Plight of the Perfect Prince Read online

  Plight of the Perfect Prince

  Jason Paul Rice

  Copyright 2017 by Jason Paul Rice

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. All names are made up and used fictionally. Any resemblance to real people is completely coincidental. Any resemblance to real events is only part of the author’s imagination.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1 | Author’s Note: This is a prequel story from the Pearl of Wisdom Saga. An extended preview follows this book. | Hundreds of Years Ago | Before Donegal existed | Elmund

  Chapter 2 | Year 365 in the Kingdom of Donegal

  Chapter 3 | One Year Later

  Chapter 4 | Six Months Later...

  Chapter 5 | Six Months Later...

  Chapter 6 | Ali-Samuel Wamhoff | 17 Years Later | Year 384

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8 | One Year Later

  Chapter 9 | Several Years Later...

  Chapter 10 | Several Years Later...

  Chapter 11 | Dragon-Eyes

  TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES | VOLUME 1, PEARL OF WISDOM SAGA | OLLOR

  SIX YEARS LATER | THE HAPPY COUPLE | EDBURGH

  THE LITTLE DRAGON | JON

  BULLS CANNOT DEFEAT LIONS, CAN THEY? | RICEROS

  THE COUNCIL MEETING | ALI-STER

  Duke Aston Burke,

  Chapter 1

  Author’s Note: This is a prequel story from the Pearl of Wisdom Saga. An extended preview follows this book.

  Hundreds of Years Ago

  Before Donegal existed

  Elmund

  His days as a slave appeared to be over as he moved his stunted legs as fast as they would carry his tiny body. He couldn’t build up the courage to look back as he clawed at the crushed leaves and dirt, trying desperately to get to the top of the hill. The battle sounds in the distance started to die down.

  Elmund Harpsring slid back down an incline and turned around. He grabbed hold of some roots growing above ground to stop his slide. He steadied himself and reached a plateau with some woods and another hill ahead when he realized he had nowhere to go. He had no coin, food or serviceable skills. Elmund only knew he was headed for freedom. His days cleaning up after the monkeys on the pirateer ship were finally over.

  The dwarf came across a wagon trail in the middle of the woods. He debated whether to cross the path or follow it to the nearest town.

  Elmund decided to get on the high ground in case he had to defend himself despite the fact that he didn’t carry a weapon. The fifty-three-year-old dwarf had trouble catching his breath as he wheezed, lungs burning, but persisted upward.

  He reached the path and listened for horses. The battle sounds had faded out and he ran into the open area. A thunderous clomping of horses’ hooves filled the forest and he panicked. He wasn’t sure which way to go as the sounds kept increasing. Running to the high ground, he tried to disappear into the brush.

  His heart threatened to leap from his chest as he shifted around in a vain attempt to hide. He peered through the sparse mulberry bush and hoped the horses would pass by.

  “Hold it here, men,” a deep voice called out, and the procession of warriors came to a halt.

  Another man’s voice said, “We seen you littl’ man. Best to come out now. We got ten archers with your littl’ body in their sights. Your choice.”

  Elmund waddled out of the woods to find a ragged bunch of armed men on horseback with more soldiers on foot behind the cavalry.

  One man with a red mustache and long beard wore a seven-pointed crown made out of driftwood. He said, “What is it we have here? A half-man. I hear these things are good luck.”

  These things. These things. Glad I escaped slavery on that pirateer ship to get the chance to be treated like a thing. I hope it’s better than cleaning up monkey dung at least.

  The crowned man walked his snorting horse up to the dwarf.

  He pulled his sword and said, “I have claimed these lands as Donegal in the name of the Dus Wamhoff. You no longer stand in Goldenfield. Therefore, you belong to me now, half-man.”

  He placed the point of the sword against Elmund’s leather vest. The ornery destrier rocked back and forth making the dwarf uncomfortable as he stared down at the bloody blade.

  The apparent king spoke, “You ever try to run from me and your blood will grace this blade too. Wellford, you’re tasked with watching the half-man.”

  Elmund realized he had been picked up by the rebel force that had invaded Goldenfield. This band of common-looking men with crude weapons barely had any horses. Elmund surmised they would be crushed against the mighty Kingdom of Goldenfield.

  As the weeks went on, Dus Wamhoff and his men from the Androsi Isles kept unleashing sneak attacks on towns and villages near the coast. They moved inland and carved out a decent chunk of land while fending off the royal army.

  Then, the big battle broke out. Elmund had always stayed out of the fighting. It appeared the Wamhoffs were going to be driven back into the Sea of Green and Elmund ran. He always stayed near the back to avoid fighting, so nobody noticed that he was missing. He didn’t know where to go, but it looked like his days of dancing like a fool for Dus Wamhoff’s entertainment were over.

  Elmund ended up in the forest for a few days. His mind drifted to dark places and feelings of inferiority and starvation dominated his thoughts. He had gone from a slave charged with caring for monkeys to dancing for an illegitimate king. His life meant nothing.

