His eyes had gone from being a bluish green color to becoming heterochromatic, with his left eye becoming yellow and his right eye becoming purple. His irises had become slits like what a beast's eyes would look like.

The upper part of both his arms had gone from just having smooth skin to being covered in red scales. He also had a tail where his tailbone had been.

He then turned around to see that on his back were two crimson wings that looked like those you could find on a dragon. At the end of each wing was a sharp claw.

"It's getting harder and harder to control each month. There must be a solution for this." Shouted Cole.

"Young Master, the guests should be arriving in 30 minutes, please get ready as soon as possible." Shouted Robert from outside the room.

"Dammit, I completely forgot about that!" Said Cole under his breath.

"I'll try and get out as soon as I can, please make sure nobody enters this room in the meantime." Shouted Cole towards the door.

"Understood. I will inform everyone to not enter." Replied Robert.

"Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. What should I do?" Said Cole while pacing around his room with a troubled expression on his face.

"If I'm found out, who knows what will happen to me? I'll probably be killed or exiled or something. And even those aren't the worst case scenarios! I need to come up with an idea ASAP."

Suddenly, Cole's head perked up.

"Now that's what I call genius!" He said with a smile.

He rummaged around his closet for a bit before finding a black, hooded cloak. He moved his wings around a bit and folded them inwards on his back.

"So much for first impressions I guess."

Cole put the cloak on and made sure to keep his wings and tail pressed against his back. He looked in the mirror one last time to see if he looked somewhat natural before leaving the room.

Outside of the room, Robert looked over and did a double take.

"You- Young Master… what are you wearing?" Exclaimed Robert in shock.

"Robert, if anyone asks, tell them I sustained an injury while training and am too embarrassed to show my face. You got that?"

"I- I… I understand, young master."

"Thank you, Robert." Said Cole in a thankful tone.

Cole walked towards the staircase and descended. When he reached the bottom, he turned and walked in between the two staircases, along a long, red carpet.

As Cole walked, he started to worry. What if I'm found out? What will dad do to me since I'm wearing this?

Cole reached the end of the hallway and entered a large room with ten tables out, which were currently being set up by the maids. When he walked in the room, everybody started to stare at Cole, but he ignored them and kept walking towards a spiraling staircase.

He walked up the staircase and reached a hallway that had a door at the end. He opened the door to see a muscular auburn haired man sitting on a golden throne with countless papers sprawled out on the desk in front of him. As soon as he entered the room, the man started to glare at him, releasing a wave of reiki that brought him to his knees.

"Cole. This is not the time for another one of your stunts. Tonight is a very important night for both you and our family." Said the man without lifting his reiki. "Why. Are. You. Wearing. THAT!" Shouted the man with a booming voice.

"Father… I was injured during training and don't want to show my face tonight." Said Cole with his forehead covered in sweat.

Cole's father released his reiki. "I'm very disappointed in you, Cole."

Cole stood up but before he could, his father was already behind him.

"Something tells me your little injury story is just a cover up. Why don't you show me what's under that hood of yours." Said Cole's father while moving his hand towards Cole in order to take off the hood. Cole was unable to move. His body wouldn't listen to him as his fathers hand creeped closer and closer to him.

It's all over… thought Cole. I'm totally done for now.

"Lord Isaac, the guests are here!" a voice resonated from behind Cole. He and Isaac both looked towards the door to see a knight standing there and bowing. Isaac stopped and started to glare down at Cole even more intensely.

"I guess that will have to wait."

Cole and Isaac walked towards the door and left the room, with the knight following behind them after they had exited the room.

"Cole. If you try any funny business, then you're dead." Said Isaac loud enough so that only Cole could hear. Cole gulped and descended the staircase.

When he reached the bottom, he saw four well dressed blonde people, two men and two women. One of the men looked to be around 50 while the other looked to be younger than Cole.

"Lord Isaac, I present to you the king and queen of the Constella Empire and their children."

"Isaac! How long has it been! Where are your wife and children?" Asked the king. He had warm, blue eyes that gave off a dignified look when paired with his long, blonde hair. He wore a purple robe garnished with silver and gold along the arms. He wore a golden crown atop his head, further completing his regal look. He was certainly on the chubbier side, as his stomach was clearly bulging outwards, but he certainly wasn't obese.

"Cole is right here. I am unaware of the other children's locations, however. As for my wife, she should be getting ready right now." Replied Isaac.

Cole looked towards the younger male and cursed at himself in his head. I should've known HE was coming. This is the worst possible time. I'm gonna get exposed…

"Why don't you introduce yourself, Amy?" Said the queen to the younger female. The queen had dirty blonde hair that was tied up into a bun. She had a well endowed chest and wore a light blue dress. Her neck was adorned with an exorbitant amount of jewelry, and she had sapphire earrings on each of her ears. Resting atop her head was a silver tiara.

The younger female took a step forward. She looked to be a few years younger than Cole, but anyone could take a look at her and see someone who would without a doubt grow into a beautiful young lady. She had straight blonde hair that reached down to her waist. She wore a white dress and held the sides to curtsy. Adorning her neck was a silver necklace. She opened her mouth to speak.

