"I actually NEED you to come with me. For your own good." Yue Zian corrected himself. His eyes were fixed on Nadia in such an intense and solemn gaze, the poor woman didn't dare say anything. Not even a couple days ago, the man in front of her wiped out a whole clan all by himself. Killing her would be nothing. Like killing a fly. By her point of view, saying no meant death, but saying yes meant also probably death because she had no idea why Yue Zian wanted her for and it can't be anything good, that's for sure. Yue Zian figured out this much.
"My lord, I don't…" What could she even say? She couldn't understand why he was being like this. Why change so suddenly?
Yue Zian noticed how troubled she looked. Originally he didn't want to tell her anything about the truth. He must have looked like a lunatic the whole day. Telling her that he is Yue Zian but not Yue Zian because this reality is not THE reality but a book he wrote and that in a matter of a few days they will both die… that wouldn't do much in his favor. Still, it was only fair that Nadia wouldn't want to have anything to do with him and just dragging her along while leaving her in the dark seemed to be a bit too cruel. He doesn't want to scare the life out of that girl. He wants to protect her.
So in the end there was only one thing Yue Zian could do. Choosing the words carefully, he rubbed his chin twice before talking to her, the way a grown up tries to convince their child to eat the God damn vegetables.
"My lady, must have noticed that the Second Son might have taken an interest on her lately, haven't you?" The voice was soft, making Yue Zian sound like a dear friend warning his friend, but because it was him who said such words, they seem to take an eerie aura, almost as if he was hinting the ominous things that he would make sure to happen to her.
Since it has been a while since Mathis wrote the book, the details of it are bit fuzzy, but what he said was true. It took him a while to remember, but Lucien really had set his eyes on Nadia just for his own pleasure. There aren't many things that entertain him and plotting against his father all the time gets a bit boring after a while. So it was only natural for him to find something to entertain himself while his plan came all together. Unfortunately, Nadia seemed to do the trick for him. The girl was beautiful and graceful and besides, there was something about women from Grimsbane that couldn't be explained with words.
Lucien had seen Nadia a few times around the palace while serving Yue Zian and tried his shot every now and then with her, but it isn't until Yue Zian leaves to kill his brother that he forces himself on her. If Mathis recalled it right, Nadia rejects him quite violently and this becomes the reason why Lucien specifically chose her for his plan. This and another reason.
Nadia parted her lips to say something, but no sound came from her. Her face paled immediately, looking as if she had seen a ghost.
"I don't mean to scare you or threaten you." Yue Zian frowned. "I just happen to know what is in Lucien's head. Once he has set eyes on something he wants, he will do everything to have it or make sure that no one does."
The more Yue Zian said, the more poor Nadia looked like she would faint right on the spot, but she refused to show any weakness and just tightened her hands into fists.
"I will be leaving the palace for a few days and it seems like Lucien will make his move while I'm gone. I know I might not have been in my best behavior before, but I truly don't want anything to happen to you. That's why I am asking you to come with me."
It was like being told that you will die in two days. The news were rather harsh on Nadia's poor heart that had been through a lot for just one day because of Yue Zian alone. However she wasn't sure why he would tell her anything about something like this, since it's the Young Master they're talking about and Yue Zian himself never showed any sign of caring about anyone, Nadia found herself cornered. There weren't many places she could go, and even if there were she couldn't just leave. She… just couldn't…
If such thing would be so simple, with no doubt, none of the women gifted to the Clan Leader would still be in the palace. Even though they all looked like delicate creatures because of their beauty and "fragile" wings, people of Grimsbane all were fighters and warriors. The only disadvantage their clan had was that it wasn't that big to begin with. Such disadvantage made the Clan leader of Grimsbane Kairon, to give young gifted ladies of his own clan to another clan leader, hoping that Keogon would help Grimsbane economically and in times of need.
Stuck in such a wretched situation, dying on Yue Zian's hands seemed better than having the Second Son of Keogon forcing himself on her. Besides… there was something she couldn't give up from, to just leave it behind and run away. So in the end, steeling her heart once more like all the other times she had done, Nadia just nodded.
Yue Zian knew that just because she had accepted to come along, didn't mean that he had Nadia's trust. It will take a lot more than that, but he was satisfied with just this for the time being.
They left the palace on Yue Zian's horse, but the problem was that the damned horse sensed that its owner wasn't exactly him, and refused to let anyone ride it. Abyss, the pitch black horse, because for some reason Mathis had decided to make Yue Zian the epitome of tenebrosity, was quite the stubborn horse. Usually it would be terrified of its master and obey him without struggle, since Yue Zian was rather violent when he lost patience, but somehow sensing that he wasn't himself today, Abyss decided to be mulish.
Nadia found such scene immensely amusing and a sight to be hold. The Menace of Keogon was being given a hard time by his own horse. Watching from behind, the woman had to bite her lower lips to stop herself from giggling when Abyss headbutted Yue Zian on the stomach rather harshly. The latter yelped once and lost his balance. Before he had the chance to grab onto something, Yue Zian fell on the ground with a loud thump.
