Blood of My Blood
Kai said nothing to Rhys after Rhys made his crazy claim. Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf had their jaws dropped and eyes widened in awe. They too were too shocked to say or do anything about it. Rhys thought that he would get such a reaction. He didn't care what they thought or believed in, though. He only cared about what his alleged brother believed.
Kai motioned for them to follow him as he walked towards the castle doors. Confused as to what he was going to do, they followed him inside. The entire time, Kai didn't once bother to turn his head back and look at them. That seemed a bit rude of him, but they decided to just cut him some slack. It wasn't everyday that someone would come up to you and make up as crazy of a claim.
He opened the door into the dining hall and found the long table in the center of it was cleared with only a white sheet covering the wooden table. The room was already well lit. Since Kai wasn't walking past the table, they reckoned that they best make themselves comfortable in the dining hall. As they approached their seats, they could see Kai grabbing a few glasses and a bottle of whiskey.
Elsa left the head of the table empty since she thought it best that Kai sat there. Rhys sat to the right of the head, Elsa to the left, Krisroff next to Rhys, and Anna next to Elsa. They couldn't find Olaf in the room so they automatically assumed that he was still playing outside with Bloom. It was odd that they still managed to have fun during such harsh conditions.
Kai put his wine bottle down on the table with five glasses, one for each of them.
"A drink?" Kai offered.
No one accepted his offer. He didn't mind. Kai merely shrugged and put four glasses to the side as he poured his own glass with whiskey in silence. After he was done filling, Kai put the bottle to the side and sat in his chair. Rhys gave him a look that almost looked disgusted as if it was saying "This is the brother I've long lost?"
After Kai took a sip of his whiskey, he began to chuckle while looking at Rhys. No one else could find out what Kai found was funny. They just gave each other awkward glances, wondering if Kai's head was still intact.
"You're quite the comedian." Kai told Rhys in-between chuckles. "You're my brother? That's a good one."
"It's true." Rhys said.
"And what evidence do you have to back that up?" Kai asked, more seriously. His playful demeanor vanished just like that. As if he never laughed in the first place.
"You're full name is Kai Date (Dah-tey) Yeager." Rhys said. "Your father's name was Alden Yeager and he was born in Teranhall Keep and that's where he met Alayne Date, although her father's surname was Collins, who was born and raised in Japan during her younger years, raised by her mother and her mother alone. Opportunity for a better life moved her to Teranhall where she met your... Our father."
"I've never told anyone this about my parents." Kai said after taking a sip of his drink. "How do you know this?"
"Because they were my parents too." Rhys answered. Then, he continued with his story. "They lived together in Teranhall Keep for a while after they were wedded."
"Incorrect." Kai interrupted. "They moved to a small town outside of the capital after they were married."
"Is that what you know or what they told you?" Rhys asked. "No, they have lied to you, Kai. Nine months after their marriage, I was born in a small house in Teranhall Keep. There, I was raised for six years until I found out mother was pregnant again."
Elsa looked over from Rhys to Kai, knowing who the second child was.
"And, you see," Rhys said, "Alden Yeager was not a good man."
Kai slammed his fist against the table, startling everyone. "You're lying!" Kai accused. "My father was a good and honorable man!"
"Our father," Rhys corrected, "was a fiend who loved to drink and gamble away what we had. It was a miracle why mother even put up with him."
"My father has never touched a drop in his life." Kai argued.
"He has many times." Rhys corrected. "Before you were born, trust me, he drank. When he did, he liked to use his fist on things that weren't right to hit. It was never mother, oh no. Can you guess who it was. Hell, he'd hit me when sober. Anyway, our father liked to gamble. One day, when mother's belly was swollen with you, he came back saying "I screwed up! I screwed up! I'm in over my head. They're after me, Rhys, and you too Alayne!"
As Rhys spoke as his father, he let out an impersonation which startled Kai because of its realism.
"He said we needed to leave." Rhys continued. "He said that he was friends with the mayor of a town just outside of the city and that they would be safe there. So, that night, we fled, hiding our faces from the public streets. We were only able to pack a few things. We escaped to this supposed safe haven a day later. There, we became a part of the community. Father got a new job, and we received a house free of charge."
