{ Chapter Eighteen }
Caius launched himself onto his bed and almost bounced straight back off again. He scrambled to catch the blankets, and only after narrowly avoiding getting himself wedged in between his bed and the bedside table, did he rest on his belly and turn his attention towards the cropped holographic image standing close by. His cheeks marginally warmer than usual.
Remi had witnessed every second and while he wanted to laugh, he was more shocked than amused. Something Caius and his father had in common was their strong sense of composure. And yet, even after almost plummeting to the ground, Caius maintained a calm look on his face. But Remi was distinctly aware that his friend was in a very good mood.
So he only wished to amplify it, “White Poppy has officially passed the preliminary stage of the competition!” He gleefully announced.
In order to disguise what was gifted from Ace, the piece of advanced technology that sat comfortably on his pale wrist, Caius had needed to borrow the household Communicator in order to speak to his friend. Only then was he able to communicate openly, without needing to hide anything from his papa, who was also in the house.
Although the topic of their conversation was still better kept under wraps. Caius hadn’t truthfully expected Remi’s submission, on behalf of himself, to go any further than the first round. So when he heard the news, it took him a moment to collect his thoughts.
“So what does that mean?” Caius was referring to the different stages of the competition. What limited information he had about the event came straight from the mouth of Remi; Caius’ focus being on the guarantee that the contestants had the option to remain anonymous beyond their pseudonym.
Remi had already prepared for such a question, as he exchanged his image for a screen instead. On it was a long list of obscure names, but one thing they had in common was the red line crossed through them. Remi let Caius get a good look before he began scrolling to the top of the page.
Alongside the list of names were numbers, rankings, as Remi scrolled upwards from the hundreds into the mid thirties. Where not only did the bold red strike change, but so did the appearance of the individual names.
The colour of qualifying participants was green, and as Remi continued to flick the screen and witness as the numbers of rank decreased, Caius found himself speechless. He kept waiting for his name to pop up.
When the scrolling eventually came to a stop, it was in the low double figures. White Poppy wasn’t green, but in fact shrouded in gold. As was the case for all participants who ranked fifteen or less.
Remi saw firsthand how certifiably astonished his young friend was; making him witness just how many participants had competed, and thus how much of a feat it was to achieve gold and progress onto the next round.
“The first round was a combination of a public vote, previous winners and other critics who decided which pieces of artwork got through. You and two other people were the only ones not to use Holographic related technology on their chosen pieces. But only you progressed out of the three,” Remi recited as if directly reading the notification sent by the organisers of the competition.
His formalities dropped almost immediately afterwards, “That’s insanely good, Caius! Not to mention ‘White Poppy’ is trending as one of the best ‘up-and-coming figures’ in the amateur art world. And before you start worrying, I promise you that there’s no chance of anyone tracing the account back to you. I sacrificed a few brain cells by reading the fine print, where it stated that the organisers would be the ones liable for huge damages if they went against just one of their endless clauses.”
Caius looked over to the corner of his room where his many paintings were stored. They were no longer leaning against various surfaces at all different angles. This was mainly because Caius’ definition of organisation differed strongly from his papa’s. The older man couldn’t bear to see them strewn about and bought somewhere for Caius to store them.
But now the more he looked at the shelf, the budding artist couldn’t identify which one within the masses would be worthy of gold.
“Well,” Remi intruded as he once again manipulated the holographic image to show his perky face. His budding excitement was both transparent and surprisingly childish in comparison to the way he had just been speaking. “Aren’t you going to ask?”
There was a flicker of impatience in his eyes. Especially as Caius was still entrapped in his thoughts and it took him a short while to detach himself from them.
“About what?”
“Your reward for reaching the second and final stage of the competition, of course!” Remi possessed enough energy for both of them. With every word, he continued to try and boost his friend’s level of excitement. However, Caius remained bemused, absorbing the new information the best way he knew how.
Yet, upon hearing those words, he blinked a little quicker, his body inching forwards, looking into the borrowed Communicator. “There’s a reward?”
“Caius, I would love to hear your definition of what a competition is. How do you think the hosts of the event were able to catch the attention of people across the stars? Including the very rich few who have their faces plastered all over the competition, endorsing it.”
