Chương 4: We're not in Canada

Jonny was 90% sure he wasn't in Canada. He didn't really pay attention to politics, but he was pretty sure that if the Canadians could use magic, he would have heard about it. He definitely would have heard if the Americans could use magic, and since those were the only two countries with American-sounding accents, that could only mean he was somewhere else. Where the hell am I? He didn't know anywhere in the world that people used magic. Not real magic at least.

Jonny had believed in magic when he was younger after one of the older kids on the street showed him some card tricks, but when he figured out how to do them himself, the magic disappeared. That firework thing his father had done though… Now that was real magic. Unless he had a firework launcher prosthetic finger. But Jonny had grabbed that finger a few times, and it felt like a regular finger to him. Will I be able to learn magic too?

"Oh, did you like that?" asked his father.

"Would you like to see it again?" Jonny realized that he had been subconsciously smiling, but he didn't mind. That just made it more likely that he would get what he wanted.

"Archie, no," said Melinda. Archie, yes! Jonny babbled and waved his arms, hoping to appear like a happy baby, and it seemed to have worked. His father reached his hand back out and shot off three more in quick succession. Jonny couldn't help but laugh, and his laughter made his father laugh, and a moment later, even his mother started chuckling. Soon after that though, Jonny started to get drowsy again. He cursed internally at his weak infant body, but there was nothing he could do.

Crawling had taken a lot of energy out of him. He drifted off in his mother's arms, and dreamt of nonsense, as usual, but there was an anticipation that hadn't been there before. The following months passed peacefully and before long, Jonny's first birthday had arrived. During the preceding months, he had figured out how to stand up (mostly), walk (five steps unaided was his record), hold a spoon (he couldn't use it properly yet), and best of all talk.

He could only say a few words, but every time his parents smiled when he said "Mama" or "Dada," he felt a strange warmth in his heart. I never had a Mama or Dada before, but this is pretty nice, he thought. During that time, he had also seen quite a bit more magic. Or maybe it was just that his vision was clearer and he knew what to look for. The maids used casual magic all the time to help them clean or lift heavy things, while his father liked to put on light shows for him.

He had yet to see his mother doing any, but he was pretty sure she could do it too. Unfortunately, Jonny could not. He heard his parents talking, and he saw the disappointment in their eyes with every week that passed where he didn't show any magical signs, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do it. And he tried hard. He had actually taken an emergency trip to Arnold after passing out from holding his breath too long while concentrating. Because of this, his first birthday party was rather subdued.

A few months before, his father Archie had talked about throwing a party big enough that the whole kingdom would talk about it, but the closer it drew to the time, the smaller the occasion got. Now that it was the actual day, it had just become a simple, single-day ball. Jonny still thought this was far too extravagant for a baby's birthday party, especially when he couldn't actually enjoy any of it, but whatever. He napped through most of it, only fully waking up and engaging near the end as people were leaving.

With everyone gone, his parents visibly relaxed, though they remained nervous. Jonny could tell something was up, but at first, he couldn't figure out what it was. Then, he thought back to the conversation they had had months ago about getting him tested. Jonny had never liked being tested, so he started to share in some of his parents' nervousness. They brought him to a room in a remote part of the castle that he had never been to, and there waiting for them was Arnold.

They closed a heavy, vault-like door, and then his father walked around the room waving his hands like a maniac for a few minutes before returning to the center with a grim expression.

"Let's begin," he said. Jonny was placed on a stone pedestal in the center of the room, and was gently forced into lying on his back. Archie stood on one side with Arnold on the other, and Melinda watched from in front with concern. Archie reached out and placed a hand on Jonny's chest, making him shiver.

"Dada?" he asked.

"It's okay, buddy," said Archie with a smile.

"This isn't gonna hurt a bit." Archie lied. It did hurt. It started as just a bit of warmth in his chest, emanating from his father's hand, but soon, it spread throughout his entire body and began to intensify to the point it felt like his body was on fire. It wasn't more than Jonny could handle, but it was more than his infant body could handle, and he started crying.

Archie pulled his hand back and the warmth immediately started to fade, and Melinda snatched him up and started rocking him in her arms to help soothe him. None of the adults said a word at first. Then, Archie spoke.

"Fuck!" he shouted, slamming his fist down on the pedestal. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"Is he really…?" started Melinda.

"Yes," said Arnold, nodding gravely.

"Complete blockage. He will never be able to use magic." Jonny started crying again, this time for real. The next few days were tense. The maids didn't seem any different, but both Archie and Melinda were unusually grim. Even when playing with Jonny, they would only smile briefly before going back to brooding. They tended to avoid talking about anything serious when he was around and awake, but he still caught snippets.

"... can't announce this," Melinda was saying as Jonny woke up from his nap. He stayed perfectly still, hoping they wouldn't notice he was awake.

"We can't keep it hidden either," said Archie.

"We need to do something."

