• Chapter Three
    Just a Dream

    Meat and food littered the fancy table, people were still dancing, and it all seemed too great...Caillous didn't feel right, he felt as if he were not himself, he reached for the tankard in front of him, filled with berry juice and when he tilted it to drink, he found himself staring at a different boy, not himself, someone with slicked back hair and striking blue eyes. He didn't panic, he just drank and continued, then he felt lightheaded again...everything went white once more...
    "Caillous, honey, wake up..." A feminine voice was heard coming from the light...Caillous opened his eyes and found himself laying in an ornate room, it looked like it would be the king's room. Gold and blue tapestries hung from the walls, and paintings of ancient aviant warriors decorated the cieling. His gaze fell upon that of a young woman, his adopter mother. "Hi mum." Caillous said as he yawned, he wiped his sleepy eyes and noticed his tattoos were still there. He gasped and hid himself in the blanket, his mother smiled and kissed his forehead.
    "It's okay child, we're not your enemy, they're greatly happy you're around...they acknowledge you as royalty now..." She said as she looked around the room. Caillous hugged her and smiled. "I will not accept royalty if you aren't, mother." Caillous said as he sat up, the blue and gold blankets fell from his chest and revealed a sun tattoo, but within it was a pentagram...his mother looked at it then smiled while taking him into her arms and placed her head on his affectionately.
    "They know that, that's why I'm here still, this is our knew home." She said greatfully. Caillous laughed a little then slid out from under the sheets and walked over to a bag of his clothes, he dressed in his huntsman garb and looked over to his mother. "I'm hungry, mum." He said as he looked around, the guards seemed to eye him, but they said nothing nor did nothing but stand there. Caillous assumed it was customary that they did this, since he was now very important to the safety of the city and it's people.
    Caillous's mother placed her hand on his shoulder and led him out of the room, they travelled down what seemed to be endless halls and finally they reached the dining room, they were just in time for breakfast. "It's BIG!" Caillous exclaimed as he watched all the soldiers, knights, and guards as they moved about and sat to eat.
    "But that, my friend, is not where you will be eating." A voice came from behind. A man wearing gold armor with a white fur scarf around his neck came up behind them, his hair was combed to the side and he had a beautiful smile. His eyes were pale white, Caillous thought if he were blind for a moment but shook off his curiosity.
    "Where do we eat then?" Caillous's mother asked kindly. The man smirked and held out his arm.
    "This way, miss." He said kindly as he began to lead them down to a large oak door, it had iron spikes lined up in rows across it. The man pulled open the door and it swung outward with a groan. Behind this door, was a magnificant hall, people sat around a large table, the king sat at the end, decorated with blue and white fur, jewels and gold chains. He stood and held up his arms. "Behold! Our hero, Caillous!" The king said proudly, every one stood and bowed courteously and then sat back down and ate. The man pulled out two seats and sat Caillous, as well as his mother, next to the king. They began to bring in plates and goblets made of silver and gold for them.
    "We have not known that a chosen one was not evil...at least towards us." He said in his deep voice that indicated his age. "You see, you're kind has held a hatred to us since the beginning of our race." He said as Caillous began to knaw and chew at what seemed to him, an indestructible piece of meat. Caillous looked up to the king every once in a while to acknowledge that he was listening. "They were always cruel to the sky people and they sent spells up at us for no reason." He continued on. Finally, Caillous gripped the meat and pulled on it, he ripped the meat, his hands went slamming into the plate and a few pieces of meat and a grape was sent flying to a noble who opened his mouth to interrupt the king. "I think it's becau-" The grape flew into his mouth and lodged itself in his throat, he began to choke and cough...straining to get it out and breathe. Caillous's eyes went wide. "Oops!" He said as he got off his chair and ran around to the noble. "I didn't mean to! Here, let me help!" He said as he wrapped his arms around the man and squeezed, he continued until the man let out a gag and the grape went flying into the king's goblet, in which he picked up and drank.
    "Ew..." Mumbled Caillous's mother as she drank from her wine. She then looked at Caillous and smiled proudly.
