《Wandering From Balance (Children of the Sun, Book 1)》


 Prologue

    The Scripture of Light: Authorized Version


    Light and Darkness used to agree. There was no doubt that there was a healthy balance. During the daytime, there would always be shadows balancing the light. At night, the stars and the moon would brighten up the dark. Everything was peaceful as they agreed upon everything.


    The light in people¡¯s hearts would balance out the dark. The fed would balance out the starving. The rich made up for what the poor didn¡¯t have. Generosity would always balance out the greedy. Donations gave back what thieves have stolen. They were always together to balance each other out.


    752 years ago, in the small village of Aria, the villagers were the most balanced. The people would pray to Light and Darkness for blessings and when their prayers were met, they would praise Light and Darkness. Aria had the most loyal people of all. The villagers of Aria wanted to see the gods for themselves to be able to give them gifts. The gods agreed to come to that village and that village alone for they were the most loyal people.  Light and Darkness were incorporeal immortal beings, so for mortal beings to understand them easily, Light and Darkness took human form.


    Light was very beautiful with long wavy white hair and golden freckles that shimmered on her bright golden skin. She had a tall figure with long skinny legs and a body that curves in the most perfect places. Her pale eyes had flecks of blinding light that showed how pure she was. Her heart was full of good and kindness.


    Darkness¡¯ face was handsome along with his broad muscular body. He had long straight black hair that made his dark skin look paler than it was. His red eyes scared people, but Light always reassured them that he was a good being. Though Darkness looked scary, he was generous to the mortal beings.


    When they fell in love, they had children. Triplets, to be exact. Each of the children had their own unique powers, powers that could be used for good and evil.


    Strider, who was the oldest triplet, could wield lightning. He would use this to help the villagers with their crops during a storm. He fell in love with helping the villagers with all their farming tasks and vowed never to use his powers for darkness and evil. He was the first to throw off the balance of Light and Darkness.


    Orien, the middle triplet, had the power of fire. When winters got brutal she would always come out to the village and light fires for people to cook and warm up. She would lend a hand at the blacksmith to make weapons and other tools the village would need. She would also provide more light to the village so the villagers could see at night. She was the second to throw off the balance of Light and Darkness.


    Theon, the youngest triplet, could create water and ice out of nothing. When there was a drought in the village, Theon would provide water for the villagers. He would be very helpful when children fell and bumped their knees and needed ice to make the swelling go down. On hot days, the villagers didn¡¯t ask for shade but instead for ice to cool off. He was the third to throw off the balance of Light and Darkness.


    When the village of Aria was big enough to become a kingdom, Light and Darkness had been thrown off balance. The people in the kingdom of Aria formed two groups.


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    The group that grew loyal to Darkness believed that he was everything they ever needed to have a peaceful world. Without Darkness, it would be very difficult to fall asleep. With no shade, there would be no protection from the unbearable summer heat. But some people in that group were too loyal and started to believe that Darkness was the only god they ever needed.


    The group that grew loyal to Light believed that she was the only god they needed in their lives. They would pray for her to remove all shadows so they could see what was around them all the time. They asked her to bless their children with purity in their hearts. To protect them from all darkness. The group that followed Light was the majority of the kingdom.


    Darkness got very jealous of his children using their powers for only good. He thought they were the only ones to blame for the unbalance. So he asked his children for favors.


    He asked Strider to only use his lightning for execution instead of helping out on the farms. Darkness tried to convince Strider that he and Light could handle the farms all on their own without any of his help.


    He asked Orien if she could use fire only during the day for it weakens him when she uses her power at night.


    He asked Theon to refuse to bring ice so the villagers would ask for shade instead. Darkness also ordered Theon to put out any fire that Orien made at night so that he could be stronger.


    All his children denied his requests and he became infuriated. Darkness raged and the whole kingdom was drowned in inky black. Light, Strider, Orien, and Theon all came together to bring light back to the kingdom. They banished Darkness from the kingdom and told him to never return again until he could accept his place.


    Before Darkness vanished, he spit out a curse and banished Light from seeing her children until they decided to accept their dark side. For the first time, Light was scared of Darkness but before she could do anything she vanished away from her children.


    Darkness was not satisfied and he vowed that he would take over the world with darkness and would come back to rule over all of them. He would make it clear that Darkness had power over all. He would show them.


    Darkness kept his vow and set off to every kingdom on the planet, turning all of them into evil and hate. The people would bow to him and in return, he would give them everything they would ever desire.


    Mortal beings on the planet were scared at first, but after some convincing, the beings became Darkness¡¯ pawns. They would do his will and obey every command he gave. They would praise him for all the evil deeds he did. He was becoming mighty.


    Darkness then did the worst of all. He commanded that the kingdom of Aria, where his children reside, be burned to the ground. He ordered that no follower of Light was to survive. The followers of Darkness came to the kingdom of Aria and did was Darkness had desired. Luckily, his children were able to get most of the population out before the fire was able to do any damage. People died because of Darkness, but if it weren¡¯t for the triplets, everyone would have died.


    The triplets led the people out to seek a new kingdom, for they did not have a home anymore and no resources to rebuild it. Then, they found a land that had not been taken by anyone yet.


    The castle of Krosla was placed beautifully on the edge of the continent. The sand on the coast had red, purple, and blue colored sand all over it Having the most light in her heart, Orien assumed the role of Queen. Taking the role in stride, she promised that she would protect her kingdom and everyone in it. She believed that one of the ways to protect her people was to prevent citizens from ever seeing her and her brother¡¯s faces again. This way, Darkness can¡¯t tack them down and kill people in her kingdom again. The only ones who have seen them in the past couple of centuries are the magnificent.


    Now, only a couple of loyal kingdoms remain in the world. One of those kingdoms is called Chopver. But Darkness is moving through it rapidly though, and the triplets are finally trained enough to save the world from the horror of their father.


    The triplets will defeat Darkness once and for all. They will be our saviors and restore Light to all.

 Chapter 1: Orien

    ¡°People in Chopver are innocent in some ways,¡± says my lady-in-waiting, Abbot Lorimer.


    I stare at her through the mirror while she braids and twists my black wavy hair into a crown. I¡¯ve been queen for seven years now. I promised my kingdom that I would protect them but how am I supposed to do that if I don¡¯t know how to save the other villages my father took over?


    ¡°Sure, they gave in to Darkness easier than any other country has before but I think they are also weak-minded. There is a reason that the country is called the most selfish country of all. They don¡¯t know how to fight back and how to let Light in when Darkness bribes them with everything they ever want,¡± Abbot continues.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need to think quickly about how my brothers and I are going to fight Darkness without our mother. How many people are left in Chopver that haven¡¯t turned?¡± I ask.


    Abbot¡¯s words stay on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes filled with dread and worry. The wrinkles on her face grow deeper and her hair seems to suddenly go grayer.


    ¡°Abbot, your queen just asked you a question,¡± I state. I lift one of my eyebrows to her waiting for her response.


    She exhales so hard that some hairs fall out of my braided crown.¡°The rumor is that there are only a couple billion people left in Chopver who haven¡¯t turned to Darkness. I would check with General Velreos to make sure that is accurate, Your Highness.¡±


    How are there only a couple of billion people left? Last week there were still ten billion left. Darkness is moving faster than usual. My heart starts to race as I panic about what to do.


    After Abbot is done with my hair, I get up and tell her to have General Velreos come to the dining room. I know my brothers are there already. Their beastly stomachs bring them to the dining room before I am even awake but they stay there until I am finished with my breakfast.


    I burst the door open but don¡¯t bother to sit in my chair.


    ¡°Good morning sister, what is the matter?¡± Strider asks.


    His dark eyebrows furrow like they always do whenever he gets worried.


    Out of both of my brothers, Strider looks the most like me. His medium-length wavy dark hair is the same as mine, along with his bright hazel eyes. His dark beard makes him look like he¡¯s a couple of years older than Theon and me.


    Theon looks nothing like Strider and I. He has short wavy hair that is as white as snow. His eyes are as dark as night and his pale skin makes his freckles vibrant.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until General Velreos gets here until I say anything,¡± I say.


    Strider and Theon look at each other, their furrowed brows matching.


    ¡°Well, can you at least sit down? You¡¯re starting to worry me,¡± Theon says.


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    ¡°There is something to worry about so no, I will not sit down,¡± I say.


    ¡°What do you mean there is something to worry about? It¡¯s not what I think it is, is it?¡±


    I look at my brothers, making eye contact with both of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Darkness,¡± Strider whispers.


    I nod and start pacing again. Both of my brothers won¡¯t take their eyes off of me but they are standing as well now.


    General Velreos comes through the door. He bows as he greets us. Strider and Theon are silent. They know that I should be the one talking to the General.


    ¡°Is it true?¡± I ask, ¡°Are there really only a couple billion people left with pure hearts in Chopver?¡±


    Velreos opens his mouth but closes it just as fast. Another second goes by before he answers, ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Seven billion to be exact. It seems that Darkness is moving at an alarming speed. Chopver seems to be quite weak when it comes to good intentions. Our spies have communicated that there is nothing they can do to save the people. We may need to send in you three to help them. It seems like you¡¯re their only hope.¡±


    The spies from our kingdom work very hard. If I wasn¡¯t queen I would join them and spread the word like they are. We have spies all over the world trying to tell people that we need both Light and Darkness to have a peaceful balance again. With Light being banished, Darkness has an easier time spreading his disease. Light is growing weaker and weaker every time someone turns to Darkness.


    It doesn¡¯t take long until I make my decision.


    ¡°General Velreos, I need you to keep an eye on the kingdom. My brothers and I will go to Chopver to see if there is anything we can do. Maybe we can find a way to stop Darkness once and for all.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, Your Highness, but-¡±


    ¡°Your queen commands you to take care of the kingdom. If anything shall happen to us I know I can trust you to take care of everyone here.¡±


    General Jaelon Velreos has been loyal to this kingdom since the very beginning. After my brothers, he is the one I trust the most. I know that he will do what he believes is right for the kingdom.


    ¡°So what is the plan here exactly?¡± Theon asks.


    Only my brothers can talk to me like that. They were taught not to but I begged them to talk to me like their sister and not their queen. I wanted to feel human in some way. They are the only ones who can argue with me without being punished and the only ones who don¡¯t have to be formal when they are talking to me.


    ¡°We go to Chopver and try to stop Darkness from taking over the rest of their kingdom. We figure out how to bring everything back into balance,¡± I say.


    Theon rolls his eyes. ¡°Brilliant idea.¡±


    ¡°You have a better plan? If you think you are so better than me then let¡¯s hear your plan.¡±


    Theon falls silent.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. The least we can do is see if we can do anything. We are not helping by just sitting here doing nothing. We have to try and help in some way.¡±


    Strider and Theon nod in agreement.


    ¡°Very well, Your Highness. I will activate the portal in an hour,¡± Velreos says.


    ¡°Strider, Theon, get your weapons and essentials. We will meet at the portal,¡± I command.


    They nod, not saying a word, and run out of the dining room door.


    ¡°With all due respect, Your Highness, are you sure you can succeed?¡± Velreos asked.


    ¡°Jaelon Velreos, whenever have I gone into something without a chance of succeeding?¡±


    ¡°Never, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Then we better hope that this is not the first.¡±

 Chapter 2: Xavier

    ¡°Good morning, my sweet boy. Are you coming with me to Throng today?¡± my mother asks me.


    I walk into the kitchen where my mother and two little sisters are eating the breakfast my father is cooking. I sit down next to my mother after kissing her on her forehead.


    ¡°Yeah, I will come today,¡± I reply.


    I always go to Throng with my mother to hide the fact that I don¡¯t believe in any of this. Light and Darkness never existed, it¡¯s just an excuse for people¡¯s different behaviors. If someone does something bad, they could blame it on Darkness and say that they weren¡¯t in control of their mind and body.


    Mother nods her head with a pleasant smile. She is very pretty. I am the only one who looks like her with my straight brown hair and blue eyes. My little sisters look a lot like my father with their bright blonde hair and dark brown eyes.


    After breakfast, I head out of the house with my mother. Father watches my little sisters since they are too young to go to Throng.


    As we head to the Temple of Light, I hear a familiar voice call my name.


    ¡°Xavier, wait up!¡± Pierce says out of breath. Mother and I stop walking so he can catch up to us.


    Pierce Coleman has been my best friend for as long as I remember. When we were babies, we lived in houses that were neighboring. Pierce moved away about ten years later because his mother died and his father couldn¡¯t afford that kind of home anymore. We never stopped meeting up at the market where his dad tried his best to sell his flowers and plants.


    ¡°You going to Throng?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yeah, my grandmother is sick again so father is taking care of her. I figured I would go and relay the message to them when I got back. Can I sit with you?¡± Pierce asks.


    Pierce is in his questioning phase currently. He can¡¯t tell if Light and Darkness truly existed or if it is how The Magnificent control their kingdoms.


    I look over to my mother for approval. She stepped in to take care of Pierce when his dad was working extra hours to make enough money to buy food.


    Mother smiles her gorgeous smile and says, ¡°Of course, you can sit with us. You don¡¯t even have to ask.¡±


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    Walking into the Temple of Light always hurts my eyes. The big, glass-stained windows let in light which bounces off the golden statues of what people think Light looked like. On top of that, the white marble floor and walls are too¡­white. My eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my head every time I walk in here.


    I groan as I sit down in a pew because my head is starting to throb. The pews are forest green but look almost black compared to all the white in here.


    ¡°Good morning everyone, may Light shine upon you,¡± the controller says.


    ¡°And also with you,¡± everyone replies.


    The controller goes on about how Light was truly pure and that we have to help her reunite with her children as much as we can. I have a couple of problems with that. How can we, mortals, help a goddess reunite with her children? I don¡¯t think these children exist. Triplets who look like a human but have the powers of a god, yeah right. I will believe it when I see it.


    After our sermon about how great Light is and blah blah blah, the controller always has announcements and moments of silence for those who have turned to Darkness. Six people from our temple alone have turned. The controller claims he is afraid that our country will be the next one that Darkness takes over.


    If there is supposed to be a balance of light and dark, good and evil, don¡¯t we all have a little bit of darkness inside of us? When I asked my mother that when I was younger, I got grounded for three whole months. Father came to me a couple of hours after I asked the question and said that we all do have a little bit of darkness inside us. It¡¯s what makes us mortals. He told me that I shouldn¡¯t ask those kinds of questions in front of Mother and that I should go to the temple to make her happy. She is the only reason I go.


    On our way out of the temple, Mother always tries to greet the controller.


    ¡°Good morning, Controller Gial,¡± Mother says.


    ¡°Good morning, Arya. Pierce, Xavier, it is good to see you this morning,¡± Controller Gial responds.


    Mother and Controller Gial talk about the people who have decided to turn to Darkness.


    ¡°I fear there are more and more people every day giving into what Darkness is offering,¡± Controller Gial says.


    ¡°Is there anything we can do? I would love to do anything I can,¡± Mother says.


    ¡°Other than keeping your loyalty to Light, there is not much we can do. We could try and bring the mortals who have turned to Darkness back to Light, but we never had much luck with that. Arya, you are one of the most loyal followers of Light I have ever met. That is why I feel like I need to warn you.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°I fear that Darkness is going to personally come for you or someone in your family. I would recommend you be more strict on getting your whole family to come to the temple.¡±


    I roll my eyes. He has to be the biggest joke of them all. Lie to my mother and tell her she is in danger just so she can bring more people to his temple.


    I give a silent chuckle.


    Mother didn¡¯t hear it but Controller Gial saw it. He turns toward me. ¡°I fear you are in the most danger, Xavier. I sense you do not believe in Light or Darkness. This would make you very vulnerable to Darkness. He could persuade you that he is real and that you should follow him. He will tempt you with all of the things you have ever desired. Be careful Xavier, for you might be his next victim.¡±


    I huff, fed up with everything, and shout, ¡°I won¡¯t be his next victim because he doesn¡¯t exist!¡±

 Chapter 3: Orien

    I go into my bedroom, making a mental note of the things I need to bring. The number one thing on my list is my Bloodied Obsidian Bayonets. Theon suggests we call them BOB for short but Strider and I voted no on that. We decided to call them Glints instead. We decided on that name because it takes all our enemies¡¯ darkness away and they turn into dust. When the light hits just right, the dust twinkles.


    I wish we knew some other way to help the victims who have fallen into Darkness¡¯ path. The only way we know right now is to kill them. Scientists in the royal lab are trying to figure out a cure but have not succeeded yet. Darkness is spreading so fast that I hired three times as many scientists so they can work non-stop. There has to be a cure. I need to save my kingdom.


    My brothers and I can only make two bayonets every month. We carve the bayonets out of obsidian and then we bring them into the temple. The marble of the temple was carved out in, contrast to the obsidian that we lay down in front of us. We then had to grab the Zealous Blade and cut our palms forming a pool of blood in the middle of our hands. The Zealous Blade is the sword our mother used to fight Darkness with when his rage started. Because we were half-light, we had enough magic in our blood to make the bayonets balance every month. We had to make sure three drops of blood hit the bayonets otherwise the magic wouldn¡¯t work. After the blood dripped on the bayonets, the magic turned them into Glints.


    I look around my room and gather all of the Glints I can grab. I call Abbot in the room and ask her to get General Velreos. As I wait for him, I pack some essentials and clothing. I decided to bring six Glints with me. Not too much that it would be noticeable but not too little that we could run out of weapons.


    General Velreos knocks on my wooden door and I verbally let him in.


    ¡°You wanted to see me, Your Highness?¡± Velreos asks.


    I hand him the extra Glints that I will not be taking with me. ¡°I know only the Magnificent are allowed to wield these, but as someone who is part of the Magnificent, and also your queen, I will give these to you. Hand them out only to the soldiers you trust the most. Don¡¯t let anyone else get a hand on these. Make sure to track every single one because if they get in the wrong hands then our whole kingdom could turn into chaos. I am trusting you with these.¡±


    The Magnificents are royalty. They are the only ones aware that Light and Darkness truly exist and that they are not legends. Magnificents are the only ones with permission to wield Glints because the weapons are so powerful. They can choose whom they tell the truth and those people have to swear to secrecy. If the truth of Light and Darkness came out then the world would panic even more and chaos would ensue. We can barely handle the chaos going on with people thinking it is just a story.


    Velreos¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Your Highness, I will not disappoint you. I promise if the kingdom shall fall then I too shall fall with it. I will protect this kingdom with my life.¡± His green eyes are glassier than I have ever seen and it almost looks like he would miss me.


    I walk over to him and hug him. Something I have never done but something that felt so right. He and his family were the ones who taught me and my brothers how to fight. The generations of men took over the fatherly role when Darkness became unbalanced. It feels like I owe him this hug.


    His brown beard is scratchy on my scalp but I don¡¯t pay attention once I feel his arms wrap around my shoulders.


    ¡°I know you won¡¯t disappoint me Jaelon Velreos. I trust you with the kingdom. You have been one of the best people in my life. Thank you for everything you have done to prepare my brothers and me for this awful war.¡±


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    ¡°You¡¯re talking like you won¡¯t be coming back.¡±


    I let go of him and meet his eyes. I feel the sting of tears forming in my eyes. I rarely get emotional in front of anyone but Velreos makes me feel comfortable to be vulnerable in front of him. The silence I give him is so loud and clear. I fear we won¡¯t make it out of this alive.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think like that, Your Highness. You will come back. You and your brothers are very strong. You can control Darkness and restore everything to the way it was. I have trained you well. If you fail that means I have failed you and you know I never fail.¡±


    I give a slight chuckle at the fact. Indeed, he never has failed me but there is always time for firsts.


    I shake my head to rattle the thoughts out. To save my kingdom and the world, I need to go into this with hope. Hope that we can control Darkness. Hope that we can balance everything again. Hope that my people can live peacefully once again.


    We both head out of my bedroom and towards the courtyard. In every kingdom, there is a big patch of land that is covered in gravel. It is where the portals connect. The eight-foot stone walls surrounding the land mass are to protect everything surrounding the portal. Winds are so strong that anything within fifteen feet of the portal would get sucked into it.


    Strider and Theon are already there. All three of us only packed what could fit in a sack.


    ¡°Our spies have alerted The Magnificents of Chopver that you will be arriving. Is there anything else I can do for you before you depart, Your Highness?¡± Velreos says.


    I turn towards him and smile. I shake my head and give him one final mental goodbye. He nods in response and goes behind the stone wall that divides the courtyard from the outside world.


    My brothers and I walk up to the bull¡¯s eye rock in the middle of the courtyard. The rock is up to my stomach and has a slit in the middle of it. I pull out the Glint from the sheath on my left hip. My brothers put their hands over mine. We have to all touch the same blade to go to the same place. Pushing down together, we insert the Glint into the slit of the bull¡¯s eye rock.


    ¡°Ego praecipio tibi aperire,¡± I command.


    As soon as the glint is in the bull¡¯s eye, the wooshing sound of the portal grows louder and louder. The red, sideways, swirl makes a thunderous roar as it forms. The wind is almost powerful enough to suck everything in it.


    Loose strands of hair fall out of the braided crown and into my face. Then my brothers and I give a silent nod to one another and step towards the portal. The burning in my lungs is nothing compared to the stretching of my limbs. Every time I go through the portal it feels like my joints are about to dislocate and that I am no longer powerful. Going through the portal, it feels like my powers are gone for a split second. It¡¯s the only time I feel truly vulnerable.


    The portal spits us out at an alarming pace. I never truly am ready to land on my feet but I stick the landing most of the time. The burning in my lungs no longer burns but feel like I am breathing underwater. That is the worst part about going through the portal. My joints don¡¯t feel like they are going to pop out of their sockets but I know they will be sore for the next couple of hours.


    I flick my index finger to create a tiny spark. The spark turns into a flame almost instantly. Knowing my power is still there always gives me relief. I know the portal doesn¡¯t take away our powers but I feel so vulnerable during the transportation. I have to always double-check.


    When we walk out of the stone walls in Chopver¡¯s courtyard, we are greeted by a tall woman with tan skin. Her black hair flows down near her knees. The red roses in her hair are placed beautifully and I immediately recognize her.


    ¡°Queen Amelia Eusebia, it has been such a long time since we have last seen each other,¡± I say. I bow as a sign of respect.


    ¡°Queen Orien Windslow, I was so glad to hear you have decided to come here. We weren¡¯t going to last much longer if you decided you didn¡¯t want to show up.¡± Amelia replies. Bowing in return.


    ¡°Where is your king?¡± I ask.


    Amelia looked down at her feet. I see a shiny tear drip down from her nose.


    ¡°He has turned, Orien. My husband has turned to Darkness and he has lost all control.¡±

 Chapter 4: Xavier

    ¡°You are a disgrace to this family. On top of that, you embarrassed me in front of the controller and everyone in the temple. I knew you were questioning when you were younger but I thought you believed now. How could you lie to me like this, Xavier?¡± Mother scolds.


    I cringe and try to think of a response. The last time I saw Mother this angry was when I asked the question about how we all have darkness inside of us.


    I finally think of a response, but when I look up Mother is already gone. Pierce is next to me silent but one corner of his mouth is slightly turned up.


    ¡°Dude, I knew you had the guts to admit you didn¡¯t believe but I didn¡¯t think it would be in front of the entire temple. What are you going to do now?¡± Pierce asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I murmur.


    I regret not being able to control my words, but it feels like a ton of weight has been lifted off my chest. Of course, the rumor that I had already turned to Darkness has already spread like wildfire. The pressure of everyone¡¯s eyes on me replaces that weight. I feel like I am drowning yet again.


    Pierce sighs, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to June¡¯s house. She would know how to cheer you up.¡±


    June Chaffer has been dating Pierce for three years now. Everyone is waiting for the wedding to be announced but there is no hint that it is going to come anytime soon.


    Arriving at June¡¯s house amazes me every time. The long path that leads to her house, after the shiny golden gates, is lined with neatly trimmed trees on both sides. The gravel pathway leads to a staircase right outside of the mansion. The white pillars with gold trimmings around it show how rich June¡¯s family is.


    Her father is one of the head guards for our kingdom''s Magnificent. Her mother is a seamstress and with all these funerals happening, she has been very busy.


    Her mother had never been fond of Pierce only because Pierce is so poor, he would soon have to live in a box. June tries to convince her mother that he is a good and caring person. Money shouldn¡¯t matter when love is in the equation, right?


    My family is financially stable but not rich like June¡¯s family.


    When we knock on the door, we are greeted by the usual butler.


    ¡°Emerson, my man, how are you on this fine day?¡± Pierce asks. His hyper body language is opposite to Emerson¡¯s collected stance.


    ¡°I am doing fine, sir. How are you?¡± Emerson replies.


    ¡°I am doing just swell. Do you know where June is at the moment?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, I will take you to her right now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much, my kind man.¡±


    Emerson is the only one that calls Pierce, sir. Everyone else in the house, including servants, thinks that Pierce is so beneath them that he doesn¡¯t get to be respected in any way.


    Emerson leads us to the back door which shows a backyard even grander than the front yard we just walked past. He opens the all glass doors and tells us that June is in the garden on the tree swing.


    June told us the tree swing is one of her favorite spots. It¡¯s where she likes to go when she wants so peace or just to absorb the beauty of nature.


    Pierce and I walk down the white stairs that match the set in the front of this mansion. We walk down a dirt path that has stepping stones along it. When we reach a fork in the path we go left. Going right would lead us into the guest house which has its very own pool and courtyard that leads down to a beach at the ocean.


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    To get to the tree swing, we have to go through the gorgeous garden. We are met with a big arch entrance that is covered in rose climbing plants. The dirt on the path turns into a full stone path. The bright red roses and vibrant orange marigolds contrast with the deep violet irises. The flowers cover the path both ways until there is a break on the right of the path.


    The break leads into the middle of the garden. June sits on a bench swing on a tree in the middle of the garden. Blue leaves fall off of the tree as the wind blows.


    June reads her book as we approach her. She didn¡¯t hear us, so when Pierce took a blue leave out of her hair, she jumped.


    ¡°Pierce, Xavier, you guys scared me,¡± June squeals.


    Pierce laughs as June nudges him in the ribs. Then they start to kiss. The part I always try to not see. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe in love. I think love is a great thing. It can make so many people happy but it isn¡¯t for me.


    ¡°What has been new?¡± June asks us.


    ¡°Do you want to tell her?¡± Pierce asks.


    I glare at him. I didn¡¯t want June to know. Yes, she is dating my best friend and yes, I have known her for many years now but that doesn¡¯t mean that she should know everything. She is brutally honest and she is not afraid to tell you when you are in the wrong. I already know I was in the wrong this morning and I don¡¯t want to be told by someone else I was in the wrong.


    ¡°Tell me what?¡± June questions.


    ¡°It was nothing,¡± I briskly say.


    ¡°Xavier admitted in front of the whole temple that he doesn¡¯t believe in Light and Darkness,¡± Pierce interrupts.


    Now I give him the death glare. What gives him the right to tell someone else about my business?


    ¡°Oh, Xavier,¡± June walks over to hug me as if she was comforting me, ¡°You royally fucked up.¡±


    I huff and lightly shove her off. ¡°You don¡¯t think I know that? It was a poor decision on my part. I don¡¯t need to hear it from you guys.¡±


    I didn¡¯t realize I shouted the last sentence until I saw the surprised expressions on their faces. I look down at my feet in embarrassment.


    ¡°Dude, it¡¯s not that big of a deal. People will forget it in a week or two,¡± Pierce reassures me.


    But my mother won¡¯t. I wanted to reply but decided to change the subject.


    ¡°What are you reading, June?¡± I ask.


    ¡°The Scripture of Light,¡± she replies.


    Great, today¡¯s theme of discussion is Light and Darkness. I don¡¯t think I will be able to escape it. Maybe this is either Light or Darkness punishing me for not believing them. Or it could just be a mere coincidence. If I can¡¯t avoid the topic, may as well dive into it, right?


    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡¯ I hesitate.


    ¡°Sure,¡± June replies.


    ¡°What makes you so sure that Light and Darkness are real? Doesn¡¯t it seem a little too fake to you to believe it?¡±


    ¡°It gives me a sense of hope and comfort knowing that something or someone is watching us. Darkness wasn¡¯t all evil despite what The Scripture of Light says. What makes you so sure they don¡¯t exist?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just an excuse for people to do horrible things to one another. We have never seen Darkness or Light so how can you know they really do exist?¡±


    ¡°What about the people who follow Light? What¡¯s their excuse?¡±


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know, they¡¯re probably delusional.¡±


    Calling my mother delusional hurts. It¡¯s not that I think she is delusional but if she believes in Light, wouldn¡¯t that make her a little bit delusional?


    ¡°How would you explain the people who have turned into monsters when they disobey Darkness?¡± June asks.


    ¡°The creatures with pale green skin and purple veins?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°When is the last time you have seen anything like that?¡±


    She¡¯s silent as if brewing the right response. ¡°I haven¡¯t but my father has told me about them and how horrible they are.¡±


    ¡°Your father is working for The Magnificents. He is probably lying to you.¡±


    ¡°My father would never lie to me.¡±


    ¡°He probably does every day.¡±


    I expand my lungs to chuckle a little, but the air is blocked. June has punched me in the front of my jaw.

 Chapter 5: Orien

    ¡°What do you mean he turned to Darkness?¡± Strider asks.


