Chapter 4 Her First Love

"Rosie!" Alexei is calling her. "Where are you?"

He is looking for her in the vast garden behind the palace. It is a bright summer afternoon. The sun is shining in the sky, showering the lands with its golden glory. Colorful flowers are blooming in the Emperor's garden, beautiful and picturesque. The pond is sparkling like tiny diamonds and the warm water is soothing to touch.

The neatly trimmed garden is glowing under the summer sun, amplifying the beauty of the gigantic castle which surrounds it. Long stone towers reach high as if touching the sky. Set across acres of land, the palace stretched throughout the highest mountain. It looks down on the towns below like a godly creature, its towers twinkling. The lively castle is the pride of Ezealyra, an astounding architecture that houses the Royal Family of Visserion.

Alexei is now impatient. He taps his foot on the ground, groaning out loud. The eleven-year-old boy possesses a natural charisma that can attract and intimidate the people around him. His silky dark hair is hidden underneath a crown and his scarlet eyes are scanning the area for a tiny figure which is hiding somewhere.

Even without his wolf, Alexei's senses are sharper than other werewolves. After all, he is a Lycan. Most werewolves shift when they are 18 but Lycans shift at 15. They are on the top of the werewolf hierarchy. Even Alphas cannot beat them in a fight and their blood is extremely valuable. They are born different and hence, rule over the other werewolf species.

"Hee hee!"

His sharp senses pick up someone's snicker and he follows the laughter. It is coming from the small patio which belongs to his sisters, Anna and Maria. But he knows that they are at their daily training lessons. So this must be...

"Gotcha!" he exclaims at a small figure who was hiding behind a bush.

"Aaaa!"

A blonde girl falls out of the bush and lands on her bum. She is startled that he caught her so easily! The girl is around six years old with shiny golden hair which is almost as bright as the sun. Her doe-like amber eyes are full of shock and she pouts at her friend.

"This is not fair!" she protests. "I was supposed to scare you!"

"You cannot beat a Lycan Prince!" Alexei boasts. The girl only glares at him, feeling irritated. She tries to scare him every day but he always catches her.

"I want to play again!" she insists.

"No. It is time for our lessons."

Even though she is a human, the Empress of Ezealyra was kind enough to let the girl study alongside the Prince and the Princesses. Humans are treated with disdain and hatred because they hunted down supernatural creatures during the Great War. Most werewolves loathe them and after the humans were defeated, they were put at the bottom of the society.

But the Emperor and Empress were kind to Roseanne and her father Mikhael. In fact, Mikhael is a gifted healer and witch who has been summoned to the court at the Emperor's request. As a witch, Mikhael's identity is kept a secret because witches are extremely powerful humans who possess knowledge of a variety of powers. During the Great War, they were at the front, killing many werewolves and vampires in the process.

However, the witches were wiped out and the remaining ones were forced into hiding. The Vadimovna family are one of the oldest clans who are skilled in witchcraft but after the war, they went into hiding. The family tree began to shrink until only Roseanne and her dear papa remained. Her mother died in childbirth and Mikhael raised his daughter on his own. They were in hiding until the Emperor tracked them down to request Mikhael to treat Alexei.

Roseanne asked her father many times about what was wrong with Alexei but her father never told her. In her eyes, Alexei was happy and healthy.

Why do people claim that he is ill?

"I do not want to study!" She whines. "The teacher does not like me!"

Their teacher was Mr. Eskander and he hates humans. The only reason he is teaching Roseanne is due to the orders of Empress Alexa. Otherwise, he would never let someone like her enter his class.

"He cannot do anything to you!" Alexei claims. "He is paid by us! If he tries to bully you, I will remove him from his service."

"No!" Roseanne insists. "I want to play!"

Before Alexei can stop her, she runs off. He sighs. Why does this girl forget that he can run faster than her?

Roseanne giggles and runs but he warily watches her. She sticks out her tongue to taunt him. Suddenly, he vanishes.

"Huh?" she blinks. In an instant, he appears in front of her and tackles her to the ground.

"I told you, you cannot run from a Lycan!" he laughs.

"No fair!"

She playfully hits him. No one in the world can hit him like that. If they do, they will be killed.

But Roseanne was different. She is his friend and companion. Only she can hit him and get away with it.

Before she could run away again, he easily picked her up on his shoulder and began to walk towards the castle.

"Alexei, I want to play!" she moans.

"After we are finished with our studies!"

Roseanne begs and pleads but the Crown Prince ignores her. She pouts all the way to the class, annoyed at Alexei. He sighs and puts her down but she looks away from him.

"If you attend class today, I will let you see the ball tonight," he promised. That put a smile on her face.

"Really? You will take me to the ball?"

"Yes."

"Can we dance there as well?"

"Yes but no one can see us! My father will kill me if he finds out."

"Okay!" Roseanne chirps. "I will go to the ball with you! You have to promise that you will dance only with me!"

"I will dance only with you."

"Forever? Will you dance with me forever?"

He smiles at her and nods. "Forever."