Simply Impossible

It took a lot of convincing before Damien finally conceded, and even afterwards, he stuck to them like glue. Adrian didn't seem to mind, but Callan was extremely irked by this behavior. It was his and Adrian's room and yet, for every moment of the waking day, the gnome was there too.

It was as if his life's sole purpose was to stick by Adrian's side and send him malicious death glares, but Adrian enjoyed his company and was very upset by the fact that his new friend and old one weren't getting along well, causing the two to come to a silent tactful understanding that they wouldn't show their spite openly in front of Adrian.

Hence a war of silence raged, with each pretending that when they were in the same room, the other person wasn't there and this refusal of acknowledging each other irked Adrian, but they were far too stubborn in their individual bias's against each other to even be persuaded into a friendship which neither of them wanted nor needed.

On the rare occasions when Damien managed to bait Adrian away from Callan, he would always remind him to be careful and keep his distance from his strange new roommate. As Damien's roommate had yet to arrive, he kept trying to convince Adrian to come to sleep in his room in the meantime, or at least until he could better judge Callan's character.

To which, Adrian simply played along innocently, rejecting his offer but claiming that he would be extremely careful and that both Callan and himself had agreed not to encroach upon each other's personal space.

Which of course, was a complete and utter lie... Adrian sighed to himself softly although he felt his heart beat faster in guilty excitement. Damien could never know what goes on behind closed doors where he and Callan had their fun.

Whenever Adrian returned from his individual outings with Damien, Callan would always be waiting for him. It was as if the click of the door's key was a summoning because the second Adrian entered and the door shut behind him, Callan locked one hand onto his waist and another under his chin, as he pushed him up against the wall, with a gentle yet fiery passion, drowning him in the warmth and touch of his lustful kisses.

Yet much to Callan's annoyance, in accordance with Dorm S-12's updated roommate agreement which Adrian had forced him to sign under the threat that if he didn't, he would immediately break up their friends-with-benefits agreement, they weren't allowed to go further than kissing when on school premises.

Adrian had been very adamant about this point, so Callan could only bitterly taste sweet temptation but never be able to swallow it, as the blonde-haired beauty always managed to slip away right through his arms, with a flushed smile and slightly hazy eyes.

The week trickled by slowly and the more time Callan spent with him and the more he wanted him but couldn't have him, the more he realized that he knew nothing about Adrian. When he was actively participating in his princely duties, to him other people had been like books.

The more time you spent with them, the more pages you flicked through until they became readable and known. You could tell a lot about them from their covers and blurbs, or how others reviewed them.

But Adrian was like a mosaic of incomprehensible symbols. Whenever Callan felt like he could decode a portion of the text, he'd go to test it and it would be proven wrong. It was so frustrating.

He had naturally done his digging into Adrian's background, as was the habit of every powerful person in this kingdom but the results of his investigation didn't answer any of his questions and instead gave him more.

Because although Adrian no longer seemed to be bothered by it, every so often Callan's ears would ring with the recollection of Eliza's words, and his vision would flash with her look of terror when she claimed to have first seen his, very small and weak soul.

In secret, he'd contacted his old swordsmanship instructor and captain of Imperial guards, Reverro, to do some digging on the nature of souls as his sister was a high priestess in the church of the sun god. However, there wasn't much information on them, as souls were very mysterious and people shouldn't be able to see them, with the exception of Eliza.

Hers was a secret that he didn't reveal though, as he did owe her one.

But there was a popular saying in the church that "Under the sun, all souls are equal."

This was precisely the quote that Reverro's sister had referenced when she'd responded to his question of whether or not it was possible for someone to have a soul that was much smaller than others. However, she scoffed at his question, wondering what could have possibly prompted him to ask such nonsense.

According to ancient texts written by seers, while souls could vary to reflect the elements a person or creature possessed or also be plain if they didn't as well. They also reflected the dominant attributes of someone and the emotions they are feeling. But regardless, their comparative size will always remain the same for everyone.

This is because according to the Sun God, all mortal souls are of equal value regardless of the other personal circumstances, whether that be weaknesses or strengths. Hence, the saying's origins.

Reverro's sister had spoken about souls exactly like Eliza had described so Callan did not doubt her abilities. He didn't care whether or not she was a seer either or why she was hiding it. It simply wasn't his business anymore, however, what was his business was the words Eliza had said.

Because according to her, Adrian's soul was so small it was practically unseeable and it was also extremely weak, which according to a high priestess, should be impossible.

And yet without any sort of explanation, it was. But Callan had full faith that Adrian was alive and human, which made it all the more confusing because a person shouldn't have a soul like that so the fact that he did surely must mean something, right?

He fell deeper and deeper into his thoughts because a puzzle can never be considered complete if it's missing pieces and Callan wanted to know more now that his feelings were beginning to change.

He was a prince, sure, but even the grandest of princes weren't emotionless bricks especially when they were young and inexperienced in the art of romance, crushes easily developed. However, he could tell with ease that no matter how Adrian responded to his touches, it was because he was swept away in the passion of it and the sensation, not the person kissing him. Callan had a feeling that even if he were to be replaced with someone else (or that gnome even), as long as the same feeling was delivered, Adrian wouldn't blink an eye.

It was unsettling but also made him determined to prove himself. The crown prince's grey eyes flashed as on the evening before their first class officially commenced, he made up his mind. Going forwards they would meet a lot of new people and some were bound to get Adrian's attention. So he needed to be better than all of them because he'd made up his mind to pursue more than just his body.

Because now that he'd come this far, how could he bear to let anyone else have Adrian? He thought as a smile toyed with the corners of his lips. As it was quite late at night and Adrian had already gone to sleep and despite not feeling tired, Callan had agreed to go to bed too.

He didn't feel tired but he didn't want to disturb Adrian, but now that he was lying down, he felt himself slowly sinking into the comfortable embrace of sleep. But just before he closed his eyes, he rolled over to stare at the other side of the room, at the blanketed figure blending into the shadow of darkness.

Everyone had their secrets… Callan couldn't deny that he was being hypocritical in wanting Adrian to spill his, as perhaps he was keeping an even bigger one from him, which was his true identity.

"Five years left starting from tomorrow" He murmured under his breath, not expecting a response and not getting one either.

What would they be like in five years when they graduated from Gaiwarth Academy?

His eyelids grew heavy as he pondered the answer and Callan drifted off to sleep.

'Hopefully, it's a future with you in it, too.'