LOVINO'S P.O.V.
"Tino, you're doing good, not much further now, and the first one will be done!" Eliza said soothingly, hoping the blonde would calm.
I leaned against the wall closest, wrinkling my nose as Tino shrieked in pain again. Childbirth sounded painful. I looked over at the door as O'Baba came through it. She marched over to me, which was weird since I wasn't making any noise, and the whole blindness thing.
"Lovino Romano Vargas! How dare you not try to help Tino in his pain!" She scolded me, frowning.
I blinked, "Umm... I'm a guy with no medical experience, what am I supposed to do about it?" I frowned too, glancing back at Tino as she screamed again, back arching as the first of the twins was coming. "HEY!" I exclaimed, rubbing my head.
"Fool! You have the most powerful voice in the world, and you can think of nothing to help him? Maybe sing to the babies to calm them? Or to his mind to relax him a little?" O'Baba glared, brandishing her hand as if to hit me upside the head again.
I cringed back, blushing at my stupidity. "Oh..." I said quietly, quickly releasing a small note. The note grew slowly until it was a lulling melody, caressing Tino's body, calming it.
"There's the first one!" Eliza exclaimed happily, holding up a bloody baby. "It's a girl!" She said, surprised. Most male pregnancies produced only baby boys. I watched as Eliza handed the little bundle to Tino, and Tino coed to her, relaxed since my song had calmed him.
"Hana... Hanatomago." Tino smiled, kissing the little girl on her nose.
Eliza looked at him strangely. "You know what it means right? Egg flower?"
Tino nodded, "She's my little flower... and her skin is as smooth and white as a perfect egg." He smiled, then grimaced, crying out in pain.
"Looks like her brother or sister is eager to come out and see you." Eliza smiled, handing the girl off to Laurel who held her close, wiping away the blood and other fluids, getting the baby to cry and wail as they all should.
I continued my song, weaving it in and out. I thought for a moment that I could even see that the sound waves were trying to help the little baby out of Tino's womb. This one came out almost with ease, and I saw O'Baba eying me, a satisfied look on her face. Had I actually helped like that?
"A boy," Eliza proclaimed, smiling as she handed the boy to Tino.
Panting, Tino took the baby boy and laid back, smiling faintly. "Peter. He will be someone's rock in the middle of an ocean when he grows up." Tino looked terrible, but he held his arm open for Eliza to hand him his daughter. He held them both close, and Berwald was finally let in the room.
In the past few weeks they had grown very close, spending every moment together they could.
Berwald therefore rushed forward, embracing Tino gently and kissing him on the lips. I blushed faintly, averting my eyes.
"Get a damn room..." I muttered, my song gently drifting off.
As soon as my voice ceased though, the babies began to wail terribly, and I winced, gently starting the lullaby back up and silencing their cries.
Tino blinked, nuzzling the bundles in his arms. "Aren't they perfect?" He asked Berwald. I felt like gagging at all of the sap, frowning.
Berwald nodded silently, looking at me for a moment. "Ya don't have ta sing. We should hear our babe's cries." He told me. I nodded, ceasing again, and again the babies began to wail.
"Gah, they could give a banshee a run for their money." I grumbled, slowly edging out of the caravan. It was too crowded in their anyway, plus after reading about my heritage... I had a lot to think about.
After my screaming fit, I had been found a few hours later by Laurel, fear turning to relief, then anger on her face. My terrible song had driven a few people insane, and they had torn through the camp trying to make the song stop. She had been lucky enough to know to plug her ears of most sound. Everyone had been so worried about me, and were terrified that the guards had come for me or something.
I had been practically dragged back to camp, nearly catatonic as I was. O'Baba finally came and was able to calm me down enough so that I dissolved into human tears.
After a few days I had gone back to normal, pouring more emotion into my songs than before, more positive emotion. I realized as I sang, that I could feel myself being drawn to him, that my songs where trying to lead me to my Antonio.
I sat down outside of Laurel's hut, and a few minutes later, she joined me, a pleasant smile on her face. "Laurel..." I said quietly.
She looked at me carefully, frowning a little at my tone and expression. "Yes Romano?"
"Am I the last to know?" I asked, glaring at the ground. "Has O'Baba told everyone but not me? Leaving it for me to figure out by my fucking self?" I growled, tearing at the grass.
