October 12, 1987
Normally I'm not a late sleeper, but for some reason this morning I remained in bed much later than usual. Of course the incident from last month has been one of the only things on my mind. As of now, King Leirelat still has not given Oceanside an answer, although I feel that his original negative reply is not going to change. My king has kept his distance and is trying to remain as patient as possible. His motives have stayed the same, leaving me to think that Dark World allied with the wrong kingdom. King Bowser is certainly aware of my take on the situation, and has resorted to not speaking to me much about it. I believe he is hoping that my opinion will sway towards what he wants to hear, but it won't. I will remain adamant about my convictions. For King Bowser and Kind Edward, it has become a matter of not what is right, but of what will directly benefit them.
In more cheerful news, Queen Adora blessed her husband with another son as of late August. The parents opted to name him Morton Jr., after King Bowser's grandfather. Do not ask me where the "junior" aspect of the baby's name came from, since he was named for someone three generations ago. Still, it is a title that fits the pudgy little prince well. Bowser should have not only taken his grandfather's name for his son, but also his example on how to govern a kingdom. King Morton, at least from what I've read, was highly popular among his people and ruled over Dark World during a time of peace. It is not my place to tell a king on how to go about doing his job, but as Head Administrator, I've tried talking sense into Bowser, only to hear him tell me to mind my own business and follow orders. It's quite annoying and I feel that I've been reduced to a mere member of the Council. Speaking of that group of buffoons, King Bowser finally revealed his grand scheme to them. Their reaction startled me, as they voted 12-3 to go ahead and follow Oceanside's plans of searching for the Neatherrealm's gate if Alteria grants them permission. My protests went unheard, even among respectable councilmen like Remir. Those greedy bastards have caused me to contemplate resigning from my position, but then that would be throwing away my life's work. If the only thing I can do now is agitate them, then that is good enough for me.
The night before I had stayed up late rereading over documents from the treaty between Dark World and Alteria. There was a clause stating that before the kingdoms could go ahead and take action against whatever situation, the approval of three was needed: the King, the Head Administrator, and the Council. So far, Dark World had two. Until I hear Alteria's final decision, I am going to let them squirm. Around two o'clock in the morning I managed to doze off in bed, only to be awakened the next morning by an anxious sorcerer tugging on my arm.
"Kamek! Come on, wake up! You promised me we'd do more training this morning!"
"Hmm?" I groggily opened up my eyes and saw the Crown Prince standing above me, pulling on my shirt sleeve. "Oh Ludwig, I'm so sorry. Did I oversleep?"
"It's almost twelve thirty in the afternoon!"
"Gods!" I instantly sat up and reached out to my night stand to grab my black-rimmed glasses. "I apologize! I had no idea it was so late."
"You wear glasses?" Ludwig questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes," I chuckled. "I only wear them before I get dressed. My family's been graced with poor vision."
"That's interesting--let's go, Kamek!"
"Alright, alright. Give me a few minutes to get dressed." I stepped out of bed and grinned to myself when I noticed that I had fallen asleep in my work clothes for the third time that week. Quickly I scanned the room for something to throw on when I realized that my door had been locked. "Ludwig, how did you get in here?"
He replied back with a smirk and shrugged. Momentarily I had forgotten who I was talking to.
"Ah, that's right. Doors mean nothing to you." I smiled back. "But next time, knock, okay?"
"Sure." He made his way over to the bedroom door and placed his hand over the oak. Immediately a rippling portal materialized in place of my door. I watched, amused, as he simply walked right through it. Once he was gone, the portal vanished. "Just hurry up!" he called from the hallway.
I washed up and ate brunch as fast as I could. I did not want to keep my protegee waiting. Once I was finished with my mid-afternoon activities, I met the Crown Prince outside in the castle's gardens, next to the familiar bench where we had spent many an afternoon going over basic spell and concentration techniques. Today we had an audience. Princes Lemuel, Roy, and Ignatius, along with Princess Gwendolyn, were playing near the hedges. Ludwig was seated on the bench, carefully tossing a small ball of fire from hand to hand as his siblings watched in awe.
"Just be careful around them, Ludwig." I announced as I stepped out into the garden.
"You're finally ready." the eldest prince grinned, extinguishing the flame by merely closing his fist.
"Hi, Kamek!" Lemuel greeted as he scooted over to me. His two and a half year old brother Ignatius followed. Both stared up at me, their faces decorated with wide smiles. "Are you and Louie gonna do some cool stuff?"
"Lemuel, this is not going to be a magic show to entertain you children. It's intensive training. Today I want to test Ludwig's fifth tier capabilities."
The latter part seemed to go over the boy's head. "Can we still watch?"
"As long as you stay out of the way, fine. What we're going to do might become dangerous. I don't want you kids getting injured."
