The Prophesied Triplets

Book 1: Chapter 4

4 years Later (Serafina~Age 10, Andrew~ Age 13, and Ian~ Age 4)

Julius POV

I sighed while looking at some documents. So much time has passed since Lumus was overtaken with the demons. However the royal family disappeared, and whoever helped them did a damn good job at leaving no trace. I don’t want to give up hope that they are alive or not, but things are not looking good.

‘Don’t be disheartened. Maybe they had a good reason for vanishing like they did.’ My wolf, Xander, said in my head. ‘Yeah, but why would they leave their people to suffer like this? A king is supposed to put the well being of the kingdom before the well being of himself.’ I grab my head in frustration, as I hear a gentle knock on the door.

I straightened up and answered. “Come in.” The door opens and I see Serafina walk in with a tray in her hands. “You haven’t come down for lunch yet, Uncle Julius. So I brought you something.” She said with a sweet smile. “Oh Serafina, thank you dear. How come you are not in the training grounds?” I asked her.

It was a rare sight for her not to be out there training her little butt off. Serafina was very serious about her duties as Andrew’s protector. She spends most of her time training either alone, with Roland, or with Tom.

She frowned a bit. “Papa is being overprotective again. He has grounded me from training today. So I have been in the kitchen cooking.” She smiled as she placed the tray down on my desk in front of me. “Oh? What is this?” I asked, looking at the dish. “I made a pretty good ramen broth. Even made the noodles from scratch. I hope you enjoy it.” She smiles as she points to the ramen dish in front of me.

It had a lot of veggies and a hard boiled egg cut in half on top. I picked up my spoon to try the soup first. As soon as the hot soup hit my tongue, I groaned. “Mmmm. This is delicious.” Speaking the truth. Serafina beamed with happiness.

Next, I take my fork and pick up some of the noodles. Soaked in the soup, the noodles were perfect. Thick, wide noodles soaked up more of the soup and they weren’t soggy from sitting too long. The veggies were also nice and crisp.

“How did you get the vegetables full of flavor, but yet still be slightly crip?” I asked. She smiled. “Once I prepped them. I steamed the vegetables over the soup itself. Then I did a quick soak before adding them to the ramen.” Serafina never stops surprising me. I would have to say that maybe her only flaw, would probably be that she can be too serious about her duties. I enjoyed my lunch and after I finished, Serafina started to gather the dishes.

“Serafina you can leave those, I can call a maid to come and clean them.” She shook her head. “That's ok. I got it.” Before I could say another word she picked up all the dishes and left the room. I shook my head with a small smile and went back to my work. I need to find the royal family of Lumus before things with the demons get out of hand. I know the demon king is still searching for them as well and it will only be a matter of time before he comes to Avalan.

Serafina’s POV

I get back to the kitchen and wash the dishes. I find it so boring when Papa bans me from training. I head out to the garden and climb up a tree. I can see the training ground from the top since it is not that far away from the garden. I see Papa training Andrew alone. I feel my breath hitch a bit. Andrew is shirtless with sweat coating his body. He doesn’t have the same thick muscles like the adults, but he still looks good. Plus I am sure once he comes of age he will look even better.

I shake my head vigorously. ‘What am I thinking? Andrew is the crowned prince and I am his shadow. Besides that, he has a perfect mate out there for him. I am to serve and protect him. Not fall for him.’ “SERAFINA!” I jumped as someone shouted my name. I lose my balance and begin to fall. ‘Crap!’ I rotate my body and roughly grab the first branch my hands find. The branch bends with my weight and I feel the bark digging into my hands. I breathe a sigh of relief when I get my footing again and look down to see who called me.

It was my younger brother, Ian. His face was a mix of horror and amazement. I finish climbing down and Ian jumps on me. Making me fall backward on my butt with him on my lap. We share a smile and a laugh as we hug each other. I love my little brother.

