The Fallen Prince

⋇- 3: Restlessness -⋇

A child's cry filled the atmosphere as En found himself shakily standing up from the grassy ground. He rubbed his eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks, crying. Something within him was torturing him. Something stronger than a deep cut or a piercing headache. He had experienced these kinds of feelings before, but not this painful.

"What happened?" asked a familiar voice.

Still rubbing his eyes, with tears flowing down his cheeks, En recognized his grandmother's voice.

"I'm sorry, My Lady," said a feminine voice, the tone worried. "After waking up, Prince En escaped from our sight when he suddenly shifted into a dragon. We tried to chase him down as he flew around, though he wasn't flying so high. He must have fallen when he returned to his normal form. We apologize."

"Now, now, you don't have to apologize," said En's grandmother, her tone calm. "It's not easy to babysit a baby dragon."

En heard his grandmother chuckle quickly before she bent over a little and patted his head.

"Don't cry, little Ennie," said his grandmother with a soothing voice. "Dad will be angry, after all, you'll be a Dragon King one day."

"I'm surprised to hear that from you, Mother," said a sweet voice in the background. "Reiji has no right to get angry at our son for expressing his pain. He's almost three; he's still a baby."

En's grandmother chuckled. "Sorry, Yueli. It must be a habit. Reiji's father used to warn me not to be soft with him during his childhood since that would ruin his behavior as a future King."

"Dragon Kings." En's mother sighed. "I don't want my En to become an emotionless puppet. He can become a great King even if he shows emotions. Besides, Reiji can brag how respectable he and his ancestors are thanks to that philosophy, but I bet he cries in a corner whenever he locks himself in the bathroom."

Laughter brightened the atmosphere.

"Oh, dear," said En's grandmother. "I can't imagine my son doing that. He would surely be furious hearing people say that about him."

"He surely would," said En's mother with a quick chuckle. "But I've told him worse stuff before, so he must be used to it."

As he kept hearing his mother's voice, En's heart wouldn't stop speeding despite the painful feelings still bothering him. He stopped rubbing his eyes and gazed at his front. In between his tears, behind the lady with short light brown wavy hair, he saw a woman with shoulder-length obsidian hair approaching them.

"Mama," called En, running towards her, sobbing again.

His mother placed her drawing books and materials on the grassy ground and caressed his dark head. A sense of tranquility calmed his heart as his mother gazed at him.

"Good afternoon, my Little Prince," she said with a smile. "He must've been looking for me after waking up from his nap."

En hugged his mother, tears flowing on his cheeks.

"Aw, sweetie," said his mother, patting his head, "what's wrong?"

"It hults," he said in between his sobs.

His mother placed her hand on his small shoulder and gazed at him. She blinked her dark eyes as she examined him.

"Where?" she asked, examining him.

For a moment, En didn't know what to say as the pain he was feeling was invisible. With tears still rolling down his cheeks, his little self showed her his left arm. His mother's warm hands touched his arm as she examined it.