Chapter 5: In the Palace

Luca woke up in an unfamiliar room and he looked around in search of his mother but she was nowhere to be found. He was on a soft and comfortable bed inside a big room, but he was afraid because he was alone in a place that he does not even know.

“Mother?” He called for her but no one responded.

He jumped off the bed and felt the warm and soft carpet but he did not care about how cozy the room was. His mother was not around and he could not calm himself down until he sees her.

Why was he in an unknown place without his mother? Did the emperor lie to him? He said that he would not take him away from his mother!

“Mother!” he shouted as tears flowed from his face. “Mother, where are you?”

He wailed louder but there was still no sign of his mother. He dropped to the floor and cried until the door opened and a woman wearing a maid uniform entered.

“Your Highness, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” the maid sounded worried but Luca could not stop himself from crying.

He wanted to see his mother. He wanted his mother to hug him and tell him that it was fine to wake up in that room because that was his room from now on. A life without his mother is a scary life.

“Luca, why are you crying?”

Luca looked at the direction from where he heard his mother’s voice. He stood up and ran to her and continued crying as soon as he was enveloped with her warm embrace.

“Mother, I was afraid when I wake up and you were not around. Where did you go?” Luca hugged his mother tight and buried his face in her chest. “You’re not going to leave me, right?”

“Of course, not.” Melissa chuckled after listening to her son’s reason for crying. “How could I just leave my adorable son in this palace?”

“Promise?” Luca showed him his pinky finger as he pulled himself out of the hug.

Melissa smiled and crossed her pinky finger with his. “Pinky promise, my son.”

That was all he needed. An assurance that his mother would not leave him in that place. He was fine no matter where he was as long as he would be with her.

Melissa smiled when Luca hugged her tight. “This is your room now. You are brave enough to sleep alone, right?”

“Where is your room?” Luca asked without removing his hug from her. “I want to know where your room is so that I could go there every time I feel afraid.”

“Sure, let’s go.” Melissa carried him and walked towards her room which was right beside Luca’s room.

She told the emperor that she would have Luca sleep near her to ease her worries. If possible, she wanted to be able to sleep with Luca but it was a rule that a prince should sleep in their own rooms, not to be pampered by their mothers.

“Since this would be our home from now on, should we tour this Lotus Palace, Luca?” Melissa asked her son.

Luca nodded with excitement. That place would be their home from that day onwards. They would no longer live in a small house. His mother would no longer need to go to the mountain to gather herbs.

“Mother, living here would make it easier for you, right?” Luca asked with an innocent smile so Melissa had no choice but to nod.

But she knew that living there was not as easy as Luca thought it would be. In fact, living outside the palace would be the better choice for them. Out there, no one would look down on Luca for being her son. Out there, the possibility of other people trying to kill Luca would be less as long as his identity as a prince was hidden.

If she would be allowed to choose, she would still rather stay in the outskirts – away from the palace. However, she did not want to deprive Luca of his right as his father’s son. All she could do was to support him and to protect him at all costs.

“Mother, look!” Luca beamed as he ran towards the pond at the side of the garden.

The pond had lotus flowers in full bloom and Luca looked at those flowers with admiration. She immediately walked towards her son when she noticed that the boy was trying to reach one of the flowers. A sigh of relief was heard from her after she pulled her son away from the pond.

“Luca, you should be careful,” she said in a worried tone as she held her son’s shoulders. “Do you know what would happen to you if you fell on that pond?”

Luca looked down when he realized what he did. No wonder his mother was worried. Because he was too caught by the beauty of the flower, he tried to hold it not thinking whether he would be able to reach it or not.

“I’m sorry, Mother.” Luca reached for his mother’s cheeks and kissed them. “I won’t make you worry again. Please, don’t be sad anymore.”

Melissa smiled. “If you understand, then we’re good. I won’t stop you from doing things you want to do, but don’t do things without thinking. The palace is a big place and there will be moments that I won’t be around or near you.”

“Why?” Luca frowned and clung to her even more. “But I don’t want to be away from Mother.”

Melissa chuckled. “In the palace, there will be moments that you’ll be called by your father alone. There will also be moments when you have to go somewhere without me. That is part of your duties as a prince, so you have to do it, okay?”

Despite the frown plastered on his face, Luca nodded. His mother taught him that responsibilities were something that he should do when given to him. That was why even if he did not want to be away from her, he would still do it because his mother told him that it was his responsibility to do so.