A Sudden Leave and A Past Left Behind
Sol was pissed. A conditioned reaction that triggers whenever he's around the blond part of the Kiske family. It sours his mood and makes him extra asshole to them. "What the hell, Ky? I'm a bounty hunter, not your guard dog." Loudly, he complained as he shut the door of the drawing room. He didn't care whether there was a person by the rooms adjoined. There are only two people who could possibly be behind the walls, and one of them is too stupid to understand. Sol didn't care for either's feelings.
Ky couldn't give any more damn than Sol does. Not acknowledging the arrival of the older man, the High King continued to stare out the window and onto the vast city that was the capital of Illyria. "I know. But you're the only one I can trust with their safety." He finally turns but only slightly to show a glimpse of his solitary reddening iris. "Sin is not ready yet… I wish he were."
"Suddenly going to Ganymede… something happened, huh?" Yet the king only offered Sol his silence, further deepening the crease on the older man's brows. He knew that Ky had a stubborn streak, especially against him, and prying him open would let loose a thunderbolt inside the expensively decorated room. And he was having nothing of that thunderbolt, "Silent treatment… Tch. So like you. Three-hundred thousand world dollars it is. Pay up."
Without further ado, Ky circled his lone ebony desk and pulling the top drawer at the left, he procured a thick wad of cash. The king dropped it on the table top with sheer animosity, the crisp money smacked against the wood. Sol narrowed his eyes. Nevertheless the bounty hunter picked his payment up and slipped it into his bag, all the while his challenging gaze lingered on the odd-acting king.
-A sudden leave-
The three - Sol, Sin, and Demise - awaited Dizzy's arrival at the edge of the city. When the woman arrived, she was flanked by many knights, almost like a parade fit for a queen. A true queen. Dismissing the knights was as tedious as the ride she had to endure.
The people stared wide-eyed as they saw her bright blue hair from the distance. Dizzy was on an open carriage, escorted by gallant cavaliers on each side. The citizens only knew her as another kind citizen of the capital as she often strolled outside, seeking to speak with the common folk once in a while. They also knew that being kind is not something that would warrant a unit of knights to walk you in the city streets. As such they eyed her warily but dismissed it when the illusion that she was a kind noble who was seeking to help the common folk washed over them. They were overly happy upon the discovery of her identity, which was false still.
Their voices rung through the air in rejoice as the carriage passed by.
"Young miss, thanks to your help the other day!" It was the old man she helped by picking up his fallen staff.
"Keep on buying my apples!" This one was the fruit vendor who would never agree to keep the change. She would force it on him most of the time.
Dizzy also heard the lady who had two impish kids, "Let's chat again sometime!"
"Play with us again!" said her children.
Both happy and saddened, Dizzy waved at the smiling people.
By the time she got off the carriage, Sol was too tired of waiting that the man did not say anything. Her children were surprised at the sight of the mounted knights.
With her face faintly blushed, she turned to Sol, "I'm sorry that you'll have to accompany us," and from him she took the sullen child that was Demise. She also took Sin into her arms.
Sol could only watch in disdain. "Hmph."
"Really, Old Man is going with us?" Sin looked up at his mother, excitement in his voice. "On second thought, why him?"
"Your father can't join us. He's too busy."
The young man simply rolled his eyes. "Busy. Right."
Sol then headed off, his words fading into the wind, "If anyone else ever finds out about Ganymede it will go kaboom, kid. Ky's a stalker magnet," followed by a stifled laugh, most probably he remembered something he shouldn't have.
Sin was old enough and smart enough to know what his Old Man meant. And his mother has been teaching him a lot of things. He knew Ky was tied to the throne like a helpless chicken but he didn't know that it was that bad. He didn't care about the duties that fell upon his father's shoulders, nor did he care about how the man ever does it. Being followed isn't the best thing in the world, that much the boy knew. Especially if your followers are trying to kill you or at least maim you.
With this in mind, his earlier excitement died down quickly, replaced by a sad note. "Then why are we going there?"
"Well, it is my selfish wish."
