Marcellus uttered, "What are you saying? How is it possible? Are you sure?"

"He is breathing. He is still alive," Horatio pointed out at the corpse. Marcellus also laid a hand on the corpse and assured that Horatio was correct. The heart was still full of life. His light breathes could be felt. The lamp of hope was not extinguished yet.

They could not move for a moment of surprise. All the conscious and the unconscious thoughts seemed mixed up together. They drank water from a nearby jar to bring back their mental calmness. Heavy breaths covered their hearts.

The priest solitude, "The Almighty saves him."

"What shall we do now?" Horatio asked with a shaking voice while he tried to take a breath.

"Death pardons the noble youth. If the situation is normal, then it will be a great pleasure for the whole of Denmark. He will be our King. We will celebrate today. But Denmark is captured by Norway. We should keep it a secret. It is not safe for you to live here," Marcellus replied.

Horatio asked, "Then where should we go for shelter?"

Marcellus thought for a moment, "You should go to Wittenberg. At least the hands of Fortinbras cannot reach there."

Many years ago, Denmark defeated Norway in a bloody war. Arthur, the king of Norway lost lands and died in the war. Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway wished to attack Denmark to recapture those occupied lands and avenge the honor of his father. He succeeded in seizing the throne of Denmark by a sudden attack at last.

The light streaked through the boughs in both brilliant and shadowy beams. In the summer they were white gold, illuminating the greens into recent riots; yet the gift of those warm days has passed for the season.

On these wintry days, the fog cast those same beams of light into sepia tones and the woodland became the most beautiful of landscapes. The leaves and branches covered with icy crystals. The sweet surrendering scent of the morning dew filled the forest with an unworldly smell.

The drone of insects humming started the usual routine of waking dawn, the forest came alive with the layers of sounds echoing in the cold morning air. Frogs croaked under the large leaves. Delicate drops of morning dew strung the webs, glistening in the first shards of sunlight.

While they all the humans were still asleep in Slumberland, the animals in every corner of the earth were waiting for a new dawn. The sweet opera of a flowing stream woke up the tribes in the forest. They came out from their cottage with axes on their hands.

They were walking in a group with a lively song of life. The tribes chopped the trees with their sweat-drenched muscular arms. They carried the logs on the horse carriages and the bullock carts. The cattle were in their normal manner, chewing grass on the forest. They worked the long day till the sunset. Then the tribes were gathering the logs.

But the horses neighed in terror looking at the North. First, they saw dusty air, which soon covered the sunlight. Then it turned into the loud noise of war drums with neighs of horses, carrying the flag of Norway. The tribes left their belongings and ran off from the place. Many lives stop breathing under the cruel feet of the soldiers in the eternal darkness.

The army stopped in the forest. The leading warrior took his helmet and the sweat-drenched face of Fortinbras revealed, "The sun is setting. Set the camp here."

The army cut the trees and cleared a spot. While the army was busy setting the tents, Fortinbras moved ahead on the horseback to check their way. It was almost dark in the sunset. He could see nothing nearby. Some wolves were howling. It was not safe to be alone in the forest at night. Fortinbras turned his horse back.

But a voice echoed in the forest, "Why are you here Prince Fortinbras?" 

Fortinbras startled to hear a human voice in the middle of nowhere. "Who are you? Come out and fight if you have courage," Fortinbras clutched his sword.

There was a long pause. Then the crushing sound of dry leaves with a loud laugh echoed through the forest, "Do I frighten you? Do not worry, I mean none harm to you."

Fortinbras saw a man in black clothes came out from behind a tree. He was pale, having many scars on his face. Though he was elegant, his icy cold blue eyes told he was not a gentleman. He was smirking looking at Fortinbras.

"Who are you? How dare you to speak with the great king in this manner?" Fortinbras gazed at the strange man, who was smirking.

The man laughed again, "I think it is the way how an ally talk!"

Then he introduced, "I am William Douglas. We are both lucky we meet each other today. My suggestion makes a profit for both of us if you allow me to speak."

"You? How you can help a mighty King?" Fortinbras laughed.

"Do not forget a tiny mouse helps a mighty lion to escape in the folktale. If you hear me, then you can fulfill your dream. I will fulfill the revenge of your father and the last wish of your mother. I can tell you about your unknown past and your mother," William was gazing still at Fortinbras. Something was in his eyes that made Fortinbras think again.

Fortinbras ruminated, his mother was an aspiring lady. She wanted that her son would be a world-conqueror. She died prematurely.  After the death of his father in the war, his uncle took control of Norway.

"So, what do you decide?" William asked.

Fortinbras came out from his reverie, "Come with me to my camp."

A calmness covered the night forest. It was a full moon night. An owl was hooting in a tree nearby. Nocturnal animals came out of their dens for hunting. The army finished their supper and was in deep sleep. The bonfire was still blazing to keep off wild animals.

Fortinbras and William were sitting face to face in a camp, "Remember if you waste my valuable time, I will have your head on spikes tomorrow."

"Do not worry about that. I should give my proper introduction to you at first. I am the only successor of the famous Douglas family, who are the wealthiest merchants in Norway. We were the head Merchant Guild at Norway court. I was an antique hunter who collected valuable items from different regions and sold them to the royal family for decoration. I helped the queen to collect ruined articles. She belonged to the elite duke family of Oslo. You may know that. But what you do not know about everything about your maternal side.

The Duke family of Oslo were Satanist for many generations. So, the tradition passed to your mother. When the war broke out during Denmark and Norway, your mother tried to do a ritual to protect your family. But it went wrong and caused the premature death of her. I was present at her side on her deathbed. She told her last wish and gave two articles.

When the new king, your uncle was coronated, he broke our merchant union. He did not want to waste the money on a luxury. The king also sold many antique properties of the royal family. I bought some of them to continue my business and found that" William put a hand on his bag. Then he brought out an old book and, a ruined dagger.

"What are these items?" Fortinbras took the dagger on his hand.

"This is the ancient book of spells and prophecies. It is as old as the Old Testament and discovered in middle-east. Some of the earliest Satanist wrote the book in Latin.

According to this book, the world-conqueror will be born when all the planets will conjoin in the eleventh house. I made your birth chart and according to the calculation, all the planets joined at the eleventh house. This means you will able to conquer the world when all the planets will aspect your sun sign. This time will come within a few months. It was the reason your mother had high aspirations for you," William turned the pages one by one.

Fortinbras laughed, "Do you think me an idiot or consider yourself clever? You want me to believe in your conspiracy theory. You may be a merchant but you cannot sell me anything. I do not believe in astrology or cult or what you say about my mother."

"I know you will not believe me. It is better to show you. But first, we need to go outside. Do not worry, I am unarmed and your army is just a call away," William said.