The Fallen Prince

⋇- 26: A Little Distraction -⋇

En typed another message on his phone as he relaxed on his bed. It had been several minutes since he locked himself in his room and decided to reply to various messages sent by family members from the Yue Kingdom. Mei caught him online and ended up having a chat with him.

In the last few days, En tried to keep in touch with his maternal family by sending messages or phone them. In some moments where he would contact them, some of his cousins would attempt a video call to have a better conversation with him. With that method, he was able to see his remaining cousins that had returned from their studies to spend time with their families.

Mei was the one who introduced her older brother Yu, and when En had a call from their grandmother, she introduced the third son's daughters: Xion and Luli. On the day he met his remaining cousins, En found them friendly and welcoming and thought it was a shame they weren't able to meet each other in person.

Despite that, he was glad there was a way for them to communicate with each other. Although the connection would be bad at times, it was wonderful they could communicate this way, even though they were in different worlds. It was amazing how technology could make them feel so close to each other despite being so far.

As the warm breeze swayed the bright curtains that partially hid the scenery behind the window, En kept his focus on his phone, typing another message for Mei. Every time they would chat, she wouldn't stop asking him if he was able to talk to Arisa and reattach their broken bond. Whenever she would ask him that, he replied that he didn't have the opportunity yet.

"Ennie," called a familiar voice, bringing him back to reality.

En's device fell on his chest as he heard someone opening the door. When he gazed on the other side of the medium-sized room, he saw Miria stand close by the door, staring at him with folded arms.

"What's wrong?" The mattress shook a bit as En had a seat.

"Nothing." Miria shook her head. "I was wondering if you've decided to spend the rest of your days locked in your room until mom and dad return."

With Miria mentioning her parents, En wondered why they were taking so long to return with a report about that meeting with Belinsk. Two days had passed since Kraden and Regina traveled to Celestia to talk to that man. It couldn't be that Belinsk was so busy with work that he couldn't make space in his schedule to have a meeting with them.

The more time they took in Celestia, the more anxious he became. It affected his thoughts. He felt that maybe they wouldn't succeed in convincing Belinsk and the Royal Council to have another challenge. That everything was pointless.

En shook his head lightly, trying to push away those negative thoughts. "I have nothing to do since you and Marius are busy with work for most of the day."

"You could have a stroll with Leon." Miria walked across the room and had a seat by his side. "Or you could have a walk by yourself and see other people instead of being here by yourself until I come back. We're social creatures, being by ourselves for a long time isn't healthy."

En remembered hearing and reading that term many times before. But never thought it would apply to him since he would always be by himself in the castle whenever his father and Kraden would be busy with work, which was most of the time. 

Well, that was before he sneaked out from the castle and met Arisa, who helped him make new friends. He curled his fingers. After everything that happened, he was back to square one.

"I'm scared of getting lost," he said, attempting to wash away the negative thoughts that were about to resurface, "so I think it's better if I stay home and avoid trouble."