Far Sighted

The man who claimed the throne and has sat on it for more than five decades finally reveals himself, a man who is supposed to be wrinkled from head to toe, whose hair is assumed to be pitch white.

The world could not have been more wrong; this man with gleaming black hair with a style that no one has seen, the face of a young gentleman who could've been mistaken as the son of the King, was this the son of the King and the King had fallen without anyone knowing?

Could he be an impersonator who hid his identity to keep people from finding out that he stole the throne?

Who was this handsome man that stood healthy and charming that did not match the age of the man who ruled the kingdom?

Questions and gossip would be heard across the entire continent if this was made public, but the Reporter did not look at him as an impersonator or the heir to the throne and was just admiring the beauty that could be seen.

This man is the King, the same man whose age is more than eight decades old, the same man whose heart does not match his beauty and gazes from his throne at his subjects as mere pawns in his game of chess.

Fear did not overrule the Reporter as he was too distracted from this lovely sight; respect and praise are all the Reporter can think about in this crucial meeting between him and the King.

Coming out of his daze, the Reporter would respond to the King's order. "I will take my leave then."

As the Reported assumed the meeting to be finished, he attempts to leave, but before making it to the large doors, he is stopped halfway as the King orders him to halt.

"M-May I be of more help to you, my king?" Confusion and terror run through him as he finds the sudden halt weird.

"Retract my order on killing the kid, bring him back alive, and interrogate him even if he doesn't know where Ray might be; he may have indications of where he might have gone."

"Yes, my king, I will now take my leave."

The Reporter would sigh in relief that he gets to live a little longer. Bowing to the King, he wastes no time reaching the door, finally leaving the throne room quickly.

After exiting the throne room, the man whose face was either constantly terrified or showed admiration in front of the King puts on the most cold-blooded face that no one but the guards who stand at the large doors could see.

At a standstill, the reporter turns his head at the large doors, eventually turning back as he walks and disappears into the dark hallways.

...

The Reporter stands outside a single polished wooden door where he would knock before hearing the sound of a girl allowing him entrance.

Immediately after, the Reporter opened the door, which revealed lights so bright that they lit up everything around, including the darkest of corners.

Taking a moment for his eyes to adjust, the Reporter finally walks inside this seemingly bright room where the first things to be seen are stuffed animals, pink walls, gowns, and gorgeous dresses laid around the floor.

As the Reporter's eyes wander around the room, he shows no change in emotions but secretly feels disgusted at the mess before him.

His eyes keep wandering until they reach a girl with long black hair and eyes that sparkle as if she's always looking into a beautiful sunset.

The girl before him is non-other but the only child to the king—an only child whose existence is not wanted by the King nor anyone who knows of her existence.

The princess of Boly is a fifteen-year-old girl who lives a sheltered life behind the castle walls and is a rare beauty that no one has seen or heard of but the King, the Reporter, and anyone who attends to her daily needs.

Although no one wants her, she is still the King's only child, so the Princess is treated like any other child, but only that she can't leave the castle without angering everyone, especially her father.

The Reporter kneels before the Princess as her title still holds power and authority as any royalty should.

The moment the Princess was born, she was treated horribly by everyone around her simply because she was a girl and was not born a male, whereas it is common sense that the next heir to the throne should be and always be a man. So it only took one person to give meaning to her secluded life, a person who has treated her not as a burden or a waste but as the Princess of the kingdom.

"You may get up, Sir Lucius. We have known each other for far too long for you to be kneeling before me, and we both know that my title as Princess is nothing but an empty title in my case, so there is no need for such formality." The Princess would say in surprise as she grabbed Lucius by the arm, trying to pull him up.

"You are the only heir to the throne, and it's only expected of a servant to treat you as such, and please, if we're not speaking formally, you may drop the `sir,`" Lucius would say as he slowly gets up, holding onto the princess's arm.

"Very well. Now that we got that out of the way, may I ask what you've come here for?" The Princess would ask as she turned her back to Lucius, walking towards her gigantic bed that takes up half of the room but still leaving space and then sitting down.

"Princess-"

"I thought I said no formalities." The princess would interrupt Lucius.

"Yes, Miss Reanna." Lucius would stare while waiting for Reanna to react to his `less formal` speech.

Sigh

"I guess that works." Reanna would sigh in frustration, but this silent argument would drag on for too long, and she just wanted to get to the reason behind Lucius's sudden visit.

"Ray has been discovered." Lucius would say as he closed his eyes as if he was waiting for a massive reaction from Reanna and was dead on the mark.

"WHAT!" The princess would jump out of her bed and yell in an astonished tone. "Where was he found?" Reanna could not help but be demanding.

"The lord of Glary Plains, Lord Kieron, has reported his whereabouts a few days ago."

"Do we know where he is now?" Reanna would calmly ask.

"No, but we know that he is with a kid and hope to interrogate the towns-folk to get a hint of where he may be going, but I doubt we'll get anything."

"My father must not find him before I do, or our country as we know it may change for the worst. Please, Lucius, come to me first when you get any news about Ray. " Reanna would tilt her eyes down as she sighed in stress.

