Disclaimer: This is a heavy chapter and rated M for violence and graphic descriptions.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Destiny

The great hall was as quiet as an empty temple. There was a long red rug flowing down from the steps of the high throne where an old woman sat. She had been heavily adorned with long strands of pearls and jade necklaces around her neck that reached almost to her lap and gold pins standing tall in her white hair. The wrinkles on her hands were coupled with veins and her two exposed yellowed nails while on her first three fingers on both hands were golden armored rings that ran the length of her fingers and were fashioned to resemble bird claws. She wore a dense looking robe patterned with a multitude of designs and shapes and embroidered birds. Her collar was high on her neck, likely to hide how much her skin sagged, though the way her cheeks drooped were a good indication of her age. She had sharpness to her eyes still and her lips were but a thin line with small peaks of red in the middle of them making her seem displeased. Despite her frail appearance, size and her adornments, even sitting, Empress Lang had a presence to her as intimidating as Erza's.

His heart beat loudly in his ears as he rose from his knees with Qi Peng. The old woman only watched silently as Peng approached her. He announced and presented Bacchus to her, speaking gently.

"Leave us." She said to the guards who did as she asked without hesitation. When she nodded at Qi Peng, he too left the hall, leaving only the two of them.

"You are the one called Jian." Her voice was calm, but there was a command to it as befits a ruler.

"I am." He watched her, perturbed by the way she sat so still; it was almost like talking to a doll.

"I am Empress Lang. Let me first apologize for the way you and your friend were treated before your arrival to the palace. Qi Peng had told me it was necessary as from what I hear, you are not easy to go where it is you are asked."

"A habit I broke when I left this prison." He narrowed his eyes at her, but she remained still and unchanging.

"You must have many questions for me." She slowly blinked at him. Bacchus nodded at her, unsure of how to proceed. "Ask then. But understand that I cannot guarantee answers you will like."

"Why am I here?" He asked immediately.

"I cannot answer that question." Her response was quick and evenly said, irritating him.

"You bid me to ask you questions, but you cannot answer them." There was a frown on his face already.

"I cannot answer questions you need to find for yourself. Is that not the reason you returned to Yi Kai?"

He took a moment to swallow his temper down. "It is. I will not deny that." He kept his focus on her. "But tell me then why have I been spared. The law when I left stated that any escapees or those who assisted them were to be put to death upon capture. So why have I not met such fate?" He said, watching the empress closely. She had yet to move more than an inch, which only made him increasingly nervous.

"Because it is no longer law. That was my first command when I became empress."

"Why have I been imprisoned here then?"

"You are not a prisoner." Her evenly said answers were beginning to frustrate him more and more.

"No? You have a strange way of treating your guests." Bacchus clenched his jaw, trying to suspend his increasing temper.

"Your door was locked because we feared you would leave before we could speak with you. And your earrings keep you from destroying our home."

"Fair enough." He was finding it more difficult to ask her anything.

"Have you no further questions?" Her eyes bore into him as she remained ever so still.

"What is it you want with me?" His tone clearly reflected his frustration. The old empress continued to stare down at him, taking a moment before speaking. When she saw that he was waiting for her response, she spoke.

"I trust you have heard of the rebel group that has been actively trying to overthrow the monarchy of this country, correct?"

"I have." Bacchus nodded, unsure of the direction she was taking by bringing up the rebels. Shan had mentioned the tales to him, but not in great detail. His chest ached with anxiety as Lang went on.

"For nearly twenty years they have been killing off members of my late husband's family." She started, her face becoming grim. "They started with the women so that they could not bear any more children. Most were killed immediately while some suffered worse fates. Stories arose of gruesome mutilations and of the rebels raping them so that they might kill the babes and themselves from the shame. If they did not, the rebels returned to do it for them." She gazed down at him, her body still motionless. "Then, one by one, they plucked off his uncles, his brothers, nephews and cousins alike. They cared not if their victims were old and frail, if they were men in their prime, or even if they were children or infants. They slaughtered them all." Her voice shook and her hand tightened into a small fist as she recalled the tales to him. "Even the bastards were sought after and brutally butchered. Those ones the rebels would send to us in pieces. If they were children, their disfigured corpses were left in burning piles in the courtyard for all to see." The old empress paused, her eyes were cold and her already thin lips pursed together even tighter. "They killed them all and struck fear into our neighboring countries so that this family, this dynasty, might wither and die. And after all these years, they have nearly succeeded." There was a heavy defeat to her tone now as her stone eyes softened and closed, revealing the truly fragile, old woman she was. Her clawed hand unclenched as her shoulders relaxed with a heavy sigh. "Many tried to hide or flee, but it was only a matter of time before they were found. Those who ran suffered the most."

Bacchus found he was without words. Though he had no love for the royal family, the news of the countless brutal deaths disturbed him. The thought of all the children who had been murdered along with their mothers and siblings and kin solely because they were born turned his still empty stomach into knots, leaving him nauseated.

