Title: Time's Lullaby
Author: iyris/ai
Rating: PG13
Genre: Romance, fantasy, supernatural, mystery
Summary: Ryoma was living a dull normal human life, not until when several 'aristocrats' who called themselves 'Nobles' and 'Nights' appeared at his school as exchange students. One thing common about them, all their eyes had a certain color. Having golden eyes, was he one of them too? Or was he just a mere human dragged into another world because of his eyes?
Disclaimer: POT is not mine.
NOTE!: "dialogs"
Warning/s: Unbeta'd (I wish that someone would like to beta this!). Bits of OOCness here and there. And probably bit of fluff? Sorry!
Chapter 09: Zophiel's Painting
Clue to the past,
Key of the present,
Paintings that last,
And betrayal's crescent.
"Ugh!"
The disappointment was clearly audible when we reached the address Ryoga left on a piece of paper before he disappeared that night. In front of our eyes was a very big mansion, more like a haunted mansion. Dark, gloomy, and abandoned. I looked at their expressions and as expected, Atobe's was a displeased one with his eyebrow twitching. Kaidoh-sempai and Akutsu-sempai seemed undisturbed. Ryuzaki hid behind Kintarou whose eyebrows were furrowed. An-sempai's was like Kintarou's. The only ones who found the place amusing were Fuji-sempai and Reiko-sempai who were smiling.
"Is this really the right address?" Atobe asked.
I looked down at the piece of paper. "Yeah."
.
.
.
The next day after Ryoga's disappearance 'again' from the apartment, I read the paper and thought that it was Ryoga's answer to my questions. Fuji-sempai volunteered to go with me and so the others. Along the way, I told them I was missing my memories from before I turned six and now was looking for them. The fact that I used to be an aristocrat, that my brother is an aristocrat, and that my parents were killed by an aristocrat remained secret because I thought that it might be better to keep it until I know everything about myself. Everyone remained silent as they listened to my story. They did not ask any question. They did not pry any further.
.
.
.
We knocked several times but no one answered.
"Is anyone here?" An-sempai asked as she warily opened the giant double doors. "It's not locked."
We entered and it was darker inside. The only lights were coming from the broken large windows. The place smelled of old wood and the wooden floor we were walking by was creaking loudly. In front of the entrance was a very wide stairway. Upon reaching the top, the way was divided into two stairways, left and right. And on the middle was a very large portrait of a beautiful person. My eyes widened upon recognizing him.
"Queen Raziel!" An-sempai exclaimed. "What is her portrait doing here?"
"Wrong, An-chan. It is not the queen. Look closely, he is a male and his eyes are not silver but gold," Fuji-sempai corrected.
"You're right. And his eyes are just like Ryoma-kun's."
"Zophiel," I whispered, oblivious of the same wide eyes that moved to me from the painting.
"You know this person?" Kintarou asked.
I thought for awhile before giving an answer. I didn't know how much information I should share with them. Nonetheless, a part of me already trusts them. "Yeah."
"Zophiel? How did you know him?" Surprisingly, An-sempai was on a serious mode as she asked me.
"Yeah, the name's Zophiel. I don't know how. I just remember that he was with me when my parents died…and that I think I know him for a long time."
"How are you related to him?"
"I…I don't know. Do you know him?"
An-sempai shook her head. "But he looks exactly like Queen Raziel?"
"Queen Raziel?"
"The second queen of the Sage King Araqiel. They are like twins."
Twins? Zophiel and Raziel?
"It was not Araqiel who was cruel, Ma-chan. He simply fell in love. The cruel one was the fate that brought him and the cursed twins together."
I turned my head to both sides to see who was talking but I already knew who it was. And he was not with us. It was the sad voice of Zophiel from my memory. But what did he mean? What was it that we were talking about for him to tell me that?
"Something wrong, Ryoma?" Atobe asked when he noticed that I became restless.
"No, nothing. I just remembered something…Uhm, may I ask something?"
They all looked at me with the looks of approval.
"Who is Araqiel?"
Silence befell.
"Has anyone of you told him about the Sage King Araqiel?" Atobe broke through the silence but none of them gave a positive answer.
"How did you know him, Meino?" Kaidoh-sempai asked with a grave expression.
Did I just ask a forbidden question? Why did they look serious? Should I tell them that it was Zophiel who knew him? But then they would ask me again who exactly Zophiel was and even I didn't really who he was. I sighed inwardly. "His name was in my memory. But I can't remember who he is." My answer wasn't a lie.
"Araqiel is the first king and founder of the Kingdom of Araqiel," Akutsu-sempai replied.
Why do I know such person?
