After a few minutes, Maxi slowly got off his mother's lap, his eyes still warm with the lingering comfort of her embrace. He turned to face her, a smile tugging at his lips. "I had a great time, Mom."
Maxi's mother smiled back, her arms pulling him into another tight hug. "Me too," she said, her voice soft with affection. "Sorry for not being able to see you as much."
Maxi waved her off, dismissing her apology with a reassuring smile. "No, it's fine. You're busy. I understand that."
His mother squeezed him tighter, her heart swelling with a deep reassurance at Maxi's understanding, despite his young age. She gently set him down, brushing a strand of hair from his face before planting a kiss on his forehead. "Have a better day, okay?"
Maxi's cheeks flushed at the warmth of her affection. "Okay, Mom," he muttered softly, unable to hide his smile.
His mother squeezed his cheeks lightly, a playful glint in her eyes. "Goodbye, my sweet angel."
Maxi turned toward the exit of the garden, his feet moving toward the castle's main door. "Bye, Mom," he called over his shoulder, waving to her.
Angelina, standing beside Maxi, also waved, her smile polite but faint. Maxi's mother waved back, her expression soft and full of love as she whispered, "Goodbye, my sweet angel."
Maxi continued walking, his mind drifting for a moment as he exited the garden. He found himself wondering why he should head back to the library when the maid would simply deliver his new books tomorrow. But the thought was quickly pushed aside. No, he thought, shaking his head. That's the snobby royal side of me speaking.
Maxi's father, the King, would never allow him to be half-dependent, half-independent. Maxi despised that about him, but it was a rule that had been ingrained deeply. He had to choose one path—either be fully reliant on the family, used as a tool in whatever way they saw fit, or be independent. He would never allow himself to be used as a pawn, chained by his family's whims.
He understood the weight of his decisions, even if no one else knew he was a grown man trapped in a child's body. They only saw the boy, unaware of the man inside. That was the burden he had to bear.
Maxi went down the spiraling series and then he finally arrived at the towering, labyrinthine library of the main castle. As always, it was beautiful—everything about it, from the grand shelves to the air filled with the scent of aged paper, whispered to him like a sanctuary. His heaven and every bookworm's paradise.
Maxi took a deep breath in, feeling the comforting embrace of the space wrap around him. Slowly, he walked to the center of the library, where he had left his half-finished book. The area around him was empty, except for a few scattered tables and the grand long table at the center, where his book was waiting for him. He approached the table and sat down in one of the chairs, which, though not the most comfortable at first, grew more inviting the longer you sat in them.
He opened the book to where he had left off. To his surprise, the book he had finished earlier was gone, and only the one he had half-read remained. Shrugging, he continued reading, losing himself in the words.
Angelina, standing beside him, let out a heavy sigh as she slumped into a chair next to him. Her eyes already half-closed, she seemed ready to sleep, knowing full well how long Maxi could take with his books. As the hour passed, she eventually drifted off, her soft snores the only sound besides the quiet turning of Maxi's pages.
After another hour, Maxi finally finished the book. He looked over at Angelina, her head resting on the table, her wolf ears twitching slightly. He smirked, reaching out and gently tugging on them, just as he had done with her tail before. Her eyes snapped open, and she jolted upright with a yelp, quickly covering her ears.
"Stop doing that!" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of annoyance and surprise.
Maxi shook his head, his grin widening. "Let's just go."
Angelina sighed loudly, her frustration palpable, but she stood up, growling under her breath as she followed him out of the library.
They exited the castle's massive doors, and Maxi felt a sense of relief wash over him as he stretched his back, straightening himself out. For a moment, it felt like the weight of the world had lifted off his shoulders, though Angelina remained unfazed, trudging along behind him.
Maxi walked towards the outdoor training grounds, the sound of his shoe's clicking against the stone floor. He grabbed a spear from a rack and began practicing, focusing on refining a particular move—a gaurd stance to a deflecting strike to the shoulder followed by a disarming maneuver. He repeated the sequence, smoothing it out until it felt fluid and controlled.
After some time, he heard footsteps approaching, and he turned to see Techxin arriving in all his glory. His long pink hair was tied into a neat bun, and his red eyes gleamed like blood under the setting sun. His sharp canine teeth were bared in a smirk, and he looked every bit like a vampire, his presence undeniably striking.
"Hey, Maxi. How've you been?" Techxin's voice was surprisingly smooth presumably from the lack of screaming, the with a hit of cockiness in his tone his words betraying his usual confidence.
Maxi wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned back. "Been busy, big brother. Just finishing up some practice."
Techxin chuckled, his grin widening. "I can tell. You've been working hard."
Maxi's eyes gleamed as he set the spear down. "Always.