Caleb entered the room of his lover, Nathaniel, with a candle in hand. A room bathed in brilliant blue light, with a number of swords in the corner, a table with jewels, a skull and a red apple on it, and a mirror with a small face smiling wickedly above it.
Caleb sat facing the mirror and started talking.
"Myself, I have come to talk to you about my pain. Once upon a time, I was a great honorable warrior. I was the commander of the army and participated in the wars side by side with the emperor.
But now what is left of that brave warrior? Ever since Nathaniel the wizard came into my life, ruin has descended upon me. I became a miserable lowly creature. So that even I am sick of myself."
Caleb started sobbing, tears streaming down his cheeks. At this moment, his image in the mirror smiled wickedly and said:
"I have a solution for you."
and took a dagger towards him.
"Take this and relieve yourself of this life of filth. This dagger is imbued with magic that even Nathaniel cannot nullify. So if you plunge it into your heart, your death is certain."
Flashback
Caleb was riding a horse with the rest of his fellow soldiers returning from a battle. As people poured flowers on their heads and uttered words of admiration, his gaze caught a cloaked figure with his hood pulled down to his face.
When he saw Caleb looking at him, the cloaked person took off his hood and smiled at him. Caleb gasped at his beauty. Hair as black as night, skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and eyes as bright yellow gold.
The cloaked man came up to him and Caleb held his horse.
"I am Nathaniel the wizard."
"Oh, you're the emperor's special wizard!"
Caleb dismounted and saluted Nathaniel. Nathaniel also bowed his head and said:
"I came here to greet you personally and to thank you for your bravery on the battlefield."
"I only did my duty, Lord Nathaniel."
"May I ask you to come to the party at my palace tonight?"
Caleb stared down for a few moments without saying anything. What answer could he give? Nathaniel's parties were notorious and he did not want to risk his good name by attending them. On the other hand, giving a negative answer to the special wizard of the emperor could have negative consequences.
Nathaniel called out his name, obviously waiting for an answer.
"Commander Caleb?"
Caleb, who felt that he was caught in the webs of a spider and there was no escape for him, said:
"I will certainly come, my lord."
A dark space and fragrant steam. The short elves who moved their bodies in harmony with the rhythm of the music and the nobles who devoured the food at the tables like animals.
Caleb was slumped over on a bench. The pupils of his eyes were too large and red streaks could be seen in their whites. He was in a strange mood and felt like he was in a dream.
The last thing he clearly remembered was taking a glass of drink from Nathaniel's hand and drinking it, and then everything seemed to go into a blur.
At this moment, Nathaniel came to him, sat next to him, smiled and put his hand on his cheek. Caleb blinked a few times, straining his eyes to get a better look at his face.
"You are so beautiful!"
Nathaniel bent down and put his mouth on his ear and whispered:
"If you think so, then let me own you."
End of flashback
Caleb took the dagger from himself, swallowed, and decided to plunge it into his heart.
On the other hand, Nathaniel, who was working in his laboratory at that time, suddenly felt a strange worry in his heart. He dropped the packet of powder in his hand on the table and quickly ran to his room upstairs.
There he saw Caleb holding a dagger and about to plunge it into his chest. He sent a spell to the dagger and dropped it from Caleb's hand to the ground and shouted:
"What were you doing?"
Then he looked in the mirror.
"The work of this damn tool."
and pointed to it with his hand. The mirror broke and was divided into thousands of small pieces and the pieces fell like rain on the table and the floor of the room.
Caleb stared at Nathaniel for a moment with a face filled with hatred. Tears gathered in Nathaniel's eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Am I not your love?"
"You are the source of my torment and misery, damn you!"
And then he bent down to pick up the dagger from the ground. But Nathaniel made it fly in the air and took it out of the room.
"Caleb, honey, you have every right to hate me. But everything I did was because I didn't want to lose you.
If I had let you stay the commander of the corps, stay a warrior, you would have been killed, and how... how could I bear this?"
Nathaniel started sobbing and bloody tears flowed from his eyes onto his cheeks and onto the white collar of his shirt.
"But now I will let you go. Because I understand that if you stay here, you will be killed otherwise."
Caleb stared at Nathaniel in disbelief. He always thought that this wizard only saw him as his doll. He had not even thought for a moment that his actions were due to a selfish love.
And Caleb didn't want this love. So he left Nathaniel's room and his palace to return to his former life. He did not say goodbye to Nathaniel, because he was afraid that he would hear something that would make him feel sad and decide to stay with him.
The sunlight was shining on his face and he could feel the passion and energy flowing in his veins again. He pulled out his sword from its scabbard and held it facing him. He had become a warrior again.
But why did he feel pain in his heart?