Kai wondered if the house was the same one he grew up in.
"Father learned his lesson." Rhys said. "He stopped drinking. He stopped gambling. He had dignity for a while. When you were born, everything seemed perfect. Your eyes were an odd color, but it didn't bother us."
Rhys almost looked happy diving into that memory. But, something affected his mood and they knew that the story was going to get downhill.
"Then, one day," Rhys continued, "father gave in to the devil's drink one more time. He had a little too much. When he cam home, he gave me this scar." Rhys pointed to the scar on his lip. "I couldn't stay. No matter how much I loved mother. No matter how much I loved you. My hate for him was stronger. So, I ran, and because of that, you grew up without a brother."
"You'd think my parents would've told me I had a brother." Kai said to Rhys, still skeptical as to what Rhys said.
"I always assumed you knew." Rhys said. "Why didn't they tell?"
"And father never drank a drop." Kai argued. "He was clean his entire life."
"I have a theory." Kristoff spoke up. They all refocused their attention to the one they least suspected to speak up. "Think about it. One child was forced away because of cruelty. After you left, they must've vowed to not make the same mistake with Kai and start anew. They probably never mentioned Rhys to Kai because... Kai, how would you feel as a child knowing that your dad was so mean you don't have a brother?"
"I'd be living in fear of him." Kai answered.
"Exactly why I couldn't be anything more than a lost memory in their eyes." Rhys said. "Brother, I-"
"Don't call me that." Kai said. "I grew up without a brother, and I sure as hell don't need one now. The closest thing I had to a brother was Deren, and he's dead."
"How?" Anna asked, surprised to hear that.
"I killed him, alright!" Kai exclaimed. "Don't worry about it, it's done. It's in the past."
"Kai!" Elsa ordered. "Calm down. Stop drinking."
Kai realized that he was just about to bring the glass to his lips. Angrily, he put it down against the table and pushed it away from him. Perhaps, it was the whiskey talking and not his heart.
"For all I know, you could still be lying." Kai told Rhys.
"Kai," Anna said, "he does look a little bit like you."
"And I can say a man looks like a dog." Kai argued. "It doesn't make it anymore true."
"Kai!" They all said at the same time. Everyone believed it except for Kai. There was no denying the resemblance Kai had with Rhys. The look they both had could only belong to brothers.
"You're my brother." Rhys asserted. "Whether you like it or not, we're family. You're the last of my family."
"How'd you know I'm the last?" Kai inquired, skeptically.
"I went home after being separated for many years." Rhys answered. "The town was burned to the ground. Nothing was left but the rubble and burned corpses. I thought you, mother, and father perished."
"I was banished when I was eight." Kai revealed. "My powers caused more trouble than good."
"The last time I saw you, you had no such abilities." Rhys said.
"I got them when I was three or four." Kai answered. "Father did his best to help me control them, but even his help wasn't enough to keep me there."
Elsa realized that the way Kai said "father" made it sound like he meant "our father". Did he accept Rhys' claims as fact?
Kai sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they gave out a sort of sympathetic look.
"Brother by blood, you may be." Kai said. "But you're no true brother. True family would've stuck around. Where were you? Where were you when I needed your help? Where were you when I ran away? Where were you when father lost his job? Where were you when mother died?!"
"Taking care of another family." Rhys answered, calmly. "My own family. But, fate proves to take away what we love most."
"And who's fault is that?" Kai mocked.
Rhys wanted to stand. He wanted to shout. He wanted to punch Kai in his smug face. But, he kept his calm. As the older sibling, it was up to him to keep his cool during arguments. Even though Kai was cautious to believe it, Rhys believed that it was true. He had to act like the older and more wise brother regardless
"Easy." Rhys calmly warned. "You're treading on very thin ice. That's my wife and son we're talking about. Your nephew."
It wouldn't be very respectful of Kai to continue to pry, but Kai wasn't very well known for his respect. But, he could see that family was a very sensitive and touchy subject for Rhys. His eyes showed sadness whenever they were mentioned. Kai wasn't being incredibly nice at the moment, but he wouldn't be intentionally cruel.
