"Good evening, Your Highness!"

  "Good evening."

  King Horwann II, the Shadow Tamer, was on his way to the "Great Hall," where his closest advisors were discussing the final details of the celebration for his second born son.

  Horwann arrived at the meeting room with the leader of the black Crystal kingdom's army by his side. Everyone was already waiting for the king in the room. The eighty-year-old grand master, whose duty was to lend his wealth of experience to the task. Another person waiting for the king's arrival was Lady Cent. Cent takes care of the kingdom's finances, which makes her the most important person for planning the celebration, as she is the one who calculates how much the kingdom can spend on it. The penultimate person in the room was Sir Quinn, Horwann's right-hand man and great friend. These five people formed the kingdom's big five.

  But there was one last person in the room, Horwann's firstborn son, Horw VI... Horw is a very popular name in the kingdom of black Crystal. Horw will one day rule the kingdom, so Horwann began taking him to the big five meetings so that he would know how they usually proceeded.

  "Finally, you showed up. I've been waiting here for about fifteen minutes. I could have been fencing with Grin by now." - Horw said when his father finally arrived at the meeting. Grin is Horw's best friend, and together they have a clear goal of becoming the best swordsmen in all of Middleworld, which is why they are not very interested in royal affairs.

  Quinn wanted to slap Horw on the head because he didn't like his insolence, but when he saw the king only narrow his eyes at Horwi's comment and sit down in his chair, he let it go and began to acquaint the hall with information unrelated to the upcoming celebration so that they could quickly get it out of the way and the big five could get down to planning the final details of the celebration.

  The hall was quiet, everyone listening carefully to the ordinary information circulating around the kingdom.

  "Honestly, I think we should close the Tavern at the Ruins, troublemakers keep gathering around it, but we'll leave that until after the celebration. The last thing on my list, a ship with a sail that no one has ever seen before was spotted near the Shadow Islands. And that's all!"

  "Thank you, Quinn. That ship is a bit interesting, but let's not make a mountain out of a molehill. Right now, we should figure out how many chairs and tables we'll need to prepare at the royal court for my son's celebration. By the way, how many rulers from other kingdoms won't be coming? I know that the queen of the green Crystal kingdom doesn't plan to come, but that's all, right?"

  "Yes, the other rulers have said they plan to arrive..." - Quinn was interrupted when the guard burst into the great hall.

  "YOUR HIGHNESS, I-I'm sorry, you must come with me quickly, IM SORRY."

  The guard was shaken and frightened. Horwann got up from his chair and ran in the direction the guard was running.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  A chill ran through Horwann's veins when the guard stopped at his room. Horwann's wife and second son were in this room when Horwann left the room for the meeting in the great hall.

  Horwann, scared to death, ran into the room, fell to his knees, and just stared at the scene in front of him. There was blood everywhere, a knife on the floor, and one member of the guard had his knee pressed against the head of a man who had no business being in Horwann's room. The blood was Horwann's wife's.

  Horwann got up from the ground and ran to his wife, who was bleeding from her neck. Another guard held her neck to stop the bleeding, and Horwann also put his hands on her neck, hoping to save her. But it was clear to his wife how this would end.

  "I had to protect him, our baby, take care of him."

  The queen stopped breathing, and Horwann, shaken, stared into her eyes for several minutes, as if they had both turned to stone. Then he got up and turned to the prisoner lying on the ground.

  "Your Highness... I... I'm SORRY, I didn't mean to, I swear." - Said the man who had just slit Horwann's wife's throat.

  "You've got to be kidding." Said the guard who was holding him down, punching the murderer in the mouth in anger to silence him.

  Horwann, crying and staring at the ground, wiped away his tears. After all, who would hold the kingdom together if the king was in tears? The guard waited for orders. In a quiet voice, Horwann said, "Put him in the dungeon... for now."

  As the guards led the murderer away, Horwann realized that it was Sir False, the brother of his right-hand man, Quinn. Horwann had no idea what was going on.

  The sun rose over the kingdom; it was a new day. False would be executed today for killing King Horwann's wife. Before his execution, the king's wife's funeral would be held. Horwann's second son, named Onyx, escaped the incident without a single scratch. No one saw what happened in the room until the guards arrived, but the theory is that Horwann's wife fought with False for a while before he slit her throat. Thanks to the courage of Onyx's mother, Onyx is alive. Even though the king is not well enough for Onyx's celebration to take place, the celebration has not been canceled because it is a grand ceremony where six of the seven rulers of Middleworld, including Horwann, will be present. Telling all five rulers who are coming to honor Onyx is out of the question.

  Quinn decided to visit False in the dungeon, where False was awaiting his death.

  "I... I really don't understand. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! How could you?"

  "I'm sorry, Quinn you have to believe that I really didn't want her to die."

  "Really? And that's why you came into the king's room waving a knife... I'm speechless."

  "The day will come when you'll understand everything, believe me, but remember, I really didn't want it to end up like this." - False is hiding something. During the interrogation, he refused to say why he killed the queen, and Quinn is frustrated.

  "Quinn, what will happen to my sons? Please tell me they won't be executed too."

  "There are rules. Murdering a member of the royal family is severely punished. According to the old law, your sons should also be executed. You are fortunate that Horwann is one of the best kings who ever ruled the kingdom of black Crystal. He will certainly not execute two innocent children. I will take care of it."

  "Thank you, Quinn."

  "I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for them. You are no longer my brother. I... goodbye."

  False had two sons. His older sixteen-year-old son was sent to the northernmost point of Middleworld. That is where prisoners who have not committed such grave sins are sent.

  His younger ten-year-old son remained in the kingdom as a young assistant to the high-ranking citizens of the black Crystal kingdom. He was hardly punished at all because of his age and the fact that he was "slower" than other children his age.

  The kingdom was plunged into darkness by the death of Horwann's wife, but who could have guessed that this was the least of what Middleworld would face in the days to come.