Chapter 13
The One Who Bleeds
"Die."
Xael's Point of View
"Do we have to leave?"
It was still early in the morning and Hiro was already bossing us around so we can leave Cerulean as soon as possible. He had just woken up last night and some of his wounds weren't healed yet but here he was—carrying heavy trunks of baggage towards the carriage outside. Does this guy even have the word 'relax' in his brain? If you ask me, I don't really want to go. Even Kichi agrees with me. He kept on clinging on Hiro's leg and begged him not to make us leave but he just can't be bothered.
Bree and I are here upstairs of the shop, sorting out our things so we can still have a little bit of space to contain souvenirs from the shop. We had no other choice since Hiro wouldn't probably agree of the thought of women carrying heavy luggage. Naturally, I would be offended but if I get to be free from a chore, why not? Mizuki was helping us fix our things, including from the boys even though she was still a little lightheaded but she assured us that she can still manage.
I told her that she can sort her things out instead of helping us. Turns out, the cramped apartment where she was staying was one of the rooms that got destroyed and burned from her fight with that Zeus guy. I doubt none of her things survived but she guaranteed that it was okay since she had little to no expensive possessions anyway so I offered to buy her clothes and her basic necessities until she could repay me. I was going to do it for free since money wasn't a problem in our family but she insisted that she would just pay me back. The girl had principles, I respect that.
When we arrived the other day, I had the chance to roam around inside the antique shop. I didn't have the opportunity to admire the simplistic beauty of it when we arrived because of how busy we got. Downstairs, the room was quite spacious than I expected. I couldn't grasp the exact style but it was somewhat an old cafe library style.
The aroma from coffee beans that Sir Magnus brewed every morning would envelope the whole room, giving off a lazy afternoon ambiance. The front door had a glass window pane on the upper part and when it was opened, the sound of the high pitched ring of a cute little bell rang like that of a coffee shop. The shelves around the room were full of old pottery, wood works, small statues, and small trinkets and machineries that are out of our time.
"And there. Done!" Mizuki cheered. It was the last piece of blouse to be folded. The three of us stretched our limbs since it was getting a little bit numb. Who knew folding clothes would be much of a chore?
"I'm hungry," Bree whispered under her breath. The moment she mentioned the word hungry, all of our stomachs started grumbling.
"Let's go outside to grab some breakfast." Lady Raven decided to prepare the food outside like a picnic. She said that it was more refreshing than eating inside the shop.
The strong scent of the roasted aroma of coffee quickly enveloped our noses when we were on the last step of the stairs. It was coming from the moka pot full of coffee and from Sir Magnus' cup. He has been here ever since he woke up, rummaging from the old books that he once kept. He said that he was just looking up things from the past or something.
"Co-coffee?" Mizuki softly mumbled to herself. Her eyes were glued to the coffee mug like last night. I guess Sir Magnus noticed us since he lifted his gaze from the book he was reading.
"Hm? Do you want some?" Sir Magnus offered the moka pot full of coffee when he saw Mizuki staring at it. Her face lighted up and immediately went towards the pot.
"Wait. Let me get you a cup..." Before Sir Magnus could even grab a clean mug for Mizuki, she already grabbed the pot and drank from it.
"Or...you could do that." He was astounded of the fact that a kid could be a heavy coffee drinker.
"Wahhh. So delicious!" Mizuki's eyes were full of stars. I guess she really likes coffee. She told us that it was her third time drinking pure coffee. She didn't have money to buy coffee beans so she was stuck drinking the artificial ones. Ever since she was a kid, she had a special place in her heart for coffee but her parents wouldn't approve of that.
"Whenever Mama caught me smuggling ground coffee from the kitchen, she would tell Dada and scold me. So I usually begged Kiel to get me some while I distract both of them from the kitchen." Reminiscing her past memories made her giggle at her past antics.
"Kiel? Who's Kiel?"
"You're back. Did you convince Sir Party Pooper?" Kichi entered the room from the stairs with a gloomy face and walked towards one of the chairs against Sir Magnus' table.
"No..." he pouted and crossed his arms over his chest like a little kid. He grabbed the cup in front of him and drank it to the last drop in one sip—acting like it was alcohol.
