Thirteen years had passed since the birth of the fifth Prince.
Raymond had been an exceptional child since his birth. He learned to walk earlier than other normal kids.
He was different from other kids too.
While the others played with their friends, he was the only kid practising his sword skills or elemental abilities.
He was only five when he first chose sword as his main weapon.
He even selected an instructor for himself from one of the generals of the empire.
It was common for the imperial family members to choose from the generals to teach themselves but no one had thought that the little boy would choose a general for himself at such a young age.
The general he chose was an old man nearly 250 years old. ( In this era the average age of a person is approximately 300 years).
The old man had been at the position of the general for almost a century and was experienced in swords.
Thus when he became the master of the little prince, he gave all his heart in it.
The old man was not just any general. His elder son was the supreme general of the empire while his younger son was two years older than the little prince.
He was being forced by his elder son to retire concerning his old age and this was a perfect opportunity for such retirement.
This was not a retirement in true senses. He would still hold the title of the general but would not have an army of soldiers under him.
His only work and duty would be to train the little prince.
He would often bring his younger son with him to train with the prince, so they gradually became friends.
The name of this younger son who became the first friend of the little prince was Silas.
Raymond was turning thirteen this year and Silas had already differentiated into an alpha.
Silas was going to the imperial academy from two years and they had not met from a long time.
Though Raymond did not wish to attend the imperial academy he wanted to meet his friend and see the academy once by himself.
So when presented with an opportunity to go to the academy for a general inspection and motivation for the children studying at the academy, he agreed immediately to go with his elder brother Simon who had become an enigma and was likely to win the position of the crown prince.
The enigmas were rare in the past but now had become common. Not as common as alphas or omegas , but still there were quite a few number of enigmas in the empire.
They were setting off for the Nova planet, the planet where the academy was located, in a few hours.
Raymond was buzzing around his elder brother Simon who was packing his bag for the trip.
" Brother, you are so slow. I had packed my bags two days ago for this trip."
" I know that. And I also know that you are just excited to meet your friend so much that you can't fall asleep at night.
Afterall Silas is your only friend."
" Of course you know me the best."
" If you missed him so much, you should have just accepted father's proposal of sending you to the academy this year.
You are thirteen and this is the age of enrollment in academy."
" Not that talk again.Try to understand brother. If I go to the academy the students the won't be able to keep up with me.
Or should I say that I would have to lower my standards to sit in the same class as them."
" Isn't it just you bring narcissistic as always Raymond! Grow up"
The brothers laughed for a while and then departed to the planet Nova.
*
At planet Nova.
The imperial academy stood tall before their eyes. It was a majestic structure containing various buildings and covering the entire planet.
Silas was waiting for his friend the youngest prince and the elder prince with the other officers and headmaster of the academy.
Apparently the elder prince was once a student in the academy and was the headmaster's favourite during his time.
So he had come out personally to recieve his favourite student who was coming back to motivate the young minds and also with some official work from the emperor.
The instructors present here were only the ones who had spent quite a bit of time in the academy and were seniors to others.
Suddenly they spotted a black dot in the sky that was growing big by time.
It was the plane that the royal family members boarded.
As the sleek black plane stopped in front of the waiting members of the academy, they eagerly awaited the opening of the doors of the plane.
The attendants were the first ones to come out of the plane. Then came the maids.
And at last the princes grace everyone with their presence.
Everyone got on their knees with their heads bowed and their hand on their hearts.