The glittering sun rays spread various hues of shiny silvers and golds. The air was cool, like breathing in menthol that permeated through the lungs.With the sound of hooves clopping against the cobblestone paved road and the constant rattling of the carriage, Emilia smiled gleefully.

By no means was the ride enjoyable, and it certainly wasn’t because of the masses gathered at a very early, yet cold morning just to send her off that elated her heart, no.

Today would determine the future of their Kingdom. She, as the Queen, had a duty to her people, to answer their expectations.

From the smiles and cheers, to the flowers thrown as she passed. It was clear that her people’s expectation for today was greater than ever but so too was the burden that came to live up to them.

To answer her people, or perhaps alleviate the anxiousness in their hearts. Emillia Valheart, the one and only Queen of the Twilight Kingdom, gave a brief wave to the crowd who erupted into cheers.

Honestly, even she herself could barely contain the powerful surge of emotion she felt in her chest, yet her smile remained restrained. She had to maintain an image of composure.

But behind her pounding heart, she felt a small hole in her stomach. Never did she think she could feel excited and anxious at the same time.

“The previdere...” She muttered softly to herself as she placed a hand to calm her pounding heart.

A little over two hours after the carriage had left the castle gates ----

Emilia took a deep breath, bleeding out the last of her excitement with a sigh.

“Forgive me for the disturbance your Majesty, but is the young Prince doing alright?”

Emilia tore her gaze away from the window and looked at the man in full plated armor seated across her. Then she turned her gaze down.

Cradled in her arms was a blanket of pure white and wrapped in them was a young baby with dark hair and sky blue eyes. And reflected in the young baby's eyes was Emilia herself, who had similar long dark hair and sapphire blue eyes.

There was a blossom of delight and overflowing adoration that welled-up in her chest at the sight of her young child. And though this wasn’t her first child, the attachment she felt to him was just closer than the others. Perhaps it was because he had her features? Maybe it was because he was the youngest? Honestly, it didn’t matter to Emilia. She loved him dearly.

Emilia, having gone silent for a moment, turned to her worried guard and responded. “Yes Gareth, Lazarus is alright. Somehow, he is rarely making any noises despite this being his first time in a carriage. I wonder why? Ana and Clovis both cried the first time they rode the carriage so it is somehow strange to me.”

“Perhaps he is special. In any case, it's reassuring to hear your highness.” Gareth nodded slowly then stared at the floor. Although his question was answered, it was clear to Emilia that he still had something bothering him.

“Is something in your mind perhaps?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“I-...” Gareth held his tongue. However, the moment he noticed Emilia’s gaze that seemed to say that she wouldn’t stop pestering him if he didn’t say it.

He sighed in resignation. “As expected of your majesty, nothing gets past you does it? -- Though this is presumptuous of me, may I ask where his Highness is? Today is a very important day after all, I simply wonder what he has to do that is of greater importance than attending the young Prince’ previdere.”

“I understand your worries however there were some issues with the border with the Elves in the Dralia forest and so Veyron had no choice but to go and settle the matters with Lady Syrawi.”

“Syrawi the elven priestess huh..?” Gareth muttered with furrowed rows. ”I understand. Forgive me for overstepping my boundaries.”

“Oh please, think nothing of it.”

The carriage exited the kingdom together with a band of knights both on foot and on war horses marching. For the most part, the travel was seamless, and they eventually arrived at a wide plain of grasslands that had three forked roads leading up to it.

There, a vast crystal clear lake surrounded a small hill that housed a pristine white chapel. It was quite large despite being nowhere near a town and it shined under the sun like a radiant beacon of hope and comfort.

Emilia stepped down at the carriage with her child still cradled in her arms and glanced at the three forked roads for a brief moment. These roads each headed for the kingdoms that neighbored the Twilight kingdom and in this case, they shared access to this particular chapel.

She then turned her eyes back to the white Chapel and muttered.

“How many years has it been since?”

Taking in the familiar sight once more, she took a deep breath and relaxed her body.

“Lady Emilia, if you would please.” said Gareth gesturing towards the lake and then offering both of his hands to her.

Emilia handed the baby to Gareth ever so gently as she said. “Please be careful with him” to which the knight nodded with a deep bow. Then she walked towards the edge of the lake and the air seemed to still.

A soft subtle blue hue of light radiated from Emilia. Gently, she raised her open palm. A thin blue hexagon of light appeared in front of her palm, then a series of scriptures traveled through the edges as she said,

“Erus, valtos, tiamu!”

A shiny faded blue orb of light, hovered in front of the hexagon formation.

Then it pulsed.

A burst of blue light shot forth, freezing a path in the lake. The knights held their ground as the wind caused by casting the powerful spell buffeted them violently. One of them, who'd closed his eyes, was shocked to his core the moment he saw the sight.

There was an ice path to the hill the width of the castle gates. From how clear the lake was, it had become apparent that not only had Emilia frozen the surface of the water, but the bottom as well. And this lake was quite deep.