"Yah! That's my coffee!" Sir Magnus scolded and knocked Kichi's head using the cup. He immediately apologized for drinking the cup of coffee and bowed multiple times.
*Ting Ting*
"Where is Hiro?" Lady Raven was by the door frame.
"I think he's upstairs," Kichi said while caressing the spot the mug landed.
"Someone's looking for him. I think you kiddos should have a look at this."
Everyone side-glanced each other and guessed that something was up.
"I'll fetch him for us," Bree volunteered and ran up the stairs. Everyone went outside including Sir Magnus and we were immediately greeted by knights along with a royal messenger. I think it's from the royal family because the flag of Cerulean was sewn on the right side of the messenger's chest on his uniform and on the flags that the knights around him were carrying. The other knights huffed on their trumpets to catch the attention of the people.
"What's happening?" Bree and Hiro arrived.
"Hear ye. Hear ye. My name is Samuel Seaberry and I represent on the behalf of the royal family. Behold! A message from the king: Good day, my beloved citizens. The recent incident that caused havoc and ruins from one or two buildings and wildfire from numerous establishment has been brought to the council's attention. Reports have been cited and three persons were the center of the incident. One with ice powers, one of a lighting and one of a lion. It has been identified that the one with ice powers is named Mizuki Mori while the two remains unknown. Whichever of the three is humbly invited to the royal palace to discuss certain matters. Sincerely, King Baron."
"Am I in trouble?" Mizuki squeaked as she hid her face with her chocolate brown hair, hiding her electric blue eyes.
"I guess I'll have a talk with the messenger. Hang in there, kids." Lady Raven summoned her fan and concealed the bottom half of her face as she pushed through the crowd to get to the royal messenger.
"This is my fault. I'm sorry!" Mizuki took a step backward and bowed her head to express her guilt.
"No it's not!" Kichi denied.
"If only I haven't attempted to steal that earring I—" Mizuki covered her face with her hands out of shame.
"You stole something?" Kichi widened his eyes.
"I..."
"Stop badgering her, Kichi!" I castigated.
"Wahhhh! Sumimasen! I just thought that maybe the circle she'll be guarding is Greed?" He pouted and twiddled with his two forefingers.
"It isn't that simple and obvious, kids." Sir Magnus interrupted.
"Then what circle do you think she's guarding?"
"Limbo."
"Limbo?" How can it be Limbo? I don't think Mizuki is that religious to have that kind of sin.
"I looked up Zeus' stats. He was just a 4.5. Still close to low-tier abilities. Mizuki could've beaten that guy easily," Sir Magnus explained.
"You could see power stats?" Kichi pounced, bringing his dorky side out. He's really a sucker for anything that is about abilities and magic.
"It was a gift from a friend."
"You have a friend?" Kichi raised his eyebrows out if bewilderment.
"Do you have to be amazed with everything he says?" Hiro scowled which made Kichi yelp and hide behind Mizuki.
"Please defend me," Kichi whispered under his breath as he clutched on both Mizuki's shoulders like she was a human shield.
"Stop harrasing her!" I frowned and pulled Kichi away from Mizuki.
The sound of galloping horses were nearing towards us which caught all of our attention. It was the royal messenger and his knights with Lady Raven. When they arrived, the messenger quickly climbed down of his horse and bowed in front of us.
"Ms. Mori. Please come with us."
-•-
Mizuki got scared when the messenger approached her and almost fainted. Eventually, she agreed to come with them. Sir Magnus insisted that we should all come to not let Mizuki feel scared and alone. The messenger initially hesitated but agreed in the end.
The ride towards the castle was a bumpy one. Kichi almost vomitted again because of the startling ride.
"I shouldn't have drank that coffee..." He groaned when we finally climbed down the carriage. One of his hands were on his stomach because it started to churn again. He threw up on one of the nearby bushes which alerted the guy who was reading a book under the nearby tree.
"D-do you need help?" He bolted and rushed towards Kichi.
"Don't mind my brother. He just had a little bit of motion sickness," I said and patted Kichi's back.
"Would you like me to accompany you to the castle clinic?" he said with a concerned look on his face and caressed Kichi's back who was still vomitting.
"No need, Mr...?"
"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Zen Hagiwara—crown prince of Cerulean," he introduced himself and bowed.