    ¡°I mean that he is pure evil now. There is no more light in his eyes. There is only pure hatred. He killed our eldest son because he was jealous that he wouldn¡¯t have the crown for eternity. We locked him up in the dungeon in the basement of the castle,¡± Amelia explained.


    My heart grows heavy with dread. Not Asher Eusebia. Anyone but him.


    Asher was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He truly cared for his people and their future. To be king was his destiny. Asher was born to be one. He was always willing to help my brothers and I put a stop to Darkness. He was going to be our greatest ally and be a strong asset to our battles. Asher was like a brother to me.


    I look down at my feet with a moment of silence. I know I will mourn for him when I have alone time but right now is not the time to cry. I suck in a deep breath.


    ¡°Take us to him,¡± I command.


    She nods and gestures for us to follow her.


    ¡°Are you sure he turned to darkness and is not just a crazy person?¡± Theon whispers. He is only loud enough for Strider and I to hear him.


    ¡°Are you serious right now? You have to be joking,¡± Strider says.


    ¡°What? You never know. Some people get crazy the older they get.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I even wonder if we are from the same bloodline.¡±


    ¡°Shush, both of you,¡± I hiss.


    We walk into Chopver¡¯s castle. Out of all the castles, I think this one has to be my favorite. The marble floors make the castle always look so clean and the walls are filled with paintings of the many generations that ruled before. The diamond ceilings acted as a mirror.


    I look up and I see Theon making faces at himself through the ceiling. We make eye contact and I glare at him. His face immediately falls into a more serious look. I roll my eyes and think about the comment Strider made a couple of minutes ago. How is it possible that Strider and I are so serious about our duties and Theon acts like it''s all a joke?


    We walk down the stairs into a stone hallway. This is where the dungeon begins. The temperature drops so cold that I can see my breath in front of me. The lack of light and stone walls are also dead giveaways.


    We walk down the hallway where there are three cells on each side. Most of them are empty except one. The old pale man is all skin and bones with no meat on him. His long white beard and his unkept teeth show that he has been in here for a very long time. He walks up to his cell bars and gives me the nastiest glare as if I somehow put him in the cells myself. I shudder and keep walking, pretending that I didn¡¯t notice him.


    After we get past the cells, we walk into a circular room where there is a while with four straps in the shape of an X. There are blood drips throughout the wheel.


    ¡°Geez, what do you think they use that for?¡± Theon asks.


    I roll my eyes, not bothering to answer him. We don¡¯t dictate how each kingdom rules its people. The only thing we look for is that everything is given fairly. If someone deserves to be punished for what they did then so be it. We don¡¯t agree that people should be punished for nothing though.


    After the circular torture room, we get to another hall. This one is a fourth of the one we passed through before. There are no cells on the sides but there are cell bars in the ground.


    ¡°Engeldeo, it¡¯s me, your wife. I have the Windslow siblings here. Are you feeling well enough to talk to them, my love?¡¯ Amelia says.


    A groan and then a shriek come from the ground. I see something moving in the shadows, too quick for me to realize who or what it is. Curiosity gets the best of me and I feel my legs pull me to see what is in the cell.


    The next thing I know is that I feel a sharp pain right above my right eye. Theon grabs my shoulders and snatches me away from the cell.


    My brother hands a handkerchief to me ¡°Here sister.¡±


    I blink and take the handkerchief, curious. He motions to put it to my head. Following his actions I dab it on my forehead. Pulling it back a small splotch of blood is on it. Scanning the ground I see a rock with a bit of blood on it.


    That¡¯s King Engeldeo Eusebia for you. He is known for his aim. He could hit a bullseye on a target from hundreds of feet away. If we wanted to, he could have blinded me with the rock, or worse, hit someone else somewhere that could have been fatal. But he didn¡¯t. If he fully turned, wouldn¡¯t he have tried to kill someone, not just harm them?


    ¡°Sister, are you alright? I don¡¯t think you should walk up to the cell again. He might try to hurt you again,¡± Strider says.


    I ignore him and stand close enough to the cell to take a look inside once more. I grab a torch off the prison wall. Lighting up the cell,  my eyes meet a man who looks like Engeldeo but instead of the warmth that is always in his eyes, they are ice cold. His pale skin looks almost green and translucent. Purple veins are vibrant all around his body. His height is the same as it always was but the muscles on his body have grown twice in size. His sharp yellow teeth are vibrant against his pale skin.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    This only happens to the people who disobey Darkness. If they don¡¯t follow his command or try to go back to Light, they will be punished and turned into mindless beasts. They aren¡¯t able to ask Darkness for forgiveness either since he took away their speech. All they can do is shriek and wail.


    King Engledeo¡¯s eyes keep darting around the cell and out of it, yet when we make eye contact for a brief moment, there is a sense of familiarity in them. Part of him is still in there somewhere.


    Engeldeo steps a couple of paces back. I sigh with relief. Maybe he has realized who I am and that I am not an enemy. Maybe there is still some of him left inside ¡­ him.


    I turn around to ask Amelia some questions about how he turned and what made him kill his son. I open my mouth to ask the question, and then all of a sudden I hear the most ear-curdling screech. The cell bars rattle and clank until they sound like they are about to pop.


    I turn around to see that Engeldeo has jumped to grab the bars and his feet are sticking out.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± the dark-haired soldier who came with us said, ¡°The cell is ten feet deep. How is he able to jump that high?¡±


    King Engeldeo looked like a dead pig on a pole about to get roasted. His yellow teeth bite on bars, leaving green foam on them. The screech turned into painful cries of mercy. He gets down from the bars. I run up to see if he is okay. Scratching his head as if he is trying to get something out, purple blood oozes from his skull. He looks up and we make eye contact again. I could see Engeldeo was begging through his eyes to save him. I am lost.


    ¡°Engeldeo has been like this for a week now. I got up immediately and ran to his room down the hall. A few guards met me as I opened Asher¡¯s door. My husband was standing over my son, his face losing color as blood drained from his neck. I asked my husband what was going on, and he turned his head to the side, barely acknowledging me. Then he started to turn towards me, showing a bloody knife in his hand. Raising the knife, he looked at it and then at me. Engeldeo started to whisper to himself and deny something. He kept saying to himself, ¡®That wasn¡¯t the plan¡¯ and ¡®You didn¡¯t say I had to end her too¡¯. I waved the guards in and had them restrain him. I should have called you but I didn¡¯t want to alarm you. I thought that maybe I could do something that could reverse this nightmare.¡± Queen Amelia¡¯s voice trails off, ¡°I thought maybe I could find a cure.¡±


    She looks up with tears welling up in her eyes. She was also begging for something different than Engeldeo. I stare at her with understanding and look at her soldiers.


    ¡°Please, wait until we are out of earshot, but you must kill King Engeldeo,¡± I say. I could tell Amelia did not have the courage to tell her men to kill her husband.


    ¡°With all due respect, Queen Orien, we are not under your rule and therefore we will not kill the king under your command,¡± the solder with dark hair responds.


    I look at Amelia and I¡¯m met with wide round eyes. Maybe I read her pleas wrong. Maybe she just wanted to get out of there and not see her husband like this anymore. Her head shakes and tears fall down her rosy cheeks. She walked to my side with a face of courage.


    ¡°Do it. I command you to kill King Engeldeo Eusebia when we are out of earshot. I don¡¯t want to see my husband suffer anymore. It¡¯s worse than seeing him peacefully in permanent sleep. Please, Hemmonet, you know I love my husband so much. If I knew there was even the slightest chance that he could be saved then I would not be asking for this. Please do this, so that I may no longer suffer as well,¡± Amelia says.


    The soldier with dark hair, Hemmonet, hesitates. He looks between Amelia and me with a look of sympathy. He looks down and lets out a deep sigh, resigned with what he has to do.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Hemmonet finally replies.


    With that, I lightly grab Amelia¡¯s arm and walk her over to Engeldeo.


    ¡°What are you doing,¡± she asks.


    ¡°I am giving you a moment to say goodbye to your husband for the last time. You love him so much and should be able to have the chance to tell him that,¡± I reply.


    She doesn¡¯t look at me but nods.


    ¡°May I have some alone time with my husband?¡±


    ¡°Take all the time you need. We will be at the end of the hall by the stairs we came down. Come to us when you are done saying everything you desire.¡±


    I gesture for Theon, Strider, and Hemmonet you walk to the opposite side of the hall. While we walk Strider asks, ¡°When did you guys first find out that he turned to Darkness?¡±


    ¡°Some time last week. It seemed like it just happened overnight. His Royal Highness must have snuck into Prince Asher¡¯s room. The guards were there the whole night and said they didn¡¯t hear or see him enter the room. They heard Prince Asher scream and when they met the Queen at his door, they saw his throat had been slit. The guard who saw it is still on leave because he saw everything. He was such an innocent kid, that guard. The whole kingdom is still in mourning,¡± says Hemmonet.


    That would explain why Amelia was wearing her black dress today. I guess she will be wearing that a little bit longer since she will be losing her husband now.


    ¡°Is Asher buried somewhere close? Can we please see him and pay our respects?¡± asks Theon.


    ¡°His Highness is buried close. I will have a servant show you where he is after Queen Amelia comes to join us.¡±


    ¡°Was it¡­,¡± Theon hesitates, ¡°Was it quick? Asher¡¯s death. Did he suffer?¡±


    Hemmonet shook his head, ¡°His death was almost immediate. I will spare you the details since I know the four of you were close friends.¡±


    ¡°You will do the same to King Engeldeo right? You will give him a quick death and make sure he doesn¡¯t suffer. It¡¯s not his fault, he is under the control of Darkness. He is filled with hate that is not his. Whatever greedy desire he had, I am sure that he regretted it from the beginning. In a way he is already dead,¡± I say.


    ¡°I promise to give His Highness a quick death. I will also make it as painless as possible, Your Majesty.¡±


    My brothers and I nodded. Strider and Theon both put their arms around me. Then they put their arms around each other, the three of us forming a circle.


    ¡°I can see that you have been holding tears in since the news, sister. It¡¯s okay, you can cry now. You know we don¡¯t judge. We will keep you hidden while you mourn,¡± Strider whispers.


    I make eye contact with him but he quickly becomes blurry. The hot tears warm up my cold cheeks. I dip my head and silently scream into the ground. This is Darkness¡¯ fault. My own father is creating evil and killing people I love. My knees give out as I continue the silent screams. Theon uses his strength to keep me up and Strider pulls us both closer to him. I see teardrops joining mine on the ground. I feel a sense of peace knowing that my brothers are comfortable to grieve in front of me as well. The three of us stay in the circle, crying for the loss of our closest friend.

 Chapter 6: Xavier

    Ice helps numb the heartbeat that is throbbing on my chin. June has ice on her knuckles and Pierce is just smiling. His dimples showing themselves.


    What is he smiling about? His girlfriend punched his lifelong best friend. There should be nothing funny about this.


    ¡°What are you smiling about?¡± I ask crisply.


    ¡°Oh, just at the fact that both of you are ridiculous,¡± Pierce replies.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°You,¡± Pierce points at June, ¡°need to control your anger. And you,¡± he now points to me, ¡°need to learn that agitating June will not end well for you.¡±


    I scoff. Today isn¡¯t my day.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have let my anger get to the best of me. You alright, Spicer?¡± June says.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good, Chaffer. I¡¯m also sorry for saying your father is a liar.¡±


    June and I have called each other by our last names for over a year now. One day I joked around by calling her by her last name. She was confused at first, so I had to explain that because she was in a military family I thought it would be funny to address her as a soldier. She ruined the joke though. It¡¯s never funny if you have to explain why the joke is funny.


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    Ever since then, we have been calling each other by our last names.


    June huffs. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be in here anymore. Want to go to see if Cheleste is at the market?¡±


    The market happens on the third day of the week. Cheleste is well known for her baked goods. She makes amazing white cherry pie and smoked apple cinnamon buns. Cheleste¡¯s goods have been so popular that she has to rent an entire building to make all of her treats in.


    ¡°If you need something from the market, you can ask one of our lovely servants to go there. You don¡¯t need to be in that filthy place, June Bug,¡± June¡¯s mother steps in.


    June¡¯s mother, one of the nastiest women you will ever meet, is freakishly tall. Her skinny body makes her huge nose pop out more than it is. Hairy moles are on her chin and right above her left eyebrow. How June¡¯s very handsome father fell in love with that creature is beyond me.


    ¡°Or better yet, make your dirty rat go to the market for you.¡± June¡¯s mother gestures to Pierce.


    I glance over at Pierce to see how he took it. He looks down at his feet as he shrinks back from her.


    Anger boils in my blood. Heat flowing to my cheeks makes my face as red as a tomato. How dare she talk to my friend like that? What did he do to deserve to be treated like this?


    June stands up on her feet, taking both Pierce and my arms in her hands, and drags us outside.


    We walk in silence as we head to see our other friend.

 Chapter 7: Orien

    After what seems like hours, Amelia finally joins us. Her eyes are puffy and red. Luckily my brother¡¯s and my face have cleared up for the most part. It is disrespectful to cry for someone¡¯s death in the royal family if none of the royal family is crying with you. I was relieved when Hemmonet didn¡¯t say anything when my brothers and I formed our circle.


    Amelia talks quietly to Hemmonet and hands him one of the Glints that are sheathed on her chest. Hemmonet responds quietly and bows. He turns to bow to my brothers and me and then walks off.


    ¡°I understand you want to see my sweet Asher. I can walk you to him if you like,¡± Amelia says. She sounds tired like every ounce of energy she had left has drained out of her.


    ¡°You should go rest. We can get a servant to show us where the grave is. Go, get some rest, and mourn for the loss of your husband and son,¡± Strider responds.


    ¡°I am so sorry that you are going through this. Your family was so loving and I am sorry that it ended up this way. I promise you I will get revenge for both Engeldeo and Asher. Darkness will die if that is the only way to stop him. I will end this. I promise,¡± I pull back from the whisper and give her a supportive smile.


    She smiles and nods, ¡°Thank you. I will be in my chambers for now. Please, stay for dinner, I have been so lonely for the past week. It would mean a lot to me if you stayed.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± I agree.


    We all head up the stairs that we came down from. When we get to the top, Amelia commands one of her ladies-in-waiting to show us where Asher is buried. The lady-in-waiting nods and gestures for us to follow her. Amelia walks the other way toward her bed chamber.


    We walk down another marbled floor hallway but this one has a deep purple carpet along the middle of it. The paintings of past kings and queens on the wall show no color, only black, white, and gray. The windows have thick purple curtains blocking the light from shining into the hall. The only way we can see in the hallway is the occasional torch scattered throughout the hallway. Even those torches don¡¯t give us enough light for us to see where we are going exactly.


    At the end of the hall, we walk up to a three-pointed arch door. It has foggy glass in the shape of little diamonds over the whole door. When it opens, my eyes hurt with all the color and brightness, a sudden change from the dark halls we were in.


    I shade my eyes and take in the beauty of my surroundings. This side of the castle has no civilians on it. We are at the top of a hill with a flower meadow beneath us. The different shades of blue, pink, purple, and white contrast the hallway we came out of.


    We follow the servant down the hill and through the meadow. We are directly in the back of the castle. The royal graves are the only graves inside the castle walls. At the edge of the meadow, there is a forest of blue leafless trees. The smaller trees are brighter blue and the taller trees are almost navy blue.


    We walk through the forest on a dirt path and get to an opening where there are graves everywhere. The gate that surrounds them glows with magic. We don¡¯t have that in our kingdom but of course, my brothers and I are the first mortal rulers.


    ¡°Only The Magnificent have access. I will wait out here for you, Your Majesties,¡± the lady-in-waiting says.


    Strider, Theon, and I walk past the white specks of magic falling out on the ground. There are about 200 gravestones in this graveyard. Each one has its own relic, each symbolizing the era the dead were alive.


    The beast that looks like a snake with a lion head was the first beast that represented the before-doom era. The era when everything was still balanced and peaceful. The huge bird with a long tail and horns on top of its head represented the after-doom era. This era is all the years after Darkness had his temper tantrum and decided to destroy the whole world.


    We walk up to Asher¡¯s stone. The scorpion body with the gorilla¡¯s head represents the dark days. This era shows that people are turning to Darkness more and more every day. I felt a sense of familiarity when I looked at the drool and foam coming out of the beast¡¯s mouth. The beast looks like it is full of disease and it¡¯s growing rapidly. It is a very close representation of what Darkness and his effects are doing to this world.


    I knelt in the dirt where Asher is buried. I start to chant the ritual of the dead. Giving him the peace he needs to be satisfied in the afterlife. I hear the ground rustle around me as Strider and Theon join me.


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    ____


    Thirty minutes later the lady-in-waiting leads us back into the castle where Amelia awaits us. Her puffy eyes showed she had been crying the entire time.


    ¡°Amelia, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing your son to a murder and losing your husband to Darkness is very hard,¡± Strider says. ¡°But we have come here for a reason. Is there any information you can give us as we go into your kingdom?¡±


    Amelia opens her mouth and closes it just as fast. ¡°You will need to disguise yourself. My people are very angry with The Magnificent but especially you three. They blame you for what Darkness is doing.¡±


    ¡°Why would they be angry with us? We aren¡¯t the one that is filling the people¡¯s hearts with hate,¡± Theon snaps.


    ¡°They blame you for angering Darkness. If you would have listened to his requests then none of this would have happened. I tried calming the kingdom down and telling them that their claims were not a bit true. It was no use though since thousands of people were convincing others that the three of you are true Darkness spawns and don¡¯t have a bit of Light in you.¡±


    ¡°So, your people think that because we didn¡¯t do the evil requests that Darkness asked us to do, we are still the most evil beings that have existed,¡± Strider stated.


    ¡°Unfortunately yes. Did you three bring your disguise cloaks?¡± Amelia asks.


    Disguise cloaks are only for The Magnificent. Cut only by Glints, they can be made out of any material for any environment. When you put the cloak on, you snap your fingers twice and the cloak will be invisible along with you.


    Civilians are not supposed to have the cloaks for the safety of the kingdom and the Magnificent. One year, a guard caught a civilian trying to steal a disguise cloak. That civilian has turned into the same creature King Engeldeo had turned into. We, unfortunately, had to kill that civilian as well.


    ¡°No one knows what we look like or if we even exist. I didn¡¯t think we would need to bring them,¡± I respond.


    ¡°Your Glints are too bulky to hide. My people will not care. If anyone wears anything that represents royalty, my people will try their best to hurt you. If they see anyone that might look like a Magnificent, they will try to hurt or even kill them. Hammonet can show you to the royal closet and get you ours. For the last couple of weeks Engeldeo, Asher, and I had to wear them. The people are angry with us for being allies with you.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stay in the castle? Surely, you have servants and guards who could get the things you need,¡± Theon says.


    ¡°Engeldeo wanted to see the riots for himself. He was so surprised about it that he didn¡¯t believe his guards when they told him. Asher and I were curious so we decided to tag along. Our royal tailors got in contact with yours to mimic your disguise cloaks. It¡¯s where I started seeing the strange signs my sweet Engeldeo was showing.¡±


    ¡°What were those signs?¡±


    ¡°He would glare at our son in a way I have never seen him glare before. A glare that was filled with pure hate. I didn¡¯t think anything of it because I thought he was overstressed with all the chaos that was going on in our kingdom.¡±


    ¡°So you saw him glare at your son. How soon after did the murder happen?¡± Strider asks.


    ¡°That very night,¡± Amelia croaks.


    I see Strider opening his mouth up to ask another question but I put my hand up to stop him. Amelia looks like she had enough for today. I don¡¯t want my brothers or me to make the wounds deeper than they already are.


    I thank Amelia for all the help she has given us. Hammonet guides us to the closet where the disguise cloaks are located.


    ¡°Your Highness, may I speak about something?¡± Hammonet asks.


    I give a fake smile, hesitating to agree. Whenever people are vague on the topic they want to speak about, I get nervous about what the topic could be. Could it lead to an awkward fight? Is it a compliment that I need to accept even if I don¡¯t believe it? Is there some other vital information that could help us on this mission?


    In case it is the last option, I permit Hammonet.


    ¡°I just wanted to thank you for coming to Chopver. My sweet angel of a daughter would not have had a future if you decided you didn¡¯t want to come,¡± he lets out a small chuckle. ¡°She speaks very highly of The Magnificent. I am forever thankful for your willingness to fight this awful war.¡±


    His joy does not bring a true smile to my face, but the same mask stays on. We haven¡¯t won, and I have no idea where to start. The weight of this battle is already heavy.


    To stop overthinking, I ask, ¡°And what is your daughter¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°Her name is June Chaffer, Your Highness. She knows I am on a special mission right now but she doesn¡¯t know the details. I know secrecy is something you want.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you have sworn to secrecy for a reason. Otherwise, this world could get very dangerous.¡±


    Hammonet stops in front of a big arched doorway. The brown carved forest animals go with the emerald green painted background.


    ¡°Hammonet?¡± I say.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°I will make sure June has a future.¡±

 Chapter 8: Xavier

    June, Pierce, and I turn the corner that leads to the market street. This street is the only street with gravel on the ground and is big enough to fit ten people across. The shops line up on both sides, brightening as the sun hits the colors of the cloth roofs.


    The smell of animals in their wooden cages and fruit sitting out in the sun fills my throat with bile. I used not to be so sensitive to smells but the older I got, the more sickening they became. But then there is a smell that fixes the stench of the market. The smell of Cheleste¡¯s pieces of heaven that she bakes.


    I can tell June and Pierce smell it as well because their faces have grown relaxed.


    We all follow the scent trail that leads us to a big crowd. Sometimes, the crowd that forms around Cheleste¡¯s tent is so big that we have to give some extra hands to help her out. We used to ask her why she wouldn¡¯t hire more help but she kept saying it¡¯s a good bonding experience for us.


    The three of us step into Cheleste¡¯s tent and without asking if she needs help, we put on our aprons. June heads to the counter where the money exchange is placed while Cheleste and I put orders in baskets for the customers. Pierce goes out into the crowd and gets the orders for Cheleste and me.


    Once the mid-morning crowd dies down, the four of us take a breather. Cheleste used to not bake enough pastries for her customers so people would race to get her treats. She makes enough now, but people still race to get her treats. I don¡¯t think they will ever calm down. They are the tastiest thing I have ever eaten, so I don¡¯t blame them.


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    June and Pierce come back with some water from the well in the middle of the market. I reach for my cup as June hands her extra cup to Cheleste. Quickly taking the cup out of my reach, Pierce shakes his head and makes a tsking noise.


    ¡°No, no, no. You sir, have to dance to earn your water,¡± Pierce says with a grin.


    This isn¡¯t something new. Pierce used to try and make me do stupid things so I could get something since we were little kids. I usually do it because I don¡¯t really care but it is excruciatingly hot and sticky. Dancing is the last thing I want to do to get some water down my dry throat.


    ¡°Come on, Pierce. It¡¯s too hot to fool around like this,¡± Cheleste says. Cheleste, bless her heart, always seems to stand up for me and tries to get me out of whatever scheme Pierce has going on. I think it is the fact that she is an older sister of eight that she¡¯s a little more mature than the rest of this friend group.


    Pierce groans with disappointment and hesitantly hands me the cup of water. I snatch it out of his hands before he has the chance to change his mind and gulp the water down as fast as I can. It feels ice cold going down my throat compared to the sizzling hot day that is cooking us alive. I gulp the water down so fast. I seem to be the only one dying of the heat so I tell my friends that I will be right back to get some more water.


    As I walk to the well, I notice that the market cleared out earlier than usual. People probably don¡¯t want to be in this heat as well. It¡¯s too hot for the elderly and little children and the adults have to take care of those people, so it makes sense.


    The well seems to be emptier than usual. Which also makes sense. I bend down to grab the rope for the bucket of water. The more and more I bring up the bucket of water, the colder and colder it feels. Looking around one last time to see if anyone was around, I grab the bucket of water and chug it. I don¡¯t put it in the cup, just drink it straight from the bucket.


    Noting how sharp the wood is on my lip, I check for blood. Then I go in for a second full bucket of water. Who knew a human could drink so much?

 Chapter 9: Orien

    My cloak is drenched by the time we get to the town market. I know it gets hot in Chopver but I didn¡¯t prepare myself to be wearing a full cloak. I remember that there is a nice water well in the middle of the town. We aren¡¯t too far away so I look around to see if anyone is around. Of course, there aren¡¯t. It¡¯s too hot for anyone right now. People are smart for staying inside where there is shade.


    When I see that no one is around, I whisper to my brothers that we should head to the middle of town to get water. They both agreed and we headed to the the town¡¯s center.


    I feel relieved because if there was anyone around, they would hear the crunch of the dry little brown pebbles that litter the ground. We don¡¯t have gravel in our kingdom, we have paved concrete roads. Looking around the market makes me humble because it makes me realize how lucky we are to have the things we have. The market looks like an abandoned street where it used to be lively and now the only things that are lively are the ghosts of the past.


    When I confirmed that there was no one near us, I took the hood of the cloak off my head and snapped my fingers. The sight of my shadow reappears on the ground. Two more shadows appear next to mine.


    ¡°Do you remember when this used to be the busiest street in town?¡± Theon asks.


    Strider and I both nod as memories of the street play through our minds. Asher and the three of us would come here when the market was open. Everything was clean and the smell of different scents was pleasant. The people who would run their tents gave Asher free things. They wanted to thank him for being one of the kindest people to them. He would giggle and say he possibly couldn¡¯t take it without paying them. They insisted that he take it. It would have been an honor to them if he had something of theirs in his possession.


    Now the town is full of golden dust covering everything. The stench of rotten fruit makes me slightly gag. I quickly head down the path that leads to the well in the middle of the town. Almost getting there, I see a boy drinking out of the bucket of water. Was he homeless or something? Why is he taking all the water for himself? That selfish bastard.


    I signal for my brothers to halt and cover themselves so he doesn¡¯t see us. When he was done drinking out of the bucket, he wiped his mouth, exhaled as loudly as he could, and turned around to head back to wherever he came from.


    A sigh of relief escapes from me. If he saw us and knew who we were, it could have been bad. Word would spread all over town and then who knows what would have happened. Amelia could have been in danger and she doesn¡¯t deserve anything more to happen to her. She has gone through more in a week than any human should in a lifetime. I can only hope that she will find peace soon and that she can start her healing process.


    I walk up to the well where the boy drank from. My brothers follow behind me. I look down to see how much water is left. It¡¯s too far and too dark for me to figure that out. I would love to have Theon form ice-cold water for us but it is too risky. It could possibly expose us and create chaos.


    One of the main reasons we don¡¯t show people that we are the Windslow triplets is because people would surround us and ask for things we wouldn''t be able to provide. It took generations for the cross who asked for miracles to die down. Some people asked us to heal their sick loved ones or to bring their children back to life. They offered animal sacrifices to bribe us into doing things they wanted us to do.


    Unfortunately, we could not help the people. We were born with powers but only limited powers. Yes, we are gods, but we are not powerful ones. We are just children and we can only perform the powers that we were given from our creation.


    I pull the wooden bucket up from the well. I see a trickle of blood on the edge of the bucket where sharp splinters are sticking out. I wonder if that boy cut his lip on this while he was chugging the water.


    My brothers and I help pour the water into each other¡¯s mouths. While I am waiting for Theon and Strider to hydrate themselves, I smell one of the most amazing smells I have ever smelled. The sweet cinnamon and honey mixed with a hint of glaze fills my nose. The gurgle of nausea in my stomach turns into a fierce growl of hunger. My brothers both look at me, clearly telling me they heard the loud sound my stomach just made. Soon, their stomachs growl back in return as if communicating with mine to go find where that delicious smell is coming from.


    ¡°We have to Orien. Please,¡± Theon begs. He dramatically falls to his knees and laces his fingers in a prayer-like shape. He gives me puppy eyes as if he is begging his life to go see if we can turn that smell into something we can taste.


    I roll my eyes but give a slight smile. Even though Theon can be a pain in the butt sometimes, life could be boring without him. He always has good jokes and sometimes, not all the time knows when to crack them. He lightens my day every single day.


    Strider grabs Theon¡¯s elbow and hoists him back up to his feet. If you didn¡¯t know Strider, you would think that he is super annoyed. But I have obviously known him all my life and I can tell you that the expression on his face does not match the true feelings that are showing in his eyes. I know that he is thinking the same thing. If Theon was not in our lives they would be dull and brutally boring.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    We all agreed that we should eat something and that something should be the smell that we are still smelling. I tell them to go find some civilian clothes and make sure that they can hide Glints easily. We would meet back up at the well in five minutes. They nod and head off in different directions.


    I turn around and note the abandoned tents and stalls where vendors were earlier today. There is a tent with a whole closet of abandoned clothes, so I decide to go inside to see if there is anything that would fit me. I hope the person who left these is going to bring them back to their place otherwise people like me will steal them. There are children''s clothes and female clothes here so I know there will be options for me. I change into tan pants and a maroon tank top. I take my hair out of the braided crown that Abbot put so much effort in and let it fall to my lower back. The braids made my hair look like a sea of black waves.


    I grab my Magnificent clothes and try to find an ally to ditch the in. Looking around me to see if anyone is around us, I confirm that the street is empty. Even though it is scorching out, I create a flame in the palm of my hand and throw the flame on the clothes, burning them. Hopefully, my brothers and I will be long gone before anyone discovers the ashes and questions what happened. The only thing I bring back is the disguise cloak that was stuck to my sweaty body.


