Calix

There is no doubt I am imprudent. It is for the best to let Carlos be the next ruler. A dim-witted person, such as me, cannot possibly bring the glory of Syncitia. Or perhaps, this is not my fault and Isha simply is a witch. A witch who practices black magic and hides her hideousness behind that glamorous façade of hers.

I have gone insane. Hm. Maybe I should break off this fake dating arrangement, and exile my own self to a remote island, somewhere far off. At least I will be able to survive with the aid of hunting, gathering edible fruits and herbs, and fishing. It would be hard initially but will be worthwhile.

Because Isha Sen's presence has pushed me to the extent of making reckless decisions.

"Your Royal Highness, could you please calm down?"

Audrey's voice gets ignored by me as I furiously pace around in my bedchamber, memories from last night ruining my mind and sanity. Whether I am Isha's ideal type, should not bother me. In fact the topic is completely baseless.

But it did. It did bother me when I heard Miss Sen saying that I am a boring person, with apathetic gestures. I cannot blame my injudicious behaviour on alcohol either, since I do not drink liquor.

Isha Sen is a witch. Oh yes, she is. Someone who has been able to shut off each and every emotion all these years cannot possibly feel the need to prove a woman wrong, overnight. That also, a woman with whom he has absolutely no relation.

Thinking that it is my damn pride speaking for me, I slump down on my bed. All this time Audrey does not move but observe me slowly and with concern. My secretary's concern is the only thing I have never questioned.

"Your Royal Highness, you need to be prepared for your meeting with the newly hired employees at Nirvana."

"Why must I?" I heave a deep sigh, while gazing at the intricate painting of a blood red rose, on my bedchamber's ceiling. Audrey's presence allows me to let go of my elegantly tranquil persona, at the very least. I trust the woman more than anyone else in this grim palace, since she does not judge me for not being perfect like Carlos. At times, I wish to swap Audrey as my sibling, instead of that good-for-nothing half-brother of mine.

Oh right. I forgot. A proper prince never bad-mouths. Not even against his enemies.

"A lot has been going on in your mind it seems, Your Royal Highness," Audrey's voice softens when she closely inspects me.

"Nothing much," I sit up straight, pushing every memory connected to the certain damn woman to the back of my head. I shake my head vigorously while murmuring under my breath, "Get a hold of yourself, Calix. You cannot ignore your work because of a woman and a silly bet."

"A bet I hear?"

Why must Audrey be gifted with such sensitive ears is still a mystery to me.

I shake my head in denial. "It's nothing important to worry about."

"Perhaps not. But I do have a hunch that a bold and beautiful young lady has been occupying your mind for quite some time, Your Royal Highness," Audrey toothily grins, earning a groan from me in return.

"She is not...beautiful." She is, in every way. I smack the voice bubbling inside my mind before it can evolve into something more. My inner voice has been speaking a lot to me these past few days. Maybe I should pay a visit to my therapist.

I stand up and motion Audrey to straighten my suit. With the teasing grin not leaving her face, she begins to check my attire for any speck of dust, while straightening negligible crumples here and there.

"What is it?" I roll my eyes, almost. "You want to say something. It's written on your face, Audrey."

"Nothing really, Your Royal Highness," Audrey practically beams at me, as she steps aside after perfecting my apparel, "Just, it feels good. Almost refreshing."

"And why is that?" I shoot an insouciant glance at my smiling and giggling secretary.

Women are so hard to decipher. Similarly, Isha Sen is—

Yes, let me stop right there.

"Honestly speaking," Audrey's bright voice brings me out of my fumbling train of thoughts, "I think there has been a change lately. A positive change of course, Your Royal Highness. Nevertheless, a change that I hope will be revealed in the near future, in front of your eyes.

Winter passes by too, you know? Frost is melted, flowers bloom, spring comes. It takes only a matter of time and a little patience."

"Instead of being my secretary, you should have become a writer. I am no literary bibliophile, hence your words are enough to confuse my brain than it already is."