Ignoring Remi’s last words, which were of little interest to Caius, the young Omega returned his bubbling thoughts to the many possibilities that came in the shape of a reward. He was far from being a materialistic person in his past, but now that he had plenty of time to indulge in his passion of art, he would take any opportunity to hoard art equipment when and where it was feasibly possible.
And yet, there was a bigger issue that stood in the way of his early celebration. It came about as Caius was reminded of the stringent security that was put in place around the designer planet he resided on.
“It might look odd, receiving a gift out of nowhere.” He stated, dubiously.
Remi witnessed Caius visibly deflate through the connection, but instead of matching his downtrodden demeanour, Remi sat a little straighter and tipped his chin upwards.
“That’s why I’ve already made arrangements. In just a few days, it will look like a gift from your dearest friend.” His pride was almost blinding.
After a pause for thought, Caius revealed just how eager he truly was for the gift by responding with, “Do you know what it is?” While also worrying about it being some ostentatious gift worthy of similarly appeasing the wealthy. No matter whose name was on the gift tag, if his papa came home to a present that took up the entire room, then there was no way Caius would be a competent enough liar to disguise it.
But from the impression he gathered from Remi, purely from his goofy face alone, his worries seemed to be in vain.
“Yup! But I’m not saying anything.” He swore to secrecy but ended up opening his mouth moments later, “What I will say is that I’m certain you are going to love it.” The expected outburst fundamentally reminded Caius that while Remi had his moments of genius, he was still only young.
Which was likely an observation the young man could make for himself, as he again swore to keep it a surprise and decided to put an end to their transmission to further eliminate any risk of revealing details due a moment’s overexcitement. Which Caius was thankful for, as he felt that he still needed time to process all the information he had been given; still in disbelief that his own artwork was worthy of any recognition.
Especially when every piece that sat organised in the corner of his room, were expressive artworks he had worked on for nobody else’s benefit but his own. There were many that were confused, messy or just indecipherable. But Caius could see the difference between his current style and the one he clung to in his previous life.
He once sketched in the exact way he perceived the world; as such finding comfort in using charcoals and various other mediums that ultimately resulted in grey overtones bleeding out over the page, engulfing the composition and turning it into something recognisably bleak.
While now his experimental pieces were littered with vibrancy, colours overflowing from the lines of the initial sketch. Lines that no longer displayed exactly what lay in front of him with pinpoint accuracy, but now embedded with the imagination and tangible enthusiasm to push himself further.
The overall sense of joy he felt following the conversation with Remi left Caius unable to sit still. From his seated position on the bed, he leant back and flopped to hit the soft covers beneath him. His hair was long enough to splay out, the white locks yet another reminder of how different things were in Caius’ new life.
Environmental factors like the slum-like conditions the two Omegas were forced to endure, due to being stripped of their home, made it so that the inherited white hair was tainted. The emissions alone, factories pumping it out as they manufactured the robotics needed to make everyone’s daily lives all that more simpler; unperturbed in the knowledge that these hazardous conditions left the surrounding city under a perpetual layer of grime.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
It seeped into the pores of every living person subjected to the dire conditions of the Labourers City, thus breeding a newfound stigma. It effectively followed Caius as he attended the finishing school, a school erected to educate Omegas on how to be all things enviable. Any person who spent even the shortest amount of times within that city was considered dirty.
Vemt lcreiar kfgf cb ibcufg ktlrqfgfv yftlcv Jjler’ yjmx, bg rqja lc tlr ojmf.
Llr tjlg cb ibcufg mjgglfv j rjv ugfslrt alca, lcrafjv la kjr j raecclcu ktlaf atja jikjsr vgfk jaafcalbc. Ktfc atfgf kjr atf ifcuat bo la, ktlmt regqglrfv Jjler lc lar gjaf bo ugbkat jr la rja ja tlr wlv ab ibkfg yjmx. Fcilxf lc atf qjra ktfgf la tjv yffc raecafv vef ab atf qbbg ilnlcu mbcvlalbcr.
