A/N: This is another chapter i loved writing, I hope you like it too :) ps. Yes! it will happen anytime now! muahaha! love you guys. ps2: I was just thinking...what if i post a new chapter after this one? hmm...it's only an idea, but i am putting myself a goal, if i get 10 different reviews in the next 24 hrs, i will post another chapter tomorrow (it's only a game) it doesn't matter i don't have too many chapters left to spare, I have to write new ones anyways :)
I want to thank you for your reviews, I love to read from all of you and know what you think, thank you to the ones who have been following me since day one, it means the world. Please, keep reviewing! it keeps me motivated and helps me write more cool chapters for you ;)
Enjoy!
Divinity: A question of Honor
Chapter fifty five
The rest of lunch went smoothly, neither Charmindy or Beryl were able to go and talk to the royals again, Beryl turned to look at the royals talking from time to time and wished to be there at least for a couple of more minutes. The prince's presence was addictive somehow; she wanted to be there, with him.
Charmindy was talking to three women that seemed a little less aggressive than her; Beryl smiled at them from time to time and turned back her attention to the group in the front. Endymion took a sip of his wine and sighed, Queen Gaia turned to look at him "Is something wrong dear?" she asked softly.
The prince smiled at his mother and shook her head "I'm tired, that is all"
"You do not wish to be here am I correct?" Gaia asked knowingly.
Endymion smiled and lowered his face "It is not that I do not like to be with all of you, but…I feel like I'd rather be doing something else"
"It's normal son" King Eros commented.
"Eros!" Gaia hushed, the king smiled "Dear, even you have the same feeling"
Endymion chuckled. Gaia squeezed Endymion's arm "Your grandmother arranged all this in your Honor"
"I know, I understand…" the prince sighed.
At the other side of the immense garden, Lady Charmindy was standing next to the beautiful redheaded Beryl. Because her beauty was outstanding, many men tried to approach and have a word with her but Lady Charmindy always hushed them away and Beryl could understand why.
Her mind was blown away the moment she saw the prince and immediately fell in love with him; something inside her wanted to hear his enchanting voice again and to see those mystical blue eyes of his. Looking back at him she noticed he was rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Queen Gaia turned to look at him with a concern face "Dear, are you alright?"
Endymion closed his eyes "I'm having another strong headache"
Gaia frowned "Another? You've been having migraines?"
Endymion nodded his head "Only when something is about to happen…"
Gaia widened her eyes "What…" she trailed off. Kunzite walked over and bowed his head "Your Highness…" the tone of his voice was all Endymion needed to hear to know what he wanted to tell him.
"Where?" Endymion asked.
"Not too far from here, one of our soldiers just informed us" Kunzite said low.
"What is happening?" King Eros asked, Endymion turned to look at him "What we feared, another assault"
"Assault?" Gaia asked worried.
Endymion turned to look at his mother "I need to take care of this matter Mater. Excuse me"
Gaia nodded her head and turned to look at Eros "What is happening?"
Eros kissed the top of her wife's head "I think you have all the right to know but I will tell you later this evening" his voice was low and soft, only for her to hear but still it worried him and that worried her as well.
The guests watched the prince leave the garden with his father and shitennou. Once they were at the hall away from the people Endymion watched the soldier standing in the doorway waiting to hear his polemarchos' command.
"What happened?" Endymion asked hesitantly.
"We've found several people dead by the river…" the soldier said. "They do not show any sign of being assaulted, their bodies just lie there lifeless…"
Endymion frowned "I need to see the bodies, where are they?"
"In the dungeon"
The men walked in silence towards the dungeons to see the corpses, one of the guards opened the gate and guided them to one of the chambers. The prince opened the door and walked in, King Eros turned to look at Kunzite "Please, try to identify the corpses so we can inform their respective families" Kunzite nodded his head and turned to his comrades, giving them the sign to follow him, Jadeite, Zoicite and Nephrite followed the white haired man in silence.
King Eros walked inside and stood next to his son in silence, Endymion sighed and removed the blanket that covered the lifeless bodies and observed them, placing his hand on one of the dead man's forehead he closed his eyes for a couple of minutes. King Eros watched his son in silence; aware of what he was doing he sighed and looked down at the other men lying there dead.
Several images crossed the prince's mind; yes they all had the same characteristics there was not a single trace of blood or any bruises on them but somehow they felt empty. Endymion was about to give up and open his eyes when the image of a man captured his attention, opening his eyes he looked down at the dead man again and then at his father "It's a man…"
Eros frowned "What?"