"A pleasure to meet you Zen. I am Xael Himura and this is my brother, Kichi Tanaka." I also introduced the others and he was shocked when Bree called me hime.
"Hime?"
"She is the only daughter of the king and queen of Furia, my lord." Bree explained and bowed.
"Well then, I hope we get to be allies in the future, Princess Xael," he winked and chuckled.
Zen was about our age and he had white hair and blue eyes like a cat. He was the same height as Hiro and I could tell that he was fond of books because of the reading glasses placed on his breast pocket and the thick book he was holding. Our little chit chat ended when it was time for his sparring lessons. I bid him goodbye and we then proceeded to walk towards the outer gate of the palace.
"May I ask why he requests to see Mizuki?" Sir Magnus formally asked the messenger to break the silence.
"I believe I am not in the position to tell anything that doesn't concern me," the messenger replied.
"Mizuki, have you seen the King?" I whispered.
"Apparently no. But I heard some rumors about him being a great king and all." Mizuki replied.
"Pfft. The king of Cerulean is great? How cute." Lady Raven sarcastically laughed. She made sure that the messenger didn't hear her even though he was busy talking to Sir Magnus.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. We have arrived," the messenger announced when we finally went past the front gate of the palace. We still had to walk a little more to enter the palace itself but even before getting there, the inside garden was majestic. The center was adorned with a huge water fountain with three statues of angels encircling on the center of it. Water flowed from their eyes and fingertips which created a melodramatic ambiance from the eerie feeling inside the garden.
There were three exit points inside the garden which were heavily guarded with knights that also looked like statues. Two ponds were by the upper left side and lower right side of the garden which had kois swimming about.
When we finally arrived by the palace doors, an entourage—consisting of five people—and another finely suited man was waiting for us. The messenger bid us goodbye and bowed to that man.
"I am Lionel Adachi. The royal bailiwick," he introduced.
"And these are my subordinates..." he extended his arm to introduce them one by one.
"This is Deborah Michiko, my second-in-command..." Deborah was a little girl with ash grey hair and red eyes. Lord Lionel told us that she was a child prodigy and should not be underestimated.
"She will be accompanying you to the throne room. I apologize for not assisting you personally for I have important matters to attend to," he said and bowed before exiting the room.
"Pleasure to meet you, lords and laidies. Please follow me," Deborah said and bowed.
"Uh..hey kiddo..." Sir Magnus called Deborah.
"Do you know where the bathroom is?" he asked, looking constipated while clutching his stomach.
"Is it the coffee?" Kichi asked, his thumb and forefinger rubbing against his chin.
"One of my subordinates will accompany you. It is the third room in the second hallway," Deborah smiled like the cute little kid she was.
"N-no thank you. I can manange on my own."
"Yah! Sir Magnus, your stomach has the wrong timing. Tsk tsk tsk," Kichi commented while wagging his finger and clicking his tongue.
"Right. Well...See you, kids." He immediately ran to where Deborah has instructed while clutching his bottom.
"Please follow me," Deborah formally uttered with her hands clasped in front of her.
Gosh. She's so cute.
The hall we were walking on was grand. The right side of the wall was embellished with painted portraits from the past kings that ruled Ceruelean while the left was for the portraits of the queens.
"I see you have an interest in these lovely portraits, Ms...?" I think Deborah noticed that I was staring too much on one of the paintings.
"Xael. Xael Himura," I said and offered my hand to her for a handshake.
"Xael Himura? A Himura?" Her eyes widened when I mentioned my name and lost her cool. She was smiling ear to ear while clutching my arms because she was too short to reach my shoulder. She was smart for a kid but she's still a child with a despicable charm.
"Y-yes."
"As in the daughter of both Fendrel and Serenity? The direct descendant of Hearth-Himura clan?" She kept on interrogating me and it was making me uncomfortable. Here we go again.
"Y-yes..." Just stop. Stop talking about my parents.
"Then you must be the strongest here in Ethiopia. Wahhhh!!" She squealed and hid her face with her hands. Hah! I sure hope I was actually the strongest...I wish. I just bit my inner cheek so my voice won't break because I knew she was going to ask another question about them.
"Ms. Michiko. If I may ask—"
Kichi?
He looked at me and winked. He mouthed the words "I got you." I guess it was sibling instincts that made him sense that she was making me anxious of the sensitive topic she was asking. Thanks bro.