Now his mop of hair was the exact colour of his papa’s, who in turn arduously tried to teach his son how to properly take care of it. Disheartened each and every time all that hard work would be undone as Caius stepped away from his masterpiece with careless smears of paint all over himself.
Even now, as Caius lay on his bed with his head smushed against his covers that ran the risk of giving him knots, he was oblivious as his thoughts continued to drift towards the one topic that made his lips curve in excitement.
Rolling on his side to reach the edge of the bed, Caius swung to his feet and landed from the slightest of jumps. His body language was remarkably different from what it was a week or so prior, when he had no notion of who his vision of an Alpha father was. Now there was an indescribable sense of things slotting into place.
It left the young Omega feeling contented in more ways than one.
Barely remembering to secure the borrowed Communicator in his grasp, Caius fled from his bedroom with an added pep in his step. On this occasion, as he made his way down the large open halls that stood filled with a relaxed silence, he was able to hear the grumbles of his stomach. Something he usually, however unintentionally, overlooked due to his fixation on his projects.
Clearly making that distinction between the two added to his good mood. He headed towards the kitchen in hopes of finding a treat he could consider his own little reward to himself.
He had only just made it down the curved staircase and in view of the front door when an alert chimed through on the Communicator in his arms. Caius had long since learnt how to silence his own private one.
Looking at the screen on the same Communicator he had just been using to talk to Remi, a notification popped up with vigour, “A parcel has successfully arrived.”
Caius looked around the house, expecting to see his papa emerge from one of the rooms. But it seemed that he was once again focused entirely on work matters in his office. So he tottered down to the ground floor and opened up the front door. As he did, he spotted a fairly slimline box which had been wrapped up quite attractively.
Scanning the mini transporter that delivered the gift, with the Communicator in hand, it blinked in confirmation before flying off. Having such a personal delivery method was rare, not to mention expensive. It made Caius dread to think of who was potentially trying to covet favour with his papa now that Kalel was out of the way.
Fetching the intricately decorated rectangular box, Caius fought the temptation to give it a little shake. He wandered back inside and nudged the door closed with his foot. It shut a little louder than he had intended, but he never once removed his gaze from the present as he made his way to the kitchen and sat it down on the island in the centre of the well-lit room.
As soon as he detached himself from the mysterious box, as if activated by his prolonged touch, a holographic gift-tag flickered to life. Written in cursive writing wasn’t his papa’s name, but his own.
That’s when Caius chose to start panicking.
His mind went straight to Remi’s confession, where he had organised for Caius’ reward to arrive as a fairly unimpressive, standard looking gift. Which made Caius doubt that his friend knew the meaning of those very words, as the gift that sat in front of him was dripping in luxury.
His fingers worked before his mind could catch up, sending a cloaked message to Remi as he had been taught how to. And by the wonders of modern technology, or because Remi preferred to spend his time with his nose stuck in his Communicator as he scrolled through endless scriptures, his response was pretty instantaneous. Through the form of a voice message, Caius’ worries were abated.
“You’re a lot more popular than I realised, buddy, because that isn’t from me. But now I’m curious! Turn on the camera and let me—” Caius shut it off. A strangely satisfying habit he had picked up this second time around.
“Caius, was that the front door?” From down the hall his papa calmly called out.
Pulling on one of the long ends of the bow, it came apart and let Caius run his fingers over the unique texture of the packaging. His intrigue was almost immediately piqued when he recognised the soft ridges of the material that was classified as archaic. It was in fact a certain type of paper suspected to have been used to wrap items back in the age that inspired Caius so dearly.
He had only witnessed such materials from behind a protective shield in a museum. It made Caius anticipate whatever could be contained inside, however he was appreciative that it likely wouldn’t be as wondrous as the paper embossed with deep gold spirals.
“Caius?”
Snapping out of his daze, Caius looked over his shoulder and came face to face with his papa. Whose gaze drifted over him and to the package on the counter. The colour alone giving rise to concern.
“Did my beloved child get his papa a gift?” He asked a question he very much knew the answer to.
Caius shook his head and stepped an inch to the side to give him a better view. “It says on the hologram that it’s for me. I don’t know who from.”