"Figure out what?" She asked, confused.
I relaxed, "Good, I hate being the last to know something..."
She frowned at me, "Well now I'm curious and you have to tell me what you're talking about. I can't not know now." She huffed, crossing her arms.
I looked down, avoiding her eyes. "Why should I tell you? It's personal!"
"Fine then, I'll go ask O'Baba what you mean. She always answers my questions." Laurel smirked, standing up.
"No! She can't tell you that! I'll wring the old bat's neck!" I yelled, vaulting up after her, the familiar prick behind my eyes starting.
"That isn't funny to joke about Romano..." She sighed, turning around. "It seemed as if a few seconds ago you wanted to tell me what it was. Why not now?"
"It's different, I assumed you already knew since it seems like everybody fucking else knows." I growled, taking her hand and dragging her away into the wilderness at the back of the camp for privacy.
I stopped in a tiny little glen, more of a path really. I sat down up against a tree, pulling her down next to me. I curled into her side, and she immediately placed her arms around my shoulders.
"What's wrong Romano? You can tell me anything you know?" Laurel said quietly after a few moments of silence.
I let the tears drip down my face. "Antonio is alive." I stated, staring at my hands clasped together around her waist.
I felt her stiffen. "Lovino... you know that-"
"He is! I read up on my heritage! If he had truly been dead, when I found out, my wail would have killed everyone within seconds! But it didn't! Someone knocked me out after almost a minute! He's alive Laurel I know it! Every time I sing, it seems that I'm being tugged towards him!" I cried, pushing her away roughly when she tried to run her fingers through my hair.
"Lovino I-"
"You can't tell me he's dead when I can feel that he isn't Laurel!" I snapped, standing upright and pacing.
"Lovino Romano Vargas! I'm not arguing, I was going to ask which direction it was tugging you!" She burst out, glowering at me.
I froze sheepishly, looking into her intense golden eyes, the scars on her face enhancing her beauty. "I apologize Laurel Belle..."
"Well? Where is it telling you to go? Wasn't it a raiding party that supposedly killed him?" She asked, standing as well.
I sighed, closing my eyes and feeling for our connection. It was faint. "We're moving ever farther from him. He's back the way we came... Antonio is in his country. Held captive!" Anger spiked through me, and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising. "Something isn't right about this."
"What isn't right, besides the fact that the crown Prince who had just won a war was forced to fake his death while not leaving his country?" Laurel smirked, kicking at some dirt.
I gave her a look, rolling my eyes. "Why do I have this strange feeling?" I asked myself, staring straight up into the blue sky.
ANTONIO'S P.O.V.
I woke again, this time people were in the room.
"I've been trying to figure out exactly what to do with you. So I've decided." Queen Isabella stepped forward, touching my face.
I lunged at her, "Let me go Mother! This is insanity!"
Her face hardened, "It is what is best for this country Antonio. Your bond with that banshee will be destroyed, and then once he is dead, you can assume the throne and marry the daughter of the Snowland's. We need the peace treaty that it will guarantee. You have no choice son." She looked a little sorrowful.
I snarled like an animal. "You touch Lovi and I will kill you when I get out of this! I will murder you with my own hands!"
Her smile was grim. "Oh, but I won't be killing him. Neither will any of the men. I have ordered a search for the finest wizard there is. He will cast a spell... and you shall kill him. It is the only way the bond can be severed. Otherwise he might be able to hold on to life and heal... but to be slaughtered by his own master..." she smiled pleasantly.
"No! I refuse! I cannot kill my Lovi! It isn't possible not matter what spell you cast on me! It won't work!" I struggled against the chains that held me to the wall. If only I could get to this madwoman before she tried anything as foolish as this.
"My son, you have no choice." She said, weariness in her voice.
"Mother you must see reason! If I kill him I..." my voice choked. "I'll kill myself. I couldn't live with the knowledge and image of his death at my hands."
She shook her head. "And abandon your people?"
I nodded, glaring at her, "Yes. I was going to give it up anyway."
Her features sharpened as she stalked forward. "Do not ever say such stupid things Antonio! Watch your tongue!" she hissed, glaring at me.
