The White Darkness

By Helbaworshipper

Lotis Theives Arc: A Fiance's Choices

It was well known that after the Roland Kingdom, the Weilhausen Kingdom was the most powerful for a long time. King Weilhausen had many beautiful potential wives. To be fair, however, he valued the most powerful of heirs. His first wife was a weak woman who could barely do her own work, much less keep him in other duties. However, her Lotis was the most powerful of the nobility and of the kingdom.

When she became pregnant, the King was the most worried and probably frantic. Pregnancy itself was already a taxing act for any woman, but she was… She was barely functioning as a royal even with her genes being the most necessary. That wasn't to say he didn't do other things. He had many concubines as a result to have at least a few heirs. They were of lower Lotis power, however.

His fears came to be when she died during childbirth despite the best Lotis being used to heal her. She left behind a powerful child that he named Frei and hoped to one day make him the crown prince. This was not taken well by his concubines who wanted to take the place of his Queen. If anything, Frei had been born knowing the mess of knowing his birth was a cause for both death and power struggles.

Alliances formed and assassinations paid for. Frei learned early on that any engagement he had would be possibly dead the next day or blackmailed into going out of it. It was at one of these times he had started to go into the boundary of Lotsuan and Darva. It had been a normal day and he once again cast the Lotis subconsciously to protect him just another night.

Normally his dreams would be of many things. More often the nightmares. As he realized he was in control he sensed it. The smell of the Lotis flowers and the fresh dirt. It was a nice place to be. Slowly he looked around to see a figure with brown hair and green eyes looking towards him. Near her was a matching figure in a mask.

"It seems there is hope, Master Lotsuan." The masked figure spoke, the woman seeming blank for a moment. After a moment, the masked man simply motioned for him to come forward. He moved forward and tried not to fall or break too many of the flowers. A hand grasped his own and he felt something soft. This was strange to him as he did get hugs from his father and others. Yet this felt so much like Mano it was…

"You are a gentle soul." The voice relaxed him as he started to settle in the figure's arms. "I shall allow you to visit again."

He visited the garden many times after that. As a result, his Lotis potential was unlocked at a far earlier age than expected. His father, trying to take advantage of the matter, pushed for the engagement to Mayura Seno, who also seemed to be a prodigy in her own way. Still, his life remained mostly chaotic in regards to the plots against his life. No one threatened Mayura Seno, but that was the least of his worries.

The Lotis Thief camp was not quite as secure as they hoped it was. He knew it from the perspective of both his now traitorous tutor and Lotsuan. He'd been taught a lot by that person. Enough to have been allowed to take on a role of protecting Lotsuan herself. Yet now, a true dilemma was in place. What sort of reaction did the thieves want from someone in such a position? It wasn't as if she had chosen that path based on Eric's intervention alone.

If anything, the intervention was simply pushing whatever was going to happen in the war faster than intended. As he moved towards the main tent where most of the recovered people were heading, he noted the looks on the thieves' faces. Most were accepting and a few he could tell were probably plants by Eric. Still, he was sure they wouldn't dare try anything right now. There was certainly reason to believe they could, though.

The main tent was not one where anyone slept. It was mostly a well defended tent for keeping people safe during an attack. He entered to see Kyo Wakamiya sitting down carefully at one of the seats. Despite his recovery, he was pretty sure that Kyo was simply bluffing in regards to his healing. Beside him was Queen Seno. Her body looked frail, as if a single hit would crumple her to the ground. He supposed it made sense.

At her other side was Mayura Seno. The woman seemed distracted by the sheer amount of power in this tent. Her confidence from before had most likely disappeared. He didn't want to ask as he took the seat not quite next to them, but by some of his forces. He touched his gloved hand for a moment. The leader had entered.

The blonde hair was nothing new to him in regards to his looks. It was how easily he allowed himself to walk into a room like this. Considering Eric had something to do with him…

"It's been a long time, but recovery takes time." He sounded confident enough. "I am Christopher William Orson Andrew Roland the Thirteenth. One of the few still alive from the Roland Kingdom and the only remaining heir. I am also leader of the Lotis Thieves."

"Even if we were to ask," Queen Seno's voice was hesitant. "There's no way to logically explain why you hid?"

"Yes," he looked towards her calmly. "Eric was one of the main reasons the kingdom fell and now he's caused a mess that could destroy two more." The woman nodded for a moment. "The thieves have stayed hidden from Eric and the other Maram masters while trying to fight them. However, with Princess Alice's identity now revealed… We'll have a harder time."

"What are you talking about?" Mayura's voice in a panic. "Who is she really?"

"That's a complicated answer-"

"It's not complicated." Frei spoke, surprising Chris. "You just don't want to accept it, but..." He started to stand up slowly. "Is it really so hard to understand that the Roland Kingdom's text was wrong after it betrayed Lotsuan?"

"I simply don't want it to be as hard as it is. And how do you know, Prince Frei?"

"I'm afraid that's complicated." He smiled back towards him.

"Who is she?" Kyo asked, as if trying to calm both Mayura and her mother at the same time. Frei didn't hesitate to answer.

"She's both Master Lotsuan and Master Darva." The tent was quiet, especially on Chris' side. "It's not as simple as two are here. They were always that way." He sat down slowly in his chair. "Unless you were going to say killing off Darva would bring Alice back."

"It's a bit heartless to say it enough to hurt those who care about her."

"Considering I met Master Lotsuan and am trusted by her before I even met Alice, it shouldn't matter."

"What does that mean for Alice?" Mayura's voice was softer.

"In theory, there was a promise that this war was made for. If the people manage to sway Lotsuan to save them, then the Lotis wins. If they betray Lotsuan again, Darva wins and this war goes on forever." Chris spoke softly, his hand trying to calm down. "The reason Eric triggered what he did was to make that decision be made faster."

"And if it hadn't?" Kyo asked softly his voice trembling a little.

"It would have taken a few years, but this event still would have happened." The silence in the tent was thick and no one wanted to speak up. After some time, the people left without much of a plan in regards to what the first move was. Though, Frei often thought, it probably wasn't going to work with convincing that Darva was evil. Chris was probably going to lie to them in order to make it so they didn't betray Lotsuan again.

Visiting this plane after last time was a bit awkward. The fact Eric has been placed there and not Lotsuan meant that a lot was going on. At this point what he noticed was the tree and the familiar flowers. Seeing Lotsuan there assured his heart that he was still able to find her. Alice's features were the first thing he had recognized as Lotsuan's when he met her. Still, he knew that there was no way to know who would still be left after the war was over.

He slowly moved through the field of flowers and watched the masked figure nod. He approached slowly and sat down softly. The woman's gaze looked towards his calmly and he felt her arms move around him again. It wasn't abnormal, but each time it caught him by surprise. After all the craziness he felt at this time, he felt tears forming. Not sure why, he simply remained held in her arms and let go of all the dark particles that must have formed around him. After some time, he felt his mind clear enough to speak.

"Is he… worthy of your promise?"

"Kyo Wakamiya? Or Eric?"

"Eric."

"Worthy is a word used when someone earns it. Eric is a capable person but I cannot use the word worthy to say why."

"Chris was going to lie. He was going to say that they had to convince Darva to die."

"Darva is weak, but his strength lies in how he chooses to use it." A hand slowly moved his head to the woman's lap. It carefully stroked his hair. "Only those who have a chance can sway this war. As for if Alice will be the same… I'm afraid no one decision will decide that."