  The dwarf had a square head, bug-infested long brown hair that was so greasy it almost looked black and a beard down to his belly. His wide, crooked nose, red albino eyes and dry, flaky skin didn’t make him a great match for any woman. Being born into a noble family couldn’t even help the dwarf. He walked awkwardly due to one leg being longer than the other and he stopped near a stream.

  Elmund was sharpening a flat rock to use as his way out of this world. He had heard of going to the Forever World after death and had come to the conclusion that it couldn’t be worse than this life. He finally carved a sharp point and held the gray rock in front of his face for inspection.

  He liked what he saw and pressed it into his wrist. As a pearl of blood appeared, a soft voice came to his ears.

  A soothing female tone said, “That’s not going to do it, you know?”

  About ten feet to the left of the dwarf stood an angelic blond woman with glowing golden skin. Sunlight wiggled through the canopy above and exposed the braided beauty’s freckled face and radiant blue eyes.

  Elmund blushed and looked away. He regained the courage to look back and squeaked, “Excuse me?”

  She responded, “That rock isn’t sharp enough to kill you. You’ll just hurt yourself badly.”

  “I could easily bleed to death out here using this rock,” the dwarf retorted.

  She shook her head and the platinum blond braids bounced from side to side. “No, you couldn’t. I wouldn’t let that happen to you.”

  Elmund couldn’t figure out what this woman was up to, but nobody was ever nice to him for no reason. “And who are you exactly?” he asked.

  She said, “I’m a friend when people are in need of one.”

  He laughed. “Ha, I don’t even have a single friend in this whole world.”

  “You do now. Do you believe in redemption?” she asked.

  The dwarf thumbed his long beard and answered, “I did. Many years ago.”

  She said, “Put down the rock, my friend.”

/>   Elmund turned and threw the stone into the creek. He faced the woman with perfect cheekbones and said, “Look at me. What is someone like me going to do in this world?”

  She smiled, showing her ivory teeth. “You don’t even know that you are going to be crucial in saving the world when the demons come back to try to conquer the earth again. Just like Rockarius.”

  Elmund shook his head. “Now I know you are jesting with me. All I’ve heard about my entire life is how great Rockarius is. I know it’s not hard, but I’ve been living in his dark and lonely shadow my entire life.”

  She said softly, “I know Rockarius.”

  “Sure you do. You fought right alongside him just like every other person I’ve ever met. People who weren’t even born then try to tell me they fought with Rockarius. That battle was almost one hundred years ago. How old can you possibly be?” he asked.

  “Two hundred and seventy-one,” she responded.

  Elmund scoffed, “No person can be that old. It’s impossible.”

  She grinned and said, “Nothing is ever impossible if you believe. It’s an antiquated saying, yet still holds true. A person most certainly can grow that old with a little help. Just as Rockarius is only a little taller than you. He had something nobody else did. Other men thought they had courage and confidence, but it wasn’t pure like that of Rockarius and the Gods took notice. I’ve never claimed to have fought with him. I met the man after the Great War with the demons. I know you’ve had some rotten days up to this point, but your life is just getting started.”

  Elmund chuckled. “Started? Most men my age have been dead for ten years. And half of them still look better than me. I could die any day now.”

  She asked bluntly, “What if I was to teach you magic?”

  The dwarf rolled his eyes. “What makes you think you can teach me magic?”

  The barefoot woman in flowing burgundy robes said, “I suppose I can’t really teach you magic as much as I can teach you about magic. The spirits must decide whether someone is worthy.”

  Elmund responded, “Then we might as well cancel this proceeding. Look at me. Do you really think I would be favored by the spirits?”

  She said, “Don’t confuse the Gods with the spirits. The spirits try to help those who’ve been disadvantaged by the Gods.”

  He told her, “Well, not many people have been more disadvantaged than me. I suppose this could be my ultimate failure before I die. My crowning demise, so to speak.”

  “You need to change those negative thoughts and flush them away. Let me show you what you can do if you believe and use your mind,” she said and walked over to the flowing creek.

  Elmund followed her over and she pointed to a clear, still area. Without saying a word, the braided beauty closed her eyes and held her palms to the sky. Hidden songbirds began to fill the forest with beautiful sounds. She raised her hands as the melodies intensified and a school of sturgeon raced over toward the still area.

  The fish seemed to appear out of nowhere as the braided beauty raised her right hand above her head. A branch on a nearby tree snapped off and flew through the air, landing in the blond woman’s open palm. She used her fingernails to craft the branch into a spear. She flung the piece of birch into the water and pulled out a decent sized sturgeon.

  The woman kicked some brush and kindling into a pile and collected a few larger pieces of wood. She opened her mouth, and fire shot out and lit the pile of small branches. The flames retracted back into her mouth and she put the larger pieces onto the fire. The bird singing suddenly stopped.

  She cooked and served the fish to Elmund, who devoured his first meal in days.

  “So I think it’s time I tell you the story of magic,” the woman suggested.

  “Alright,” Elmund agreed as he licked a white flake off his thumb.

  “When the first people of earth were spawned from the stars, they were happy as can be. Everything was a new experience, even death. They simply weren’t ready to leave their family members on earth even if it meant living in the heavens with the Gods. You can imagine how they struggled with this.”