Magic of this caliber was indeed fearsome. Compared to himself who could only freeze a small square on the lake and may not even reach a tenth of the depth Emilia had managed, it was truly awe inspiring. She was in a whole different world than he was.

How much mana could that have taken? He couldn’t fathom her at all. Even if he spent hundreds of years in this lake, freezing a small portion of it, then replenishing his mana reserves and doing it over and over again, he doubted he could even do it as the lake would defrost his magic in just a matter of days, maybe faster than he could replenish his mana reserves.

In the world of Valeria where magic was as common as air. She, Emilia Valheart, Queen of the Twilight Kingdom, could still outclass all of the mages he’s ever known. There were only so few that could rival her or outclass her.

From what was known, the Queen had belonged to a minor noble family, but because of her feats of repelling a mob of bandits single handedly at the young age of 13, to then winning the grand magic tournament against the well known nobles, she had caught the interest of the then crowned prince of the Twilight Kingdom.

-----------

“Men, get in position!” A raspy loud voice interrupted his thoughts and he immediately went into formation, and the knights marched into the ice, forming a perfect parallel line to one another.

*Tut-tururooo* Trumpets were blown and on queue, they raised the flag of the Twilight Kingdom, a red flag with the sword and shield pattern sewed in with a golden string.

The head of the knights, Gareth, walked slightly behind Emilia as she made her way towards the hill with the baby now cradled in her arms.

This day would perhaps stir the destiny of their home, the Twilight Kingdom and its people.

As Emilia passed by the knights -- they knelt sequentially, she couldn’t help but notice the lips of the knights she passed were crooked. Smiles that the knights were forcing down.

Seeing this, the elation in her heart that was already reaching its tipping point began overflowing. Her once noble but stoic expression came crumbling down, with her lips curving up to a bright and very beautiful smile.

It seemed like the knights who were battle hardened and very stoic most of the time couldn’t reign the bubbling sensation in their hearts just like her. They had travelled along with Emilia, guarding her carriage along the way, all for the sake of today.

That means they too realize the implications of such an event given today’s ceremony.

Emilia eventually reached the church. She looked back, and as expected the knight never set foot beyond the ice path she made. Even Gareth had halted his step just a few centimeters away from the grass of the land.

There was a massive door that led to the inside of the chapel, and with Emilia’s arms cradling the baby, it was clearly impossible to open by herself. However she wasn’t bothered, and she continued to step forward and as she neared the large double doors, it creaked open as if an invisible force pushed it to do so.

Inside was spacious, warm and solemn.

Emilia took a deep breath, and as she walked forward, the large double door behind her creaked closed. Each step she took, her heart quickened in turn. Then she stopped, in front of an altar, she let out a soft sigh and stilled her beating heart.

“You have arrived, Lady Emilia Valheart, Queen of the Twilight Kingdom.” A gentle soothing chime bell-like voice called out, already expecting her arrival.

However no one was there.

Golden glitters of dust began appearing out of thin air, they danced in the air like fallen leaves in the wind, gathering together forming a golden ectoplasmic humanoid figure.

A soft flash of bright golden light filled Emilia’s eyes, and what was once a gold dust humanoid figure, was now a very elegant beauty.

She had bright golden hair that waved like the ocean flowing down to her waist. Her eyes were a deep blue with a tinge of magenta hue below her iris. Her expression was calm, the light in her eyes was warm, yet indifferent. Her skin was a pale white, flawless and smooth.

She wore a dark purple light plate of armor that followed the contours of her slim frame, slitted up to her thigh to reveal an underskirt of silver mail. Her slender pale white shoulders were on display for a bit of movement, and she wore an armguard that matched the color of her armor, bearing the symbol of a golden cross on both arms.

And as she gazed down emotionlessly at the young born cradled in Emilia’s arm. Her blanket of pure white wings that sprouted from her back, spread ever so gently making her descend from the air, landing on top of the altar before Emilia.

“Elysia….” Muttered Emilia every so softly to herself, addressing the winged being in-front of her.

An angel, one of the many races in Valeria that harnessed mana. With their magic, even one angel had once sundered the seas to create a path, created whirlwinds with a flap of her wings and crumbled an entire mountain in her wrath.

The only saving grace was that these beings were few in numbers and rarely took sides.

They were elegant and beautiful with not a single blemish on their pale and untouched flesh. Angel’s were sometimes the target of worship for some minority in all of the races, and mostly they were naturally respected and feared as much if not more than Kings were.

The reason for that was not just because of their outward appearance, but their immortality and power as well. And to add to that, was their noble character and concept of justice that just seemed so right.

In short, a seemingly perfect existence.

One of the many traits that determined the power of a person in Valeria, besides wealth and influence, was mana reserves. The more mana you held, the more spells you could cast, hence making that individual inherently stronger than those who had less mana.

This was especially true for humans, who couldn’t use mana in nature like the elves. Humanity as a race, were very much like the angels in this aspect. They could only use their innate mana.