My gaze was unflinching, and she swept from the room, taking the light with her. This time though, she didn't cause me to sleep again, so I was left to my own thoughts.
What had she done to Lovino? Was he within the castle? As my mind wandered, images began to flash behind my eyelids whenever I blinked, and with it came a gentle, lulling melody. I listened harder, trying to pinpoint in the darkness where it was coming from. I closed my eyes, and it was almost as if I was opening them to gaze at a place I had never before seen.
A beautiful little baby girl was being slowly rocked to sleep in a pair of arms, while the soft lilting voice of Lovino wove in and out. I felt a smile stretching, and a small part of my brain began to whisper words that I wasn't thinking.
Tino is so lucky to have such beautiful twins... I'm glad his pregnancy was safe... Images of a laughing, crying, and pleasant looking feminine pregnant male flashed.
I reeled back, trying to understand. These were not possibly my thoughts, I had never heard of a Tino, much less seen a pregnant man. I opened my eyes back to the darkness, realizing tears were flowing down my face.
They can't. It isn't possible. I won't be able to kill him, I would beg him to kill me first. My Lovi means everything to me! I was brooding on this for a while, the images still flashing whenever I blinked.
After what felt like a few seconds, but was really a few hours, I was seemingly ripped apart. I tried screaming, but realized, that for some reason, I could already hear screaming. It wasn't my voice screaming. My mind made the connection right then.
I was seeing into Lovi, and something was terribly wrong.
LOVINO'S P.O.V.
Tino's baby girl Hanatomago was as pretty as most babies tend to be. But it was worrisome that she already looked as if she had been alive for several months. She and Peter both aged rapidly, much to the worry of Tino and Berwald.
O'Baba was troubled, but not overly so.
I cooed in Hana's face, smiling softly when she laughed back at me, a sparkle in her dark blue eyes. I felt something odd in the back of my head, like an itch that I couldn't scratch. I shrugged off the feeling however, when I heard my name being called.
"Yes?" I looked up, seeing Tino walking towards me, Peter in his arms.
"There you are, I had been talking to Berwald and you just wandered off. Listen carefully, I don't feel as if everything is all right... something feels off. Everything is too perfect. Ivan did something to them while they were developing, I've been hoping this wasn't the case, but as you can see, in only a few weeks she looks months old..." Tino looked like he was about to cry.
I hummed a little tune. "Well, they age like some mystical creatures. The younglings age fast so that they aren't easy prey. I wouldn't worry too much. Most people these days have magical blood in them."
Hana was sleeping peacefully in my arms, and Tino smiled at me, the worry lines disappearing. "You care for her don't you? Your kind needs to be bonded right...?" He said almost hesitantly. "Do you think...?"
I blinked, was he really asking me to watch over his babies? "I don't know if I can... Antonio..." I bit my lip. "I'll look it up, how about that? If a banshee can have more than one master." I said, as a quick answer. "But... I actually would like to."
Tino beamed, hugging me as best as he could with two babes between us, and went dancing off, carrying Hana with him.
I sighed, making my way from the kitchens that I had been lurking in, to O'Baba's caravan so that I could look up this new thought. Tino thought that I meant that I would look up if I could be bonded to both of his kids, or if I could even bond after the death of my previous master. I was going to look up if I could bond with more than one person.
The book was in the same spot as I had last left it, on the same shelf as before. Picking up the book once again, I scanned through the contents. I flipped to the chapter which seemed to have the perfect title, 'Bonding'
Chapter Three:
Bonding
Nothing is more sacred than the bond a banshee shares with it's Master. The only way this bond can be broken is by terrible means. The Master must die, and the banshee wails causing someone to kill the banshee. The only other way is through betrayal, the Master slaying the banshee. Such an act is one of the few sure ways for a banshee to be killed, but it curses the Master to die an early death.
I rolled my eyes, skipping along, scanning to see if there was a limit on how many bonds they could have.
A banshee can be bound to more than one Master, however it is not recommended for the Masters to be far apart in age. It is normal for a set of twins to share a banshee, but still ill-advised. If one of the multiple Master's die, then the banshee will only but scream, in agony until the others join together in death. Multiple Masters is possible, but ill-advised.
