The Crimson Prince： Awakening

"Having a good time?" Maya asked as she exited the cottage. Will sat up from his sleeping bag, taking in the beautiful girl of whom he saved from a group of guards. It seemed like so long ago that he unlocked his power and scared them out. Maya was more than happy to give him a place to stay and had been nothing but kind to him since.

"Its too beautiful a day not to be having a good time," Will smiled as Maya took a seat next to him. "If I could stay like this forever with you, it would be too short of a time." Will"s smile shrunk in size, he knew it wasn"t possible. He had to find Michael in order to get back to where he truly belonged.

"You could stay here you know," Maya took on a small shade of red as she plucked a blade of gra.s.s, twirling it within her fingers. "You don"t have to fight anymore, you"ve done enough." Will looked at her with a gaze of a weary soldier. How he longed to stop, to live a life free of what responsibility had been placed upon his shoulders. To set down the sword and allow someone else to take that life from him.

As he thought of the blissful life, he felt vibrating in his pocket. Taking out his phone, there was a message from Maya. Opening it, Will"s eyes went wide. Within was a picture of the wraiths thrusting a sword into the chained up girl, her last look was to him with a lifeless smile. "Don"t forget" was messaged underneath.

Looking back at Maya, the beautiful sunbathed companion was no longer there, instead was a lifeless imitation with a stab wound in her chest freely leaking blood as she stared at him. Her raven hair giving her pale skin a glow of almost pure white. "How could you let this happen Will," she said in a small saddened voice, "you said you would protect me." Tears leaked freely from his eyes as Will tried to reach for Maya, to comfort her from the pain she must be feeling. Before he could reach her, his phone went off once more. "Answer it." she said as her dark eyes bore an expression of curiosity.

Activating his phone, Will received a message once again from her. Instead of a picture of the lifeless Maya, there was a picture of crimson and gold. He stood there with his lineage blade, wrath evident in his features as he lopped off the wraiths hand as it went for Bianca.

"You had that the whole time Will," Maya said with a hurt voice. "Why didn"t you use it for me?" Tears fell freely from her eyes as she looked at his phone, the picture of what could have been her salvation burning brightly. In moments the phone turned into his blade. To Will"s shock, the tip of the sword had been thrust into Maya of its own accord, the flames drinking the blood that had flown from the wound. "This is what you have to do now!" she screamed as the flames engulfed her body. "You did this to me!" The sword dug itself further into her as she cried out in pain, the flames increasing her agony as it stripped her away piece by piece, the darkness all but consumed.

Getting up, Maya grasped the blade of the sword trying to yank it out to no avail. Walking backwards she tried to put distance between Will and the sword. The young man jumped to his feet, running after his friend who was in such pain. Before he could reach the hilt, Maya exploded into a blinding white light.

Jumping out of bed with his arm reached out, Will realized his sword had been summoned in his hand. The silver and gold blade with a ruby encrusted in gold at the pommel was glistening in crimson and gold flames.

Leaning forward in his bed will sighed and attached the blade back to the chain, allowing it to take the form of the cross. He had been waking this way for the past three weeks, ever since the vision of Maya. The same dream over and over ending In a bright white explosion.

Will cupped his face in his hands, the dream had always felt as though he was killing her each night. Again and again the sword thrusted into her, again and again awoke with it in his hand. It felt as if his aura was telling him what he had to do, as if it knew what must be done.

Sitting in his new bed, Will looked around to gather himself. His television, computer and Xbox as well as all the familiar objects brought to the manor, he found himself missing Jonathan. He had made the mansion in New York his home not even a month ago, yet the thought of not being with his dad made home feel more like a pit stop.

Will knew the man wasn"t truly his father, but he had been raised by Jonathan from a young age. All of the training they went through together, the trips they took and the time they shared, Will couldn"t help but want to see how he was doing.

Getting out of bed was the hardest part. Having to get dressed and train was both the best thing and the worst thing to do when one was just waking up. It was Will"s uncle"s belief that they should all earn their meals, so two hours before breakfast was specifically for combat training.

