Chapter 4

Rogue was desperately searching for a reason all of this was happening. Rogue blinked back memories that were doing their best to resurface from his childhood. "I heard Weisslogia and Skiadrum didn't actually get married!" A voice from a past ball from his childhood was echoing.

"Of course, no one would ever marry that woman!"

"Then whose child is the princes?" The voices of the villagers echoed in hushed whispers without the comprehending that each member of the royal family would inherit the dragon blood of their ancestors. They were natural born dragon slayers. His mother was still around those days. He was young. She was still there. Right there, a brush of fingertips away. Something that he had stolen away, far away from himself. She was his mother standing there far away enjoying the party as Weisslogia stole his mother for a dance making the "White Queen", Sting's mother, pretend at jealousy but instead struggling to cover up her laughter.

Another woman whispered as he looked at their quick distasteful glances towards himself. Their faces blurry, but still there, full of malice...full of fear. Something a normal human child wouldn't have picked up on, or at least had more sense not to say a thing. Instead he had gone up to these women and asked them what they meant when they said things like "Demon-child" and their talk of "hateful red eyes", for the first time he had experienced their cruelty as they flung their drinks away from them high pitched startled shrieks as he looked up at them with the innocence of a child. "You're the reason your mother gets sick all the time! You only bring illness!" One of them hissed at him as he felt repelled glancing around for help as a younger child would, his eyes meeting his mother's happy and giddy. Embraced tightly by her best friend one of the men that had been there for him his whole life, King Weisslogia. Where was his father?

Rogue shook his himself out of his delusions, his heart pounding the way it once did. He was feeling what he wished he would never feel again. He had to find Rio. There was no time to wonder about who those blank faces were, or if his mother had his red eyes...were they just always painted brown in the pictures for her safety? Is that the way they hid her? He felt unsure, something about his memories seemed untrustworthy. Rio and Riku were going through something that he was trying his hardest to prevent. Why did everyone do this to his family? Why was Sting's family blessed with ocean eyes?

Rogue blinked back the memory of one of the first interactions with Celestine after they had met again. Celestine stared at his eyes openly the first time they met. As if they weren't something that PhantomLord members didn't get to see often. They were probably something she hated at first eyes that were stained the color of a used guillotine. She sould've hated it at first, that was the same thing that had taken her only female-friend from PhantomLord away. It made him want to clench his teeth even Celestine had to hate them at one point, no matter how much she reached over running her hand along his face saying that they looked like the most precious rubies. He was sure she had a point where they even scared her as she waited for bloodlust to arise within them.

After several hours of frantically searching through the woods they had returned to the castle, empty handed. Rogue felt his feet place themselves behind Sting who was glancing at him. Hope fading in his eyes as he was waiting on some good news. Instead they were interrupted by Totomaru running down all of the stairs blabbering like a fool at the current moment in time. An exhausted fool. Sting snatched a note from Totomaru before Rogue could even reach Celestine's personal advisor. Reading the note aloud. It made his insides boil as he listened to each word that Sting made a growl tracing on the edges of his throat.

"Thanks for lending us your wife and daughter, the little raven haired one seemed to be our bonus. We would say sorry to say you won't see them again though, the truth is we aren't sorry." ~PhantomLord FaceHunters

The growl within his throat couldn't be suppressed it bubbled its way to the top and escaped, it sounded deadly and venomous as he stared at the note resting in Sting's shaking hand. His daughter was not anyone's bonus. Not at all. He was going to slaughter everyone strangle them slowly than rip out of their ever so- "Rogue! Control the malice!" Totomaru shouted running towards one of the people who quickly had grown important to him.

"What else can I do! I don't even know where they are right now!" Rogue shouted back.

"You need to calm down and control your magic! You severely need a medic." Totomaru said glancing him over once again.

"What do you mean that I need a medic?" Rogue growled his foot slipping from under him as the blonde brother caught him.

"Bull, you don't need a medic with magic insufficiency" Sting said helping his brother inside the castle they didn't have time for simple little matters like this. He didn't have time for everyone in the castle to all fall mysteriously ill.

"Celestine's sick isn't she?" Sting whispered as Rogue nodded slowly, obviously not a detail he was going to go around flaunting, especially if that met his twins would be told that they were the reason that their mother was always sick simply because of their "demon-eyes" as the town called them.

