Alone

Instead of doing what his father suggested, Kai didn't pray even once. He had given up the thought of him being the heir. He was young but not naive enough to believe he had a chance. Through all the stacks of books he had gone through before, he did not inherit any characteristics of a true Whitlock heir.

Kai locked himself in his room for almost every hour of the day and tried something he had in mind for a few months already. He breathed in and out as he scanned through a book that had a red cover. WIth the title, 'The Elemental Affinities.' 

When he was young, he had only focused on inheriting the Whitlock power as it was etched into his mind the day he was born. Kai as of now was only aware of one affinity he possessed, which was wind magic. It was discovered by accident when he was saving a cat from the trees. 

Kai flips through the pages to gain more information on how to awaken his other affinities- if there are any. He looked around his room and figured it would be better to kick off safer. He raised his hand and focused. He imagined a vast ocean that stretched till to the other side of the continent, waves flowing in from the windward side. 

Water dripped onto the carpet and Kai snapped out from his imagination and stopped the water flow. "The servants are going to scold me if they find out I've made a mess." he murmured, the trouble he caused was more important than the fact he had 2 affinities.

Humans usually have 1 to 2 affinity on average. And they'd usually only know what they possess after they awaken their core at the age between 10-12. However, Kai had awakened at the age of 4, but he found no use for it. 

When Kai was about to grab his towel to clean up the mess, he had a better idea. He stood nearby the window and opened the curtains, allowing some light to enter. He raised his hand once again as he imagined a tall black volcano with lava spilling off from the top as it dripped down, burning and destroying all kinds of man made items in the way. Fire appeared in his palms and he smiled.

"A triad..could I possibly be a quadra?" Kai wondered, feeling his body bursting with power. He felt a little bit more relieved of the tension within his body. 

Without any hesitation, he pointed his finger at the plant pots that lined his desk, the dirt within starting to move and swallow the plant. Kai did it. He figured out he was a quadra mage. He did not feel as happy as he thought he'd be, finding out his extraordinary powers. But they could never compare with the Whitlocks' ability

Kai walked back to the carpet and created fire in one palm while his other created a soft blowing wind, he squatted down and blew the hot wind in the direction of the wet carpet. His mind was drifting off, he hadn't slept in 15 hours and the fatigue was getting to him. He looked at the locked door and decided to go down for a late night meal. It was late at night, nobody would be awake unless they were taking the night shift.

Slowly, Kai unlocked the door with his key and peeked out. Seeing no figure looming in the long dark hallway, he stepped out and began to walk to the kitchen. He successfully managed to take some bread and juice from the cabinet and the fridge. While walking back, he gulped the drink down and swallowed the bread. 

The servants hadn't given him food the whole day, they had only come by to tell him to get out of the room but he refused. Just when he was walking back, he saw something from the window. The mansion was big and there were many separate buildings. 

The one Kai was looking at was where his parents stayed. He saw his mother on the balcony talking to a man wearing a hooded cloak as they exchanged letters. He moved to the right side of the window and peeked from there. He saw his mother's eyebrow furrowing and her purple eyes glowing with anger, it was clear she wasn't in a good mood.

Suddenly, Kai locked eyes with his mother. She glared straight into his soul as she slowly glanced at the man before her. She then looked back at her son and smirked, her red lips opened to form words that were easy to lipread from. "Lord Bellaire."

Kai's eyes widened as he fell backwards onto the cold marble floor. His hands gave up on him, he dropped the half eaten bread on the floor while he spilled the red juice, the cup broke and made a loud cracking sound that echoed in the silent hallway. He couldn't comprehend the hint that was just given to him.

His forehead began to sweat while his teeth chatter. There was no way. His mother couldn't be that heartless. He was still her son! She didn't even need the money from selling him off. The household was one of the richest in the continent, the money she'll earn was something she could just blow away in a second.

Where had he gone wrong? He had always listened obediently to every rule and instruction. He worked his hardest to even learn things that weren't even meant for his age just to get even a fraction of a second of attention he had yearned for.

Kai's mind was in total chaos right now until he was completely oblivious to his surroundings. NIght shift guards and servants heard the sound of glass breaking and thought it was an intruder, turns out it was just the young child causing a ruckus with his clumsiness. They scolded him and grabbed him by the arm but he wouldn't budge.

"Why?" Kai whispered, his eyes starting to tear up. 

"Why?! You made a mess in the hallway and alarmed all the guards for no reason! What is wrong with you?!" The head maid of the manor yelled in front of the other servants and guards without hesitation.

"Wrong with me? What's wrong with my mother then? She-" Before he even had a chance to finish his sentence, a heavy slap landed on his face. 

"Don't you dare talk like that about madame." The head maid warned, her eyes looking at Kai as if he was a piece of garbage no one dared pick up. She wiped her hand with her dress as if she had touched the dirtiest thing in the world.

No one stopped her, instead, they were enjoying the show. The child had caused so much trouble for them that they did not even feel one bit of remorse for the child's bleeding face. 

If this household had functioned like a normal one, the head maid would be charged with assault and be imprisoned for a lifetime for hurting a nobility.

Kai felt wronged. Why did no one understand him? Why were they all so harsh? Where was their shred of humanity? How..did it come to this? Though there were so many people in the world, he felt like no one saw the world like he did. He was all alone. 

What must he do for people to like him? Kai stood up and wiped his tears and blood with the back of his hand and walked away. He was stopped by one of the guards holding him back by the collar.

"Apologise. You have just caused trouble for all of us here." The guard threatened with a smile. He had always wanted a nobility to bow down to him. What better time than now? Even if it was just a child, it was still a noble despite his filthy appearance.

Kai felt like his heart was being burnt to ashes, it hurt so much. He gritted his teeth and fell to his knees. He lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Servants and knights nodded slightly in satisfaction. They ignored Kai and reverted back into their original positions.

"Filthy peasant." One insulted as he spit on Kai's hair.

Victoria witnessed all that and her face expression remained cold, she turned her back and went inside the room. She started preparing the drink.

Kai walked back to his room with the back of his shirt tattered and his hands bleeding from the broken glass. His face was peeling slightly from the side it was slapped on, blood was stained on his skin. He closed his door and locked it once again. He sat down and stuffed his face into the comfort of his own arms as he stared at the revolting moonlight.