Groaning to himself, Will forced himself out of bed. He had twenty minutes to himself before having to go to the courtyard for sparring. Grabbing his jacket after getting dressed, Will left his room and found Leo waiting for him.

"Sleep alright?" He asked, obviously knowing the answer. Leo had been Will"s best friend for what seemed like his whole life. If there was something on Will"s mind, the Ma.s.s Effect sweatshirt donned genius of a best friend would know about it.

Will smiled and tried to play off being good as he placed a hand on his friends shoulder. "It was just a bad dream, not really anything to worry about." Will said as he started his walk down the hallway to the exit of the mansion. "I"m sure it"s just because I had the vision of Maya, maybe it"s just my guilt playing in my dreams." Leo didn"t seem so convinced.

"It"s one thing to have a dream while the event is still raw in you"re mind," He said as he caught up to Will. "It"s another thing to have the same dream for three weeks straight, I think you need to talk to Michael about it." Leo sighed, he had been trying since the second dream to convince Will that he needed some help.

Being his best friend for as long as he had, Leo knew what it meant to Will to lose a friend. Maya was the one good thing that had happened to him within his time in Crystallia. After the vision in his uncle"s room, Leo saw the look on his friends face. He was not about to give up on her, he would do whatever he could to unshackle the chains that held her to the corrupt flame. If he went back without a plan, Leo knew the end result.

Walking outside, the sun had only just started to rise, the dew on the ground from the change in the weather was thick, giving the perfect condition to start sparring. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, Will looked to the slowly changing sky. "Took you two long enough." A voice sounded nearby. Will looked to the small water fountain in front to see Bianca in her usual pink spaghetti top and blue jeans. Everything about her had his heart aflame. Her long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail except for a small portion which covered one of her brown eyes. It almost seemed like a perfect setting for a date besides the training sword in her hand.

Stretching one last time, Will grabbed one of the two other training swords that were leaning against the fountain. Starting off the training, the three friends did a half hour of sword thrusts to loosen their tight joints and to get their blood circulating. As he did one thrust after another, Will never let his mind wander. He allowed his body to become one with his weapon. After almost a year of training in many forms, he could only take the few hours seriously. At first when starting with Michael, he was more than irritated when he was the only one doing the exercises. Thinking back on such times, he remembered his first time doing thrusts with the sword. Michael had him do two hours of constant thrusts while he took a nap at a tree. At first Will couldn"t help but become irritated as he saw he was the only one taking the training seriously. It was only after Michael showed him the fruits of his labor that he realized that he was the only one who truly needed to learn, what his uncle did while teaching was of no consequence.

The sun almost reaching the top of the trees in the largely wooded estate, the three friends turned to each other. After the thrusts began the true training. Will took a deep breath, preparing him for the fight he knew was to come. The next hour and a half was solely dedicated to sparring. Since he had been trained a lot more than the other two, Bianca and Leo usually teamed up to try to score a point. The last time Bianca had the upper advantage was when Jake was around for the first lesson. At that time, Will didn"t take the practice seriously since he didn"t know what the two were capable of.

Not letting his guard down for a moment, Will allowed the two to circle him. Closing his eyes, he relied only on his aura to detect their a.s.sault. Leo and Bianca watched as Will"s aura took form, giving his leather jacket a blood red appearance. At first it seemed a little unnerving to witness due to the fact that they weren"t used to seeing such a transformation, but after the weeks flew by, they had grown to know Will"s new power and instead of fearing it, they grew to learn from it.

Moments pa.s.sed as if minutes as the darkness enveloped Will"s vision. Patiently waiting for the onslaught to begin, he only allowed himself to focus on the dim red within his mind. As soon as the dimness turned to a flaming glow, he raised his sword to counter a strike.

Back and forth, from side to side Will was able to rely on his aura to detect any threat and was able to respond accordingly. Bianca and Leo tried a combined effort from both sides to gain the upper hand. Their attacks were coordinated as they struck from each direction. Will only needed to rely on his aura to notice any cracks within the a.s.sault in order to counter. Meeting Leo"s blade with his own, Will ducked to dodge the other coming from his right.