    The king then put down his cup and eyed it, then poured it out. "Where is that damned servant!" He said angrily at finding the grape in his cup. "I know he did this!" He roared. Caillous walked back to his seat silently as the king yelled and rambled on about how the servant was trying to kill him, finding the situation best. Listening to the punishments doled out by the king to all of the servants, Caillous shrank back into his chair and cleaned up his food. He didn't want to be rude and criticize the king, after all, he WAS old. He didn't even realize the recent events...
    As he cleaned up his mess, a servant interrupted him and took over the cleaning, Caillous smiled and said his thanks then stood and bowed to the kings. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my lord, I think I'd like to explore." He said as he turned to head out the door. His mother excused herself and followed Caillous. She came up behind him and matched his pace, then she placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly. Caillous grinned and looked up at his mother, he was in a good mood today.
    "Mother, can we go see the garden?" He asked politely. She smiled down at him with a giggle.
    "If we can find it, Cai." She said as she led him through the halls.
    Caillous laughed a little and took her arm and started running, dragging her along.
    "C'mon, mum!" He said as he ran down random hallways, finally, they reached a library. The library was massive, it was circular and book cases lined the walls, in the center was a massive redwood table, polished down and shiny. Several scholars worked at this table, they wrote in books and read others. The book cases lining the walls weren't the only ones. Book cases were in rows, each side of the room looked almost exactly like the other, in was in near perfect symmetry. Caillous's eyes went wide upon this discovery. He enjoyed books, he then rushed to the cases and started reading off books.
    "Mum! This is great!" He exclaimed as he looked around.
    He looked up to admire the crystal and gold chandalier above them, which lit up the entire room with enchanted candles that gave off light like a fountain. He watched as the shiney water-like light poured from the wick, to the ground...but it would never hit the ground, the light would just fade away. Caillous's mom smiled and looked around with interest, she had never seen such a place.
    "Cai, I think we wandered into the college of magic." She said calmly, the mages were normally friendly so she didn't mind being in the area.
    "Cool!" Caillous exclaimed as he ran up to a mage and looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He was studying the pentagram. The man was young, in his twenties, he was also human. His eyes were fixed on the figure as he drew neat straight lines to and from the pentagram, he then started labelling each point. He noticed Caillous staring at it curiously then he chuckled.
    "Homework, pretty tough." He said as he leaned back and took note of Caillous's sun tattoos. "So, you're the chosen one who saved us, they won't stop talking about you." He said with a smile.
    Caillous laughed and gave a half-shrug. "I dunno why." He said as he looked at his own tattoo.
    "You're the son of Rodey, the seed of life...so some of the masters say." He said as he began to fix his papers and put them inside a bag.
    "I'm the son of Rodey, but I dunno about the seed of life." He said with a chuckle. The scholar smiled and held out his hand. "My name is Aeron." He said as he watched Caillous reach for his hand and shook it.
    "Nice to meet you, Aeron, I'm Caillous." He said.
    Aeron looked up at Caillous's mother and smiled. "Hello, ma'am, are you his mother?" He asked. She replied with a yes and they engaged in a conversation about the Sky City and other things. Caillous had zoned out of the chat and began to look through books, taking the time to read them. Their coversation lasted a long time, Caillous could tell that he was getting flirty with her. The giggles and whispering made it obvious. Caillous didn't want to interrupt but he knew it would be nightfall soon, the sun tattoo on his hand glimmered dimly. So, he stood and pulled on his mothers arm.
    "Not now, hun, I'm talking." She said without even looking at him. He tried several more times before she snapped and yelled at him, which made his heart sink. He shrank inside of himself and backed away, then turned to run and leave. He looked back once, but he saw no regret in his mother's face, only an anxious smile as the mage continued to flirt with her.
    It was at that very moment that he felt weird, his intuition had changed, he looked at his mother one last time with saddened eyes that began to soak up and water, he knew his mother had forsaken him, when before he thought that she would never ignore him, leave him, nor forget him. But, she did, and it all happened within a few moments notice! He then began to make his way to garden, alone. The guards turned their heads in note of his sullen and gloomy face, tear streaked and glistening. A pang of sorrow struck their hearts, as well as his. They knew he would change.