“Then open it up, I’m eager to know just as much as you are. From looking at it, though, there doesn’t seem to be any DNA confirmation code, so it should be simple enough to rip open.” His papa ran a hand over the rectangular box as he spoke, confirming his thoughts.
But Caius was horrified. “You can’t rip it! This is paper, papa, like those used in your collection but just thicker and more decorative.”
Finian looked at little startled upon his abrupt scolding, but it morphed into a smile. He nudged Caius’ pale cheek with his knuckle. “Forgive me for suggesting such a thing,” he teased. “Clearly whoever sent you this gift knows you well.”
That was the real question.
Both were just as impatient as the other, and while Finian had years to skilfully hide his childish excitement, Caius never bothered and got to work unwrapping it.
Underneath was a simple box, and lifting the lid they were greeted with yet more paper. However this time it was semi-translucent and folded precisely to envelop the items within. Keeping the pale blue paper together was a small, round golden token of sorts. Where, slotted in the middle of it, was a ridge where a plain white card sat.
There wasn’t a single word written on it, which lured Caius in. As soon as he picked it up, shimmering gold words danced across the small square and formed a sentence that Caius was able to read:
“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint. — Edward Hopper” [*]
The name didn’t mean much to Caius, but the man’s words definitely did. As if putting a voice to his regularly confused thoughts.
Compelled to turn over the card, more words appeared. Which was now displaying a name Caius recognised.
“It’s hard to find a gift for someone whose imagination is so vast. While it would be much more enjoyable to visit these places in person, I thought it would be far more convenient, for now, to present you with a taste of what our world has to offer. From what I’ve read, back in the old days, they were called postcards. I’ve tweaked them slightly. — R. Tryst.”
Underneath the card and bundled up in tissue paper, Caius got a sneak peek at the said ‘postcards’, but literally only a peek as both the box and the card in Caius’ grasp were snatched up.
He didn’t have time to say anything coherent, only fumbling over his words as his papa moved away from him and in the direction of the bin.
“Why?” Caius managed to ask quietly.
That alone brought his papa to a halt, and for a long few moments neither one said a thing. Caius could only watch as his gift stood so close to being discarded without a second thought. But what he didn’t know, or couldn’t know, was what was going on in his papa’s head. He couldn’t know about the discussion his papa had with himself following the revelation of Caius’ Alpha parent.
There was no going back to hiding behind secrets.
Finian slowly turned and put the box back down. What he didn’t let go of was the card, which he inspected closely and, now and then, turned over.
Without looking up, Caius was unexpectedly quizzed. “Tell me what you learned about Nova and its leadership.”
With his present on the line, Caius rushed to form an answer to an otherwise complex question. Suddenly he felt like he was back standing in front of Yulia.
Unhurriedly, he said, “That those who live successfully on Nova, and the Governing Body who rule Nova, are one in the same.”
He wasn’t immediately refuted, which was always a good sign. His papa gave a simple nod and gestured for him to elaborate.
Caius unconsciously fiddled with the wrapping paper nearest to him, running his fingertips over the rough then smooth surface. “The Governing Body of Nova are really just… representatives of the big families. Families like the Creeds.”
That warranted a bigger nod, “Very good. Let me add, that living on the planet of Nova are many families with extensive backgrounds, not just those who hold a seat within the government. However you could be fooled into thinking they were the same because these families may all look the identical, with more money than they could ever need, but in actuality the difference between them is like the difference between the tax bracket you’re in when you have a business in one of the Central Districts on Nova compared to what you would pay if you were to open a business on #OWS5. Do you understand?”
Judging by the marginally scrunched up face Finian was greeted with, he reflected on his own wording, before quickly adding, “The difference between an individual using holographic-based art compared to actually putting paint to an easel.”
Substantially large.
As such, Caius quickly caught up. Which allowed his papa to continue talking, “The lower ranking families, who make up a large portion of Nova’s wealth, spend their time fretting about how they can please the higher ranking families with hopes of gaining political influence. Meanwhile, the higher ranking families have the opportunity to divide their attention elsewhere. With their positions secured, they need only satisfy one man in particular. And to satisfy such tastes is no easy task.”