If a bond has been made, then not only will the banshee be forever aware of where their Master is, but they possess many gifts to be able to tell what is going on with them if they are in danger. Second Sight is useful in that both the Master and the banshee can move inside the other head, seeing as they see and feel, but it can also be painful, if either is in considerable pain.
A bonding must be done at-
I shut the book, closed my eyes, and began to think. I could do it, it was possible, but since Antonio was still alive, it wasn't a good idea, considering the age difference of at least some twenty-odd years.
I groaned, leaning against the wall. I felt a small tug, like I should be doing something else, so I left the caravan, searching for Tino to tell him the news and get him to help me to decide.
The outside was crowded as usual, but something felt a little off. I hurried to where I knew Tino would be feeding the twins, nearly running into a few people, some of which cursed at my back. Something felt off, and the last time that happened, Ivan showed up.
I started running, almost slamming into Eliza as she was exiting the kitchens, a tray of pies in one hand.
"Romano watch it!" She cried, gaining back her balance.
"Where's Tino?" I asked, panting a little bit. I couldn't see him near, nor could I really sense him nearby.
"He's out near the stage with Berwald talking with some kids. Why?" she asked, concerned.
"I have a bad feeling. Thanks Eliza." I rushed to say, running back out of the secluded area and back out into the crowds, cursing. I sang softly to myself, trying to calm down my quivering nerves and remember how the bonding ceremony went.
By the time I found Tino, I had remembered the ancient words, and smiled at him as I came up. "Something is very wrong, and I must bond with them now. Something is going to happen. Give them to me." I said urgently. Tino looked alarmed and quickly held out the twins to me, disturbing them slightly from their slumber.
"Now, whatever happens, after I complete this, they will be safe. By light of the moon, or the dawn of the day, I will come as you say 'come' and go as you say 'go'. By light of the moon, or the dawn of the day, I will protect as you say protect, and sing as you say sing. By light of the moon, or the dawn of the day, I will serve you as Banshee until you release me or death take me." I swore, placing my hands over their foreheads.
I could almost feel them reciting back the words, "By light of the moon, or the dawn of the day, I will listen to your counsel when offered, and speak when speech is needful. By light of the moon, or the dawn of the day, I will place myself under the protection of you and follow you. By light of the moon, or the dawn of the day, I will hold your bond until you ask for its release or death take me from you."
I nodded as if everything was done, and kissed them both, sealing the bond. "It is done," I murmured, tears pooling in my eyes. When Antonio died, these two babies would be in agony along with me as I could not pass on without them releasing me.
A scream shook me from my thoughts, and I spun to see that a woman was weaving her way through the crowd towards us, her long blonde hair bound only with a dark blue bow on the top of her head. The look in her eyes would terrify any grown man. She shoved people to the side, and I turned to see that it was Tino who had screamed.
I grabbed him and turned to run, fighting my way with him through the crowd.
"Berwald!" Tino screamed, rushing towards the theatre stage. I followed after, Peter in my grip, while his sister was grasped in Tino's arms. "BERWALD!" Tino screamed louder, panic almost making him choke.
"Who is it?" I called, trying to keep up with the terrified male.
"Natalya!" He shrieked, coming to a dead stop, staring straight ahead. I would have run into him, but her cold voice froze me to the spot.
"My brother wants his babies." She stated simply, as if she were asking for apples.
I grabbed Hana from Tino's grip, instincts screaming at me to hold them close. I began to sing softly, then let out a screeching note that froze the entire encampment, alerting most everyone to what was going on, and that we needed help. I could hear Berwald thundering towards us.
I screamed, my pure note turned into one of agony. I glanced down, watching almost with a fascination as blood seeped down my front from a knife wound sticking from my gut.
"Silence creature, none of that." She said, strolling forward.
I heard a breathy laugh behind me, and jerked my head, afraid to twist my torso. I felt like blacking out, another blade plunging into my lower back, the blades almost touching inside my flesh. Instead I made a choking sound.
"We will have to take him with us, he is bound to them, and will be able to find your children." Natalya sighed, walking up close to me. Where was Tino?
I gulped, feeling my legs crumple beneath me. I twisted a little, trying to make sure that the babies would be okay. I landed flat on my back, arching it and screaming so horribly that I could hear people around me scream... and in my head too...
