Back in the times of kings and castles, there was a kingdom that stretched far and wide. In the heart of this land was the city of Alnerwick. Because Alnerwick is the capital of the Preba Kingdom it was always packed to the brim with travelers and merchants. Though the city was prosperous, like everything, it had a dark side. Many of the people living in the city have been cheated and used by the wealthy merchants leaving them in poverty. Upon seeing this King Merek started hiring more people from the slums in an attempt to help the people. Marek's son Joseph was a very outgoing and cheerful person. He would regularly converse with the people working in the castle. Everyone always enjoyed the young princes company as they were attending to their tasks. Joseph despite all of this had very few friends as he was not allowed to leave the castle. Joseph's closest friend was a boy about his age named Raaf.

Raaf and his father were a few of the people hired from the slums. Just like the others the prince would visit them every day. The visits bothered Raaf he was working to keep his family alive and this boy comes up to him without a care in the world and wastes his time talking about various things. He wanted to tell the boy so badly to go away and to leave him alone, however, he could not because the boy was a prince and it irritated him even more. At home, Raaf would ask his father why he enjoys the prince's company so much but he would avoid answering the question because it would upset Raaf. After his father failed to answer his question many times in a row he stormed off toward a quiet place to think.

Merek had always loved his son. Joseph was the last gift his wife gave him before she died. He had always tried to give Joseph the life she would have wanted him to have. Joseph had been given everything he needed to be successful. He was taught a broad range of subjects. If he were to ask for something it would be brought to him. Merek could see that his son's smarts were not enough. Joseph was clumsy, forgetful, and too trusting. Merek could look past many of his son's traits but he could not look past his son's trust. He would constantly be telling his son to not trust people so easily. Joseph would not listen to his father's advice and kept trusting those who opened up to him if even only for a short time.

Raaf went to work the next day eager to see Joseph. It was about noon when Joseph came by. Raaf put down his work and turned to Joseph. Joseph did his usual greeting and asked Raaf how he was doing. Raafs face turned dark and he turned away. After waiting a second he explained that he and his father had gotten into an argument. Joseph listened to what his friend had to say. When Raff was done talking Joseph admitted that he had a fight with his father last night as well. He told of how his father thinks he is too trusting and how he should be more cautious. Seeing that now was the perfect time to set his plans into motion Raaf coaxed Joseph toward an isolated place to talk. Raaf spent the next hour trying to convince Joseph to come to the slums with him that night. In the end, Joseph agreed.

Neer the end of the day Raaf told his father the king wanted him to stay and help him with a few things. His father saw no problems with this and allowed him to stay. Raaf met up with Joseph near one of the back entrances. When no one was looking both of them left. After they were a good distance away from the castle they started heading toward the slums. Joseph was in awe as he had never left the castle before. He saw so many new thing it was hard to take it all in. As they went along the building became smaller and more worn. Eventually Raaf directed Joseph down an alley. It was very hard to see in the alley as the sun was setting. As they moved deeper into the alley Joseph saw what looked to be two tall figures. The two men approached the boys one with a knife and one without. They looked Joseph up and down and turned to Raaf. Giving Raaf a bag they turned back towards Joseph. After looking through the bag Raaf ran off with the distinct sound of coins trailing off with him. The thugs then ordered Joseph to strip and leave everything he had on him there. Refusing Joseph put all of his strength into a punch directed at the man with the knife. Halfway through the punch he felt a cold pain in his stomach and warm liquid run down his body. Joseph fell to the dirt. All he could do was stare at the starry sky as the thugs gathered his things and left. His father's warnings repeating over and over in his head.

After it was discovered that his son was missing he sent everyone he could to find his son. A few days later Joseph's body was discovered lying dead on the ground in a secluded alley. Merek was devastated by this loss the death of his only son. When a few weeks had gone by Merek recovered and focused his effort on his work. Everything he did was an attempt to distract himself from the mistake he had made. He had always told his son to not trust everyone but he would put no effort into preventing something like this from happening. His son was dead and he believed it was all his fault.