"He had two queens. The first queen was Ouriel, she was an aristocrat. And the second queen was Raziel, a normal citizen with unparalleled beauty. He had a son each queen, the first prince was said to be the ancestor of the Nobles while the remaining second prince was the ancestor of the Nights," Reiko-sempai supplemented.
"Wrong." The word slipped out of my mouth. "There were three princes."
All of them had a surprised expression. Even I was surprised with what I just said. I blinked. "No, what did I just say?" Three princes. Why did I know such thing?
"What did you say, Ryoma?" Fuji-sempai inquired.
"I don't know. It just slipped out of my mouth before I even think about it."
"Then what do you mean by three princes?" It was An-sempai.
"I don't know. I just suddenly thought that there were actually three princes and not two. Don't mind me, maybe I was just thinking randomly and thought like that."
"No. According to the oldest record, there were really three princes. But the second prince was assassinated and along the time, he was forgotten. The mention of the second prince never occurred in any other history records aside from the oldest book in our house that's why only few should know about his existence," said Atobe. "Actually, I think aside from Reiko and Fuji, you guys did not even know this?"
Several nodded.
"Seriously?" Kintarou muttered.
"So how did you know?" An-sempai faced me.
"Yeah, how did I know?" I mumbled to myself as I thought deeply.
"He was the Crowned Prince and only heir to the throne but when Araqiel came back from his trip, he brought a child and Raziel who was pregnant of the third prince. The child was his first son but out of marriage. Several aristocrats argued of who should be the real heir: the eldest prince or the crowned prince." Zophiel was busy arranging the books little Ryoma scattered, back to the shelves.
"So, who became the next king?" Little Ryoma was following Zophiel's footsteps while pulling the books out of shelves again.
"The first prince."
"What happened to the legal heir?"
"He died."
"Why did he die? If he lived, would he be the king?"
"I don't know. And as time passed by, his existence was erased from this country's history. The eldest prince, who was originally an illegitimate child, took the second prince's place became known as the legal heir and the son of Queen Ouriel."
"Oh? Why did it change?"
"That's how story goes when being passed down from generation to generation. The truth is being twisted. So don't forget my words, Ma-chan." Zophiel stopped on his tracks and faced the little child who was busy pulling another book. Several veins popped as he saw the new mess little Ryoma made in the library. "Would you stop that, Ma-chan!"
What was that? A memory?
"Ryoma, are you alright?" Atobe asked.
I did not know that I was spacing out for a long time. I looked up and saw the worried faces they gave me. "Yes, I'm fine."
"You don't need to answer if you can't remember. I'm sorry for stressing you out." An-sempai apologized.
"Ah no, An-sempai. It's fine."
"But it makes me really wonder, who are you really? You're a human yet you know these things. This Zophiel also makes me curious."
Yeah, who was I really? Who was Zophiel? Why did he look like Raziel? Why did he know so much? Why did he tell me those?
A tap on my shoulder made me stop thinking about who's and why's. I turned to look at his smiling face.
"Don't think too much." Fuji-sempai looked at the stairway at our right where everyone had passed by to reach the second floor. "Let's go?"
I nodded.
Empty rooms, dust-covered furniture, rotting woods. There was not much to see at the second floor, same goes with the third floor. The third floor was like a labyrinth. We were all together at first but without even noticing, we have separated our ways. Even I found myself alone and lost. Everyone started calling names to locate ourselves. I was focused on locating the others that I failed to see the broken wood under my feet. No, not just broken wood, but rather a big hole, big enough for me to fall in.
.
.
.
"Ow!" I felt my left ankle throbbed. Did I sprain it? What bad luck! I looked around only to find no difference from when my eyes were still shut. Pitch black darkness. If I knew this would happen, I should have shouted louder when I was still falling.
"ANYONE!" I shouted but they just echoed back at me. I shouted for help repeatedly but seemed like no one could hear. Had I fallen so low? Or were the others too far from my place to not hear me? Anyway, I knew they would notice that I was not with them once they found each other. I knew they would look for me. I would just wait for them.
My eyesight has adjusted but still, it's too dark in here. There was nothing to see. I managed to stand up but walking was not a good idea. And going away from the spot where I fell would just make finding me harder.
After a long moment of silence, I sighed and sat back against the cold wall. There was nothing do. Nothing to see, nothing to hear. This situation could make someone crazy. I tried to think of something but the setting made me think of the darkness the night my parents were killed or when I woke up in the alleyway.
Oh right, it was also dark when I met that child. My hand searched for the pendant and opened it. The melody broke through the eerie silence. It calmed and comforted me.
