Episode 1 — The Prince Born to Wear the Crown
The bells of Valoria Palace rang before sunrise.
One.
Two.
Three.
Their deep sound rolled across the capital, waking the city from its sleep.
People opened their windows.
Merchants stepped outside their shops.
Guards stationed at the palace gates straightened their backs.
Everyone knew what the bells meant.
A royal celebration was beginning.
Inside the magnificent palace, servants hurried through the marble corridors carrying trays of food, flowers, silk cloth, and golden ornaments.
Today was not an ordinary day.
Today, Prince Adrian Aldric was celebrating his tenth birthday.
And throughout the kingdom, everyone knew one thing about the young prince.
He was the future King of Valoria.
Adrian stood before a tall mirror inside the royal dressing chamber while two servants adjusted his ceremonial coat.
The coat was deep blue, embroidered with golden threads.
A small golden crown rested on his dark hair.
He stared at his reflection with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
“Is it straight?” he asked.
One of the servants smiled.
“Perfectly straight, Your Highness.”
Adrian touched the crown.
“It feels strange.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone keeps calling me the future King.”
The servant lowered his head respectfully.
“That is because you are the Crown Prince.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
Before he could answer, the chamber doors opened.
A familiar voice filled the room.
“Adrian.”
The prince turned immediately.
“Mother!”
Queen Eliana entered the chamber.
She was dressed in a silver gown that shimmered beneath the morning light. Her long dark hair was decorated with small diamonds, but nothing about her appearance attracted Adrian’s attention as much as her smile.
He ran toward her.
Queen Eliana opened her arms and embraced him.
“Happy birthday, my son.”
“Thank you.”
She kissed his forehead.
“I cannot believe you are already ten.”
Adrian grinned.
“Father says I am becoming a man.”
“Your father says many things.”
Adrian laughed.
Queen Eliana looked at him carefully.
For a moment, her smile disappeared.
She placed both hands on his shoulders.
“Adrian.”
“Yes, Mother?”
“Never forget who you are.”
The boy frowned.
“I am Adrian.”
Eliana smiled.
“Yes. You are Adrian. But you are also the Crown Prince of Valoria.”
She lowered her voice.
“One day, you will wear the crown.”
Adrian looked at the golden crown in the mirror.
“I will?”
“You will.”
“Even when I am old?”
Queen Eliana laughed softly.
“Perhaps.”
Adrian smiled.
“I promise I will be a good king.”
“I know you will.”
The Queen pulled him into another embrace.
Neither of them knew how important those words would become.
⸻
Across the palace, another room was being prepared.
Queen Seraphina sat before her mirror while her attendants arranged her hair.
Unlike Queen Eliana, Seraphina wore a crimson gown decorated with black stones.
She looked beautiful.
But her expression was cold.
“Is the King attending the birthday ceremony?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And Prince Lucian?”
“He is already preparing.”
“And Princess Isabella?”
“She will attend with Prince Lucian.”
Seraphina nodded.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
For years, she had lived inside this palace.
She had married King Aldric.
She had given him two children.
A son.
A daughter.
Yet there was one thing she could never possess.
The future throne.
Because of Adrian.
Seraphina’s fingers tightened around the edge of the dressing table.
Ten years.
For ten years, she had watched King Aldric place Adrian above everyone.
Every celebration.
Every ceremony.
Every lesson.
Every military demonstration.
Adrian was always there.
The King’s favorite son.
The firstborn prince.
The Crown Prince.
Seraphina hated that title.
Not because Adrian had done anything to her.
The boy had never insulted her.
He had never harmed her children.
In fact, Adrian treated Lucian like a brother.
But Seraphina didn’t care.
She looked at the palace through the window.
“The crown should belong to my son.”
Her attendant lowered her eyes.
“Your Majesty?”
Seraphina immediately composed herself.
“Nothing.”
A knock sounded.
The door opened.
Prince Lucian entered.
He was eight years old, two years younger than Adrian.
Behind him came Princess Isabella, who was six.
Lucian bowed.
“Mother.”
Seraphina smiled.
“Come here.”
Lucian approached.
She adjusted his collar.
“You look handsome.”
“Thank you.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“Mother, are we going to Adrian’s birthday?”
“Yes.”
“Can I give him my gift?”
Seraphina looked at her daughter.
“What did you give him?”
“A wooden horse.”
Seraphina’s smile became forced.
“How thoughtful.”
Lucian looked at his mother.
“Will Adrian become King when Father dies?”
The room became silent.
Seraphina slowly turned toward him.
“Who told you that?”
“Everyone says it.”
Lucian lowered his head.
“Is it true?”
Seraphina stared at her son.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she knelt before him.
“Your brother is the Crown Prince.”
Lucian nodded.
“Does that mean I can never be King?”
Seraphina’s eyes darkened.
“Never say never.”
Lucian looked confused.
But Seraphina stood.
“Come. We are going to the celebration.”
⸻
The Great Hall was filled with nobles.
Hundreds of candles burned beneath the enormous golden chandeliers.
Long tables covered the room.
Musicians played royal songs.
Servants carried wine and food.
At the center of the hall stood King Aldric.
He was a tall man with broad shoulders and streaks of gray in his dark hair.
His golden crown rested firmly on his head.
Beside him stood Queen Eliana.
On his other side stood Queen Seraphina.
Behind them were the royal children.
When Adrian entered the hall, everyone turned.
The musicians stopped.
Then the entire hall erupted in applause.
Adrian walked toward his father.
