I've had you four intense, suspenseful chapters, so this one will be heartwarming; I promise 😂 ❤️

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

Try with all of your might

But none can hide from this unforgiving moonlight

Every step I take, every fallen tear

Weaves another lie, a curse I will bear

There's a part of me, struggling to break free

It lives within the dark

That brilliant light is beyond my reach

Maybe I belong here – beneath the light of the moon

— AKIRA, Pale Full Moon

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

Cal Junior lowered himself deeper into the warm water of the tub, peeking at his father as he went out to fetch some fresh towels.

He hadn't been able to forgive himself for getting Gigi in that accident, and honestly, he was still quite shaken over what happened in the forest; the encounter with the strange man.

This was the first time in his life when he thought that having these powers might not be all rainbows and unicorns. There was his magical encounter with Fate, and possibly dragons and the Five Muses. Those were good things. But there were also worse things, like the man, lurking in the dark.

Another thing that was bothering him was the man admitted to his middle name, Velius. Seeing how he was older than him, it couldn't be possible that he was the one named after Junior? His father had gotten his middle name from the first Emperor of Angletonia; so he should at least have gotten his from another Leroy sovereign, right?

Soon enough, his father came in with one of their big, warm towels. Waiting for Junior to come out of the water, Senior wrapped his arms around him like big, protective wings. Which again, reminded him—even though with powers—how small he really was.

Should he try to ask him about his namesake? There's a chance that he might be given an answer, but Cal was too scared of what he'd unravel.

"Junior?" Senior spoke first, dragging him out of his trance.

"...Mmm?"

"Is there something on your mind, dear?"

Yes. "No," answered Junior lazily.

His father knelt down, inspecting his temperature. "Are you sick?"

"No." This time he answered with certainty, looking back into his father's eyes. He was sick of himself, really.

"Then why don't you just talk to me?" Senior questioned kindly. Junior realized that he hadn't been giving his father more than one syllable. "You haven't spoken much... since yesterday."

Junior lowered his gaze, wrapping the towel tightly around himself. "Father, I... I am responsible for what happened to Gigi. You know I am to blame, so you have to punish me."

Senior's eyes narrowed; for a moment he was taken aback by what Junior asked for. "I don't blame anyone, Junior. It was an accident, and I would never punish you for it."

"You would've if it were someone else," Junior insisted. "Why make an exception?"

Taking a deep breath, Senior raised his brows before he continued, "If it were an adult person, then yes, I will have them abide by the law. But you are young, Junior. You're going to make mistakes that you never intend to, and you regret your actions; that's all that matters."

"But what if it were another child?" Junior pressed further. "If it were Aravin?"

"If it were another child who had learned the consequences of their actions, I would still forgive them. Although in the case of Aravin, I would have to leave it to his parents," His father sparked a mischievous grin but it didn't make him feel any better.

If anything, he was only feeling worse.

"It was just a spur of moment," admitted Junior, shivering as tears gathered in the corner of his eyes once more. "I was upset and I wanted to get away. I didn't expect her to come after me!"

"Junior, people of our rank and status can never act solely on a whim. Every choice we make will still affect everyone else, whether you intend to or not. It will affect our family, the future of our nation and its people. You need to understand because you're going to take my place one day."

"I don't think I can ever be as perfect as you," Junior wept. His father was the definition of strong and powerful, while he was just... a small child, who wished he could take on the world.

"Even I struggle with it sometimes," Senior replied, gazing emptily into the distance, and Junior wondered what he was thinking of. "It is not easy to be in a position where everyone else is counting on you. It never is and never will be."

"But these signs... What if I am becoming bad? What if there's something bad growing inside of me?"

His father didn't answer. Instead, he moved them to the bedroom and fetched him a set of clean clothes the servants had prepared before.

Senior held up his dinosaur-printed briefs so he could easily step into them, but Junior quickly took it off his hands. How many times did he have to tell him he could put on his own underwear?

"If there's something malicious inside of you, Junior, there should be one inside of me too. Because you're my son." Senior's gaze was firm, but gentle, sending a surge of comfort into Junior's heart.

"Gigi would no longer want me near her! I said something very mean to her before I left!" Junior felt his mistakes come crashing down on him as he rubbed his eyes with his fists.

"Gigi would be heartbroken not to have you near her. Instead of keeping a distance from her, why don't you make it up by rekindling your relationship? You wouldn't punish someone if they've made one mistake, would you?"

Junior sniffled, lifting his chin as he tried gaining back his composure; his small lips still form a frown. "Truth be told, I might."

Looking at him wide-eyed, his father quickly shook his head before attacking him with a series of tickles. "Alright then, I might just punish you!"

Junior squealed, trying to avoid the tickles by throwing the discarded towel in his father's face. This would be one of his father's dirty tricks, trying to cheer him up by taunting him with tickle wars. Hopping into bed, he quickly hid underneath the blankets.

"Now where did he go?" He heard his father's voice, holding his breath underneath the covers. Slowly, Junior crawled behind him, looking for the best position to attack. "Oh no, I've just lost Junior... What am I gonna do this tim—"

"Gotcha!" Junior suddenly burst under the blankets, tickling the sides of Senior's abdomen, knowing those were his father's ticklish spots.

"Junior!" Senior shrieked, throwing himself back into the cushions.