"I am sorry to hear of your long endured grievance, but I fail to see why it involves my capture." He finally said after a moment. Empress Lang composed herself once more; sitting upright and releasing a slow exhale.

"Twenty years ago you were a servant of this palace." Lang stated as she refocused on him.

"I was." He nodded, unsure again of where she was going with her inquiries.

"Do you recall the night of the great fire?" She asked him.

"I will never forget my first day of freedom." He said boldly.

"Witness then, how you gained your freedom." Her eyes narrowed at him.

Before he could speak, Lang chanted a small string of words and with a slow upward wave of her hand, the room began to flicker and flames quickly rose and engulfed the ceiling. Startled and suddenly gripped with fear, he glanced around for an exit. It was then that he saw someone on the stairs and felt his whole body freeze despite the looming heat from above. Standing there before his eyes on the steps that lead up to the throne, was a man he had not seen look as he had in decades. It took Bacchus a moment to realize that there, beneath his master the mangled corpse of the emperor lay bloody and broken.

"Master!" Bacchus cried out to him, but the man did not look up from his dripping bloody hands.

"He cannot hear you." Empress Lang's voice rang throughout the space. "This is only a memory ingrained into the room. What you are seeing before you is merely a projection of the past."

"The past?" He couldn't take his focus off of the figure just feet away from him; unable to believe his eyes.

"Xuan!" A woman's cry came from behind him now. He turned to see a familiar looking woman race into the room through the flames, stopping just next to him. She screamed at the sight of his master and the body he stood over.

"What have you done?" Her voice was a whisper and Bacchus could see the horror on her face as she covered her mouth.

"Who is this woman?" He demanded when he saw the comb pinned in her hair.

"Do you not recognize your own mother?" Lang's words sent him into a daze as his mouth dropped and his breath caught in his throat.

"My mother?" He murmured, staring at the ghostly person within arm's reach.

"I have come for you, Sing." Master Chou turned his body to face the woman and approached her.

"Wei. H-how could you?" Her eyes were wide with fear.

"How could I?" There was rage spreading over his face as he grabbed the woman by her shoulders and shook her. "How could I?" He gave her a half mad look as he shook her once more "How could YOU?" She tried to wriggle away from him, but he held fast.

"This was for you! I love you Sing. You are mine." He kissed her forcefully. "You belong to me." His breathing was getting more rapid now as he kissed her again, only to have her resist. There was hurt on his face when he realized she was not returning his affections. "And then you betrayed me." His face changed into an agonizing grimace as he shook her again. "HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME?" His features shifted once more to something twisted between fury and pain.

"The same way you betrayed me. Over and over and over again." Her lips quivered in a snarl as she held back her sobs.

"But I have changed!" His voice was like that of a pleading, spoiled child. "I promise it will be different now." He spoke between clenched teeth as sweat dotted his brow. "Come home with me, Sing. Come back to me. To Shan. To us. We can be a family." He rambled, but the woman snorted in his face.

"I will never go back there." She hissed. "I would rather die than live through another day as your wife." Her words were like a thick poison and earned her a hard backhanded smack to her cheek. Bacchus cringed when he saw the blood drip from her split lip.

"Wife?" It felt as if he could vomit right then as he fell to his knees. "My mother… was Master's wife?" The words could not make less sense even as he spoke them. That means that Shan and I… That Master… And he…

"So be it." Bacchus looked up from the floor to see as his master grab Sing by her neck, and begin squeezing. "But first," his face contorted into another painful smile. "Where is he? Where is the boy?"

"Stop this!" Bacchus reached out to separate them, but his hands were as dense as mist and faded upon contact.

"They cannot hear or see you." Lang spoke again from her seat. Her voice sounded as if it came from all over the room and was clear over the roaring fires. He felt his hands begin the numb as he had to witness the events unfolding before him.

"You cannot have him." The tears rolled down Sing's cheeks, but her expression stayed fierce.

He watched as his master gripped tighter to her neck and landed a hard punch into her gut. She gasped out what could have been meant as a scream and crumpled to the floor. Mercilessly his master pulled her back up, striking her time and time again until she could no longer bear her own weight. He simply tossed her to the ground then as if she were no more than a doll. Master Chou waited until she struggled to her hands and knees and kicked her in her stomach, knocking her onto her back, laughing hysterically all the while.

"Tell me where he is!" He demanded once more. When she still gave no answer, he knelt over her and grabbed a fist full of her hair, pulling her head back far enough to have nearly snapped it. She spat blood in his face when leaned in. He wiped hastily at it with the back of his sleeve and took her face in both of his hands and head butted her. Without hesitation, he punched her in the nose, breaking it. Seemingly dissatisfied with one strike, he hit her again and again until she went limp. It was then that he released her head, a wicked grin spreading across his lips and started ripping at her robes. She tried meekly to resist, but he easily over powered her and undressed her until she lay there in only her under slip. The front of her crotch was stained with a deep red to match the blood that had started down her thighs. Tears stained her face as he held her down by her throat and pulled up her remaining layer, exposing her.

