The King’s Kindness Is No More

”Everything seems fine… ” the doctor said gently stroking his long beard. He had been observing my body for the past hour trying to find if something was amiss.

”Thats good right? ” Vivi chimed in, with concern in her eyes.

”Yes….it is good. ” the doctor said, eyeing me suspiciously.

I smiled at him, slightly annoyed by his inquisitive gaze.

”But still, to be safe the young prince should rest plenty so that he can completely recover, ” he said, handing me a candy. I take the candy and put it down on my bedside table.

”Well make sure that hes well rested then. ”, my father said as both he and the doctor walked away to talk more.

I could feel my mothers gaze on me but I did my best to avoid her,

”Are you really fine, Ai? ” she asked, grasping my hand gingerly.

”Im fine, m-mom. ” I stuttered slightly meeting my mothers eyes, in response to my peculiar behavior she had a quizzical look on her face.

”Thats good. Ill let you rest then. ” my mother said, leaving after patting me on the head.

”What was that all about? ” Vivi asked, glancing at our mothers retreating figure.

I sigh internally and shake my head, ”Its nothing. I just feel a little tired. ”

Vivi stared at me for a few seconds, ” Sure…rest up. ”, my sister smiled widely, she truly was beautiful, her blonde hair with matching golden eyes sparkled as light slipped inside my room from the open window. Standing beside her, Grace looked like a carbon copy of Vivi but she was much smaller. ” After you rest up, Ill teach you the magic you wanted to learn, ” Vivi said, patting me on the head.

”Ah. ”

I watched silently as Vivi dragged Grace away from me, after being left alone tears slowly started to roll down my face. I had been holding them in for a while now.

I sat on my bed crying for a very long time.

****

After crying my heart out, I went to the bathroom and thoroughly washed my face. The water felt good on my face. Looking at my reflection was a little strange, yesterday I was a thirty-year-old man, and now…Im a kid.

It was strange being in my younger body, but Im sure Ill get used to it. I slowly removed my clothes to inspect my body. I was a chubby little boy growing up and that hasn changed now either but-

”Whats this? ” I asked myself, caressing the mark on my stomach. It was too complex to just be a mark, could it be a-

Tattoo?

A circle in which an eye is present. I didn have this when I was young so this could be related to me coming back to the past. I had never seen this particular tattoo in my last life but this was a start.

After changing back into my clothes, I went back to bed to try and arrange my thoughts.

There was a lot to do, so much so that I didn even know where to start. I remembered my sisters promise to teach me and a bitter memory surfaced in my mind.

I can remember it like it was just yesterday, the day that I was dubbed average. When you have two sisters remarkable in everything they do, its only natural to have some expectations placed on you.

Vivilian was said to be the most intelligent woman to ever live, it was mostly an exaggeration but it was true that she was unusually smart to the level that it was quite scary. Not only that, she was a master in the art of magic. So it was only natural that I begged her to tutor me, I knew inside that I wasn special like my sisters but foolishly thought that someone like my sister could make me stronger.

In my last life, I learned the hard truth early on: there are no secrets to being strong.

Being born talented was something essential, some may think that it is not but it certainly is, hard work can push talent and turn it into something more. But only working hard can only take you so far.

The funny thing is that even though my talent wasn anything special, I managed to outlive them all. That in itself is a talent, I suppose….

****

Huff

I obviously had to get stronger, so I decided to start with my body. For the past few days, Ive been exercising regularly and trying to get into shape. But I was so very weak, its not that much of a surprise since I was just a child now. I could take five push-ups and after that, my legs felt like jelly.

Thump

I collapsed on the floor of my room, gasping for air. At that exact moment, someone knocked on the door.

Shit.

I scampered to my bed and used the sheets to wipe away the sweat all over my body, calming myself. I spoke in a deliberately calm voice, ”Come in. ”

The door opened revealing my two sisters.

”Bwother! ” Grace screamed trying to jump on me but like always but Vivi restrained her, causing Grace to pout in pure rage.

”Are you feeling good yet? ”Vivi asked, ignoring Grace completely.

”Uh- yeah, pretty much, ” I replied praying that my sister doesn notice that Im out of breath but the chances of that are zero so I started to prepare myself for her questions, strangely enough, Vivi didn question me on…anything.

We just talked about the most mundane things.

”Bwother will you hawve lunch with us twoday? ” Grace asked, making herself comfortable on my lap.

”Yeah, I will. ” I had asked to eat my lunch in my room for the past few days since I was a little hesitant to meet my family. It was all just…too much. But I was ready now.

”Thats gweart bwother! ”

We continued to talk, it had been a long time since I had felt like this, this warm and fuzzy feeling….its happiness, right?

.

.

.

.

I could get used to this.

****