Few weeks have come to pass since the whole unpredictable revelation that I was meant to serve the chosen child of the Morningstar bloodline.
Things were really awkward between my parents after the whole thing. Right after I was declared to be a mere slave to whoever was chosen, my mother had snatched me roughly away from the old man who happened to be our family's Oracle — which was weird for me because I often believed that an Oracle, like in most stories, would be ugly women or at least be some form of floating head or anything that wasn't supposed to be a man.
I know in most cases, after a child is born, the family often throws a big party to celebrate this amazing miracle. But to me, it wasn't the case. Just after those few weeks I was born, my mother, who by the way goes by the name of Kelana Morningstar, was so mad at my father that she banned him from seeing me or getting close to either of us.
Not that I blamed her. Turned that my father — no, scratch that — not just him, but it turned out that my new family was actually kind of a big deal. They were royals, and Markus, my father, turned out to be the king of the most powerful and advanced Victorian-era Kingdom known as Eclipse Kingdom.
And my mother turned out not only was she the queen, but she was also just a small-town girl who lived in another Kingdom — a different one from the Eclipse Kingdom — a rival Kingdom called the Shade Kingdom. It was called that because of the whole story and belief that it was the very first Kingdom where dark magic was first discovered.
I know I should be young to know all this, but what can I say? That's what happens when your mother is not only the first wife of the most powerful man in the history of all the world but also the most hated and despised because of her status. So, since it was just the two of us and I was just about 13 weeks, she told me all those stories.
And she was kind enough to tell me about the whole thing that I'm meant to serve this chosen child, who, by the way, happens to be my half-sister — born on the exact day as me, but she was just a few seconds older. And because her mother, who was the second wife of my father, was actually chosen by the elders of my family, all her children were to have servants, and those servants were all going to come from my mother.
I think whenever she told me this story, she thought that maybe she was just trying to convince herself that it's going to be okay. She didn't know that I heard and understood every word and every pain that dripped each time she told me. How could she know, and how could I not understand? After all, I was a 20-year-old stuck in a baby's body.
One thing about my mother that I really admired about her the most was that, though things were hard and she was suffering and going through the most, instead of wimping around and being helpless, she was really doing well. And I think that's because of me — she had to be strong for me.
Whenever she wasn't telling the story about me being a servant to my sister, she would often read me stories of magic. I didn't know why at first, so I just assumed that, since in my previous life my parents would also read me fantasy stories, it was their way to let me know that even if I feel so weak and unimportant, I should always remember that I'm the hero of my life.
My favourite story that Kelana, my new mother, would tell me was a story about a young prince who was not loved by his family and Kingdom because they believed that he wasn't strong enough. So, all he had to endure was pain, resentment, and abuse from everyone.
While the others in the kingdom were graced and blessed with powers, the young prince wasn't so lucky. But when the time came and the whole world was in trouble, he was the one who would be the one to save the day.
But I really think that the whole real reason she would tell me that story was to prepare me for what's to come and what I might actually have to face. Since, you know, though I was born in the most powerful family in the most powerful Kingdom, but since I was just chosen to serve my half-chosen sister, that meant I must be weaker.
One thing that I also liked about Kelana was that every single time she finished reading me this story — and she made sure and never made any mistake not to finish this story in one night — but every time she finished it, she would fall asleep and leave me still wide awake.
I have to say, for a child who was just 13 weeks old, I was pretty impressive. I would wake up and not make even the slightest sound, crawl out of bed, and crawl all the way to the family library — which, by the way, for a powerful family, their security is really bad.
How could a 3-month-old baby crawl around the castle all by himself and not get discovered? Oh, by the way, when I said 3 months, I meant 13 weeks in months. See, this isn't just another story about a hero who goes to save everyone and has to decide whether he chooses to accept his destiny or not — here you are going to learn a lot.
The library's doors weren't that hard to open, and worse part — they never made any sound whenever I opened them. And by "open them," I don't mean that I'm that magical that I stood up and opened them — nope, I mean I would push it open.
I would crawl inside, and for the past 3 months, I've been reading almost each and every book, which was really impressive for someone who was destined to be someone's servant.
I'd like to see my so-called sister do something like this.
Anyway, the first time I actually did this was after the whole disagreement. I didn't even think that I was capable of doing this, and actually, I wasn't going to no library — I was actually going to see my father, and maybe if I did that, I'd get the chance to take a glimpse at my so-called stepmother and half-sister.
But like most things in life, that plan fell through, and I stumbled upon the library.
When I read my first book, the words and the writings weren't in a language that I spoke in my previous life. At first, when I read them, I didn't understand anything — it made me feel like I was dyslexic because the words would move around. But after a few seconds, my eyes and mind adapted, and I could read the whole thing without any problem.
I would be lying if I said I knew how many books were in my family's library, but I would tell you that I know almost all of them now. And thanks to my curiosity, now I have an understanding about my new life.
My name was Perseus Morningstar, and I was born in the most powerful family, in the most powerful Kingdom, and the world that I was born to was the world known as Nedeldra — a world full of vast and powerful magic.
Since I was too curious for my own good, the book I read was the Encyclopaedia of Nedeldra.
And it allowed me not only to know of the other Kingdoms — their families, their laws, and languages — actually everything.
But the Encyclopaedia also taught me especially about my family and Kingdom.
From the flea markets, the currency, and everything.
10 copper coins = 1 bronze coin.
10 bronze coins = 2 silver coins.
10 silver coins = 3 gold coins.
Then when we mix the currency:
5 copper coins + 4 bronze coins = 1 silver coin.
It goes just like that with the other currencies too.
Apart from the Encyclopaedia, another book that had become one of my favourites was a spell-casting book — The Art of Mysteries.
Though for now I couldn't do any spells because of the whole "baby can't talk just now" thing. I may be born in a magical world, but that doesn't mean babies could talk in just a few months. The only words that I could utter were "mama" and "dada."
After my unsanctioned adventures to the library, I would return to my mother's room — maybe after 3 hours of studying and learning — and I would sleep next to her like nothing ever happened, and she wouldn't know a single thing.
But that wasn't just a daily occurrence in my life. Every single time I read something new, there's this thing that tends to happen to me.