"If this is dream, I'd like to wake up now." Kai said as he stood up from the table. He then walked away from his friends and the table, heading towards the door. Kai needed some time alone, and he knew that for a fact. It was his duty to process this newfound information. Although, he would be lying if he said he didn't one hundred percent believed Rhys.
Before Kai opened the door to leave the dining room, he turned back to face everyone.
"I'm sorry." Kai apologized. "I'm sorry if I ever hurt anyone when I was... Yeah." With that, he opened the door and walked out of the room.
But, just as the door out closed, it reopened, this time, with one of the guards entering. He was sweating for whatever reason. There was no way he was sweating because of the heat. There was no sun that could do that. It was obvious that he went to them in an urgent fashion.
"Your majesty." The guard said. "There is trouble outside. These... Black creatures showed up out of nowhere and started attacking the guards we had stationed outside."
"Is it not your job to take care of such predicaments?" Rhys inquired.
"Aye." The guard responded. "But they won't stop coming. There's almost an infinite amount of them."
"Then they'll need all the help they can get. These are the Spawns Mara mentioned." Kai said as he re-entered the dining hall. "Rhys, brother or no, I see you and hear you're good with a bow. I'm gonna need you out there."
"Don't tell me you're going out there." Anna said. "I mean, you just got back from a fight, and-"
"These men aren't immortal, nor are they unlimited." Kai said. "I'm worth more out there than I am in here. Plus, I'm still in good condition."
Rhys nodded at Kai, accepting his offer to fight. Rhys originally planned on leaving with his compensation immediately after Elsa got back, but it seemed that other things have just come up. He wasn't ready to let men die because he was too lazy to help them. Also, he was more than eager to help his own brother out with a problem. Perhaps it would show his good faith. He walked past the guard and stood next to Kai.
Elsa then prepared to rise. "I'm coming too." When she stood up, she almost fell flat against the table. Luckily, her hand was there to support her and keep her up against the table, although her arm was wobbling and weak.
"No." Ordered Kai, Rhys, and Anna. They all could tell that Elsa needed medical attention. Surely she had broken a bone or two, yet she didn't seem to show that it bothered her. But, everyone was smarter than that. Elsa was in no condition to fight, and they weren't going to force her too.
Anna looked over at the guard. "Find the royal doctor." Anna ordered. "Elsa needs medical attention."
"At once." The guard said as he bowed. He then reluctantly ran off, wanting to fight alongside Kai and Rhys. But, he decided that some things were more important than fighting for honor and glory.
After unsheathing his dagger, he held the metal of the weapon flat against Rhys' chest.
"Your bow won't be of much use when they get too close." Kai pointed out. "You know how to use one of these?"
"My ability was never in question." Rhys said, grabbing the dagger and strapping it against his waist.
Kai unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Kristoff who was sitting down, wondering what he could and should do to help with their situation.
"You able?" Kai asked.
"I..." Kristoff said. "I can only use a staff in combat. But, I guess I can-"
Kai tossed his sword at Kristoff, missing Anna's head. Startled, Kristoff got up and barely caught the handle of the blade in his hand. That left Kai with no weapon, Kristoff with his sword, and Rhys with his bow and dagger. Their weapons on hand weren't exactly even, but Kai had a reason to give them out.
"Come." Kai told the others. "Anna, make sure Elsa gets help and see to Lena's safety."
"Will do." Anna nodded.
Kai led Rhys and Kristoff out of the dining room and into battle.
When Kai kicked open the doors that led to the courtyard, he immediately scanned the area to see what he was messing with.
All around them, creatures made of black darkness surrounded by a green or purple aura were scattered among the courtyard. The larger ones had a purple aura while the smaller ones were green. Their numbers doubled that of the guards, with there being only about ten guards and twenty creatures. Under the dark sky, they would've been almost invisible if it weren't for their aura.
On the ground, about three guards were lying there with bloody holes and gashes on their body. Two were completely limp while the other was doing his best to keep from losing his breath. Most of the guards who were standing had cuts on their bodies which soaked their green uniforms red, but they were still standing and fighting with spears and swords.
"You don't have a weapon." Kristoff said. "Even with powers, you could still be walking into a death trap."
"You don't know what I know." Kai smirked. "Darkness burns like paper."