Princess Gwendolyn's sudden chuckling triggering us to turn our heads over in the Crown Prince's direction. There, the baby princess was spinning around in circles in front of her brother's legs, while he magically caused some freshly fallen autumn leaves to dance around her tiny body. She laughed vibrantly as she made unsuccessful efforts to grab them when they glided over her head. Ludwig kept his glowing green hand steady, holding it over her as he cast the simple tier one wind spell. I knew it was just a minute display of what he could do.
"That's impressive, your Highness. But what are you going to do about this?" I wasted no time testing the boy, and with a flick of my wrist, hurled a small fireball right at him. Just as I knew he would, he nimbly countered back by enveloping the projectile with one of his own. He chose to use a water spell, and I proudly watched as he mimicked my action. A hasty movement of his free hand was all it took to send a splash of water out towards the fireball, putting it out instantly. "I see your reflexes have gotten much better too!"
Gwendolyn had run away behind Lemuel and Roy when she got flecked by some water droplets.
"That was awesome!" Roy called out to us.
"Yeah, do it again!" Lemuel chimed in, grabbing Ignatius, who had been carelessly running about.
"Now now... I want to test him with something harder." I nonchalantly began, tossing my hand in the air. "What just happened was a trivial testament of my protegee's powers." My attitude became almost playful. I knew I was finally ready to begin pushing Ludwig's abilities to the limit. The Crown Prince rose to his feet to meet my challenge. He did not seem nervous when I announced I'd be testing him. Today he seemed especially ready for the task. I wasn't sure if he genuinely knew his capabilities or if he was just being overconfident, but either way I wanted to see what my pupil could do.
"What do you have planned for me, Kamek?" Ludwig questioned, keeping his eyes locked on my every movement. Right now, he probably did not trust me.
"Why don't you come a little closer, your Highness?" Without waiting for his reaction, I quickly directed a strong gust of wind to push him forward from behind. He seemed a bit startled, but kept his composure. "Ah, that's better. I'll leave it up to you, Ludwig. What would you like to start off with?"
"I dunno..." he responded.
"Would you like to start off with an earth spell?" I eyed the ground underneath the prince's feet and again, without warning, caused it to rumble slightly. It was a measly tier two spell, yet it caused the boy to briefly lose his footing, but it didn't take long for him to regain his balance. "You see, Ludwig, soon you won't need to rely on hand motions to initiate a spell. Your mind will become strong enough to-"
I don't think the prince cared to hear my explanation. Just as I had done with him, he sent a strong gust of wind right at me, toppling me over to the ground. His brothers and sister cheered from the sidelines. I suddenly felt like the enemy!
"Well, I guess you already figured out that your mind is the most essential element to sorcery and not your actions." I quipped, getting back up to my feet. He remained silent, but I noticed how his large blue eyes twinkled as I brushed myself off. It was at that point I knew it did not matter who I was. He wanted to finally let loose with what he had learned over the years, and I, being the teacher, was the perfect target. Although I too was anxious to see how strong he was, he would need to be put into place.
"Kamek, let's see what my boy can do!" a voice suddenly interjected from out of nowhere. Ludwig and I looked up to see King Bowser's head sticking out of one of the various windows of the castle. I was rather surprised to see that we had acquired the audience of the king, and not to mention disappointed. The poor boy already had enough stress from me. He did not need his nosey father butting into his training.
I responded back to the king with a forced smile and nod of the head. Although our relationship had been more strained than ever since the meeting at Alteria, I still had to respect him. It irked me more than anything to do so.
Ludwig did not even bother acknowledging his father's presence, but instead grinned at me. "Come on, Kamek. I want to show him what I can do."
"Remember what I told you, Ludwig," my voice dropped in volume, as I did not want his father to overhear. "Don't get cocky with your powers."
"Get him, Louie!" Prince Lemuel called, waving his arms up in the air. "Kick Kamek's ass!"
"Lemuel!" I snapped. "Watch your mouth!"
"Eek!" the prince immediately went quiet when he heard me yell at him. Disciplining the royal children usually was not my task. Only when I saw it fit did I say something. Ludwig, on the other hand, I disciplined all the time. I considered him my responsibility, while the other children mostly relied on their self-absorbed mother for guidance.
"Alright, Ludwig. You defended yourself rather nicely before, but let's see how you react to a tier three earth spell." While I spoke, my eyes focused on the ground beneath the prince's feet once again. Instantly the earth began to shake more violently than before, sending Ludwig onto his knees, but before I knew it, he had gotten me back. As he fell, he flung another water spell in my direction. This time, a patch of ice landed directly under my feet. The ice had caused my balance to get thrown off, and I too landed on the ground for a second time. I felt a slight amount of pain in my back as I fell and sucked in a breath. From my spot, I could see the king clapping at his son's achievement, edging him on. He was probably delighted that I was momentarily defeated in something which I excelled at. "Very nice, your Highness." I quipped, leaning on my right elbow for support as I got back to my feet.