Audrey laughs out loud, clutching the iPad in her hand, before opening the door for me to step outside. "You do not require knowledge to understand Literature. Emotions are essential, Your Royal Highness. And I have a feeling that you will understand the meaning behind my words, someday. Not now. But someday."

I can't help but look at my secretary as if the spirit of William Shakespeare has suddenly possessed her.

For absolutely no reason, a face with blazing, determined, fiery eyes form in front of me.

"As if I would ever fall for 'the' Prince Calix. Don't get your hopes up high, or you'll float too far into your delusions, Calix."

"What is wrong with me? Damn it!" My abrupt frustrated yell causes Audrey to flinch.

I take a moment or two to calm down, inhale and exhale deeply, straighten my tie, then without glancing at Audrey, state my next words.

"Schedule an appointment with my therapist for this afternoon."

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen," I nod at the young and newly hired employees of Nirvana in front of me. Due to having been trained as the future ruler's right-hand Royal Minister, the responsibility to handle the administrative work of the entirety of Syncitia falls under me. Of course there is the Council of Ministers and other important officials after them, however, I ultimately take the decision regarding the aforementioned matter. Not completely, nevertheless. My decision is then passed onto the Crown Prince for the creation of the final decision.

"As you all know, I, Prince Calix, look over the administrative work of Syncitia. Before we begin and get into work, I would like to congratulate you all for passing the three rounds of evaluation examination, which has ultimately given you an opportunity to hold a permanent position at Nirvana. Welcome."

Approximately sixty men and women, within the age range of twenty-two to thirty-five, are present in the meeting room. Proud smiles ornament their lips as they congratulate one another, applaud for their success and thank me.

"Shall we get down to work then?"

At my words, all of their postures straighten. Good, but not enough. I need to inspect them closely and see for myself if they are sufficiently competent.

"Any one of you, please inform me about the latest problems Syncitia might be facing."

A young boy, who looks no less than twenty-three stands up, his hands trembling once in a while, as he tries to inform everything clearly without stuttering. The fluttering documents in his hands, due to his shaking hands, say otherwise.

"There have been traces of illegal material trading in the remote southern part of Syncitia, Palatiana. We have no idea what these materials are but the residents there have reported to us about the things being illegal." The boy delivers the information with great confidence and enunciation, however.

"Thank you..." my eyes switch over to the name beside his picture on the paper, I am holding, "Mr Harvey Jikora. Has anyone been able to form an assumption as to what those materials might be?"

"We have been informed that they could be harmful drugs. Whatsoever, it is being hard to procure much information since the area is going through a harsh flood at present."

"I see," I hum, mentally jotting down possible solutions which I will later put down in my notes-diary, "You may sit down, Mr Jikora. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Twenty-five, Your Royal Highness." He answers nervously, being intimidated by my frigid demeanour probably. He is older than I thought, then.

A subtle smile appears on my lips, "Someone once told me not to float too far into my delusions," I say, a thrumming feeling rushing through my veins at the formation of a vague image of her, "You are trapped in a delusional fear, Harvey. Once you let go of that very delusion, you will excel higher in your work. You have reached this far through hard work, you are capable of doing more. By the way, you have great enunciation skills, Harvey. You might even be handed over the position of one of the speakers, if your work appeals to me in the near future."

Harvey's face brightens with overwhelming emotions whereas each and every person glances up at me with admiration and some probably with suspicion at my change of attitude.

I have never given motivational advices to employees, whether they were new or experienced. But today, something pushed me forward to ignite a flame of self-confidence inside this young man. And perhaps, a little part of me wanted to say Isha's words.

No. A sudden thought strikes me. I cannot allow infatuating emotions to clog my brain. It is unhealthy and must be taken care of immediately.

A look at my wrist watch relieves me. It is almost time for my therapy session.

"Audrey, my secretary will guide you through your first day at work. She will also divide you into your respective teams which were pre-decided before your arrival. You will be able to meet your team leaders today as well. Best of luck. And please excuse me, I have an important matter to attend."

Everyone stands up to bid me adieu. Soon after, I leave, with my bodyguard Kev trailing after me.