Kai ran ahead into the fight with Kristoff following him. The two eventually broke apart from their run, running into different parts of the courtyard. Rhys stayed behind and pulled an arrow from his quiver and readied it on his bow.
He spotted a guard with his back against an approaching large spawn. The guard was too preoccupied with jabbing at two small spawns with his spear that he didn't even think of the possibility of being attacked from behind. The large purple spawn behind the guard, who had no sharp ends to his arms unlike the smaller green ones, raised both arms in the air so he could smash the guard from behind.
Rhys let his arrow fly at the purple spawn. It hit it right through the abdomen and flew out of the body, hitting a smaller spawn as it flew out. Both creatures disintegrated into a black ash which soon disappeared like it was nothing.
There was one thing Rhys learned then and there. Spawns died easily. At first, he didn't think them as much of a threat. But, he realized that every minute or two, a small group of spawns formed in the courtyard and joined the fight. They kept coming in, and there was nothing in Rhys' power that he could do to stop them. If all of this was happening in the courtyard, he could only just imagine what was happening around the world.
Three more arrows found their way to his bow. Rhys was no stranger at shooting multiple arrows at a time. In fact, he would use that trick whenever he found it necessary. Sometimes, he just did it to entertain himself. When he let go of the string, the three arrows went flying in three directions, horizontal to each other. One hit a guard who was in the middle of slashing at a large spawn, another through the head of a running spawn, and the third arrow hit a small spawn which was jumping in midair. All three dark creatures died at the same time.
Rhys noticed a spawn running at him on his right. When the spawn was about four feet away, Rhys swung his bow at the creature, knocking it back, but not necessarily killing it. When it was on the ground, Rhys unsheathed Kai's dagger and threw it at the head of the small spawn. After, there was no trace of that the spawn was even there except for the dagger which was sticking out of the stone ground.
He could almost feel the presence of an approaching spawn coming from his left. This one was a purple aura brute spawn. It was fairly far from Rhys's position, being about fifteen feet away. As it ran, or more jogged towards him, Rhys readied an arrow and aimed it at the spawn's face.
But, he didn't let go of the arrow just yet. He wanted to see exactly how smart these creatures were. Were they mindless goons blindly following orders with no idea or knowledge on how to deal with certain situations? Or were they more like specialists who were given an objective and would be forced to find a way to deal with it themselves? But, the fact that the brute didn't change its course even when the tip of the arrow was five feet away from its throat meant that they weren't very bright.
When it was at arms length, Rhys let his arrow fly off of the string of his bow and through the neck of the creatures. It disintegrated into black dust which blew over Rhys and then disappeared completely.
Kristoff wasn't a master of a swordsman yet, but he managed to let himself be the master of his fate during the battle. Although he skills were not on par to that of Kai's, he got the basics of sword handling down.
Kristoff slashed and, at times, flailed his sword around him. That was what he thought was all that was required from swordplay. Since the spawns didn't have any swords of their own, he highly doubted he would have to do anything above and beyond slashing such as blocking ad parrying.
A small spawn approached Kristoff rather quickly and with a rather direct approach. When it was close enough, Kristoff slashed it with his sword. The spawn looked cut through a diagonal line through his body, but it disintegrated a second after Kristoff's attack. However, Kristoff knew that each kill he made wasn't very impactful. He knew that the spawns would keep coming and coming until some miraculous event stopped them from doing so. Kristoff was all out of miracles.
Two smaller spawns ran directly at Kristoff and jumped, lunging at him. While they were in midair, Kristoff slashed the sword horizontally, hitting both spawns jumping at him. They disintegrated before they could even touch Kristoff.
"I'm really getting the hang of this." Kristoff said.
There couldn't be a worse time for him to say that. From behind, a larger spawn locked its arms around Kristoff's shoulders. Struggling, Kristoff jerked his head backwards, hitting the spawn in its own head. However, Kristoff's attempts were futile as the spawn didn't seem to be affected by the attack, nor did it show any signs of pain. He flailed his sword behind him but seemed to miss the spawn entirely.
While Kristoff was locked, a smaller spawn spotted him from the courtyard. It approached after seeing that Kristoff was incapacitated at the moment. The creature made its way towards Kristoff with haste, aiming one of its sharp arms at Kristoff's abdomen.