"As soon as they know he can't use magic, he'll be an outcast! They'll never let him inherit!"

"They don't have a choice. He's my son, so he will get my inheritance."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"If they try to lay a hand on him-""You can't protect him all the time!"

"I can, and I will."

"But what if you can't?"

"I can."

"Archie… Oh, he's awake!" Nooo! thought Jonny. He had wanted to hear more. He barely understood what was going on these days. All he knew was that he couldn't use magic, and that put him in danger for some reason. I had a feeling his uncle was part of that danger, but he never got to hear enough of his parents' conversations to know for sure. Whenever he was awake, they acted like nothing was wrong. A few more days passed like this, Jonny tense and confused until one day when something new finally happened.

Jonny was playing with the maids as usual, practicing his hand eye coordination by stacking blocks, when he started yawning. This was normal. Unfortunately, his infant body needed a lot more sleep than Jonny wanted to need, but there was nothing that could be done about it. The maid picked him up as he began to nod off on her shoulder, and when she lay him down in his crib, he was struggling to keep his eyes open. The maid pulled his blanket up over him as usual, and Jonny let his eyes close.

Then, he felt something enter his mouth and suddenly, he was wide awake again. He opened his eyes to see the maid with one hand on his chest and the other reaching into his mouth. He struggled and kicked, but as a baby, there was nothing he could do as she pushed her fingers all the way to the back of his throat, then left something there and let him go. Even with her fingers gone, Jonny found that he couldn't scream or cry. There was something lodged in his throat still, keeping him from breathing.

He tried raising his hands to his mouth to reach in and pull it out, but he could barely control his arms well enough to get even his fingers in his mouth, let alone reach back and grab whatever was choking him. While he struggled, the maid stood above him, watching as he suffocated with an emotionless expression. Is this really how it's gonna end? Jonny wondered as he began to feel light-headed.

Right as he thought it was the end, he heard a slam and a bang, and the next thing he knew, he was splattered with warm liquid and the maid no longer had a head. A moment later, someone rushed over to his side, and he heard a finger snap and whatever was suffocating him flew out of his mouth. Jonny gasped for air, then started wailing as someone picked him up.

"Shhhh, you're alright," said a voice he recognized as his father's.

"Jonny!" Jonny heard his mother's voice as another set of footsteps came rushing into the room. His father transferred him to her where he hugged her and tried to calm down as she pat his back. As she turned and rocked to help him calm down, Jonny was able to catch a glimpse of the maid's corpse. It was a gruesome sight, and with no way of properly expressing how he felt, he simply started crying harder.

While his parents calmed him down, three more people rushed into the room, two armored guards and Arnold the doctor.

"What happened?" asked Arnold, freezing as he saw the maid.

"Oh."

"Assassin," said Archie darkly.

"Stole the face of a maid. If the real maid's brother hadn't decided to make a surprise visit and found his sister unconscious…"

"Oh no," breathed Arnold.

"They might have gotten away with it too." Archie held up a jewel that Jonny recognized as one of the ones on his overly fancy baby rattle.

"Made it look like an accident. No damage. No wounds. Just a baby suffocating on a piece of a toy." Damn.

"So soon?" asked Arnold.

"I thought we would have more time as well," said Archie.

"They don't even know about his condition."

"What are we going to do?" asked Melinda.

"What if it happens again?"

"... It won't," said Archie.

"You can't guarantee that!"

"No, it won't," said Archie firmly.

"Because there will be no need. Why would they send another assassin when the first succeeded?"

"Wait, you mean-""Jonny died today. The assassin was successful. Do you understand?" Melinda hesitated, then nodded.

"Arnold, there are three more maids in earshot. Two in the hall, one in the drawing room. Go fetch them and bring them here. And if any more see you, bring them along as well. And Tanner, go to my office and fetch the contract paper. It's on the left in the second drawer from the top. Be discreet. Don't let anyone see the paper."

"Yes, sir!" said Arnold and one of the guards before rushing out of the room.

"Melinda…" said Archie.

"I understand," she said.

"I don't like it, but I understand."

"I'm sorry."

"... Me too." Two days later, it was announced that the only son of Duke Archibald Meyer, Jonathan, had died. To the public, it was an accident. He suffocated on a toy in his sleep. His parents were so devastated that they refused to show their faces to the public. Within the Meyer household, it was known that it was an assassination. The assassin had been killed, but it was too late to save the infant by the time they arrived. The incident was thoroughly investigated, but the trail went cold almost instantly.

Still, everyone knew that there were only three possible culprits: the duke's three siblings. With no evidence though, the case had to be dropped. Whoever had ordered the assassination, it was never known, but the relationships between the siblings, which had already been strained, almost ceased to exist. A few days after the incident, on the outskirts of the Meyer territory, a one year old was left on the doorstep of the St. Elena Orphanage.

No one saw who had left him there, nor could they tell where he came from. The only information they knew came from a note left in the child's blankets with a single word on it. A name. Jonny.