War of the Heart

Prologue

He was on his way back from school. For three months, he'd been away in Caelos. He loathed the country, but nowhere else in Cines' proximity offered decent education with allowances for poor health. They'd said the mountain air might help alleviate his health problems. Years later, that remained unclear.

The carriage rattled below him. The bumps and lurches on the road coloured his face green. The driver shot him an irritated look.

'How was school?'

'University,' he corrected the driver, then replied, 'Same as always.'

The driver cracked the reins. 'Your mother's faring well.'

'Good.'

He knew the villager was only giving him a lift for his mother's sake. That's how it was with most people, they tolerated him to support Elizabeth. They pitied the woman who gave away all her child support to a young man that wasn't even grateful.

Actually, he was grateful. He preferred an education and money for medical treatment to poverty and suffering. Escaping away to a nice school with trained nurses, some of whom had healing powers, was preferable to living in a nicer house.

By the time he could see home, orange smudged the sky. The wooden house he'd grown up in was gradually falling apart. The glass of one of the windows was cracked and there was a damp patch. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. Suddenly Caelos didn't sound quite so bad.

The driver lifted his suitcase, casting judgemental glances towards him. He didn't let it bother him. His legs threatened to buckle as he approached the door and he had to steady himself using the doorframe.

The door swung open and his mother held him upright as much as hugged him. To his annoyance, she held him for nearly a minute, thrilled to see her son again. When she let go, he almost stumbled.

'Thank you for bringing him, Nico.'

So that was his name. He vaguely remembered having experienced similar surprise upon learning the driver's name in prior years.

While they fretted about where to put his luggage, he lay back on the moth-eaten sofa. He closed his eyes, feeling the cold Cines climate. The musty air inside triggered a coughing fit. Elizabeth came and rubbed his back, trying to soothe her son. He hated being babied like that.

To his relief, Nico left quickly. In prior years, his mum had offered him a warm meal, leading to an awkward dinner. But this time he couldn't help but notice something was off about his mother when he saw her red-rimmed eyes. He toyed with the idea of not asking and let her suffer alone, but decided to be merciful today.

'What's wrong, Elizabeth?' He insisted on using her name to assert his maturity and adulthood.

She smiled wearily, pushing the potato around on her plate. 'Let's leave it till the morning.' She got up to wash up but he grabbed her wrist.

'No. Tell me now.'

She could have easily pulled away. His grip was weak, just like everything about his body. But he forced his expression into one of concern, which succeeded in convincing Elizabeth.

'I'm afraid you won't be going back to Caelos next quadmester.'

'What?' His anger seeped into his voice.

'Your father died. There's no more child support.'

He tightened his grip on his spoon. His father had always covered all his life expenses, even into adulthood. He knew his father was rich and that the money was as much intended for his life as a bribe to keep his identity a secret. Elizabeth had gone as far as hiding his name from his son.