I noticed the Crown Prince looking down at his knees. Through his ripped jeans (a style I never understood the purpose of), I could see some blood trickling down one of his legs. Alarmed, I hastily apologized. "Your Highness! I am so sorry! I didn't realize that-"
Smirking to himself, Ludwig's hands began to turn a bright red. I stopped speaking dead in my tracks in order to dodge the fourth tier fireball he sent at my head. It ended up hitting one of the stone castle walls, just missing its target. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to get me, Kamek."
I stared in astonishment at the boy. He had just sent a fourth tier spell right at me! Not turning my eyes away from him for an instant, I addressed the children. "Lemuel, take you and your siblings back into the castle. Things are going to start getting a bit dangerous out here."
"Aw," the boy protested. "But we want to watch!"
"Lemuel! Get inside now!" King Bowser yelled, leaning out the window. "You can come and watch up here with me."
"Fine..." He gently took Gwendolyn's hand and led everyone inside.
"Do you think that was funny, Ludwig?" I asked the young sorcerer. My tone wasn't angry, but sounded bewildered. Yes, he definitely needed to be put into place.
"I knew you would've done something to avoid getting hit by it."
"But you could have killed me."
"No I couldn't have."
"And why do you say that?"
"Because I just knew."
"Ah," I had to hold back a smile. He was reminding me so much of myself when I was his age. Besides that, he had inherited Monika's smart mouth. I realized he was being playful and decided to go along with it. If things got too out of control, our training session would have to abruptly come to an end. I was already planning on how I'd test the boy next. My hands began to glow a dull red as I prepared a fourth tier fire spell.
Ludwig quickly noticed and formulated a counterattack. Not too far from us was a small lake...the same lake that the Alterian Princess Victoria had frozen over. By simply eyeing it, the prince had caused the water to have a life of its own. A stream had risen out from the lake and hovered in the air. He held out his arms and guided the stream over to him, where it formed a barrier around the boy, circling around his body. The wispy movements of the water were amazing to watch. My jaw dropped.
"Oh my Gods..." I muttered. I had trained my pupil well. Now I wanted to see what he would do with the water spell. Without warning him, I hurled the high level fire spell at the prince. The fireball split into three smaller forms midair. I prayed to the gods that he would know how to counter it, otherwise he was about to get seriously burned.
I braced myself as I watched. I should have known better, because he did not let me down. With a simple flick of his wrist, the water had turned into a wall of ice, protecting him from the flames. A second later, all I could see was steam rising from the melted ice. Once the smoke cleared, there was my prized protegee, gleaming happily at me.
"Excellent, Ludwig!" the king shouted from his position at the window. "I knew you'd be like your mother!"
"Yes, your Highness. That was quick thinking." I praised. I wish Bowser would have stayed out of it though. He was nothing but negative encouragement. ...Sure... I thought ...Give him all the attention in the world now, but then turn your back on him later when he refuses to use his powers to aid you. Pretentious bastard... "Let's try some fifth tier magic now, since anything lower than that is like a joke to you."
"Hehe. You said it, not me." the prince chuckled. He cracked his knuckles and waited for his next test.
My hands were already radiating with sorcery. Fifth tier spells could be extremely dangerous when misused, so I opted to use the element of wind in order to create a mini-hurricane right in the garden. It wouldn't cause as much damage, as let's say a fire or earth spell. If Ludwig could successfully counter this attack, there may not be much else I could teach him. The spell began as a light gust of wind, then gradually grew stronger and stronger. The plants and trees began to sway wildly, as did everything else around me. Wind is my home element, which means that the strongest spells I can cast are wind-related. I was interested in seeing Ludwig's home element do battle against my own.
"Ludwig! Use fire against me!"
The winds had caused the prince to cover his face with his arm for protection. "I don't think that's smart, Kamek!"
"Trust me!"
"...O-Okay." He managed to cast a spectacular fifth tier fire spell despite the powerful force of the wind. Lowering his red shimmering hands, he produced a small ball of fire, which fell to the ground in front of him. Instantly, flames sprung forth from the initial fireball, encircling the prince. He was literally stuck between spinning pillars of fire taller than he was. I took a step back, not wanting to get scorched by the flames. It was truly an extraordinary site, even outdoing his stream of water and wall of ice from earlier. If there is one thing that can be said about sorcery, it certainly would be about how graceful looking it can be.
"Try coming at me now!" I shouted.
