"Where am I?" Aslan questioned. He could feel his own body, but it felt very weak, almost as if he had walked for hours on end for days without stopping. This was accompanied by a feeling of strangeness enveloping his body, nearly as if he had awakened from a long coma. Before he could assess the situation, he was picked up by the man he had first seen after opening his eyes. The man raised him with both arms, holding his small frame. And then the realization quickly came to him: his body had completely turned into that of a baby! Just as the voices had foretold when he was adrift in the abyss.
Had I not suffered enough that I was forced yet again into a life I didn't choose? The realization made him despair.
The man spoke with such excitement, "Finally, my child, you have come to me! I have waited for so long." His smile was almost blinding, filled with nothing but pure joy.
Aslan quickly tried looking around, trying to assess the foreign environment he was in. The room looked so spacious—no, it was a hundred times bigger than the house I had shared with that so-called uncle. And then his gaze landed on something extraordinary—a golden chair! What is that?! He thought, barely able to comprehend the scene unfolding before him.
"Hey!, be careful with our child," said the woman. Her voice was beautiful, and her face even more captivating. The man and the woman seemed perfect together; they were both stunningly beautiful.
She must be my mother. The man's love-filled gaze confirmed it—these two would become my parents in this life. What profession must they have to afford a single room like this? The man's clothes looked exceptionally lavish, adorned with jewels sewn into the fabric, Aslan concluded after assessing the situation.
"Tup tup" sounds came from the door leading into the room. The man quickly gave Aslan back to his mother before answering the door. It was another man wearing eyeglasses while holding a couple of things that looked like a file containing documents. The man spoke with Aslan's dad about something that sounded serious, and he looked quite dissatisfied while talking.
"Oh, Chancellor Orvill, what brings you here today?" asked the woman.
"His Majesty completely abandoned his post during the minister's meeting just now, leaving me to handle a mountain of documents he left behind," explained the man with the glasses, named Orvill.
Wait, just now the man said "His Majesty," wouldn't that mean...? The realization stunned Aslan.
"Is it not your fault for holding the ministry meeting today? Didn't you know today is the prince's birthday?" asked the man.
The word 'prince' confirmed it. I was a f***ing prince! Aslan was still dumbfounded and in complete disbelief.
"YOU POSTPONED IT! THAT'S WHY IT'S TODAY!! You postponed the meeting for days, you idiot! I told you, but you just shrugged it off and went off with Her Majesty," said Chancellor Orvill.
"You dare call your king an idiot?!" said the man.
"QUIET, BOTH OF YOU! You'll hurt my son's ears with your childish babbling! And you! Your Majesty, we will have long discussions about this after the Chancellor leaves," the Empress screamed. She looked so terrifying, and the two men instantly shut their mouths. Both of their faces looked terrified, and the Emperor even looked pale.
Damn, Mother is terrifying ,thought Aslan.
"Well then, my empress, what would you name our prince?" asked the emperor, approaching her slowly. He was clearly still in a state of terror. I think he's afraid of her hitting him, Aslan thought to himself.
The empress pause for little thinking hard of a name for his newly born son. "How about Aslan? the names come first in my mind"
"That would be splendid! It almost sounds like the name of a legendary mythical lion," the emperor said, giving a look of approval.
But Aslan was stunned. Hearing the name was like a blade to him, a reminder of the suffering from his past life, the burning hatred he had for life. The same name... life will repeat even here. I can't even escape it by death. Aslan's thoughts were in ruins as every piece of bad memory replayed in his mind, all the suffering, all the things he had to experience before. The emotion became too great to bear, perhaps because of the limited mental capacity of a baby, so he began to cry.
"Waah! Waah!" Aslan's cries were heard loudly in the room; even the people outside heard it.
"His first cry!" the emperor exclaimed, still as excited as ever.
"There, there, my son. Mommy's here for you. Are you crying because of Dad? Don't worry, Mom will beat him later," the empress said while trying to soothe Aslan's cries.
Yet Aslan didn't stop crying. How could he? He had just thought he could finally rest and then was forced to live again. Is God hating me right now? The servants outside even came into the room to check on their newly born prince, some trying to soothe him, yet to no avail; all of them failed. The emperor tried making funny faces; he even forced the chancellor to do the same, but the crying did not subside. Instead, it became louder.
The emperor, clearly concerned, called the imperial physician, yet no issues were found.
"Your Majesty, the prince is healthy. The crying is just his own choice, not because of a health issue. Perhaps he is tired," said the imperial physician.
But then the empress had a magnificent idea. She gave the prince to the emperor to hold and then came in front of the prince. She raised her hand, and suddenly a gush of wind came from the palm of her hand. She raised her hand again, and from her hand a light came out, almost resembling fireflies during the night sky. The light flew around Aslan almost as if it were a living being; it flew and fell like snowflakes amidst the winter.
Aslan's cries then stopped. What is this? How can the empress make all of this happen? Scientifically, it's not even possible. Is this some magic trick? Wait, can this place I've been born in not be Earth? Is this place another dimension or something? This is just like a fairytale! Aslan thought while watching the light slowly disappear into thin air.
"Look at my son's first encounter with magic. How cute!" said the empress.
Magic exists?