"It's a man… and I do not know how…but he is the responsible of all these assaults" Endymion said lowly and closed his eyes again "But I could not visualize his face…all I could see was a strange symbol and a gray cloak" the prince covered the bodies again and walked outside the small room, King Eros followed and placed a hand on his son's shoulder "We will find this person…"
Endymion sighed and nodded his head "We need to identify the corpses se we can inform their families…"
Eros nodded "I asked your shitennou to take care of that matter; I will go and talk to Leonidas"
Endymion watched his father walk away and sighed "Who are you and why are you doing this?" he thought.
Ooooooooo
"All chores are done. I lit up another candle for protection High Priest"
Obelix smiled "Thank you Helios"
Helios looked up and smiled at the priest, he was grateful to have been found by him and to be trained to help protect the Kingdom "Anything else I can do for you Priest Obelix?"
Obelix sighed and nodded "Pray for the Guardian of this planet…he needs your help"
Helios nodded and lowered his gaze "High Priest, how can't I meet His Highness?"
Obelix looked at the young man and smiled softly "Because you are not ready yet"
Helios looked up and widened his eyes "I do not understand"
Obelix smiled again and sat on a bench in the temple, the light filtered from the crystal dome printing beautiful patterns or the marble floor "I am not eternal young Helios; it will come the day where I will have to leave this place…"
Helios looked at Obelix with a worried expression "You talk with such melancholy High Priest…"
The priest sighed and looked his surroundings "I have come a long way…"
Helios sat next to Obelix in the bench "What do you mean when you say I am not ready yet?"
"I will tell you a story…" Obelix looked up and smiled "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Goddess who also was protector of this planet. She was incredibly strong and many Gods asked for her hand in marriage many times but she was well aware what they wanted the most was her power"
Helios listened carefully "And what did she do?"
Obelix smiled "She had a priest, who always prayed for her"
"She had a protector? But if she was the protector of this planet how come she had a protector?" Helios asked confused.
Obelix chuckled "Every protector holds a special crystal, which is the source of all their powers. In this particular case, the crystal this Goddess held happened to be one of the strongest in the universe and it order to protect her and the sacred stone she had a priest to help her pray and protect this planet"
Helios looked at the priest amazed "And what happened to her, is she still alive?"
"She is. That beautiful Goddess fell in love with a person from the planet she protected…and being that against the rules up in the heavens she was banned from Olympus but, she married her love and gave birth to a beautiful child" Obelix smiled to himself.
"Is she still our Protector?" Helios asked curious "Is her priest still with her?"
"The crystal chose another strong being to carry its power and with that her duty as a guardian ended, her priest stayed by her side all the time until today" Obelix said softly.
"Really?" Helios asked amazed.
"Yes, that beautiful goddess is now our queen…and that priest is… me" Obelix chuckled.
Helios' eyes widened and stood up "Queen Gaia? Wait, you are our protector's priest?" he said dumbfounded.
"You are not listening young Helios, I am our former protector's priest. We have a new protector, and he needs somebody to pray for him and the crystal's safety"
Helios walked towards one of the windows of the temple and looked outside. Obelix stood up and walked over Helios, placing a hand on his shoulder he smiled "It is Prince Endymion…"
Helios' eyes widened in shock "He is…" he trailed off, Obelix nodded "And you are his priest"
Helios turned to look at Obelix with a shock expression "Me?"
"You have the strength to be the crystal's next priest; you are a very disciplined young man. You still need to learn more and keep preparing yourself, until then you are not allowed to meet him. His presence is very strong and even you are the person who prays for him every day for his safety, you still need to prepare yourself" Obelix said.
"Is he kind?" Helios asked.
"He is very noble, you will meet him someday soon until then…you need to stay here" Obelix said, closing his eyes he smiled "It's time to light more candles, the sun is on its right position"
Helios smiled and nodded "Yes, High Priest" he started walking towards the prayer room. Obelix turned to look at him "You know…" he said, making Helios stop in his tracks "There is a good reason why your name is the same Queen Gaia's grandfather"
Helios blinked a couple of times and smiled seconds later "Thank you for your trust High Priest, I promise I will always do my best" the young man started walking again.
Obelix smiled and closed his eyes again "Your soul is troubled"
Endymion sighed and sat on a bench "I believe everything in me is troubled"
Obelix walked towards him and sat next to the prince "Why is that?"
