The Serpent's Enigma

19 | The Little Serpent

CAL VELIUS LEROY

Once upon a time in the Empire of Angletonia, there lived Cal Velius Leroy, a prince of unparalleled brilliance and intelligence. As the Prince of Emraullt, heir apparent to the greatest empire ever to exist, he resided in the imperial palace with his father the Emperor, the most magnificent leader in the world.

The universe was filled with lies and deception but one thing that cannot be truer, it was how much the Prince and his father loved each other. His father played with him, protected him, and cared for him in a way that no one else had.

From their unspeakable bond, they agreed to make a sacred pinky swear, promising that there shall be no secrets among them. Cal Junior had stayed true to that promise, until eventually... There was something he wasn't telling him.

The year of his sixth birthday, the Prince discovered that strange things had started occurring within him. Bizarre, peculiar things that no one else was able to do. Abilities that only existed in the world of fairy tales that he had been reading.

One day, a few pieces of papers flew across the desk and into his hand as he intended to grab them. Thinking it was the wind that had blown them in his direction, Cal calmly shook it off. But sometimes, bigger, heavier objects started being affected. First, it was the pencils, then his books and soon even the tables started to screech against the alabaster floor when he merely thought about shifting them.

Cal wasn't just excited when he discovered his talents, but also fearful. What gave him this ability? Papa couldn't do it, so were Grandpop and Grandmere when they were alive. Was he cursed? He remembered asking his father if an evil witch had put a curse on him when he was a baby—a common occurrence in fairy tales—only for it to be dismissed with laughter.

Another reason he could never tell his father because Papa dislikes the very thought of the supernatural and anything of the like. Hates the very idea of them being real. For him, magic was no more than a made-belief, a trick and bedtime stories. And Cal hated the very idea of betraying his father.

So he kept it secret. As long as Papa didn't know, they would keep living happily ever after.

However, his consolation didn't last very long. Soon after that, his father told him that he was going to get married.

There was nothing that could properly describe how he felt at that moment. Not that he should be surprised at all, it was written all over the books he was reading. The princesses got their princes in the end. Kings had their queens, and even the great dragon had found an equally enchanting female dragon to lay more eggs.

Soulmates weren't fathers and sons, they were lovers.

His father was an emperor, literally speaking, he should have an empress; as Grandpop with Grandmére.

But in the books, people got married because of true love. When did his father fall in love with this woman— this princess? He had never seen her! Say they did love each other, would his father stop loving him? How would it feel to share his father's affection with someone else? Wouldn't she become an evil stepmother?

Cal shuddered at the thought.

Yet who was he to prevent his father from finding true love? Cal didn't want to be the villain, not to his father! So he buried all his feelings deep down, presenting him with his blessing.

If Cal had to sleep in the attic after this, so be it.

On their wedding day, Cal had expected his father to put him to the side in favour of whisking his new bride into the sunset. But his anxiety died down seeing that they were acting like strangers towards one another.