Chapter 12
The sound of the clock fills the empty room. Anya was still wrapping the wounds riddling Eren's body with bandages, her focus primarily on him.
Jack and Bunny observed the snow covered ground through the window of the room, both silent.
"Eren's Titan form power, did you see it?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, mate…weather manipulation, that's my theory." Jack sighed, his expression hardening seriously. Somehow he wasn't convinced with the rabbit Guardian's theory.
"I think…he's more than that," he paused momentarily, then continued, "There's something else about him."
Before Bunnymund could answer, Anya called out to them.
"I think I'm done." She stood up, untied her hair and let it fall down. She looked at the two Guardians.
The two Guardians were startled. The Guardian of Nature, Anya, with her hair down naturally, had become much more beautiful. The Lorax's description about her, being cute and beautiful, was accurate and did fit.
"What's wrong?" Anya asked as her blue eyes stared at them.
"Oh uh—nothin' you're just—"
"-beautiful…." Jack's accidental praise made the girl's cheeks burn red. Bunny lightly hit the winter sprite with his elbow.
"That's what I'm gonna say."
"Uh—sorry, Anya, I didn't mean to."
"Uh no, it's all right…" she looked down and tried to hide her still reddening, face.
The three silently went outside. Anya slowly, after she gave one last look at the sleeping boy, closed the door.
The room was dimly-lit by the fire from a fire place. The ticking of the clock was all that was heard, accompanied by the breathing of the boy, who was sleeping soundly.
But a shadow suddenly appeared on the window. The shadow, smoothly and silently, entered between the gaps of the window and slowly spun and formed into a snake.
The snake hissed and moved towards the bed. It then stopped and swirled again and this time, the shadow growing until it took a form of a man.
"At last I found you." Pitch Black said sinisterly. He stood before the boy then bent down.
"You insolent boy, you'll pay for what you've done to my—"he raised his right hand, locked on a fist, and about to hit the boy; but then he stopped "Fearlings…"
The Boogeyman pulled back his fist, raised his left hand and summoned black sand that spun around his palm.
"Sweet dreams, Eren!" he giggled as the black sand swirled and crawled on the blankets, almost immediately reaching the boy. The black sands then began to enter to his still healing wounds.
Pitch smiled widely after he heard the boy grunt and struggle a little. Suddenly the black sands stopped and began to exit his body.
Pitch, wide eyed, was startled and grunted in anger as the black sands retreated its silent attack on the boy.
"Now what trick did you-"Pitch's sentence was cut when he heard the door knob move. He scoffed and then descended into his shadows after taking one last look of disgust at Eren.
Sandman peered his spikey, golden haired head into the dimly-lit room. He entered and hovered to the bed immediately.
He stared at the sleeping boy with a smile on his face. Then he raised his right hand, opened it and summoned golden sand. The sand swirled and then floated to the boy's head.
Sandman smiled after he saw Eren's face form a smile. He gave the boy a good dream. The golden sand formed a cupcake that hovered above the boy's head.
The golden dream Guardian giggled silently and thought, He really loves cupcakes.
Then, satisfied with his work, Sandman hovered to the door, made a one last look at Eren, and closed the door.
The hallway was dimly-lit with torches. The darkness seemed to stretch for miles, and the air was dry but cold.
The boy was walking slowly, his footsteps echoes dully through walls of the hallway. He looked around, no one was here, and everything was silent.
Suddenly the boy heard a voice. He looked in front of him and saw a huge door.
The door was very huge and very wide. He looked at the ancient drawings, carvings and symbols that were carved into the door. An angel, with its hand outstretched and seemingly reaching a man, and a figure of two trees with its branches and roots spread towards the earth and heaven, then on the middle of the door was a carving of a key with three spheres protruding on its side.
The boy then reached for something on his chest, hidden beneath his white shirt. He took it out and looked at it – it was the same key that was carved on the door. He looked at the door and, slowly, inserted the key on the keyhole, then turned it.
He heard a loud thump and slowly the door opened to both sides…
"Ah!" Eren opened his eyes and saw a ray of light pouring out from the window. Another dream, he thought as he sat up in the bed. He looked around the room.
The furniture was covered in dust. The wall's wallpapers and murals were already faded.
"Catherine…Palace?" Eren still looked around and saw his 3DMG sitting on a chair with his dark green cloak, his white shirt and long-sleeve vest jacket.
He slowly stood up, took his shirt from the chair, but a paper fell and landed at his feet. He picked it up while he put on his shirt and read it.
