70 Royal Pawn

Dream princes royal study

Seated at a table stacked with various books and scrolls, the prince focussed their eyes on the information before them very seriously.

The prince turned the page once more very carefully and once more looked towards the next page.

A sudden interruption from a knock on the door made the prince lift their head, carefully closing the book. "You may enter."

An elderly woman entered the room and closed the door. "You have been working hard my grandchild, you should really come outside more often rather than hiding in your room all the time."

"I am fine here, it is nice and quiet. So grandmother why have you come?" The prince showed a pained look on their face.

"Well, I cannot force you child. There is some news that you should know, your brother and sister were almost assassinated and are now missing." The elderly woman carefully looked at the prince as she spoke.

The prince was shocked at the sudden information. "Is this true? Who would dare to target a member of the royal family?"

The elderly woman sighed. "We have no information but if the prince does not return I believe that there will be an increase in conflicts between Snow and Dream famiies. Although there is no proof the Snow family has already begun to suspect that the Dream family is behind this."

"I understand grandmother. How is father coping with the situation?" The prince showed concern for their father, knowing he would be having a hard time right now.

"He is trying to resolve the situation as soon as possible, unfortunately being the king puts him in a difficult position. He cannot show too much bias towards any of the families or others will begin to question his leadership. If the prince and princess do not return then he may be unable to stop the conflict between the two families, if it continues to get out of hand he will be forced to pick a side for the greater good of the country. With one surviving heir he would be forced to discard the Snow family, this would be the worst case scenario. If the prince and princess survive and make it back perhaps we can resolve this before it gets out of hand." The elderly woman explained while looking conflicted. "Even if the prince and princess were to make it back alive it would be hard to say if they will come back with anything that will be of help towards the investigation."

The prince frowned in response. "What a terrible situation, is there anything I can do to help?"

"It is very kind of you child but I just hope you can safely stay within the royal palace during this time and grow stronger. Then I will be at ease when you are able to protect yourself and stand on your own two feet." She gently patted the prince on the shoulder before leaving the room.

The prince sat down before their books once more with a look of distress. "How can I stand on my two feet when I am just a pawn of the Dream family. Even if I do not want to fight for the throne, the old men will force the situation even if I do not agree."

The prince of the Snow family actively looked for praise and approval from the king and his grandmother in the fight for the throne.

Although his family were loyal, he himself worked hard for to gain as much strength as possible to take the throne for himself.

His lack of judgement and experience was his overall downfall.

Unlike the prince of the Snow family...

The prince of the Dream family was unwilling to actively fight for the throne so chose to hide away.

Destined as the pawn of the Dream family and born not as talented as their brother at martial cultivation they still worked hard in silence.

In fact they worked even harder than their brother day and night without any praise, not for approval or for the Dream families goals but for to escape the shackles of their family.

Although this did not put them on par with the prince of the Snow family in strength, the prince actively spent their spare time increasing their intelligence.

One prince talented in martial cultivation while neglecting his studies, actively aiming for the throne... their location unknown.

One princess loved by her father and grandmother, suffering from an unknown illness, wishing she could return to her loved ones to spend her final moments with them... missing with the prince.

Lastly a prince who is unwilling to become a chess piece for their families goals, although not as talented as their brother they found ways to make up for their weaknesses... Still cannot escape their fate because the Dream family have already set everything in motion.