The mother then releases the grown up child and rights the other child in her arms and follows the lead of the gruff man ahead. She neither turns to say farewell to the knights she knew well, nor did they to her. Head held high, she looked at the horizon where a lone white figure stood waiting for her group. It would be a long journey, a first in a long time that she would take without the human that held a very special place in her heart.
Her young boy lingered on where he stood, barely understanding the meaning of her words and thus getting confused. His turbulent emotions then sweep him off from what the confusion began, further weighing down on him. His solitary eye solemnly swept across the city he had grown used to. He wouldn't see it for a while. Or maybe he wouldn't see it for the rest of his life.
Sin has grown up and he has thought of things that might possibly happen to them; he is no longer clueless. "Has Ky finally sent us away?" His sad words were nothing as the winds howled across the grassy plains.
-A sudden leave-
Sometime in the past, Ky had a surprise when he found find his son alone in his royal chambers. One could say that Ky called it a miracle. When the boy came back to the capital, he barely would enter his father's room. But for some reason, after Demise's birth, the young boy has made it a habit to stay despite having his own room. The High King chuckled as he eyed the boy who was oblivious to his presence. The boy was too engrossed in his present activity—reading. Which was another surprise to Ky. The father knew that his son was not well taught in any subjects, especially reading.
I am not going to cry.
So he approached cautiously lest he surprised his own son and send him running away. "Wow. These are a lot of books. Have you read them all?" He said in an attempt to start a conversation, as he eyed the books that were strewn on the floor and around the chair that Sin occupied.
Again, the boy was too engrossed in his activity to actually pay him any attention. "Yeah," the boy answered as he flipped over a page of his book. But his father's laughter takes him away from the letters that he reads, "What?"
Ky had picked up a thin book. It was new and distinct from the colorful ones that were at Sin's lap. "I'm just surprised you could read all of these."
"Demi was being a pain in the ass. She grew tired of children's stories and she said that she want something else."
"You've been reading to your sister? That's really nice, Sin." Once more, Ky was about to cry. Sin really was a good boy. That aside, the stark cover of the book that he had picked up piqued his curiosity. Certainly it was a hard one as it was something that is not made for children. "Can I know what this one's about?" He flipped a few pages. The words were not that difficult. It seems that the story was targeted at young teens the likes of Sin.
Sin looked up at his father and at the book that he was perusing. "Ah, that's The Man Who Lost Everything. It's a story of a man who was forced to kill his crazy wife. He lost everything. He wanted to kill himself but couldn't do it. Then he goes to get revenge on the evil wizard who turned his beloved into a raging monster. But the man is accidentally killed by his own friend. That friend is a boy who is also his wife's brother. In the end, the man's last words made the boy run away from home because he wants to do something about the murder," finished the boy with a sharp inhale.
Sad to say, the book was not that light. Ky was both amused and troubled by the fact that his son read it. But he kept a neutral face, "That's a very depressing story."
"Oh, wait! It turns out the boy was also the son of the man. So it was a… What was the word for that?" Sin answered his own question, "Patricide?"
What is this book about!? thought Ky and he was ready to burn the book with a simple fire spell. But something snapped together in his bright mind, saving the depressing book for later, "Wait, didn't you say that the boy was the brother-in-law? How can they be father and—oh my!"
Annoyed, Sin raised his one brow at his father. "Huh? The wife and the evil wizard are actually siblings. The boy wasn't related to them. The wizard adopted the boy into the family…" The answer relieved the older man, obvious by his words,
"Oh, I thought they dabbled in some sort of incest." Classic Ky.
"Incest? They don't believe in those kinds of things. They aren't human anyway," handwaved the child. He was about to return to his present book but his father still has a lot of things to ask.
"Just because they're not human they don't believe?"
Sin sighed. "I don't know… It's really complicated, okay?"
"And how can you accidentally kill someone?" asked Ky, still referring to the same story. What he didn't know was it was a trigger to his child.