"Deborah will do."
"So Deb-deb. Can you tell us about these portraits?" he caressed one of the canvas and pretended to understand art to make it look believable that he was interested in the portrait.
"Yayy! Finally, an interested visitor!" She clapped her hands and continued walking while talking about the history of Cerulean.
"This is going to be boring," I heard Kichi telling Hiro in a hush tone.
"Deal with it," Hiro replied as he walked faster because he knew Kichi isn't going to listen to Deborah and he'll just keep bothering him.
"Wait where are you going?" Kichi pouted.
"Far away from you." Hiro rolled his eyes but Kichi still followed him. Poor Deborah. I think the only one listening was Lady Raven, Mizuki, and Bree.
"Hey, Hiro."
"Don't talk to me."
"Hey Hiro."
"Shut up, Kichi."
"Hey Hiro."
"What?!"
"Hey Hiro, how does it feel to save a girl, fight a bad guy, and meet a king?" He counted with his fingers with every thing that Hiro has done which made him scrunch his face and grit his teeth. It was subtle but even if he acted indifferent to what Kichi mentioned, I could feel that he was tensed for some reason.
"Mean!" Kichi pouted and crossed his arms when he realized that Hiro wasn't planning to answer him. He pressed his lips together and walked towards Mizuki to make Hiro realize that he was upset. I even heard him say "hmph" which made me giggle because eventhough he was a sweet brother, he was still Kichi.
"Why are you snickering?" I heard Hiro asked. He wasn't looking at me do I decided to walk beside him which made him raise a brow.
"It's nothing. The question is, are you okay?" I wasn't facing him when I said that but I could feel his stare from the side of my temple.
"Yeah..." he sighed and broke his stare.
"You know...even if you didn't actually save Mizuki, I'm proud you tried. I'm glad Mom chose you to be my knight," I whispered. I made sure that no one heard what I said except him because what I said was embarassing enough for me.
"I'm glad that you are my princess," he chuckled and smiled softly. That smile...the first time he used that smile was when he was first appointed by Mom to be my knight. That was the first and last time I saw it until now.
I didn't realize that I was staring at his lips for too long so I hastily moved my head to the side to hide how embarassed I was. Did he think I was fantasizing on kissing him? Hah! In his dreams.
I heard him laugh when he saw my reaction and messed with my hair which made me slap his hand away and glare at him.
"And that concludes the history of Cerulean. Thank you for listening! I shall soon bid you goodbye," Deborah smiled and opened the big double door behind her.
"Lords and Ladies, I present you—the king and queen of Cerulean." Deborah walked in front of us and elegantly extended her arms for a curtsy.
The knights that were positioned inside the room each held a halberd that was used to make a thumping sound when the King or any member of the royal family was introduced.
"Ah! My King. Pleasure to meet you again," Lady Raven carefully said. She closed her eyes and dramatically bowed. She sensed that neither of us were bowing so she simply opened one eye and gestured us to bow.
I wasn't used to doing a curtsy or a bow. I was always the one being shown with respect do this was really awkward for me.
I noticed the room to be quite grand. The big windows were decorated with large lumps of curtains that would be impractical to use since it was very hard to wash one of those. The floor was covered with a huge carpet that was obviously very heavy. The stage where the throne was placed was decorated with long velvet fabric with golden posts where it was hung up. Even from afar, I could almost see the glimmer on the gems from the crowns of both the king and queen—and oh! They fit well with the room.
It seems that they look like an expensive version of a collectors's doll house or someone a stereotypical depiction of how royalty flashes their wealth.
The king was even more stereotypical than the room. His clothes were too thick that he looked like a mammoth. His fingers were embellished with rings that sparkled when light was reflected. Around his neck was even more grandiose. Numerous necklaces, including one with the Cerulean crest, were loosely hanging from his neck. The crown on his head depicted that of a typical king that it looked like it was even heavier than it looks.
On the other hand, the queen was more simplistic than I expected which reminded me of my mother. She was wearing a small crown but you could see how regal she was on the simple dress she was wearing. She, too, fancied jewels but it wasn't seen as arrogance but rather something that fitted her perfectly.