The Crown Prince sent one of the flaming pillars in my direction, but my wind spell hastily squelched it before it could get close to me. Once he saw what I had done, he triggered another pillar to come at me, but I easily destroyed it, just like I had done to the last one. I saw the exasperated expression upon the boy's face, and without waiting, he attempted to send a third obstacle of flame towards me. Before he could do so, I took a few steps closer to him, unafraid of the waning fire spell. Ludwig was growing tired and couldn't keep it up for much longer, but I pursued to encourage him on anyway. His last two remaining pillars were extinguished by the winds as I drew even closer.
"Try again, Ludwig!"
He could not react in time, as my spell had caused him to stumble onto his back. It knocked the breath right out of him. I did not let this hinder our training and intensified the gusts.
"Attack me again!" I cried, standing directly over him. He was silent and turned his face sideways, shielding it from the wind. Although the spell was powerful, I purposefully did not make it strong enough to permanently knock him down. I expected him to come at me again, but he didn't move. "Ludwig! Come on!"
"I-I can't!"
"Yes you can!"
"No I can't!" he angrily retorted, moving his head to look up at me. I knew then that it was time to end our training session.
"All right, your Highness." By lowering my hand, the wind had begun to cease as promptly as it had started. Once it had died down, I gazed up at the king, who was still standing by the window. He stared directly past me and down at his son, who in turn was glaring back at him. A look of displeasure was on the king's face, and he shook his head as he slowly shut the window. I soon realized what that small display meant. "Here Ludwig, let me help you up-"
"I don't need your help." he snapped, getting to his feet. "Just leave me alone." With that, he stalked off and headed back into the castle, leaving me alone in the garden. A horrible feeling came over me when I thought about what must have been going on inside the prince's head at the moment. I did not mean to humiliate him in front of his father. Things like this often occurred in training sessions, yet it was not Bowser's place to watch as his son was tested by me. I had to find the Crown Prince and talk to him.
I entered the palace and went to the first place I thought he'd be. Alas, when I reached his mother's wing of the castle, it was empty. I then searched the piano room, but he was not there either. Finally, it hit me to check the most obvious place--his bedroom. I had just reached the prince's half-open chamber door when I heard a familiar adult male voice speaking from inside the room. I did not want to intrude, but then again, I was nosey. As silently as I could, I peeked inside and saw the king sitting on the edge of Ludwig's bed. The Crown Prince, who was also on the bed, was resting on his stomach, with his head buried in his pillow. I did not want to be seen, so I moved away and pressed myself up against the wall in order to listen.
"Kamek really pushed you today, didn't he Ludwig?" the king started. "You've been training with him for some time now."
The prince remained quiet.
"Ludwig, are you listening?"
I heard the boy emit an affirmative sound, and it sounded like he still had his face on his pillow.
"Then why won't you talk to me?" Bowser questioned.
Still no response.
"You know, Ludwig. You really let me down today. Haven't you learned anything from Kamek?"
At his words I felt myself suck in a breath. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to march in there and send a fire spell right up the king's behind, but controlled myself. Bowser was already mad at me enough. He didn't need me antagonizing him any further.
"I don't understand it. You've been aware of your powers now for the past few years, and yet you're still at this level?" The king must have stood up, because I heard the bed springs shift. "Don't you want to help your father, Ludwig?"
Help him? In the past, I had a feeling he was after his son for his powers, and this conversation only confirmed my theory.
Bowser continued addressing his son in an extremely condescending manner. "I thought you were going to be as strong as Kamek...or rather, as strong as your mother. Your mother was one of the most powerful sorceresses to have ever lived. Are you going to tarnish her memory and my name?"
It was now taking every single ounce of self-restraint that I had to prevent me from entering the prince's room and killing the king. His audacity was making me sick. How dare he bring up Monika's name like that. I heard Bowser take a few steps closer to the doorway. I backed away and hid behind the ajar door.
"You can't even talk to me, son?"
No response.
"You don't want to use your abilities to help me? I might need you soon."
The prince stayed silent.
Bowser's tone had gone from arrogant to soothing to angry. "Fine. I'll leave you alone. Today you've disappointed not only me, but your mother as well. I'm sure, as her son, she expected more from you. I had such great expectations for you, Ludwig. I thought you were going to be the first sorcerer king Dark World has ever had. I just hope you're still learning, because if you're not, then your powers are pretty pitiful next to your mother's or Kamek's."