But the vast difference between the two, was in their mana reserves. If the human’s mana reserves could be compared to a barrel of water, then an angel’s mana reserves was as vast as a lake which is why they could do things on a much larger scale.

And Elysia, was one of those awe inspiring beings. And among the angels, she was placed even higher than the regular once, an Archangel titled, the ‘Golden Angel’.

“It’s been a while, Elysia. Years even.” Said Emilia, greeting the Golden Angel with a heartfelt smile.

Elysia nodded. “To me, whose time is eternal. It was-.....merely yesterday. I still remember that faithfull day when you were still a maiden.”

Emilia smiled, recalling a distant memory when she was speechless and stunned at the very first time of meeting an Angel. And like before, they had met for the very same reason.

The golden angel shifted her gaze to the baby in Emilia’s arm and asked, “He is..?”

“Lazarus-... He is Lazarus Valheart, second prince of the Twilight Kingdom.” Said Emilia with a proud smile.

Detecting a hint of elation in Emilia’s voice, Elysia, the Golden Angel asked.

“Did something happen perhaps?”

“Nothing really, it's just that-”

“You favor this child it seems.” said Elysia blatantly

Emilia looked away for a moment but embarrassingly admitted with a nod.

Elysia nodded in understanding. “I see. So that explains why you seemingly have expectations of this child. And-... to add to that. Our previous encounters---the ‘prevederes’ proved that Princess Anastasia and Prince Clovis had huge mana reserves despite being so young.”

Just like how a body would grow with age, so did with mana reserves. Which is why people with great mana reserves were so sought after as a means of increasing the military strength of a Kingdom.

“It is as you say.” Said Emilia with a smile.

‘Prevedere’, a ritual that only Angels could do due to their sensitivity to mana. It wasn’t a stretch to say that the value of a person could be determined via ‘Prevedere’. The process of determining the mana reserves of the young and their potential for growth.

Maybe because Emilia was gifted with two children whose mana reserve’s were already greater than that of a regular adult, she couldn’t help but hold the same expectation for Lazarus. Perhaps-... just perhaps he could have greater reserves than those two.

“Then, shall we begin?” Asked the Golden angel, to which Emilia nodded.

It was finally time for the Prevedere.

Emilia whose heart had still, now beat rapidly yet again.

Elysia reached her slender fingertips to Lazarus’ forehead. Closed her eyes, and lied still. Motionless.

A small ray of silver light glowed from the tip of her fingers and Emilia simply waited.

Her anticipation grew by the second. Her heart pounded louder and louder. The anxiety in her chest, spreading like cold water to her lungs.

Then the light from Elysia’s fingertip slowly died down, eventually flickering out.

The moment Elysia’s eyes had opened. Emilia’s own had widened in surprise as she unconsciously muttered, ‘Huh?’

- ‘Did something happen?’-

Emilia’s entire body had numb, her heart pounding like a drum. It was as if the very core of her soul was shaken. For the very first time in her life, she had seen something that she had thought was impossible.

The Golden Angel, Elysia, besides being an Archangel and unrivaled beauty, was also known to have never shown any emotion in her picture perfect facade. Never. Not a single soul had ever seen her expression change. Not even her fellow angels.

And now that very angel had her lips parted slightly, eyes widened in surprise. Elysia’s expression was clearly that of unbridled shock.

What could Elysia have felt that was so surprising that it even left her, the Golden Angel -- speechless?

And for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Elysia spoke.

“It-.. cannot be..”

Her voice was soft, as if she’d only intended it for herself. But Emilia was still close enough to hear.

Perhaps Lazarus was more powerful than she thought?

Emilia’s heart raced at her thoughts. She felt goosebumps all over her shaking body. She could only arrive at the only logical conclusion she could draw that could shock even the Golden Angel.

Elysia once again placed her fingertips on the child’s forehead to confirm her suspicions. The silver light glowed again. Creases formed between the Golden angel’s brows as she focused her sensation at her fingers. Determined not to make a mistake.

This was odd. This was very odd. Not only had Emilia now seen an expression on Elysia for the first time. The Golden Angel…. had shockingly redone the ritual.

This as well, had never happened before.

-’ Why?’ -

It was easy for angels to perform the Prevedere, it was also unlikely and unheard of for angels to make a mistake and do it a second time simply because to them, the angels.. It was like looking at a mountain and saying they saw a mountain. It was that easy for them.

Emilia felt something hard stuck in her throat. There were butterflies in her stomach.

“H-How is he?” Asked Emilia, no longer able to hold out on the anticipation.

Elysia looked Emilia straight in the eyes and said,

“This child possesses... no mana.”

-----------------------------------

Afterword:

Well, It's been a long time. And I've worked on the reboot from time to time and I've managed to stash a few chapters that I'm planning to upload maybe once or twice a month. Let me know what you think of the first reboot chapter!

For the new readers:

I hope you enjoy!

For the old readers of Exiled Prince:

This reboot will have more details and better quality than the original (I hope). There are some changes to various event compared to the previous one and I hope you will enjoy this as much as the previous one!