    I return to the well where Strider and Theon are already waiting for me. Confirming that we have everything that we need and ditched everything we didn¡¯t, we head to where the smell is coming from.


    We found the smell to be coming from the tent with red and white stripes. Four people are sitting on their stools looking like they just dealt with a stampede. Their hair is matted on their head yet sticking up everywhere as if the sweat is acting as some sort of gel. Two girls had their hair in braids which are now fizzy fur balls attached to their heads. It looks like they have caterpillars attached to their heads.


    One of the girls is blonde with blue eyes and very fair skin. She looks as if perfection is a person. The other girl had red hair and brown eyes with freckles kissing her everywhere on her cheeks. You can tell she has a motherly personality with the way she handles the pastries in front of her.


    Then, there are two men. One of them has tan skin and dark hair and I haven¡¯t seen him stop smiling since I¡¯ve seen him. The other man is the opposite. I haven¡¯t seen a flash of content in his eyes since I walked up here. His brown hair and light skin make him very average but his scowl could make him stand out like a Magnificent in a crowd of civilians.


    ¡°Hi there, what can I get for ya?¡± a man with tan skin and dark hair asks.


    My brothers and I are silent. We observe the heavenly field of baked goods behind him.


    ¡°What are the options?¡± Strider asks.


    The man with tan skin looks at us like he can¡¯t find the last piece of a puzzle that he has been working on. His eyes bounce between my brothers and me. ¡°You aren¡¯t from around here, are you? Everyone in this kingdom knows about Cheleste¡¯s baked goods. Tell me, where are you traveling from?¡±


    ¡°Pierce, just tell them what the options are. I¡¯m sure they are busy and have places to go,¡± another man¡¯s voice says.


    I look behind Pierce to see who said that. The man from the well. He looks to be the same age as Pierce but he is way more handsome with his pale skin, icy blue eyes, and chestnut straight hair. In the light, there are a few strands that turn red and gold. His eyes are like a hurricane of diamonds that sparkle even when light isn¡¯t shining on them. If I weren¡¯t immortal maybe I might have had the courage of flirting with him. I can¡¯t, though, because  I am immortal and he is not. I don¡¯t want to flirt and then possibly grow feelings for him. It has happened to my brother before and left him heartbroken.


    Theon was in love with a girl a few centuries back. They would do everything together from swimming in the sea to watching the stars fade into morning skies. They spent every day and every night together when she was younger. Her name was Thalia, it¡¯s almost as gorgeous as she was. With her long curly brunette hair and emerald green eyes, every man tried to go for her, but she fell in love with my brother.


    Once, they went to my throne room unannounced and asked for my blessing in their marriage. At first, I was hesitant because I knew that she would eventually die and he wouldn¡¯t, but I saw the happiness inside of my brother¡¯s heart gleaming with bright rays of joy. I couldn¡¯t say no to something as pure as the love they had.


    Their wedding was one of the most magical things I have witnessed to date. The glowing yellow and purple flower arch where they both stand to get their blessings from the Controller of the kingdom at the time matched the purple, and golden flakes we blew in the sky. There was no wind that day so the flakes stayed in place brightening the moment even more.


    Thalia and Theon had a long human life together. They did everything they could together. Thalia couldn¡¯t have children no matter how hard they tried but it would have probably been for the best. The stress and depression that Theon went through when Thalia died would have been way worse if he witnessed his children dying as well.


    Thalia died of natural causes in her sleep. The most peaceful and magical way to die for the most peaceful and magical person on the planet. She may not have had powers but she knew how to light up the room when clouds were looming over her. She was the light to Theon¡¯s darkness and so after she died, he wasn¡¯t himself for decades. He knew this day would come but it was too quick for him to accept it. He has her wedding ring hidden away in his room for safekeeping. After her death, he vowed to never love someone like that again. He would stay loyal to her forever.


    That is why I can not fall for this boy even though he is one of the most handsome human beings I have ever seen. I can¡¯t fall for him for the sake of the kingdom and myself.

 Chapter 10: Xavier

    One¡¯s staring at me. Two men and one woman, and she¡¯s staring at me. While Pierce helps the other two, she just stands there staring and staring, only blinking but no verbal sounds come out of her mouth. She looks like she is deep in thought. Maybe I remind her of something like a boyfriend back home or maybe a distant relative that she hasn¡¯t seen in a long time and questions if I am that relative or not. I can guarantee you, I am not.


    Getting creeped out, I listen to what the two men are ordering. I take it as an excuse to get away from her as soon as possible. Grabbing the smoked apple cinnamon bars and some lavender honey sticky buns, I put them in the tan paper baskets that Cheleste¡¯s siblings help her make. I turn around and see that the girl is still staring at me. This time she notices that I notice her and clears her throat looking down at the ground. I can¡¯t tell if the red on her face is from the heat or if she can¡¯t help but notice my crippling handsome looks.


    When the three of them get their baked goods they head on their way to whatever their destination is. Hopefully somewhere far far away so I don¡¯t have to be stared at for ten minutes straight with a woman I have never met. It was almost like she never met a man before other than the two men she was with. The one with silver hair looked nothing like the other two. I bet the other two are siblings and he is a friend or a cousin or something.


    ¡°Um, what the hell was that Xavier?¡± Cheleste asks. She playfully gives me a light punch on my upper arm. ¡°She fell in some love trance or something.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s my handsome features she couldn¡¯t get her eyes off,¡± I joke.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then she has really bad taste in men,¡± she chuckles.


    ¡°Hay, leave him alone. She seemed interested in Xavier!¡± Pierce says as he pulls Cheleste close to him, ¡°Maybe a girl is what he needs to help him pull out that stick that¡¯s been in his ass forever.¡± They share a laugh at my disappointment


    ¡°I think it was kind of cute,¡± June blurts out. We all fall silent and look at her. ¡°What¡¯s with the looks? It was a little creepy but did you see the sparkle in her eyes? She was obviously attracted to Xavier.¡±


    Maybe June was right, but I didn¡¯t feel anything back. Isn¡¯t love supposed to be this magical thing where your skin melts from internal heat and your heart explodes from beating too fast? If that¡¯s the case, then count me out. Love sounds too painful to be something I would long for. Maybe love is a lie and it is the real darkness in all of us.


    ¡°Do you guys want to start packing up? I don¡¯t think we are going to get anyone else with the heat,¡± Cheleste says.


    We all agree and help her pack the baked goods in little containers for her to bring back to her siblings where they will devour these in seconds. We cleaned up the tables and gave the money box to Cheleste. She offers to pay us and we all refuse. It was her hard work that made all this money. She was the one who made people crazy for her baked goods.


    We were hesitant to bring down the tent because it was our only source of shade in this unbearable heat. It didn¡¯t do much but at least it did something. As we were about to bring the tent down, an old lady snakes up on us out of nowhere. Her thick white hair clumps in a bun behind her head. The hunched back tells me that she has had years of work laboring on her body and her wrinkles indicate the amount of experiences she has lived over a very long life.


    ¡°Sorry, ma¡¯am, we are closing down. We will be open at the next market date in thirteen days,¡± I inform her.


    ¡°Oh, no, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Pure Pub,¡± the old lady responds.


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    In all my years, I have never heard of an old lady going to the pub before. The oldest people I see drinking are retired guards and those are mostly men. Women rarely go to the pub unless they are selling their bodies to make some extra cash but this old lady would have to be delusional if she was going to try and sell hers. Well, you never know, there could be some desperate men out there.


    Nodding, I give her a pleasant smile as my friends continue to pack up the tent behind me. I point down the road telling her to take a right, a left, and then at the blue barrel she should walk for five more buildings and then she will see a set of stairs that lead underground.


    ¡°I¡¯m so old I don¡¯t think I even remember the first turn you told me. Would you be a dear and walk with me there? I could pay you in a drink,¡± she says.


    Silently sighing I note in my head how today has been one of the most unpredictable days I have ever lived. I don¡¯t want to go out of my way for something I am not even interested in, but I can¡¯t say no to an old lady. That would make me one of the worst human beings on the planet. Although, an underground bar has to be shaded and probably cool so it would be nice to be in there for a bit. It would be rude of me not to invite my friends with me, right? Luckily, she offers a drink to all of us if we walk her to the Pure Pub. We all agree and lead the sweet old lady to a pub where she doesn¡¯t look like she belongs.


    We help the old lady down the old, dusted steps that lead to the underground pub. The cool air covers my skin in goosebumps and chills. A sigh of relief escapes from my mouth. I promised myself in the cold, shaded area that I could never take advantage of shade again.


    ¡°Is this your first time in here?¡± the old lady asks us.


    We all nod our heads. We aren¡¯t exactly of age to be able to drink¡­but if this old lady buys for us then no one has to know anything.


    ¡°You have to try the Black Truth,¡± she says. ¡°It is one of the best drinks I have ever tasted.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, anything associated with Darkness is not something I¡¯m interested in. Maybe we should head out of here,¡± June says.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You know how pubs always name their drinks menacing names to make them seem cooler than they really are? Come on, if you try it and don¡¯t like it then there is more of it for me,¡± the old lady chuckles.


    We all hesitantly agree to try Black Truth. We wait for the old lady to turn her back and head over to the bar. I notice that she says something to the bartender and he smiles at her as if he knew her already. But if that were true, then why would she have needed us to show her where the pub is?


    ¡°Maybe she is trying to rob us,¡± Cheleste says.


    ¡°No, she is far too slow to be a pick pocketer,¡± June responds.


    ¡°Unless it¡¯s all an act so you would think that she would be innocent when you find your missing valuables gone,¡± Cheleste says.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I feel like something is off about this whole situation. We should try the drink, all agree that it is not for us, and go back to our day as normal young adults,¡± I say.


    June and Cheleste share a look and nod in agreement. Pierce doesn¡¯t nod with them. He, instead, has his eyebrows furrowed slightly and the corners of his mouth are pulled down.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know guys. What if she is just really lonely and wants to talk to people who are kind to her? Maybe we remind her of her grandchildren who live too far away for her to travel to. Come on guys, I know you have hearts for this old lady. Let¡¯s give her company while we can and try to make her day. What do you say?¡± Pierce says, putting on his signature smile.


    This doesn¡¯t surprise me. He has always tried to see the good in people and because of it, he was always the one who got hurt the most when things didn¡¯t turn out the way he expected. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I like that he sees good in people, it makes him cheery and likable, unlike me. He always knows how to calm people down in a panic and cheer someone who is on the verge of crying. He is someone everyone needs in their lives, but I wish it didn¡¯t hurt him as much. It sucks that the people who have the purest hearts always get hurt the most and he is one of the purest people I have ever met.


    The old lady comes back with nothing in her hands and a dangerous smirk on her lips.


    ¡°The waitress will bring all of our drinks over when they¡¯re ready. In the meantime why don¡¯t you four tell me what you have always wanted in life? I¡¯m curious what young people desire these days.¡±

 Chapter 11: Orien

    ¡°Are you okay, sister? You looked like you saw something noteworthy. Something like that handsome guy who helped us get our food,¡± Theon chuckles.


    I punch him in the arm harder than I intended. He out of all people should not be joking about me finding a mortal attractive.


    ¡°Leave her alone, Theon. She is falling in love with someone. Can¡¯t you see the red in her cheeks?¡± Strider laughs with Theon. Theon I would have predicted would tease me, but not Strider. This is a whole new side of my brother that I have never seen before.


    ¡°In case you morons forgot, I have fire powers. I run warmer than both of you combined, therefore my face grows redder than yours,¡± I spit out.


    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± Theon says.


    ¡°What you say,¡± Strider teases.


    I hit both their shoulders as I ran past them. I had to hide the smile on my face. Moments like these are the best, but a monarch must always look put together.


    We walk as we enjoy the tasty treats from the tent and the deserted roads. It¡¯s nice that we don¡¯t have to stay in our disguise cloaks in this sweltering heat. I think I would have died and it is literally impossible to kill me or my brothers. We are immortal and forever will be.


    People have hired assassins to try and kill us before. Their arrows pierce into our chests. If we were mortal, we would have easily died. It stung for a little bit but we were nowhere near the sweet release of death. They claim they were ordered to do so by Darkness himself but my brother and I aren¡¯t so sure if that were true. Wouldn¡¯t Darkness know that the three of us can¡¯t die? We are just as immortal as he is.


    As we are heading down the street, I see a man I recognize. His tall figure is hidden beneath an army green cloak with his pointed hood up on his head. His brown pants are tucked into his traveling boots. I can feel the heat just by looking at him.


    He turns towards us and that is when I confirm his identity. Vlair Preston is one of our most trusted spies. Trained well in combat and sworn into secrecy, his job is one of the most important jobs in the kingdom.


    Vlair spots my brothers and me and subtly gestures to meet him in the alley. I wonder why he doesn¡¯t talk to us and then I notice a group of people in the distance walking somewhere. They aren¡¯t close enough to hear anything we would say but Vlair is right in asking to meet in the alley. Never know if any of Darkness¡¯ vultures of people are spying on us and if Vlair wants to talk to us that means he found something. Possibly something that could get my brothers and me ahead of this cruel game Darkness has forced us to play.


    When I see that the coast is clear, I usher my brothers to go into the alley that Vlair was gesturing to. When I see the green cloak, I find the courage to speak.


    ¡°Vlair, how has the spying been? Got anything for us?¡± Theon cuts me off.


    I softly groan in frustration but he asked the same thing I was going to but I would have worded it more professionally.


    ¡°Your Highnesses, I have some news to bring to your immediate attention. I have found another illegal temple. They call it the Pure Pub. When you walk in it seems to look like a regular pub but¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how they get you to drink the Black Truth,¡± I finished for Vlair.


    The Black Truth is one of the most common ways Dark Recruiters get you to join their cult. They have you verbally list everything you have ever desired and then drink Black Truth. That¡¯s when Darkness will appear at the temple and you can have the Dark Lords rely the message of your desires directly to Darkness. Darkness would grant those desires if you do something he desires in return.


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    The people who drink the Black Truth are mostly innocent. Most of them are followers of Light and would do nothing to sabotage that. When they find out, a lot of them have claimed to have felt physical pain for the rest of their life. It was the light leaving their bodies. I get sad evertime I think about it.


    ¡°The Pure Pub is not so pure after all,¡± Theon whispers.


    Vlair, Strider, and I stare at him. Not sure how to react to his joke on such a serious topic. Vlair and Strider stay silent but I let out a little chuckle. I don¡¯t know why, it¡¯s not even that funny, but for some reason it makes me laugh. Sometimes Theon¡¯s comments get on my nerves but other times they make my life and job a little bit lighter.


    ¡°Can you tell us where this pub is?¡± Strider asks. He¡¯s trying to stay on point. I love Strider but sometimes he can be too serious but it does help with our missions.


    ¡°Yes, but I can only show you and not go with you. One of the waiters discovered I was a spy of Krosla and tried to kill me. I barely escaped with my life.¡± Vlair pulls down the opening of his cloak and shows the long, deep gash on the side of his neck. He¡¯s lucky they didn¡¯t hit an artery or something else serious, otherwise he would have bled to death.


    ¡°Okay, after you take us to the pub, go back to Chopver¡¯s castle and ask Amelia to use the portal to take you back to Krosla. Tell her Orien sent you and needs you to recover. You did good, Valir,¡± I say.


    He nods and then leads us to Pure Pub where there is a supposed illegal Darkness temple. I feel pressure pulsate in my head making my vision beat like a heart. I haven¡¯t encountered an illegal temple in a while. The last time, I saw my father for the first time in decades it made me feel like my stomach was going to push things up my throat. I was so nauseous it was hard to fight him. I sometimes think, if I somehow kept it together, Light and Darkness could have been balanced by now.


    We walk up to a building that looks like it has been run down for years. Windows are broken and the cloth that once shaded the building is torn and ripped everywhere.


    ¡°Are you sure this is it?¡± I ask Vlair. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like anyone has been in here for years.¡±


    ¡°Not in the building, Your Highness. Look over there.¡± Vlair points to the ground by one of the corners of the building. In the dry dirt ground, there is a man-made opening. The edges are too straight to be natural.


    My brothers and I thank Vlair for the work he has done and send him on his way back to Chopver¡¯s castle. We walk up to the edge of the stairway noting how deep into the ground it is. With it deep into the ground it has to be nice and cool down there. I haven¡¯t noticed how heated my blood was making me. If only Light and Darkness weren¡¯t unbalanced, Darkness would be able to provide shade for the people of Chopver.


    My brothers and I all silently nod at each other indicating we are as ready as we will ever be to enter the temple. We carefully climb down the solid clay steps into the pub. When we walk into the doors we notice how packed it is. Are all of these people followers of Darkness? Chopver is in trouble if this how busy one illegal temple is.


    I look around to see my surroundings. We have to burn this place down, it¡¯s the only way we can help restore Chopver to being followers of Light. I make eye contact with an old lady who is glaring at us with her deepened eyes as she walks to the bathroom. From the looks of her, she doesn¡¯t seem harmful. Those are the perfect people to lure others into becoming followers of Darkness. They look like they would never hurt a fly and yet they lure you into Darkness and end up hurting you and everyone you have ever loved.


    I ignore the old lady and look around the pub more. That¡¯s when I notice people I have seen before. People we just got the most delicious baked goods from. How did they make it here before we did? More importantly, why are they here in the first place? Are they followers of Darkness? Did the followers of Darkness find a way to help you talk to Darkness through food now?


    I make eye contact with the boy who I couldn¡¯t stop staring at earlier. The handsome stranger that I am not allowing myself to fall for. When our eyes meet, his eyebrows furrow. He says something to his friends and then walks very fast towards my brothers and me. If he is going to try and convince us to turn, then he is surely mistaken.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here? Are you following us?¡± The handsome stranger sppedwalks toward my brothers and I.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what are you talking about?¡± I respond.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you are some kind of stalker or if you have something wrong with your head but you need to stop going near me. First, you were staring at me for too long, and now you are following me.¡±


    ¡°Do not talk to my sister like that. We aren¡¯t following you and she has nothing wrong with her head,¡± Theon cuts him off. As Theon and the handsome stranger fight, I see four Black Truth drinks being carried to where the handsome stranger¡¯s friends are sitting.


    ¡°You need to get you and your friends out of here right now,¡± I command.

 Chapter 12: Orien

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± the handsome stranger asks.


    I turn to my brothers, ¡°Get him and his friends out of here. Arrest them and bring them to the royal dungeon. Maybe they know where other temples are.¡±


    ¡°Arrest us? No, we did nothing wrong. We aren¡¯t-¡± The stranger gets cut off by Strider forcing his arms behind his back while Theon heads over to the others. Luckily they were a lot more compliant than the boy in Strider''s arms.


    As they head out of the pub and up the stairs, I turn to the other people. All of them stared at me for causing a scene on their peaceful day.


    ¡°Nothing to see here. Go on with your day,¡± I say.


    I need them not to notice me as I find a place where I can burn this place down without anyone escaping. When I confirm that everyone is back into their conversations with one another, I head towards the bathroom. Maybe I can set something on fire there. It¡¯s far enough from the door to create a distraction while I set the entrance on fire.


    I walk into the bathroom as my mind races on how I am going to start a fire in here when I hear snarls and squeaks. I look up, losing my train of thought, and see my nightmare for the second time today. The old lady is slowly turning green while the veins that litter her entire body become deep purple.


    ¡°What? I brought the children to you. I did what you wanted Darkness. Please, what did I do wrong?¡± she sees me, ¡°You, I knew you were trouble. You took those kids out of here.¡±


    I realize what she is talking about. The stranger and his friends. Maybe they were supposed to do a mission together and she was supposed to bring them here so they can execute said mission.


    The old lady twitches as her body turns fully green and her teeth become sharp and yellow. Her mouth opens but her voice doesn¡¯t come out, instead someone I haven¡¯t heard in centuries.


    ¡°My daughter, you can stop this awful war if you just join the side you were destined for. I can give you everything you ever wanted and need, after all, I am your father and I must provide for you.¡±


    ¡°You may have been a part of my creation but you will never be my father,¡± I spit out.


    The old woman shrieks before she lunges at me. Taking me off guard, she was able to tackle me to the ground, but she couldn''t keep me there long until I push her off of me and into the wall. I hear a bone on her back crack with the impact and she shrieks even louder but it doesn¡¯t stop her from getting up and attempting to lunge at me again. This time I am prepared and pull out the Glint that is sheathed secretly at my ankle. Stepping to the side, I push the Glint into the old lady with one smooth motion. Her breath catches as a surprised look falls onto her face. She looks at me but I see nothing but an evil witch before me.


    I pull out the Glint in a fast movement and with a thud the only falls to the ground. She isn¡¯t there for long before her body quickly turns into dust.


    ¡°May Light shine upon you,¡± I whisper. She can¡¯t be saved now but it is nice to think that maybe somewhere in the afterlife she can have a change in heart and follow Light.


    I huff out a sigh of annoyance. This is the first time Darkness has used a human as a vessel to communicate with me. It probably won¡¯t be the last time and because of that I am greatly annoyed.


    I walk into a wooden stall in the bathroom. Perfect, I can set the wood on fire and carry on with the original plan. I put my hands on the wooden walls and throw a little spark on it, waiting for the wood to smoke up and the flames to come to life. Once I could feel the heat and smell the scent of charred wood I run out of the bathroom as if the fire was the scariest thing ever. I push the door open with so much force that everyone turns their heads to me.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.¡°Fire!¡± I scream, ¡°Everyone get out!¡±


    Screams chorus in front of me as a stampede of people hurry their way out of the underground pub. If anyone were to get trapped inside then there is no way they would survive. Luckily for me, the followers of Darkness condemn themselves to him and give their lives to him until death. Therefore, the followers of Darkness will not leave the temple and if they are a coward then they will be punished by Darkness which will help us find them easier to kill. It hit two birds with one stone.


    I see the bartender going on his knees, praying to Darkness as if he will save his soul. He prays for special protection as if he is worthy of such treatment. It disgusts me.


    I shake my head and run out of the bar before I am trapped under the ground. I won¡¯t get killed but it will take me a very long time to dig myself out of the ground if it collapses on me. As I run out, I see my brothers taking the four betrayers back to the royal prison and running faster to catch up with them.


    ¡°Let us go,¡± the handsome stranger says.


    ¡°I will,¡± Theon replies, ¡°When we are in a nice shaded and cold room where there are nice big metal bars to keep you in there.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xavier. It¡¯s going to be okay. Trust me,¡± the girl with blond hair says to the handsome stranger.


    Xavier.


    That is the handsome name of the handsome stranger.


    No, Orien, keep your head on the mission. Remember what happened when Theon fell in love with someone? You can¡¯t let this happen to you.


    If I feel like I would be devastated if Xavier were to die right now, I can not imagine what Theon went through when his wife passed away.


    ¡°Shh, everyone, even you Theon,¡± Strider commands.


    Theon huffs and pouts while leading our prisoners towards the entrance of the castle. I tell my brothers to bring them to the prison and that I will meet up with them after I get Amelia. She deserves to know what is going on in her kingdom. After all, she is now the only one ruling it, therefore she should be there when we interrogate the prisoners. I send two guards to follow my brothers to make sure the prisoners don¡¯t try any funny business.


    I ask where Amelia and two different guards escort me to Chopver¡¯s throne room. The throne room is about the same size as the one in Krosla¡¯s castle. In here there are shades upon shades of green, from almost as white pale to almost too dark to be called green. Spread along the field of green are golden statues of mythical creatures next to past royal rulers. I walk to the edge of the dark green carpet where it meets two steps that lead up to three thrones. On the far one to the left sits Amelia looking exhausted. Standing next to her is Hammonet with his mouth zipped shut, not daring to interrupt his queen¡¯s mourning.


    ¡°Your Highness.¡± I bow.


    ¡°Orien, what can I do for you?¡± Amelia says. The corners of her lips lift a little after realizing it is me.


    ¡°I have captured prisoners and have brought them to the royal prison if you would like to come with me to ask some questions.¡±


    ¡°What have you arrested them for and how many?¡±


    ¡°I have arrested four young adults. Seeming to be in their very early 20s and have arrested them for being in a temple of Darkness.¡±


    Amelia¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°I thought we burned all of those down. Do you think this temple is the one that helped turn my poor husband?¡±


    I look down, not sure how to respond. I neither confirm nor deny that is what happened to the king but I can certainly tell her that this is illegal and therefore there needs to be punishment.


    Amelia quickly gets up from her throne, gestures to Hammonet to follow her, and races down the two steps. ¡°Bring me to them.¡±

 Chapter 13: Xavier

    The metal slices deeper and deeper into my wrists the more I struggle. Now I am just struggling with the uncomfortable feeling of the fact that I am arrested and in the royal castle. My mother and father are going to kill me.


    Blood tickles me as it drips down my wrists. I hope they are going to clean this up after they find out that we are innocent of whatever they think we did.


    The guards push us into the dark cell with no regards to the fact that we can trip over some rocks that are sticking out of the ground. The metal door bangs and the only light that is shown in the room is from the hallway. We are stuck in a cell where there are no windows and there is only a tiny window cut on the door where guards can give us food and any other necessities. I cold drips coming from the ceiling are thick as them drip onto my head and shoulders. I look over to the back corner and there is a bucket with a foul smell coming from it. No doubt the person in here before us had used that for their bathroom needs.


    ¡°Stay in here while we wait for the Queen,¡± one of the men who arrested us says. He seems too serious while his dark eyebrows are slightly furrowed and his equally long dark hair is pulled back into a neat bun. If I never saw the royal family I would have guessed he was part of it but I have seen the prince before and that is not him. Plus, the prince is unfortunately dead¡­


    Who did these people think they were? They have some stick up their ass if they think that they are going to get away with this. June¡¯s father is going to vouch for us and get us out of here without a scrape.


    ¡°Strider, Theon, tell me what is going on,¡± a very powerful woman¡¯s voice croaks. Queen Amelia comes into view and my friends and I still have the courtesy of bowing to her even though we are being held here for no reason.


    The woman who was with Strider and Theon is next to the queen, looking just as powerful as the queen herself. Her sculpted arms are exposed and now crossed in front of her chest and her wavy dark hair almost reaches to her hips. If she didn¡¯t arrest me I might have had some enjoyment flirting with her. She is beautiful behind that scowl she has on her face.


    ¡°Your Highness, we saw these four-¡± the man with pure white hair says.


    ¡°June? What the hell are you doing here?¡± a very familiar voice says.


    A breath of relief rushes out of me. I knew June¡¯s father would show up and get us out of there.


    ¡°Hammonet, did you just interrupt a magnificent?¡± the angry woman next to the queen says.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Your Highness, this is the daughter I was telling you about earlier, June,¡± Hammonet says.


    Your Highness? Magnificent? These people are royalty?


    ¡°I do not care. Never interrupt a magnificent again or there will be consequences,¡± the angry woman says.


    ¡°Orien, please sister, take a deep breath,¡± the man with the dark bun says.


    Orien huffs a loud sigh and looks at the man with pure white hair. She nods at him to continue.


    ¡°We have found and burned down an illegal Darkness temple. We arrest these four to get more information about it and then plan to dispose of them accordingly.¡±


    Illegal? Darkness temple? Dispose???


    ¡°Do you think that we are followers of Darkness? Father, you have to know this isn¡¯t true. I study The Scripture of Light every single day,¡± June cries out.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, Xavier and I saw her reading it earlier today,¡± Pierce explains.


    ¡°Silence, both of you,¡± the man with the pure white hair says.


    I look at June¡¯s father. He looks as if his world is falling apart as if he believes that we are followers of Darkness and not telling the truth to him. His eyes become a little glassy and I can hear the unstable shutters of his breath getting caught in his throat.


    ¡°Your Highness, may I have permission to leave? This is my daughter and I can not bear to see this,¡± Hammonet says.


    ¡°Absolutely not, you chose this line of work and therefore you need to do your duty,¡± the angry woman says.


    ¡°Orien, it¡¯s okay. Hammonet, as much as I would like you to be here, if you think that this is too much for you then you can leave,¡± the queen says.


    Orien, the name of the angry woman. It sounds almost magical in a way.


    Orien.


    Orien.


    Orien.


    The name sounds so beautiful in my head. I can¡¯t stop repeating it.


    ¡°For now, we will leave you four in here to think about how it is best for you to tell us the truth. Then we will figure out what to do from there,¡± the man with the black bun says. All of them silently nod at one another as a signal that they are ready to leave. Once they are gone, and we confirm that they are gone, we all turn to each other hastily.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.¡°What are we going to do?¡± Cheleste asks.


    ¡°We have to tell the truth," June says.


    ¡°And that is?¡±


    ¡°We tell them that the old lady tricked us into coming into the pub and that we were and still are innocent.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, as if they are going to believe that. They already think that we are lying about being innocent. Telling them again is not going to make a difference,¡± I state.


    ¡°Well, there is no harm in trying. My father could put in a good word for us if he gets a chance.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s on our side, June,¡± Pierce responds.


    ¡°We have to try.¡±


    ¡°What if they decide to kill us? You know The Magnificent doesn¡¯t show mercy to the followers of Darkness. If they think that we are followers of Darkness then they are going to kill us.¡± Cheleste starts to panic. Her breaths become shallow and her eyebrows furrow. June puts her hand on Cheleste¡¯s shoulder to try and calm her down.


