Chapter Text
Chapter 4
CALDON
Sunlight glared through the windows, waking him up. The covers were quite literally thrown everywhere, creating a hazardous space. Last night’s sleep was oddly peaceful…. containing some embarrassing dreams that involved a certain woman and dating and roses…. maybe he should stop thinking.
Yeah, that sounded good.
He got dressed in a simple collared shirt and pants, an exaggerated jacket, brushed his teeth and washed his face like normal. There was a knock at his door.
“Come in.” He said, albeit wearily, but forcing his usual cheeriness into his voice. There was a pause, then the doorknob turned. Caldon’s stomach sank as he saw his cousin standing in the doorway, a forced calm presented on his face.
“....Good morning, Jaren.” That was normal, right? Jaren tenses slightly at the simple greeting, making Caldon falter. “I-I mean –”
“No, it’s alright. I came to tell you that you missed breakfast.” Did he? He didn’t check the time. Shit.
“Apologies. I missed dinner, too. Shame, but I wasn’t really hungry, to be honest.” His cousin nodded in acceptance.
“I’ll leave you be, then. Oh, and also, do you mind going to the market? We’re running low on some supplies. The list is on the dining table; where you sit.” Jaren took a step backwards, and closed the door quietly.
Caldon let out a small groan at the idea of a bustling market, where he would have to be Prince Caldon. It was a tiring thought, and one that he had to push away violently, or else he’d never want to leave his room.
***
The market was busier than usual; likely because it seemed to be a sort of ‘clearance’ day. Three gold coins would usually get you one bucket of shrimp, whereas now it gives you two. Luckily, no one had noticed him yet. The children that did passed him off for a young man that was no one in particular. He wished that it stayed that way.
Slowly, people began to whisper, staring at him until one boy said, a bit too loudly, “Is that Prince Caldon?” His cover blown, he could only smile politely and nod. It wasn’t unusual for those in the royal family to go to the marketplace, but it was normally quite easy to tell when someone from the royal family was around the ‘normal people’.
Caldon didn’t like calling them commoners. It made him feel too high-and-mighty. Too important.
It was weird; sometimes he thought bitterly that he wasn’t important enough, yet he didn’t like being treated like royalty.
Call him a hypocrite.
He walked further down the marketplace, trying to ignore all the staring people. He should have brought his cloak. Dammit! Caldon inwardly groaned knowing that there was nothing he could do about that now.
The word spread like wildfire, women immediately smoothed their dresses and called their children over to bow or to present themselves properly.
Why couldn’t they act normal, treat him like a person instead of a jewel to gape and stare at?
Caldon already knew, of course.
Royalty can be someone’s greatest weapon, or another’s burden.
Caldon didn’t know if he wanted to appreciate it, or hate it with his heart and soul. Maybe both.
“Prince Caldon!” A voice cried out, and everyone was looking at him. “What are you doing here?” Shopping. It’s not that complicated nor that hard to see when I’m holding a shopping list and a basket.
He put on his ‘Prince Caldon face’, the one that everyone knew him for. The one that made him look carefree, happy, blessed and polite.
“My dear cousin, Prince Deverick, sent me on a shopping trip! Hardly a fun job, am I right?” He joked, earning a hearty laugh from the crowd. He laughed with them, but you could only hear the difference if you knew what you were looking for.
But the people watching him weren’t looking for anything.
“Of course! We’ll leave you to it,your highness.” A man shouted, and they all bowed and curtseyed and took off their hats and did everything that was unnecessary. Annoying, yet endearing.
Mostly annoying.
Caldon continued with his shopping; the butcher and the lady that sold him vegetables had been an absolute pain in the side; why couldn’t he pay the full price? A fifty percent discount was unneeded! The exact conversations went like this:
“Prince Caldon! I must be a lucky woman for you to buy from me! Oh, take what you want; no cost, no fee! You’re our Prince, after all!” The lady had chuckled, gesturing towards the massive range of fruits and vegetables she was selling.
“Oh, no need, treat me like any other person, if you will!” He had been praying that someone would listen – for once.
