by Dr. D
Dezi walked out the bird, and Mathew was again surprised at the prince’s interest in following him. Dezi finally saw the weird look Mathew gave him, but he didn’t understand what it was for.
“I will have to stay with the bone craft.” Mathew eyed the crowd around the public square and finally said, “Please return promptly with his highness.”
“Yes, my lord.” Dezi bowed and headed toward his building with Acheron.
It took him a few steps to realize the difference on this street that he was so familiar with. Everyone moved out of his way and smiled at him with timid admiration.
Dezi had never attracted this much attention in his life. The way these people looked at him made Dezi feel a twisted sense of pride. It was as if what was following him was not a just idiot who dressed up as a prince, but a formidable dragon, a giant flowing fireball, or perhaps the devil himself in these people’s eyes. And him, Dezi, the magnificent ruler, had tamed and conquered them all.
Dezi shook his head and tried to chase away that feeling and ignore those eyes.
Focus. Dezi thought to himself. This could be his last chance of getting out of this.
But as he went into the building, he couldn’t help but get distracted by how old and cheaply made it looked. The tenement had collapsed inwardly on itself somewhat. The windows seemed not to be quite rectangular anymore; each step was of different heights. The bricks were sticking out of the wall, and the whole space stunk of various odors.
He looked back at the prince. The contrast of Acheron’s symmetrical face and finely-tailored suit to the surrounding almost hurt his unprepared eyes.
Dezi bit his lips and arrived at a tiny residence with run-down walls and cramped furniture.
“Wait outside,” Dezi said, but the prince had already followed him in.
Dezi signed at Acheron’s ignorant expression, dug out a bag, and started gathering his stuff.
“Dezi?” a girl’s voice came out from one of the bedrooms.
“Yes.” Dezi frowned.
“Where the hell did you ...” Her high-pitched voice choked in her throat as she stepped out and saw Dezi in his new outfit.
“Lisa.” Dezi forced out a smile.
“You ...” Lisa stammered and looked like she was struggling to pick something from the sheer number of things that she wanted to say. “You look good,” she eventually commented.
Dezi was slightly surprised. He glanced down at the fine clothing he was wearing and met Lisa’s eyes with a deepened grin. “Thank you.”
Lisa smiled back as if she had been charmed.
Dezi wasn’t someone that would be gossiped about for his good looks, but he would be considered reasonably attractive by most people. Dezi knew he looked his best when he looked directly into someone’s eyes and smiled.
As he and Lisa exchanged gazes, Dezi saw Acheron approach him from the corner of his eyes. He immediately turned and caught Acheron’s hand before it got to his hair.
Acheron closed his fingers around Dezi’s hand and settled down.
“Who is your friend?” Lisa said.
“Um.” Dezi dropped the prince’s hand. “Listen, Lisa.” Dezi continued to put some more notebooks into his canvas bag. “I am moving out, and I wouldn’t be able to work here anymore.”
“Where are you moving to?” Lisa approached Dezi.
There was a pause in Dezi ‘s movement, but then he kept gathering his things. “Up the hills.”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “How did you ...”
“I don’t have time to explain right now.” Dezi picked up his bag and headed toward the door. “But I will see you at school. Ok?”
“Oh, okay.” Lisa blushed.
Dezi gave a sly smile and left.
The good mood accompanied Dezi as he headed back into the lavabreaker, basking in people’s attention.
But as he placed his old canvas bag on the silk seats, the contrasts of the two materials made Dezi suddenly realize that he had been carried away. He sat down and spent the trip back with his eyebrows knitted. His hands rubbed on the edge of the canvas repetitively until his fingers became raw.
He didn’t want to stay in the palace.
But what was he going to say to Lisa if he had to return to her place and continue to scrub her parents’ chamber pots?
Chapter 7
“The queen had been looking for you. Your Highness.”
As soon as they returned to the palace, a stressed maid came to find Acheron. Acheron stared at her for a moment with hooded eyes, and then actually left with her.
