Cade was happy. Of course, his grandparents gave him all their love, and that made him happy. But lately, he felt different. Ever since he met his Uncle Kaige, he was happier. Super happy. It was scary to him. He knew it would end quickly if he was not careful.

He knew he had an uncle studying super far away on another continent. The only way to communicate was through letters that were sent out every few months. Which was why he had never seen him since he was a baby.

His grandparents said that Uncle Kaige loved him very much and always asked how he was and gave him cool clothes and toys.

He would have believed them, but the people in the mansion said otherwise. He heard the older sister maids say that the presents were not really from Uncle Kaige. It was from his grandparents instead. He heard them say that when Uncle Kaige came back, he was going to be kicked out because his uncle hated him. Uncle Kaige will become the new Count and not him. Cade didn’t know completely what a Count was. All he knew was that it was an important kind of work being done by his Grandma.

He also knew that it would never be his. Cade knew why. He killed his papa and mama.

He was a bad child.

When he heard Uncle Kaige was coming home, he was really scared. Then his uncle got into an accident and was hurt badly that Grandma cried so much. He worried. Was his uncle going to die too?

So, he was shocked when he found his Uncle Kaige awake and he ended up saying something rude.

“Weren’t you dying?” Cade was sure that his uncle would be angry, but instead, his uncle…smiled at him kindly.

“I was, but now I’m not.”

Uncle Kaige asked him to come closer. Uncle patted his head and talked to him softly. Uncle promised to play with him—he had found that hard to believe at first. Uncle gave him a present. It was a set of awesome books about Aleno’s plants. He loved it very much.

For the past two weeks, he read books with his uncle and they played many board games and puzzles. He had so much fun.

Were the older sister maids wrong? Were his grandparents telling the truth about Uncle Kaige? Did his uncle love him? Was this real or was his uncle pretending in front of his grandparents like the others? He was confused.

Cade slowly opened his eyes to find that he was still in his uncle’s room. He remembered that they were reading the second book of the set. He looked around and found that he was alone and the book was on the bedside table. The blanket covered him and kept him warm and cozy. A little smile played on Cade’s face.

He heard a laugh he had come to be familiar with come from the balcony. He looked to find his Uncle Kaige sitting there. He looked like he was laughing at something someone said, but he was alone. Was his uncle a little crazy?

He got out of bed and approached him. His uncle noticed him immediately and gave him a big smile. “Cade, did you enjoy your nap?”

Cade nodded and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He could see his uncle’s smile getting bigger. “Come over here please.” He did as his uncle asked, and was shocked when his uncle picked him up. Soon, he sat on his uncle’s lap and was given a chocolate oat cookie. His favorite cookie. How did uncle know that? He took a big bite. It was delicious. His cookies were only delicious when Sandra was the one who brought them to him. Otherwise, they tasted bad.

He looked up at his uncle to find that he was focusing on something on the table. He followed his gaze and saw a lot of cookie crumbs around the plate. Was his uncle a messy eater? He did not think so. Cade looked back at his uncle to see him nodding with a big grin on his face.

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“Cade, would you like to keep a secret?” he asked him. “It’s a secret just between the two of us.”

Cade’s eyes sparkled. “A secret? Please tell me! I promise not to tell anyone else!”

Uncle Kaige trusted him enough to keep a secret. Just between them. He was happy. No one had ever entrusted him with a secret before. The older sister maids enjoyed telling secrets to each other. It looked fun to him. He wanted to be told secrets too.

Uncle Kaige pointed to the table. Soon, little white and gold lights appeared. Cade’s eyes widened when he saw the pretty and tiny people eating cookies as big as their bodies. They wore white robes with golden embroidery. The clothes looked a mess with sticky honey though. No, these aren’t tiny people. Faries! They’re fairies. Like from the books Uncle gave me.

“Cade, meet my friends,” Uncle Kaige said. “The twins. The one with the short hair is Cloud and the other is Drizzle. The other one is Blaze. They’re fairies that live in our garden. Say hello.”