ANTONIO'S P.O.V.
I cried out against the pain. Lovino hurt. Someone had hurt him. They would pay with their heads! I struggled more against the chains. "Let me out! Lovi needs me!" I yelled.
"Oh we will, the wizard has just arrived and will be down here shortly. Do not worry Master Carriedo." The guard in front of my cell sneered.
"If I am Master then release me NOW." I demanded, thrashing.
All I received was an uncomfortable chuckle.
Only minutes later, I heard the patter of footsteps. Seconds followed, and a hushed conversation was held outside my door. Another handful of seconds, and I was thrashing again, impatient.
A cloaked man came through the door along with the Queen, her tresses curled perfectly as usual. The wizard had shaggy blonde hair and emerald eyes that shown with fury. His thick eyebrows were drawn together in a scowl. He strode forward and inspected me.
"It will work." He declared, then leaned closer, "I will try to weaken it, but the only official way to break it, is if your banshee willingly kisses you before you kill him." My face did not change, but our eyes met. "To start." He said loudly again, his hand placed at the right side of my ribcage. "Treachery." He said simply, his words pulsating, I recoiled as if I had been struck. His hand moved to my forehead, "Hate." Same reaction, his hand moved to my other side, "Betrayal." It moved to my right shoulder, "Blood." Then to my left, "Kill him." And finally back down to my right side, completing the star, "Death." He intoned, his voice almost trembling.
Was that him trying to weaken it?
He leaned close again, "Even if you succeed, you are not bound to come back, you may kill yourself if you wish." He whispered, then leaned back. "It is done, he will kill the banshee."
My body thrummed with energy, and I felt my limbs take over, a terrible hate filling me. I knew it was not my own, but my body wanted to kill the source of the hate.
The guards let me loose, and I broke their necks, staring down at them coldly. "That, is for not treating me as a King should by his subjects." Queen Isabella beamed, taking me away. I wanted to scream, to strike out at her, but the cold 'logical' mind that held the reigns thought she could still be useful, so it refused to listen to my snarls.
I was going to Lovi, and if he could kiss me before I killed him, all would be well.
LOVINO'S P.O.V.
Pain radiated outwards from the two spots almost parallel to each other on either side of my midsection. It was painful to breathe, and with the way I was stretched out, the wounds would reopen every time I moved too much, or breathed too deeply.
I kicked my feet a little, gasping at the sharp tug it triggered in my middle. The chains I hung from only barely allowed my feet to brush the floor, stretching my body to the max. I groaned softly, hearing my voice echoing back to me. I felt a sharp stab of pain and cried out, but I knew that nothing had struck me.
The babies! They need me with them! Thoughts whirled in my head, and I groaned again, feeling the sharp pain jagging into me again. It felt a little different, but not by much.
A door creaked open, and Natalya stalked in, her face insane with giddiness. It fell abruptly however when she noticed I was awake. "Damn! I was hoping to wake you up~ Vanya said I could if you were asleep, but if I do it now you might fall asleep again." She spoke such cruel things almost with the innocence of a child.
I grimaced at her, "Where are the twins? What have you done to them? Why did you take me and not Tino?" I barked at Natalya, knowing she most likely would only answer one.
"We took you because I saw you bond with the little brats. Banshee's can track their Master's down even if it means going off the cliff of the earth. We didn't want Tino to have some mutt tracking them down. It's going to be impossible for anyone to find you." She grinned savagely, as if I cared even.
I felt a small sense of relief, they didn't have Tino. Hopefully they wouldn't be stupid enough to try and get me too when they got the twins, I would just get out and call Antonio to me. I blinked, reaching out for him. He was moving closer to me, but I couldn't actually get inside his head so that I could talk to him directly, he was blocking me!
I blinked again, eyes widening as I saw Natalya inches from my face. "Why didn't you answer when I asked bitch?" she growled, glaring hard into my eyes.
I glared back at her, "Because I don't answer to you!" I spat at her, watching as she reared back, appalled that she was being denied.
"Natalya. That is enough with patronizing him." Ivan appeared in the doorway, holding a sleeping twin in each arm. He glared at his sister, sending her to the corner of the room. "I can presume that she told you why we kept you with us?"
