The Flower of Soline

He was woken abruptly the next morning by the same maid from the previous night. He glared at her and tried to duck back underneath the covers. He didn know why, but being awoken by a person was one hundred times worse than being awoken by an alarm clock. The maid didn seem to mind and casually ripped the blanket off him as if this was a normal occurrence.

Immediately he was hit with the cold air. Shocked, he curled into himself trying to fester some warmth, but his small efforts for warmth were in vain. The bed he was on was cold as well, the only source of heat was his body that was rapidly losing any warmth he had accumulated overnight from the comforter that had been cruelly taken from him.

Was it winter here? He gazed towards the windows that were being opened one by one by the maid. A warm breeze wafted through the room, chasing away the cold. That was strange. It was obviously warm outside and yet it was cold inside. He looked around the room. There wasn much and what was in the room was small, dainty, and in some cases rapidly falling apart.

The bed he was on was the only thing he deemed usable in this room. The rest, though beautiful from afar, were actually wearing and tearing from years of use. The pillows and cushions on the small pair of couches were tearing at the seams, though if one were to look close enough they could see the horrible stitching job. It looked as if someone had tried to save the furniture. The wood of the dresser and nightstand were stained and peeling in some places. The color must have been beautiful way back then, but now it was an ugly grey brown.

There was no fireplace, no painting, no rugs, no decorations. It was like the person who had been living in this room had no personality. Or – the other thought worried him – no one cared about what happened to this body.

So, was he a noble child? He had to be or else his maid wouldn have that emblem on her uniform. But, then why was this body not being treated like a noble child? Could he be a bastards child?

”Young Master, its time for your bath. ” The maid from before bowed in front of him and gestured to a small door that was hidden in the corner of the room.

He nodded to himself more than her as he pushed himself out of his bed. At least I have a bath. Though he was worried what the bath would look like. With how bad the room looked he could only imagine that the bath looked just as bad.

There was a knock at the door. His maid froze. Her eyes darkening and her hand twitched as she reached for underneath her skirt. He eyed her, curious of her sudden reaction. Was she hiding something?

”Ex-excuse me? ” a hesitant voice called out from the other side of the door. The maids hand stopped and she put on a warming smile.

”Come in! ”

The door opened to reveal a man with short brown hair and dull brown eyes. He was darker skinned and had an air of worry that seemed to follow him wherever he went. He was holding a tray of what smelt like food. His eyes were darting to the small table and then back to the tray that wasn shaking at all. What was he worrying about?

”Young Master, this is Neal. Starting today he will be your personal butler. ” Neal placed the tray of food down, his eyes focused. When he heard his name he startled, almost dropping the lid of the tray on the ground.

”My name is Neal! Its a pleasure to be serving you. ” Neal bowed. The maid stood beside him and with a glare she nudged him in the side.

”Och, what did I do-oh, Young Master! ” he added with a beaming smile. Any sense of worry that had been in the air before had long disappeared. He nodded back and stood on shaky legs, ready for a bath.

”Let me help you Young Master. ” The maid came over and gave him her arm for support. His eyebrows furrowed and he scowled. He didn want any help – No – He shouldn need any help with walking. He shook his head and against the maids better judgement he walked slowly to the bathroom.

The bathroom was small, but decent. A single toilet stood in the corner, cut off from the rest of the bathroom and he sighed in comfort at knowing that this world at least had somewhat decent toilets. There was no sink nor were there any mirrors, but at least he had a bath.

Peering into the water he reeled back in shock. Not only was his appearance concerning, but it also confirmed which family he was part of.

He didn look anything like he used to. His skin was now flawless, no blemishes in sight. His pale complexion worried him slightly, but he didn know if it was because he was sick or if he was naturally this pale. His eyes and hair were the dead give away for who his family was. His blood red eyes were striking against his pale complexion and he had to admit it gave him goosebumps when he looked into his own eyes. His hair was shoulder length, even though it was barely brushing his shoulders, he still found it annoying, after all, he was used to short styled back hair. He frowned at his silver hair. It worked well with his new bodys appearance, but once again it gave him an unesses feeling.

He took off his clothes, frowning at the bruises and scratches that littered his body. Looks like this body has some history. He got into the somewhat warm bath and started to wash himself. He would grimace everytime he brushed over a bruise or accidentally scrubbed too hard on a cut.

His mind wandered to what he had learned from his appearance. He was part of the infamous Frenzel family. Meaning that he was most likely the child of none other than a Great War General.