My chest tightened as the king left the room. Luckily he didn't notice me standing behind the door. I watched as he walked down the hallway, still too nervous to move without him spotting me. I waited a couple of moments until he vanished from sight. Everything was quiet within the prince's room up until I was just about to enter. My hands were on the door, about to push it open, when I suddenly heard what sounded like soft sobbing. Quietly, I looked inside the bedroom and saw the prince on his bed. His face was still resting on his pillow, but it couldn't hide the fact that he was crying. It ripped my heart out to see him like this. At first I was unsure about what I wanted to do. I simply stood there and watched as the boy cried. It started off softly, but then gradually grew worse. I heard the breath barely escape from this throat as his back shook from sobs. I couldn't take it anymore.
"Ludwig, may I come in?"
"G-go away!" came the response.
"Ludwig, please. I want to speak with you." I've been told that I'm awful while dealing with anything emotional. Camille often threw it in my face, screaming that I hardly ever expressed my feelings and had difficulties when others made theirs known. Perhaps she was right, but now I didn't want to appear that way.
I got no response from the boy, yet I didn't let it stop me. Gently, I opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind me. Ludwig didn't even acknowledge my presence and left his head resting on the pillow. He did attempt to stop crying though. I knelt down next to the bed and lowered my head so it would be next to the princes'.
"You don't have to stop on my account." I cracked a small smile. He turned his head onto his side to face me, and I could clearly see the tears still wetting his cheeks. Apparently, he had gained control of himself once I had joined him in the room, but after hearing my words, he began crying again. I stood up and took a seat on the bed. Not wanting him to think he was alone, my hands reached out to pull him up. He allowed me to get him to sit up, and I took him into my arms, where he rested his head on me and wept.
"Sometimes we all need a good cry, you know?" I said, lightly rocking him back and forth. I had never seen him like this before in my life. In a way, it frightened me, so I tried to do everything I could to make him feel better. I had virtually no experience when it came to dealing with emoting children, so I just followed Monika's example. When her baby boy would cry, she'd take him into her arms and rock him, sometimes singing to ease the pain. There was no way I was about to break out into song, so I hoped my actions would suffice.
After a few moments, he eventually started to calm down. I remained quiet until he looked up at me. His nose was running, and he sniffed several times in an effort to make it stop.
"Here, I believe I have some tissues in my coat pocket," I unwrapped one of my arms from around him and peered inside my jacket. "Ah, here we go. You can clean yourself up with this." He reached out to take the tissue from my hand and used it to wipe his nose and eyes.
"Thanks, Kamek." he mumbled, still sniffing a bit.
"Feeling better now, your Highness?"
"Not really."
I sighed. "Ludwig, I hope you don't get mad at me, but I happened to overhear the conversation your father had with you."
"You did?"
"Yes, unfortunately I heard the nasty things he said. Ludwig, listen to me. You truly did impress me today during your training lesson. That fifth tier fire spell you cast was amazing. A sorcerer of lower ability would not have been able to utilize such magic. Your father has absolutely no idea what he's talking about."
"I hate him." The boy's reply was blunt as he wiped his nose again. His words didn't shock me, upsetting as it was to hear an eleven year old say something so harsh. I wasn't going to argue with him, because he had every right to feel the way he did.
"Your father thinks it's easy to be able to do what I do. He's not aware about how strenuous, and sometimes, discouraging, training can be."
"Maybe he's right. I lost to you."
"Ludwig!" I shook my head. "It doesn't matter! What you did today was beyond the realm of many sorcerers. You can cast fifth tier spells with such ease that it's scary. Do you know how proud of you I am?"
He gazed up at me. "Do you really mean that, Kamek?"
"Of course I do! And do you know who else is really proud of you?"
"Who?"
"Your mother."
"You don't think I let her down?"
"Not for an instant." I said. "Ludwig, I'll tell you a little known story about me and your mother. While her and I were training years ago, she used to be the only one who knew how to beat me. Heh, maybe I let her do it, but I'll always remember what she said to me afterwards. She constantly told me about how proud she was of me, no matter what happened. There were times I took quite a beating thanks to the sorceress who trained us, Arianna. If you think I'm pushing you too hard, you should meet this woman. Once, she sent an ice spell right at my head, and succeeded in knocking me unconscious. When I woke up, there was your mother, holding an ice pack to my head, smiling. She proceeded to tell me about how proud she was that I took such a beating, and that I'd get better with time. Well Ludwig, she was right. Besides, if you doubt what I'm telling you, you can just go ahead and ask her how she feels."
"Yeah, you're right." he slightly laughed. "I'm just afraid of what she's going to say."
"Trust me, you don't have to be afraid. I'm telling you, she's going to give you all the praise she possibly can. Don't listen to what your father says. He was married to her and knew less about her than I did. It's sad."
"Now I just have to deal with my father."
"Don't worry about him. Believe me, he was lying when he said he wasn't impressed by your powers. I saw the gleeful smirk on his face after you knocked me down onto my back."
"He's really mad at me though."
"You and I both, Ludwig."