Only when the approaching spawn was a fair four meters away did Kristoff feel the spawn which had him locked disintegrate from behind. Kristoff dared to look back to see that his subduer was completely gone. Someone must've killed it when a Kristoff wasn't paying attention. That was when Kristoff looked over at Rhys and caught his eye. Rhys then nodded at Kristoff, signifying his deed.
He then remembered that there was another problem in front of him. Kristoff refaced himself forward to find the approaching spawn closer than ever. When it lunged, Kristoff swiped his sword upward, slicing the spawn clean and symmetrically in half down the middle of its body. After disintegrating, Kristoff smiled, proud that he wasn't completely useless after all.
Nothing would make Kristoff feel more confident than Sven's presence. Sven was locked inside the stables that could be accessed through the courtyard. Kristoff had half a mind to go in there and get his best friend out, but then, he remembered something. Something or someone somewhere stated that spawns could only spawn under the sky of shadows directly, meaning the indoors were safe. Sven was currently safe, and it wouldn't be good of Kristoff to take that away from him.
Kai was the spectacle of the battlefield. His kill average could've been two spawns per second. Of course, he didn't attack that fast, but it sure looked like it. With fury and speed and with no weapon whatsoever, he lived up to the standard of the warrior everyone knew he was.
Kai aimed one hand to an incoming small spawn diagonally to the right, and he aimed his other hand towards the spawn incoming from the diagonal left. He shot a blast of fire, careful with the aiming as he didn't want it to fly past the spawns and possibly hurt an ally. His aim was true, however. The fireballs hit both spawns at the same time, and they burned as quickly as a fire would burn through paper.
A larger spawn caught Kai in his eye and approached him directly. All the while Kai was shooting and burning various spawns all around the courtyard who were in the middle of fighting the guards. Kai very well noticed the larger incoming spawn, but he was hesitant to worry about it.
Then, the larger spawn broke into a sprint directly at Kai. The captain, however, pretended to ignore the purple spawn as it ran. When Kai looked over his shoulder for a second, he caught a glimpse of another purple spawn approaching him in a similar manner to the one in front of him. The spawn behind Kai was unfortunately a little more ways away from Kai than the other one.
The spawn which approached Kai from the front finally made it to about arms reach. Unfortunately for it, Kai was ready to take it down. As quick as lighting, Kai's right arm engulfed in a fiery layer. Kai then brought the fist towards the chest of the spawn, ripping right through its body. The spawn then burned to nothing starting from the chest and outwards.
Kai's arm was hovering in the air after a second. The spawn which he had punched was completely gone and out of sight. That was when he recalled the spawn from behind. He reckoned it would be right behind him at that point. Blindly, Kai turned around while sweeping his leg. He managed to knock the spawn which was just right behind him off of its feet and flat on the ground, face first.
Kai re-engulfed his hand in flames and punched down upon the back of the head of the spawn. Starting from the head down, it burned and disintegrated.
When he turned around, Kai faced a purple spawn which prepared to head-butt him. But, before it could do any attack, Kai's dagger flew from the side and made its home on the side of the spawn's head. As the spawn disintegrated, Kai caught the dagger as it fell from nothing.
He didn't need an explanation as to what had just happened. He knew very well who threw it. Kai turned to the direction the dagger came from to find Rhys jogging towards him, shooting and nocking arrows as he approached.
"You have better aim than I thought." Kai complimented. He realized then that Rhys wasn't as bad as he initially perceived.
"I cannot lose my brother." Rhys said.
"Rhys," Kai started, "I-"
The deafening roar of a creature could be heard in the distance. It sounded like it came from the sky, past the gates to the castle. The screech made everyone in the courtyard stop their current fight and look up at the origin of the sound. The spawns, who had given up on taking down their opponent, dissolved into darkness a few seconds after the roar was heard. It was as if their job was already done.
A black birdlike creature appeared faintly in the sky. It got closer, and no one was reassured by that.
"What is that?" Kristoff asked Kai and Rhys as he approached the two.
"I don't know." Kai answered. "But, it looks like a-"
"DRAGON!" Olaf exclaimed from the balcony outside of Elsa's study. Elsa stood with Olaf on the balcony, clutching her side. No one knew how long she was spectating.