Using the resistance from the blade he was fending off, Will channeled his aura to his feet as he back flipped a few paces back. Not giving him any time to recover, Leo and Bianca used their own aura to propel themselves forward to meet him once again with their blades. The dance continued for only a few minutes as Will dodged each attack or parried each blade. His body moving as fluidly as the flame in which he wielded.

As Will dove in between the two swords for the final time, Leo and Bianca came to a stop. Though Will had easily countered each of their advances, Bianca noticed sweat coating her boyfriends brow. She had often wondered why he had always worn that jacket, even in the warmest weather while training. She had always worn light clothing even when it was cold out and she was able to keep going a lot longer because of it.

Will took the opportunity given to him by his friends to launch himself in between them. As fast as he was, they hardly noticed as each of them received a tap on the shoulder. "You should be prepared for anything," He said as he looked at his dumbfounded friends. "Don"t let up on your a.s.sault just because you may have found a weakness." He turned to Bianca. "If you notice any sluggish movements, take advantage of them." Turning to Leo, Will gave an appraising glance. "Don"t think about the battle, feel it out. You will know when the right time to attack is."

"I was just wondering why you wear that jacket every day even during training," Bianca said as she set her training sword down at the fountain. "You move fluidly but it seems to take more out of you wearing the thing." Will laughed at the thought.

"You wouldn"t even be able to approach me if I take this thing off." He said as he looked down at the worn out leather jacket. He remembered the first month of training he had with Michael. His uncle didn"t allow him to wear it the full time he was training. When he had first taken it off and activated his aura, he felt an overwhelming surge of power. The jacket itself was a seal to his lineage flame, the only thing that allowed him to live in the normal realm for all the years that he did. Though he was constantly wearing it now, the strength of the flame seeping through the seal was enough to give the appearance of being a normal flame.

The break having concluded, Will picked up his sword once again and turned to his friends. "If you can overwhelm me with my jacket on," Will raised an eyebrow as he put the sword to his shoulder. "Then I"ll consider taking it off."

With those few words of encouragement, Bianca no longer felt sorry for the onslaught she and Leo were bringing upon Will, but instead felt it more of a challenge. For the next hour, the two continuously strived for their point, yet every time they were close enough to touch him, Will always found a way through their strikes.

As the hour approached the end, Will was no longer the only one coated in sweat as the three of them continued their dance. Getting close and then losing their advantage, it felt more like a game of tag than it did training. When the sun was high above the trees and the sky was a light blue, Will called the time. "You guys did good today," He said with a smile as he put his sword away. "I know soon you will be able to match even my abilities."

Following suit, Bianca and Leo set down their swords by the fountain and followed Will inside the manor. The next hour was for taking a shower and getting ready for breakfast. The training eerily reminded Will of the schedule he had during his stay at his uncle"s.

As the three entered the dining area an hour after their training, they found their favorite meals already cooked and placed at the table. Will sat at the table where his favorite scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and toast was waiting for him. Before he dug in, his uncle made an appearance.

Walking into the room in a normal stride, Michael took his seat in front of Will. Since he had been a part of his nephews life, he had always found the proper place for him to sit was where he could see him. "How went the training?" Michael asked as he took a drink of the coffee that Helga the servant just placed in front of him. "Did either of you advance in your training?" Michael looked at Leo and Bianca.

Sighing to herself, Bianca didn"t have the energy to respond to the question as she took a fork full of her sunny side up eggs. Leo was too preoccupied with his laptop to give Michael an answer.

As the meal drew to a close, the group finished their plates and allowed Helga to collect them. "I think it"s time we start planning for the future," Michael said as he looked at Will. "With the dreams you"ve been having, I believe I know what our best move would be." Will looked at his uncle with a complicated expression. He hadn"t even told him about the dreams, but somehow he wasn"t surprised.

"I think it"s time for you three to continue your path within Crystallia."