Dezi was slightly surprised. It seemed like Acheron could understand at least some words. Dezi had almost thought that he was deaf or something.
But what could the queen want with an idiot prince?
“We shall continue the tour.” Mathew disturbed Dezi’s thought.
“Yes, my lord.” Dezi dropped his bag in the bedroom and spent the next few hours following Mathew.
The palace was colossal to the point of intimidation. Dezi traveled from one extravagant room to another until he could no longer tell them apart or recognize their functions. One had to suspect that they were built solely for the purpose of laying out the wealth of the Royal family in bricks.
“I will be handing out your salary each month, which will be twenty silvers,” Mathew said.
Twenty slivers were a lot higher than what he could get from his part-time jobs, but Dezi couldn’t bring himself to be excited about it. “My lord …” Dezi licked his lips. “Might I be allowed to go to my lectures?”
Mathew stared at Dezi for what felt like a long time. “I cannot allow you to leave the palace without Prince Acheron’s verbal permission.”
Can the prince actually talk normally, as well? Dezi found himself wondering. Or was Mathew just being difficult?
Before Dezi could reply, another nobleman walked toward them. He had a narrow face, a pointed nose, and seemed to be in his late twenties.
He greeted Mathew and then eyed Dezi. “Who is the new kid?”
Dezi’s heart pounded. He didn’t want to be ridiculed as a replacement for a dog.
“He will be serving Prince Acheron,” Mathew said after a pause.
For a moment, Dezi wasn’t sure if he should be glad that Mathew didn’t mention the word “pet.” He looked up to the man’s face, but found neither disgust or pity. Maybe most people didn’t know about his embarrassing situation?
Dezi breathed a little easier.
There was a note of silence until the man spoke. “You are a brave one, huh?”
“Pardon me, my lord?” Dezi asked with confusion.
“You didn’t know?” The man raised his eyebrow in a mock surprise, and then he leaned in with the kind of smirk like he was going to tell a ghost story to a child.
“Lord Ronan,” Mathew interpreted him.
Ronan gave out a laugh and walked away. “Be careful, kid.”
For what?
Dezi looked at Mathew, but the old man didn’t meet his gaze.
The tour continued in silence until they arrived at the kitchen area. It was the lowest place in the palace and the furthest possible from the bedrooms so that the vulgar smell and the sweaty heat of the kitchen could be as far away from the royal family as possible. Only in this part of the palace, the staff was mostly commoners, because they would never get the chance to see the faces of the Royals.
“This is where you can have lunch.” Mathew brought Dezi to the outer dining area with simple wooden tables, but he didn’t want to enter the kitchen himself. “Return to the Prince’s bedroom after you are done.”
“Yes, my lord.” Dezi nodded and entered the door that led to the kitchen.
It was a massive hall filled with more than a hundred busy staff. The walls were an endless display of copper cooking pots and other equipment. The row of tables in the middle was topped with fresh supplies.
The royal kitchen was divided into sections with specific tasks. Where Dezi stood wasn’t
very far from where the real chefs of magical beasts worked.
Dezi’s whole life’s experience told him that he should be excited about being in the royal kitchen. After all, a noble’s kitchen used to be the highest point Dezi could ever dream to be a part of, but Dezi couldn’t find that excitement in himself. Not after everything he had experienced today.
Mathew didn’t even want to step foot in here.
The huge discrepancy filled Dezi’s chest, and he couldn’t get it out.
A maid in the kitchen noticed Dezi and give him a meal after a few questions. Dezi looked down at the food and realized that he wasn’t very hungry. It was such a rare occurrence, Dezi didn’t even know what to do with it.
Dezi sat down at the tables outside and ate the food absentmindedly until his stomach hurt a little bit from being stuffed too full. He had been starving himself for so many years with the cheapest food he could find that even his stomach shrunk. It would take him a while to get used to a larger diet.