"I still hate him... It feels like everything I do isn't good enough for him."
"That's his problem. He's the one who's missing out. Well, always remember that you've got me, and there's nothing you could do that wouldn't make me proud of you." I gave him a squeeze. "The same goes for your mother."
"Thanks, Kamek." The prince managed to smile at me.
"You don't have to thank me! Hey, would you want to go into the Capital tomorrow? We can revisit that big book store you've been wanting to go to."
He didn't verbally answer, but shook his head affirmatively.
"Good, then it's settled." I released my hold on the boy and stood up. "You go and take a nap. We'll take a break with our training sessions for a little while. I want to get you rested up before we go sparring again. Endurance is extremely important for a sorcerer, but it takes practice to acquire it."
"All right, Kamek." Ludwig pulled down the blankets from his bed and began to crawl under them. "Tomorrow morning, bright and early we'll leave?"
"Sounds good to me." I reached the door, turned around, and smiled. "You get some rest. Oh, Ludwig, if you talk to you mother, tell her 'hi' for me, okay?"
"No problem."
"If you need me for anything, I'll be in my quarters." I softly closed his bedroom door and returned to my room. There, I nursed my sore back with a heating pad and sorted through some legal documents. Bowser's cruel words to his son were still echoing in my head and I couldn't concentrate. The next time I saw him, I'd have to pretend that I didn't hear anything. I'd have to pretend that he didn't only insult me, but also insult his late wife. And lastly, I'd have to pretend that I still admired and respected him. While his behavior irked me to no end, the one who suffered most was the Crown Prince. Having your father say such demeaning things to you is unacceptable. Ludwig's already told me his honest opinion about his father...that he hated him. I suppose his deteriorating relationship with his father doesn't bother him that much, as long as I am around. On a brighter note, I learned today that my student has gained much from his training. He's a very quick thinker with even quicker reflexes. If he could cast fifth tier spells with a nonchalant flick of his wrist, I can only imagine what he could do with more practice. I know there will be a day where he shall surpass me, and that's the day both Bowser and I, for different reasons, are waiting for.
October 14, 1987
The events of the past few days have caused me to do a lot of reminiscing. After the training lesson gone sour, I had taken Ludwig into the Capital. Partially I felt the outcome of the lesson was my fault. Maybe I had pushed him too hard that day, but nonetheless, my protegee had made me proud. I also felt bad about what King Bowser had said to him, and not to mention the scraped knee I had given the boy when he fell during training. Two days later, the Crown Prince seems to be back in normal spirits. I had a short, but interesting, conversation with him yesterday about the incident. We were sitting in our favorite restaurant in the Capital, a burger and fries place, when I decided to bring up the topic of his mother.
"So Ludwig, have you spoken to your mother yet about yesterday?" I asked, sipping my soda.
"Mmm-hmm!" he responded while chewing on his food.
"And what did she have to say? Was I right?"
He swallowed hard. "Right about what?"
"About her being all supportive and all."
"Oh, yes you were right, Kamek."
"When am I not?" I quipped, smirking to myself as I downed a few fries. Normally fried food wasn't one of my favorite things to eat, but today was a special occasion.
"She said you'd say something like that." Ludwig stated as he grinned at me.
"Really? What did she say?"
"Umm...I probably shouldn't say."
"You can tell me."
"She said..." Ludwig paused, then began giggling. "She said you were a smart ass."
I laughed out loud at the boy's words. "She actually said that?"
"Uh-huh."
"It doesn't surprise me. Your mother always had something totally out of the ordinary to say about me. Did you mention your father?"
"I did. I told her everything he said. Even what he said about her."
"And what was her reaction?"
"She told me exactly what you had told me...that my father had no idea what he was talking about and that she was really proud of me for challenging you yesterday."
I crossed my arms and smiled. "I knew she'd say that. If your mother was there yesterday, she would've beat me up for you. She was always good at that."
Ludwig had leaned back in his chair, and his expression had gone from playful to solemn. "Kamek, she said she was there."
"I beg your pardon?"
"She said she was there yesterday, during my training lesson." He looked up at me, and appeared uneasy. "She said she saw everything, Kamek. She was bringing up details about it that I hadn't even told her yet. She's never done that before."
"What do you mean, Ludwig?"
"She said she saw you fall onto your back, and that she saw the blood on my knee. She mentioned the jacket you were wearing, and commented on my little brothers and sister."
"And you hadn't told her about any of it yet?"
"Nope."
"My, it appears that you have a guardian angel." I cleared my throat, not sure of what to say next. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She was his mother after all, but I loved her too.
"She said she's around you too a lot, Kamek."
"She is?"