    ¡°Would you rather die as a liar or die knowing you told the truth? I know what I would choose,¡± June says. She looks between Pierce and I. Pierce sighs, looking to the ground and then nods his head. I stay silent for a second as they both pin their eyes on me.


    ¡°I- uh-¡±


    Now Cheleste¡¯s eyes are on me as well. A single tear falls down my cheek. The image of my mother flashes into my head. I know that she would want me to tell the truth even if it costs me my life. The tear that was on my cheek hits the ground as I nod at them.


    ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s settled, we are going to keep telling them that we are innocent,¡± June says.


    It hits me at that moment, I am going to die. I am going to die. My friends are going to die as well. I can¡¯t help but feel guilty. When the old lady offered my friends to come, I should have told them I would walk her and be right back. Then I wouldn¡¯t have stayed and we wouldn¡¯t have been in this position.


    After a few hours of sitting in the dungeon, the three people who arrested us come back to the dungeon. The door opens but closes quickly after the three of them walk into our dungeon.


    ¡°What are your names?¡± the man in a dark bun says.


    ¡°Why should we tell you? It won¡¯t matter if you know them or not,¡± I spit out.


    ¡°Okay, I was going to this the nice and peaceful way but I see that you want to go a different route,¡± The man with the dark bun cracks his knuckles and his pupils grow narrow. He steps towards me, but June quickly jumps in front of me with her arms out.


    ¡°Woah, woah, this is Xavier. He is not the brightest when his life is on the line,¡± June says. Glaring behind her, we make direct eye contact. Eyes telling me to shut up before I decide to make anything worse.


    What the fuck June? I am the smartest person I know. Definitely smarter than you.


    ¡°This is Pierce, he is the man I am dating and have been dating for a long time. This, her, is Cheleste, she is the one that baked the food you bought from us earlier. And I am June, the daughter of your Lead Guard, Hammonet.¡±


    ¡°So tell us what were you doing at the temple of Darkness, daughter of Hammonet,¡± Orien says from behind the man with the bun.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t know that we were in a temple of Darkness. This old lady asked for directions to the Pure Pub so we helped her get there. We didn¡¯t know it was a temple of Darkness and so when she asked if we wanted a drink we said yes. It was hot and muggy out and we just wanted somewhere we could cool off. None of us are followers of Darkness and we never will be. Our loyalty is to Light and Light only.¡±


    ¡°How were you not suspicious of an old lady asking you for a drink?¡±


    We all fall silent and look at our feet as if Orien¡¯s look could smite us for being so idiotic.


    ¡°Hmm, we will come back in a couple of hours,¡± Orien responds as she turns around.


    ¡°Are you releasing us?¡± Pierce asks with hope in his voice.


    ¡°Nope.¡± Orien and the two men open the door to walk out of the prison cell.


    ¡°Then why are you coming back in a couple of hours?¡± This time the questions come from Cheleste.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t believe you.¡± The door slams shut.


    Crap.

 Chapter 14: Orien

    I lied to the four prisoners. I do believe them. I think that they are the ones that the old lady was talking about before she turned. The question is, why would my father want these four people specifically? I can¡¯t admit that I was wrong though. So how do I get out of this without killing them and without admitting I was wrong? I am never wrong/ They were in the temple of Darkness, it is only fair that I thought they were followers of Darkness. It is a logical mistake.


    ¡°Strider, Theon,¡± I call my brothers. They both turn their heads toward me as we walk up the stairs that lead back into the castle. ¡°I think I believe them but don¡¯t tell Amelia until I know for sure.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think they are telling the truth?¡± Strider asks.


    I explain to them that the old lady said something about bringing certain people to him like he asked before she got cursed and turned. I think the people that lady was talking about are in the group of people that are currently in the dungeon.


    ¡°Then, why did you tell them that you don¡¯t believe them?¡± Theon asks.


    ¡°In case there is a slight chance that they are lying.¡±


    ¡°And how will you know when to tell them that you believe them exactly?¡± Strider asks.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. We will get there when we get there.¡±


    Strider looks like he is going to give his usual logical argument but then shuts his lips. It scared me that the smartest of the three of us doesn¡¯t like my plan but I am the queen after all and they kinda have to listen to me. It¡¯s part of their jobs.


    We are in silence for the majority of the walk as we seek out Amelia. We find her in the throne room again, talking to Hammonet. She is kindly reminding him that it was not okay to interrupt me. I feel bad for yelling at him but I couldn¡¯t show the prisoners that I was weak in case they were going to take advantage of that.


    When my brothers and I get close enough to Amelia, my brothers bow and I nod to her to show her my respect.


    ¡°So, did you get any information out of them?¡± Amelia asks. Panic starts to exude into her voice as if this will determine how the rest of her life is going to be.


    ¡°No, Your Highness. We are going to give them some time to think about what they are going to say to us next. We will not leave until we get the answer. For now, we are putting fear into their minds so that it may be easier for us,¡± Strider says. He¡¯s careful not to look at me. I know he doesn¡¯t want to give away that I might think that our prisoners are innocent.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.Then something hits me. ¡°Amelia, may I suggest something?¡± Amelia waves her hand in permission to let me speak. ¡°We know that Darkness gives his followers four weeks to succeed in the task he set them out to do. If the prisoners claim that they are innocent, why don¡¯t we give them four weeks to prove that? We could let them out of prison but they will always be by a head guard or one of my brothers or I. In case they turn, we can give your higher guards Glints so that they can defend themselves if the need to. If they do turn, that means Darkness will be there. We could capture him and force him to balance out with Light again.¡±


    My only problem is, I don¡¯t know how to balance them out. And that¡¯s a big problem. I have never had to do that before. What if I can¡¯t figure it out in time?


    ¡°And why not just keep them in the prison?¡± Amelia asks.


    ¡°Because we never know when Darkness is going to turn them. Sure we could have the guards down there but by the time we get notified and come down to the prison, Darkness would have already killed them. We could stay down there but we can¡¯t be down there every single second and we have other places we need to be. It is the best solution I could come up with.¡±


    Amelia looks at me wide-eyed but then quickly composes her facial expression to look more queen-like. We all stand in silence for a minute. The silence is louder the more and more it goes on. Finally, Amelia opens her mouth, Okay, I trust you. This is a war against your father and if you feel like is the best move then so be it.¡±


    A bubbly feeling gets caught in my stomach. Relief sweeps over me and my face starts to cool down. Was it getting hot in here? I hadn¡¯t noticed.


    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. I can assure you that I will keep you and your kingdom safe,¡± I say. Bowing and turning, I head to the prison to talk to the prisoners once again.

 Chapter 15: Xavier

    53


    54


    I count how many times Cheleste walks past me while she¡¯s pacing.


    55


    56


    It¡¯s like counting sheep because I am about to fall asleep on this very cold stone floor. My eyes shoot open once I hear the three people who have arrested us. I can¡¯t hear what they are saying, only muffled sounds, but I can tell the voice of Orien anywhere. She has a unique soft but stern voice that could echo for miles. It could bring comfort or terror, whatever she chooses.


    The screech of the prison door opening makes the inside of my ears feel uncomfortable. The three of them step into the prison cell, Orien has her arms crossed in front of her chest. ¡°So, have you thought about changing your answers?¡± she asks.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t even an hour,¡± I reply.


    Orien shrugs and gives a tiny smile, ¡°I lied.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t changing our answers because we are telling the truth. We are not followers of Darkness and never will be. We accept any punishment you plan on handing to us,¡± June says.


    June and Orien make eye contact. One, two, three seconds go past until I realize they are having an alpha match. They don¡¯t take their eyes off of each other and they won¡¯t until one of them looks away. June is insane for challenging one of The Magnificents. I¡¯m impressed.


    The silence doesn¡¯t stop until the tiny smile on Orien¡¯s face grows wider. ¡°Okay, I believe you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Pierce, Cheleste and I say in unison.


    ¡°I can let you out of prison,¡± Orien replies.


    ¡°Really?¡± June says. She jumps on her toes, failing to hide how excited she is.


    ¡°Under one condition.¡±


    I should have seen that coming. That smile on her face didn¡¯t tell me that we were going to get off that easily.


    ¡°Darkness allows his followers four weeks to complete the task he has commanded them to do. If you don¡¯t do said task then you will turn. You should know this part already. Anyways, we are prepared to kill you on sight if we have any hints of you turning. Until then, you can live in the castle but there must be a guard or one of us,¡± she points between her and the two men that are next to her, ¡°at all times. I personally want to make sure you aren¡¯t up to any funny business. There will be no complaints about it. If you complain even once then you are going back to this prison cell.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.My friends and I stare at her in silence. I can tell that all of us were not expecting this. We are prisoners yet we are going to live in the castle. That is probably the best prison sentence in history. It wouldn¡¯t even feel like a punishment.


    ¡°Well?¡± Orien asks.


    My friends and I all agree at the same time. At this point, I would do anything to get out of this cold and smelly prison cell. After we are done agreeing with what Orien and the other two men that are with her are saying, they lead us out of the cell. According to them, we can¡¯t go anywhere without one of them or at least two guards.


    After they explain a little bit more about what is going to happen, they lead us up the stone stairs we went down to get into the cell. I didn¡¯t get a chance to observe the castle when we were getting arrested, mostly because they were rushing us into the cell. Now, I get to see how beautiful the castle truly is. There are different shades of green, Chopver¡¯s country color, around the room. The thick curtains that are currently covering the big windows are forest green and the carpet on the ground matches the curtains. The ceilings could fit fifty of me stacked on top of one another. I don¡¯t think I have ever seen such a big room and this is only one room!


    I see two people walking towards us and it takes a second before I recognize them. The Queen and June¡¯s father are walking this way, both of them have different kinds of smiles on their faces. The Queen¡¯s smile looks like she is trying to be polite in an uncomfortable discussion and June¡¯s father¡¯s smile looks like he just got the greatest news in his life.


    My friends and I all bow when the Queen gets close enough. After we stand straight up, June¡¯s father holds out his arms to embrace June. June comes running towards him and they form a bear hug, never wanting to let the other one go. When none of The Magnificants stop June¡¯s father from unprofessional behavior, that¡¯s when it hits me. I am a free man again. Clinking armor has my gaze brought to a dozen guards throughout the hallway. A few look at me with a nasty gaze.


    Sort of.

 Chapter 16: Orien

    Seeing Hammonet reunite with his daughter after he knows that they are not going to face fatal punishment brings a soothing feeling to me. It¡¯s nice to know that there are fathers out there who will still love and protect their children even if their children did something to disappoint them.


    Amelia, my brothers, and I decide to give them some privacy. There are plenty of guards, plus Hammonet so we don¡¯t need to watch them right now. When we are out of earshot, Amelia turns towards my brothers and I.


    ¡°Asher¡¯s and Engledeo¡¯s funeral ball is in two days. Because I am hosting two funeral balls, the events will last longer than the usual three hours. I am thinking it will be a whole day¡¯s event in honor of what my son and husband have done in their lives.¡±


    Funeral balls, are something that Chopver, Krosla, and other surrounding kingdoms have added to their traditions. When someone dies, instead of feeling sad and thinking about what the person could have done with their life when they were alive, we host funeral balls to celebrate what they did in the life that they did live. We use to send the body off into the sea at night so that Darkness could take them for their forever rest. Funeral balls never existed before Darkness went on his rampage but when there were more and more people dying due to Darkness, our people decided they wanted more happiness in their lives. That¡¯s when the funeral balls started to exist and I like to believe that we will forever hold this tradition. I like celebrating life more than grieving it but maybe that is because all I see is death since I am immortal.


    ¡°I would like the three of you to attend. Asher and Engeldeo would have loved to see you and I think they would be ashamed if you couldn¡¯t make it to their funeral ball,¡± Amelia continues.


    ¡°Of course we will come,¡± I say.


    ¡°We would be honored,¡± Strider says after me.


    ¡°After all, we have been here way before you were queen. We watched you grow up and we watched Asher grow up too,¡± Theon cuts in.


    ¡°Your Highness,¡± Hammonet walks over and bows, ¡°I have a request.¡±


    Amelia nods at Hammonet to speak.


    ¡°My daughter and her friends are civilians. If you¡¯d allow it, I think that they should attend the funeral balls as well. I know my daughter is devoted to Chopver and she would be devastated if she could not make it to the funeral balls.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t allow that. They are prisoners and they need to stay in rooms that are secured where they can¡¯t run away,¡± I say. I can hear my tone getting harsher and harsher the more words I speak.


    Hammonet looks at me with a blank expression then at Amelia. His face turning into desperation.


    Amelia tightens her lips into a thin line. Hesitating, I know that she is trying to make a rational decision while also listening to her kind heart. Finally, she replies. ¡°I think that they deserve to celebrate their prince and king as much as any other civilian. You three will be there and the palace will be raiding with guards so if anything happens I know you will be able to take care of it.¡±


    I can feel my emotions drop. So, I have to go to the funeral ball of my best friend and his father and also keep an eye on my prisoners who are potentially working with my father. This is just great. But I wouldn¡¯t want to ruin the ball where Amelia gets to remember the good times with her family so I nod in agreement.


    Amelia claps her hands. ¡°Great. Well, servants and the seamstress are waiting for you. Your funeral gown is in your closet still but I think it needs a little bit of a modern touch.¡± She gives me a slight smile before turning around and telling the guards to take the prisoners to their rooms.


    A modern touch? What is wrong with my current dress?


    I head up to the room that I stay in whenever I am in Chopver. The room fills me with so many different memories from centuries ago to now. Memories of holding and playing with the young royal family members and staying there after celebrating the coronation of a royal member that I watched grow up. Sometimes it fills me with excitement to see the royal bloodline get handed down for generations but it also stings sometimes. I see those people grow up and I see them die and it¡¯s tiring to say goodbye to everyone I have ever met. I live through history but sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if I died along with said history.


    I shake my head at the chilling thoughts before I open the door to my bedroom. My heart eases once I see the familiar cream-colored room. It sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the green interior of the castle but it is beautiful nonetheless. On my left is my king-sized bed all tidy and made for me. Above it, there is a brown canopy a king from many years ago built for me. It was his gift in an attempt to propose to me. I gracefully declined and we were on good terms until the end of his time.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Three windows straight ahead of me are open and let in a fresh breeze. It feels nice when the sun isn¡¯t trying to burn me alive. The bench in front of the windows is still there and it gives me relief. I read there whenever I stress about something and it always brings me into a different world so I don¡¯t have to worry about the one I am currently in. It¡¯s nice to live in a fantasy world where there isn¡¯t a war and if there is, there is also a happy ending.


    When is my happy ending going to come?


    On the wall to my left there is a big mirror and standing next to it is the crew of servants and a seamstress waiting for me with different color fabrics next to them. There are plain pinks and greens, glittery golds and silvers, and red and white floral patterns.


    I step over to the seamstress who asks me to step on the circular platform and face the mirror. Then she walks over to the closet and opens the door with a grunt. Squealing as if it is in so much pain, the door eventually gives way and swings open. Many dresses from many funerals are in the closet reminding me of the long long life I have lived. Grays and black take up most of the closet except for one bright blue dress. I wore it at the funeral of the sweetest little girl who was taken away too soon by a horrible disease. Her favorite color was blue so we all decided to wear blue in honor of her. It was one of the hardest funerals I went to.


    None of these dresses seem to be right for the funeral ball. I think I need a new one.


    ¡°Do you think you could make a new dress?¡± I ask.


    ¡°A completely new one, Your Highness?¡± the seamstress chokes.


    I nod. Both stress and excitement fill the eyes of the seamstress as if this is a challenge that would be an honor to take on.


    ¡°Of course, Your Highness. I will need to take measurements and do fabric sampling.¡±


    She takes my measurements and compares fabric cloths to my skin color and hair color, trying to see what color palette works best for me. She suggests I wear something maroon because it looks good on my fair skin and black hair but I tell her I want to wear green. I, a Magnificent, am going to a funeral ball for the king and prince. It is only courteous of me to wear something in their country¡¯s color.


    The seamstress scrunches her nose as she heads to the many green patterns she brought with her. When she holds them up to my body she makes comments trying to make me change my mind and go to maroon. I say nothing to her and let her say what she wants to say but I am the Queen of Krosla, I need to act like a queen.


    When I am starting to get into my thoughts again, the seamstress gasps. I shake myself out of the daze and get ready to fight whatever threat the seamstress has seen.


    ¡°Your Highness, this shade of green looks magical on you. I can make a beautiful gown out of this fabric if you¡¯d like me to,¡± the seamstress says.


    I look in the mirror to see what she is talking about. The piece of fabric she is holding up to my body makes my pale skin look a little more tan and my dark hair even darker than it already is. It¡¯s beautiful and I think it would look great at the ball.


    ¡°It¡¯s perfect,¡± I respond.


    The seamstress jumps up and down while clapping faster than I have seen anyone clap before. ¡°I will get this to you tomorrow morning for fitting.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to sleep?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I have a night team if I need a little wink but I can stay up all night to make a dress for one of The Magnificents.¡± I hesitate to respond but before I could even argue, she continues, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Your Highness. I can sleep after the gown is finished.¡±


    She smiles, bows, and collects her things to leave. I feel tired and so after the seamstress and the other servants leave, I go straight to bed to get some sleep before dinner.


    ___


    ¡°Your Highness,¡± a light knock is coming from my door. ¡°Your Highness, dinner is ready to be served in the dining room.¡±


    I tell the servant at my door that I will be down in a second. I stretch and groan as I roll out of bed. I don¡¯t feel rested at all which means I probably wasn¡¯t asleep that long. I walk out of my room and head to the dining room where I see my brothers and Amelia already sitting and conversing with one another.


    ¡°Ahh, sister, you have finally decided to join us. It¡¯s about time,¡± Theon stands and pulls out my chair. I roll my eyes and give him a playful smile. I sit in the chair as Theon slowly pushes it in.


    ¡°Sorry, I was tired and taking a nap,¡± I explain.


    For the rest of dinner, we act like this horrible day has never existed. We talk and joke around as if my brothers and I have come to visit just to see how Amelia is doing. It feels nice to bring a little bit of the past back to the present after such an eventful day.

 Chapter 17: Xavier

    June¡¯s father sent the four of us off with some other guards as they escort us to our room. I am so excited to have privacy again. Nothing against my friends, but going to the bathroom alone and in peace is a luxury I will never take advantage of ever again.


    The guards stop our group in the middle of the hallway to let us in our rooms. They lead June and Cheleste into a door and Pierce and I in a different door across the hall. We walk into a room that is filled with luxurious things all around the room. The walls are painted sky blue and there are gold lining on the borders of the walls and picture frames.


    The two beds are both bigger than any bed I have seen. The blankets and pillowcases are white and the headboard is white with golden swirls on the border. Above the beds are two paintings. Both of them show landscapes of trees and mountains.


    I glance up at the ceiling where there is a painting on thatthe ceiling as well. It is of pale pink and white clouds and the frame is also gold. Out of the middle of the painting is a golden chandelier that has white balls on the end of each end. It looks like a tree of pearls.


    ¡°Woah, we really hit the jackpot, huh,¡± Pierce says quietly. Still in a trance of luxury, I can only respond with a nod of my head. This room alone is bigger than my entire house.


    Before Pierce and I can get a chance to settle into our new rooms there is a knock at the door. Two guards come in the door and behind them is a servant carrying what looks like fabric. Behind the servant with the mountain of fabrics in her arms is a tall, skinny lady. Her legs are bony under the pair of bright orange pants and her black blouse with white polka dots clash with the pants. Her head is a curly, white tower on her head. She doesn¡¯t look old so I am assuming that she does something to make her hair look that white.


    ¡°Are you Pierce and Xavier?¡± the woman with the white hair asks. Pierce and I nod in silence. ¡°Good, I am here to get measurements for your suits.¡±


    ¡°Our suits?¡± I ask.


    The woman with the white hair stops in her tracks and looks between Pierce and I.


    ¡°Did no one inform you?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Inform us about what?¡± Pierce asks.


    She looks between Pierce and I again and then bursts out in a hysterical laugh. ¡°You two are funny. Come on, let¡¯s get you measured.¡±


    ¡°No seriously, what were we supposed to be informed about?¡±


    ¡°Really? No one told you? Well, you are invited to Prince Asher¡¯s and King Engeldeo¡¯s funeral ball. It will happen tomorrow and I need to measure you two so I can go back to my shop and make your suits.¡±


    We are invited to the funeral ball? I guess it makes sense since most of the guards will probably be at the ball, someone would need to keep an eye on us, even though we are completely innocent.


    The lady with the white hair put different colored fabrics against Pierce and I. I always thought that men would wear black suits but maybe the attire is different since this is a royal funeral ball. She decided that navy blue looks great against his tan skin. It took the lady with the white hair some more time on me because she couldn¡¯t find the right color that would go with my features. We eventually decided that a traditional black would go well.


    After the lady with the white hair and the servant leave we are finally able to get some alone time. Pierce huffs and flys to his bed. He jumps up before belly flopping on top of the mattress. He gives a satisfying sigh that makes me curious how good the mattress really feels.


    I mimic Pierce¡¯s actions and belly flop on top of my mattress. It feels as if I am floating on clouds. I can barely feel the springs under me. The bed in my room at home is lumpy from the springs getting old and the cloth is stiffening. When I lay on that mattress it feels like I¡¯m sleeping on the ground. This mattress feels completely different. It feels like I am floating on a calm lake where there is no wind and no wild life to break the perfect body of water.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Another knock at the door interrupts my peaceful state. A guard comes in with a young servant boy. ¡°Your dinner is ready. I can escort you.¡± His voice is shaky as if we terrify him or will send Darkness after him personally. When he heads into the hallway to show us where to go, the guards motion for us to get out of our heavenly beds and follow the servant.


    Pierce and I follow the servant boy down the green carpeted hallway, down a set of spiral stairs, and to two massive golden doors with two guards in front of it. The doors look like they are about twelve feet tall. There are little golden engravings all throughout the door, making it impossible to decipher what is going on in the scene without spending hours staring at it.


    The guards open the doors for us to enter and the smell of roasted chicken and vegetables fill my nose. June and Cheleste are already sitting at the table across from one another. They are in a conversation that consists of loud giggles and a bunch of did you hear?


    As soon as they realize that Pierce and I have come to join them, their voices quiet down but their smiles grow brighter.


    ¡°Hello boys, I thought the girls were supposed to be late,¡± Cheleste teases.


    ¡°We may be late, but of course we are fashionably late,¡± Pierce responds.


    The girls giggle as Pierce and I pull out our chairs to join them at the table. No doubt the meal front of me is a meal for The Magnificents. There is a full roasted chicken, seasoned perfectly. On the side of the chicken there are dill carrots and mashed potatoes and gravy. The napkins are professionally folded green cloths instead of the white flimsy paper that I am so used to.


    Pierce and I clearly didn¡¯t get the memo to dress up for this dinner. The girls are both in dresses with their hair up in bunspuns. June has a light blue dress that  match her eyes and go well against her blonde hair. Cheleste has a forest green dress that looks amazing with her ginger hair.


    ¡°So, why were you guys late? Were you causing any trouble?¡± June asks casually.


    ¡°No,¡± I respond, ¡°We were getting measurements done for the royal funeral ball.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s real? I swear, the guards were trying to make June and I look stupid by tricking us. Are we really going to the funeral ball?¡± Cheleste chimes in.


    ¡°I guess so,¡± I say.


    ¡°It would be such an honor. Getting invited to the royal funeral ball means we are going to be able to have access to the kingdom,¡± Cheleste says. Her voice is almost a squeal.


    Only the honored guests get invited into the castle during the royal funeral balls. Citizens are allowed to come to the royal funeral ball but if they don¡¯t have a personal invite, everyone must stay outside of the castle in the courtyard where most of the celebration happens. I always thought celebrating someone¡¯s death was weird but apparently it helps people feel better about their lost ones. I haven¡¯t lost anyone in my life yet so I guess I don¡¯t really get an opinion until it happens to me.


    ¡°You do realize the only reason we are invited is because we are prisoners,¡± Pierce states.


    ¡°Yeah, but most of the civilians never get to step a foot inside of the castle. It is still an honor no matter what the circumstances are,¡± Cheleste responds.


    In some way I am jealous of Cheleste. How can she see a positive side to our imprisonment. All I can be positive about is that in four weeks we will be able to be free citizens again. I can¡¯t wait for that daysay to come.

 Chapter 18: Xavier

    Week 1


    I wake up from one of the best sleeps I have ever had. My bed feels like I am sleeping on top of a cloud that is floating in the world¡¯s calmest river. I would have stayed asleep if it weren¡¯t for the rude knocking at the door.


    ¡°Ugh, shut them up,¡± Pierce says. He shifts his body to face the other way and puts a pillow on top of his head to block out the sound. I give a slight chuckle and then quickly get reminded of the annoying knocking at the door.


    I drag myself out of my giant bed and shuffle over to the door in slow, uneven steps. I open the door and greeted by the same woman with white hair that measured Pierce and I yesterday. Her hair is in the same style as it was yesterday but today it is not as today as it was. The dark purple circles under her eyes indicate that she didn¡¯t get much sleep last night. From the looks of her, she may not have gone to sleep at all.


    ¡°Good morning you two. It is time to get up and see if these suite fit well or if we need to make any changes.¡± The mixture of coffee and morning breath confirms that she stayed up all night.


    I step back to let the woman with white hair walk into the room. She walks over to the  mirror where she measured us yesterday and asked a servant, who walked in with her, to open the window and let some light in. The servant grabs the curtain and opens it up to tell the light shine through and Pierce groans in response. He turns again in his bed to face away from the light, while the woman with the white hair claps as loud as she can to get Pierce out of bed.


    Eventually, the woman with the white hair is successful is getting Pierce out of bed and in front of the mirror next to me. We try on the suites that we made for us and they fit us perfectly. Not a single thing was off and because of that I am impressed with this woman. She stayed up all night to make us these suites, she must have been tired. On top of that, she didn¡¯t get a single measurement wrong. The suites look great on both Pierce and I. We are going to be the most handsome men at the funeral ball tonight.


    After the lady with the white hair is satisfied with the way the suites fit on us, she leaves. Quickly after she leaves, some male servants walk into the room without knocking and goes to the bathroom and pour buckets of water into a tub. They tell Pierce and I to get undressed and we do, trying hard not to look at each other while the other one is naked. After the bath the servants drew for us, Pierce and I came out of the bathroom at separate times where we are met with more servants. They combed and put gel in our hair and sprayed some sort of scented liquid on our colars. By the time the servants are done getting us ready for the ball, the celebration is about to begin.


    The guards lead Pierce and I out into the hallway where we are met with the girl in their gowns. June has a light pink dress that has a heartshap top with frills going down to her feet. Her white slipped give her a height that is closer to Pierce¡¯s. Her hair is half up, half down and in nice waves. I look over to Pierce who has his jaw dropped to the ground. He slowly walks over to June whose face is now the same shade as a tomato. He holds out his hand for her to take and he kisses the top of it. They whisper something to each other that I can¡¯t quite hear after spinning her around and then start walking where the guards are leading us.


    ¡°They are oddly the cutest couple ever and also the grossest couple,¡± Cheleste says. She walks up behind me with her ginger hair tied up in a intricate twisted bun. Her eyes have golden glitter around them that match her yellow gown. There are leaves embroidered sporadically on the top and get more crowded down the lower parts of the dress. She looks like she is a princess that belongs in this castle.


    I offer my arm to Cheleste and she wraps hers around mine linking us together. The guards lead us down the spiral staircase and down the green hallway. Servants fill the hallway with food, dishes, and decorations. Like a bee hive, they all seem to be working for the queen to be happy.


    The guards lead us to tall wooden doors that have carving of many people in a garden with magical creatures. There is a pond with many different women around there and there are trees where the men are gathering food and letting the animals eat the grass in the field.


    The two guards that are already in the front of the door nod at the guards that have escorted us to them. They open the door and lead us into a gigantic room. Immediately we are met with steps that lead us deeper into the room. I look up to the high ceiling where there are thousands of pictures painted into one mural. It looks like it is the story of Darkness and Light and there triplet children. In the painting, the triplets are colored lights because no one has ever seen the triplets before. That is why I don¡¯t believe in them. How can I believe in something that I have never sene before?


    There is a big chandelier right above the stair case that is gold with so many different candles on it. The chandelier reflects the candles which makes different sparks of light bounce everywhere in the room. The walls are white with different carvings of nature flowers and trees at the top where arches meet. Under every arch there is another chandelier but these ones are smaller than the one above the staircase.


    The floor looks to be marble with the kingdom¡¯s symbol, a dragon with a fire heart, painted beautifully in the middle. The reflection form the chedeliers make the floor looks like it is glowing.


    My friends and I are guided down the staircase where we meet June¡¯s father at the end. He leads us to the side of the room where we are told to stay here until The Magnificents have arrived.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.Around me, there are men in mostly black or blue suits but there are occasional reds and greens along the walls as well. The women where dresses of all colors. A lot of are wearing green which is the kingdom¡¯s colors but a lot of them are also wearing colors that go well with their skin and hair color.


    Pierce and June are holding hands while talking to June¡¯s father. The other two guards that stuck with us are glaring at Cheleste and I as if we personally set out to ruin their night. I¡¯m sure they want to be somewhere else other than guarding us, which is their job, at a funeral ball, which is for their late king and prince.