"Why are you being like this?" He huffed at the horse who just turned the head the other way as if telling him that it didn't want to listen to him. "Fine." Yue Zian yelled and walked away, a very unsure Nadia following him behind.
Nadia said "Are we going to take another horse, my lord?"
Yue Zian looked extremely pissed off and it took a lot of courage for her to even open her mouth, but when Yue Zian started to chuckle, her forehead furrowed in confusion. This man has either lost his mind or has been in an extraordinarily good mood, because the amount of times he had smiled and chuckled within these few hours is odd to the point it's even scary. "No, no. Abyss is just perfect. Beside it will be suspicious if I suddenly change horse."
"Then may I ask where are you going, my lord?"
Yue Zian frowned. "I already told you to don't call me that."
Nadia "But… I always have called you that way… I…"
"What has happened until today stays in the past. From now on I would really love it if you called me by my name. Calling me such titles every now and then makes me a bit uncomfortable." Yue Zian rubbed his chin once, the frowning on his face deepening a bit more. "Unless you feel uncomfortable calling me by my name. If that's the case, then take your time."
They had walked through the hallways of the palace for a bit more when Yue Zian spoke again. "We're going to the kitchen." The corners of his mouth turned up. "Maybe some treats will change its mind."
Sure enough, after just a few other turns, Yue Zian and Nadia walked into the kitchen. The place was scorching hot when compared to the other rooms of the palace, and a bit too cramped as well. The different smells Mathis couldn't recognize, but smelled familiar to Yue Zian, filled the place. Women and men from all ages were roaming around with pans and pots, empty and full, on their hands, bumping into each other, shouting and yelling orders and curses. But the moment Yue Zian walked in, the whole place fell in silence, everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing. The only sound in the kitchen came from the fire and the soups and tea boiling above it.
"…"
Yue Zian fought the urge to hahaha his way through the awkwardness created all of sudden. Rather than doing that, he tried to ignore the dead silence and the eyes staring at him in fear. He picked a man in random and decided to ask him. "Could you bring me a few sugar cubs and some apples?"
"…"
"I'm in a bit of a hurry."
The man he spoke to looked so pale and was shaking so badly, Yue Zian feared he would pass out. Next to him, a young boy around sixteen or seventeen years old walked to a drawer and took a small pouch out. Nobody dared to glance his way, all eyes were glued to Yue Zian, every person probably thinking that if they would watch every single move of his, they would at least have a bit of hope to dodge any attack coming their way. Meanwhile, the young boy had walked to a barrel and pulled five red apples from it, difficultly balancing them on his arms, then he approached Yue Zian.
Yue Zian took the apples from the young boy giving two to Nadia to hold, and then took the pouch, hanging it on his sash. "Thank you." He said, turned around on his heels and walked away.
Once Yue Zian walked away, the tension in the kitchen lifted as soon as it had fallen. The people in it came back to life, but most of them had already lost a few years of their lifespan from the fear.
When they walked back to Abyss, Nadia put all the apples in the saddlebag while Yue Zian approached the stubborn horse with a grin on his face. "If you'll be a good girl I will give you something." He took a sugar cube from the pouch and waved it in front of Abyss' eyes. That seemed to get its attention and the corners of Yue Zian's mouth lifted more. He gave the sugar cube to Abyss and patted its head. Being shown such affection and being given treats, even the horse was as confused as Nadia had been the whole day, but it found it more profitable to obey and get treats than those harsh whips it would get every time Yue Zian mounted it so Abyss finally decided to do it was told to do.
Mathis didn't have any experience with horses whatsoever, but the feeling of familiarity as Yue Zian took the reins in his hands, took over his body and he found himself riding Abyss with no difficulties.
Yue Zian had advised Nadia to wear something to cover her wings and face. Even though nobody questioned anything he would do out of fear and his status, it still would be better if no one knew he was taking Nadia with him. With the hood of the cloak covering most of her face at least she wouldn't get recognized.
The First Son was locked in a shack deep in the woods, at least two days away. However Yue Zian had other plans and he had four to five days at most.
Once Yue Zian rode Abyss out of the capital of Keogon, he pulled the reins and jumped from the horse. The place they had stopped was a forest at the exit of the capital's territory. The nearest inhabited place was a small village they just had passed and beyond it there was nothing but a sea of trees for miles.
Yue Zian helped Nadia off the horse, even though she seemed to be hesitant at first. She didn't dare to do anything yet, being this close to the capital's borders, so instead just watched Yue Zain patiently. The latter opened the saddlebag and took a bottle of ink and a brush with a carved metallic handle.
Yue Zian didn't just left the palace with no plan whatsoever. True, he couldn't possibly come up with something that would solve every problem he had, but he could at least plan the first step that didn't cause too much of commotion in the book's plot. So he prepared for this step. The ink and the brush were precisely for this.