No one else in the world of the Flower of Soline was able to hold both traits of blood red eyes and silver hair. It was a unique trait passed down only to the children of the Frenzel family due to one of their ancestors helping a spirit when it was in trouble. Besides their unique looks, the Frenzel family also had the unique trait of always being born with a unique ability.

In the Flower of Soline, every person was born with an affinity towards one of the six elements, light, shadows, fire, water, air, and earth. Sometimes, people were born with an affinity towards more than one, but those people were usually found in noble families. Though, in the Flower of Soline it was becoming more common for commoners children to be born with more than one affinity. The rarest ability though, was the use of a unique ability.

A unique ability is just as it sounds. An ability unique to that child. It could be anything from being able to see in the dark to something more gruesome like being able to puppet others into killing one another. No one knew who would be able to use a unique ability, but once a child showed their unique ability they gained glory and rose to the top of whatever they chose to pursue.

The King or Queen of the Kingdom of Soline was chosen using the unique ability test. The current King or Queen would have children until one was born with a unique ability. Once that child demonstrates their unique ability they are crowned Prince or Princess and would be the next one to sit on the throne. Unfortunately, for the first time in history all five princes had been born with unique abilities. Which created a rift in the succession process.

If im part of the Frenzel family, then whats my unique ability? he glanced at his reflection in the water. He had no idea how to access his abilities nor how to figure out his abilities. It was one of the things in the novel that was never really discussed.

He frowned even more. For now he wasn too concerned about what his ability was, but he was concerned about who he was.

The Frenzel family only had two children and he did not look like either of those children. This only proved his theory that this body must have died before the novel had started and if that was the case then him being alive could have a drastic change on the story itself.

”Young Master, its time to come out. ” The maid called from the other side of the door. He didn respond, only nodding to himself. He sighed as he got out of the bath, not expecting that the maid and Neal would walk through the door while he was still naked.

A deep flush spread on his face and ears and he quickly dived back into the water. Wait, wait, wait, wait, are you telling me I have to be dressed by them? When Im naked! He was having an internal conflict while the two got to work grabbing a towel and his clothes and escorting him out of the water.

He was frozen in embarrassment the entire time they dried and clothed him. He hadn been dressed like this since he was an infant and he didn even remember those times. Only pictures were left over from those times.

”I-I can do this myself. ” He reached for his clothing, ready to finish dressing himself in order to get rid of this embarrassment. The maid had the audacity to laugh while Neal just smiled and continued on with his job. Where- where they ignoring him?

”Young Master, please don make jokes. It is our duty to dress you until you become of age. ” The miad helped him put on a simple white under shirt.

Coming of age? He frowned at that. Coming of age didn give him enough to go off of. Depending on the setting and time period, the coming of age could be anywhere from sixteen to twenty one. At least he had an idea of where his age may lie.

Neal held out a uniform in front of him and he once again froze. So even this body had to go to that wretched place. He thought while looking at the golden flower embroidered on a Royal blue uniform.

The Royal Academy. An academy where only the rich and powerful attended. A place where only the strong survived. Originally created for the royals and their education, it slowly expanded into a place where those who seek power and fame fought with one another in order to secure their position among the highley elite. The Royal academy sells itself as an academy open to all, but only if you have power and potential. It was an unhidden truth that those unworthy ended up dying in their pursuit. No questions were ever asked about those few unlucky students.

Is this where this body got all the injuries? If so, it looks like I might be one of those unlucky students. He clenched his fists. His mind trying to figure out a way to either avoid attending that hell hole or finding someone or something to protect him, but with what little he knew – it was a lost cause.

”Neal, If you would please. ” The maid came to the front and gestured to him. He watched intently with some curiosity as Neal got behind him and held out his hands.

What was he doing?

A gentle breeze danced around his head, enveloping his hair in a new warmth. He watched absentmindedly as his hair dried on the spot. A stray wind gently touched his cheek and like a switch went off he froze.

His head hurt as a scene flashed through his mind like snip bits of a movie. A hand reaching out, laughter, wind slashing at his skin, and above all pain. So much pain. He whimpered and curled away from Neal and into the warm embrace of the maid. She opened her arms, and gently patted him on the head.

”There, there, its okay. Its just Neal, nothings gonna hurt you. ” she whispered into his ear until he calmed down.

What was that? What did I just see? he couldn wrap his mind around it. Had he seen a memory of the previous body owners life? Was he supposed to see memories like that? If so, he didn like it, not one bit.

”Now, lets get you some food before you head out. ” The maid guided him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom once again. This time it was warm. The windows were wide open and the room had been cleaned while he was in the bath, well had been cleaned to the best of their capability. The dust no longer clinged to the furniture, but the obvious wear and tear were still there.