    After a few minutes of standing and taking to one another, there are trumpets that blast a melody for five to seven seconds. After the trumpets are done with their melody, a short man with a black mustache and long curly hair clears his throat.


    ¡°Make way, for the Royal Queen is about to arrive!¡± he yells as loud as he can. He steps to the side where the doors we walked through earlier open with Queen Amelia walking out from it. Every person in the room bows to our queen as she heads down the stairs.


    ¡°I am so happy you made it here,¡± she yells to all of us, ¡°I am honored to have every single one of you in this room. I know my Engeldeo and Asher would have loved to see how much their kingdom adored them. This is not a ball to mourn so if you want to give your condolences, there is the door,¡± she points to the door she came out of. ¡°This is a ball to celebrate the special men that we were lucky enough to have in our lives. Please, jooin me to celebrate their life and love they have spread. I would love to hear any stories about them if you have them. Enjoy this funeral ball.¡±


    As soon as Queen Amelia ends her greeting, the crowd applauses and the orchestra that I didn¡¯t notice that is in the corner of the room, plays some melodies. People start to pair up and head to the dance floor. There are still some people trickling in on the stair case but there is one group of people that catches my eye. My captures. The very people who are the reason I am even stuck here in this castle that has, in my opinion, too much green everywhere.


    The three people that put me in jail a day ago, are heading down the stairs and to me. The two men are dressed in black suits. The one with white hair has a white rose pinned on the left of his chest and the one with the dark bun has a red rose. Both of them are behind Orien, who catches my eye more than anyone in this room.


    Her dark green dress has a low cut v neck where I am sure every man in the room is staring at. The thin straps that are thinner my fingers hold up the dress in a perfect way. The floral lace is busy at the top of her dress and spreads out until it stops in the middle of her skirt. The layers skirt makes her look like she is floating. And she happens to be floating over to me.


    ¡°Hello, you four. How are you all doing today?¡± Orien  asks. The two men that are always with her are right behind her but then get swept away by some older women. Orien chuckles a little when the two men are dragged away then she turns her attention back on us.


    ¡°This is amazing,¡± Cheleste says, ¡°Thank you so much for letting us come here. It is an honer.¡±


    Orien¡¯s smile glides up her face. ¡°Of course, you are citizens of Chopver, you have the right to be here as much as any other citizen who has been invited.¡± Orien then turns to me, her smile getting wider, ¡°Xavier, would you be so kind to join me on the dance floor?¡±


    Pierce hollars behind me and I turn to give him a look that tells him to shut up. The look on my face indicates that he doesn¡¯t care what I can do to him, he is still going to tease me about this later. I roll my eyes to him and turn back to Orien, matching her smile, even though I am sure I don¡¯t feel the same happy she does. In fact, I am not feeling happy about this at all. Why did she have to pick me? Why am I so special? She could have chosen any man in this room and yet she chose me. Maybe she feels like I am more suspicious than my friends and is going to threaten me with something.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I reply. I hold out my hand for her to take and then we head out into the middle of the dance floor joining the others. She wraps both of her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. I slowly and hesitantly put both of my hands on her waist as we do a slow sway. She looks deep into my eyes and I look away, trying to avoid any awkwardness I can.


    Finally, Orien looks down and gives a little chuckle.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± I ask.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t very good at this, are you?¡±


    ¡°What? Dancing? I thought I was doing okay.¡±


    ¡°No, dancing with a girl. You haven¡¯t made eye contact with me once. And your dancing is subpar at most.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, my dancing is definitely better than whatever this is.¡± I bring my eyes up and down her body. I was trying to talk about her dancing but as my eyes make their way back up, I notice all the curves on her body.


    When my eyes come back to meet hers, her smile is wide with bright white teeth shining. I feel her body shake as she lets out a laugh and then quickly composes herself.


    She stands on her toes to bring her mouth close to my ear and whispers, ¡°Oh, trust me darling, I am better than you will ever be.¡±


    The song ends immediately after that and Orien walks away before I even get a chance to react to what she said to me. She quickly walks back to the two men she is always with, so I walk back towards my group.

 Chapter 19: Orien

    My face is burning hot when I walk back to my brothers. They both were done with their dances before I was done with mine so of course they saw everything. They saw Xavier and I dance, Xavier looking me up and down, and me leaning in to whisper the most stupid thing ever.


    How am I such a bad flirt? And did he really look me up and down?


    My face grows hotter when my brother both laugh as soon as I come back to them. Theon seems to be laughing harder than Strider. Strider seems to have composed himself a lot more and is now looking at Theon like a bird pooped on his head.


    ¡°Looks like you were having some fun out there, sister,¡± Theon says in between inhales.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I tell him.


    Strider looks like he is going to chime in with Theon but I give him a look that makes him put up both of his hands. When Theon doesn¡¯t get the memo, Strider elbows him to shut up. That is when Strider realizes what is happening.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± Strider says, ¡°No, no, no, no.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Theon says. He clearly is not getting what is going on.


    ¡°You like him. Like, like-like him.¡±


    I look down, clearly with the situation I have put myself in.


    Theon gasps and then in the lowest voice possible he says, ¡°You can¡¯t. We all knew that I would be dumb to fall in love with a mortal but not you. You are the Queen of Krosla, you can¡¯t be occupied with someone who will take up a lot of your time just to die off sooner than later.¡±


    I glare at him the same time Strider says, ¡°Dude, what the fuck?¡±


    Theon looks between Strider and I confused. ¡°What? It¡¯s true! I have been madly in love with a mortal before, remember?¡±


    I remember but I am surprised that he is so casual talking about it. Usually he would have hesitated the words or not want to talk about being in love with a mortal at all. He also would have used her name and not call her a mortal.


    I look at him with concern for a second and then shake the thought. It could be something he didn¡¯t think of and I am just overthinking it. I decide to look at the dance floor instead and look at all the people having a good time and celebrating the life of the King and Prince. I scan over and over again. People watching is one of my favorite things to do because I get to see all different kinds of life an different generations acting the way they were raised. You would think that people acting the way they were raised would produce similar generations but in fact it creates generations so different that one generation could be peaceful and the next one causing a riot.


    I enjoy the people I scan until I see a girl in a peach colored dress with chestnut hair pinned up walking over to Xavier and the group. I don¡¯t know why, but she bows to Xavier and he says something that makes her laugh and fan her face a little. She brings her face up to the same ear I whispered in and say something to make him smile. He grabs her hand and kisses it without breaking eye contact with her and then they head to the dance floor hand in hand.


    ¡°Looks like you might have competition, sister,¡± Strider whispers to me.


    I feel heat rising in my chest. Different heat than what I felt when I was dancing with the very man I see dancing with another woman.


    ¡°Why does it matter? You said it yourself, I can¡¯t be with a mortal. It wouldn¡¯t work, so let her have him. He should be able to grow old with someone.¡±


    The last sentence burns in my throat as I wish for it not to be true. What burns even more is my ears when I watch Xavier and the woman glide along the dance floor. He truly is a horrible dancer and that thought makes me chuckle a little.


    ¡°Brother, I think our sister has gone crazy,¡± Theon says to Strider.


    I turn around to give Theon another glare. Theon is getting on my nerve tonight but I know he is trying to make things light hearted.


    After the song ended, Xavier and the woman with the peach dress walked back to Xavier¡¯s group together. Their hands didn¡¯t leave each other as if they were newly weds until they were talk with Xavier¡¯s friends.


    A little bit later, two other girls joined the girl in peach and after a few minutes dragged her away from the group. I could hear here talk about how cute Xavier is to her friends when they walk past us. It makes my chest boil over to the point where I am counting down the minutes when the funeral ball ends.


    Amelia comes to join us, though, and any negative thoughts leave my mind. ¡°How are we doing?¡± she asks.


    I look back to where Xavier and his group is and then back at Amelia. ¡°We are doing great. I love what you have done with the ball. And also, thank you for adding us on the mural.¡±


    Amelia looks up and gives a chuckle before a tear falls down. ¡°It was Asher¡¯s idea actually. He thought it was wrong that you weren¡¯t included in the story painting and even though I told him it was because you were supposed to be a secret, he pointed out that you are in the story that everyone is taught from birth. He decided that you could be balls of light in the color of your powers. Red for Orien, blue for Theon, and purple for Strider. I think it was a brilliant way to include you without exposing you.¡± More tears fall from Amelia¡¯s face. I go to hug her and she squeezes back. ¡°I told myself I wouldn¡¯t cry. I even told my guests in this room that they aren¡¯t allowed to cry. My people will think I am a hypocrite.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.I pet her hair and try to shush her in a calming way. She has every right to cry and if anyone were to think otherwise, then they are clearly heartless or have never lost a person in their life before. She cries harder in my arms and I lok to my brothers to give us cover. They immediately know what to do and block Amelia and I from anyone who might get nosy.


    After the funeral ball is over, I head into my bedroom. My mind races a mile a minute so I decide to grab the nearest book I could grab and start reading about it. Of course, no story is able to take my mind off of tonight, especially the brown eyes that keep looking me up and down over and over again. The eyes from the very person I can not get my mind off of.


    I decide the only thing that can take my mind off of what happened earlier today is to take a walk. I used to take walks all the time whenever there was something going on in my mind. Watching other people live their lives is a great way to get you out of your own life.


    I walk out of my bedroom and inform a guard that I will want some alone time in the garden. He bows and obeys my command as I take the steps towards my destination. I walk through the hallway and towards the door that will lead me to somewhere peaceful. There should be people in the garden still from the funeral ball. Sometimes, the civilians love a Magnificent so much that they will stay for a couple days straight drinking and socializing. This is the only time they are allowed to stay at the castle days on end without a specific invitation and so some people take advantage of that. Free food and free drinks while near a castle is not a bad trade for some restless nights.


    When I walk out of the door that leads to the garden, there are about a hundred people left. Most are middle aged men drunk from the special punch that is brought out only for the funeral balls. There are some women who are also middle aged but there are no children in sight. That is probably a good thing too because you never know if these drunk mortal will make a fool of themselves because they don¡¯t have a high enough tolerance for the punch.


    One of the ladies laughs hysterically and loud enough for the entire kingdom to hear her. Everyone turns their eyes towards her and the man next to her gives her a look that says whatever he just said was not that funny.


    On the other side of the garden there are a group of four people, one woman and three men. They look like they¡¯re in a heated political argument. In case it goes out of hand, I slowly walk towards the side where they are arguing. After a few minutes when I confirm that they are going to stay peaceful about this dispute, I decide to walk somewhere else. Somewhere I know no civilian has access to and its private. All these different conversations are starting to overwhelm me. As much as I love to people watch, I need some time alone.


    Walking up to the gate at the end of the garden, I nod at a guard I recognize. He nods back and then opens the gate for me and asks me if anyone will be joining me. I told him that I don¡¯t think anyone else will come and continue to walk into the gated off part of the garden.


    This part of the garden is where The Magnificents are supposed to do their praying to Light. The stone path leads down a hill where there is a pond where the path ends. The tiny waterfall that trickles water into the pond glimmers from the lights in the garden where the funeral ball is taking place. The glowing yellow, orange, and pink flowers float on top of the pond where there are different sounds of night insects trying to sing civilization to sleep.


    In the middle of the pond there is a beautiful white statue that is supposed to replicate my mother. Every statue I have seen that is supposed to capture my mother¡¯s beauty is not even close to her true beauty. The statues are gorgeous but if you say my mother compared to that statue, you would no longer call the statue gorgeous.


    I kneel on the little platform where you are supposed to pray. ¡°Mother, I miss you. Please tell me what to do? Father is getting out of control and I don¡¯t know if it is possible to destroy him once and for all. Please guide me. I need it,¡± I huff, ¡°I need you.¡±

 Chapter 20: Xavier

    ¡°So, you were pretty popular out there on the dance floor tonight,¡± Pierce says. He sarcastically lays on his stomach and perches his head on top of his hands, kicking his feet like a girl at a sleepover gossiping about what so and so did the other day.


    I role my eyes and continue to fold my suit neatly unlike Pierce who just threw it in a pile on a chair next to his bed. I oddly did have a lot of women come to me for a dance but this one girl was obsessed with me. Her peach dress looked dark on her pale skin and her brown hair pinned up. She asked for a dance and then would not leave until her friends dragged her away. I couldn¡¯t get away from her fast enough.


    ¡°Not going to lie, I think Orien was jealous. I saw the way she was looking at you on the dance floor with those other girl,¡± Pierce says.


    Orien, the only person I did not mind dancing with. He steps were smooth and the flow of her gown didn¡¯t trip as we were turning. We had an entertaining conversation however short it was. She was my first dance and I wish she would have been my last, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have lost hope for my generation and their dancing skills.


    ¡°Dude, your face! Do you like Orien?¡± Pierce shouts.


    ¡°What? No, I was thinking about some other girl I was dancing with,¡± I try to explain.


    ¡°Sure, what you say.¡±


    I groan and head for the door. Knocking, I wait for the door to be opened by a guard. I¡¯m not sure if what I will ask is going to be allowed but I will do anything to get away from my goonie of a best friend right now. I need to think. I need to destress. I just need to be alone for a bit, but I can¡¯t be alone for a few more weeks which sucks. But if only a couple silent guards have to be on the walk I want to request then I will take it.


    I request to take a walk outside to clear my head and surprisingly the guard accepts my request and starts leading me to a door that leads to the garden. I don¡¯t want to be around people so I walk along on the edge of the garden where no one seems to hang around. Looking around at all the nature, I hear a very faint water sound. Skipping rocks doesn¡¯t sound bad right now. I used to do it all the time with my family when I was younger. It was the only thing I was better at than anyone in my family.


    There is a guard at a gate where I hear the water coming from and head over there. He looks at me for a quick second and then goes back to staring ahead of him. \


    Clearing my throat, I decide to speak to the guard, ¡°Excuse me, is there pond over there? I would love to go see it.¡±


    ¡°Do you have an invitation?¡± the guard asks.


    Shit.


    ¡°Uh, yes I do.¡±


    ¡°Who has invited you?¡±


    ¡°Um, one of The Magnificents,¡± I guess, ¡°They said I could come here and they would show me around.¡±


    The guard who is guarding the gate looks over at the two behind me. He looks at them for confirmation and after a few seconds of no denying, the guard opens the gate and lets me in. I walk down the stone path on the hill noticing the trees and lightning bugs around me. Behind me, I find the two guards also in awe with what they are seeing.


    I reach to where I hear the running water sound and the waterfall I see is very tiny. I was kind of disappointed but the pond is big enough to skip rocks which is what I wanted to do anyways. Walking down on the path more, I notice glowing flowers I have never seen before and a statue of a woman with long hair and a beautiful body. It has to be a statue of Light because all of her statues are the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen.


    When I step on a twig, I hear a gasp. There is a body in the shadows that I didn¡¯t see before. The person seems to be kneeling on platform and it looks like they were praying to the Light statue in front of us. When will people learn that a statue is not going to help them in any way and that it is the actions they take in their own life that will determine where they go in their life.


    ¡°Um, hello?¡± I say.


    ¡°Who let you in here?¡± asks a woman¡¯s voice. A woman¡¯s voice that is all but too familiar.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.Orien.


    ¡°The guards let me come here and the guard at the front gate ler me through.¡±


    ¡°I will have a talk with them for sure,¡± Orien mumbles. I am assuming she is talking to herself because she says it so quiet but because there is barely anyone here, I could here it. ¡°Guards, leave him with me. Go back up to the gate and I will come with him after we are done.¡±


    The guards open and bow as the head back up the stone pathway that leads to the entrance gate.


    ¡°When we are done with what exactly?¡± I tease.


    I can faintly see Orien role her eyes and then walk to me. ¡°So, needed some air too or did you come here to judge my dancing again?¡±


    I give a slight chuckle and then look down. Avoiding eye contact seems like the only thing I can do. I want to look at her, but for some reason my eyes will not let me. She slowly walks closer to me and then gives me her hand. Is she seriously doing this?


    ¡°Um, what are you doing?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Lend out your elbow for me to take. It¡¯s only proper for you to lead a woman on a walk. It doesn¡¯t mean we are together, it¡¯s just a traditional gesture,¡± she says.


    Offering my arm after some hesitation, we walk around the pond arm in arm. We stay silent for a few minutes while looking at the glowing flowers. Then I spot it, the perfectly round, flat rock. A rock that could skip a million times. The perfect rock. I pick it up and toss it across the pond, accidentally hitting the statue of Light.


    ¡°Hey, watch it,¡± Orien says. Her eyes are furrowed and the corners of her mouth are pointed down. I give her an apologetic look and put both of my hands up showing that I am innocent and didn¡¯t mean to do it on purpose.


    I clear my throat after some thought, ¡°Do you believe in all this stuff?¡±


    ¡°Believe in what?¡± Orien asks.


    ¡°In all this Darkness and Light stuff. Do you think that there were actual gods and that they happen to fall in love with each other and have magical babies? I mean no one has ever seen the triplets before so how do we know they actually exist?¡±


    ¡°How would you explain all the evil in the world? Don¡¯t you think that his Darkness doing his evil deeds amoung the mortals?¡±


    ¡°I think that people made up Light and Darkness just so they can have an excuse for the evil thoughts and praise for their good thoughts. I don¡¯t think they actually existed because if Light and Darkness truly existed, wouldn¡¯t Light have been powerful enough to stop Darkness? Instead her three children and had her had to come together to defeat one god. Three against one and they are all immortal beings just doesn¡¯t add up to me.¡±


    I see Orien¡¯s frown grow deeper in thought. ¡°I guess I believe because it is what keeps me going. It is what gives me the motivation to stay good and do the right thing and stop people from hurting themselves or others around them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, makes sense, I guess,¡± I say quietly.


    A few more seconds of awkward silence passes until I decide to break it. ¡°So, on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate my dancing?¡±


    She gives a little snort out of her nose. ¡°A two at best.¡±


    ¡°How? I think I am one of the best dancers out there,¡± I say with a sly grin.


    Orien replies with a slight chuckle and smiles while looking at the staue in front of us. ¡°She really is pretty isn¡¯t she?¡±


    I look out in front of me to the statue. ¡°Yeah, I would say she is one of the prettiest things on the planet but I have got some things in my mind that is prettier.¡±


    Did I really just say that? What if she thinks I was flirting with her. I can¡¯t have her thinking that. She lifts her eyes up to make eye contact with me and smiles and then looks out in front of her again. I have no idea what she is thinking in her head but I would love to know right now.


    It doesn¡¯t seem to take up the thoughts in her head for long because soon after that we are heading back to the gate to head on inside and into the castle. Orien claims she is tired and so we both head our separate ways to go to bed.

 Chapter 21: Orien

    After hours upon hours of convincing, I am finally letting the prisoners go back to their home to collect some personal things. My one candition is if they go, two guards, my brothers, and I will have to come with them. I also warned them that because of the guards, this could give them some unwanted attention but they all said they were fine with it.


    My brothers and I draw out a map of our route today and we end up deciding that going to June¡¯s house, which is the closest house to the castle, first. Then we are going to end with going to Pierce¡¯s house so that we can just walk on back without stopping anywhere.


    After our four prisoners are ready to leave, my brothers get into formation incase they have planned to run from us.


    Theon gives them a gentle reminder when we are almost out of the door. ¡°Remember, any funny business and we will kill you on the spot. No questions asked.¡±


    The four of them nod with Pierce and Cheleste looking a little green after and Xavier¡¯s eyebrows turning in an angle that shows he is not amused. June doesn¡¯t seemed bothered by this at all and keeps on walking like she didn¡¯t hear her life get threatened.


    Right before we step out of the door, Hammonet asks if he can join us on the walk to his house since he is off duty for the next twelve hours. I agree and he runs right up to his daughter and check in on her. He is asking so many questions like Why do they think you are a follower of Darkness? and I thought you were a strong follower of Light, what happened?


    June tries to convince her father that she is still a follower of Light and there is no way that Darkness will ever go in her heart. People like her are just as dangerous as the people who are only devoted to Darkness. That¡¯s the problem with a lot of the world is that they think they have to pick one side, but in fact they have to let Light and Darkness balance their hearts. Everyone needs some good and evil in them otherwise there will be nothing to work for. Mortals are created to work for whatever they think is the right thing and if there is no evil in the world then what will they fight for?


    As we head out of the castle doors, we walk down the path and then turn left at the end of the road where the more financially fortunate citizens live. I knew that royal guards got paid more than the average citizens but I didn¡¯t know they would get paid enough to live in the upper class part of the kingdom. Though, I don¡¯t know what Hammonet¡¯s wife does for a living so it could be her bringing in all of the money.


    Eventually, we walk up to this gorgeous stone mansion that has a long drive way with perfectly trimmed trees bordering each side. In the front of the mansion there is an arch about a little path way before you go to the front door. This is a very big mansion for a civilian and it makes me respect June and Hammonet. They seem like very nice people and not stuck up which is not what I would have expected with people who live in this kind of house.


    Hammonet leads the group up to the front door and let us in. The inside of the house is just as beautiful as the outside. In front of me is a spiral staircase with the glass and jeweled accessories covering the walls and shelves around the base of it. I man comes out in very nice clothing but clearly isn¡¯t part of the family that lives here.


    ¡°Welcome back, lunch has been made for you sir and your bed has been made for you,¡± the man says.


    ¡°Thank you Emerson. Can you please give our guests whatever they need?¡± Hammonet replies.


    Emerson does a combination of a nod and bow and opens his arms to gesture us in. We follow him into what seems like a kitchen while two guards follow June up the staircase to her bedroom. The paintings I have seen on almost every wall shows that this family is a strong follower of Light and because of that, it eases me a little bit. That doesn¡¯t change the fact that they were the in pub where followers of Darkness go to. I know plenty of people who were raised in houses that followed Light but eventually turned to Darkness. I can¡¯t let my guard down just because of the family.


    My brothers and I got to meet June¡¯s mother, which luckily didn¡¯t give June any of her looks. Hammonet is a rather handsome man and I am surprised that he married June¡¯s mother but that shows you more of who Hammonet is. He obviously doesn¡¯t love her for her looks but for personality. The only thing I don¡¯t like about June¡¯s mother is that she is very mean and ride to Pierce. Pierce is a man who is super funny and light hearted but you can tell he is uncomfortable around her. I think that says a lot about their relationship.


    June¡¯s mother is not happy that we are holding her daughter captive for a couple of weeks but she is confident that June will be able to come back to the house after. She says that June wouldn¡¯t go anything near something that associated with Darkness. Let¡¯s just hope that she¡¯s right because I am kind of liking this friend group.


    After June comes down with a big suitcase, she says goodbye to her parents. I can tell she carefully words phrases so that her parents can be more confident that she is coming back. We walk out of the big doorway and down the long driveway and head out of the upper class part of town. I have been made known that Xavier and Cheleste live in the middle class and because Xavier¡¯s house is closer we are going to stop their first.


    It is not that long of a walk to the middle class part of the kingdom but you can tell it is definitely farther away from the castle than June¡¯s house. The house is not impressive. It¡¯s an average house but what is impressive is the family that lives inside.


    This family loves each other very much and you can tell that they would do anything for each other. Xavier looks a lot like his mom. She has the same straight brown hair and the same shade of blue. The only thing that he got from his dad is the angular face that makes them very handsome.


    Instead of brown hair and blue eyes, Xavier¡¯s father and sisters have blonde hair and brown eyes. I learn that his younger sisters are identical twins and that they are six years old.


    Xavier¡¯s parents follow Xavier and the two guards into his room while he packs. I can hear his mother raising her voice to him and telling him that she disappointed him for the last time. When he gets out of the castle in a few weeks she is going to take him to Throng ten times more than she already has. Which it sounds like she already takes him a lot.


    Xavier¡¯s mother raises her voice more and more every second and the two twin girls out with us are starting to get frightened. I see that both of them are hold dolls in their hands, so I bed down and ask them what their dolls'' names are. I know that if I was a kid, I would hate hearing my parents fight. Unfortunately, my brothers and I were the cause of my parents'' fight, but I can¡¯t think about that right now. I have to distract these girls.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.They tell me their dolls'' names are Emonie and Idalia which are coincidentally their names as well. They told me all the drama about their little tea parties and how the doll Emonie broke the wooden cup of the doll Idalia and now they are fighting. They tell me that they always fight but they also always make up in the end. I laugh and tell them that it sound like my brothers and I.


    After a few second of silence, Idalia puts her hand on my cheek and says, ¡°You are very pretty.¡±


    My body stiffens. I have heard that people think I am pretty but they wouldn¡¯t tell a Magnificent to their face that they think they are pretty. I¡¯m sure the citizens are scared that a Magnificent would laugh in their face and tell them to flirt with someone else. I wouldn¡¯t. I would simply thank them and then if I had time I would strike up a conversation with them.


    Cheeks heating up, I clear my throat to bring myself back to the present. I smile at Idalia and tell her, ¡°Not as pretty as you.¡± She giggles and runs to her sister and they go back to playing with their dolls. That¡¯s when I notice that Xavier is done packing and him and his parents are staring at me. His parents with content and Xavier with a mixture of embarrassment and desperate to get out of here.


    Xavier says goodbye to his parents and then we head out of their house and to Cheleste¡¯s home which is a little bit farther away. It¡¯s still seems to be in a middle class section but closer to where the lower class is.


    Her house doesn¡¯t look different than Xavier¡¯s but inside is a lot more chaotic. When we walk in I notice immediately the group of little children sitting at a very long wooden table. The door squeaks and all of their little heads tilt towards the sound as if it just called out each individual name.


    At first, they look very confused but once they see Cheleste every single face lights up like little drops of sun. They yell her name as loud as they can and run up to her and hug her. Cheleste bends down and makes sure to kiss every single forehead that is in front of her.


    Slowly, an older woman comes out of the kitchen and waddles over to the door where everyone is crowded by.


    ¡°Finally, you left me, you selfish piece of shit. I had to take care of all of these kids and I am exhausted. Come, help me feed the children,¡± the lady says as she waddles back to the kitchen.


    ¡°Mom, I can¡¯t,¡± Cheleste says. She looks around at the little children in front of her and then looks at her friends, my brothers, and I. ¡°I can explain, just follow me to the bedroom.¡±


    Cheleste¡¯s mom grunts but doesn¡¯t argue.


    Chelste bends down again to the little children, ¡°Alright little ducklings, Mama and I have to talk but you will get your food in a little bit. Please be good and sit at the table. No fighting and make sure behave, we have guests.¡±


    Cheleste, the two guards, and her mom walk towards her bedroom and the children all run back to the table where they were sitting before. Now that they are all sitting down and not running around anymore I can see that there are six children. There are four girls and two boys and all of them have the same curly red hair as Cheleste.


    As we wait for Cheleste to come back, I learn that the oldest two, girl and boy, are twins. They just turned thirteen a couple of days ago. The middle child is a boy and he is more quiet than the other kids. The last three are girls and they are triplets.


    They then proceed to tell me that Cheleste takes care of them most of the time and now that she hasn¡¯t been home for a couple days, the twins are trying to help out their mother. She is a single mother because their father left to follow Darkness when the triplets were born. The triplets tells us that they are sure that their father will come back and all I can do is feel sorry for them and know what it is like to have a father that abandons his children.


    Before I can get too far into my thoughts, Cheleste and her mother come back. Brooding darkness shadows her mother as the fire of a raging bull shines through Cheleste. They had a fight. That¡¯s the only explanation but Cheleste looks like she stronger than ever and I know that she can handle this.


    Cheleste comes and kisses all of her siblings on the forehead again. ¡°I love you so much, little ducklings. I am going to go somewhere for a little while but I promise I will come back.¡±


    ¡°You promise?¡± one of the triplets ask.


    ¡°I promise, duckling.¡±


    They all say their goodbyes to each other as her mom sulks in a corner on the opposite side of the house. After saying goodbye to her siblings, Cheleste walks straight to the door ignoring her mother. We all follow her out.


    The four friends gather in a group in front of my brothers and I asking Cheleste if she is okay. She kept telling them that she didn¡¯t want to talk about it and that she just wanted to get back to the castle where she can get some alone time in her room.


    We finally make it to our last stop of the day and that is Pierce¡¯s home. I find out that he lives in one of the poorest sections of Chopver. He is one of the happiest people I have ever seen and because of that, I would not have expected him to live in a dirt house. It gives me so much more respect for him.


    We walk to a lump that is made out of dirt and clay. There is one hole in it that creates a window. An unattached plank of wood is used as a door and Pierce explained that his father and him has to move everything heavy in front of the door when there is a bad storm.


    We all walk into Pierce¡¯s home and we meet his father and grandmother right away. This home only has one room and one bed. Next to the bed there is a pile of hay and buckets of food. I find out that Pierce and his father sleep on the pile of hay while Pierce¡¯s grandmother sleeps on the bed.


    Pierce explains that he didn¡¯t have anything he needed to pack but wanted to opportunity to explain to his father and grandmother what is going on. His father and grandmother aren¡¯t bother much by the news and confident that they will see Pierce again. And if he does see them again, I personally will see that he brings as much food as he possibly can to his home for his family. They are all so sweet and truly do care about each other.


