Tis' the season to be jolly FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA (: Merry Christmas guys! (well, in a few days' time)
Love Story
Chapter 26
"Since the war is over, shall we welcome Queen Arella and Princess Rachel home?"
"Oh no, sire. Extending control over Gotham is not enough. After all, you have to impress Princess Rachel, am I correct?"
"Then what do you suggest, Malchior?"
"I say, sire, we rule the entire continent."
Slade raised a brow at him, "Entire continent?"
Malchior nodded, "Princess Rachel would not like to be confined in Azarath and Gotham for her whole life. She told me once that her wish is to travel the world. After you conquer the whole continent, she will be yours eventually."
"Hmm... And Richard?"
"Ha! That pathetic wimp! He wouldn't even know! He's too busy hiding in Keystone," Malchior said in a mocking tone.
Slade laughed evilly, "Good, child. Good."
Knock knock.
"It's Cyborg, Your majesty."
"Come in."
When Cyborg entered Slade's enormous study room, his face paled when he saw Malchior, "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Interrupting the King and Prince's conversation is a severe offence that leads to a life sentence.
"No no no. It's all right." Slade motioned to a chair in front of him, "Have a seat."
The half-human nodded and walked towards the luxurious armchair. He glanced around the room in awe. It was his first time entering the castle's study room.
The study room was at the basement. It was cool and damp down there. The only light source was the several candles in the room. Its walls were made of stones which were beginning to fade from pale gray to white. Thin green vines crawled up the ancient walls towards the candles on their holder. The leaves seemed dry, dehydrated, as if they could've been crumbled into bits if someone brushed past them. The floor was tiled with wood.
Slade looked at the cyborg, amused, "First time here?"
Victor broke out of his trance, "Uh... Yes, sire."
Slade snickered, "You looked like a child who's exploring the world outside his house."
"Just curious."
Victor's eyes wandered around the room. Spiders had made themselves cozy there and dust coated the bureau top. There were many bookshelves, each filled with thick hard-covered books. Torn and yellowed scrolls were scattered around the study room. On the desk were a quill pen inserted in a bottle of black ink, some rolled-up scrolls and some pieces of blank paper stacked neatly in the middle of the table.
"What do you want," Malchior barked, annoyed.
"King Slade and Prince Malchior, since the war has ended, I would like to request to go back to my hometown. King Slade, you should know, before the recruitment, I was engaged." Victor said politely and paused as if prompting the king to say something.
When Slade said nothing, he continued, "I would like to go back to Steel City to finish my promise."
"Ahh, engagement..."
"What about our plan?" Malchior mouthed.
Slade nodded, "It is a pity we have another war coming up, Cyborg."
"Another war?"
"You see, I have big dreams, Cyborg. A dream is just a dream unless you work for it."
Victor hung his head, he knew what the reply to his request would be. "So I guess, that is a 'no'."
Slade sighed, "You may go."
Malchior and Victor looked at Slade, shocked. "But, you will have to come back to me once you have finished your vow."
Victor looked at him, overjoyed, "Thank you, your majesty, Thank you!"
Victor practically skipped his way out the study room. Malchior watched him, digusted.
"What are you doing? Ruining our plan?"
Slade chuckled, "Why so panic?"
"We could use manpower here!" Machior said impatiently.
"I smell something fishy about him."
Machior stared at Slade, confused. He then averted his gaze to the door. Fishy?
RxR
"Honey! Honey, I'm home!"
Karen stomped out of the kitchen, huffing angrily as she wiped her hands on her apron. "Who the heck is th—"
She gasped as she saw a dark skin lad standing in front at the door. "C... Cyborg... is that really you?"
Victor grinned, "Of course it's me. Don't you remember me?"
Karen blinked then ran towards him and hugged him, "You're back! I thought.. I thought... You... Trigon..."
Victor cut her off with a kiss. "It's okay now. I made it. I survived."
Karen tightened her arms around him. Tears of joy spilled down her cheeks. She snuggled up at the crook of his neck. Victor kissed her forehead while carassing her long black hair.
Karen looked up at him, "What happened? How come the king's kind enough to let you come back?"
Victor pulled her to the couch and sat down and explained the whole story to her fiancée, "Well you know after I'm forced to join the army..." He skipped the part where Slade demanded him to return after their wedding. He wanted her to be happy.
"Really?" Karen asked, amused, as Victor told him about Slade letting him fufil his promise.
"Yea. It's kinda weird too, thinking 'bout it," Victor scratched his head.
"So you're actually the brother of Prince Richard of Gotham, uh... I mean the previous Prince of Gotham?"
"Uh huh."
"And you're real name is Victor?"
"Yes."
"You sure it's true? You really believe that Prince Richard?"
"I was also very confused. But I believe him, I heard the conversation between Richard and Slade."
Karen raised a brow at him, "I can't believe it. I mean, I found you unconscious and half of your body was rotten at the river bank so many years ago. You suffered a massive brain concussion and you can't even remember your name. How did Slade know?"
"Apparently, he is a smart man. Remember Gotham was searching for a boy that resembles me? Well, I fit that description. When Trigon forced all boys above 16 to report to him, he figured it out. I mean, he'd probably still remember that news. When I told him I don't remember my past because I actually suffered a brain concussion and had been amputated, he put all the pieces together and eureka—he knew my true identity."
Karen nodded, "Hm... Tricky... That King Slade is really vicious. What's his motive?"
"Before I left, he told me he has big dreams, I don't really know."
"You suspect he murdered King Trigon?"
"Yeah. I mean, he's the most trusted man to King Trigon."
"You know... this Malchior... How does he look like?"
"Arghh... He's just an annoying man," Victor was frustrated. "He is so rude! I don't know what Slade saw in him!"
"Calm down, hun."
"Tell me about your life when I left."
"Sad, miserable—Hey, do you know that actually the queen and the princess is here?"
"Queen and princess?"
"Queen Arella and Princess Rachel of Azarath."
"No way."
"Way."
"You've met them?"
"Ironically, they've been around me for the whole time. I don't know it until recently."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go greet them! It's a pleasure to have royalties living amongst us."
"Cy..." Karen glared at him.
"Aww... C'mon."
"You should know why I hate them."
"They're not King Trigon. I was forced to leave was none of their fault. They're innocent!"
"But we were having a peaceful life until that damned king declared war and separated us!" she argued.
"Karen... Like you said, the king separated us. Neither did Queen Arella nor Princess Rachel did that."
"They're a family after all. If Princess Rachel's father is so brutal, who knows what will he become."
"So you're sayin' that you'll hate me too because I'm considered as a Prince due to my relationship with Richard."
"No, I just..." she trailed.
"It's something, right. Something that made you hate them even more, am I right?"
She sighed, "Look, Rachel and I were like best friends when she came here. She disguised herself as a boy to keep her job. I was the first one to find that out and promised to keep a secret. After all the time we've been spending together, betrayal is what I get. She's been hiding this grave thing from me! I thought we're best friends!"
"Maybe she has her reasons."
"She goes, 'I'm afraid rebels would assassinate us!'" Karen said in a high-pitched tone to mock the princess.
"See, she has a reason. After all, not many people likes her father," Victor placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Arghh..." Karen admitted defeat and rolled her eyes. "All right! I'll just patch up with her. Just to make things clear, I'm doing this is only because of you." Karen pecked his lips.
"That's my girl." Karen wore her winter coat and Victor led her out of the door.
"I'll show you where she lives."
I've changed to rating to T cuz... I think there's too much expletives here and it's a little violent (war part) for kids.