”Here Young Master! I was able to get you some eggs to go with your breakfast today. ” The miad sat him down at the small table between the couches. Her words concerned him, but the food looked so appetizing, that all concern flew out the window.

He scooped up the egg with some bread and stuffed it into his mouth, instantly regretting it. It was cold and hard. He held it in his mouth, glancing up at the maid only to find her smiling with big eyes as if she were a puppy waiting for praise. He looked back at his food knowing what he had to do.

He ate the food in less than ten bites.

”Im so glad Young Master liked it! ” the maid fretted over his appearance before ushering him out of the room and into a deserted hallway.

Wait…do I live in an abandoned part of the estate? He looked down the hallway. There was dust, cobwebs, and the occasional hole in the wall. No decorations hung from the wall and the candles were not lit. The windows were closed and he suddenly knew why his room had been so cold.

If the place I live in was like this, its no wonder Im freezing.

The maid walked in front of him while Neal walked behind him. He wasn complaining since he didn know where exactly he was going, but shouldn he be leading the way? It was almost as if the position he was in was for a reason.

They walked down the hallway, twisting and turning down different hallways like a maze, until they came across a long stretch where the hallways drastically changed. No longer was it cold and lifeless. The floor was covered in an expensive rug with intricate designs. The walls were littered with paintings and portraits of things and people he had never seen. Vases and flowers decorated empty tables that sat in between the open windows. Even the curtains to the windows looked exquisite.

He went to touch one. The golden thread looked almost like gold and he wondered if perhaps it was gold, but he was stopped.

”Young Master, you mustn touch things. ” his maid had stopped him. Her hand was cold while it rested over his, a dark look in her eyes.

He pulled away. ”Im sorry, I must have forgotten. ” He grabbed onto his hand to prevent any other accidental slip-ups.

He gazed at the other maids and butlers that were walking around. They never looked his way and if they did then they gave him disgusted looks or acted like he didn even exist. After walking into a large herd of maids making their way to a room, he learned the real reason as to why the maid and butler were in their particular position.

One after another the maids made gestures towards him, which resulted in a few trying to hit him, trip him, or sometimes even stab him with sharp objects. They would have succeeded too, if not for the maid and Neal intercepting all the attacks; he was pretty sure he would have been severely injured at one point.

After that he made a promise to himself that no matter what, when he was in the estate, he would never leave their side.

He was escorted a different route towards a side entrance rather than through the grand main entrance. He didn mind, after all, he had no desire to see what family he lived with, especially one that didn care if he was dying.

The carriage that was waiting for him was no different than his room. There was no emblem, no guards, it was a plain white carriage with the paint slowly peeling off. The only hints of color were a mockery of gold painted around the window and door.

A footman stood beside the door of the carriage. He looked to be a commoner. His clothing was barely stitched together and his hair was tasseled in all directions, with a few pieces of straw sticking out. He must have been sleeping on the job. He had a scowl on his face and a single scar that ran down from his cheek to his chin. His hair was a light black and he had matching stubble to go with it. He was muscular, probably the only reason he had gotten the job in the first place. Such a pity, he would have been handsome if he had taken care of his appearance.

”Hurry up n get in. ” His voice was rough and scruffy, matching his looks perfectly.

He eyed the footman then looked back at the maid with apprehension. They weren making any move to get in. Do they expect me to travel by myself with him? He didn get to voice his worry as the maid grabbed his hand and helped him into the carriage, effectively closing it behind him.

”Have a good day at school Young Master! ” she said cheerfully, though he noticed that her smile was strained. It was almost as if she was afraid of him going to school. That look only confirmed his theory that he might be killed when he entered that school.

The carriage jostled and he found himself almost falling head first into the window. Scowling he closed the small curtains and moved to the middle of the carriage.

He had only read about the Royal Academy through the first princes point of view. Not once did he ever think about what to do in the event that he would attend as a potentially weak person. He observed his dainty hands as he remembered the bruises and cuts on his body. It wasn hard to figure out that he was bullied, but to have it happen while he was at the Royal Academy only made it worse.

This body was a child of the Frenzel household, but never showed up in the book, therefore I can assume that the body died before the start of the book. If that was the case then with the way the maid was acting about the royal academy and the multiple bruises and scars, it is safe to assume that this body was one of the unfortunate souls that died in the Royal Academy.

He hummed as he thought about the position he found himself in.

A dead persons body coming back to school the next day like nothing had happened. A smile graced his lips, Whoever hurt this body is going to have quite a shocker.