    When we tell them that it is time to say goodbye, not only do they say goodbye to Pierce but all of the friends. That¡¯s something I notice the other families did not do. The other families didn¡¯t even acknowledge the other friends much and the friend group seems close enough that they would have been friends for year. You would think that their parents met all of the friends if not the friend¡¯s parents.


    On our way back to the castle, I notice the mood in the friend group changes. They are a lot more relaxed and talking to each other as if they are not going back to their prison.


    In some weird way, it¡¯s kind of nice to see that.

 Chapter 22: Xavier

    It¡¯s the start of the second week and somehow I am bored in a royal castle. Yesterday, my friends and I got to go home and pack some of our belongings and tell our families what was happening. Honestly, I didn¡¯t think Orien and the other two guys were cool enough to let us do that. It made me like the three of them a little now.


    Pierce and I have made up a game while we have been trapped in this beautiful and magical prison. First, one of us would name something we see in the room and then we take turns naming something that starts with the same letter. The first person to hesitates loses. It was fun for a while but after a bit we started to repeat topics and then we just lost interest.


    I never would have thought that I would be bored in a castle. I did overhear the other day that Orien and the two other guys are going to come in and question us. As much as I hate that, it is better than sitting a room and doing nothing.


    Today, I spent most of the day walking back and forth wishing I had some sort of book to read. I have always loved reading. Whenever life is tough, I think we were given the magical gift of books to escape reality. I know there is a library in the castle somewhere and if Orien is willing to let me look through the library and pick out a couple of books.


    Most of the day went by before I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I knock on Pierce¡¯s and my bedroom door. There is a different guard every night, so the face that I saw when the door swung open was a face I have never seen before. He looks unamused that I have disturbed his, what I am sure is an eventful, shift.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± he asks.


    Okay, not going for the polite conversation. Got it.


    ¡°I¡¯m bored,¡± I respond.


    ¡°Not my problem.¡± The guard starts to close the door but I put my foot between the door and the frame at the last second. He groans a little before opening the door up again and glaring at me.


    ¡°Can I please walk around somewhere? I don¡¯t care if guards have to be with me. I just want to go somewhere.¡±


    Pierce doesn¡¯t appear to have the same problem as me. He is loudly snoring in his bed after a long day of finding the positivity in everything and entertaining himself. This day counts in one of the rare occasions where I wish I was Pierce.


    ¡°We can¡¯t allow that,¡± the guard says. He glares at me again and starts to close the door one more time. I stop the door with my hand this time and respond with a glare of my own.


    ¡°Please, a quick walk. That is all I am asking for.¡±


    The guard opens his mouth to respond before he is cut off by a female voice. ¡°What is going on over here.¡±


    I look over the guard¡¯s shoulder the same time he turns around and bows. Orien is standing there in a white night dress with a v-shape cut. The bow in the middle of the v-shape cut pulls the dress around her chest in the most perfect way. The sleeves are a little puffy and goes down to the middle of her arm and the length of the dress goes all the way down to her feet.


    The guard tells Orien about what is happening and she furrows her eyebrows. Great, if Orien says I can¡¯t go for a walk then there is no way I can convince the guard to let me go for a walk.


    Silence booms in the hallway for a second before Orien opens her mouth. ¡°I was just about to go for a walk. He can join me. No need for a guard. If he tries to run, I can take care of him myself.¡±


    That last sentence gives me chills down my spine. As long as I have known Orien, I have also known that she can take me down if I ever try to do anything. The guard looks back at me with an even darker glare and I return it with a sly smug on my face as I walk past him. I dont look back as I follow Orien down the hall and towards a staircase that leads to the outside. The whole time walking there, we are silent and don¡¯t even glance a look at each other.


    ¡°So, what were you doing in hallway?¡± I ask.


    Orien gives me a puzzled look. ¡°Like I said earlier, I was going out for a walk.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± That¡¯s all I can think of to say. More silence fills the air until I finally break the silence again with another question. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°I was going to head into the garden. Have you ever been there?¡± Orien replies.


    I shake my head. I have never been in the royal gardens but there are stories of how beautiful the place is and that anything magical you can think of happens there. They say that if you wish for something while you are standing in the center of the royal gardens that the wish will come true.


    Silence thickkens the air until I try to slice through it once again. ¡°I improved my dancing skills.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t completely a lie. I spent ten minutes in my bedroom practicing my dance moves in front of the mirror before Pierce came barging in after he gout out of the shower. I didn¡¯t see anything wrong but I spent the rest of the night thinking about how I could impress Orien the next time we dance together.


    Orien smirks before she says, ¡°I highly doubt that.¡±


    Before I could argue, we got to the entrance of the royal gardens. The garden¡¯s entrance starts off with a beautiful arch of glowing blue flowers that illuminate in the dark sky. The blue flowers give off light blue dust which the wind catches and dances away with it. The shiny stone path starts right under the arch and leads in the middle of the garden. There is a grass patch in the middle of the garden which the stone path circles around it. Glowing white, red, and pink flowers light up the perimeter of the oath where the stone path meets the grass patch. In the middle of the grass patch but I have a better idea. ¡°Why don¡¯t I show you?¡±


    She looks at me with furrowed brows before I grab her wrist and drag ger in the middle by the tree. She pulls away quickly, making me stumble on my feet.


    ¡°What the hall do you think you are doing?¡± she growls while reaching for the weapon on her side.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.I put my hands up in surrender. Noting that Orien is not easing her stance. ¡°I was only going to show you that I improved my dancing skills.¡±


    Her face calms down and her hand inches away from her side. Standing a little straighter she stares me down. ¡°Okay, next time, don¡¯t grab me without telling me what you are doing first.¡±


    A slight nod moves my head and shakes the sense back into me. Of course she would be on edge right now. She thinks that I am a follower of Darkness. She is constantly thinking that I will try and kill her at any given moment. How do I show her that I am not going to kill her? I, in fact, want to get to know her better.


    Holding out my hand in front of me, I ask, ¡°May I have this dance?¡±


    I can tell that Orien is hesitating a little bit, but eventually she nods and gives me her hand. I lightly take it and lead her by the tree in the center of the garden. Her hands are as soft as a baby¡¯s and her touch is so elegant. Her whole entire body floats as we head to the center. The shine in her perfect black hair match the sparkle in her light golden eyes. The wind takes her hair out of her face and shows me how perfect the shape of her head is.


    Our swaying bodies match the flow of the branches catching the wind above us. My hand inches down and rests in the dip of her waist. Her hands slowly moving around my neck, bringing me closer to her. I can hear her breath hitch when I bring my other hand down to her waist. Locking eyes, my head starts to spin as I take in her beauty. Her perfect hair, her perfect eyes, her perfect skin, her perfect everything. Everything about her is perfect.


    She grunts as I step on her foot and I send her an apologetic look.


    ¡°I see you haven¡¯t perfected your dance moves,¡± she says quietly.


    ¡°Hey, a perfect looking man can¡¯t be good at everything,¡± I reply.


    ¡°Who is this perfect looking man you talk about? I want to meet him.¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    We both slightly chuckle as we continue to dance for what feels like seconds but at the same time feels like hours.


    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± I blurt out.


    Her eyes widen a little as if she was not expecting me to ask something at this particular moment. ¡°Sure,¡± she replies softly.


    ¡°If The Scripture of Light is true then what makes you so confident that these supposed magical triplet gods can fight off their father and save the world.¡±


    She hesitates a little before answering. ¡°I think I am confident because those triplets have sworn to protect their people no matter the cost and they will literally do anything to protect the people from the evil that Darkness is putting into the world.¡±


    She speaks as if she knows these triplets in real life. ¡°But how do you know that they are powerful enough to kill their father this time when they couldn¡¯t even do with their mother the first time?¡±


    ¡°Woah, who said anything about killing? I don¡¯t think they are going to kill their father but rather put some sense into him and balance out Light and Darkness once again. I think that they were very young when the first unbalance happened but now that it has been centuries, I think that the triplets have more experience and are probably ready to fight. It¡¯s like human babies. Human babies don¡¯t know everything when they first come out of the womb so why would it be any different for these triplets.¡±


    ¡°I guess. I just don¡¯t get how all these people could believe is something that is so obviously a myth.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you believe in this again?¡±


    ¡°Because, I think it is a poor excuse to get praise for something nice you did and to get away with something evil or ill intent. Plus, no one has every seen these triplets so how do we know they still exist? The reason no one has seen them could be that they were killed by their father and that people just need to grab onto false hope.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re someone who needs to see something in order to believe in them?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°When I met your family, they are big believers in Light. So, who taught you to doubt?¡±


    ¡°No one, I just see too much evil in this world. There is no point in believing in Light if you never see anything good in this world.¡±


    ¡°What if I told you that I have seen the triplets before?¡±


    I narrow my eyes at her. ¡°And tell me why I should believe you when you tell me this.¡±


    ¡°Because I am a Magnificent. Most of The Magnificents have seen them but are sworn to secrecy to never point them out if they are ever in their kingdom.¡±


    A Magnificent. I have forgotten that she is royalty. I have been fighting, flirting, and dancing with a queen. This thought makes my leg shake a little bit and I trip over a tiny rock in the garden. Orien catches me and sets me down on the ground. A queen caught me. A queen is touching me. Royal eyes are looking into mine.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Orien asks.


    ¡°You¡¯re a queen.¡± I manage to get out.


    She chuckles. ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t real. I have argued with you before. I have been so rude to you. I have been rude to a queen! Please forgive me.¡±


    ¡°Hey calm down.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t punish me. I didn¡¯t mean to be a pain in your ass. I¡¯m so sorry. Please forgive-¡±


    Something stops my lips. Something warm, soft, and tastes like honey. The smell of clean skin and the feel of hot breath overwhelm my senses. Orien is kissing me.


    Orien, a queen, is kissing me. Her lips feel as if silk has landed on a cloud. The sounds she make, sound like they are angels singing from heaven.


    I release all the tension in my shoulders and kiss her back. Kissing her just feels right. Like our lips were made for each other as they mold together. Our breaths form into one as we share pieces of ourselves to each other.


    I lean in closer to get an angle to go deeper but Orien pulls away quickly. ¡°We should probably head to bed. It¡¯s getting late.¡±

 Chapter 23: Orien

    I wake up with a silent yawn followed by a stretch. My hand automatically goes up to my lips. Last night had to be a dream, right?


    No, it was real. The handsome eyes that locked with mine and the perfect hair flowing in the wind as he swept me off my feet and danced. It felt like he was taking care of me. I was being taken care of for once. I didn¡¯t have to think about what Darkness¡¯ next plan was or when he will strike next. All I got to think about was that moment, with that very handsome man, and that kiss.


    It felt good being taken care of. I don¡¯t know when I will ever be able to feel that again. I am so busy taking care of everyone else by protecting them from Darkness that I never have any time for someone to take care of me.


    Maybe when Darkness is finally balanced again, I could find someone who is willing to take care of me for the rest of their life, but why do I have a feeling that that is not going to happen in Xavier¡¯s life time.


    I get out of my bed, forcing my mind to think about something else. I can¡¯t afford to have such depressing thoughts in my head so early in the morning. We can worry about that when the time comes.


    A knock on my door makes me jump. How long have I been staring at myself in the mirror?


    I answer the knock with a simple, ¡°Come in.¡± A guard pushed through the door slowly and tells me that my brothers are waiting for me in the dining room where breakfast is ready for me. My stomach growls in response to the news and I follow the guard down the hall and into the dining room.


    I don¡¯t just see my brothers but I also see Xavier and his friends sitting down all at the same table. ¡°Sorry I am late.¡±


    ¡°June thought it would be nice to have all of us join together and get to know each other a little bit more. You know, because we are going to be seeing each other for a couple more weeks. I said it was okay, I hope that is alright with you sister,¡± Theon smiles at me.


    Leave it to Theon to have a soft spot for mortals. Even if they are the worst criminal in history, Theon would always open a spot for them at the dining table. There is a reason that he is the mortals¡¯ favorite prince when it comes to generosity. I have to admit, though, I am also grateful that he is this way because there are plenty of things that I have done that could have made him not talk to me for a long time but he always opened his heart and forgave me. It makes me wonder how much patience does he have when it comes to this and when will be his breaking point?


    I clear my throat before responding, ¡°Not at all. After all we do have to keep an eye on them. This will be easier for us overall.¡±


    ¡°That chair over there is open,¡± Theon points to the closest chair to the group. Of course, the chair is right next to Xavier and of course my face betrays me at this very moment and decides to heat up as hot as the flames I produce.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong sister?¡± Strider asks. There is a hint of concern in his tone.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I say quickly while dashing towards the chair next to the man I kissed last night. I look over at Xavier but he has his head turned the other towards Pierce, who is sitting on the other side of him, making conversation. His head snapped so quickly to Pierce that it was obvious that he didn¡¯t want to make any sort of eye contact with me. My brothers obviously noticed too because when I look at them, their eyes are furrowed with confusion.


    Now that everyone is at the table, the servants are able to serve the food for breakfast. There is a bunch of different kinds of food like eggs, meat, bowls of assorted fruits, and even some biscuits and pastries for us. There are also a bunch of different drinks like apple juice, orange juice, and all kinds of milks.


    There is a bowl of fresh fruit right in front of me and so I reach out and grab it. At the same time, Xavier is also grabbing the bowl. Our hands collide and his hand even holds mine for a second. Xavier pulls his hand away from mine. I do the same, but when I pull my hand away, my elbow bumps into a jug of juice and it shatters all over the ground.


    Everyone is staring at me. Every single set of eyes is on me. All their attention is towards me. My face heats up like a volcano about to erupt.


    I get up quickly enough for my chair to fall behind me but I don¡¯t care. I run past the guards at the doors, who were also staring at me, and run to the training room where I know no one will be at.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.I run into the empty room which has mats all over the floor, practice dummies scattered everywhere, and wooden weapons mounted on the concrete wall. The ring where a lot of sparing matches happen, is empty except for one practice dummy in the corner. Someone must have been training one-on-one combat.


    I go straight to the wall to grab a wooden weapon because I can feel my anger already boiling over. How could I have embarrassed myself in front of everyone? I am supposed to be a queen but instead I asked like a jester in there.


    I bend my body to get into the ring where the practice dummy is staring back at me, mocking me.


    You looked like a fool back in the dining room. How is anyone supposed to take you seriously now? You¡¯re supposed to run a country? How can you do that when you can¡¯t even control yourself?


    I can hear the echo of its laugh faintly in my ears until I slam the sword as hard as I can into its neck. Over and over again, I hit and stab, kick and punch, grunt and scream. Somehow I can¡¯t seem to get the embarrassment to leave my body.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I punch its head over and over again until the head pops off and flies across the room.


    ¡°Woah, woah, woah, why so angry soldier?¡± Theon asks from behind me.


    I didn¡¯t hear my brothers come into the training room but both of them are standing right in front of the doorway. Theon is smiling while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, but Strider looks more concerned as his eyes are still on the head of the dummy that flew across the room.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Strider asks me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I reply.


    ¡°Sure, you will be fine, but right now you are not. What is going on with you? I have never seen you act that before,¡± Theon says.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± I punch the body of the dummy since its head is no longer there. Harder and harder the punches come until all of a sudden all energy leaves my body and my arms go limp. I look down to my feet with a long sigh and then look up to my brothers. ¡°I kissed him.¡±


    Tears start to form in my eyes when I see my brothers¡¯ reactions.


    ¡°Kissed who?¡± Strider says.


    I close my lips tighter knowing that if I said his name out loud then the tears in my eyes would fall uncontrollably.


    ¡°She kissed Xavier,¡± Theon says quietly.


    Strider whips his head around to look at Theon. ¡°No, she knows better than that. Right sister?¡±


    ¡°Well obviously not if she just admitted that she kissed someone. Open up your ears brother,¡± Theon nudges Striders shoulders.


    Strider slowly turns his head back towards me.


    My lips hurt from closing then so tight. I shake my head and Strider¡¯s eyes grow wider than I have ever seen before.


    ¡°Sister, you know better than this. You can¡¯t fall in love with a mortal. I mean look how painful it was for Theon when the love of his life died. I can¡¯t stand to see another one of my siblings get hurt like that again.¡±


    Tears start to well up in my eyes and they are so hot that they burn my cheeks as they come down.


    ¡°You need to promise me that you will not pursue this relationship. This could be dangerous for you, Xavier, or even the whole earth.¡±


    ¡°Brother, don¡¯t you think you over exaggerating a little? Look at her. Let¡¯s give her some space and let¡¯s get you to some air. You are obviously to anxious about this situation,¡± Theon says. He puts his hands on Strider¡¯s back and starts to push him out the door. Strider continues out the door but Theon stops right before exiting and turns around to look at me.


    ¡°I think you should do whatever your heart desires. Yes, I was devastated when my love had to end but while it was happening, it was one of the best things in my entire life. Strider is just trying to protect you. I don¡¯t want to see you hurt either, but I will be supportive if you choose to follow through with this. I will always support my sister no matter what.¡±


    Before I have time to respond, Theon turns around and heads out the door to catch up with Strider.


    It¡¯s nice to know that my brothers are here for me even if they have completely different opinions. One day, I hope to return the favor of being protective and supportive.


    For now, I have to focus on being able to fight my father while dealing with the feelings I have for Xavier. These feelings feel weird. It feels like there is something fluttering in my chest whenever I see him. I can¡¯t seem to breathe when I am around him and my palms get sweaty.


    Xavier, what have you done to me?

 Chapter 24: Xavier

    I pace back and forth in my room, next to my bed.


    When Orien stormed out of the dining room, everyone was looking at me like I had some sort of plague. But, once Strider and Theon left the room, everything seemed to go back to normal because it was only my friends and I left.


    At first, we were all quiet as we ate our breakfast but then after Pierce broke the silence then all of our mouths learned how to work again. We stuffed our faces until we were full and then we were all escorted back to our rooms as a group. That¡¯s when June asked one of the guards if we could all hang out in one room for a bit. The guards immediately said no but then decided to get approval from Queen Amelia.


    After hours and hours, realistically it was only a few minutes, Queen Amelia approved our request with a condition. We must have extra guards at the door of the room and they are allowed to walk in at any moment unannounced.


    I am assuming these conditions are just in case we wanted to plan our escape or some sort of plan to kill the queen but, honestly, my friends and I all just want to be around each other and catch up. Especially after this morning.


    ¡°So, you going to stop pacing the room and actually tell us what is going on?¡± Cheleste says.


    I continue to pace, ignoring her question. How do I tell my friends that I kissed a queen, a Magnificent? I don¡¯t know how they will react, and honestly I don¡¯t really want to find out.


    ¡°Xavier, obviously something is bothering you. You can tell us, you know. Whatever it is, we are here for you,¡± June says.


    I take a minute to stop pacing and look back at my friends. Pierce and June are sitting on Pierce¡¯s bed while Cheleste is on mine. They all look at me and Cheleste gives a slight nod of encouragement and a small smile of support. My heart starts to race and I can¡¯t keep myself still anymore so I go back to pacing in front of them.


    ¡°Come on, I bet you will feel a lot better after you get whatever it is off your chest,¡± Pierce suggests.


    I groan into my hands which turns into a muffled scream. I can tell this makes my friends more interested in what I have to say because June and Cheleste have a look of confusion all over their face while Pierce is looking like he is watching a very interesting play.


    ¡°I may¡­ I¡­¡±


    ¡°Spit it out, man,¡± Pierce says.


    ¡°I kissed Orien,¡± I mumble.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did you just say?¡± June asks. She leans in forward as if she didn¡¯t hear me but I know that she did. ¡°You kissed a magnificent?¡±


    I look down at my feet and nod slightly. I am not ashamed of the kiss, however, I am ashamed that I have not talked to her since then. When we did kiss, she ran away quickly as if she wanted it to stop and she has been avoiding me ever since.


    ¡°Are you insane? Do you know how much trouble you could get in? You can¡¯t just kiss A Magnificent! She could get you killed for this.¡± June explains this to me as if I didn¡¯t already know.


    The Magnificents are like gods. Average citizens can¡¯t do anything towards them without facing consequences, good or bad. If Orien tells that I kissed her without her wanting it, she could get a guard to kill be in just a snap of her delicate fingers.


    Those very same fingers that were wrapped around my neck last night. Soft and warm, her touch felt like a soft blanket on a cold, winter night. Her eyes could melt snow if she looked at it. Those golden eyes shine brighter than the sun itself and looks like treasure anyone would love to find. Something else that anyone would love to find is how good her lips felt on mine. Soft and warm, just like her hands but not like a blanket. Her lips felt more like a cloud rolling in on a mountain and opening up to give a firm hug to that mountain.


    ¡°Hey, snap out of it. You can¡¯t do anything like that anymore, Xavier. You should try to avoid her as much as possible until we get out of her and pray that she doesn¡¯t order your head to be sliced off,¡± June says.


    June is right. If I risk doing anything else, I could get in serious trouble and even get myself killed. Avoiding her won¡¯t be hard though since she is already doing a fine job at that.


    ¡°Come on, I think this would be great for him if she continues whatever this is with him. She seems level headed enough to be a good influence on him. Maybe she can help him finally take that stick out of his ass,¡± Cheleste says. She stares right at me when she is saying that last sentence as if she is telling me something.


    I know I can be a drag sometimes but that¡¯s because I like to stick to reality. Because I am not as delusional as most people, I tend to ward of everyone with my presence.


    I glare at Cheleste but she has a good point as well. Both, Cheleste and June give me different looks of desperation. June¡¯s eyes are begging me not to do anything more that could further complicate our situation. Cheleste¡¯s eyes are telling me to go for it and if anything happens that I should go along with it.


    I stop pacing and collapse onto the edge of the bed, burying my face in my hands. I can feel the weight of their eyes on me, the solence stretching out like an endless tunnel. What¡¯s the right move here? They¡¯re both right. But how can I avoid her when all I can think about is that kiss?


    ¡°Xavier, you need to think this through,¡± June says softly, her voice steady, but there¡¯s an edge of concern. ¡°I know you¡¯re not an idiot, so don¡¯t act like one. Orien is a Magnificent. You have no idea what she could do to you, to us, if you push this.¡±


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    I look up at her, trying to make sense of her words, but all I can see is Orien¡¯s face in my mind. That softness, that fire hidden beneath the surface. I don¡¯t even understand what happened between us, but it feels like I¡¯m stuck in some kind of whirlwind, spinning between desire and danger.


    ¡°She¡¯s not just a Magnificent, June. She¡¯s her,¡± I murmur, more to myself than anyone else. ¡°I can¡¯t explain it. I know the risks, I know the rules, but when she looks at me, everything goes out the window. I don¡¯t know how to turn it off.¡±


    Cheleste leans forward, crossing her arms as she watches my closely. ¡°You don¡¯t. You never will. But that doesn¡¯t mean you have to let it control you, either.¡± Her tone is firm, but her eyes are soft, trying to balance out her bluntness with a little comfort.


    ¡°You think I should just¡­ go after her then?¡± I ask, meeting her gaze.


    She shrugs. ¡°I think you¡¯re being ridiculous if you don¡¯t. You¡¯ve got to stop pretending you don¡¯t feel this thing. If it¡¯s gonna end badly, it¡¯ll end badly, but at least you won¡¯t be sitting her wondering what if. Besides, she¡¯s not going to bite your head off just for looking at her wrong. You¡¯ve got to know that.¡±


    I turn my gaze to Pierce, silently begging in him to offer some kind of answer. He¡¯s been quiet through all of this, sitting with his elbows resting on his knees, watching the exchange with that contemplative look he gets when he¡¯s trying to piece something together.


    Pierce sighs and leans back against the wall. ¡°Look, man. June¡¯s right that it¡¯s risky, but Cheleste has a point too. You can¡¯t keep letting this fester inside you. You¡¯re not exactly the type to fall for someone like that, so maybe this is something worth exploring- if only to figure out what is going on in your own head.¡±


    I rub my temples, the pressure building again. It¡¯s hard to think clearly with all the noise. They want me to make a decision, to act, but I feel stuck, like I¡¯m being pulled in two directions and I don¡¯t know which way to go.


    ¡°I just¡­¡± I hesitate, trying to find the right words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to make things worse. I don¡¯t want to ruin everything between us, especially not when things are already tense with her family, with everything going on.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t ruin it,¡± June says, her voice sharp yet calm. ¡°You don¡¯t have to ruin anything. Just¡­ leave it alone. You can¡¯t control it, but you don¡¯t need to make it worse either. Let things happen naturally, whatever that means.¡±


    I lean back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. The noise in my head doesn¡¯t stop, and I wonder if it ever will. What is Orien doesn¡¯t feel the same way? What if she really did want me to stop, and I just misread the situation completely? What id I¡¯m just some stupid human caught in the crossfire of something much bigger than I can ever understand.


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t said anything to you, right?¡± Pierce asks, his voice breaking through my spiraling thoughts. ¡°No, ¡®I can¡¯t believe you kissed me, that was a mistake¡¯ talk¡±?


    I shake my head, my heart tightening. ¡°No. She hasn¡¯t said anything.¡±


    ¡°Then you have no idea how she feels either,¡± Cheleste chimes in. ¡°You don¡¯t get to decide what¡¯s going on in her head without talking to her. So, go talk to her.¡±


    I stand up, pacing again, but this time it¡¯s a slow, deliberate movement. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I should just¡­ wait. I¡¯m not the right guy for her. I¡¯m not even supposed to be in this world with her, let alone entangle myself with her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your problem right there,¡± June says. ¡°You don¡¯t think you¡¯re good enough for her. Well, guess what? You¡¯re wrong. Just because she¡¯s different from you doesn¡¯t make you any less deserving of something real. If anything, that makes her more worthy of you. You shouldn''t be afraid of what¡¯s going to happen- you should be afraid of letting the fear win.¡±


    I freeze, my breath caught in my throat. For a moment, it feels like June¡¯s words pierce through the fog that¡¯s clouded my mind. She¡¯s right. This fear- this paranoia- has kept me from seeing what¡¯s right in front of me. I¡¯m scared because I don¡¯t want to screw things up, but the reality is that if I don¡¯t do something, I might lose her before I even get a chance to understand her.


    ¡°I¡­ I think I¡¯m just scared,¡± I finally admit, my voice quieter now. ¡°Scared of losing her before I even get the chance to know her. Scared of making the wrong move.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± Cheleste says with a soft smile, standing up and crossing over to clap me on the back. ¡°But you¡¯ve got to make a move. Otherwise, she might end up wondering why you¡¯re not taking your chance.¡±


    I nod, feeling a sense of clarity settling over me. Maybe I don¡¯t have to have everything figured out. Maybe I just have to act- now.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I say, standing taller. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her. But only if you guys promise to be there when I mess it up.¡±


    ¡°You mess it up, we¡¯re all here to pick up the pieces,¡± Pierce says, grinning.


    I take a deep breath, knowing what I have to do.


    And as I walk toward the door, I feel a small spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, this won¡¯t end in disaster after all.

 Chapter 25: Orien

    Week 2


    This morning I wake up the with intent of having the day to myself. The whole reason we came to Chopver is to see how we can put a stop to Darkness before he takes over the whole kingdom with evil. The situation with Xavier can wait. There is no point with having the possibility of getting attached to him if Darkness is just going to come and destroy anything we have.


    I get ready for the day and head over to the door that leads to the hallway. Walking out into the hallway fills me with a heavy feeling. Like someone who has the intent to kill is watching my every move. Every inch of my body shivers and the mountains on my skin grow as the chills run down my spine.


    Shaking my head, I continue down the hall and into the training room where my brothers and I agreed to meet the night before. My footsteps echo as I seem to be the only one in the hallway but then I hear a faint set of footsteps behind me. My hair continues to stand up on my body and I grab a glint from the sheath on my hip. Squeezing the glint at the base of the handle, I prepare both my mind and body for a fight that is about to happen.


    I stop walking, trying to hear exactly how far away the footsteps are from me. Thudding from the person¡¯s heals grow louder and louder but the pace doesn¡¯t pick up. They obviously are not in a hurry to get to me so I turn around to try and see the face of my opponent.


    The eyes that meet mine are someone¡¯s I never would have thought as an enemy. There is no evil on the face, only intent of a mission. Maybe one he was just told to do.


    ¡°Your highness,¡± the man in front of me says. He stops in his track and immediately bows.


    Air leaves my lungs as I take in the fact that there is no threat. Why am I so on edge? The castle is safe and there are so many soldiers to fight whoever is a possible threat to the kingdom.


    ¡°Hammonet,¡± I reply. ¡°You can¡¯t sneak up on me like that. You could have gotten yourself killed.¡±


    I feel bad for blaming this on him. It¡¯s not his fault that I thought he was an enemy. He works in this castle and he has every right to be in here and do his duty in protecting The Magnificents.


    ¡°My apologies, it will not happen again. I was just on my way to relieve the soldiers of last night¡¯s duty.¡±


    ¡°Continue the shift change,¡± I command.


    He stands up from the bow and nods at me. I let him walk past me before I start heading to the training room again.


    The feeling of disappointment overwhelms me. I¡¯m glad it wasn¡¯t a threat but why was I hoping it was someone else. Someone that I haven¡¯t been able to get my mind off of lately.


    Xavier.


    His face pops in my mind and my cheeks immediately heat up. Shaking my head in attempt to get him out my head doesn¡¯t work and so I just focus on each step I take towards the training room.