"Sorry for everything, your cupcake is on the table, I sewed your shirt and your jacket…I don't want to touch your 3D-MG though – Anya," Eren smirked and looked at the table beside the chair. True enough; the cupcake that he stole from the convention three days ago was there.
"Whew…good thing it's not yet spoiled." Eren said as he closed the door of his room. He looked around the ruined dusty hallway of the Palace.
"This place," he wiped off a bit of dust using his index finger on a wall, "Really needs some cleaning." He walked slowly while looking around.
He approached the end of the hallway and stumbled on a large staircase. He looked around.
The ceiling was high and decorated with gold-colored murals that showed the royal culture of Russia. The chandeliers were covered with cobwebs and dust. The floor, although it was covered with dirt, showed exquisite designs.
He had reached the great hall of Catherine Palace.
"Whew…this palace sure was beautiful back in its glory days…I guess." He went down the steps of the great staircase but, just as his foot step on the elevated landing, he sensed a presence.
He immediately darted his eyes towards the source of the presence and was startled. In front of him, hanging on a wall, was a large portrait. The portrait was huge and the people, whose empty eyes seemed to be looking at him, were locked in a frozen smile.
"Hmm…?" Eren then noticed an epitaph hanging beside the portrait. He approached it and swiped some of the dust off, thinking it might be the title of the portrait.
"What's this…?" instead of a title, he saw several names under it.
"ROYAL ROMANOV FAMILY" his finger then travelled to the list of names.
"EMPEROR NIKOLAY ALEXANDROVICH ROMANOV"
"EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA ROMANOV"
"G.D. OLGA ROMANOV"
"G.D. TATIANA ROMANOV"
"G.D. MARIA ROMANOV"
"TSAREVICH ALEXEI ROMANOV"
"G.D. ANASTASIA ROMANOV…" Eren's finger then made one last stop on the final name.
"G.D. ANNA KARENINA-Huh…?" Eren stopped then he looked at the portrait.
He scanned each of the girls on the portrait then he noticed something.
"Twins…?" Eren looked at the two girls who were standing beside the tall man, which was probably the Emperor.
"So this was the Romanov family…huh." The boy wondered. Eren knew who the Romanov family was, however he didn't know that the Emperor had five daughters.
His thinking was cut short when he heard a roar of a wind. He looked behind him, to the empty great hall. He left the portrait and descended to the floor.
He looked around and thought, This seems to be a nice palace…
The boy stopped his walking when he noticed a piano standing beside the wall.
Curious, he moved towards it and pressed a key. The sound reverberated around the great hall, making the boy smile.
"Hmm…" he looked at his newly healed right hand then back to the yellowish ivory keys of the piano.
"Can't hurt if it's only one song…" Eren said as he sat down on the.
The Guardians were staying in a large drawing room. North, sitting on a high chair, was reading a thick book which bore the title; Mysterious Worlds – a book about other worlds that were exist but now extinct.
"According to this book, the Titans came from another planet called Gigantua nebula, and they were vastly advanced in technology." Tooth, sitting on the opposite high chair, looked at him.
"What happened then?"
"A disaster. Natural calamities and such, the planet was destroyed." North closed the book, rubbed his eyes, and then continued. "Which means…Eren has no home."
Jack and Bunnymund, who were both looking at the window, admiring the snow-covered garden of Catherine Palace, looked at North.
"That's a very sad thing. No wonder he acts like that…" Jack said as he drew a smiley face on the glass.
"Yeah…probably he was the one who destroyed it also, I mean, he was a king right?" Bunnymund hopped near the fireplace, then continued, "A power hungry, tyrant Titan King."
Sandy looked at him with a pouting face, then back to the book that he was reading, the title read, THE UNWANTED ADVENTURE OF HAYTHAM KENWAY.
Suddenly the Guardians heard a sweet plucking of piano notes. All of them looked at each other and slowly walked towards the door.
Anya was in her usual place again in the chapel. She was sitting on the cold marble floor, touching a rose.
Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of a piano. She stood up, startled and confused, and walked to the door.
Eren was having the time of his life. His newly regenerated right hand glided smoothly on the ivory keys of the piano. He felt like he was the only person inside the great hall.
He then played a staccato then to a minor key, then back to staccato, then to a livelier major key. The music that he was playing was very beautiful, like it was a mother's lullaby.
Chapter 12 is up! Eren playing a piano, not what am I expecting either :) Special thanks to Sumi-Sprite for beta-reading.