His papa held onto the card still, slowly turning it between his thumb and forefinger. He looked at Caius with those steady blue eyes, containing so much knowledge. “It’s one of these higher ranking families that concerns me, Caius, as they have set their sights on us.”
Only then did he release the card, and it slid across the counter to stop in front of Caius. Where the family name ‘Tryst’ was clearly visible.
“The Tryst family probably have the shallowest lineage, but they have obtained their position on the Governing Body for how fiercely loyal they are. The man who makes all the decisions doesn’t doubt their allegiance and given how effectively they have served him over the years, the Tryst family are now exceptions to many laws.”
When Caius thought of the Tryst family, the first thing that came to mind was their dazzling blond hair. It was a warm yellow that married well against the sharp blue colour of their eyes. But in recalling those details, Caius felt that the adjective had been used by someone else recently.
It didn’t take him too long to remember his papa describing the person he had once been paired with as ‘dazzling’. Where he refused to be caught blindsided by someone who was expert at putting on an act.
“Rowan’s father… was he the man you were once paired with?”
Finian was pleasantly surprised by his son’s sudden outburst. But with everything else that had come to light, and confessions that would follow in time, Finian felt comfortable with nodding his head.
“There was a time when Auryn Tryst, your father and I were friends. Admittedly an unconventional friendship, but only through befriending a pedigree like Tryst did we truly realise where we stood in society.”
“You were friends?” Caius echoed as he found it hard to believe, even though Auryn Tryst himself had mentioned it once before. All Caius could think of now was the physical reaction his papa had when standing in front of him. He couldn’t wait to get away.
“There was likely a part in all of us that knew it wouldn’t last. Auryn was born with a never-ending list of expectations and not one of them was maintaining a friendship with two orphans. But that was a long time ago and the man who stands as the head of his family is no longer a figure I recognise anymore. His actions however, are sometimes still as bold as when he was a bratty child. Hence why I predict little Rowan won’t do much that hasn’t first been authorised by his father.”
Caius could understand everything he was saying, but there was one thing that just didn’t make sense. “What could they want from us?”
That didn’t get an immediate response. In fact his papa stood very still for a couple of minutes before bringing the present back over to Caius side of the kitchen. He placed it down and then used his free hands to caress the top of his head.
“Just like how I have always been detached from Nova and its political ambition, as are you. They don’t favour the unknown. There are things even I do not know, webs strewn in places I cannot predict. But for now, just know that you are special — which of course you know since you’re my son.”
Peeping through the tissue paper within the box were the postcards sent by Rowan. From the slither Caius could see, the picture actually changed. Displaying different settings every time. Landscapes Caius had never seen before, which would naturally make any person curious.
Beside him his papa gave a soft chuckle. “Though I can’t deny, on this occasion, they have perhaps given you the perfect gift. Which is why I was initially so fearful.”
Caius immediately tore his focus away from the present, looking guilty. Naturally he would ignore anything his papa considered dangerous, as tempting as it may seem.
“Ah, my sweet, don’t look at me like that.” He got in response, followed by an affectionate peck on his forehead. “I’m not going to have you throw them away, nor keep them from you. These are merely gifts to make you aware of Rowan’s existence, nothing more than that.”
Caius was incredibly relieved and joyfully returned to opening up the parcel. He took the twenty-odd postcards and looked through them quickly, knowing full well that he would look at them at a later date and absorb every detail to memory.
Watching him calmly, with a complex look on his face, Finian said, “There are times you must be vigilant, such as when Rowan comes knocking, asking something of you that might sound harmless.”
Lifting his head, Caius looked at him with a childish wonder. “How could he come knocking when we control who lands on #OWS4?”
Finian had taken possession of the small card once again. Spinning it over to present the note written by Rowan, he tapped the bottom where a series of codes emerged. “Metaphorically speaking, Caius. This is what I presume to be Rowan’s Communicator ID. Naturally they will be expecting you to offer thanks for your gift and by doing so have successfully obtained a line of communication with you.”
It was a part of the greetings card Caius had completely overlooked considering it contained numbers. He hadn’t even extended any brain cells to surmise what it could be.
