Chapter 3: Kyle

I watched from the window of the chariot as we made our way out of the castle gates, the palace becoming smaller and smaller as we moved.

Two heavily armoured chariots with royal guards inside travelled ahead of ours, their horses, about two for each, moving in perfect unison. Another two chariots followed closely behind forming a perfect protective formation around ours.

Dad has always said this strategy helps him be prepared in case the chariot gets attacked from the front or the back as these are blind spots when you are inside.

There are two large windows on its sides, yes, but the front and back only have brick-sized window openings that you can barely see through.

I moved closer to the window on my left while resting my arm on the gold-plated arm rest that each side of the carriage had.

The scenery outside of the castle gates looked quite different from the one I was used to seeing as all the trees had brown, dry leaves, the ground barely had any grass and no creature could be seen anywhere. This was completely different from the evergreen leaves, lush grass and the occasional domesticated beast roaming around in the courtyard sanctuary.

Is this really how the world looks when not enclosed behind huge castle gates?

So barren?

So deprived?

So lonely?

It really wasn't what I was expecting on my first voyage out and I couldn't help but sigh.

"Are you boys already hungry?" Mum asked as she unloaded a brown wooden crate that had about four closed bowls inside and four flasks.

"What is that thing doing in here?!" Dad growled.

"I told the guards to bring it in for me because I knew you all would be hungry before we reached any restaurant or inn," she said calmly as she handed out the bowls and flasks to us, including Dad.

"Thanks, mum," Tim and I gratefully said as we held the bowls in our hands.

"You're welcome, boys," she beamed with a warm smile.

"And what do we have in here..." Tim said as he carefully opened the bowl.

"Bread with PB and Jelly. The flask has orange juice in it if you want some," she replied with a piece of bread in her mouth.

"You never cease to amaze me, Emily," Dad muttered as he squeezed the bridge of his nose.

"Oh c'mon, honey. Here. Have some."

She moved forward closer to him holding a piece of bread close to his mouth.

"Don't leave me hanging, Davey-bear."

She held it up for a few moments until he reluctantly opened his mouth and ate it.

"There we go!"

I couldn't help but giggle and look at Tim who was also smiling back at me before quickly turning back to his food.

Gosh, is he still mad at me?

I suppose I shouldn't push it for now and give him some time to cool off.

Once I was done eating, I thanked mum again and handed her the bowl that she put back into the crate.

I rested my head against the window and just stared out of it as there wasn't much to do on this trip.

Hmm, maybe I can keep myself busy by counting how many trees there are before we reach our first stop.

I guess that could keep me busy.

One. Two. Three. Four...

Before I knew it, my eyes were closing slowly until everyone's voices drowned out.

I didn't know how much time had passed but a particular voice I heard woke me up.

"Kyle."

"Hm?"

I opened my eyes slowly and turned my head to look in the direction of the voice only to see Dad directly staring at me. I quickly straightened up and wiped the drool off my cheek that was trickling down.

I tried my best to compose myself but my voice decided to fail me as it came out cracked and hoarse.

"Yes, father?"

Curse you, voice.

"How are your weekly studies going?" he asked in a calm voice.

"Um, just fine."

"Then I'm certain by now you have mastered the spell I assigned you to learn."

I didn't respond. Not because I hadn't learnt the spell but because I didn't like where this was going. He has always asked me to use my spells in the most unconventional ways, he once broke the dining area lights so that he could see if my floating ball of light could illuminate the whole room.

"Demonstrate it to me."

"R-right now?"

"Yes."

I looked at Mum and Tim who just stared back at me in complete silence.

Oh my god, HELP ME!

"Honey, I don't think this is the right-"

He just lifted his hand to motion for her to stop talking.

I looked back at him and he just gave me that cold expression he always had when he asked for his magical demonstrations.

I lowered my head and took a deep breath knowing there was no way of getting out of this situation.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on that warmth I always felt and after a few moments, I could feel it gathering up at the center of my chest. Clapping my hands together, I recited the spell I spent countless hours studying.

"What is beyond, let it be shown;

Reveal the path of what lies unknown."

Once done, the warmth spread out throughout my body and it felt like it was extending to the outside environment.

For a moment, nothing happened and I thought I might have done something wrong until my vision began to shift to the road ahead. At first, it was all a blur as all I could see was the silhouettes of trees and the hard surface of the path and it felt like I was running a marathon on it at a gazillion miles per hour.

C'mon concentrate, Kyle.