Deborah walked to the door and walked outside to close the door from outside. The sound it was making was evidence that the door was heavier than 10 men combined so Deborah struggled a little bit which made her even cuter in my eyes. Ackkk—
"Ooooh! Guys! Guys! This place is so fancy!" Kichi kept jumping up and down and touching the knights like it was something he had never seen before.
"Bree. Refrain Kichi from acting informally or else we might an undiplomatic conflict," Lady Raven whispered through gritted teeth.
"Yes, my lady." Bree quietly walked towards Kichi and restrained him by holding both of his wrists on his back and zipping his mouth using her hand.
"W-wha?"
"Be quiet, Kichi. Fo you want to create war between Furia and Ceruelan. Hmm?" Lady Raven lowkey warned while smiling.
"Ambassadress Lionheart. I didn't expect you to bring children," the queen commented and intimidatingly raised her eyebrows with minimal face expressions.
"De Spelle. It's Ambassadress De Spelle, your highness. Lionheart is my husband. I became an ambassadress using that last name and I intend to be addressed the same way," she politely corrected but I could sense the sarcasm in her voice which made me internally snicker.
"I see..." the queen's eyebrows cocked even higher.
"...so, Ambassadress, I presume you are here because the incident is related to one of you Furians, am I correct?"
"It may seem so, your highness."
"I didn't expect that this system of government we accepted from you Furians would cause us this much damage. I knew that this was foolish even before the idea of ambassadors was brought to the council of all leaders across Ethiopia," the king interrupted as he waved his hands out of sarcasm.
"I believe that is an issue that I couldn't discuss, your majesty but I will make sure that my Queen will know of this," Lady Raven said as she bowed once again.
"And what? To ignite a war with you Furians? Hah!" The king laughed sarcastically.
"I know I cannot legally lay a hand on that Furian that caused of all of these mess but I know one of these girls was the Cerulean that served as the root of all of this." He said as he eyed Bree, Mizuki and me, trying to figure out which was which.
"If I may ask, what do you plan to do to her, your highness?"
"Lock her up! That girl caused nothing but trouble. I think she won't be able to compensate for the damages she's done but 7 years in prison is enough to teach her a lesson," he angrily said, slamming his fist on his throne's armrest.
I could see the fear in Mizuki's eyes as she stared at the king. Her pupils dilated and her eyes were moving rapidly as he shoulders shook. No! This isn't right. I have to do something.
"Xael. Whatever you're thinking, don't do it. This might spark war," Hiro whispered through gritted teeth but I ignored his warnings.
"Are you saying that paying for the damage was more valuable than the life of the girl?!" I shouted to grab the King's attention
"Xael!" Hiro warned in a hush tone.
"And who is this brat, Ambassadress? Last time I checked, your family is a barren one. I'm surprised your husband could still put up with you even if you can't bear a child. How pathetic you husband might be, hmm? A man without a child is useless!" The king apathetically said as he rose from his seat and walked towards Lady Raven. He grabbed her chin to look at him. She gripped the fan she was holding to stop her from slapping the guy because I knew she was keeping the peace between the two kingdoms.
She can't bear a child?
"Stop this nonsense, Baron!" I heard the queen shout with a controlled voice as she looked at Lady Raven.
"This doesn't concern you, Minerva. Shut up!"
The queen was powerless against him. I knew she wanted to help Lady Raven but something was stopping her. Fear.
"Get away from her!" I pushed him to the side so he can release his grip from Lady Raven.
"Hime!"
"Arghh!" the king groaned in pain. The part of his clothing where I touched turned to dust and some of his flesh got burned. H-how did I do that?
"Baron!"
"M-magnus? Xael—How—?" Lady Raven whispered with her eyes widened when she saw the king's wound. Her voice was stuttering as her eyes twitched from looking back and forth from the king to me. This is the first time that I've seen her without her usual composure and mischievousness.
"Ah! I recognize that pair of eyes. I never expected that the princess of Furia came to visit my humble kingdom." He stood up and lightly touched the wound on his hide. It made him hiss from the sting and gravely glared at us one by one. With heavy steps, he walked towards me and harshly grabbed my chin. He was gripping it that I could almost feel a bruise forming. His eyes were full of anger...full of hatred.
"You have your mother's eyes. Your daddy's demeanor..." he hissed. His hand gripped my chin even more which each word he spits.
"...but not an ounce of their power."