“Hello, I’m Cade.” He waved his hand at them. Blaze, the fairy with pretty red hair flew towards him and touched his finger. The twin fairies flew to his face and patted his cheeks.

“They’re saying, it’s nice to meet you,” his uncle said, “and that you are very cute.”

Cade’s eyes widened. Uncle could talk to fairies. The book said that only special people were the only ones who could do that. Uncle Kaige was friends with fairies. He looked up at his uncle, his eyes sparkling even brighter.

“Uncle is cool!” He shouted. “Uncle is—” He quickly covered his mouth with both his hands. He nearly shouted their secret. He looked down and pouted. “Sorry, Uncle Kaige. I almost shouted our secret.”

He looked up to find his uncle’s face looked funny. It looked like Grandpa’s face when he was about to pinch his cheeks or smother him in a hug. When that happened, his Grandpa wouldn’t let him go for a long time. He made a move to get up from his uncle’s lap. He was too late.

Uncle Kaige wrapped his big arms around him and Cade was squished into a hard chest. “Why are you so cute?” Uncle Kaige nuzzled his hair and forehead. Cade tried to get away. His struggle stopped when the three fairies flew to his face and nuzzled his cheeks. What was going on?

Eventually, Cade laughed at the four who were nuzzling and cuddling him. His warm and joyous laugh rang loud throughout the gardens. After the cuddle fest, he continued having his snack and talking to the fairies with his uncle’s help.

Cade was having so much fun. That was until one of the older sister maids entered the room and brought them tea. Cade focused on his cookie and nibbled on it. The older sister maid smiled at his uncle.

“Good afternoon, Master Damian. Here is your afternoon tea and snacks.” Then she proceeded to set the food on the table. Cade remained silent. He was surprised when a big hand landed on the top of his head and started caressing his hair.

“Am I the only person in the room?” Cade shivered. This was the first time his uncle’s warm voice turned cold. The older sister maid also seemed surprised and she looked scared.

“P-Pardon, Master Damian?”

Uncle Kaige continued to be silent and Cade looked up to find him glaring at the older sister maid. The older sister maid stuttered and a look of panic appeared on her face. She turned to look at Cade and made a greeting.

“G-Good a-a-afternoon, Young Master Ezekiel.” She was shaking the entire time she said it.

“Not sincere enough,” Uncle Kaige said. “Leave and don’t spoil our afternoon more with your disrespect. Tell the others to never forget to greet their masters. I don’t want this to happen again. ”

The older sister maid left in a hurry. His uncle continued to pet his head.

“Cade, don’t let them treat you like air,” his uncle said. “If it happens again, tell Sandra or me and your grandparents.”

“But, being a tattletale will make me a bad kid.”

“Who said that?” There was anger in his uncle’s voice. Why was Uncle getting angry? “You’re an Ammadon. You should be treated with respect and dignity. You’re the heir. You’re going to be Count Ammadon in the future.”

Cade looked at him. “Me? Wouldn’t Uncle become the count?”

Uncle Kaige hugged him. “That position is yours—even if you’re not even sure how important it is just yet. It was never mine. Do you understand?”

Cade spoke in a quiet voice. “I…won’t be kicked out?”

The hug tightened. “Who’s the piece of sh—who told you that?”

Cade didn’t speak. His Uncle Kaige pulled away and raised his head by the chin. “Listen, Cade.” His uncle’s voice sounded firm. “You won’t be kicked out. This is your home. If you want something, tell us. If you’re being treated badly, tell us too. If anyone wants to take something from you without your permission, tell me. I’ll fu—I’ll give them a beating for you. Okay?”

“Beating someone is bad,” Cade muttered.

“Doing something bad doesn’t mean you’re not good anymore. Being too much of a good person will get you hurt.” It confused Cade. “You’ll understand that as you grow older.”

The three fairies hovered around him, nodding at every word coming out of his uncle’s mouth. Did they think what his uncle was saying was right? “Anyway, you have to promise to do the things I told you, even if you don’t understand.”

Cade nodded, still confused. “I promise.”

His uncle was kind of weird, too.