Sitting on the roof of the castle, Alex was staring blankly at the sky. He didn’t know what to think about what he found out. He wanted to rage and go berserk just so he could unleash all the heaviness he felt within him.
When Alex asked for the details of the prophecy, the prophetess told him that the vision only showed him killing the dragon using his sword. She also saw his legion of soldiers and that was it.
They also encouraged him to start this conquest now because they all feared the dragon. To them, it was a ticking time bomb that could blow up at any moment once it was triggered, with the potential to destroy everything. These were their thoughts because they didn’t know that a dragon master still existed so they were terrified that without a master to control it, the dragon would go on a rampage and destroy everything in its wake.
The vampires dreaded the dragon more than any other creature in this world. The vampires controlled the other creatures, apart from dragons, through fear because of their superior strength, but unfortunately for them, they couldn’t produce offspring as fast as humans. Their birth rate was extremely low and that was why their population remained small compared to humans. If the dragon annihilated them, the vampires would fall in number and when that happened, they would no longer be able to control the other, less superior races.
This was why the vampires were itching to kill the dragon at all cost because that would mean that they would reign supreme over everyone else in this world.
Thinking about all these things, Alex started to hate himself again. Everything was just too much. How could he still go back to Abigail when this prophecy was hanging above his head? How could he face her knowing that her beloved dragon would fall by his sword? What should he do?
His thoughts were a mess and he stayed on the roof for a long time, letting the rain fall over him. When he felt his thoughts going nowhere, he then leapt to the forest and vented his emotions, screaming as he uprooted large trees from the ground and hurled them towards another. How could fate do this to him?
“Abigail… tell me… what should I do?” he mumbled as he fell to his knees on the sodden ground, tugging his hair hard.
He stayed on the forest floor, unmoving until the sun peeked out of the horizon again. When the sun hit his face, he finally looked up, as if the sun woke him up from a nightmare. Alex returned to the palace, cleaned himself up and headed straight to the king’s room. It was a strange feeling, walking down the corridors with the other vampires bowing to him as he passed them by. Everyone treated him like he was already the king, but Alex couldn’t feel even a tiny semblance of happiness. He hated it deep within him because all of these people bowing at the sight of him were the same individuals who treated him like trash since he was a young boy. He just knew that these people were all hypocrites, including his father, the king.
Oh, the irony of it all. The moment he had been craving for for most of his life had finally come true and yet, he wanted none of it. Why is it that fate plays such games with his life?
He entered his father’s room again and stood a few meters from the foot of the bed.
“I am here to state my plan, your majesty,” young Alex said as soon as he stood before the king. His eyes, which had revealed an unsure, disbelieving expression the day before, now looked fierce, decisive and cold.
“Speak, Alexander.”
“The prophetess said she saw me leading a legion of soldiers. Our kingdom’s army could never form that number and as we are trying to avoid our species from being annihilated, a pure vampire army is not an option. So that means that the legion I would form would be made mainly of humans. I will need this kingdom’s army to conquer many human kingdoms and take their best soldiers with me. And in order for me to command the vampire army, you need to make me king now.”
Everyone was shocked. They did not expect him to make a decision so quickly and even devise a plan to act on the prophecy. They were suitably impressed, not only with his decisiveness but also at how he was able to come up with such a strategy. His plan was well thought out and even looked into the preservation of their race.
They also felt the change in the young prince’s aura and they couldn’t help but begin to feel intimidated by him. They couldn’t believe that this young man was that same useless and hateful half blood they used to treat like an invisible wallflower.
But, in the back of their minds, they still couldn’t accept that this half blood would ascend the throne.
There was silence inside the room for a long time until the king spoke up.
“I will crown you king once you kill the dragon, Alexander,” the king said.
Alexander wasn’t surprised by his father’s words. He looked like he had expected such an answer.
“Then, release an order giving me absolute power to lead the kingdom’s army.”
The room went quiet again. Alexander and the king had stared hard at each other, but eventually, the King could only do as Alex requested, even though he was obviously unwilling. His father’s acquiescence made Alex’s lips curve up into a wicked smile as he turned to leave.
The king released this decree and the moment the order was released, Alex went and personally chose the vampire soldiers he wanted to take with him. He chose not the best of best but the soldiers that weren’t under the king’s or the other princes’ thumbs.
He was going to build an army that would be loyal only to him.
