The Phantom Man

XXVIII -The Discovery Of Magic

The boy had a hard time falling asleep that night. The vision he had experienced wouldn't leave his mind. It returned over and over in cycles of confusion and doubts. If the things those spiritual beings told him were true, then his whole life would have been nothing but an enormous lie. The King and the Queen could not be blamed, since they didn't know about the true story. What if he really was a wizard? Nobody could ever know about that, otherwise he would be sentenced to death in fire. How about Verena? She would never accept him as her boyfriend again if she learned about all those things. In the world that he lived in, who would accept him as he truly was?

The thoughts finally stopped in his mind, and he fell asleep.

On the next day, the prince saw things under a different perspective. During the royal breakfast, his parents were at the table, being served by the palace's servants. Philip left his room on the second floor, climbed down the stairs, and then went to the dining room, where he hugged his father and kissed him on the cheek. Then, he did the same to his mother, holding her in his arms and kissed her on her cheek. The King and the Queen looked at each other, after experiencing that moment of such tenderness. Philip thanked them both in silence for having taken care of him with so much love. He knew that they not only had saved him, but also had given him an honorable life. His father asked:

"Is everything all right with you, son?"

"Of course, it is, father. It couldn't be better."

The Queen looked at her husband in disapproval and said:

"Albert, let our son be happy. He can hug me and kiss me any time he wants to."

"My apologies, dear. It's just that we rarely see Philip treating us like this in the morning."

"If you'd rather not have me doing it again, then I won't," the prince joked.

"You can hug us as many times as you want, son," said the King.

They silenced for a moment, while the King wondered with concern whether the peasant girl had something to do with his son's happiness or not.

"After breakfast I'm going to ride around the kingdom," Philip interrupted his father's thoughts.

"You do like riding your horse, don't you, son? Would it have anything to do with a certain peasant girl?"

"Please, father, stop it. I enjoy riding my horse, and it's obvious that I always find beautiful girls wherever I go. Maybe I'll decide to date one of them one of these days?"

"Son, bear in mind that sooner or later there'll be a princess from a nearby kingdom who you'll have to marry. We must build strategic alliances to have our nation strengthened."

"But father, you told me that that would only happen when I get older! Meanwhile, I could date the village girls. Taking all the necessary care, of course!"

"Fair enough. I'm just warning you because I wouldn't like to see you in love only to have your heart broken."

"Let time solve things, dear. After all, he just said that he was going horse riding. He's only a twenty-year-old boy," the Queen said to end the discussion. "As to you, Philip, you can't just go around dating the people's daughters and give them false hopes! Be patient, and on the right time there'll be a princess with whom you'll fall in love."

Queen Mariele turned to the other monarch and said:

"I'm considering throwing a party and inviting the neighboring kingdoms' court. What do you think, Albert?"

"It would be wonderful, darling! You always have good ideas."

The young man spoke no more. He left his parents' presence with a smile on his face caused by the conversations that always revolved around his future and the marriage that his father would arrange him. At that moment, what the prince really wanted to do was to meet his girlfriend at the peasant's village.