"She said make sure not to tell the town." Rogue explained as Sting nodded slowly.

"She...no..I..I don't want to hear those things...I d-don't want to hear that it's the twins' fault for having cursed eyes." Rogue paused for a moment as Sting limped inside under Rogue's weight. Sting gave him a hurt look in his eyes that he didn't quite understand. It was as if at this age he was still pretending not to be able to hear the villagers and their gossip.

One of the medics shrieked, "magic deficiency!" causing several of the others doing non-relevant tasks to rush over.

"How'd that happen?" Rogue stuttered.

"Celestine collapsed earlier is this related?"

"It's just fatigued. I'll be able to stand in a couple seconds, it's not that hard on me."

"Look at you" Sting ran a hand through his hair attempting to make a list of problems that were complaining that night.

"I've been running around in the forest all night I don't expect to look any better than a magic drained patient!"

There was silence as Sting thought this concept over. "It's a terrible situation listen to our nurses" Sting grumbled bringing his brother up the stairs as Totomaru grabbed the other arm.

"...I d-don't w-want that stuff-" Rogue coughed out.

Sting shook at his head, glancing at his brother struggling to suffer through all of the pain, "you aren't turning into some sort of masochist on me are you?"

"Don't...the workers will see-I can't have it getting out that...that it's another curse because of the twins' eyes." Rogue growled struggling in-between his coughing fits.

Sting suppressed a growl that was rumbling in his throat. "Totomaru, fetch us the pills...we'll stay outside." Totomaru nodded, hurried inside, and returned quickly.

"I heard we were under attack, what's happening?" A voice asked from behind them. She was supposed to be out. Far away. On a vacation of sorts. Sting turned to see Minerva who had gone wide-eyed looking at the younger prince. No. This gossip wasn't going to stay in the castle for long. Minerva will worriedly tell Yukino, than Yukino would tell MiraJane of Fairy-Tail...and heck from there...they were all screwed once she got a hold of that information.

"Minerva. Forget this happened." She crossed her arms waiting silently. "Please."

"How many others are suffering from this and what is it?" She asked pointing over towards Rogue obviously not understanding the situation. She must've thought that whoever had broken in had left this disease behind instead of what really happened.

"Don't touch anyone who looks like they've come down with it!" Sting shouted as Minerva nodded sent a strange glance that must've been "why are you touching him then?" and then headed inside.

"Here." Totomaru glanced between the cup and Rogue, a light hue lighting his face. "I'm not going to have to help you with this am I?" He asked as Rogue attempted to stand up.

"I am a full grown man I shall not be treated like a child."

"Right now you are being childish, especially if you don't drink your medicine."

"Then what?"

Sting lit up a hue as if he hadn't thought of something. "I'll send you to your room or something!"

"Give me the cup." Rogue reached for it his hand shaking...Totomaru wound up having to help him with the cup anyway.

"If I ever have to do that again you're getting a sippy cup."

"God, it's not like I asked to be help." Rogue said as Sting lowered him to the ground, his breathing was heavy.

"You look worse than a sick man...maybe you should stay here."

"I've got to find Rio."

"I've got to find Artemis and Peyton too. She'll be with them. Trust your older brother."

"Its different being able to do something yourself." Rogue said after a large coughing fit. "They're important to me...I want-*cough*-to be able to help them." Rogue coughed out as Totomaru gave him a disapproving look pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket.

"In that condition you won't be able to do anything much less save them. Finish the medicine and then talk." Totomaru advised as Rogue shook his head, already sneaking out to find his daughter. Totomaru grabbed his shoulder, "Who's going to take such a man seriously when he can't even stand? You'll only freak Rio out if you show up." Totomaru complained as Rogue nodded steadying his breath leaning against the wall on the stairs.

"I shall call PhantomLord." Totomaru said as Rogue nodded. It was best to dig up some background information on who these people were and how dangerous they were.

"What are you going to do?" Rogue asked turning towards his brother.

"What do you think? I'm obviously going to walk around my fair city and get some coffee"

Sarcasm. A light attempt at some failed satire. Rogue sighed towards his brother whose eyes flashed back towards the forest.