Chapter 22: Change Of Plans

Birds were singing in the trees, squirrels were frolicking in the bushes, chasing after each other. Professor Kal was smoking his pipe, his green eyes surveying the garden of the Royal Palace. Dawn had broken only a few minutes ago, but the palace was already alive with activity. Gardeners were already beginning their day's work, the chefs were busy preparing breakfast for the royal family.

A gentle knock was heard from his bedroom door, a maid had come to inform him that breakfast was served. Professor Kal politely declined, telling her to come get him when they were ready to begin the ritual. He had no need for food, although he could eat, he just felt that it was a waste of time to do so. He opened the Compendium of Curses, familiarizing himself with the ritual he was soon to perform.

…..

"Where's Ryan?" Laura asked Ben as he walked into alchemy class.

Ben directed his attention to the dark haired beauty sitting with her back straight at her desk. "He's sick. He woke up today looking just awful, he's staying in bed for the day."

Benjamin didn't know what his friend had come down with, he just knew that he wanted no part of it. Ryan looked as white as a sheet, he said every bone in his body hurt, like he had been run over by a speeding carriage. Ben even thought that it looked like he had lost some weight, but knew that was impossible over just one night. Ryan refused to go to the Academy's infirmary, opting to rough it out in bed.

Ben could only begrudgingly agree, packing his things and heading off to class without him. Today would be boring without his best friend by his side, but he would make it through. Ryan was lucky that Ben had all the same classes as him, that way he wouldn't miss out on any homework that might be assigned.

Ben told Laura all of this, her demeanor changing slightly. "It's not contagious is it? I can't afford to get sick."

Ben shrugged his shoulders as his only reply before heading up to his empty desk. They waited patiently for Professor Kal to arrive, the clock finally chiming out eight o'clock, but nothing happened. They all looked at each other, Professor Kal had only taught a few classes, but had always been right on time. They waited a few more minutes, the students started to talk amongst themselves, shifting in their chairs.

Just as a few students were talking about leaving, the door burst open, a young woman rushing through the door. Her faculty uniform was hastily put together, like she had woken up late and gotten dressed in the dark. She had long brown hair, put together in a messy bun. Her brown eyes, sitting behind a pair of thick glasses, scanned the classroom she had just entered.

Collecting herself and smoothing out the wrinkles in her uniform, the brown haired woman spoke. "Forgive me for being tardy, I'm your substitute Professor for the day, Professor Trout."

Laura raised her hand up above her head, earning a nod from Professor Trout. "Where is Professor Kal?"

"All I know is that he is taking care of some very important matters and that he should return tomorrow." Professor Trout explained in a squeaky voice.

Professor Trout waited a moment, looking to see if there were any more questions the students had. Not seeing any, she moved on, telling the students that they would just be reviewing material that they had already gone over. She hadn't had time to put anything together, and Professor Kal hadn't planned on being gone so hadn't left anything for her either. There was also the fact that without Professor Kal there, there was no alchemy equipment, so they couldn't brew any potions even if they wanted to.

…..

In a small, out of the way room, a magic circle had been drawn out on the floor. Runes and geometric shapes were put together in the shape of a heart. Most times, magic circles, or arrays, were just that, circles. Circles represented a never ending cycle, a beginning and an end, connected together. They were the most suitable when it came harnessing mana and applying it to magic. Rarely though, you would have a magic array in a different shape.

The odd shape would mainly be symbolic, not actually being a requirement to perform the said ritual. It was just that whoever had initially created the magical array put extra effort in constructing it so the shape would work as well as a circle would. This was one of those cases.

Professor Kal looked over the heart shaped array, finding its novelty intriguing. He was currently the only one in the dim room, Dean Petticoat had gone back to the Academy early in the morning, while Court Mage Reginald was triple checking the materials.

Kal was growing bored, the maid had come and ushered him here, saying they were ready to begin, only for him to find an empty room. He figured that the mother was saying her goodbyes to her family, one last time. He couldn't really understand that, he had more or less killed off his human side, he found it hard to understand the deeper emotions of people anymore.

The side door slowly creaked open, drawing Professor Kal's attention. In walked the Royal family, King Amine in the lead. Court Mage Reginald solomenly followed, then a few knights after him, carrying the cursed body of the First Prince. Professor Kal took up his position, getting ready to perform the ritual, only to have to wait a few minutes longer as the Royal family talked amongst themselves.

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He was actually growing a little bit annoyed, he had things he wanted to do, he didn't want to waste anymore time here. He knew better than to rush them though, he may be dead, but he wasn't stupid. The knights gently placed the First Prince down on the floor, on the right side of the heart. He heard loud sobbing and arguing coming from the Royal family, he couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh, seeing the Queen giving the King a piece of her mind.

