The Phoenix family emblem was similar. The same bird flew in the opposite direction, holding a shield instead of a sword. The sun was replaced by a crescent moon.
That bird was the phoenix. Kail had no idea why the phoenix was part of the royal family's emblem. He made a mental note to research more about the two families.
The carriage came to a stop in front of the palace doors. The driver jumped down from his seat and opened the door. Kail's father stepped out first, followed by his mother and then Kail himself.
The driveway was a large circular driveway that circled back to the gate. Bushes of bright orange and red flowers sat following the circle in the middle. To Kail, the petals resembled a bird's foot, its claws reaching for the sky.
Kail followed his parents up the many steps to the door where two guards greeted them with a slight nod of respect. The doors were held open by two servants. The family passed through uninhibited.
Kail's eyes widened at the scene that met him past the doors. The tall white walls were extravagantly decorated. Gold-framed paintings were hung on each wall, a gold plaque on the bottom of each frame. A large chandelier hung down from the ceiling, its bulbs of electric magic giving plenty of light to the room.
Deep red curtains with gold trim were tied back to reveal a pair of doors across from them. The large doors bore the emblem of the royal family. Kail's family walked up to the doors and a crier announced their arrival through a magic item shaped like a star.
The item was a bit smaller than the crier's palm and floated above his hand. It was a deep purple gem that acted as a microphone. Kail was intrigued by this strange item. It was added to his list of things to learn about.
The doors swung open on their own after a brief moment. Kail followed his parents through into a throne room. A red carpet with gold trim sat in the middle, reaching all the way to the platform that held the two seats of the king and queen. The said king and queen were sitting on their thrones.
The room was massive with tall windows letting in the sunlight. There were curtains tied back on either side of every window. The windows were made of stained glass in the middle, bearing the Skye family emblem.
The platform itself seemed to be made of gold upon closer inspection as Kail and his parents reached it. The king and queen both had smiles on their faces.
"Welcome, Harold and Esmerelda!" the king greeted happily as he stood. He walked down the steps and pulled Harold into a hug. Kail had learned from Teacher James that his father, Harold, was best friends with the king.
That probably had a huge impact on why Kail was in the palace. The two men pulled apart after a moment. Harold had a big smile on his face. "Gerald, this is Kail," he said as Esmerelda gently pushed Kail forward.
King Gerald's face lit up more as he looked Kail over. "Hello, Kail! You've grown quite a bit since I saw you as an infant."
Kail dug through his memories of this new life but could not recall ever meeting Gerald as a baby. He must have been over while I was sleeping. That was the only logical explanation he could come up with.
Kail gave a respectful bow. "Greetings, Your Majesty." Kail figured he should be the one to be respectful since he did not have the close relationship that his parents had with the royal family.
Faith laughed as she came to stand beside her husband. "Don't be so stiff, little one. The Phoenix family are our friends!"
Gerald had a head of white hair and brown eyes. He had a scar over his right eye and was clearly older in terms of appearance than Kail's parents. Faith had gray hair tied up in a perfect bun. There were a few bits of blonde hair that still showed among the gray. Her eyes were icy blue.
Kail nodded as he straightened. After a brief conversation, Kail and his parents were led through a side door. They walked down a hall and into another room. It was a sitting room. Tea and desserts were set up for them. The tea was still steaming.
They each took a seat on the couches on either side of the coffee table set up in the middle of the room.
"Diacus will be with us shortly. He should be finishing up his lessons now," Gerald spoke before looking at Kail. "I'm certain you two will get along famously."
Kail highly doubted it. He internally sighed, wishing he could go back to his books. His blue-gray eyes focused on the desserts. He loved sweets but he didn't have an appetite. His guard was up. The way everyone acted towards him screamed fake and forced.
Kail didn't need to think too much about the reason why. He knew that Teacher James had to have said something to his parents while the king and queen automatically knew his element based on his appearance.
He felt like he was in a lion's den.
While the adults chatted, Kail thought of ways to escape his family. The Goddess of Light has already started her offensive against me. Even if Storm doesn't say anything, those who know Teacher James and the appearance fact will know my element. Both my family and the royal family will no doubt try to keep me under control.
The more Kail thought about it, the more he realized that he was running out of time. The longer he stayed with the family, the more restricted his life would become. But he had no choice. He had to get stronger before he could run off into the strange world of Mou.
Kail wondered how long it would take for Izabella to return with the teacher she had left to fetch. Would this teacher even really take him on as a student?
Kail's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. A finely dressed child entered. Kail knew immediately who he was just by looking at the white hair and eyes. Prince Diacus. The adults looked over at Diacus.
"There he is," Faith said happily as Diacus joined his parents on the couch. "Diacus, this is Kail."
Kail put on a smile as Diacus looked him over with a judging gaze and false smile. Kail could already tell what he was thinking. He is disgusted by my appearance, Kail thought bitterly.
Diacus finally spoke after a moment. "Hello, Kail," he greeted.
"Hello, Diacus," Kail greeted back.
"Well, now that they're both here, let's get the talk underway," Gerald spoke up after the two had greeted each other.
Kail listened closely to the adults while pretending to be interested in the conversation he was having with Diacus. The discussion between the four adults seemed to be going towards making the arranged marriage a reality.
This did not surprise Kail. The marriage would be chains for Kail. But he did not let that deter him from planning his escape. Even if the families put him under supervision, there would always be a chance for him to escape.
Kail was no stranger to being supervised and escaping. His first life had been full of such situations.
A few hours passed before a decision was made. The result? Kail would marry Diacus. Kail was a bit upset over the result but knew there was nothing he could say to change it. He was just a five-years-old kid to them.
A meeting for Diacus and Kail was set up before the Phoenix family left to travel the long way back home.
Kail felt exhausted from the day's events as they headed home. He couldn't wait to climb into bed and fall asleep. Upon arrival, he went straight to his room. I hate being so low on stamina. This child body of mine is too easily exhausted.
He sighed when he reached his bedroom door only to be called by his nanny. It was time for dinner. Kail reluctantly followed her to the dining room to join the rest of the family for dinner.
As they ate, Kail was bombarded by questions from his sister and second brother. Storm ate silently, ignoring Kail completely. Kail answered their questions about his arranged marriage as best as he could. Their parents spoke up when Kail could not answer a few of the questions.
Kail was glad when the dinner ended. He slipped out while the rest of the family was still talking as dessert was being brought in. He headed back to his room, dragging his feet from how tired he was.
Once in his room, he got ready for bed. Once under the covers, he sighed and closed his eyes. Sleep quickly claimed him and he was thrown into a vivid dream. The last thing he heard before slipping under was the caw of a raven at his window.
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