    Walking through the door of the training room gives me a sense of clarity. My brothers are there already and they look at me when I step into the room.


    ¡°Good morning sister,¡± Theon says. He gives a sympathetic smile to me as if I just told him bad news but he is trying to lighten the mood.


    Strider just keeps his arms folded and stares at me with a stern look. I just walked into the room, there is no way I could have done something to have disappointed in me.


    ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡± I ask. More attitude seeped into my tone than I intended but I stand my ground.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been noticing something,¡± Strider glares at me.


    ¡°Care to share?¡± I reply.


    ¡°Guys, we can do this without starting a fight. Strider, just tell her what you have been noticing,¡± Theon says. His hands are between Strider and I as if we are about to pounce on each other like lions fighting for a scrap of meat.


    ¡°Noticing what?¡± I return the glare to Strider. Who does he think he is giving me attitude for not reason?


    ¡°You¡¯ve been distant and your head is no longer focused on the mission. Instead, you¡¯ve been acting a little school girl giggling about boys,¡± Strider says.


    I look down at my shoes as if I am a child getting scolded by a parent. I don¡¯t disagree with him. I have been more focused on Xavier than I have about the mission. We have been here for about a week and we haven¡¯t made any progress towards balancing out Darkness and it¡¯s all my fault. I haven¡¯t been a good queen to my kingdom, a good sister to my brothers, or a good savior to the world. I have been a disappointment to both my brothers and myself. Things need to change but how do I succeed in such a thing?


    ¡°You know better than to have a crush on a mortal,¡± Strider continues. ¡°You saw what happened to our dear brother. I can¡¯t bare to see you go through that too. It almost killed Theon seeing the love of his life die.¡±


    I look up to Theon who¡¯s eye are glassy. I haven¡¯t seen either o my brothers cry in centuries and I can¡¯t stand to look at Theon thinking about the love of his life. I have never seen him look another person the same and I know a part of his heart will always be for her. Nothing will ever heal the pain that he felt and is continuing to feel knowing that he will never be able to see her again. He has to live his life and continue seeing the world his wife loved so much fall into pieces.


    ¡°You honestly can¡¯t be stupid enough to fall for a mortal, Orien. You are better than that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me stupid.¡± My teeth grit together as I try to hold back my anger.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what else to call you. If you fall in love with him and then he dies, like every mortal does, then what? Are you going to be forever sad like our brother is? That is no way of living life.¡±


    I just stand there looking at my brother is disbelief. Where did all of this pent up anger come from? Strider stands there with his hands in the air as if he is waiting for me to respond. I have nothing to say to him and when he comes to that conclusion himself, he groans and then excuses himself as he storms out of the training room.


    Theon looks like he got stabbed in the heart by Strider himself. Getting called stupid by your brother is hard to hear but having your brother talk about falling in love with your wife was stupid is ever harder to hear. No one should ever tell you that falling in love is stupid.


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    I look down at my feet. Feeling of guilt rushes over me. If I didn¡¯t decide that Xavier and his friends had a potential chance to not be part of Darkness¡¯ plans then my head would have been more focused. We could have potentially won the war already. Balance could have been restored if it weren¡¯t for my immature crush.


    Looking back up at Theon, I see frustration radiate in his eyes.


    ¡°Theon, I don¡¯t know what to say-¡±


    ¡°Stop. Stop it right now,¡± he demands.


    My breath hitches in my throat and I take a step backwards.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care that you have kissed a mortal. Hell, I don¡¯t even care if you fall in love with him. But, you still have to keep your head focused on our mission. We are here for a reason and, I¡¯m sorry sister, but I agree with Strider that your head hasn¡¯t been fully locked in. If you want to be in Xavier¡¯s future, you have to save his world first.¡±


    Theon giving me advice is new but it is also refreshing. He gives me the truth but in a kind and caring way. Unlike Strider, who just yells at me and belittles me. Tears give a little hint in my eyes before I run to Theon and hug him. It took a couple of seconds before he hugs me back but when he does, he squeezes me. ¡°I know exactly what you are going through. I will support you no matter what sister, but I will also lead you in the direction of saving the world first.¡± I nod into his shirt. ¡°I am going to go get Strider back in here so we can figure out a plan.¡±


    We let each other go and he turns around and goes through the door Strider stormed out of. I walk the opposite way and step into the fighting ring. A new fighting dummy has replaced the old one I destroyed the other day. Reminding myself that I don¡¯t have to try and kill the dummy, I give a couple of swings to it¡¯s head.


    If you want to be in Xavier¡¯s future, you have to save his world first. Those words repeat over and over with every punch and kick I give to the dummy. The head makes a satisfying sound when I kick it in the head.


    I have to save the world.


    Kick.


    I have to save the world.


    Kick.


    I have to save the-


    When my leg swings up to hit the head again a sharp pain shoots up my thigh.


    ¡°Come on now, I thought The Magnificents were supposed to be the best of the best. Weren¡¯t you supposed to sense me coming Your Highness?¡±


    I look over to the door way where I see Hammonet with bow in his hands. Feeling warmth on my leg, I look down and notice that there is an arrow sticking out of it and blood trickling down.


    ¡°You- You- You shot me? What is going on?¡±


    Hammonet¡¯s eyes look sick. Blood shot and crazy is all I can see.


    No. No, no, no, no, no. He didn¡¯t.


    ¡°You turned to Darkness,¡± I whisper.


    I¡¯m loud enough where he can hear me because he responds with, ¡°I did. And it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Honestly, Orien, you should feel what it¡¯s like. Darkness can give you whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°When did this happen? When did you decide to be a traitor to your kingdom?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a traitor!¡± he screams. ¡°I had to do what was best for my family. I had to save my daughter from whatever torturous death you were going to give her.¡±


    A torturous death? To June? She hasn¡¯t even shown any signs of being on Darkness¡¯ side. I wouldn¡¯t torture something and I certainly would never kill someone for no valid reason.


    ¡°Who told you that I would give June a torturous death?¡±


    ¡°Darkness told me himself. He came to me last night and said that the only way I can save my daughter and get everything I have ever deserved is if I can convince you and your brothers to join him.¡±


    ¡°You know that will never have Hammonet. So, why even bother joining Darkness to try and convince me to join. You just ruined your life and for what? Nothing.¡± Sympathy seeps through my voice even though I am trying to sound as brave as I can be.


    Why didn¡¯t he just come to me? I was never going to kill his daughter unless she actually turned.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you trusted your daughter? You said it yourself that you know that she would never turn to Darkness. You said she reads the scripture of Light everyday. Why would you turn?¡±


    He steps inside of the room and walks closer to me. His eyes are even more blood shot than when he shot me. He did something he wasn¡¯t supposed to and now he is going to die because of it.


    ¡°Orien, you don¡¯t understand. I know now. I know you are the daughter of Darkness and I can help you make a decision you will never regret. He has everything for you. He will make everything you ever desire appear right in front of you. He can make your life happy.¡±


    ¡°And make everyone else¡¯s a living hell? Hammonet, Darkness is not the path. You have made a terrible mistake and because of that you will die.¡±


    ¡°Not without convincing you to go to your father. He wants to talk with you. He wants his children to reunite with him again.¡±


    The burning in my leg becomes more intense than before. What is happening? I¡¯ve gotten hit with arrows and knives before and I have never felt a burning sensation like this before. I look down again at my leg and notice that black liquid in now coming out of my leg. My eyes widen with the horror that I am witnessing.


    ¡°Oh, that,¡± Hammonet says, ¡°Your father told me that he has made a new development to his arsenal. All he had to do was spill a little bit of his blood on the arrow head and it was the strongest weapon in history.¡±


    My eyes begin to water at the heat running through my leg and into my abdomen. My knees buckle and I fall to the ground. Tears sting my eyes but it doesn¡¯t sting as much as my lungs are stinging with every breath I take.


    Hammonet laughs. He leans in close to my face and whispers, ¡°Who knows, this could be the weapon that finally kills you and your brother. Darkness is the true ruler and he always will be.¡±


    My breath gets shallow and dark spots take over my vision.


    ¡°Sister!¡± I hear one of my brothers say. I don¡¯t have enough mental clarity to figure out which one said that but I see both of them pop up in my vision. The last thing I see is my brothers tackling Hammonet to the ground and the last thing I hear is the glint getting stabbed into Hammonet.


    Maybe this is where I should say my goodbye.

 Chapter 26: Orien

    ¡°Orien, you know what you have to do. Joining the right side is the only way you can save the world. You can convince your brothers, they will listen to you,¡± a mysterious low voice echoes.


    I stand in a canyon where there are black cliffs left and right and the sky above me us blood red as if all mortals have evaporated. Where am I and what is going on?


    ¡°Orien, think about it. You can save the world and everyone you love if you join the right side. You don¡¯t have to deny the darkness in you any longer. Do what is right for you and your people,¡± the voice continues.


    A tall figure steps out of the shadows of the cliffs, a smile slapped on his face as if he is greeting someone he hasn¡¯t seen in a long time. His long, black hair falls in front of his face and his red eyes match the color of the sky. His pale skin looks out of place in the grim area such as the one we are standing in.


    He steps closer to me but I won¡¯t let him anywhere near me so I back myself up against one of the cliffs. ¡°Who are you and where am I?¡±


    ¡°You mean to tell me you don¡¯t recognize your own father?¡± the man asks with a chuckle of disbelief that follows. Shadows start to loom around him and he begins to walk closer to me. ¡°I guess we haven¡¯t seen each other is centuries so it would make sense why you wouldn¡¯t recognize me. How have you been my dear daughter?¡±


    My face cringes as the word daughter is spat out of his mouth. How did I get and why am I here?


    I open my mouth to ask the question but then I hear a familiar voice scream above me? I look above Darkness¡¯ head and see Hammonet getting held over the cliff by a shadow holding only the collar of his shirt. His legs kick all over the place as if they are trying to find ground to stand on.


    ¡°Hammonet!¡± I yell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to him dear daughter. He is already done for. Your brothers killed him in the mortal world, remember?¡±


    How is that possible. I see him above me. He¡¯s not dead.


    ¡°Make that thing put him down,¡± I demand to Darkness.


    Darkness smiles at me, ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal. You join me and I save him from his death. There is still time for him to make it out of this.¡±


    ¡°I will never join you,¡± I spit out.


    ¡°No? Are you sure about that?¡± Darkness snaps his fingers and the shadow holding Hammonet¡¯s shirt let¡¯s go and Hammonet is falling into the canyon. I scream and try to run to catch him but more shadows block me and I can¡¯t stand how cold it feels so I back up.


    When I look to the ground, I don¡¯t see Hammonet¡¯s body. I look back up and on my way looking back up I see Hammonet¡¯s body being held in midair by a shadow again. This time he is upside down and he is only being held up by his leg.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Orien, I should have never turned Darkness. Please save me and I promise I will follow Light for the rest of my life. Just, please don¡¯t let me die. I love my family and I can¡¯t bare to think of them grieving over me,¡± Hammonet begs, ¡°Please, save me.¡±


    ¡°The man has asked you nicely, Orien. I told you how you can save him. So, what is the conclusion today.¡±


    I look into Darkness¡¯ eyes and back to Hammonet¡¯s swinging body. My body makes a decision before my mind gets any opinion.


    My hand reaches for my side where my glint is sheathed and I take it out stabbing it in Darkness¡¯ side. He screams and crumbles to the ground, that¡¯s when I take my chance and lunge over him and towards Hammonet, but before I can reach to him, I get knocked to the ground my Darkness. He snaps his fingers again and another shadows comes out from the ground and pierces Hammonet into the chest. His flailing body goes limp and he slowly dissolves into the red mist and flows up to the sky. In a matter of seconds, his body is no longer there.


    I get up from the ground and try running to where I saw Hammonet¡¯s full body last but the same shadow that pierced Hammonet knocks me into the cliff. The breath in my lungs are forced out from the rock hitting my back. The shadow pins be against the rock and Darkness slowly walks forward. ¡°Look what you did Orien. You killed a man instead of saving his life. You are truly my blood. We are no different and because of that you belong here.¡± He comes closer with a smile widening on his face, ¡°You have always belonged here¡­ daughter.¡±


    I scream and thrash as the cold shadow pins me harder against the rock. Darkness laughs before he disappears into thin air. I squeeze my eyes shut and kick as hard as I can.


    This isn¡¯t real.


    This is a nightmare.


    You just need to wake up.


    Wake up.


    WAKE UP!


    When I kick again, this time I make contact. A yell and a grunt makes me open my eyes to see who I have kicked. Theon hold his nose and two royal nurses are running to aid him. Strider takes a second to realize what¡¯s happening before he holds my legs down.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Sister, you are safe. You are in the castle of Chopver and it is just your brothers and nurses in here. There is no threat, you are okay,¡± Strider says as he struggles to keep my legs still.


    Strider¡¯s words register into my mind and my legs go still. Theon lifts his head and I see blood spilling out of his nose and around his mouth dripping on the ground. His eyes are glossy but wide as if he can¡¯t believe that I kicked him and made him bleed.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Theon. Are you okay?¡± I say with a scratchy voice.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. The question is, are you okay? What the hell was that?¡± Theon says as he spits blood onto the ground. One of the royal nurses gives him a cloth to put up to his nose and the other one looks at the ground with disgust.


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know. I think I had a bad dream or something,¡± I tell my brothers. ¡°I had a dream that Darkness trapped me in some canyon and I saw Hammonet die. He said I could have saved Hammonet but he wouldn¡¯t let me.¡±


    Both Stider and Theon look at each other before they send the nurses away and when the room is empty and private, my brothers sit in the chairs that is right next to my bed.


    ¡°Sister, do you remember anything that happened?¡± Strider asks. I look between both of them trying to figure out what they were asking. ¡°When you were waiting for Theon and I to come back, Hammonet attacked you with a bow and arrow. He had a new weapon that we have never even seen before. We aren¡¯t quite sure what makes the weapon so special but we do know that it can severely hurt us.¡±


    My mind clicks into place with what they are talking about. ¡°Hammonet said that Darkness spilled a little bit of his blood onto the arrow. That must be why is is so special.¡± My eyebrows knit together, and I grab the blanket that is over me. I look at my gown and underneath it is my thigh wrapped in bandages. ¡°How did you heal me?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know. We just know that both of us had to be around you at the same time in order for something to happen,¡± Theon responds.


    ¡°After Hammonet shot you, you seemed to have passed out. We saw black liquid coming out of your led and it seemed to have been seeping into your veins too because the veins around that area were turning black to. I told Theon to take you to the infirmary to see if there is anything that could be done. After I took care of Hammonet, I run in here and Theon looks at me with fear but when I step on the other side of the bed, you leg glowed bright light where the wound was. After a few seconds, the wound seemed to only bleed red blood. All of the black liquid left. We aren¡¯t sure how but we just know that all three of us have to be in one spot in order to heal,¡± Strider follows up.


    ¡°And Hammonet? Where is he?¡± I ask.


    Theon and Strider look at each other again as if battling who has to tell me what happened to Hammonet.


    They take too long to answer before I snap, ¡°Someone tell me what the hell is going on!¡±


    ¡°Strider killed Hammonet,¡± Theon blurts out. Strider looks over to him as if he was going to scold him.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead?¡± I ask.


    ¡°He turned to Darkness and attacked you. There was no way we could save him and he could have injured you badly. It could have been a lot worse if we didn¡¯t show up in time. Orien, if I didn¡¯t get angry with you and leave you in the room, this could have all been avoided. I¡¯m so sorry sister,¡± Strider says.


    My eyes stare straight ahead. My mind is fuzzy and I can¡¯t think straight. ¡°Who else knows that he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°No one,¡± Strider says. ¡°His body turned into dust before anyone else could find out.¡±


    ¡°We have to tell Amelia. She has to know that one of her head guards has been killed,¡± I say.


    ¡°Worse yet, we have to tell his daughter, who we are holding as prisoner in this castle, that we killed her father,¡± Theon points out.


    June, oh June. What are we going to do with her. She will be devastated. Witnessing her and her father have a strong relationship was all I wanted of a parent of my own. I had no one who would try to protect me even if my life was on the line. Not in a parental role at least.


    ¡°We have to tell her,¡± I say.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s such a great idea. We are the ones putting her life on pause by keeping her imprisoned. She might already have some pent up anger against us and if we tell her that we killed her father, all hell could break loose,¡± Strider says.


    ¡°If you were in her situation, who would you want to tell you that your father died? Someone who wasn¡¯t even there and has no details or someone who was there for everything and can answer any questions?¡± I ask.


    Strider¡¯s eyes grow wide before they hit the floor in guilt. ¡°We have to tell her ourselves.¡±


    My brothers each grab my arm, helping me out of the bed and onto my feet.


    Time to give June the worst news she will ever get.

 Chapter 27: Xavier

    Queen Amelia allowed us to have playing cards to keep us entertained in the many hours we are spending inside the rooms we are being held captive in. June and Cheleste are in here again with Pierce and I are we are having an intense game of Tafl.


    Pierce has a grin of a winner on his face and he dramatically raises his card but before he can dramatically put the card down, the door that leads into the hall opens suddenly. All of us freeze in our current positions and crane our necks towards the door to see who is there.


    Orien and the two men she is always with stand there.


    ¡°June, we need to speak to you immediately,¡± Orien says.


    ¡°What is this about?¡± June asks.


    Orien ignores her question, ¡°You need to come with us.¡±


    ¡°Wait, can my friends come with?¡±


    ¡°There is no need for them to come with. Come along now.¡±


    June stands up suddenly. ¡°No, please, I want to stick with my friends. Whatever you can say to me, you can also say to them.¡± June gives a pleading look and her innocent eyes start to sparkle. ¡°Please,¡± she whispers.


    Orien sighs while she drops her head to the floor. She, then, looks behind her and send the guards away, saying that she can handle whatever happens. Orien and the two men step fully into the room and close the door behind them. The two men part and stand on each side of Orien as she takes a seat.


    ¡°June, I¡¯m afraid we have bad news for you. You might want to sit down for this,¡± Orien speaks quietly.


    There is nothing good that can come from a Magnificent telling you bad news personally to you instead of sending a messenger to rely the news.


    June slowly lowers herself back to the ground, giving Pierce a scared look. Her eyes show a child you has seen a gazelle being mauled by a lion. She looks back at Orien in confusion. I join in with confusion because what could have possibly happened in less than twenty-four hours that would be so devastating?


    ¡°June, your father, he¡¯s-¡± Orien begins. She opens her mouth in attempt to start over but nothing comes out. Her head hangs low after giving up.


    ¡°He¡¯s what? Did he get hurt? Is he okay? Will he make it?¡± June asks frantically.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid what Queen Orien is failing to say, is that your father is dead. We are so sorry for your loss, June,¡± the man with the dark long hair and beard says.


    ¡°My father is¡­ what?¡± June squeaks out.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± the man with the dark long hair and beard repeats.


    ¡°No,¡± June whispers, ¡°No, no, no, no, no! I refuse to believe he¡¯s dead!¡±


    June screams right when Pierce grabs her from the side and hugs her. Cheleste and I are frozen in place still, figuring out what is happening. Pierce turns June around and carefully lays her head on her shoulder. Her face opens as a silent scream comes out of her mouth.


    Tears start to flow down my cheeks as well. I didn¡¯t know June¡¯s father well at all but for the last couple of weeks he has saved our lives more than once. This is the first time I¡¯m seeing my best friend heart broken and my heart is shattering along with hers.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, June. Losing a parent is never easy. If you have any questions, we are more than willing to answer them,¡± Orien says in a calm voice. Her eyes are glassy and her face is contorted as if she is trying to hold back her own tears.     ¡°How did he¡­ where did he¡­ what happened?¡± June got out in between breaths.


    ¡°He died during his shift today,¡± Orien says.


    ¡°He was supposed to be home. He doesn¡¯t work today. Maybe it wasn¡¯t him. He could be home safe and sound,¡± June¡¯s voice fills with hope.


    I can see a puzzled expression on Orien¡¯s face and the gears turning in her mind when she puts pieces together. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but your father was here and he is no longer with us. He caught me in the training room and shot me with a arrow. I didn¡¯t advance on him at the time, thinking it was a mistake. He then tried to get me to turn to Darkness. I¡¯m sorry, again, June, your father was a follower of Darkness. We unfortunately had to terminate him.¡±


    ¡°Turned to Darkness? No, my father would never turn to Darkness. You have the wrong guy. It wasn¡¯t my father.¡±


    ¡°I promise you, we do not have the wrong guy. Your father is no longer here.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­ you killed him?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± the man with the long dark hair and beard steps in.


    ¡°You¡­ killed him? You killed my father? Your Highness, isn¡¯t that punishable?¡± June stands up again.


    ¡°It is not punishable if he was a follower of Darkness. We killed him for the safety of the world and to better the kingdom,¡± Orien says.


    ¡°Better the kingdom? You killed my father! You are Darkness himself,¡± June spits out.


    Orien flinches as if June physicality slapped her on the face.


    ¡°I hate you,¡± June says quietly.


    ¡°June, we are-¡± Orien begins.


    ¡°Sorry, yeah, yeah. That doesn¡¯t bring my father back to life. I hate you. I hate you so much!¡±


    My ears muffle what is said next because Orien looks heart broken. One of my best friends is heart broken. I don¡¯t know who to pay attention to at the moment.


    Before I can get my thoughts together, Orien stands up from the chair and slowly walks out of room. June continues to yell at her and even lunges at her a little. Pierce, luckily, catches June before she can get too far and just cradles her. Rocking her back and forth as her tears start to flow down her cheeks again.


    Once the door closes and we are all alone again, Cheleste and I jump of from the ground and run over to Pierce and June. We all move Pierce¡¯s bed, Pierce still holding June and Cheleste and I sitting on the other end. Cheleste reaches her hand up and starts to rub June¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°June, we are so sorry, is there anything we can do?¡± I ask.


    We are all silent, waiting for June to answer and once she gets her composure a little bit together, she looks directly into my eyes with pure hatred. ¡°Never, ever, fall in love with her.¡±

 Chapter 28: Orien

    The last thing I see June do before the doors close is her lunging at me. I would have let her too. I could never imagine having a good relationship with one of my parents and then hearing they died. If the person who killed my parent were in my room, I would want to lunge at them too. So, I don¡¯t blame her for what she is feeling right now. I just hope that some day she will understand that it wasn¡¯t an option to keep him alive.


    ¡°You did the right thing,¡± Theon says with his hand on my shoulder. It feels nice to have some sort of support, even if it is just my brothers.


    ¡°We should probably tell Amelia,¡± I say while sighing.


    We walk into the throne room where Amelia gives her sweet smile. We tell her everything from Hammonet hitting me with an arrow to telling June what we have done with her father.


    ¡°This is such a surprise. I would have never thought that Hammonet would ever turn to Darkness. Are you sure it was him?¡± Amelia says. Her eyes show grievance but her face is strong like the true queen she is. After we nod at her, she looks to the ground. ¡°I suppose we should hold a small funeral ball for him. He was the head guard in the castle after all. He was important to all of us and it is the least we can do. We will make it a small gathering with his family and friends.¡±


    We nod again and turn around to head out of the room. Another funeral ball, just what we need. More and more people are turning to Darkness and all we are doing is killing them and then holding funeral balls for them. Darkness needs to be stopped once and for all, but how? Anger fills my chest and I don¡¯t notice that my pace is faster until my brothers tell me to wait up for them.


    ¡°We need to figure out what our next steps are,¡± Strider says.


    I halt in place and turn to him, grab is shirt, and get close to face as I yell, ¡°Next steps? Try first steps. We haven¡¯t done anything and every second we waste doing nothing, more and more people are turning to Darkness. We haven¡¯t done a single thing about it and people are dying because of our laziness!¡±


    Strider¡¯s eyes widen and I feel Theon¡¯s hand gripping my arm, pulling me away from him. Strider¡¯s stuck in place while my heaving body is shaking.


    Theon clears his throat and calmly says to me, ¡°With all due respect, sister, how can we figure out our first steps if we don¡¯t even know where to begin?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we could begin with capturing some people who have turned to Darkness and experiment with them instead of killing them off right away,¡± Strider suggests.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t our scientists already doing that? How could we be any different?¡± I ask.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have our magic. Maybe we can find a cure to whatever happens to Darkness¡¯ followers within our DNA.¡±


    ¡°So do we try save the people who have turned to Darkness first, or the people who are about to die because they didn¡¯t do what Darkness wanted?¡± Theon asks.


    ¡°We have to save the people who turned to Darkness first right?¡± I say.


    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you think that we should save the people who are about to die first so that we can, oh, I don¡¯t know, save their lives?¡±


    ¡°But if we save the people who just turned to Darkness then we save them from death all together without a ticking time bomb about to go off,¡± I argue.


    Theon and I both stare at each other silently, puzzling together what would be best for the world. Then we both realize at the same time that we have a genius of a brother next to us. We both slowly turn our heads to him, silently asking him what he thinks we should do.


    ¡°I think we could do both at the same time,¡± Strider says.


    ¡°Do elaborate, brother,¡± Theon says.


    ¡°If we imprison people who just turned to Darkness, we have more time trying to figure out how to save them. When they turn because they didn¡¯t succeed in Darkness¡¯ bidding then we can also experiment on what we can do to save the people who have turned into those monsters,¡± Strider points out.


    ¡°So, the first step we need to take is, going to find temple of Darkness and arrest some people in there,¡± Theon says.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go round up some guards,¡± I say.


    __________


    We were able to contact one of our spies that are still in Chopver. We met at the same ally where we met the other one and we learned where another temple of Darkness is held. He was about to tell his men to burn it down until we stopped them and said that we were going to capture some people. They were confused but nonetheless they obeyed and called off the attack.


    Now, my brothers and I are on the way to another temple of Darkness. Nerves crawl up my spine but they aren¡¯t bad nerves. These nerves are buzzing in my body because we are finally taking steps to save the world. It has been centuries and now my brothers and I are taking matters into our own hands. We have scientists working non-stop in our labs but maybe the secret ingredient for the cure is something to do with my brothers and I.


    The spy told us that where the temple of Darkness is and it coincidentally is on the same street as the one we burned a couple of weeks ago. It¡¯s disturbing to think of how close these two temples are and makes me wonder just how many temples there are in this kingdom alone.


    My body shivers even though it is scorching hot today. The thought of so many people turned to Darkness makes my body feel like I am in a desert of snow.


    My brothers and I decided that it would be best to bring horses and a wagon along with so that we can be safe with the prisoners now that they have access to weapons that can severely hurt us.


    My brothers and I stop our horses a couple of blocks away as to not arouse suspicion. The last thing we need right now is people to find out they we are on our way and then they pick up and leave, leaving no trail for us to follow. We bring a few soldiers with us to help arrest people and they hide among the streets, waiting for the signal we will set off. It will keep suspicion down as well since Temples of Darkness are illegal, the soldiers have every right to arrest them.


    We arrive at the temple which is above the ground this time. The building is made out of stone with pillars of wood on the outside. A big red door with a beautiful stain glass of the ocean in the middle of it. There are black-out curtains covering the windows, preventing us from looking at whatever is going on inside.


    From just looking at the outside, it looks an ordinary shop that would sell herbs to make medicine or something similar to that, but I know once we head inside that this place will become one of the most ugliest place in the kingdom.


    I take a deep breath before I lead my brothers inside the temple. The interior of this temple is very different from the last one we saw. The one where we capture the four prisoners that are currently residing in Amelia¡¯s castle.


    The last one was full of wood but this one seems to be not only covered in wood but also covered in velvet. Crimson red carpet matched the covers that are all over the chairs and tables. Golden accented decorations are scattered along the room.


    The buzz of chatter fills my head as I take in what is happening around me. So many people are cramped in so little space. They all are in their separate groups, talking to one another as if this is a party and they haven¡¯t seen each other in a couple of months. The thing that disturbs me is that most of the people in here have chalices filled with, what only I could assume is, wine. They are casually acting like this is their everyday event and that this isn¡¯t just wrong.


    My stomach starts to feel bubbly as the furry builds up in my body. I can¡¯t bare to look at this nightmare any longer. There are too many people here and it makes me so sad for the world, but it also fills me up with motivation to capture as many people as possible and try to find this cure.


    ¡°Are you ready to execute the plane?¡± Strider whispers to Theon and I. We both nod in response and head to the spots we have planned on our way here. My brothers head towards the two corners that are closest to the door, ready to capture anyone who think that they are going to escape. I make my way to the other side of the room, ready to create a fire that will burn this temple to the ground.


    No seems to notice us, or if they did, they aren¡¯t suspicious enough to keep an eye on us. The buzz of the chatter becomes louder in my head and reverberates in my skull. I decide to listen in on a conversation before I execute the plan.


    ¡°Have you heard from Klein about the plan that Darkness plans to execute?¡± a man with a bigger built and a tiny black mustache says to a skinny lady with a big nose and her curly red hair pinned up.


    ¡°The one where we get to see his children ourselves? The plan that will finally show those spoiled brats who the good people really are?¡± the lady responds.


    Are they talking about my brothers and I? What plan that will have them see us for themselves? Honestly, if they want to see us so bad, they could have a little more awareness and look around the room.


    I¡¯m more curious about the plan they are talking about. Darkness has always wanted my brothers and I to join his side but he always tried to convince us himself. He didn¡¯t include any mortals and if he is getting desperate enough to start including them not then we need to hurry because I¡¯m not sure how much faster he will try to recruit them.