“Wow sissy, you are so cool! The way you caught yourself. Though I am sorry I scared you. I was calling you for a good five minutes and it was like you couldn’t hear me.” he said all in one breath. “It’s ok Ian. Sorry I didn’t hear from you the first few times. I was deep in thought about something.” I say with a bit of heat rising in my cheeks.

“Sissy, why are you red? Do you have a fever?” Ian asked as he placed his forehead to mine. I laugh. “No, I was thinking of how embarrassing it is to fall out of the tree.” I fib. True that it was embarrassing, but I would be even more embarrassed if my little brother found out I was checking out the young prince. Then as if they heard my thoughts, Prince Andrew and Papa ran into the garden. Breathing hard.

“Are you ok, Serafina?!” Andrew asked as he dropped to his knees in front of me. I tilt my head. “Huh?” “We heard Ian yell out your name and I saw you hanging from a high tree branch.” Papa explained.

I wave my hands in front of me. “Oh, I am fine. Ian just startled me when I was in deep thought and-” Andrew cut me off when he grabbed my hand in his. He held them gently in his hands. We are only three years apart, but Andrew was already so much bigger than me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

Andrew was looking at my palms with a frown on his face. “Your hands are full of splinters and blood. We need to treat and clean them.” He said. Ian got off my lap as Andrew helped me to my feet. “Come on.” was all he said as he began to pull me behind him.

Prince Andrews POV

I gently pull Serafina behind me as I make my way to the infirmary. I don’t want her to have any more scars than the big one she has on her side. I found a hatred for demons for hurting my Serafina. Yes, she is mine. I have claimed her as such.

I am the one that should protect her. Not the other way around, but getting her to see that is near impossible. Serafina is so stubborn when it comes to her duty as my bodyguard.

Once we get to the infirmary, I have her sit on one of the beds. I look through the drawers for tweezers so I can pull the splinters. Then I can clean the small cuts. “Here you go, Prince Andrew.” Ian said as he held up the tweezers he found on the nightstand of the bed closest to him. Ian had dark brown hair, which he got from his grandfather on his mother’s side, and amber eyes, which he got from his grandmother on his father’s side. Though right now, his eyes were full of worry for his sister. I grabbed them and started pulling the bits of wood out of her palms.

The faint scent of metallic blood filled my nose. I looked up at her every time I felt her jerk a bit, but she never once whimpered in pain or anything. Once I had the wood out of her palms, I gently clean her cuts with some disinfected, then I grabbed some herbal cream from the cabinet and bandages. I gently rubbed the cream over her palms and wrapped her hands up with the bandages. “Done. That should take care of that.” I said with a smile.

Serafina looked at her hands and then to me, and smiled. “Thank you for helping me, your highness. Sorry for troubling you. I never would have realized I had injured myself until I got home.” She said. Her voice still sounds like a wonderful musical melody to me.

I felt myself blush a bit at her thanking me. I would do anything for her to notice me in every way, and her smile always brings me to my knees. I had it bad for her. “Y-y-you’re welcome. Just try to be more careful next time.” I turn around and see Uncle Roland smirking at me with an eyebrow raised.

‘Man, was it obvious that I like her or what?’ I got the same looks from Uncle Tom and both Mom and Dad. I wonder how Serafina felt about me. I mean she always calls me by my title, even when we are alone. It seems like she is always trying to keep me at a distance now than before when we were kids.

I looked over at her, but she wasn’t looking at me. “You ok Serafina?” I asked. She nods her head. “Yes, I am. Just averted my eyes, since you forgot your shirt at the training grounds. I don’t want to be rude.” she said. Then I looked down. ‘Crap!’ I forgot I was half naked in front of her.

I didn’t really have the same kind of muscles that others had. I can’t wait until I build up muscles like Dad and Uncle Roland. “Oh, sorry.” I said and almost bolted out of the room. I heard Uncle Roland chuckle under his breath at me. I growled as I went back to the training ground and grabbed my shirt.