NEW BEGINNINGS.

Twelve years ago, Kel was taken prisoner by Scanrans. Now she returns, escaping her prison with her eleven year old Son Wyl, who happens to be the Prince of Scanra and King Maggur's son.

CHAPTER EIGHT - Revealing The Past.

"How did you get so good with weapons?" Jonathan asked, looking at Wyl with an awed expression.

Biting his lip, Wyl shook his head, barely stopping himself from cringing at the memories of his 'training'. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?" Roger grinned, "if I was that good, I'd be thrilled!"

"And if I'd been trained like you have, I would be too." Looking at the two Princes, Wyl sighed, "I understand why you want to know, but I really don't want to talk about it."

As Jonathan opened his mouth to protest, Kelanna gave him a hard nudge, looking at him sternly as she shook her head. Placing a hand on Wyl's shoulder, she smiled. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she said quietly. "Just remember that if you ever do want to talk, we'll all be here."

Wyl smiled at her and nodded, "Thank you."

xx

Duke Baird smiled as he saw Kel watching Wyl from the window, "you should be proud of him." In the week since he had begun training with the other pages, they had all seen that Wyl was extremely skilled with almost all weapons; from sword, to bow, staff and even the lance.

Kel smiling sighed, "I couldn't be more proud of him if I tried." Her son had been through so much, had suffered more than any child ever should.

Lord Wyldon raised his eyebrows as he looked at her, "Instead of continually dropping hints, why don't you tell us what happened?"

Turning to face them, Kel took a deep breath. "Wyl's training at Maggur's hand, was nothing short of barbaric." Swallowing at the memory of her son's torment, Kel forced herself to continue. "The first weapon Maggur began training Wyl with, was the sword..." Her breath shook at the memory as she glanced at her son. "... Wyl was five, Maggur took a sword from one of his guards and threw it to Wyl. When Wyl failed to catch it, Maggur broke his arm in his hands."

Neal gasped in horror, his eyes wide as he stared at Kel. "He did that to his own son?"

"Maggur never saw him as his son," Kel closed her eyes and shook her head, "Wyl was just a way to strengthen his rule."

"That wasn't the only time Maggur hurt him, was it?" Lord Wyldon asked, voicing the question, when the others were too afraid to.

Kel shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "Every time Wyl started on a new weapon, if he didn't do everything right the first time, Maggur would 'punish' him."

Cleon sighed as he shook his head. "I guess that explains why he cringes when I point out something he's not doing quite right." He was expecting to be hurt for his failure.

"He's been through so much," Duke Baird smiled as he turned his gaze to watch Wyl practicing with the lance while Jonathan, Rodger and Kelanna stood nearby, cheering as he neared the Quintain. "It would almost be understandable if he had become as bad as his father."

Kel smiled with pride, her son was special, in more ways than one. "I knew he was special from the moment I found out I was pregnant," she said softly, lifting the anti-pregnancy charm from around her neck.

Lord Wyldon's eyes widened, "The Gods wanted him to be born..."

"It's not hard to guess why," Neal said quietly. "He's the son of one of the most respected knights in Tortall and King Maggur, if he became the next king, he could end the war and bring peace between Tortall and Scanra."