"Yeah. She told me to tell you to try and get more sleep. You have to stop falling asleep in your work clothes with your glasses on." Ludwig's demeanor was now back to being calm, and he took a bite from his cheeseburger before I could inquire for more information. I chuckled, and left the conversation at that.
Upon returning back to the castle that evening, I elected to take a quick nap before getting started on reading more mundane documentation. But instead of falling asleep, all I did was stare at my bedroom ceiling as memories from the past flooded my mind. One event in particular had caused me to think back to almost ten years ago. I remembered it as vividly as I could recall the occurrences from yesterday.
I was seated in Bowser's private family chambers, along with Monika and a barely two year old Ludwig. Normally, councilmen were not allowed access into such personal parts of the castle, but since I was a family friend, I was granted permission to come and go as I pleased. Standing near the large pitcher window, Bowser was holding his infant son in his arms, while Monika was seated on her favorite chair, working on sewing her son a blanket. I was sitting across from her, watching her fumble around with the needle and thread. Needlework had become a new hobby of her's since her pregnancy, and I often enjoyed poking fun at her, because, quite frankly, she wasn't very good at it at all.
"Susie Homemaker you are not, Monika." I joked.
She quit trying to thread the needle and looked up at me. "Don't force me to stab you with this thing, Kamek, because I will."
"Is that before or after you thread it? Because if it's after, then I'll have to wait a while."
Monika playfully sneered at me, then directed her attention back to the blanket.
"How is the little prince doing today?" I questioned Bowser, who was holding the baby.
"Oh, he's fine." He answered, bouncing the infant in his arms. "I was just showing him what's outside the window. Someday, he'll be king of it all. Isn't that right? My little sorcerer..."
It should have struck me then how he regarded Ludwig as his "little sorcerer". Before Monika died, the prince was Bowser's main priority. He went out of his way to insure his safety, and often carried him around just as much as his mother did. Thoughts of his son becoming a great sorcerer were probably entertained by the king on a daily basis. Possibly even before the child was born, Bowser already had an ornate agenda planned for his son. Of course that all changed as Ludwig got older. Another thing that really bothered me was the way Bowser treated his wife. After she had the baby, it was as if her job was done. Although she remained cheerful around her son and I, I could see that she felt otherwise about her husband.
"Is he still being fussy, Monika?" I asked, nodding my head in the king's direction.
"You mean my husband?"
"No! Ludwig!"
"Heh, I wasn't sure who you were referring to." I couldn't tell if she was only kidding by her tone, but she sounded serious.
I clenched my teeth shut and forced a laugh. "No, I meant your son."
"Ludwig's doing fine. He still gets antsy from time to time, but then again, he is almost two."
"That's good to hear. You know me. I'm not too familiar with the habits of children."
"How is Camille doing?"
"Oh, Kammy? She's...Kammy."
"Still bickering as always?"
"Naturally. It wouldn't be a marriage if we didn't constantly fight."
"Tell me about it..." Monika muttered under her breath. Whether or not she did it unconsciously, her fingers had wandered to my ring, which was hanging on a silver chain around her neck. She had slipped it onto her left ring finger, then quickly removed it. "Unhappiness seems to be a part of my life."
I directed my gaze to the carpeted floor and frowned. Gods, I hated it when she talked like that. We were both stuck in marriages we did not want to be a part of, but lately Monika had become more vocal about her situation. Quips like the ones she had just said were now common from her mouth. It didn't even matter if Bowser was in the room or not. Whatever she wanted to say, she said. From where he was standing in the room, he probably could not hear our conversation.
"Has he said anything else to you, Monika?" I inquired, leaning in closer.
"Just the usual. He's been talking down to me lately and makes degrading remarks. I honestly can't take it anymore, Kamek. I try to keep my mouth shut, but I just can't."
"What does he say to you?"
"Just degrading things. He likes to annoy me about my abilities as a mother, and often says that they're not as great as my abilities as a sorceress."
"Monika, you know that's a load of crap. You're an excellent mother."
"Yeah... I told him that my son comes before anything else. Before him. Before the kingdom. Before my own life."
"Ludwig is very fortunate to have a mother like you." I stared back up at her. She was looking at me with a vacant expression on her face. "And Bowser is extremely fortunate to have you as his wife."
"Hmpf, you tell him that, Kamek."
I opened up my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Just then, Bowser had walked back over to us.
"Monika, I'm going to take Ludwig outside for a bit."
"All right." She stood up to stroke her son's cheek with her hand. "I'll see you later, little man."
I smiled at the interlude. For the first time that day, I had finally seen her genuinely happy. Only her son had that affect on her.