"H- Hello. I'm Amy. I'm supposed to be your fiancee, but tonight we should just get to know each other." She said in a rehearsed manner, despite biting her tongue accidentally while speaking.

"Um… if I may… Why are you wearing that cloak?" Amy asked Cole.

Oh god... Thought Cole.

"We- Well, you see… I was training and kinda injured myself… I'd rather not show my face because of it." Replied Cole.

"O- Oh. Well, I hope it gets better!" Said Amy with an innocent smile.

Suddenly, the younger male started to laugh.

"Ha, Cole, you got injured training? That's so funny!" Said the younger male with tears of laughter in his eyes. He wore a blue suit and a white button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up all the way to his shoulders. His navy pants were smooth and ironed, and he wore brown leather shoes.

"Why don't you show me the injury? Hey, come here, Amy. You're a healer, aren't you?" Said the younger male.

"Oh- Okay, big brother."

"It's fine, Kai, you don't need to see it." Said Cole nervously.

"Nah, come over here, Cole." Said Kai as he reached over to try and take off Cole's hood.

"Don't touch me!" Shouted Cole as he knocked Kai's hand away.

"Whoa dude, chill out. This isn't like you, why are you acting like this?" Exclaimed Kai in surprise.

"Just… don't. Not right now."

Amy had stopped where she was due to nervousness. She saw how Cole had lashed out at Kai and had become frightened.

"You know what Cole? No. I'm not listening. I'm gonna take off that hood no matter what." Said Kai as he sprinted towards Cole.

Cole took a defensive stance as Kai approached him and they started to exchange blows.

"My, my… Isaac, your child is even stronger than I thought!" Exclaimed the king. Isaac gave no response, and kept on observing the two fighting.

Suddenly, Kai threw out a right hook which Cole tried to block, but took his arm back before reaching out with his left hand. It was a feint!

Cole tried to knock Kai's hand away, but to no avail. Kai had looked under Cole's hood.

Kai went silent. He had an expression of shock on his face for a second, before speaking again. Thankfully, no one had noticed the look on his face.

"Hey, what do you mean injured? There's nothing there!" Exclaimed Kai.

"Wh- What?" Exclaimed Cole softly.

"I knew it. Just another stunt of his. COLE! GET DRESSED NOW!" Screamed Isaac.

"Pl- Please excuse me." Said Cole to Amy as he ran off to go to his room.

"I swear, I know that kid is full of promise and talent, but he wastes it with stupid pranks like that!" Said Isaac with a sigh.

"I never thought your child would be that strong. I had heard from Kai before, but now that I've seen it in person he clearly has the potential to become a force to be reckoned with!" Said the king.

"I know, Hans, but he wastes all his time on pranks and sword training. He probably doesn't know a thing about etiquette."

"Amy, did he not look handsome? He surely inherited his looks from his fat- I mean, Mother." Said the queen, quickly catching herself before saying something she shouldn't have. The king seemed to have missed the mistake, however, and was currently downing a bottle of wine.

Moments later, a tall, beautiful woman entered the room. She had glistening black hair that reached down to her waist and wore a beautiful, light green dress. On her neck was a single golden necklace decorated with various gemstones. She had bluish green eyes that seemed to glow with her radiant beauty, and wore jade earrings. Her chest was not as large as that of the queen, but she was still quite well-endowed nonetheless.

"Ugh… it's Natalie…" Groaned the queen while rolling her eyes, making no attempt to hide her discomfort with the woman who had just entered the room.

Natalie walked towards the king and queen and spoke.

"It's an honor to be in the presence of the king and queen of the Constella Empire. I have been waiting for this day for ages." Said Natalie with a radiant smile.

"Come on, Natalie, don't be like that. We're all old friends!" Said the king with a laugh. The queen looked towards her husband's crotch to see that he was certainly enjoying her presence, which furthered her displeasure.

"Hello, Natalie. It's a… pleasure to see you again." Said the queen with a crooked fake smile. Her mouth quivered as she tried to keep it from turning to a frown.

"It's good to see you too, Leah." Responded Natalie. "Have you all met Cole?" Continued Natalie after giving Isaac a kiss.

"Yes, but he certainly was… well, how do I put this… he was quite strange, to say the least." Responded the King.

Natalie's smile immediately became an expression of seriousness. "Where is Cole right now?" She asked.

"He should be in his room changing. He'll certainly be back in a bit." Said Isaac, who unknowingly let out a bit of his reiki with those last few words.

"I'm going to go check in on Cole, I'll be back in a few minutes, Isaac. Well, it was great to see you guys!"

"Aunt Natalie, why did you ignore us?" Asked Kai with a pout.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kai. How is your training coming along?" Asked Natalie apologetically.

"Really well! Maybe I can beat uncle Isaac sometime soon!"

Isaac responded with a stifled laugh, to which Natalie glared at him. Isaac immediately stopped and stood up straight.

"Well, I'm going to check in on Cole now. See you in a bit!"