King Aldric smiled proudly.
“My son.”
Adrian bowed.
“Father.”
The King placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Today you are ten years old.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Ten years ago, the gods blessed Valoria with your birth.”
Adrian smiled.
Aldric looked toward the nobles.
“This boy is not merely my son.”
He paused.
“He is the future King of Valoria.”
The hall applauded again.
Seraphina clapped with everyone else.
But there was no warmth in her eyes.
King Aldric removed a small golden pendant from around his neck.
He placed it around Adrian’s neck.
“This belonged to my father.”
Adrian touched it.
“Grandfather’s?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
“Because one day, you will sit where I sit.”
The boy looked at the throne.
His eyes widened.
“I will?”
“You will.”
Aldric smiled.
“I expect you to become an even better king than I am.”
Adrian’s face brightened.
“I promise.”
From across the hall, Seraphina watched.
Her eyes moved from Adrian to Lucian.
Her son stood beside her.
He was smiling.
But Seraphina wasn’t.
⸻
The celebration continued for hours.
Adrian received gifts from nobles across the kingdom.
A jeweled sword.
A trained horse.
Books about military strategy.
Maps.
Clothes.
Gold.
But his favorite gift came from his mother.
It was a simple wooden box.
Inside was a silver compass.
Adrian stared at it.
“What is it?”
“A compass.”
“I know that.”
Eliana laughed.
“I mean, why did you give it to me?”
She sat beside him.
“Because a king must always know where he is going.”
Adrian turned the compass in his hands.
“What if I get lost?”
“Then follow the compass.”
“What if the compass is wrong?”
Eliana looked into his eyes.
“Then trust your heart.”
Adrian smiled.
“I will.”
A few steps away, Lucian watched them.
His expression was innocent.
He had no hatred for Adrian.
Not yet.
But someone else was watching.
Queen Seraphina.
She looked at Adrian receiving another gift from his mother.
Then she looked at King Aldric.
The King was smiling.
Proud.
Happy.
Completely devoted to his firstborn son.
Seraphina’s jaw tightened.
She knew that as long as Adrian lived, Lucian would remain second.
Second prince.
Second choice.
Second in line.
She couldn’t accept that.
⸻
That evening, the royal family gathered for dinner.
Adrian sat beside his father.
Lucian sat across from him.
Princess Isabella sat between the two queens.
King Aldric raised his cup.
“To my son.”
Everyone raised their cups.
“To Prince Adrian.”
Adrian smiled.
“Thank you.”
Lucian leaned forward.
“Adrian.”
“Yes?”
“Can I see your sword?”
Adrian laughed.
“Of course.”
He placed the jeweled sword on the table.
Lucian looked at it with admiration.
“Father gave you this?”
“Yes.”
“One day, will I have one?”
“Of course.”
Adrian smiled.
“I’ll teach you how to use it.”
Lucian grinned.
“Really?”
“Really.”
King Aldric watched them.
His smile widened.
“That is how brothers should behave.”
Queen Eliana looked at her sons.
For the first time that evening, she seemed completely at peace.
But Seraphina’s fingers tightened around her cup.
“How touching,” she said.
Eliana looked at her.
“Seraphina?”
“Nothing.”
She smiled.
“Happy birthday, Adrian.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
The word made Seraphina’s smile disappear for half a second.
Mother.
Adrian still called her that sometimes.
But Seraphina didn’t feel like his mother.
She had never been able to forget that she was his father’s second wife.
And Adrian was the obstacle standing between her son and the throne.
⸻
Later that night, after the children had gone to their rooms, Queen Seraphina stood alone in her chamber.
She dismissed her attendants.
The doors closed.
Silence filled the room.
She walked toward the window.
The palace gardens were dark.
She could see guards patrolling the walls.
Her thoughts returned to the celebration.
King Aldric’s words echoed in her mind.
One day, you will sit where I sit.
Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.
“Not if I can prevent it.”
She turned away from the window.
For years, she had tried to convince herself that Adrian would eventually lose the King’s favor.
But the opposite had happened.
The older Adrian became, the more King Aldric trusted him.
The boy was intelligent.
Kind.
Disciplined.
And loved by the people.
Even the nobles respected him.
If nothing changed, Adrian would become King.
Lucian would spend his entire life standing behind him.
Seraphina walked toward a locked wooden chest.
She opened it.
Inside were letters.
Family records.
Political documents.
And information about the royal succession.
She studied them silently.
Then she whispered:
“Adrian is only ten.”
She paused.
“There is still time.”
A cold smile appeared on her face.
She closed the chest.
Outside, the palace bells rang once.
The kingdom slept peacefully.
No one knew that something dangerous had begun inside the royal family.
No one knew that the Crown Prince’s greatest enemy was not standing beyond the kingdom’s borders.
She was already inside the palace.
And she was wearing a queen’s crown.
⸻
The following morning, Prince Adrian woke before sunrise.
He walked toward the palace training yard carrying the wooden practice sword his father had given him years earlier.
He wanted to become stronger.
He wanted to become a king his father could be proud of.
He didn’t know that someone was already watching him from the shadows.
A figure stood beyond the stone wall.
Hidden.
Silent.
Watching.
The figure turned away.
And disappeared into the morning fog.
Adrian continued practicing.
Swing.
Step.
Block.
Again.
He had no idea that his peaceful childhood was coming to an end.
Because the first move against the Crown Prince had already been made.
And soon…
someone would be ordered to kill him.
End of Episode 1