Taking another deep breath, I focused on the road and at that moment, it all looked clear. The same type of trees, the same grass patches with nothing different from the others I saw earlier before I fell asleep.

Oh no, did the spell fail...

Just as I was about to end the spell, something at the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was a tree that had fallen just a few feet away from the path. Its trunk looked worn out and all its leaves had withered away and at that moment I couldn't help but smile.

It worked! Well I think it has...

Don't get me wrong, I have practiced the spell many times in my study room but it's hard to tell if it actually worked or if it's just a figment of my imagination as I know that palace inside out.

A clairvoyant projection spell is one of the most advanced light magic spells anyone could perform and it requires a lot of mental concentration and stability. Dad decided that the earlier I start learning such spells, the better it will be for me as time goes by.

"What do you see?"

I could hear a voice speaking, it was distorted but I could tell it sounded like Dad's.

"A fallen tree on the side of the road that's quite old and withered," I murmured, my voice coming out almost monotone, "it looks almost a thousand years old if I could guess."

"Hm," he replied, a mix of confusion and curiosity in his voice.

Just as I lowered my hands, ending the spell, my vision shifted back into the chariot and I could see Mum and Timothy staring at me like they had seen a ghost. Before I could say anything, my head began to spin and my vision slowly started fading.

This has never happened before, why do I feel dizzy...

Before I knew it, I could feel someone's body on my side, their arms wrapped around me as they held me steady.

"Are you okay, honey?" Mum asked as she put the back of her hand on my forehead.

"I'm okay, I think I might have pushed myself a little too much," I said as I offered her the most reassuring smile I could give in my current condition. I laid my head on her shoulder for a few minutes as I tried to gain my bearings.

"Are your eyes supposed to turn snowy white during the spell?" Tim asked, staring at me.

"I... don't know... but is there some water anywhere?" I asked 'cause I could feel a migraine coming.

"Timothy, please pass me the bottle over there," she quickly said, pointing to the bottle she left on his side.

He passed it over and she quickly opened it, hovering it over my mouth as she motioned for me to open up.

"I can drink it by myself, mum," I slowly shook my head.

"You are not in a state to possibly win an argument with me, mister, so open up."

I stared at her for a few moments before I reluctantly opened up and drank the water.

"Thank you," I whispered as I laid on her shoulder again.

"No problem, honey," she said, wrapping her arms around me again.

"You baby him too much," Dad finally spoke after silently watching me the whole time.

"Your son is on the brink of losing consciousness and that's what you have to say, David? You could at least show some sympathy and congratulate him for his efforts," Mum snapped at him.

Dad didn't say anything else.

I had never seen or heard Mum stand up for me like this and to be honest, it felt kind of odd. All my life Dad has been the one to get his way without Mum offering any resistance for me but now, for the first time, she finally did.

Without realizing it, a tear streamed down my face and landed on my palm.

Why are you doing this only now, Mum? What about all these other years Dad has always gotten his way? Why are you only showing care now?

I wrapped my hands around her waist, burying my head in her chest and hugging her tightly, my hands trembling with the diminishing strength I had left to conjure.

Please never stop.

"Are those the trees you talked about, Kyle?" Tim asked, pointing out the window.

I lifted my head and we all turned to the window and there it was, the exact same fallen tree I saw, with plenty of others in the same state across the clearing. Their trunks and branches looked like they were drained of all life energy.

I turned my head to look at Dad who only after a few moments turned his head to stare directly into my eyes.

"Looks like you still need to master the spell. You saw the tree as it is but your perception of the entire area was poor at best."

My breath caught in my throat as my vision started to blur again and my hands slowly began to fall from around Mum's waist onto the seat. It felt like my last ounce of strength was finally being sapped out from my body.

"But... the tree... I did see the tree," I said quietly. "It's exactly the same."

Dad's expression didn't change.

"And yet there are several other trees here that you failed to point out. What if several thugs attacked us and you told me there was only one? Do you think that error in judgement would be taken lightly?"

I lowered my gaze, failing to look him in the eye again.

"David, how can you say that?!" Mum's expression hardened as she tightened her hold. "He just used an advanced spell that not many can perform. You could at least praise him for that."

At that moment, he looked at me and for a second, I thought he might actually acknowledge my efforts and give me the praise that I deserved.

Instead...

"If he is to become a stronger and better mage, he should acknowledge the evident failure in his spells rather than allow the minor success which is of no significance distract him from the flaws."