"Put it close to your heart, huh," I whispered to myself as I thought of the words he told me. That child must have known me. His father is the person I love. What did he mean? It was not like it matters now. There are others I must think of but I don't feel like thinking anymore. I feel sleepy. Should I sleep then? But what if someone calls? I would not be able to answer. A yawn. I felt really sleepy…
Ryoga was running fast. Too fast that the scenery of the forest around him became just a shade of colors. The man chasing him was not being left behind, instead, he was getting nearer. The space between them was getting shorter.
"Damn it!" Ryoga exclaimed when he saw the man at the corner of his eye. The man was dressed like an Undead but Ryoga was sure that the man was not one. He was sure that the man was an aristocrat because his eyes were the color of cerulean blue. Ryoga fastened his pace, if it were still possible…his footsteps leaving a deep mark on the ground. His eyes sharpened when he finally saw the portal.
Finally, he spread his white phoenix wings and flew faster. To his utter surprise, the man chasing him had wings too. Ryoga wanted so badly to know who the man was but he couldn't just stop to simply ask the man. He shouldn't be caught or he would be killed.
But when he was about to enter the portal, the man chasing him managed to pull his wings and mercilessly tore it off. Ryoga cried in pain as his back bled furiously.
"Déjà vu?" The man muttered to himself.
"DAMN! JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"Ryoga quickly stepped away from him and made a protective stance. "Were you the one who killed my parents?"
The man shook his head. "It was Yoshitaka. The man who inherited the memories of the Forgotten Prince. And I…" The man removed the black fabric covering his face.
Ryoga was in utter shock upon seeing the man's face. "No way…"
"Sorry." Was all the man said before his eyes turned red.
"RYOGA!" I gasped. I felt myself breathing heavily as cold sweat covered my entire body.
"Ryoma, are you ok?"
I looked up at the owner of the voice and found myself calming down. But my heart was still racing. What was that? A terrible nightmare.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Fuji-sempai asked.
I nodded.
"Want to share?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. What was it again that I dreamt about? I was sure it was not pleasant. "I forgot what it was."
He looked at me understandingly. "Isn't it better that you forgot it?"
Probably. I nodded and moved my body, including the sprained ankle. I winced at the pain. But I was finally reminded of where I was and what happened. I looked around and found myself trapped in a very long hallway. It was like a very long tunnel with no ends. All the lamps on both walls were finally lit, giving my eyes the access to see everything around me. I looked up. I see. I was still at the basement and Fuji-sempai probably went down to get me.
"Are you fine now? Could you get up?"
"Hn. But I sprained my left foot when I fell so—"
I raised a brow when Fuji-sempai kneeled in front of me, his back facing me. "Get on."
"Huh?"
"I'll carry you so get on my back."
"But—"
"Or do you prefer that I carry you like a princess?"
"No. I'll get on."
His smile grew wider.
"The others?" I asked as we walked along the endless hallway while looking for a stair that would lead us back to the others.
"Probably still looking for you. But they would stop once they noticed that I'm missing too."
"Why?"
"They know that I had probably found you."
"By the way, Sempai, how did you light the lamps?"
He lifted his right hand in front of both of us and pointed his index upward. I looked up and he laughed. "No, look at my index."
I frowned but was surprised when fire flickered at the tip of his index. Confusion washed over me. "I thought you were a Night?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then how can you control the elements like a Noble?"
"I wonder how~"
"Are you a Noble too, then?"
"I don't think so. You see, even if a Noble and a Night got married, their child would not be a mix. Their child could only either be a Noble or a Night. The only exemption of this is the Royal Blood of both races. Their bloods are too thick that they cannot overlap each other thus they combine and produce the strongest bloodline."
"Hm. Then you're of Royal Blood?"
"No. I'm of Royal Family now, but not of Royal Blood. Those who possess the Royal Blood are the direct descendants of Araqiel. And they are the past Royal Families that were assassinated more than seven years ago. The House of Fuji and House of Atobe are just like stand-in on the vacant positions left."
"I see. Then why can you control the elements?"
Fuji-sempai shrugged. "Before I knew it, I already have the ability to do so. Of course I kept it a secret. A Night having the powers of both Night and Noble could make a big ruckus and such was not in my interest. So keep it a secret, too."
I nodded. I was not that much interested anyway and it was not my business. I yawned. "We have been walking for a long time now."
"Yeah. Seems like endless. Do you feel sleepy again?"
"Hn."
"You were just sleeping awhile ago."
"Hn."
"Ryo-chan?"
"Hm?"
"Oh, found a door."
Finally. Fuji-sempai was about to twist the knob when it opened and a child came out. His appearance totally woke me up.
"You—!"
A/N: Long time no update! I apologize.
And while rereading this chapter, I totally forgot who was the man chasing after Ryoga. I suck, I know. -_- I'll try to remember it, no, I WILL remember it.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING, VIEWING, REVIEWING, FAVORING, AND FOLLOWING THE STORY! :))