No...not again.
(Why is your daughter so powerless?)
(You must be the strongest to be the daughter of Serenity and Fendrel.)
The voices kept ringing in my head. Why? Why do I have to go through this again? I—
"Bree!" The high pitched scream from Mizuki awoken me from the trance. The king's hand was no longer grabbing my chin. Bree was in front of me, gripping the king's right hand which grabbed my chin.
"B-bree?" I could feel my tears slowly forming in my eyes as she turned her head to me only to cough blood.
"H-hime. I-i'm sorry," she tried to speak. The king's left hand grew claws and it pierced through Bree. This must be his ability.
"Bree! No! Don't do this" I tried to call her when she suddenly collapsed after the king removed his hand.
"Guards seize them!" The King shouted and the knights immediately restrained us.
"My Lady, please. Please let me use my ability," Hiro pleaded.
"No," Lady Raven firmly said.
"No! You don't understand! Get away from here, now!" I shouted as I forced the knight to let go of my grip so I can go to Bree but the King just kicked my stomach so I can stop squirming.
"You're a mad girl, princess. Physical assault to a king? Now that's hilarious. You're just like your parents. So troublesome," The king laughed maniacally which made the hair on my nape stand. He walked closer to Hiro and drew his sword from his scabbard. Hiro squirmed from the knights who were restraining him and glared at the king who was examining every part of his sword.
"Mad? If you're talking about madness here, you're just talking about yourself. I figured out that you may have something in your sleeves. You only wished for the money and power. You care for your citizens' pocket and not the people itself. You are one greedy pig and you know that!" I shouted. I was fuming in anger that I could feel blood rushing on my head.
"And what of it?" He apathetically asked as he placed the tip of Hiro's sword on my neck.
"How would it feel if I kill you using the very own weapon that's used to protect you?" He thrusted the sword lightly and I could feel the hot blood streaming on my neck as I choked on the blood that's rushing on my throat. I couldn't help but close my eyes and prepare myself on my upcoming death.
"Die, princ—what the?" My eyes fluttered open when the sword stopped before it could pierce my neck. I could feel it shaking and before I knew it, Bree was holding the sword's bladed part to stop the king from thrusting the sword. The blood on her hand continued to gush as she forced to push away the blade from me.
"Violence against a member of the royal family of Furia is punishable by death..." She mumbled in a low stern voice, her tone two octaves lower.
"No, Bree! You dont have to do this! Please!"
"Ashes...ashes...they all fall down...HAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAAH!" Bree laughed crazily which made my skin crawl. Ancient symbols begin to appear on her skin as her laugh kept going louder and louder. No, I promised her that I won't let this happen!
The king was caught off guard and swung Hiro's sword to hit Bree. The blade glowed when it touched her as she hissed when the blood on her wounds continued to spill on her dress. She ran to the king like the speed of light and wrapped her fingers around his neck with inhuman strength.
"It glowed—Bree—You're a—?" Hiro shockingly asked. He couldn't believe it that it made him choke on his own words.
"Demon?" Bree continued what Hiro was trying to say.
"Bree...please. Don't do this...I...I promised you...I..." my voice was weakening. I can slowly feel my disappointment for myself.
It has been 10 years since she last used her demon form. I promised her that I wouldn't let her use that form again. Demons have this ritual where you can make a demon your shadow—a servant and yourself as their master as long as they submit to you completely. 10 years ago, she made me her master...10 years ago, she adapted my human form. 10 years ago....
"Xael, what is the meaning of this? You allied yourself to a demon?" I heard Lady Raven frustratingly asked.
"No! It's not what it looks like!"
"Demon schdemon, hah! So what if this wretched wench is a demon? I used to fight demons back in the war and I'm still alive!" The king laughed maniacally.
"No you don't understand. Get out of here, now!"
"No...no...this is bad..." Lady Raven mumbled to herself. She must have realized who Bree truly was.
"...it's the Puppet Master." Complete horror enveloped on Lady Raven's face. I could feel the hair all over my body stand from hearing those words. She immediately summoned the black cube around us which protected us from the outside and from the knights that once restrained us.
I heard the clanking of the sword that the King used when it hit the floor. He looked at Bree with fear and caution as she neared herself towards him. The king stumbled down as he desperately tried to remove Bree's bloodstains from his clothes which made her laugh.
