33. Prince Vitav

                                    

                                          
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Silence descended on the entire hall, as the large doors swung open, and they turned to see a highly unexpected guest.
A dignified old man stood there in black and silver robes, his long hair and beard as white as fresh-fallen snow.
"Arch Grand Mage Soren!" Grand Mage Sidian gasped and promptly fell to his knees.
Gasps filled the air after that, and both Grand Mages Patiel and Pariel fell to their knees, paying respect to the legend.
The shocked gasps were followed by murmurs and whispers as everyone wondered where Arch Grand Mage Soren had been hiding.
"A lot of you are projecting your thoughts." Arch Grand Mage Soren spoke as he approached the throne, a pissed-off expression on his face. "No, I was not captured by an enemy Kingdom, and nor did I elope with a young and beautiful noble Lady!"
A few mages and nobles had the good grace to flush!
"Forget it you old codger." King Vien respectfully rose to his feet, but his features shaped into an annoyed scowl. "If you didn't want strange rumors, you should not have vanished into thin air!"
"Ah. If it isn't our pretty-faced king." Arch Grand Mage Soren replied with a matching scowl, and he narrowed his eyes at King Vien's crisp blue-eyed gaze.
"Pfft!" A snort of laughter escaped Taze's lips, but he quickly tamped it down, noting the threatening glare from his father! "Ahem!" He coughed to disguise it further.
Taze was a bit surprised to see Arch Grand Mage Soren here, and he secretly applauded his father's quick thinking.
After Celia's warning, Taze had rushed to warn Grand Mage Soren. Apparently, the old man had recently figured out the source of Taze's illness and planned to visit the Palace to inform the King and accuse Vitav and Lady Flora.
Taze still wasn't sure how that would lead to his death, but he was more than certain that Vitav and Lady Flora had used something from the Dark Magic book.
To keep Arch Grand Mage Soren from approaching, Taze had revealed the Dark Flame to him, asking him not to bother accusing the culprits.
But Arch Grand Mage Soren had been in no mood to listen to the words of a sixteen year old.
So Taze had informed the King that Arch Grand Mage Soren was the Headmaster, and that he had helped him hide in Elfsworth! "Father, if you insist on grounding me, shouldn't he be grounded too?!!"
And so, a pissed King Vien sent a letter, banning 'Elfsworth's Headmaster' from leaving the Academy!
It had been enough to change Arch Grand Mage Soren's fate, but Taze could only imagine his severe annoyance when he received a summon from the same King!
To begin with, there was no love lost between the King and Arch Grand Mage Soren. Even before the ban and summon letters, the two had never seen eye-to-eye, as Arch Grand Mage Soren had always viewed King Vien as an unworthy 'son-in-law'!
Things worsened after King Vien fell into Lady Flora's trap, leading to an illegitimate Prince before the Queen's own child, and worsened further after the Queen's death.
It wasn't that the two hated each other... On the contrary, they respected each other, but would never admit it, and they preferred to bicker, than deal with their own grieving hearts.
Arch Grand Mage Soren turned to the hall. "I'll only do this once, so watch carefully."
With a wave of his hand, a large orb appeared, and it expanded to the size of a full grown man. With a snap of his fingers, visions appeared within the orb...