"I'm sorry, Lady Reanna, but I must always report to the King first and foremost, or the King will become suspicious of me and have my head before I could ever help you." Lucius would say in a sorrowful tone.

Although he admired and loved the King, for Lucius, Princess Reanna was a little more special to him.

His feelings towards the King are loyalty and admiration, but why did he give special attention to Reanna?

Reanna herself was stuck on the same question, a man who did not question the King nor ever disobeyed a single order and even openly admired him, why was he willing to sacrifice his life for an unwanted daughter whose power is non-existent and cannot guarantee Lucius safety if he ever gets caught talking to the princess?

The answer to this question is almost impossible to answer.

Is he a spy sent to satisfy her need to go against the King and make it seem like he is on her side?

Does he actually feel loyalty towards the King, or is he putting up a front?

Does he seek something from the Princess that she has and no one else does, but what would that be?

The endless possible answers to Lucius helping Reanna are hard to figure out, but all Reanna can do is trust him, for he is the only one who can give her what she wants.

"I understand, but please, once you hear any more news about Ray, report it to me immediately after reporting to my father, " Reanna asked as politely as she could. "Though I may be limited to resources, my father has a whole country to run, making it easier for me to do things quicker." Reanna would think to herself.

"I will do my best, but, just to remind you, I don't know when the next time I'll receive information, and we only have a few small windows of opportunities to meet. If I ever get caught or on the verge of being caught, you will never see me again and have to do this all on your own." Lucius would say in a stern tone.

"That much is obvious; you and me both have realized the consequences that may come to what we are doing the moment I asked for your help, and you accepted it. Just do what you have been doing, and we'll both be closer to our goal." Reanna would say in an annoyed tone.

"Our time is up; it's time for me to leave. The next time I show up, I'll hopefully have Ray's location." Lucius would turn his body to face the door as he walked towards it.

As soon Lucius disappeared into the dark hallways, Princess Reanna would head towards her bed, picking up her mountain of pillows and grabbing a notebook that seemed to have been under one of the pillows.

After picking up the notebook, she proceeds to open it and write in it; with a serious look in her eyes, she finishes up what she wrote and closes the notebook putting it back to where she had it and moving all her pillows back, leaving nothing out of place.

~ [1 Year Later]

Back in the forest where Zac and Ray isolate themselves, massive explosions can be seen and heard from miles away, the trees surrounding the area have been knocked down and destroyed, and hundreds of birds fly away from their nests, as it seems the explosions do not stop.

Amid these explosions, two people fight, leaving the destruction they cause as proof of their strength.

The two people who fight are so fast that no one with normal eyes can catch what they are doing, and they only seem like a blur.

As both of these people come to a stop after days of sparring, looking at Zac sweating as if he was just near a volcano about to erupt, but when looking at Ray, Ray leaves not a single droplet of sweat on his skin, almost like he put no effort into the days of sparring.

Envy and frustration are seen in Zac's eyes for how powerless he is against Ray, but it's expected after only a few months of training, letting his emotions settle down quickly because he is too tired to have such heated emotions.

"You're getting better; to keep up for three days is something to be proud of. I don't even think I would have been able to get as strong as you were now when I was your age." Ray says happily, showing no hint of sarcasm in his compliment.

"REALLY!?" Zac yells in excitement as if he just recovered in an instant. "Does that mean I'm ready now?"

"Whoa, you're nowhere near powerful to be ready," Ray says as he chuckles. "I'll tell you when you're ready; in the meantime, we should get ready to head out for tomorrow."

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Zac would ask, removing his excitement and turning it into confusion and disappointment.

"We're heading back into town; I have some business there."

"What kind of business?" Zac's confusion would grow stronger.

"Stop asking; you'll see when we get there; in the meantime, go for a 20-mile run," Ray would demand.

"Ah, c'mon, I'm still dying from our spar. Can't I just take a rest for the night?" Zac would whine.

"Stop your whining and get to it, or I'm not taking you." Ray would say in irritation.

"ugh"

As dawn turns into night, owls, crickets, water smashing into rocks in a stream close by, and the panting of Zac finally reaching his twentieth mile can all be heard.

It isn't easy to get lost in the forest, especially when most trees surrounding the area are destroyed. Zac was knowledgeable about it, but he still found himself to be lost.

Being lost in a forest at night would worry almost everyone, especially adults specializing in hunting or hiking, but Zac didn't care. Rather than realizing how far away he ran, he's only lost in his mind, contemplating revenge and all the possibilities he can do after he's grown stronger than everyone he's ever known.

But what he hadn't thought of until now was what he would do after his revenge.

Would he settle down and live the rest of his life in a house?

Would he start a family?

Would he get a job and work for the rest of his life?

The future that awaits him is something that he nor Ray can predict, but that's okay because Zac will just do what he can do for now, and that's becoming stronger to exact his revenge like he's promised himself to do over and over again the moment he was given a chance to live after being rescued from that fire.

"I guess it's time to head back now." Zac would say to himself as he left to find his way back.

Chapter End.