"You know...it's too late to remove the blood you stained yourself with...she whispered as she sat in front of the king who was trying to crawl his way away from her.
"N-no, p-please d-don't" the king begged.
"You shouldn't have done that to my master." she said and sarcastically smiled.
The king grabbed a dagger from under his clothing and immediately attacked Bree. She was able to dodge it but her left cheek got wounded.
"Wrong move," she mumbled as she touched the blood that was dripping from her chin.
"Cursed Puppet: Ventriloquist," she whispered.
"W-what is she doing?" I heard Kichi ask.
"I have seen this before. The king's body will be forced to copy what the puppet master is doing," Lady Raven explained.
"That dagger is pretty neat dont you think?" she grinned
She raised her hands and imitatively raised the dagger on her neck. The king copied what she was doing and slowly thrust the tip of his dagger against his neck.
"Die."
"Please, stop..." the queen sobbed. Bree ignored her plea which made her add more pressure and slowly make him thrust the blade. The king gasped and choked on his own breath.
The queen closed her eyes and calmly walked towards the two of them which made Bree confused. She grabbed her hand and sadly smiled at her.
"Please..."
Bree looked down on her feet and clenched her hand out of frustration. A tear from the queen's eye dropped on Bree's hand which made her gasp. Bright light enveloped against the two of them as Bree suddenly dropped on the floor.
"Bree!"
The queen looked down on her as she laid there unconscious. The king sat up properly and gasped for air as he clutched the wound on his neck. He diverted his gaze from his wife when he noticed that she was glaring at him. She frustatingly sighed as her tears continued flowing on cheeks.
Lady Raven didn't remove the black cube around us but the silence was so palpable that it almost suffocated me. I could only hear the sharp clicking of the queen's heels as she walked towards us. She could see the black cube around us and tried going through it but Lady Raven didn't allow it. The queen must have realized that we still had our guards up so she wiped her residual tears from her face and touched the cube with the same hand which dissipated instantly.
"A nullification ability, huh?"
The queen genuinely smiled at Lady Raven's sarcasm which made her ultimately confused. She dropped her crown to the ground as a sign of defeat and bowed which surprised each and every one of us.
"What did I miss?" Sir Magnus' voice echoed across the room. Weird. He wasn't startled with our situation. No one answered him because of the tension around the room.
"Tough crowd. I just left you guys for a bit and someone's bleeding again?" He frantically retorted as she noticed that Bree was lying on a pool of blood.
Hiro walked towards her and carried her in bridal style, temporarily placing her on one of the palace's couches.
Sir Magnus placed his arms on his waist and clicked his tongue as he shook his head. He looked around the room and noticed the king who was still horrified with what happened. His expression hardened as he walked towards him and I could sense a pint of anger on him. I know the queen noticed his dangerous aura but she decided to not interfere.
"Oh such a pity. Should I help you, my king? Should I? Look money face, how about let's forget everything that happened? Hmm? How's that sound?" He mocked as he towered above him.
The king didn't answer him because he was still startled and traumatized with what happened so Sir Magnus decided to improvise and crouch in front of him as he grabbed the king's jaw.
"I agree, Ambassador of Handsomeness," he said as he mimicked the king's voice while controlling his jaw. He laughed at his own doing and finally turned his head towards us.
"Let's go children. Our business here is done," he laughed and harshly removed his grip from the king's chin before walking towards us.
"Oh and by the way, King Baron. I didn't marry my wife so she can give me a child. Why don't you just treat your wife nicely before she finally wakes up and decides to leave you instead of staining my perfect marriage with my wife, hmm?" He mocked as he grabbed Lady Raven's waist towards him which made her flushed and hide her face with her fan.
"Thank you..." the queen whispered and bowed her head. Sir Magnus returned the gesture and finally signaled us that we should go.
The trip back towards the shop was so deafening. No one uttered a word and Bree's situation made it more gloomy.
"Oh, by the way, Sir Magnus. Where have you been? You had been in the bathroom for almost an hour," Kichi awkwardly asked. I knew he wasn't used to silence.
"I talked to an old friend on my way," he casually replied.
"You talked to him?" Lady Raven jumped.
"Yeah. And I was right. It's finally starting. The Arcarums are coming."