Chapter Four: To Lose Everything
Riven could see Nabu return from the unintentional display. He walked slow, his staff seemed to emit a dull light, and his hair blew behind his back, gracefully, but still maintained an aura of sorrow. He liked Nabu's look. It was different; Riven hoped that he'd keep it. Mainly because it was different than the way he looked in the past, maybe the hair and his arrival meant he was adapting to this new world. It would be the first step towards healing. Riven greeted him. "So how was the trip?"
"Trippy, my friend." He sounded tired.
"I bet."
Nabu laughed. "I don't know what's more shocking: tough looking Brandon,"
"He does look badass now." Riven nodded.
"Timmy giving PDA to Darcy; she tried to kill me by the way,"
"How'd that happen?" Riven asked.
Nabu rubbed the back of his neck. "Timmy fainted when he saw me. She saw me try to wake him, assumed the worst, and knocked me out of the house. She wouldn't even let me and the kid stay in the same room for more than an hour. He's an interesting child, just a little unnerving; sometimes I think his eyes change colors."
"Oh, they do. Xavier got sick as a baby and lost his vision. Those eyes are robotic and run on technology based magic." Riven explained. He regretted not calling Timmy with the news; but, at the same time, it was funnier this way. "Brandon considered getting it, but thought the eye patch would be a better conversation piece than a robot eye."
"Darcy would flip if she knew you told me." Nabu shook his head. "Oh! Tell me how logical, proper Tecna is having an affair with her coworker."
Riven was honestly surprised by that. "Oh wow."
"I'm starting to guess that was a secret. Timmy told me, but you and Brandon reacted in disbelief. I'm also surprised that Stella is still a princess."
"Don't be. King Radius is an old bastard. He'll never die or step down especially with Stella being Stella. Euphoria probably won't have a Princess Ball until she's 30."
They both laughed, but Nabu stopped. "Then there's you and your family." Riven stopped laughing. He didn't know what to say. He didn't expect Nabu to be over the family he made with Aisha in such a short time, but he wasn't going to apologize for loving her. "Where are they?"
"Caspian is probably flipping off the walls of his room. I know Lily is going over her outfit for the first day she doesn't have to wear a uniform. Who knows what my wife is doing. She doesn't tell me anything; same thing for Regina."
"Or you just don't listen." Aisha answered. "I told you I was meeting Tressa about another upgrade to the infinite ocean's defense. She says hello, by the way."
It physically hurt to look at Aisha. She was still so warm and beautiful; her eyes were only on their king. He felt pressure in his chest and his throat got dry and tight. She noticed the change in him. He tried to play like everything was alright, but it only hurt worse. He needed to leave them. He rarely visited his parents. They were always socializing with the well-to-do in Andros and travelling. He figured that it wouldn't be a bad idea to reconnect especially if it got him away from the royal couple. Nabu smiled sadly. "I think maybe it's time I spent time with my own family."
Aisha and Riven looked at each other. Riven cursed under his breath and sat in a lounge chair. Aisha touched Nabu's shoulder. "I think you should sit down."
Her hands were soft and full of care. He imagined it came with raising three children that weren't his. He didn't like the tone in her voice. He didn't want to sit down either. He was smart enough to guess what Aisha was going to tell him. "I don't want to sit."
"I think it'd be best if you did." Riven insisted. Nabu took the chair facing his king. Aisha placed a chair next to her husband and rubbed his leg in support. Nabu couldn't help, but focus there. Riven was living the life that was meant for him. "Ten years ago, a group of men broke onto your parents estate. Your mother wasn't home, but your father was. You know what type of man he was. He fought to keep what was his; and, he was killed for it."
"...Why...? Why am I just finding out about this? Is that all?" Nabu asked.
"No" Aisha admitted. "Your mother was the one who found him. She was never able to get over his loss. She grew very depressed and withered away. She's been gone for three years now."
"Everything's gone..." realized Nabu. He closed his eyes and thought about the last time he'd seen his parents. It was when he left to hang out with their group. He wasn't even sure he said goodbye. Is this how his parents felt when they told them he was in a coma? If he'd stayed put his parents would have been alive. Aisha would have been his. Life would have been worth living. "What was the point of me waking up?"
Aisha grew upset. "Plenty. We all still love and care about you Nabu. Yes, the world has changed and I cannot imagine what you are going through. But, you have the means to do whatever you want. You can take a trip, see the galaxy, meet new people, relocate. You could do some good and be happy in this world."
"I can't go back in time." Nabu got up and left. He didn't see the queen's worried face or Riven's attempt not to take his comment offensively.
Nabu wasn't sure where he was going. He hadn't been thinking of anything to ease his troubled mind. He didn't understand why they just didn't tell him everything the moment he woke up. It might have made the pain easier.
Nabu was shocked to see Regina swinging in his line of vision. He left so he would have to deal with anyone in that family. There was no denying she was the product of Riven and Aisha. She favored them, aesthetically Aisha; her personality seemed to be predominately Riven. Aisha would never wear Regina's boots, chainmailed jeans, or all the rings on her fingers. He was glad Regina didn't inherit her parents hair and eye color. It would have been harder to stomach her. Nabu took the swing next to her and just stared at the princess. Butterscotch skin, scarlet hair and eyes, wild curls everywhere, no smile, and even stranger no guards. He wondered if it was because she sneaked out or because she didn't need them.
