Metheus was not only a powerful man but he was an extremely wise person attributed to his extremely long life. He had lived and experienced firsthand the hellish war between the gods and the titans. He had witnessed the rise and fall of the several ages of humanity. He had seen the destruction of many a kingdom and have participated into countless wars himself. The amount of lives he had taken with his hands throughout his life would rival that of the tallest of mountains when gathered together.
He was a man of legends.
He had an extraordinary might and also knowledge that was not at all inferior to his battle prowess. When it comes to the gods and the titans, there was no mortal who knows them better than he does. He was no stranger to these formidable beings as he had encountered them before, had talked to them before, and have even fought with them before.
That's why Metheus was certain. The moment he had laid his eyes on him, he can confidently say…
This boy, Sarius is a god.
He narrowed his eyes, analyzing the boy carefully. The gods have the power to transform themselves into insects, animals, or even humans and they usually used this power to trick women and goddesses alike. Metheus wouldn't be surprised if this boy was in fact a grown god pretending to be a child.
'Calista said she met him in Feya's room. Is he after my daughter?' The moment that thought went into his mind, a dark look appeared on his face however it quickly disappeared as he thought about it more. 'Highly unlikely… had than been the case, he wouldn't have shown himself to anyone but Feya. Moreover, he wouldn't be walking in that form around.' The boy's ethereal body was a pretty much good indicator to see that he wasn't human.
His gaze then shifted to his daughter who was wearing a bright smile on her face as she talked with the boy. It had been too long since he had seen this kind of genuine expression on her visage. Although the girl smiled a lot around them, as a parent, how could he not tell that their daughter was merely doing that in order not to worry them? The girl was merely pretending to be happy despite the restrictions placed on her so as not to make them feel bad.
The king sighed. Her doing that… made him just feel worse. The girl was bounded by too many rules and even after all that, she was still considerate of them. Though they placed those rules for her safety, it still made him feel like a bad parent. He felt undeserving to have such a wonderful daughter.
He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts as the boy started talking, looking at him nervously. "I have no idea whether I have a name or not but Feya here gave me the name, Sarius."
He raised a brow at that, rather surprised that the name Sarius came from his own daughter of all people. "You don't know your name?"
"I don't know. I don't remember my name or the fact that I may or may not have possessed one." Sarius just shook his head, cluelessness apparent on his face.
"Hmm, where did you come from?"
Without waiting for Sarius to answer the question, Feya jumped in excitedly and responded in his stead. "Sarius came from the stars!"
"Stars?" Metheus asked to which Sarius nodded.
"From the stars…" His brows furrowed as he muttered under his breath. Metheus looked at Sarius and continued "... and how did you get here? Why did you come to our kingdom?"
"I don't know…" Sarius' answer made Metheus sigh.
'He doesn't know huh? It looks like questioning the boy is getting me nowhere.' Metheus thought. 'Well, no matter. It seems the boy is of no threat to Feya but still, I will have to keep an eye on him for now just to be safe.' With that in mind, Metheus was about to raise his hand and dismiss the boy however, Sarius' next sentence made his eyes widen in astonishment.
"I came… because someone keeps calling for me here. I don't know who it is. I just wanted to find this person because I can feel that whoever it is… they need my company the most."
Feya who was listening to them didn't really understand what Sarius meant… It was understandable. Even Sarius himself was confused. He didn't even know what he's saying. The words he just said all left his mouth naturally.
'C-Could it be?!' Feya and Sarius may not know, however Metheus, with his knowledge and his numerous years of experience have somewhat of a theory regarding Sarius. His eyes then landed from Sarius to his own daughter, contemplating. 'This boy… he couldn't possibly be…'
"Father?" Feya was puzzled why her father was looking at her like that. He looked so serious and he rarely gets that way with her around.
"...nothing Feya. You two can go now. Also, be careful when playing." Metheus sighed. He already had an inkling on to who Sarius is aside from being a god however he was merely speculating so he may be wrong. Whatever it is, he will first have to observe the boy and check on something to be completely sure.
"Then, please excuse us." Feya curtsied while Sarius just stood looking at the girl curiously.
"What are you doing?" Sarius asked.
"What?"
"That. I had seen you do the same when you introduced yourself to me earlier."
"It is one of the palace's etiquette."
"Oh." Sarius nodded and grinned. He grabbed the sides of his… ethereal flame with his hands and placed his right foot in front of the other then bent his knees, copying what his new friend did.
Everyone present in the throne hall gawked at the sight of the strange boy performing a curtsy in front of them. Throughout their lives, this had been the first time they had seen anything like it. Some couldn't even believe what they had seen and rubbed their eyes harshly.
Feya sweatdropped as she looked at Sarius speechlessly and stupidly. Her small mouth opening and closing repeatedly while she pointed at him.
Metheus on the other hand didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What the boy had done can also be taken as a sign of disrespect to the royalty however, it would seem that the boy had not the slightest clue of what he's doing. It was truly an embarrassing and an amusing sight.
Sarius looked at everyone, puzzled. Why do they look at him strangely? There were even some who were looking at him on the verge of laughing. He turned his head to Feya and asked, "Are they okay?"
"Uhh, Sarius…"
"Yeah?"
"Only girls are supposed to do that."
"...come again?"
"Girls are the only ones who are supposed to do that."
.
.
.
.
.
The blue flames surrounding Sarius suddenly turned gold. He covered his face with his hands as he crouched down. "How embarrassing!"
•"☆"•
"Hahaha, you were so funny earlier Sarius!" Feya kept laughing as the blue flame around Sarius' body turned into gold once more at the reminder of the earlier events.
"Don't make me remember it!" Sarius looked away from Feya, not wanting to show his embarrassed face to her.
"You're so cute, fufufu."
"S-Shut up. A man isn't supposed to be cute. He's supposed to be handsome." The flame had turned to an even darker shade of gold at the girl's teasing.
"Fufufu."
"Your father was scary." Sarius sighed as he remembered how terrifying Metheus was at the beginning of their meeting. He also said this to Feya in order to change the topic, hopefully.
"He is but I think he took a liking to you after what you did. I can see that father had a hard time trying not to laugh." Feya laughed once again.
Sarius didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the girl's constant reminder of something he wanted to forget.
•"☆"•
Unknown to the two children, Metheus was looking at them on the balcony, observing their every action. His eyes were locked onto Sarius' figure as he muttered, "To think that a god had come in the kingdom now out of all times. I wonder… does he have some part on the Fates' prophecy?"
If he does, then this boy, Sarius is a dangerous character.
He then saw how happy Feya was whilst playing and talking to Sarius, making him smile genuinely. "Whatever, I'll let him be for now. My daughter seems to like him a lot and she is a lot happier now that he's around."
Even if Sarius does indeed have part in the Fate's prophecy, for that reason alone, he would keep the boy around. He may be a king but in the end, he is a father after all. Feya is much important to him than the kingdom.
If people heard of this, they would be enraged. Logic would say that one person alone can not match the value of a kingdom and the people within. However, there was no such logic in Metheus.
The kingdom wouldn't even be able to compare to Feya. It may be harsh and cruel for his subjects but this is what Metheus really felt.
Why?
It is because…
He's a father.