He had worked hard to be an undercook that assisted the chef and processed the raw material. That was the dream that kept him going through all the late-night shifts and the ridicule in school. That was his idea of a better life.
Dezi wanted to hold onto that dream, but his mind kept went back to the image he saw in the kitchen--the undercooks and kitchen maids laboring away with sweat and steam.
Dezi looked down at the fine fabric of his clothes, and the glamor of being an undercook faded in comparison.
If only he could be a chef instead …
He had memorized every word in the recipe verbatim. If only he had an elemental stone, he would be able to cook any recipes and be a chef.
Dezi gulped hard at the thought. The bread crumbled under Dezi’s grip. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would find a chance to obtain an elemental stone if he stayed in the palace.
But the weight of the collar on his neck became extra clear. The restraint thinned the air around Dezi, and he struggled to breathe freely.
“No ...” Dezi bit his lips and shook his head.
He got up to leave and headed back to the bedroom to find his bags. He pulled the necktie loose as soon he closed the door behind him. “No. Fuck this.” Dezi ripped off the tight collar on his neck and was going to throw it on the floor.
But he froze in place the next second.
The was a small, semi-transparent stone engraved on the leather. The stone was a beautiful red color with a strand of yellow light circling the center.
Eyes wide, Dezi gulped hard and held the collar close to his chest.
An advanced elemental stone. Could it be?
Dezi dropped down to his knees in front of his bag, fumbled to pull the notepad out, and started to flip through the pages.
It really was. Dezi held up the note with drawings on it. Although small, this was an advanced fire elemental stone.
The common four elements were heat (fire), cold (ice), liquid (water), and solid (earth). Dezi knew that the queen had the fire talent and an A rating. She could easily light almost anything on fire with a snap of a finger. But people with fire talents’ actual ability was not to call upon the fire, it was that they could rapidly raise an object’s temperature. The opposite was true for people with ice talent.
Princess Tatiana had the water talent and a B rating. She could cast rain to bless the garden or turn a fresh flower into ashes by extracting liquids out of it.
Some people with earth talents would be able to attack with flying rocks; some had better control over metals.
Oh, how Dezi envied them. How many nights he tossed and turned wishing that he had a higher magic rating. His own magic power was weak; there was no distinction between elements because he couldn’t call any elements out of thin air. But now he could finally get a taste of that feeling.
His hands were shaking while he dug the stone out of the leather.
Dezi dropped his notes. He could recite the spell in his sleep.
The lights in the center of the stone started to spin faster with Dezi’s calling. Dezi felt the power entering his veins like a shot of sugar; his heart started to pump loudly in his chest.
Dezi expanded his other hand slowly, and he could feel the pure, powerful energy gathered there, heating up the air above it.
“This is amazing. Amazing,” Dezi murmured, staring. His muscles quivered with excitement. He didn’t stop the spell until there was a scorching pain on his palm.
It took Dezi couple minutes to even feel the throbbing in his forehead and notice that he was sweating from the rising air temperature. Dezi grinned widely. He flipped through his notes again, looking at all the recipes that he had memorized but never got the chance to try.
Dezi didn’t find himself looking forward to the cooking, but he could hardly wait to see everyone’s face when he cast the best fire spell with this dragon stone.
Dezi looked down at the small red stone. The light in the center had become a little dimmer. He started to regret that he wasted the energy in it.
He needed more.
The feeling of that pure magical power running through his veins could no longer be forgotten. It burrowed its way deep inside the marrow of his bones like a seed.
Dezi’s smile disappeared. The collar was still laying on the floor by his feet.
No, he couldn’t.
Dezi stared at it until his eyes were bugging out.
But …
If he could get just a few more stores, obtain the chef license, and got noticed, he would be able to afford elemental stones in the future.
The image of the four young elites competing to be Acheron’s pet returned to Dezi’s mind. Those rich families were no fools. There must be a reason that they wanted to serve an idiot.