"I'll see you later, Monika." As Bowser was leaving, he accidentally knocked over a small table next to the Queen's chair. The sewing equipment, which was resting on top of it, had scattered all over the floor. The King didn't even acknowledge it and exited the room with baby Ludwig in tow. Monika sighed heavily when she saw what her husband had done. I immediately reached down to pick up a few spools of thread which had landed at my feet. At the same time, she had also bent down to pick up some items. She stopped when she saw me move onto my knees on the floor in order to collect her supplies.
"Thank you so much, Kamek."
"No need to thank me."
"You see what he does? He does stuff like this on purpose to annoy me."
"It is quite irritating."
She sat back down in her chair and folded her arms. I had retrieved all of her sewing tools and placed them back on the table. While still on my knees, she reached over to me and ran her fingers over my cheek, mimicking the action she had done on her son. I froze in place and closed my eyes when I felt her come into contact with my skin.
"Sometimes Kamek," she slowly began. "Sometimes I just wish things could be different."
"Sometimes? I wish that all the time." Opening up my eyes, I gently took a hold of her hand and pressed a kiss against it. "But I better get going. Kammy will be home soon and will start ranting and raving if I'm not home around the same time as her."
Monika's smile had faded from her lips, and she bent her head down. "Yes, go home to your wife."
I honestly did not want to leave and had to practically tear myself away from the Queen, but I managed to leave the castle and return home. At the time, I lived in a wealthy part of Dark World, not too far away from the palace where I worked. Camille, my wife, was unemployed, but would often take frequent visits to her mother's house not too far away. After all, Camille's father was a councilman, and she too came from a wealthy family.
I was greeted by an empty house, but didn't have to wait long for my wife to get home. She found me in my reading room and proceeded to do what she did best--irritate me.
"Kamek, did you finish everything I had told you to do?"
"Hi Kammy," I did not bother looking up from my book. "No 'how was work today'?"
"Gods, Kamek, did you fix the damn light fixture in the kitchen?"
"Do I look like a handyman?"
She threw her hands up into the air. "I can't take it anymore. Do whatever the hell you want."
We had only been married for a few years and already couldn't stand being with each other. I tried to make the best out of a bleak situation, but my sarcastic tongue often got me in trouble. I put down my book and followed Camille down the hallway and into the living room. She eyed me as she removed her jacket and watched me lean against the doorway.
"I went to the doctor today." she started.
"How did things go?"
"I'm not pregnant."
Over the past few years, Camille and I had tried to have a child. It was one of the many things she couldn't give me, but since it was a delicate topic, I kept my scathing remarks to myself.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Kammy."
"No you're not."
"Why do you say that?" I immediately went on the defensive. "This is something involving the both of us. It would be our child-"
"You're never serious about anything, Kamek. All you care about is your job...your job and your Queen."
She was right, but I did not want her to know she was. "My job plays a huge role in my life. You know that, Kammy."
"It plays too large of a role. If I knew you were going to be like this, I would have never married you." She pushed past me and walked back down the hallway.
"It would have saved me a lot of trouble!" I barked back.
She stopped in front of our bedroom door, opened it, and stepped inside. "You know, Kamek? You can be a real fucking prick at times." The next thing I heard was the sound of the door slamming shut. I ended up sleeping on the couch that night.
That was just a small example of the daily fights between me and Camille. Back in reality, in my bedroom at the castle, I began to reflect on my loveless marriage. I knew in my younger days I could be rather...difficult to deal with, but I believe my ex-wife was right about me being an unemotional husband. There were times I would snap at her, but it was only when she annoyed me, which was often. I admit that I was wrong to do so, but at the time it was the only way I knew how to cope with her. Living with a woman I didn't love was a big enough sham. Putting up with her was a much greater task. Honestly, I don't think I ever loved her. I realize it's cruel to say, but it's true. I married Camille to only get back at Monika for marrying Bowser. I never apologized to Monika for that. It wasn't her fault, but stubborn me did not comprehend that until much later. Ah, the ignorance of youth. Thinking about what could have been if I married Monika only got me depressed. I hoped she was watching over me now so she could see what I was writing. Maybe she could read the words which I did not have the courage to tell her while she was alive and see that almost ten years later, she still had a strong grip around my heart.
Whew, well here it is! I hope everyone enjoyed it. I'm particularly proud of these last two entries, as they show vulnerability in Ludwig, an emotional side of Kamek, and how big of a douchebag Bowser can be. Writing the training session scene was a bit difficult. I did not want to make it sound campy, so I hope I avoided that. Reviews would be great! I'd like to thank the people who have been reviewing in the past. I love getting feedback, ideas, and even positive criticism from everyone. :::cough...some grammar might be incorrect. I fell asleep in high school freshman English class...cough::: Visit my site, www.cutesyvideogamessuck.homestead.com for more fiction and craziness. The next chapter of Kamek will arrive shortly. Hold your breath in anticipation, fools!