He knew he was learning, learning about a world that seemed so unfamiliar to him even though he had previously lived in it for quite some time. But it was easy for him to fall back on his papa, who already knew seemingly everything that Caius did not. Fundamentally, he knew what choices were the right ones to make. Those of which Caius struggled the most.
No matter his age, as long as his papa was around, he inevitably felt safe.
“I need to do some more work for a little while, but I’m sure looking through those will keep you distracted until then.”
Caius at least grabbed a drink before returning to his bedroom, stuffing more than was physically possible into his grasp. He only realised he had accidentally brought the borrowed Communicator back upstairs when it popped up with another notification.
This time it was from Remi; following on from a long string of messages asking about the contents of the parcel, he did mention something important.
“I forgot to mention earlier, by accepting the reward for being successful in the first half of the competition, you are agreeing that in progressing any further you will need to first submit the Neuro-Link snapshots we talked about before.”
Caius was still lost in his haze of excitement as he kept peeking at the postcards while trying to focus on what Remi was saying.
It was followed up with another message, “Oh, and also, some artists don’t work on any other art pieces anywhere around the time of the competition in order to capture the clearest images for the Neuro-Link. Given your age, you should be fine, but you should try your best to recall it as vividly as you can.”
Abruptly filled with doubt, Caius was able to find something to say. “Remi, I don’t know which one of my works you submitted, remember?”
A couple of nerve-wracking minutes later popped up a surprised message. “You didn’t see it on the screen earlier? Ok, ok wait I’ll send you a picture.”
It took a little longer than expected and in that time Caius had picked up one of the postcards, savouring the sights of one the images. What was displayed was a beach, somewhere Caius had heard about but never been to, but from information he had gathered and fleeting holograms he had been shown, no beach looked like the one on the postcard.
Golden sand, without the a single visible imperfection, kissed the water’s edge in a magnificent yet substantially sized curve that formed the beach. Keeping this curved space contained was a dramatic backdrop of mountainous terrain that was almost swallowed by the flourishing plant life that gave the impression that this beach was one likely to be found on a lost island.
These mountains wrapped around the beach and extended further outwards into the deep blue waters that currently lapped at the sand as the picture moved.
Caius’ eye naturally followed the direction of the colossal sized bedrock that turned out to be the most vital part of the image. Shooting out of it was an actual road. Constructed to look like it was levitating over the water as it twisted and turned before arriving at a cluster of tall buildings that had been constructed on an island off the coast.
But all that aside, it was the time of day that attracted Caius’ interest the most. Warm oranges, pinks and purples warped together as the sun was setting, rippling out across the ever-moving current of the ocean.
So naturally it made Caius feel very relaxed and already inspired him to paint with those specific three colours.
Casting a reluctant look back at the Communicator to search for any incoming messages, Caius state of relaxation was dredged in a split second.
Mainly when he saw a certain captured image.
In a low moment he had painted out of pure desperation, when he hadn’t truly understood why he was being kept in the dark. He had longed to know who his other parent was, having completely lost the chance in his previous life. All he knew was that his Alpha parent had been a part of Nova’s elite branch of military. Which is why he painted Auryn Tryst’s uniform from memory. The surrounding background, eery black monochromes, defined the piece and made a stark contrast with how happy Caius had progressively been feeling recently.
It had been just a fleeting moment, his last expression of art utilising the familiar colour scheme of his past life. He had stored it away as a consequence, but now realised that he’d been foolish to think that he had hidden it well enough. He shouldn’t have kept it locked away, not when the door threatened to open at any moment. He should have destroyed it.
And now, from what Remi had told him, it had gone viral.
*//* *//* *//* *//* *//* *//* *//* *//*
Another burst of pure energy ricocheted off the protective domes, sparking a shockwave through all technology used on Calix. This was an hourly occurrence and in the time it had taken for the inhabitants of the volatile planet to call it home, it was just become one of those quirks they had gotten used to.
The visible flicker happened just as the Supreme Commander dropped his tablet on the table that had been brought to him with a full list of all pertinent information. After taking some time to read over it, he flexed his fingers and his tattooed knuckles cracked. He was most definitely not built to sit around reading reports.
Neither were the other two figures who awaited his response.