"Yield!" Junior scrunched up his face, still continuously ambushing his father. "Yield now, or I shall show you no mercy!"

Senior spent the next few irksome minutes struggling, curling up and rolling around in his futile attempts of escaping Junior's tickle attack. But finally, at the very last desperate moments, he threw away his pride and yielded to his son's mercy.

Crawling above his father's face, Junior wiped away his remaining tears as he stuck his tongue down at him. "Why would you make it harder for yourself?"

"Just wait and see, I'm planning to launch my revenge real hard," Senior panted between short, quick intakes of breaths. "Let's get you in those pyjamas, it's late."

Only after he was fully clad in his pyjamas could Junior finally feel how tired he was. He had felt it before, but his mind was preoccupied with the whole incident with Gigi and the strange man. Now that his father had reassured him, his exhaustion had finally caught up with him.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his father putting on his robes before heading back to Gigi's room.. "Father, I'm sorry..."

"Stop apologizing, Junior." Senior sat on his bedside and booped him on the nose. "Real men apologize only once because they'll never make the same mistake."

Slowly getting up on his fours, Junior leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek, thus ending the weeks-long punishment of not giving him a night's kiss. "Good night, Papa."

"Wow, I've just been un-grounded."

***

Junior went straight to Gigi's bedside after breakfast; knowing he still owed her an apology. Remembering how distraught she looked as she rode after him; the strain in her voice as she called out for his name. He knew he should be by her side as she regained consciousness.

Good thing Aravin was a late-riser.

As he compressed her arm and changed her bandages, he noticed Gigi's fingers twitched slowly. Junior held his breath as he watched Gigi's eyes slowly opened.

Gigi was startled as she awakened. For a while her eyes darted across the room nervously, before finding him on the side of his bed. "Junior, you're here! ...You're home! I was so scared that you were gonna— wait, how did I get here? What happened to— Ow," She almost jolted into a sitting position, wincing at the sprain on her left wrist.

"Please don't move around too much, your arm still needs healing. The Doctor applied a sprint on your wrist so it's best to keep it rested upon a pillow for a couple of weeks."

"Healing?" Frowning, she gazed down on her left arm, and the bandages around it. Right, she might have forgotten about what happened to her after she fell, and everything that had been going on during the past two days.

It didn't cease Cal Junior's anxiety, as there was still a chance that she might be upset at him. Or worse, remembering the details about her accident.

"...I remember what happened. I chased after you, but I must have slipped off because the last thing I remembered was falling from my horse."

"...So, you didn't remember anything before that?" Junior repeated. Would it be a good thing for Gigi to never know that strange man existed?

She seemed to remember something before slumping into the cushions sadly. "I'm sorry, Junior. I never meant to draw a gap between you and your father. I wish you could patiently wait for his return now, he did say he'd be back soon."

"Gigi, he's already returned," revealed Junior impatiently. "You've been unconscious for two days. You did nothing wrong... it was me who should apologize."

Gigi's eyes darted around the room once more. Whether she was thinking about his father returning or contemplating his apology, Junior couldn't decide.

"I have not properly apologized for what happened yesterday." His eyes grew heavy, bending his head. "I'm sorry that I said such things to hurt you and ran away from the palace. It was very ill-mannered of me."

Gigi stared at him with concern, "It's alright, Junior. You were upset and worried about your father. I knew you never would've meant it. I would, too, had I not received his telephone call."

"I'm so sorry... I never meant for any of this to happen! Had I not run away, you never would have been hurt! I am so... so angry at myself!" His eyes reddened and swarmed with tears, unleashing the little storm that had been raging inside him. "If anything happened to you—I would never be able to forgive me!"

The next thing he knew, she reached out her uninjured arm for him, offering a hug.

"Can you ever forgive me?" He sobbed, nuzzling into her shoulder as she tenderly embraced him.

"Junior, I already have." Her voice was gentle, and more of his tears seeped into her nightgown. Her fingers smoothly ran through the dark strands of his hair, shushing him gently.

"Maybe you were right, in a way. You've missed your father, you were never separated from him before. Perhaps you should spend less time with me and more with him, if that's what you want?"

"No!" demurred Junior. "The last thing I want is to lose you. I no longer want a life where you're not a part of it! It will never be complete without you anymore, I..." Burying his face in her sleeve, a single tear slipped under his eyelashes before he blurted, "I love you, Mam."

Gigi's breath hitched, and Junior's heart skipped a beat as she broke their embrace, seeking answers in the depth of his blue eyes. "Junior...?"

Junior cocked his head to the side nervously. There were so many things he wanted to say but was too fearful of rejection. What if Gigi didn't want their relationship to turn out the way he did?

"I said I love you so much," He blinked his wet eyes. "...Do you mind?"

There was a short pause on her side, followed by a hearty sigh. She enveloped him back into her warmth. "Of course not. I love you too, Junior. So much, my son."

He leaned up, kissing her cheek deeply. Only he knew long had he been keeping a secret about wanting a mother; worrying that he might break his father's heart if he knew. But today he got his wish granted and so much more. Gigi was his fairy godmother, the most precious gift he'd never expected to behold.

And this time, his father wouldn't be heartbroken; because he loved her too.

Cinderella was right; because magic, dreams and wishes did come true.

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

Of course Junior is Cinderella. He needs Fairy Godmother Gigi to save him from his evil birth-mother 😛