Nabu eventually swings next to her. Neither of them broke the silence. Regina mainly kept to herself. She also wasn't sure she liked or trusted Nabu. He was in love with her mother; that didn't sit well with her. She didn't understand why her parents trusted him so much. All she felt from him was pure despair. Didn't they know what desperate men with nothing to lose could do? It must be friendship. Regina was glad she didn't have anything like that to cloud her judgement. She smiled because she was very pleased with that fact.
Nabu stopped pumping his legs once he noticed the witch smile. 'Aisha's lips with Riven's gesture...' "You resemble your mother; but when you smile Riven's features pop out."
Regina smiled harder just to spite him. "They are my parents."
"I know. Beauty such as yours could only come from Aisha."
She frowned. Her father made sure she didn't have much interaction with boys. She wasn't sure if he was insulting Riven or trying to flirt with her like Prince Elliott when he visits. Either way she didn't like it. Nabu may have been physically around her age, but it was weird and not right for him to say things like that to her. "I'll only consider the man who can defeat me in combat. Even if you could, I wouldn't. Your lack of respect for the crown insults and disgusts me."
Nabu processed what she said before laughing. It felt good to do so until he realized how bleak things were and who she was again. "I do not want you. You're nothing like your mother; you vaguely resemble her. Plus, you're a witch."
Regina jumped off the swing. "You're right I'm not like my mom. She cares about you and your feelings. I don't; so I'll tell you what she was too nice to say. Even if you didn't fall into a coma, she would have still married my father." Nabu reacted before he could think, his scepter glowed red and blasted her. Regina fell back. Nabu gasped once he saw the bloody burn on her torso. Regina looked at the wound without flinching and brushed herself off. Her shirt was singed, but the wound he made started to heal before his eyes. "...don't be so surprised, witch of blood and battle."
"I'm sorry."
Regina shrugged. "I hope you don't expect me to apologize. I meant what I said."
"I wouldn't expect the offspring of Aisha and Riven to apologize."
"That's my problem with you. You're so stuck in the past that you can't even call me by my name. Unless you kill us, me and the second generation are not going away."
Nabu looked through her. "You are exactly right, forgive me."
Regina watched him walk away. She didn't think much about it and returned home. Her mind was mainly on returning to Cloud Tower. She wasn't overjoyed with going back. She liked the freedom of being away from the palace and learning new magic; but, she didn't like Cloud Tower itself. Almost nobody spoke to her. People stayed out of her way, minus a few pranks. The only peer who spoke to her was her rival, Ismene. Ismene was the witch of nightmares. She would mess with Regina's mind to the point where the Androsian princess developed insomnia her freshman year. In return, there'd rarely be a day were Ismene didn't have to see a nurse.
Liliane saw her sister walk by and stopped her. "Hey Regina, look at my dress!" She spun in her white and multicolored polka-dot dress. "I'm going to wear it my first non-uniform day. What happened to your shirt?"
Regina should have known her prissy baby sister would have noticed her burned shirt. "Nothing important."
"Then why won't you say who did it? I see blood." Liliane knew that many people held anti-witch sentiments. She always chastised her sister for going places without their royal guards.
"It's okay, Lily. I had a disagreement with that wizard."
Liliane gasped. "He attacked you? We have to tell mom."
Regina rolled her eyes. "It was an accident. Besides, I rather like this rough and tattered look."
"Regina, he tried to kill you!"
Regina covered her little sister's mouth. "Shhh! If the guards hear you they'll tell dad." 'That's the point' Lily tried to say under her hand. "It's not a big deal; I'm leaving for Magix tomorrow anyway."
Liliane pulled her sister's hand away from her mouth. "Okay, I'll stay silent for now, but if he does anything else, I'm going to tell."
"Deal." Regina hugged her little sister. She could overreact sometimes and needed to relax. After all what's the worst that could happen?
Meanwhile...
After that conversation with Regina, Nabu stayed deep in his thought. He wasn't able to sleep since he woke from his coma. Staying in his old home seemed to help. It seemed to be frozen in time with him. Sometimes his mind played tricks on him. He could hear his mother calling him for dinner or his father scolding him for staying out too late. Most of all he could hear Aisha's laughter. After his flashbacks ended he started hallucinating.
"This isn't right, Riven. Nabu could wake up any minute. I'm promised to him."
"Pfft... Nabu who?"
"You're such a badboy..."
Suddenly Nabu's father was fighting off their three children. He was doing well fighting back except Regina healed the exact moment he landed a hit. The old man was soon overpowered. Xavier entered the fight dragging his mother by her hair. Stella's daughter, Euphoria, and Flora's daughter, Topaz, started stealing things from his home. Musa's baby lit a match. His parents screamed as the house burned around them. Riven and Aisha were too busy fooling around to notice. The second generation looked at him and walked out of the flames. Nabu tried to back away, but was held by Brandon's daughter. Regina led the pack with her Riven-like smile, but right when she was about to attack-
He snapped out of it. Nabu swallowed and looked around. He was alone. Thanks to the second generation, that wouldn't change anytime soon.
(A/N) Nice going, Regina... So many girls. I tried to avoid it, but it happened anyway. -_- Now that this chapter is over I can focus on the second generation especially the ones I haven't introduced.
Next Chapter: First day of Cloud Tower and Alfea.