Dezi looked down at the little stone in his hand. This was the reason. A stone this small was almost purely decorative, and it was on a dog collar. It must be easy to get elemental stones in the palace.
Also, Dezi thought, the idiot prince would be easy to control. No one would supervise how he treated the prince behind closed doors.
The seed of greed sprouted and released its slick white roots, and they bit deep and tight into Dezi’s flesh like fangs. An eerie excitement mixed with his blood, traveled in his veins, and gripped onto all of Dezi’s senses.
Yes. Yes. He wouldn’t really be the prince’s pet. Just … just putting on a show.
He would leave as soon as he gathered enough resources.
The corner of Dezi’s lips curved up into a big grin. He snatched the leather collar and eagerly called upon the heat to burn it out.
It soon turned black and winkled in his hand.
Chapter 8
The prince returned to the room around dinner time. Dezi was going to eat his meal in the kitchen, but it soon became clear that the idiot prince was going to follow him out. So Mathew brought in another set of silverware, and Dezi sat down at the table with him.
“Where did you go?” Dezi pulled the main course close to himself and sunk his knife into the juicy meat.
Dezi didn’t really expect that the prince would answer. He was focusing on cutting the steak into pieces while Acheron touched his neck.
“Mm?” Dezi glanced up at the prince and saw the idiot looking back at him with his black eyes. Dezi stuffed a piece of meat in his mouth and stared back at him.
“Do you want to ask something?” Dezi swallowed and raised his chin. “Why don’t you open your mouth and say it?”
Acheron’s dark eyes were deep, but his lips didn’t move.
“I guess you don’t have any questions, then.” Dezi smirked and went back to cutting and eating his steak.
He could feel Acheron’s gaze on him, but Dezi deliberately ignored him. He waited until Acheron hung his head like a dejected child and offered his olive branch.
“Tastes good.” He put a couple pieces of meat on the plate in front of the prince.
Acheron’s head perked up and he picked up his fork.
> The dinner went on with the prince obediently eating whatever was given to him. Dezi’s lips curved up, and his confidence swelled like a balloon.
“Hey.” Dezi moved his chair closer and put his arm on Acheron’s shoulder. The prince turned to look at him, and their faces almost touched.
“I need you to tell Lord Mathew that I am allowed to go to lectures tomorrow,” Dezi said and stroked Acheron’s back. “Can you do that?”
Acheron lowered his gaze. The muscles in his cheeks clenched as he chewed on the meat, but he remained silent.
“Can you even say the word yes?” Dezi raised his eyebrow and pinched Acheron’s shoulder. “Say ‘Yes.’”
But the prince turned his head away--his always impassive face looked almost visibly unpleased.
“What was that?” Dezi forced Acheron to look at him and raised his voice. “Why can’t I leave for a few hours a day?”
For a moment, Dezi thought he almost saw something stir in the prince’s bottomless black eyes. But Acheron shut them close almost immediately, and when he reopened them, there was nothing there.
“What is your problem?” Dezi lost his temper.
Acheron’s gaze moved on to Dezi’s blonde hair as Dezi yelled at him. “Are you deaf?!” Dezi pressed the prince’s hand down when Acheron reached for his hair. “Or are you mute?!”
There was a knock on the door.
Dezi cursed inwardly and recoiled from the prince.
Mathew and other servants entered to retrieve the plates and left shortly after.
As Mathew closed the door, Dezi sat down on the bed with frustration. The prince should be easy to control, but how?
Acheron got up from the table, and Dezi felt the bed sink and rustle.
“Baba.” Acheron’s tone was soft as he carefully approached.
Dezi turned to look at the prince with hooded eyes. “You like me, huh?”
Acheron seemed to relax a bit at Dezi’s softer tone and pressed his head on Dezi’s shoulder.
Dezi raised his arm and nudged the prince toward him. “You like me hugging you too, don’t you?”
Acheron took in a breath as Dezi’s fingers brushed through his skin and leaned in closer.