I stared at the sleeping children, trying to undress them with my senses to see what was hurt, what had made them feel pain.
"Oh, do not worry, it was merely their medicine. It must be directly injected into their muscles and blood. I was very worried when I came home to find my wife gone. She is lucky the babies didn't rot inside her body. Of course, I was not expecting for there to be twins." He glared disdainfully at Hanatomago, as if he wished she didn't exist. "But they need each other."
If I couldn't see the sick and twisted smirk on his face as he was talking, I would have considered everything that he spoke of to have come from a concerned and even loving father. But as he glared down at the babes in his arms, Hana opened her eyes.
She stared for a few seconds at the twisted face before her, and began to wail. Notes poured from my mouth, soothing her frazzled nerves. I even saw Natalya in the back relaxing against the wall.
Ivan punched me only a few inches above the stab wounds. I screamed, trying to double over, but the effort only stretched the wound wider. I sagged, head staring at the ground. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.
"Do not ever sing those pretty notes unless I order it." Ivan growled. He had placed the babies down, and at my shriek, Peter had woken up. Hana was paralyzed, eyes wide and fearful. Did she know what was going on?
I simply nodded, staring at the babies. They would be fine as long as I lived. "What are you doing to them?" I asked, my voice raspy.
"I am continuing what I started so that they don't die a horrible death. Within their bodies a war is raging. In strand of DNA, there is an opposite that hates it. This is causing their cells to age faster, so they are growing with them in an effort to adapt. If I can neutralize the DNA strands so that they're forced to work together then they will be so immensely powerful that no army could stand against their might." He grinned, suddenly looking very fondly at the two. "But I was expecting one! Damnit, why did that bitch have to have two? Now the strands are split unevenly!"
I blinked, "Monster. You want to turn them into monsters?! What DNA did you put in them!" I shouted, struggling against the chains even though my vision went blurry a few times.
His grin turned savage, "The blood and DNA of two Gods are inside them, fighting against each other. The Lava Gods to the far south, and the Ice Giants of around here. It seems as if Pered has more Ice Giant in him than his sister Iador. She seems to take after the Lava Gods..." he mused, turning away from me, stroking their hair.
Peter shrank back from the touch, clutching his sister.
Song swelled within my throat fighting to get out. I had to stop him now before I tried to kill him. Because then I would either have to kill his sister, or be killed by her, and then I would still be stuck hanging in the chains with no way of escape. "Don't you touch them!" I growled, snarling like an animal.
"That is too bad, I will do as I please. Natalya, we are leaving, make sure that you get him chained to the wall, he will die soon of that wound if he cannot heal. We need him to tell us about the twins. So no arguing." Ivan said in a cold tone, turning abruptly and leaving the room, slamming the heavy wooden door behind him.
Natalya blushed as if he had just told her to be waiting for him naked. I grimaced as she came closer, hands reaching for the chains. This could be my chance. As soon as she unchains me, I could kill her then, it would only be too easy.
I frowned, watching as her hand traveled through the air, punching straight through me, connecting the torn flesh in a way it was never supposed to. My mouth was open in a silent scream of pain. This couldn't be happening. She was going to kill me after all? And with the babies watching?!
Before I heard the clink of the chains on the ground, I saw Hana sitting up staring at me, silent tears running down her face.
I fell back to the ground, Natalya looming over with a bloody fist. She licked it delicately, then grimaced. "Filthy blood. You can die for all I care." she muttered, leaving my line of sight that was most assuredly getting smaller, and ever more dim now.
A/N: IT'S FINALLY HERE. DEAR GOD, it took me WAY too long to update this. I apologize, but to try to make up for it, it's over 5,000 words even without this A/N.
Pretty crazy huh? Will Lovi be able to break Antonio's curse before he himself his slaughtered? What will become of the twins? Why is Ivan calling them strange names? Well Tino never told him their names, so he's giving them Russian ones, so I can answer that one. Why the HELL did Natalya just punch through Lovino? Will Tino, Laurel, and the rest of the gang get there before anything too horrific happens? Will Ivan try to kill off one of the twins? SOME OF THIS AND MORE NEXT CHAPTER!
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Thank you all for reviewing, and seeing the demand really motivates me, please keep at it, the chapters will flow steady as a river~
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