Kaos sat on the bed. The softest thing he'd ever touched in either life.
His attention wasn't on the bed, though. It was on the two people in front of him.
"Who are you?"
He'd just woken up. The first person he'd met had run away screaming he was a prince. These two were crying and calling him their son.
The woman cried harder at the question and stepped forward.
Kaos backed up until his spine hit the wall.
She stopped. Her hand found the man beside her, curling into him.
He held her, palm moving in small circles across her back. "It's okay, honey. He's been in a coma for five years. He doesn't know anything."
The words landed wrong. Like an excuse. Like his blankness was something broken that needed explaining away.
Kaos's jaw tightened.
The woman pulled back and wiped her eyes, facing him again. Her voice came steadier this time.
"I know you don't know who we are. But we're your parents."
She waited.
Kaos stared at them both.
He'd already had bad parents. Didn't know if these two were different yet. Wasn't going to assume.
"Kaos, please. Just say anything."
They kept calling him Kaos.
He didn't hate the name.
Anything was better than his old name, and he was done with that life.
She'd made it to the edge of the bed now, on her knees. Eyes wet again, but her voice didn't shake.
He didn't want to be the reason she cried.
"Hi."
His voice came out smooth. Pleasant to the ear. He'd never sounded like that before.
Her eyebrows rose, and a smile broke across her face.
"Hi. Are you okay? Does your body hurt? Is the bed comfortable enough?" The questions came fast, one after another.
The man rested his hand on her shoulder. "Let the boy speak."
She closed her mouth, eyes staying on him.
"I feel fine."
Her smile faded slightly.
He'd spent too much time away from people. Even talking to them made his chest tight, though he kept it off his face.
But he needed answers. About who he was. Where he was. These two were the only ones who could give him that.
"I get it. You must be hungry. You haven't eaten anything for years. I'm going to cook the biggest meal ever."
She stood and left before he could respond.
Now it was only Kaos and the man.
"Kaos."
The voice was deeper than it had been with the woman in the room.
Kaos flinched.
The man's eyebrows rose slightly, but he didn't comment.
"I know you don't know us. But your mother is worried about you. We both are." He paused. "You were in a coma for five years. We didn't know how long you'd take to wake up. She's just happy."
Kaos didn't know what the man wanted him to say.
The man turned toward the door. "I'll give you your space."
"Wait."
The word left Kaos's mouth before he could stop it.
The man turned back.
"So my name is Kaos?"
A smile crossed the man's face.
"Yes. Your mother chose it because of your elements." He paused. "We'll talk more about that later. For now, find some clothes." He pointed to the closet. "And come down to eat. Your maid will be outside your room waiting for you."
Then he left.
Kaos lay back on the bed, chest rising and falling.
He stared at the ceiling and started laughing.
If anyone was outside his room, they would've thought he was insane.
Kaos stopped laughing, hand touching the horns on his head.
So I'm not a human. I'm a dragon.
He looked around the room and spotted the closet.
He threw the covers off and stood. As his feet touched the ground, his legs buckled and he hit the floor hard.
Right. Five years in a coma. Just gotten a human form.
Kaos pushed himself up again. This time, warmth spread through his body. Not from outside. From inside. Like something waking up in his chest and moving outward.
His legs held.
Then the warmth faded, leaving something hollow behind it. Not painful. Like he'd spent something he didn't know he had.
Kaos stood still, trying to pull the warmth back. Tried to feel where it had come from.
Nothing happened.
Dragons. He was a dragon now. Maybe that was just how it worked here.
But the feeling stuck with him. Like a muscle he didn't know he had.
The closet door opened under his hand. Clothes hung inside, organized by size. He looked through them and picked an outfit at random.
It fit perfectly.
His parents had known. They'd been preparing for him to wake up with a human form. They'd been ready.
He stared at himself in the mirror. Brown skin. Long red hair down his back. Golden eyes. Horns curving up from his temples.
He looked five. Maybe younger.
Kaos sat back on the bed, fully clothed now.
He had two parents. He was a dragon. He had a maid.
If his old self saw him now, he would've wanted to trade places instantly.
But Kaos wasn't excited. He was scared.
He knew how fast people could turn on you, and he hated admitting it, but he didn't want to be alone in this world.
He closed his eyes.
I'm not hoping for anything in this life. I'm taking it.
An hour later, he was walking with his maid.
The hallways stretched wide enough for three of him to walk side by side. The stone beneath his feet was polished smooth, cold even through his shoes.
His footsteps echoed, mixing with the maid's breathing and distant voices somewhere deeper in the castle.
He kept his head forward as he followed her, his hand in hers.
"You've never walked out of your room since the coma," she'd said. "You might get lost."
She wouldn't let him leave otherwise, so he'd agreed.
Every now and then, she glanced at him.
They finally made it to the dining hall.
The ceiling of the castle stretched high above them, but the door to the hall matched it. It went all the way up. He had to crane his neck just to see the top.
The maid tugged his arm and he looked at her.
"This is as far as I'm allowed to go."
She bowed, fingers lifting the edge of her skirt as her knees bent. "It was my honor to meet you, my prince."
Then she turned and walked away.
Kaos stood there, watching her leave until he couldn't see her anymore.
No one had ever bowed to him before.
Not like that. Not like she meant it.
He shook his head and turned back to the door.
He pushed it open.