Leaning back in his chair, the man in charge turned to his second in command— his Shield. “Regarding the kid, has Ace made any comment?
The man who was well known for being the most intelligent one in the room, who endeavoured to collect all relevant data prior to meetings, nodded his head. “Kohner mentioned that in one of his final meetings with the other side, he suspected the Tryst boy would be used as a means of bridging the gap. He also insisted on Finian seeing such a blatant attempt from lightyears away.”
The Supreme Commander ran his hands over his face and rubbed his tired eyes. “Let’s just hope that when the time comes, Finian has less contempt towards us than he does towards Nova.”
“Sir, that’s a given considering their intentions for his son. Besides, it’s not like we’re relying on blind faith, we have our own line of communication to make us look far more favourable.”
“Yes, of course. It’s just easy to forget as it’s been a while since I last received a report.” The Supreme Commander gave a pointed look over to one side of the room. Where his son sat on the sofa, head turned to look out of the window.
If he wasn’t his father, he would have assumed he wasn’t listening to a word. But that was most certainly not the case, not when it involved the young man’s most important assignment. Even though the Supreme Commander knew his son’s preference for quietude, frustratingly encouraged by Ace Kohner who told him to accept what made him comfortable, he was still intrigued by how truly silent he had become regarding the transmissions between him and the young Omega kid.
He could presume the reason, aware that just like him, he had his own way of doing things and didn’t like others getting in the way, however the Supreme Commander couldn’t resist teasing him a little.
“That Tryst bastard is presumably encouraging his little clone to attract the fancy of Caius. What do you say now you’ve got some competition?”
All attention snapped towards the Supreme Commander, specifically his own son whose identical eyes narrowed even further than what was considered relaxed. But it was for that same expression that the Supreme Commander teased in the first place. In testing times it gave him conviction, knowing that his son would undoubtedly become a figure who would surpass them all.
{ To be continued }
A/N: A huge thank you for being patient with me over this past month! My health is a work in progress as it turns out that my sporadic moments of dizziness is because of bad hay-fever. I’m still battling with it, and hoping that towards mid-summer the pollen won’t decide it wants to kill me. Also a bigger thank you to those who have gifted me Ko-Fi’s (yum yum!) really appreciate the support.
[*] : Edward Hopper was an American realist painter. Don’t particularly know him or his work, however the quote best sums up our little Caius.
!! SOFT DARK HAIRED BOI IS BACKKK, I really hope he’s the ML he seems like such a sweetie pie…! Also hoping that the competition doesn’t start any problems for Caius and that him and his dad can learn to trust and communicate with each other more~
+1
+2
A little upset that any romance between them is considered an “assignment”, but seeing how this story is going so far, it’s to be expected.
I imagine him as a silent support for any of Calius’s actions.
Oh cool, we have some competition. Although I’m honestly getting really confused with all the names.
That’s a shame to hear. Especially when I’m a stickler for mindful introductions! Though, I completely understand. If it’s setting based names, then I have created an annotated map which is on my ko-fi page that you can view (just head to my profile and the link is there).. or// if it’s my character names then I might consider creating a similar list to help iron out any confusions, if you think that would be helpful?
Thanks! I’ve never seen another author use an annotated map before, but I can see why it’s actually really helpful. Also love the intros!
Also a character page would also be very helpful
Hope you recover well!
Thanks for the chapter!
I loved reading your book, hope you continue to write more.💜
Get well soon …
oh! its the boy who gave Caius the white flower 🤗. and hahaha i knew it, remi your eye is really good.
We now have two love interests in the ring. In my opinion, the Supreme Commander’s son has a better chance of being the winner because Tryst’s son is (logically) Tryst’s son and our Protagonist’s father doesn’t like them both. The only method for this to happen is if he separates from his father’s ideas (and I don’t think that will happen).
And have the option of Caio keep single or other rival appear. We only in the beginning 😅
Thanks for the chapter 💫
I wanna start this one…. But is it not gonna continue?
Thank you so much for writing this! It’s so beautiful!! All the little details and hints that connect everything are so wonderfully done! Again, thank you so much for writing this excellent novel! Also, are you okay?