Chapter 18: If you insist.

“Come on then. You can tell me about what you think of the palace as we walk.” Dorian smiled as down at Kalon. He then moved past him and stepped out into the corridor where the hogman was still standing guard.

“Everything is okay for now. Be on your way and leave us.” Dorian said to the man and then began to walk down the corridor. As he walked, he didn’t hear any footsteps behind him, so he stopped and turned back to see what the hold up was on Kalon.

“Aren’t you coming?” He asked as he looked at Kalon, who was standing by the door thinking to himself.

Kalon smiled upon seeing his father’s face once again. He couldn’t help it. He felt that he had missed so much time with him, and now that he finally got to see him, he felt like everything would be okay.

When he was with his mother, he lived in constant fear of not being able to protect her, but now that he was with the emperor of the Sylton empire, he felt as though his father could settle his worries with just a wave of his hand. He was just that powerful after all, and Kalon Knew all too well that he would be protected while he was within the palace with his father.

Kalon nodded his head and then ran down the corridor to catch up to his father before deciding that he didn’t want to wait for him anymore. He figured that he was on a tight schedule, so he didn’t want to keep him waiting, but he lost himself in thought for a moment.

“Sorry, I was thinking. I don’t remember talking to you by myself.” Kalon stated matter of factly. Earlier, he felt as though he couldn’t approach Dorian, but since he had seen his father smile at him, he felt as though he could ask anything.

Dorian looked down at him and continued to walk now that he had caught up to him.

“You don’t? Well, I guess you were really young back then, weren’t you? Well, we have all the time in the world to talk today. So do you have any topics in mind?” Dorian kept up his friendly persona as he spoke with Kalon and passed a group of knights waiting at one of the many entryways to the building.

“I guess first I will ask. What should I call you? Emperor Dorian? Your majesty? Or Sir?” Kalon asked. He didn’t know how to address someone of that title, but he knew that even the slightest bit of disrespect could lead to him losing his head in a normal situation. But as the emperor’s son Kalon had some privileges that were kept a secret from him.

“Dad is fine. Or if you want to you can call me Dorian. I know I haven’t been much of a father to you, but I hope that you can look past that and we can move forward? I want to have a connection with you since I am your father and all. But I understand if you don’t feel comfortable with that.” Dorian smiled as he replied to Kalon.

The sound of footsteps clacking against the marble floor echoed through the corridor as they walked side by side. Kalon thought to himself for a few moments as he tried to come up with something else to say.

“Okay, dad. Then can you tell me more about the job that you have for me? ” Kalon said with a smile. It was the first time that he felt like he had a dad, and it made him feel warm on the inside. It was as if a fire had started within his stomach. The heat from his stomach spread all over his body, making him feel safe and protected.

He was excited to get started on the job right away. Of course, he was upset that his mother was sitting in a dungeon for something that wasn’t her fault, but he was used to living in the Sylton empire. Everything that went on was down to the imperial court. They were the rule makers and helped to govern the land fairly and equally, even if it was just for their own benefit.

‘I wonder if there is a chance that he will let me talk to her? I really want to see her and make sure that she is okay,’ Kalon thought as he looked up at his father, who had yet to say anything.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s something that you should do. It’s really dangerous, and I am worried that you might get injured.” Doran’s eyes filled with worry as he looked down at Kalon and removed his glasses from his face.

“That’s okay. I am willing to do it. No matter what. I want to free my mom.” Kalon looked at his father with determination. He was dead set on doing what was asked of him since the moment that Dorian had mentioned it earlier in the day.

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t want to feel like I am forcing you to do this. Maybe I can request that the court thinks about the sentencing again…” Dorian spoke in a softer tone. To Kalon, it looked as though he was worried about what he was sending his child to do. But that only made Kalon more curious about what he had in store for him.

“Dad, It’s okay. I know that you can’t do that. I am willing to do whatever it takes to prove mom’s innocence. I don’t care what it takes; I will do anything.” Kalon said with even more determination and clenched his fists.

“Well, if you insist… Then I will tell you what you have to do.” Dorian said with a sinister smile upon his face before turning to look at Kalon with gentle eyes.

“The court has decided to make your job even harder, but your reward has also increased by a lot. Before, they only wanted you to do something simple. But because you aren’t like the rest of us here, they said they wanted to give you a job that only you can do. You can still refuse it at any time, of course. But if you decide to do it, then they will release your mother completely and retract the sentence that she was given.” Dorian explained, but before he could finish, Kalon interrupted him.

“I will do it!” He shouted out after hearing that they would release his mother instantly.

“But I still haven’t told you what it is yet. Just wait until I tell you before deciding, please. Patience is a good virtue to have.” Domain advised his son for the first time casually. But to Kalon, it was unbelievably important.

‘He’s right. I need to listen to everything before making my mind up.’ Kalon silently thought as he looked up at his father with admiration.

“It will be hard work. But they want you to go to the human kingdom and become our informant. It will be your job to report everything you see back to us at the end of each month. But you will have to live there for a few years until we can develop a detailed enough report to plan our next attack.

But don’t worry, once we have completed our report you won't need to do anything else. There will be nothing else for you to do, and you can come home to release your mother. And as a bonus, I managed to persuade them to give you a plot of land far away from here where you can settle down and raise a family of your own.” Dorian smiled, but Kalon looked up with sad eyes.

“What is it?” Dorian asked, seeing the look on his son’s face. He didn’t look like he was happy with the job that the court had given him. But he was the only person who could do it. If they sent a monster, they would be spotted right away if they entered the human kingdom.

The only hope for launching a successful launch on the Kingdom of Ysaven was to send Kalon there to collect information for them. But if it turned out that he was against it, then their plan would be ruined entirely.

Kalon looked up at his father with sadness in his eyes.

“It’s just that I don’t want a plot of land anywhere. If it’s not too much trouble, Do you think that mom and I can live here in the palace again? I know she was happy when she lived here, and ever since we have been living in the forest, I haven’t seen her smile even once.

Please. I know it would make her happy to live here once again.” Kalon pleaded with his father but wasn’t hopeful that he would accept his terms.

“You… Would you actually like to live here again? I thought that after this was over, you would want nothing to do with me. I was scared that you hated me because I kicked you out of the palace…” Dorian’s face scrunched up slightly as he spoke. He looked down at Kalon with tears welling in his eyes.

“I could never hate you. You’re my dad, after all.” Kalon said with a smile. He felt happy that his father was showing him such kindness. It was something he never expected since the stories he had heard about the emperor made it look like he was just a soulless killing machine.

But it was clear to Kalon that his father had a soul or else he wouldn’t be able to feel emotion, but as he was thinking about it. Dorian suddenly knelt down to the ground and wrapped his arms around Kalon.

“I’m a sorry excuse for a father. But please forgive me, Kalon.” Dorian said quietly into Kalon’s ear with a shaky voice that sounded like he was crying.

“Of course I forgive you!” Kalon said with tears now forming in his eyes as he hugged his dad around his shoulders. He rested his head against his shoulder and felt the warm embrace. He felt so happy that his father didn’t hate him. He was worried that his father hated all humans, but it was clear to him that his problem was with the Ysaven kingdom and not humans.

But as they embraced each other, Dorian’s arms began to shake as he looked at Kalon’s neck.