The boy, who had been placid not too long ago, was suddenly red and intense. He shot up from his seat, sending the books on his lap crashing on the floor, and his finger dived into the parted face of the book that his father held, angrily jabbing at it.
"The wizard was pure evil! He made them kill each other! Then he threw the man into the boy's sword while the boy held it up like this!" Sin said dramatically as he posed with his arms straight in front of him, as if he held a sword. "The man died thanking the boy for killing him! The wizard knew that the two were father and son! He made the boy's life hell, can you believe that? Does that kind of thing exist?"
Ky answered flatly, "A much worse evil exists, Sin," sending his son back to his seat and a sigh out of his lips.
"So why don't you just read it? It's really hard explaining," Sin muttered tiredly as he leaned over and stacked the books at his feet. He took back the one he was reading earlier and was ready to continue but Ky didn't leave him be.
"I guess you're right. Though I am still curious how this book got you to read it," said he as he eyed the stark cover.
"It's got pretty pictures."
With that, Ky was quick to search for some. Some pictures showed what beauty the city that the characters lived in or what the characters looked like. He was surprised at how vivid it is. He soon finds a full spread that depicted 'the man' that Sin was talking about. The only thing is that the man was also blond. His face was of slight disgust upon their resemblance. Tired of it, he was about to place the book on top of a random stack but another book intrigued him.
"Oh. What is this one about?" He points at the similarly starkly designed book.
Sin follows his gesture and picks the book up, not so sure anymore for he had read so many. The boy opens it and by the title was quick to recognize it, "This one's The Cursed Boy. It's the continuation of the boy's life. Ah, that boy's life sucks!" The young boy threw his head back.
"Why so?" Ky asks as he takes the book. He flips through the pages looking for illustrations of the characters. Indeed, it was the same boy that he saw in the first book: black messy hair and red eyes.
"I mean, every bad thing imaginable happens to him! Is that even possible!?" The young boy ruffled his hair in annoyance. He continues anyway for the benefit of his father, "First, his "sister" dies. Then he accidentally kills his friend-slash-father. Then he fights a war. Just when things were looking up, his son gets controlled to destroy the enemy nation!"
"Did he manage to win?" Ky hoped he did.
"Yeah, sort of. But he lost everyone that is important to him, including his sister."
The term sister was brought up twice, causing confusion to clutter Ky's train of thought. He couldn't help but ask, "Sister? Is this a different sister?"
"Ayup. The wife from the first story hid her daughter in an egg and the boy found it before he ran away. He's been raising the daughter as his own sister to atone for his sin of killing the man." Sin then returned to his book. He had to finish it as it was the one he wished to read to Demise. But his father doesn't seem to want any of that,
"Did he live happily ever after?" He was viewing the last illustration depicting the victory of the boy. Standing over a hundred corpses doesn't seem to be much of a victory, especially if someone who is a veteran like Ky would look at it. For all he knew, some artist could have had depicted him in the same scene back in the days. He shivered. Those corpses were his people now.
"Don't know. The story ended with his win." Then the young boy scrunched his brows together, angry all of a sudden. "How can you live happily ever after when everyone you love is dead?"
That much is true. So Ky left it at that. Time was of the essence and the many tasks that he had ahead of him had to be accomplished. He stood up, with the two books still in his hands. Ky was sad that he had to leave. Sin, on the other hand, was excited.
"Yay! You're finally going to do some kingly stuff. Go!" and shooed his own father away.
A little hurt, Ky wished that his son meant the opposite. Or at least felt a little happy, "Didn't you enjoy our time together?"
Sin answered hastily, "Yeah, yeah, sure. Don't want you late now," causing his father to smile sweetly.
With a gentle pat on the child's head, the High King left the room, his words flattering the boy.
"Whut?" The child sputtered, confused and red faced. Yet he didn't hate what his father said; in fact he liked it that his father loved him. Knowing Sin though, when it came to his father, he is prickly-sweet. "Love me, my ass. Then give me everything I want if you mean it!"
This chapter's latter part probably bored you to death. Please leave your flaming in your reviews of hate.
Thanks for reading.