Although it was hard to see because of the colors of the sky, there was no mistaking it. A giant black dragon which was flying in the sky swooped down from the sky and descended down towards the courtyard. It was clear where it was going to land. Everyone ran over to the front of the castle, where the doors were, and huddled up as that's where they believed they would be safe from the dragon's land.
As it got closer, Rhys readied an arrow and Kai prepared to shot a stream of fire,
"Mine!" Both Kai and Rhys announced.
But, the dragon came in closer than they would've thought. It closed its wings and plummeted straight down onto the open spot in the courtyard. At the last second, it extended its legs and feet, landing on the ground perfectly. Kai, Rhys, and Kristoff were knocked back and a great gust blew against the guards. Some of them had lost their hats and helmets.
The black dragon screeched, facing the men. No one dared challenge the might of the creature. They all opted to stay put as that would allow them to live just a little longer.
Rhys quickly got on his feet and re-nocked and arrow, aiming it at the dragon's head.
"I wouldn't." Said Mara who was approaching the men, walking under the dragon's body. The creature was so large that she didn't even have to lower her head to walk under it.
"I'd thought you'd have more decency," Kai said as he got back up, "than to attack the enemy at their own home when they're not prepared."
"It won't matter how I do it." Mara said. "In the end, everyone will pay the price I've put out. I just thought that it would be kind to take you lot out where you would most likely want to be taken out: home."
"I'd rather go down with honor." Elsa said from the balcony. Both Kai and Mara looked up to see Elsa leaning against the side. "Out in the open." Elsa continued. "Not stuck here like a pig bred for slaughter, dying in our pit of sorrow."
"Is that not human life in a nutshell?" Mara inquired. "People live just to die. And for what? Many believe a good and faithful life will earn them a ticket to what they call heaven. Others believe that you'll come back in the form of something else. Perhaps there is nothing but oblivion. Even I don't know what happens after life passes, but, whatever does happen, you live life just to get to that point. Living just seems wasteful to me since death is guaranteed to all. I'll be the first to admit out of all of us that I don't believe in any god or a higher power. But, if there was one... Well, you're looking right at her."
To be continued in the next chapter
Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. As always, please comment/review to let me know what you think.
Don't think that the next chapter will start the climax, no, there are still a few more chapters until we get to the multi-part climax. I'm thinking that it will be at least six chapters and at most nine. It's going to be epic in scope. Also, I'm deciding with myself whether or not there be a major character death in the climax. Perhaps multiple if I feel like it. The ending and epilogue will give an assertive conclusion to the stories of these characters with no open ends. Some characters, like Deren, have a story that best ends in death. So, be scared. It may be your favorite character(s). Mwahahaha!
(For those of you who think Kai is safe because he's been around forever, try me. I'm not scared of killing him off if that's the best way for his story to end. I'm not saying I will kill him off though. He's, arguably, my greatest creation. But, be warned. Nobody is safe.)
I've had a few death monologues in my story recently. I've tried my best to balance the thought of eternal oblivion and the afterlife in them. Personally, I really don't know what I believe in after death. I've been taught and raised of the idea of heaven/hell, but then again, eternal oblivion (meaning no conscious after death) seems much more realistic. I'd like to believe in heaven, but I don't know. I'm not doubting the existence of heaven at all, but factual proof and evidence of what happens after death will make me a believer. I'll tell you guys this: there is not much that truly scares me, but the one thing that scares me for a fact is death.
Anyway, enough about me. I hope Rhys' explanation about his and Kai's origins satisfied you guys. I planned on having a flash back scene which showed Rhys as a child and Kai as a baby, but I realized that it would be too long.
As a matter of fact, Rhys was one of things I added to the story later than I would have liked. Originally, Rhys was not even supposed to be in there and Kai would still be an only child. But, as I kept on writing, I decided I needed to add more emotional attachment to the story as well as the addition of another plot twist. the same goes for Deren's death. Originally, Deren was supposed to die a good guy, but for the same mentioned reasons, I made Kai kill him.
For future projects, I'll put out the prequel a few weeks after this story is done. It will be incredibly short compared to this story. For my completely new, unrelated Frozen project, I'll treat it as a late summer story.
Ciao.