  Elmund nodded in agreement.

  She continued, “They asked the Gods for special powers. The Gods granted their wishes with one exception; they could only use the powers in the heavens. The dead humans agreed. However, they couldn’t separate their feelings and went back to earth and lent their powers to their family members. The Gods immediately found out and sent those spirits straight to the hells.”

  “Oh my,” Elmund didn’t even realize he was talking out loud.

  The woman went on. “The Lord of the Underground, Travibero, wouldn’t have expected them to pull the same tricks again. Travibero soon found out they had tried to go back to their earthly families and fed the dirty souls to his dragons. This set off a supernatural war of magic on earth. The Gods and Plades tried to manipulate the war and Travibero sent his dragons into the action. His dragons did do severe damage during the war but at a huge sacrifice.

  “When the dragons shot fire from their mouths, they let the dirty souls escape. Those dark spirits fell back underground, turning into dead demons. These demons have been expelled from the hells but still retained their magical powers and can lend them to the humans up to this day. You have the dark demons from below and the angels of light in the sky still at war. The pure spirits from above were assembled after this war to combat these dark, rogue spirits.”

  Elmund said, “That’s a tremendous story, fascinating really, but I still don’t think those spirits are going to favor Elmund Harpsring.”

  She raised her platinum eyebrows. “You have a noble last name?”

  “Yes I do. Lot of good it’s done me up to this point.”

  She looked at him like a caring mother. “Let’s change that. Look up to the sky.”

  Elmund looked through the red leaves and brown branches at the clear blue sky.

  “Now look back down at the ground,” she instructed.

  He followed her orders and shade started to dominate the forest. He peeked back up at a dark and thundering sky. Cold drops hit the top of Elmund’s flat head as the braided beauty motioned for him to follow.

  She led him into an open field with an apple tree in the middle.

  She said calmly, “You’re going to set that tree on fire.”

  Elmund laughed. “With what?”

  She responded, “With the strongest weapon any person has. Your thoughts. It’s the same way I drew those fish in to feed you.”

  He said, “That tree is soaking wet. It will never light.”

  She walked up, grabbed Elmund’s shoulders, and turned his body as she said, “Face the tree, close your eyes and repeat after me.”

  The dwarf followed her instructions and waited.

  The braided beauty slowly stated the lines and Elmund repeated them.

  “Afromenda, guide your light through me,

  Shine your light through me,

  Evil, I shall fight against for ye.

  Afromenda, send your strength to me,

  Angel of lightning become one with me,

  Let your spirit fly free,

  Guide your light through me.”

  An odd rumbling started in Elmund’s stomach and started to mix around like a kettle of molten iron. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t as the internal heat kept rising. His body felt like it was being stretched too far in every direction. He assumed his body was going to explode into flames and was certain his hair was on fire.

  He finally opened his eyes, but all he could see was glowing orange and golden flames. They were twisting, swirling and constantly pushing forward like a tsunami. Elmund assumed this had to be a cruel trick perpetrated by the blond beauty. He could only surmise that the succubus had shot fire from her mouth and lit him up for enjoyment.

  He couldn’t believe he had let a fair face trick him into death so easily as his vision remained filled with flames. Something erupted in his chest and the temperature
rose even higher. A flash of lightning came down from the sky and struck Elmund in the heart. The impact blew him ten feet back.

  He shook off the pain as smoke came from his body. He looked up to a clear sky again. He sat up and watched a blurry, burning apple tree. The braided woman knelt down and stared into Elmund’s eyes.

  She whispered, “You are the one.”

  He asked, “The one what?”

  She smiled. “The one with the Dragon-Eyes. You are one of the pieces needed to defeat the demons in the next Great War. You will be introduced to an anti-aging powder and live long beyond anyone’s imagination. And you. You will be forever known as Dragon-Eyes.”

  “Why exactly?” he wanted clarification.

  “Two reasons. You can now shoot fire from your eyes and you have the flaming eyes of the dragon. I told you that you were special. Your days as Elmund Harpsring are over. I’m serious, you will be forever known as Dragon-Eyes,” the magical woman promised.

  They set up camp for the night under some trees in the middle of the woods. The dwarf had a renewed hope that he could finally achieve his dream of riding a dragon and falling in love. The reinvigorated Dragon-Eyes looked fondly at the sleeping beauty. He didn’t think it would be the final time he ever saw her.

  Chapter 2

  Year 365 in the Kingdom of Donegal

  Sixteen-year-old Ali-Steven Wamhoff pulled on the leather reins of his barded white stallion and slowed the horse to a clomping walk. Everything felt different as he spied the castle towers poking over the verdant leaves of the oak trees ahead. Hardened by two years of battle, his view of the Capitol and nobility had changed drastically.

  The awful perfumes of the rich started to waft into his nostrils as he shielded his eyes from the blazing summer sun. The overpowering stench caused him to choke up and he remembered why he didn’t want to come home. The Prince of Donegal wanted to remain with his battle brothers and wondered why his King father summoned him back to Falconhurst at this exact time.

  General Horsten looked over from his mount.