~Ethan.
Arne and I decided to take a stroll after he made me promise him not to look at Aurora -his Mom- 'that way.' I had no idea how I was going to spend the day with Arne because just like his mother had said, he was too smart, it scared me.
I had learned, to my surprise, that he was ten and though I had expected him to be younger, his brain worked faster than that of an average ten-year-old child.
“You are the King, right?” I looked down at Arne and nodded as I navigated him to the right corner towards the palace building. “Why then don't you have bodyguards?”
I looked over my shoulder and at Sam before turning my eyes back to Arne, “I have Sam,” I said with a shrug.
“But he is not a bodyguard.”
“Eeh, let's just say I don't necessarily always need one. I can fight for myself, and Sam can too.”
“But you are the king,” he protested.
“I am an Alpha, son. The ruler of this whole pack. I take my guards only when I am leaving the land but, behind this palace gates, I don't necessarily need them. I am a strong wolf, are you?”
He shrugged," I don't know but, I would like to think I am.”
I chuckled, “have you gotten your claws?”
He spread out his fingers and tiny claws peeked out, causing me to chuckle harder, "when did that happen?”
He giggled, “two months ago. I had scratched Audrey, but Mom treated her, she says I'm taking after my daddy.”
“Audrey?” I raised a brow, “who is Audrey?”
“My nanny,” he wiggled his fingers, “but the cut wasn't deep.”
At the tip of my tongue was a question about his father, but I decided against it and swallowed the question. I wanted his name, what he did, and if he had at least seen a picture of his father.
“Mom says he's out saving lives.”
I raised a brow at his willingness to share. And went silent at the information, something about it didn't seem to settle well with me.
“He is a doctor too?”
He shook his head, “he is a soldier in a far away land. Mom says he has plenty of missions to accomplish over there.”
If there was one thing I was certain about, it was that Aurora was lying to her son, but I couldn't figure out why she was doing so. But whatever the case was, her son at least deserved to know the truth.
She had promised Arne to take him to his father after their stay here, but what will happen when that time comes? She'd tell him that his father died in a war?
That was brutal, nobody deserved to be lied to in such a manner, especially not Arne.
I had always known Aurora to be one who does things with reason but, racking my brain at the moment, I couldn't fathom why she was doing that so, and worse still, I couldn't talk to her about it. It was not in my place to do so.
Internally shaking my head, I guided Arne into the palace and to the royal gallery and helped set him before a canvas.
“Do you draw?” I asked as I placed different paint brushes before him.
“Mmh hmm,” he nodded and dipped one of the brushes into the paint I had set before him.
“Oh, really? Who taught you too?”
He shrugged, "I paint all the time with Mom and Audrey. They say I will make a good artist.”
“So you're going to be an artist when you grow up?” I took my seat and took my time to select a pencil.
“No,” he chuckled lightly and began drawing, “I want to become a king.”
I turned to him to see his gaze already fixed on me, “A king, yeah?”
He nodded, “or a president. I would like to lead a great nation.”
“Yeah?” I chuckled, and he gave back his attitude to his canvas. “ Do you know what it's takes to be a great and good leader?”
He tapped his temple without looking up at me, then turned to me as he placed his left hand on his chest. “Intelligence, strength, and courage.”
I busted out into laughter as my eyes widened in awe. I knew Arne was smart, but I had no clue he was that smart.
“Who taught you to say that?”
He shrugged, "I have always known it takes strength and intelligence to lead a great country. Like you, your pack wouldn't be great if you were a weak king.”
My heart warmed at his compliment. I knew I wanted someone to appreciate my efforts towards the pack, but I wasn't aware I needed it that bad, and hearing Arne say it warmed my heart.
I raised a brow as I hummed, "Are you saying I am a great king?”
“Eeh.” He shook his head and chuckled.
“And here I was thinking you didn't like me.”
A giggle escaped his lips as he turned to me, “I guess I'm starting to like you, though don't like that you kidnapped me and my Mom.”
I threw my hands up in surrender and he laughed.
I was impressed both by the intelligence Arne showed. It was not every day I got to see ten-year-olds being 'adult type of smart' while being a child.
I looked over my shoulder to look at Sam to me and saw him wearing a broad smile, and I guessed I wasn't the only one impressed by Aurora's parenting.
I turned my eyes back at Arne at the same time as he flung his paintbrush and the yellow paint landed on my blue dress shirt.
I faked a gasp as I got off my seat and stalked towards him, “what. Did you? Just. Do?”
“It was an accident,” he managed to say through laughter.
I dipped a finger in the paint and rubbed the finger on his cheek.
“Argh,” he screamed as he tried to wipe his face only to get his face more smeared with the paint. “Uncle Ethan,” he called as he showed me his palm that had been dirtied by that paint.
“It was an accident,” I mimicked his voice. Arne jumped down from his seat and quickly grabbed the paint pocket, gasping, I ran towards him and held his hands, restricting him from throwing the paint at me.
“I concede!” I yelled as he tried to pull his hands out of my grip.
“Apologize to me,” A drop of tear ran down his right eyes from laughter and he wiped it with his shoulder.
“Forgive me, Milord, I promise never to repeat my actions ever again.”
He chuckled as he let go of the paint bucket and I shifted it away from his reach. Standing on his ten toes, he reached for his painting and came to sit before me on the floor.
“Do you have any kids, uncle Ethan?”
My heart dipped, taken aback from Arne's sudden change of topic.
“No, I don't, why do you ask?” He handed me his painting, it was a painting of a man with a crown on his head. “Is this supposed to be you when you grow up? King Arne?”
He shook his head, “that is you, uncle Ethan. I wish you were my father.”
As I opened my mouth to speak, Sam cleared his voice and announced it was lunchtime.
“Yeah, let's go have lunch.” I said, and we headed out of the gallery.