"No. Please. My baby." She hoarsely sobbed as she tried to cover herself.

"I will tear that baby out of you myself. So that you might see your bastard before you die." She groaned when he dug his fingers inside of her. He simply laughed.

"Please. No more." Bacchus' stomach nearly heaved when Chou pulled his fingers out of her. They were coated with blood and stringy clots.

"There we are. All gone." He examined his gory hand with a gleeful face before looking at her once more. "Here." He shoved them into her mouth, gagging her. She kicked wildly as she struggled to breathe. He only laughed louder.

She must have managed to bite down by the way he suddenly cried out and withdrew his hands from her mouth and neck. Sing choked and gasped for air while her hands cradled her now empty and violated womb.

"Wicked woman!" He stood up and raised his leg as if to crush an insect. Master Chou stomped on her stomach again, crushing her beneath his foot. Her cries were no louder than grunts now.

"Stop this." Bacchus could hardly get the words past his lips.

Chou raised his foot and stomped down hard on her again. "I will give you one last chance Sing. Come back to me and tell me where the child is."

"Go to hell." She whispered. Her eyes were still sharp through her swollen and bruised face. The blood coming from her mouth and nose and womanhood would burn into Bacchus' memory. Bacchus watched on in horror as his master sighed and lifted his foot from her gut.

"You first, my darling." He whispered down to her before he rampaged once more, breaking her bones one after the other until all noises stopped. Bacchus had turned away after the first few broken bones and called out to the empress again.

"That's enough!" He howled up to the throne now where he saw Empress Lang still calmly sitting. With another wave of her hand, the flames above were extinguished as if they were nothing more than a candle and with them, went his master and his victims.

"That night more than two hundred people were killed in the fire started by your master. That does not include the ones he beat to death with his own hands on his way to this room. Among those victims were my husband, the father of my children and your mother who was his wife. That, Jian is what your precious freedom cost."

He knelt there on the floor unable to move. His face was wet with tears he did not recall shedding and his breathing ragged from his weeping.

"There was only one son born to Emperor Xuan who has managed to survive. Your mother, Chou Sing, died trying to protect him." Her voice pulled him from his thoughts as he looked up at her. "But he was still captured by Master Chou and kept from his rightful place." Lang's eyes pierced through him from where she sat, her stoic demeanor unchanging. "You are that son, Jian. You are the emperor's only son and by that rule, his heir."

"No…" He felt another sob rise up to choke him.

"Your mother was going to be third wife and thus legitimize you, but the day before the ceremony, her lawful husband Chou Wei stormed the palace and captured you. He told us that as long as we did not pursue him or his school, that he would keep you alive and had your identity hidden so that the rebels would cease their murders. And that should we try to take you back, he would kill you." Her voice became heavy as she went on and her eyes glistened. "I was the only royal to survive his rampage that night, and was the acting ruler. I did not wish to see any more bloodshed in my home and feared for the lives of my daughters and for you." A single tear crawled down her face. "I let him take you in hopes it would finally bring peace to the land."

He recalled then just how much his head was pounding and how horribly it ached as he tried to process all of what he had been told and witnessed. Breathing became harder as he held his head with his hands. The pounding would not stop and it felt as if his skull was on the verge of splitting into in two and his hands could not hold the pieces together.

"I understand this is much to take in, but now that you know the truth, I fear I must ask for an answer from you now."

Bacchus could feel his vision blurring as he tried to focus on the old empress. He couldn't imagine his expression was one of a composed man as he gaped at her.

"What more could you possibly have to say after all of this?" His voice cracked with sorrow.

"For nearly twenty years I have endured needless deaths on my doorstep. And now my own daughters feud with one another, spilling even more blood than the rebels. Your master promised us peace and then sent you away beyond our reach to Fiore, neglecting to tell you of the role you were destined to play. Since then, the past twelve years have consisted solely of war and discord which have stormed throughout my kingdom, destroying it." Slowly Lang stood, her proud expression falling into a more desperate frown. "I fear I will not live long enough to see the end of this bloody era unless you fulfill what it is you were meant to do."

"And what I was meant to do?" Bacchus' chest felt as if it were about to crack open and all of his pent up rage and sorrow and innards would come pouring out.

"Become the new emperor and govern this country. Bring back the peace we had. The peace we need." Her next words were as desperate as her face had become. "Or else there will be nothing but chaos and death to consume the entire nation."

A/N: Hey everyone, I hope this chapter was worth the wait for you. I meant for this to be much, much longer, but I couldn't fit the pieces I wanted in it just right. I will say that I have been waiting to write this chapter for a few weeks now since it is such a major addition to the plot.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this week's update and I want to thank all of you lovely people for all the support!

And now, as always, until next week,

Betty B.

Edit!

There will not be a new chapter tomorrow 8-20-15! I lost my computer charger and canot access the file. Sorry folks! But expect a double chapter next Friday (8/28) to make up for this!