From that point on, the prince began teething. In order to prevent the Prince from putting random things in his mouth, the nanny gave orders for the Prince's toys to be taken away. Her proper words being, "...lest he chokes and dies."
Ulfstead started to feel that this was actually a saying in this world.
So, annoyingly, the Prince's gums ached and the only thing he could do was gnaw on his fingers. And yet, when the sharp eyed nanny saw this, she then proceeded to put mittens on his sticky hands because she was worried this would lead to sucking his thumb. In this day and age where there was no dentist to straighten teeth, the ruthlessness of the nanny was understandable.
For the first time, Ulfstead truly wanted to cry. With uncontrollable lacrimal glands, golden beans fell from his eyes. He really couldn't help it. His gums hurt so bad! The good news was even if he couldn't control his tears, he could limit his crying to quiet sniffles and hiccups.
The nanny couldn't take the baby's misery. The noble son hadn't truly cried since he was a newborn. Most servants praised the Prince for being good, but this 'good' behavior was very concerning to the experienced nanny. She worried that there may be something wrong with the Prince. She remembered one child in her village who was known to be extremely quiet as an infant. Later, it was found that he was delayed intellectually. Needless to say, in the age where people could not even have enough to eat, the child was later abandoned somewhere in the mountains.
So, unlike others, when the nanny realized something was wrong, she hoped the Prince would cry. 'Cry, cry, the more the better!' She didn't know what the King would do if his only son was born with a deficiency. Even if it was just once, she thought she could finally put her mind at peace.
But, when the time actually came, even if they were silent tears, Antonia's heart felt like it was being strangled. The Prince was the best baby she had ever taken care of. Each morning, he greeted her with a gummy smile. He even started calling her nan, recognizing her as someone important. Sometimes, she felt that it would be great if the baby was her own child.
Ulfstead was displeased with his current dilemma. It was hot, his mouth hurt, and he couldn't even voice out his complaints. At this time, it would be great if he could tell these ancient people the amazing use of saltpeter. He really wanted to suck on ice at this moment.
Hearing that his Prince was crying, the good father, the King, interestingly left the study room to see what was going on. His son always had teardrops hanging from his eyelids but it was rare for them to actually fall. What's more, his son didn't ever cry. Sure, sometimes, golden beans would form, making the blue orbs wet, but the boy was always quiet. Even when he was beating the now imprisoned ex-Minister of Households, his son at most showed a frightened expression before returning to normal.
The King found the nanny trying to coax the sad Prince when he walked onto the small balcony. The King didn't realize it, but a sharp pang pierced his chest when he heard the miserable hiccups. Striding over, he took the baby who nestled past his beard and into his neck. Tears were hot on his skin. With fury laced in his words, he questioned, "Why is this?"
The nanny was also distressed, but she calmly explained the situation. She was a veteran in the field of child rearing and had no fear toward this father.
The king took a seat near the edge of the balcony. He unlatched his child's arms from his neck and saw the tiny mittens covering his son's chubby paws.
Ulfstead didn't fear his father's irrational punishments as much as before. Throughout these past weeks, he finally understood that although harsh, the man had a distinguished sense of right and wrong. He didn't even punish his mother for basically calling him a douchebag baby-stealer.
Therefore, he no longer feared someone would be beheaded and let these damnable emotions out. Even if it wasn't a full-force cry, it gave him the catharsis he needed.
Then, straying from his original plan of keeping most of his pride and letting go a little, the subdued hiccups slowly transformed into woeful wails. At this point, Ulfstead had no way to stop the powerful crying coming from his little body. The action wasn't something he could control. He didn't think his cheap father could do anything to actually help him but…
To his surprise, the King then stuffed an obsidian pendant into his gloved hands. "Since he must gnaw on something, let him play with this. The stone keeps cool even in this dreaded heat." Except for Ulfstead, but all who had seen this scene were stunned by His Majesty's casualness. Who did not know the worth of this pendant? The stone was said to be blessed by the Heavens!
Most obsidian was soft and malleable, breakable by the force of a human hand. But this pendant was created by the great sculptor Hiatal. Found on top of the Lashik Mountain, the sculptor saw the skies open up to a creature surrounded by a celestial light. In his ears, the Divine wind said, "Carve my creature the First Dragon, Amphertis, into the stone. Send this stone to the King who will bring peace to the world." Hiatal used a simple ox-bone chisel to create the closest image to the God's beloved creature. Once God said it was good, he brought the stone to the Springs of Artis and soaked the pendant for forty days. The waters bled red and the stone went through a miraculous transformation. From then on, it became indestructible.
The great sculptor then hurried down the mountain to offer the treasure to the First King of Besirique. The First King took the pendant and placed it upon his chest before the battle of Helbe. At the height of the battle, the pendant was said to protect the First King from a deadly arrow aimed for his heart. Since then, the pendant was always handed over to the next King of Besirique as a blessing of health and fortune.
Now, the King wanted to give it to the Prince to teethe on…
The garden became silent as they saw the obsidian pendant being slobbered on by the baby. The women were speechless and suddenly disheartened.
What did this mean? Was there no chance for them should they birth a son?
It was a long while later when the conversation picked back up, the topic no longer surrounding the Prince.
Ulfstead felt a bit bored sitting there. He wasn't particularly interested in what jewels or tributes his father gifted them. Feeling the cool stone on his gums, the Prince sighed. 'This feels nice.'