    I take a deep breath before I subtly get closer to a large table covered in a red tablecloth. Food is spread everywhere and you can clearly see what the people liked and didn¡¯t like out of the options they were given. On the end of the table, there is a pile of plates and next to them are some extra chalices.


    I get a plate and some utensils. I decide to pretend to drop a fork so that it is not suspicious when I bend down and the fork is not loud enough to get anyone¡¯s attention. I bend down pretending to get the fork on the ground, looking around to make sure no one is watching me. My hand doesn¡¯t move to the fork but instead moves to corner of the table cloth.


    Flicking my wrist, a spark appears followed by a flame. I grab the very end of the cloth and plant the flame on it.


    Before the flame can get any bigger, I subtly walk over to the other side of the room, making sure the blame could not be blamed on me. As I am walking to the other side of the room, I nod to my brothers, telling them that I have completed the first step of our plan. They nod in return and get in a stance, ready to arrest people at any second.


    Theon subtly let¡¯s a snowball out of the door, letting the soldiers outside know that we are about to execute the plan. We decided earlier that Theon should let a big enough snowball outside where it can be seen by the soldiers but also melt quick enough so no civilian would get confused or suspicious.


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    Now that everything else has been done, the final step is to ensue panic and chaos so that no one would pay attention to the people who get arrested. I take a deep breath in, reminding myself that we only have one chance to get this right otherwise we would have to find another temple of Darkness and who knows how long it would take us to find another one.


    I wait until the fire is too big to save before I let out a dramatic gasp which brings some people who are the closest to me, attention. ¡°Is that a fire?¡± I ask.


    The people around me look to where I am pointing and analyze it before they start to scream themselves.


    ¡°Fire!¡± someone shouts.


    ¡°Everyone get out of here. We can¡¯t put it out,¡± another person shouts.


    Everyone panics and runs out of the building all at once. Theon and Strider pretend to bump into people accidentally while arresting them. People are pushing left and right, people are falling to the ground and getting trampled. I get glimpses of blood on the ground, assuming people have hit their nose or smashes their teeth to ground.


    Once I confirm that everyone is out of the building, I create a spark in my hands again and create a bigger fire, burning the whole building to the ground. I have to make sure no one can scrounge up anything after the fire is put out. Everything that is ever part of this evil temple and community should not have the opportunity to rebuild what they have lost. They should realize now that they should never rebuild and give up. They should try and be saved and turn to the Light side, the right side.


    I run out of the building and into the streets where I only see my brothers, the soldiers, and the prisoners we have captured. All of the prisoners are yelling and saying that Darkness will punish us and them if they are not let go. Some of them are more scared of what Darkness will do to them than what we plan to do.


    We tie the prisoners up and put them in the cart, getting ready to head out of town and to the prison.


    ¡°You will never get away with this. Darkness will come and destroy you all. You followers of Light are nothing but idiots. He will come save us and you will be destroyed,¡± a man says. He was the hardest one to get in the cart because he is the heaviest person we have captured. His bald head and his mustache go with his bushy arms.


    The man keeps saying the same thing over and over again. Telling us that Darkness will come to us.


    Check.


    That Darkness will try and destroy us.


    Check.


    And that Darkness will save them all.


    Still working on that.


    The man won¡¯t shut up and I can already tell that my brothers and the soldiers are annoyed at him. The ride back isn¡¯t short so this will not be fun.


    Theon tells everyone to wait when we are about to start moving. He gets off his horse and climb up the wagon full of prisoners, walks up to the man who won¡¯t stop talking, rips off the bottom part of his shirt, and ties it around the man¡¯s mouth. The man attempts to bite his hands as Theon is doing this, but Theon seems to be way stronger than the man will ever be.


    The two women we captured, gawk at his torso where they can see the bottom part of his abs.


    Disgusting.


    Theon gets off the wagon with a smile now that there is peace and quiet, and get back onto his horse. He says that he is ready and we head off to the castle.


    On the way back, I think of the specific questions I want to ask these prisoners, like where they heard about the temple, what made them want to turn to Darkness, and last but not least, have they heard about the weapon that could fatally hurt my bothers and I.


    We get to the castle and get the prisoners into separate cells. They put up a good fight but not good enough to succeed in their escape.


    Once we get everyone into the cells, my brothers and I regroup where the prisoners can¡¯t hear us.


    ¡°So, where should we start,¡± I ask my brothers.


    Theon gives a slight shrug and looks at Strider. Stider has that look on his face when he is deep thought. I can tell he is trying to figure out what is the best approach and how we should start our research.


    ¡°Does anyone have a point they would like to get to with these prisoners?¡± Strider asks us.


    ¡°I want to know what their motives for turn to Darkness were and if they know about the weapon that Hammonet hit me with¡± I respond.


    ¡°I want to know if they are willing to change to followers of Light or if they are devoted to Darkness,¡± Theon says.


    ¡°Why would that matter?¡± Strider asks with genuine curiosity.


    ¡°Think about it, if some people are willing to change, we might have more success with curing them than the people who are not. It could be a change of heart that is an ingredient to finding this cure.¡±


    ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right. I have never about it like that before.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re supposed to be the smart sibling. Look¡¯s like I am becoming smarter than you.¡± Theon playfully pats Strider¡¯s shoulder. Strider responds with a glare.


    ¡°Okay, so maybe we should start with asking what they wanted so badly, first, and then we can ask them who is willing to change. If we can rule out who is willing to change, maybe we can have an easier time figuring out what the weapon Hammonet used and how we can stop it from happening,¡± I say.


    My brothers agree with me and we head back to where our prisoners are being held. The big man with the bald head and mustache is talking non stop again but the other prisoners look more sad and in their head.


    I walk over to one of the two women we captured. This woman looks to be in her mid thirties. She has long wavy brown hair and pale skin that brings out her dark eyes. When I walk over to her, she looks up at me with her cheeks damp and her lip quivering.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± I ask, getting straight to the point. There is no point in wasting more time than we already have.


    ¡°Juniper,¡± the woman responds.


    ¡°Okay Juniper, we have a couple questions. Are you willing to answer them?¡± I ask.


    Juniper nods and then lowers her head to the ground.


    ¡°What was the reason you were in that temple today?¡±


    ¡°I was going to ask Darkness another favor.¡±


    ¡°Another favor? So you have been a follower of Darkness before and you have asked him for something?¡±


    Juniper nods.


    ¡°How many thing have you asked?¡±


    ¡°If I asked today, it would have been my second request.¡±


    ¡°What was the request you made before and what was the one you were going to make today?¡±


    Juniper looks up at me rapidly. Her eyes start to release big tears and her breath becomes rapid. ¡°All I ever wanted was a baby. Ever since I was little girl, I have always dreamed of becoming a mother. I was the oldest out of my siblings and I had so much joy taking care of them while my mother was out getting food. So, when my husband and I couldn¡¯t get pregnant, I went to the temple. It was the only thing that I could think of that would help be get pregnant. I wanted a child so bad. I prayed to him and he said that if I wanted a child that I would have to conceive with the man of his choice. I cheated on my husband to get pregnant but my husband doesn¡¯t know that. He thinks we just had a miracle baby.


    Well, a couple of days ago, my baby got really sick and we are afraid that she will die soon if we don¡¯t figure out how to help her. We didn¡¯t know what to do. So I went out of the house when he was busy to go and request Darkness to save my baby.¡± Juniper starts to sob harder. ¡°I can¡¯t lose my baby. She is everything I have ever wanted and more. She is my whole world. Please, let me go back and save my baby. I need her.¡±


    Juniper falls to her knees and cried loud enough for it to each throughout the prison.


    I turn around to face my brothers. Strider looks like he is trying to figure out how to keep questioning her without getting her to desperate to leave or to not have her cooperate anymore. Theon is looking at her and not even paying attention to me. His eyes are grieving along with her and his face is trying to figure out how to give her comfort without overstepping boundaries.


    I turn back to Juniper and say, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to hear about your baby. We will give you some time to yourself and we will come back. Thank you for answering our questions.¡±


    Juniper ignores me or doesn¡¯t hear me because she continues crying on the floor of her cell.


    We walk over to the cell next to Juniper¡¯s and look inside. There is a skinny old man with a long gray beard, sitting the corner, rocking himself back and forth. He seems to be mumbling something to himself but I can¡¯t quite make out what he is saying.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I say.


    The man doesn¡¯t move from his spot.


    I attempt to get his attention again. ¡°Sir, we would like to ask you some questions.¡±


    The man still doesn¡¯t answer. I turn to my brothers and both of them shrug and I take it as an answer to move on to the next person. So, we do just that.


    The next cell is the other woman we captured. This woman seems to be in her early sixties and she also has long wavy hair but hers is gray with highlights of silver scattered around it. She¡¯s so skinny you can see her bones easily and she looks like you can tip her over with just a single breath.


    ¡°Are you willing to answer some questions?¡± I ask.


    The lady is closer to the prison door than the man before and so I was able to easily see her. She is sitting on the ground and so I decide to get on the ground to try and show her that I am trying not to be intimidating.


    I sit on the ground and cross my legs, leaning over a little.


    In my sweetest voice, I ask again, ¡°Are you willing to answer some questions.¡±


    She slowly turns to me and I can get a better look of her face. Her nose is as cute as a button and her eyes are as blue as the ocean. She was definitely one of the prettiest girls around when she was younger.


    She brings out her hand and waves her finger, gesturing me to come closer. I lean in a little more and the lady¡¯s mouth opens, but instead of an answer, she spits in my face. ¡°Get the hell away from me you Light following scum.¡±


    She turns back to facing forward and sits with a sulk on her face.


    My brothers rush to pick me up off of the ground.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Strider asks.


    I nod in response and head over to the next cell. The one that I was trying to avoid but now the time has come.


    The big man with the bald head and the mustache is still leaning against the cell door. Yelling every single word he can without his voice cracking, telling us that we are going to die because of this and Darkness will save him because he is the most loyal follower.


    Jokes on him, my brothers and I can¡¯t even die.


    I have no hope for this prisoner but I still ask, ¡°Are you willing to answer some questions?¡±


    The man ignores me and keeps on yelling the same few sentences over and over again, only breaking to take in breaths.


    This is going to be long and hard research and I am not looking forward to it at all.

 Chapter 29: Xavier

    It¡¯s been two days since June has heard the news about her father and Pierce and I have no idea how she is doing. We have all tried to see how she is but the only one who has easy access to her is Cheleste. Sometimes we ask her how she is doing but it is the same answer every time.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, all she do is sleep and cry. She won¡¯t even talk to me when I ask her a direct question,¡± Cheleste keeps saying.


    I can see the toll Pierce is taking with having his girlfriend grieving and he can¡¯t do anything to comfort her. Sometimes he would beg a guard for hours asking if he can go into the girls¡¯ room just so he can see her, but the guards have said no. Apparently there are orders from Queen Amelia herself, saying that we are no longer allowed to go into each other¡¯s rooms just in case we plan on getting revenge.


    I don¡¯t think revenge is on any of our minds at the moment, we just want to see how June is doing. We are all so worried about her and we just want to be goof friends and help her get through this, but there is nothing else we can do to go see her except try and sneak out but that could get us killed and I don¡¯t think that would help June out at all.


    I have been constantly hearing how much Pierce hates this place now that they won¡¯t let him see June. I have always hated this place but Pierce having to grow up in a dirt pile explains why he would love this place when they didn¡¯t torture us. But I can¡¯t stop hating this place. I am away from my family and there is nothing I can do to let them know how I am doing. I¡¯m sure my mother is angry with me for not attending all the Throng sermons. She¡¯s had to go all by herself and I am hoping father is taking good care of her and my sisters.


    Currently, Pierce is walking back and forth on the carpet talking about how much he hates this place again. Right now, I can¡¯t take it. I¡¯ve had enough with the complaints and I really need to get out of here.


    I walk over to the door and knock on it. It doesn¡¯t even open when someone answers, ¡°For the last time, we are not letting you see June. It is not our decision but the decision of Queen Amelia. Now go sit down and do something else other than trying to persuade us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not Pierce. It¡¯s Xavier. I have a question,¡± I say.


    The door opens to a very annoyed young guard. ¡°Is the question, can you see June?¡±


    I shake my head.


    The guard sighs before he says, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I was wondering if I could get a break from Pierce and go find something to read.¡±


    The guard who opened the door looks at the one next to him. ¡°Do we have orders to keep them in their rooms or to just keep them away from each other?¡±


    ¡°Just to keep them away from each other,¡± the older guard says.


    The younger guard groans and opens the door a little bit more, enough for me to get out of the room when he steps aside. ¡°Fine, but if I see you trying to get to June or escape, I am calling someone over and getting arrested and put in the prison cell where you should have been in the first place. Got it?¡±


    I nod, turn around, and roll my eyes. What got up his bottom that he is acting like a teenager who hates everything in his life?


    We take a detour to about 50 feet down the hallway to pick up another guard. Once the two guards are on the same page, one follows closley behind me as the other one leads the way to these massive doors. The doors are carved like all the other doors but there is something different about the carvings on this particular door. This one tells a different story than all the rest of the doors. This one tell it in the point of view of the supposed immortal triplets while the other ones tell it in the point of view of the civilians. This one shows the devastation the triplets felt when their parents were fighting about the balance. It seems like the red, blue, and purple orbs keep alternating from a paler version of themselves to a duller versions of themselves, showing that they are torn between choosing sides and aren¡¯t sure how to balance out their parents again.


    The guard who is leading me to these doors, doesn¡¯t let me stop and observe it anymore. He opens the doors and inside the room is a whole other world. I have never seen a room so magical before and it makes me feel like I am experiencing an out of body experience.


    I step in the room a little to get a better point of view of the room that is before me. In front of me is thousands of book on wooden shelves and to my left and right there are massive brown and green trees. Around the trunks are spiral stair cases leading to the second floor where there are even more books. To the right on the second floor is another set of stairs but this one leads up to a balcony where there are glowing plants and chairs for the reader to sit on. Everything I have ever imagined would never compare to the beauty this library gives.


    As I walk across the brown and blue marbled floor I notice the lanterns hanging off the branches of the trees giving the illusion of an even more magical place. I climb up one  of the stair cases and look out of the arched window where I see a massive river in the middle of where the hills meet. The blue sky shows how beautiful the day is and the floating clouds give the much needed shade I am sure all of the villagers in this kingdom needs as today is another market day. The sun shines bright and I just know that the followers of Light are thanking her for shining especially bright today. Even though I have no belief in any of that, I think science and just the sun for making it a beautiful day, hoping that my sisters will be able to have fun playing outside today. Knowing them, they would want to run around the streets and play tag or hide and seek and get lost in the day where there is nothing to worry about.


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    Because Light and Darkness do not exist.


    I walk around on the second floor where there are hundreds of book about anything and everything. Books about history and art are the ones that don¡¯t catch my eyes but the ones that are about tales and fantasy do.


    I look at all the books in the fantasy shelf and try to choose one. I can¡¯t decide so I just close my eyes and grab a random one. Canine are most ladies the book title says.


    I turn it over to read the back, but a male voice interrupts my reading. ¡°That¡¯s a good book,¡± the male voice says.


    I look in the direction where the voice is coming from. I see the man with the white hair who is always with Orien, sitting on one of the chairs on the balcony.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t see you there. I was just grabbing a book and then heading back to my room to read,¡± I say to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry. Why don¡¯t you come join me up here. We can read together.¡±


    I hesitate a little before I will my foot to take a step to the staircase that leads to the balcony. The stairs creak underneath my feet as I make my way up to the man with the white hair. I make it to the top but stop in my tracks. He as about twenty books with him, how can he possibly have all this time to read them in one sitting?


    The man with the white hair notices that I am staring at his book. He looks down at the one in his hands and then says, ¡°Oh, this, I am doing some research to help my sister out. Please, come sit.¡± He gestures over to the chair across from him.


    I take a seat and then proceed to ask, ¡°Who is your sister? Does she not have access to books where she is from?¡±


    The man¡¯s eyebrows furrow and then realizes what he has said. ¡°Oh, no, my sister is Orien. She should have told you.¡± He sees that my face is in shock. ¡°She told you that I am her brother right?¡±


    I shake my head in response and he curses under his breath. ¡°She is going to kill me for tell you first.¡±


    I still stare at him, not sure how to respond. He looks a little scared but then clears his throat and leans back into his chair.


    ¡°She told you my name at least, right?¡±


    I shake my head.


    ¡°Of course she didn¡¯t. My sister can be very narrow minded sometimes. Whenever there is something that she feels the need to get done at that very moment, nothing else goes through her mind until that task is done.¡± He leans forward with his hand out this time. ¡°I¡¯m Theon, Orien¡¯s younger brother.¡±


    I shake his hand and respond with, ¡°Xavier.¡±


    ¡°Believe me, I know who you are. My sister has not been able to get her mind straight ever since you guys kissed the other night.¡±


    Orien told her brother? I mean, I guess it makes sense. I told my friends after so why wouldn¡¯t she be allowed to tell someone. But¡­ her brother?


    ¡°So, Xavier, you have a taste for fantasy I see. I like the way you choose your books. Very¡­mysterious.¡± Theon smiles while looking me in the eyes.


    Theon is nothing like his sister. He seems like the man who doesn¡¯t seem to take anything serious, but I guess he doesn¡¯t have to if all the decision making for the kingdom lies upon his sister. He probably gets to roam the castle and do whatever when the ladies aren¡¯t swooning over him just to get some gold back to their families.


    ¡°There are so many good books in here, I couldn¡¯t just choose one. So, I decided to go in it the best I knew how. Blindly.¡±


    Theon chuckles and gives me a nod of approval. Then he puts his nose back into his book as if he is done talking. I lean over on my chair now, looking at the different books he is reading.


    Religion and medicine. Those are the only two genres I can see in the stacks he has all around him.


    ¡°You said you are doing research?¡± I ask.


    Theon doesn¡¯t look up from his book but he nods slightly.


    ¡°What are you researching?¡±


    ¡°To see if there is anything I can do to save the people who have turned to Darkness.¡±


    To Darkness?


    ¡°And your helping your sister do this?¡±


    He nods again.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she do this herself?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s busy,¡± he states. His nose is still in the book in his hands.


    ¡°So, you actually believe in Light and Darkness?¡±


    This questions gets his eyes to make contact with mine. ¡°Of course I do. Don¡¯t you?¡±


    I shake my head, ¡°I think it is just a stupid excuse for people to get praise when they do good deeds and to avoid punishment when they do bad deeds.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I don¡¯t think I have ever heard someone say it out loud with such confidence. Didn¡¯t your parents raise you on the Scripture of Light?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so?¡±


    ¡°Huh, well, it was nice chatting with you but I have found what my sister needs. I will see you around.¡± Theon gets up from his chair and only grabs two books off of the piles. Before he descends on the steps, he turns around and looks are me. ¡°Xavior, please promise me you will be careful who you talk to when it comes to your beliefs. You may never know what kind of people you are talking to.¡±


    Before I have time to respond, he turns around and heads down the stairs. What could he have possibly meant when he said you never know what kind of people you are talking to. Does he mean that I would be in some sort of danger?


    I think Theon is a little crazy.

 Chapter 30: Orien

    Strider and I are talking strategy one how we are going to question these prisoners more. We are waiting for Theon to come back with books about the origin of the great division and how healers have tried to cure followers of Darkness in the past. We are hoping that those book can give us an idea on where to start with our experiments. Hopefully, we can add a little but of our magic into whatever potions and find a cure to save the world.


    Theon comes down the stairs and leads to the prison. Strider bounces on his feet, ¡°Great, you finally made it. Now let¡¯s go save some civilians.¡±


    Strider walks ahead and Theon falls behind with me. ¡°Did you know that Xavier doesn¡¯t believe in Light and Darkness?¡±


    I stop in my trail. ¡°How do you know that?¡± I give him a look that demands and answer.


    ¡°He told me himself.¡± Theon puts his free hand up in the air as if he is surrendering.


    ¡°When did you talk to him?¡±


    ¡°Just a little bit ago. I saw him in the library while I was doing my research and we got to know a little bit better. I also find out that you haven¡¯t told him that you have siblings so I let him know that I am your younger brother. It¡¯s no big deal really.¡±


    ¡°No big deal? Brother, you could have ruined any trust that I was starting with Xavier. I could have gotten to him and have him spill the truth about Darkness to me.¡±


    None of that is true. I still think Xavier and his friends are innocent but I don¡¯t want my brother to see the feelings I have for Xavier. At least, not how many feelings I have for Xavier.


    ¡°If he says he doesn¡¯t believe in Light or Darkness, what makes you think that he would be a follower of Darkness?¡±


    ¡°He could be lying, you idiot.¡±


    Theon opens his mouth to respond but Strider cuts him off. ¡°You two want to save the world or not?¡±


    I turn to Theon one more time and glare at him before storming off towards Strider. How could he tell Xavier that I am his sister? Next thing he might tell Xavier is that we are the children of Light and Darkness. Of course, Xavier might will probably not believe a single word. Doesn¡¯t matter, though, Theon can¡¯t going around telling people facts about ourselves. They could put two and two together and then the chaos of centuries ago could rise up again. We would be asked to do so many things and people will fight about who gets priority and then start to kill each other just so they can get in front of the line.


    I¡¯m not angry with Theon because he stated a fact about me to Xavier. I am angry with Theon because he is being reckless about information and if it gets to the wrong people then a lot of people could be in even more danger.


    Theon and I meet up with Strider at Juniper¡¯s cell. We haven¡¯t talked to her since she told us the reason she went to Darkness in the first place. I have been trying to this of many ways I could help Juniper that doesn¡¯t involve my family and I could only come up with one solution. And that solution is not even a guarantee solution. I told Theon to bring down a book or two about medicine in hopes that it could give us a start to our experiments but there was another reason I told him to bring a book about medicine down. I was hoping that I could sneak the book Juniper and help her find some sort of medicine that could help her daughter.


    Her story is something not unusual. Most of the people who go to Darkness is out of desperation, but when I saw the heartbreak in her eyes as she was telling me about her daughter, I couldn¡¯t help but try and find sometime that could help her.


    We arrive at her cell and I say, ¡°Juniper, we appreciate your cooperation. We were wondering if there was a solution to help your baby without turning to Darkness, would you take the opportunity?¡±


    Juniper looks up at me, her eyes puffy from constantly crying. Probably from missing her child. I can¡¯t help but feel a sting in my chest for her. I would be devastated too.


    She nods eagerly and then stands up from the ground. ¡°I would do anything for my daughter. If I could avoid Darkness while doing that, then I would gladly do that. Anything for my baby girl. Anything.¡±


    I nod at her with a slight smile on my lips. ¡°Perfect, we will come back to you later today.¡±


    We walk over to the next cell where the man with the gray beard is still sitting in the far corner, rocking back and forth, and muttering something that I still can¡¯t make out.


    ¡°Sir, we need you to answer us, otherwise you won¡¯t get the possibility to leave this cell,¡± I state to him.


    He rocks back and forth still, no sign of him hearing me. But then I see a slight jerk to him and I hear a crunch and a scream. My brothers and I look at each other before we rush the door open to help him. He isn¡¯t moving as he is slumped on the ground.


    ¡°Sir,¡± I say while trying to shake him, ¡°Sir, are you okay? We need you to wake up and answer us. Sir? Sir!¡±


    I continue to shake him slightly, trying to get him to wake up. I see his chest go up and down in a rhythm, telling me he is alive. His body jerks more and more and I can hear the joints in his arms crack at the sudden movements. Is eyes roll back before his body starts violently shaking. My brothers and I try to hold him down, but then he all of a sudden stops.


    My brothers and I let go of his body and look at each other. Theon asks the question we were all thinking in our head. ¡°What the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°I would get out of there if I were you,¡± the older lady in the next cell says.


    I walk over the entrance of her cell and look at her, ¡°What do you mean? What do you know?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, other than what he told me last night while you all slept in your warm beds while we slept on the cold stone ground.¡±


    ¡°What did he tell you?¡±


    The older lady is silent, with a slight smile on her face, she looks up at me.


    I sigh before saying, ¡°If you answer my question, I can get you a mattress to sleep on.¡±


    ¡°With a blanket?¡±


    I am about to say no but something tells me that this lady will not budge if she doesn¡¯t get what she wants. ¡°Fine¡±


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    The older lady chuckles before she looks my directly in the eyes and says quietly, ¡°He told me that he was already on a tight schedule with Darkness. He was on his fourth week and if he didn¡¯t complete his task then he would turn into one of those fowl creatures that everyone is terrified of becoming.¡±


    I step back a little, thinking about what she is saying. We have to either kill him or keep him in his chambers in misery.


    ¡°So, I would tell those two handsome men in there to get out of their unless they want their pretty faces to be ripped into shreds.¡±


    And right after the older lady is done with her sentence, as if on queue, the older man groans and I hear banging and yelling. I run back to the older man¡¯s cell and see that he is trying to attack my brothers.  My brothers can handle him on their own but the sense to help them overcomes me as if I feel like their lives are on the line.


    I run into the cell and hold the man down. He screams and gnashes his teeth. I hold his arms but he is kicking like there is no tomorrow. Theon gets out of the way just in time or his ribs might have been cracked. Strider jumps in and holds his legs down while I yell to Theon to get out his glint and kill the man.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t do it Theon,¡± Strider demands.


    Theon¡¯s hands are already holding onto the handle of one of his glints and just pauses in his tracks looking back and forth at Strider.


    ¡°What the hell do you mean don¡¯t do it? There is no use trying to keep him alive. He is already gone,¡± I grunt. The man is not going down without a fight and it is clear that he has plenty of energy to keep fighting if he has to.


    ¡°What is the whole point of keeping prisoners down here?¡± Strider asks me.


    I think about how I want to find a cure so bad. People who are about to turn and have already turn should have equal fight when it comes between life or death.


    I sigh before commanding, ¡°Theon, help us take this man to the chains on that wall. We can keep him alive but there is no way we are letting him roam anywhere anymore.¡±


    Theon nods at me and puts his glint away. He then goes towards the man¡¯s torso and picks it up. We drag the old man to the chains that are hanging on the walls and the man tries to worm himself away from us. I tighten my grip even more, not caring is I am going to leave bruises on him or not.


    We get him chained up and I look closer at him. The foam coming out of his mouth that is full of yellow teeth, looks like he is a rabid animal.


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Theon asks.


    I look to Strider. ¡°It was your idea to keep him alive. You come up with a plan on how we are going to get him out of this misery.¡±


    Strider looks at me, opens his mouth, then shuts it as quick as he opened it. He shakes his head, silently telling me that he has no idea what to do with this man.


    I groan, ¡°He is in misery now because of you. We have no idea what to even do with this man and you want to keep him alive and let him live the rest of his days like this?¡±


    ¡°Well, we were going to experiment on people in this condition anyways, right? So, why not start now. We can postpone the other experiment for now, since they don¡¯t seem to be in immediate danger. Let¡¯s start with-¡±


    ¡°Hey, what about us over here. We have to stay in these smelly cells and rot until you decide that we are important enough to try and cure?¡± the bald man with the mustache interrupts.


    ¡°Why does it matter to you? You won¡¯t even show a slight sign of cooperation. You are going to rot in this cell anyways,¡± I snap.


    ¡°Sister, calm yourself. No point in using your energy to antagonize this man,¡± Theon whispers towards me.


    Deep breath in, deep breath out.


    ¡°If I cooperate, will you let me go?¡± the man asks.


    ¡°No,¡± I say again.


    Strider glares at me, and I give him a glare back. He gestures for Theon and I to huddle in with him to make a game plan. ¡°If we lie to him, we could get him to cooperate and then experiment on him. That way, he can start to trust us and we can potentially find a cure and maybe free him in the future.¡±


    ¡°And if he finds out that we are lying to him?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Look at him,¡± Theon snorts. We all look towards him. ¡°The man is obviously not the brightest and we can use that to our advantage. I think Strider is right and that we should lie to him so that he can cooperate with us.¡±


    Another groan comes out of me, ¡°Fine, but if he tries anything, I will kill him on the spot.¡±


    Strider and Theon nod their heads in agreement and we all turn to the bald man with the mustache.


    ¡°Fine, we will let you free if you give us cooperation with no questions asked and no attitude either. Oh, and if you even think about doing any funny business, I will kill you on the spot with no hesitation.¡±


    The man looks at me with wide eyes when hears that last sentence. He gulps before he nods and then I turn around to the old man who is still screaming and gnashing his teeth.


    ¡°Strider, figure out where we are going to start with him, I need a break.¡± I storm out of the cell and up the stairs which leads me to the castle and head to my room. As I am heading to my room, I bump into someone.


    ¡°So sorry, Your Highness,¡± a familiar voice says.


    I look up at the face, the very one that I kissed.


    ¡°Xavier, what are you doing out of your room?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I was bored and wasn¡¯t allowed to see June so I asked to go to the library,¡± he responds.


    ¡°Are you still bored?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Xavier seems hesitant on his answer.


    ¡°I need some air if you would like to go on another walk with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Your Highness, but I should really get back to Pierce. He is freaking out not being able to comfort his girlfriend. I should go back and see if there is anything I can do.¡± He bows and then starts walking away without awaiting my response.


    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± I say quietly to myself.


    I wonder why he was so eager to get away from me. Did I do something?