Sadly, his prayers were either not heard, or his life hated him.
Probably the latter.
“I insist! It would be rude not to!” The lady had exclaimed, shock obvious on her face. So you’re doing it because it’s good manners to; not because you want to. Caldon had thought, sighing internally.
“And I insist that you let me pay the full price!” He had been getting impatient, and very, very exasperated.
“Fifty percent!” She argued, desperately trying to make him feel ‘special’ because he was paying less.
Little did she know, Caldon was about to put a restraining order on her.
They argued for a little longer, before Caldon had enough; grabbing what he needed, putting the money in her hand – nicely, of course – and running off in a very princely fashion.
Back to the present.
He stopped running when something caught his eye.
A tent, purple and green, in between two stalls.
No one noticed it, except him. Weird, wasn’t it? Like one of the ghost stories he told Oriel to scare him.
This had better not be one of those things that disappear and appear like the wind. Those things made him cringe at the thought.
He wasn’t scared, it was just a teeny, tiny bit too odd for his taste.
Still, he went in. A stupid idea? Maybe. But he needed to kill time; he still had a good 10 hours left in the day, and rotting in bed wasn’t exactly great for his health, nor was it productive at all.
The inside of the tent was enormous.
Like, actually enormous. It was ominous to say the least; with long curtains and dream catchers everywhere. In the middle of it all, was a woman with long, wild hair. She had her eyes closed, but talked to Caldon all the same.
“Prince Caldon. Three gold pieces to see your fortune? You have a very complicated fate indeed…” She trailed off, and Caldon could feel a drop of cold sweat running down his back, making him shiver.
“A-ah, sure, why not?” He stammered, before cursing himself internally. What was he thinking? This would probably be a scam; and a waste of time.
But….
The lady, hearing his answer, opened her eyes, revealing misty gray eyes framed by thick, dark lashes. A light turned on somewhere, and it was directed at the table in front of the woman.
Totally not creepy at all.
“My name is Eniya Esal. I will be the one to guide you to your destiny – your ultimate fate.” Eniya said, her voice clear and strong. “Sit, and we shall begin.” Caldon’s body moved before his brain could think; sitting down at the table with his hands in his lap.
Eniya began to shuffle her cards, which had materialized in her hands at some point. She murmured words underneath her breath, like a chant. Maybe this was a bad idea.
“Choose a card. The heart represents relationships – who will be your real love? The sword represents your destiny – what do the gods have in store for you? And, finally, the skull represents your demise – when and what is your end? Choose a card, and pick carefully.”
Caldon but his lip – what should he choose? The heart was the selfish answer, but one he wanted so badly. The sword was the heroic choice – how would he aid his kingdom? And the skull…. He’d wondered about this for a long time, but it didn’t seem right to ask about it now.
Caldon took a deep breath, and looked Eniya in the eye.
“I choose…. The heart. Who am I destined to be with?” It felt like a big decision, and maybe he would regret it. But he already chose, and there was no going back.
Eniya didn’t react at the slightest, turning her gaze from him to her divination orb. More words were muttered soundlessly, and she clasped her hands together, like a prayer.
“I see…. You have chosen the heart. I see two people – a girl and a boy. The girl had long, black hair and dazzling green eyes. She is looking at the boy, who is blonde with gold - flecked blue eyes – our Prince Deverick. Interesting…. She now looks at you, and she’s saying something, but you cannot tell what it is and she walks away, away from Deverick, away from you. Do you pursue her or do you let her go? That girl has her own fate to face, and you can either watch from the sidelines…. Or face it with her. What will you do? What will you do ....”
Caldon blanched, his heart almost stopping. He wanted to run, even more, he wanted to scream, he wanted to throw up, he wanted to do anything but to answer that question. He forced an air of calm, and put on a kind smile.
“Thank you for your time. Here are your gold pieces. I’ll be sure to think about that question, and I hope you have a good day.” He stood up a bit too quickly, almost knocking over the chair, before he nodded at Eniya and hurriedly walked out the entrance.
Caldon took in a sharp breath, a loopy smile on his face, before he internally screamed.
WHAT WAS THAT?