Professor Kal didn't know what they were fighting about, and he didn't care, he just wanted to either complete the ritual, or go back to his research, it was the same to him. Something happened though, the door opened once more and in walked several sharply dressed nobles. They filed into the room, looking like they were not quite sure why they were there. The Queen was still fiercely arguing with the King until a few knights came over and actually held her back, allowing the King to step forward.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice." King Amine started saying, gesturing towards the nobles that had come.

"I'm sure you are all questioning why I have summoned you here. The truth of the matter is…" He paused, taking a deep breath, trying to steady his shaking body.

"You are all here to witness my last words."

His words caused everyone present to gasp, the Queen's sobs grew louder as she struggled against the knights that were begrudgingly restraining her. His two young daughters also started to cry harder, finally realizing what was happening. Professor Kal looked on with an indifferent face, not caring who was going to die, just wanting them to hurry it up. Although, this was a turn of events that made it a little more interesting.

"Alexander, my son, and First Prince, heir to the throne, is going to die unless I take his place. As the King of our great nation, it is my responsibility to ensure that the line to the throne is secure, but more importantly, as a father, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety and well being of my children." King Amine said, letting his words sink in.

Everyone present had children, except for Kal, they all could understand the lengths a parent would go for their child. They all were strong supporters of the King, that was the main reason they were invited here today, they understood that King Amine expected them to help guide his son when he took the crown for himself.

"With that said, Alexander will take the crown when I have passed. You are all my closest advisors and confidants, I want you all to do the same for my son. I trust that you will guide him, nurture him as a leader, since I will not be able to. He is of age, but still young; he will make mistakes, be there for him, that is all that I can ask of you." He said this with heavy words, looking at the shocked faces around him before landing on his wife of the last forty years.

King Amine, finished with his words, nodded towards Mage Reginald. He walked over, laying down on the cold hard floor next to his only son. He had gone over the ritual with Reginald the night before since he couldn't sleep. Reginald was the only one that knew that the King was the one sacrificing himself, he had kept his wife out of it, only telling her once they all had entered the room. This was the only way in his eyes, he couldn't live the rest of his days without her. Yes, he was being selfish, but he was the King, he had the right to be.

Reaching out, he grasped the cold, limp hand of his son, feeling the dampness of his flesh hurt his heart greatly. Reginald walked over and wrapped both of their hands in a pure silver chain, going from the First Prince's elbow to the King's. Then he lit a few candles that surrounded the pair, walking off to the side, nodding towards Professor Kal.

"Finally, let's get this show on the road." Professor Kal said, earning the ire of everyone present.

Pulling the chilling book out of thin air, Kal proceeded to open it to the correct page. His eyes scanning over the now defunct language, he started to recite the words. His voice carried a very distinct tone, sounding almost alien to all that were present. No one could understand anything he was saying, but could see the results from the incantation.

The heart shaped magical array started to glow a healthy pink, the runes a shade darker than the geometric shapes. King Amine was scared, as the mage in the black robe continued to recite the spell, he could feel something invading his body. Fatigue washed over him, a sense of dread invading his mind. He grit his teeth, bearing the weight of his decision to forfeit his own life to save his son's.

He looked over to his son, the color of his skin was slowly gaining a more healthy color. The silver chain that linked their arms together was radiating a noxious green light as it transferred the curse over to its new victim. He was relieved to see that it was working, to know that his son would be ok, but was also terrified at the same time.

He was going to die soon, one could say they were prepared to die, but they would be lying. No one could truly be prepared to die, the fear of the unknown, the anxiety of leaving everything behind would be almost unbearable. He was experiencing all of those hostile feelings as he lay next to his only son, but still embracing them. The immense love that he had for him fought back any regret trying to surface.

The ritual didn't take long to finish, other than the pink light coming from the heart, and the green light from the silver chain, nothing exciting happened. Alexander, the First Prince, was still unconscious, but his color was now normal and the sweat beading on his skin was gone. King Amine on the other hand looked awful. He was still conscious, but was moaning in pain as the curse wrecked his insides. His skin was clammy and a deathly greenish black color, even his hair had started to fall out.

Mage Reginald rushed to his side, tipping a potion up to his lips, forcing him to drink. Queen Elizabeth also went to her husband, tears streaming from her eyes. Professor Kal was like a fly on the wall, everyone completely ignoring him as they tended to the two. Soon, the room was empty once more, leaving the Professor all by his lonesome.

With nothing more to do, Professor Kal opened yet another Warp Gate. He was already proficient in the spell, but with how often he had been casting it as of late it was becoming second nature. He was going to see Dean Petticoat, he had much to talk about with him. He was wanting to set up a special class that he would teach himself, wanting to prepare the students better for the outside world.. He had a feeling that they would need it sooner rather than later.

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