It is fortunate that my bodyguard is around me else I would have had either a broken nose or injury.

A young man with reddish hair and emerald eyes, falls forward. Well not technically. Before his face could collide with the floor or him on mine, Kev rushes forward and picks him up by his collar. The documents in his hand scatter around the place.

"I apologize," he bows when he takes notice of me, "I am one of the new employees, Your Royal Highness. Had a bit of an emergency with traffic today. The reason why I am late."

I nod, "It is alright. Please go ahead."

As he leaves, the name engraved on his batch makes me wonder something, without any reason.

Killian Winora. Why does it seem like I have heard this name somewhere before?

"With all due respect, Your Royal Highness," the woman in front, sends me an exasperated look, "You think this lady you are talking about, practices black magic?"

My therapist Mrs Isla Rosa, a woman in her mid-forties, is married to her work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. At times I fear that her husband and children will revolt at Nirvana for not letting her spend much quality time with them. In my defence, I am not holding her up either. She simply loves her profession too much.

I rub my ears in awkwardness, "It is not I who thinks so, Mrs Rosa. Remember, how I told you that it is my friend who has a strong assumption?"

"Right," Mrs Rosa huffs out frustrated, but with a slight twinge of humour evident, "And what is the name of this anonymous friend of yours? I would also like to hear the woman's name."

I gulp down the lump. There is no way I am going to reveal that this friend is me and the girl is her, Isha.

"Your Royal Highness?"

"Oh, sorry for that," I clear my throat, plotting every excuse and lies which may sound realistic, in my mind, "Well, my friend has strongly instructed me to keep his name anonymous and the same applies for the girl he is talking about."

"I see," Mrs Rosa leans back, her face glowing in unreadable emotions, "Let me get this straight, Your Royal Highness. Your friend is required to stay close to the girl for a mutual business deal?"

"Well, yes. Precisely."

"Hmm. And may I ask again why this friend of yours feels that the girl knows black magic?"

I begin listing out every reason I could come across, "Firstly, he hates her. There's no doubt that he despises her. And very rightfully so, because the girl has done something unforgivable for which he has to pay for the consequences now. He cannot stand her for several other reasons too, most of which include how the two have two different personalities, mindsets, perspectives of the world and so on."

"They aren't in a relationship, are they?"

"Never would that even happen!" I abruptly yell, surprising both Mrs Rosa and myself. Muttering a small sorry, I continue.

"So as I was saying, both of them cannot stand one another. But they need to stay together for the business deal, unfortunately. But whenever my friend is around her, he takes foolish and reckless decisions like making bets and all. Of course she is a bad influence on him due to the amount of time she has been occupying his mind, and diverting his focus from his work. Hence, my friend thinks that the girl might be an expert in black magic."

I stare at Mrs Rosa's face, hoping desperately for her to believe my words. She keeps glancing at me with that unfiltered gaze of hers, making me even more nervous. Eventually, she moves to jot down some notes in her notepad before looking at me through her round glasses.

"Your Royal Highness, I am a student of Science. While there are several Science students who believe in supernatural beings like magic and power, I do not. That is why, I cannot say that this is a matter of black magic."

"I understand." I am not a superstitious person myself and had never resorted to thinking about the existence of black magic. But Miss Sen makes even the unthinkable appear possible.

"Therefore, yo—I apologize, your friend should try to be civil and start by becoming friends with her. When he will stop thinking about how much he despises her and of the fact that she stays on his mind, the perspective will automatically change. The less you think, the less you worry. And something tells me, your friend doesn't truly hate her."

"As if," I scoff silently. I hate Isha. There is no doubt.

"Your Royal Highness." I look up due to the tender change of voice.

"At times, changes can be beautiful. Change in personality can be beautiful too. And if another person is the reason for that change, then they were never truly despised. Because one cannot change their behaviour, unless they want to. Doesn't matter if they do so subconsciously or consciously.

In conclusion, your friend is changing because unknown to him, the presence of the girl is causing a change in him, for the better."