"I am not taking too well my place as prince. I feel somehow trapped and that makes me feel guilty" Endymion rested his head in his hands "Everybody expects too much from me and that is alright, but sometimes I feel like it is too much. I can't stand being in every social meeting…There is so much I feel I need to be doing…"
Obelix looked at the prince in silence and patted his back "Everybody expects too much from you because you are a triumph, you the Prince of Earth and Head of the Royal Army, the best warrior this kingdom has ever seen"
Endymion sat straight and looked at the distance "But I am just a man…those are just titles"
Obelix stood up and took a few steps away from the prince towards the entrance giving him his back; the sun of the afternoon contrasted against his pale tunic making him look like he had an aura around him "I remember when you used to say how much you wanted to become a warrior, that way you would be admired and respected"
"I also wanted it to protect my family" Endymion tried to defend himself "The guilt I have always felt was the engine that kept me moving no matter the circumstances…"
Obelix frowned "Guilt?" he heard Endymion sighed, Obelix looked up and tried to take in this new information, he never knew the prince felt guilt about something. Endymion lowered his gaze and watched the marble floor "The day I decided to go and talk to my Father about joining the army…" he trailed off, sighing he tried to fight the sense of breaking into millions of pieces, not looking up he ran a hand through his dark hair "I went to my parent's chambers to give Mother a flower I picked on the garden and I overheard a conversation she was having with Aurea"
Flashback
"That doesn't depend on me or us Aurea…you know that…" the terran queen sighed.
Endymion frowned, he knew that overhearing other people's conversations was rude but hearing his mother speak with so much worry in her voice worried him, standing next to the door he remained quiet to hear what the two women were saying.
"But we can do as much as we can…think about your husband, think about your son" Aurea said with worry. Endymion frowned while he listened Aurea speak.
"I knew this perfectly before having Endymion, we were very aware of what could happen to me if I had a child. To them is an opportunity to have me controlled"
Endymion's blue eyes widened "What could happen if she had…me?"
"Yes, giving birth to Endymion brought you to this state, but that is why you need to be careful…that is why we are all so worried about you. You cannot fight them, we cannot fight them…that is why you need to be healthy and we need to look after you" Aurea's voice was determinant.
End of flashback
Obelix pursed his lips and closed his eyes, fighting the urge to cry he sighed "Oh Endymion…I did not know…" the priest opened his eyes and turned to look at the prince with a sad face "Does your mother knows about this?" the prince stayed silent and shrugged his shoulders in response. It was the first time in many years that the prince opened his own Pandora box of memories and confessed his true feelings; back in the army he never allowed himself to prove the rest of his comrades he was sentimental; for him that was a sign of weakness and he wasn't allowed to be weak. He made a promise to himself, he had to become the best; he had to become a feared man in order to get the respect he wanted but only to quiet the guilt in his heart. Now that he was what he promised himself to be, the same sentiment was still there, hunting his thoughts and his heart; and he started to wonder if it was all worth it in the end.
Obelix lowered his head, this time he did not know what to say. There he was, the son his little princess wanted him to be, the prince a whole nation waited anxiously. He always knew how much silence would hurt Endymion; he is an exceptional warrior, a very noble man and yet he wasn't aware of his true self and on top of that he felt guilty for the state his mother was in. Walking over the prince, he crouched in front of him and placed a hand on his forearm "You are far from being the reason of her state…"
Endymion raised his face and looked at the priest with a stern face "Why can't you just tell me the truth?" his voice was deep and at the same time, it sounded hurt. Obelix looked at him and swallowed softly "I do not know what you are talking about…" he managed to say.
Endymion chuckled with sarcasm and shook his head, moving Obelix' hand aside he stood up and started to walk towards the prayer room, standing under the ceiling he looked up and stared at the magnificent design "This whole place tells a story that nobody seems to notice, there are thousands of bits everywhere…"
Obelix stood up and looked at the prince's back "Endymion…"
"Why insist on treating me as if I were 12 years old?" Endymion asked upset "Why do you still keep things from me? I thought we were friends…"
"Endymion, listen to me…" Obelix tried to reason with the prince, but it was harder than he thought and he understood him. He was right, he was no longer a boy and he was well aware of his surroundings. Walking closer to him he tried to take the prince's hands "All this you have at this moment is because you are overwhelmed by everything…your life has changed drastically and it is understandable, but you don't have to let your hurt feelings take over your noble character" Obelix watched how the prince's eyes turned from a darker shade of blue their normal shade again, sighing he lowered his gaze "I am so very sorry you had to hear that…"
Endymion sighed and stood up "Forgive me Obelix…" running a hand through his dark hair he looked back at him "Sometimes I just…" he trailed off. Obelix stood up and gave him a worried look "Sometimes what young prince?"
Endymion half smiled "Nothing… I need to go and talk to the generals about the new incident that happened earlier today…I will see you around" turning his back at the priest he left the temple in silence, his spirit somehow felt broken and also felt that no matter how much he accomplished it was never enough. Obelix watched him leave shook his head and whispered to the wind "Oh little princess…what have you done…"
i
