Chapter 2
(Explanations pt. I)
Mr. Dickenson looked firmly at them, his gentle old eyes taking on a stronger color.
"Now, my boy, you had no need to say all those hurtful things to Kai," he started.
The redhead, whose anger seemed to have dulled now, sat with his eyes looking fixedly at the carpet on the floor, as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.
"You don't know anything, better keep your mouth, old man," the falcon growled at him, getting a kick on the leg from Spencer for being so rude to an old man, who really seemed to have done them no harm.
Mr. Dickenson, though, lightly shrugged that off, already being used to Kai's choice of words, and knowing their history, he had no expectation that the boy would even utter out one sentence without swearing.
"I do know a lot, my boy. But only, if you are willing to listen, will I start," he said calmly.
They looked over at Tala, who still seemed lost in his thoughts, but as he heard what the old man said, his head jerked up, narrowing his eyes at him.
"And what would you know?" he asked, his voice cold and dull.
"Something that may clear up the misunderstanding that caused you all such pain, and created the loathing you now show towards Kai"
Tala raised an eyebrow.
"Misunderstanding?"
"Yes, Tala. There had been a huge misunderstanding regarding Kai's departure from the abbey."
They all were curious now.
They had all believed that Kai had left them for power, and then forgot about them, never coming back, even though he was the one who had promised them that they'd get out of the hellhole together.
Boris had told them that Kai had failed to control the power of Black Dranzer, and had turned the abbey into ruins. He had told them that he loved his luxurious life with his grandfather too much to even think about them.
They hadn't believed him, though, but as the years went by, and there was still no news of the dual haired, they did fall in the trap of believing Boris, after all, there was no other explanation.
One question always seemed to plunge itself into their minds, though. How could Boris have let Kai go? Kai was the best out of all of them. There was no way Boris would have just given up on him.
But they never got any answers to their questions, and in time, started to believe the fact that, Kai, after all, had betrayed them for the world.
It had hurt Tala the most, as he shared an indestructible bond with the younger boy, claiming him to be his best friend. But after so many years of grief, and suffering, he'd gotten over it, or so he tried to tell others…
Even now, they could all sense the internal battle Tala had been going through as Kai had sat in front of them, fighting with himself as the strong need to put everything behind and forgive Kai tried to blur his rational thoughts.
"Are you going to start or not?" the redhead let out, his voice betraying his emotions and coming out a bit pitched, as if he was in a hurry.
He mentally cringed.
Mr. Dickenson smiled at him, before taking a breath.
His face seemed much older and experienced as told them a tale they didn't know much of, of the person they had once known like the back of their hands.
He looked fixedly at Tala, occasionally glancing at the others as he spoke.
"You see, my boys, I've known Kai since the day he was born. His mother's father, and I, were fast friends. And she was almost like a daughter to me that I never had. I saw Kai a lot, as I often used to visit her. They used to be so happy. Even though Voltaire wanted Kai's father to assist him in his business, he declined. They lived away from Voltaire's clutches for three pleasant years, before things started to go downhill.
One day, Voltaire arrived and demanded Kai to be given to him, saying that if his son wasn't willing to take on his business, then his grandson must be. They protested, of course, every parent would, in their place. Voltaire left with the promise of taking Kai with him, and the threat for them to fear their lives. Kai's father took Voltaire's words lightly, even though he was worried for Kai, he thought that his father wouldn't stoop so low as to snatch a three-year-old child from his parents. And he was wrong, of course. Voltaire arrived a few days later, and it wasn't until I got a call from the maid that worked there, that I got to know that Kai and his parents had disappeared from their house. Voltaire had been quick enough to hide the evidence. Later I got to know that Kai's parents had been murdered, and Voltaire had taken Kai with him.
The thought of reporting left my mind when I got another call a few days later in which Voltaire told me that it would be foolish of me to take any action against him. When asked why, he threatened me with Kai's life. I knew that he wasn't joking. If a man could kill his own son without so much as much batting an eyelash, then there definitely would have been no ounce of love left for his grandson. And so, I became helpless.
Voltaire took Kai to Russia, and put him in the abbey, already dreaming of ruling the world, while I sat here trying anything I could to get Kai away from that place, and of course, being unsuccessful.
I tried to three times to take Voltaire's evil plans down, but it was nearly impossible.
The Hiwatari Enterprises are global, and that made Voltaire untouchable, he could do any thing more gruesome than one can think of, and get away with it. That added with the fact that the security of the abbey was impenetrable.
After trying all I could, one thing was sure. I could be reduced to ashes in the process, and Voltaire wouldn't even have gotten a scratch. So I was forced to give up.
I had left all hope when one day, after about six years, I got a call from the butler that used to serve in Kai's parents penthouse in Russia, that Kai was there. I felt that the moment I had been waiting for all those years had arrived. I promised myself that I wouldn't let Kai be sent to the abbey ever again.
I immediately flew over to Russia, and went to the penthouse where Kai was. Fortunately, Voltaire wasn't there. The butler, Vladimir, told me that he had gone to attend some business meeting.
Then the moment came, and I saw Kai after six long years, he had grown up, of course, he wasn't the same bright and happy child anymore. He was lying on a bed, apparently, he had his left arm and leg fractured, it was only later that I got to know he was paralyzed. He did not seem to recognize me, and I thought that maybe he had forgotten me, it had been so long, and he was just three when I last saw me. But Vladimir told me, that he was suffering from memory loss, and that's when I –"
"Wait, what do you mean, memory loss?"
They all were looking shocked; the same question was in each of their minds.
He turned back to the redhead who had interrupted him, and smiled.
"Yes, Tala. Memory loss. And that's where I guess the misunderstanding started."
Tala looked at him widened eyes, never once had the mention of memory loss had been made when it came to Kai. They had literally no idea about it. So, this was the reason Boris didn't bring Kai back. He had forgotten everything, and was now useless. But what about-
"Stanley, does Kai remember anything now, does he… remember us?"
Mr. Dickenson ignored the fact that he was being called by his first name by someone not half his age, and chuckled warmly.
"Yes, he is remembering everything, more so after he had been in the abbey. But you, my boys, were the ones that he hadn't even forgotten in the first place."
He seemed amused at the looks on their faces, which were a mixture of shock, curiosity, and mostly confusion.
"Yes, he never forgot about you all. He, of course, did not remember your names, but he knew that there was someone who was not with him anymore, and I guess, over the years, he must have pieced together everything."
He gazed at Tala with a certain mirth. The redhead, irritated by this, let out a "What?" roughly.
"Do you want to know, Tala, what was the first thing he said to me when I met him and introduced myself?"
By the looks on his face, he did want to know.
"Why, of course, it was about you, my boy."