If the people of Grimsbane were gifted with wings, the people of Keogon were gifted with erudition. They were known for their knowledge and intellect, but what was most valued among them, were the Ink Spells. Ink Spells were a rare art of spell writing that if learned well were useful in many ways, but the problem was that it was hard to practice as the doer had to meet certain conditions. Firstly the person must be somewhat fluent in the language used to do the Ink Spells. The language was so ancient and with such a complicated calligraphy, that it was really hard to learn. It was told that it was the native language of the founder of Keogon. The smaller mistake would either turn out to be a waste of time at the best. At the worst it might backfire and the consequences would be too hard to deal with. Secondly, writing Ink Spells required a lot of energy from the doer's body, so the person who practiced it must have good stamina. And thirdly their ancestors must be from the Keogon Clan.
How each clan got gifted was a story so old it had lost meaning over time, sounding more like children tales than anything else. There were different theories, each one wilder than the other, however the real truth behind this is that Mathis Bauer couldn't come up with a final idea due to being a bit lazy and it just happened that the new season of Castlevania was airing at the time so he decided to don't give it too much thought and left it like that… a children's fairy tale… kind of.
Anyways, now Yue Zian had made up his mind on using Ink Spells. His body was quite fit and since he was the one who wrote the book, and frankly speaking, invented the whole thing it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, Yue Zian's mother was from Keogon, so even though his Ink Spells might not be the best out there, they should still be somewhat decent.
"Could you please sit somewhere?" Yue Zian said as he sat in the ground right at the spot he was standing, his feet now crossed in front of him.
Nadia looked around once. There was nothing around she could use as a stool. Noticing this, there was nothing else left to do so she followed Yue Zian's example and sat on the ground at least six feet away from him. Yue Zian chuckled when he noticed this, but didn't say anything about it.
"You can spread your wings now. It must have been very restricting to keep them down this whole time." He said while removing the cap from the bottle of ink in his hand. The guilt he felt could be considered either illogical or the right thing to feel, because Mathis Bauer himself was the one who came up and wrote such rule. All he could do is frown at himself and brush the guilt away.
Nadia took the cloak off her shoulders first, hesitating to let her wings up, but after a second thought she couldn't wait anymore. Keeping the wings low for such a long time felt like keeping both of her arms numbed and stuck against her sides for a long time. Now that she could move her wings, the poor limbs were so cramped it took a her a few minutes before being able to flutter them in the air like a bird testing its wings.
Yue Zian had tried to look casual about it, but he couldn't help himself and stare with the corners of his eyes. The sight in front of him was something worth to be hold. Three sets of delicate wings that looked like glass, slowly spread open from Nadia's back. The wings, the delight on her face, the green forest behind her back, everything made Nadia look like a flower blooming, bursting its petals open. Yue Zian's eyes widened in excitement and amusement, but schooled his expression immediately and bit his lower lip to keep himself from commenting.
"Thanks you." Nadia muttered shyly.
Yue Zian only smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. He coughed once before speaking. "The place we're going to is a bit far." He began to explain to Nadia while taking off his bracers. Once the bracers were off, he rolled his sleeves up, but when he remembered what was on his forearms he pulled them down so only his wrist was out. His eyes glanced at Nadia, a wave of anxiety and embarrassment rushing down his body. The women had seen it, but turned her head and acted as if she hadn't.
The brush in his hand dipped its tip in the black ink and came up again. "However, it's not in my intention to do whatever task Lucien asked me to do. I'm not going to commit treason." His teeth bit down on the lower lip again as the tip of the brush touched the bare skin of his wrists, and slid down softly. The ink dried almost instantly on his skin, as line after line, Yue Zian had wrote the whole spell around his wrist. "Given such circumstances, I'm afraid I have to make the most of the time I have to go pay a visit to a certain someone."
It truly was a feeling that couldn't be described to be using such spells he himself created and to actually have them work like a charm. The magic he wrote about was all around him now, around his wrist, in front of him spreading his wings, in the air… never did Mathis Bauer thought he would have the chance to see and experience it like this. He never dreamed of it… just secretly wished for it.
The black ink on his wrist turned golden for a moment when the spell was completed. It lasted a heartbeat before it turned black again. A smug grin was plastered on Yue Zian's face, looking like a child having finished eating their vegetables successfully. "It's a Shortening Distance Spell." He explained to Nadia while rolling his sleeves down and putting his bracers on again. Her gray eyes were looking at his hands with amusement, seeing Yue Zian use an Ink Spell for the first time.
He could do that? He knew how to do that?
Ink Spells were called this because the spells must be written somewhere depending on the spell. It wasn't rare for people to tattoo certain spells on their body for their effects to last longer, but not many did that because if tattooed, their body would become like a piece of paper half full with scribbles. There wouldn't be much place to write again on it and the body could even not be able to handle having a second spell on it, resulting in sickness or even death from being drained out of energy.
"I guess this will do for now." Yue Zian stood up and brushed off the dirt from his clothes. Making sure not to take any step from where he was, he pulled Abyss closer and jumped on her. With one hand scratched out to Nadia, he smiled and waited. Nadia certainly took her time to find the courage to take that hand. Yue Zian helped her up the horse and rode away.
Sure enough, the spell around his wrist worked pretty well. "This is amazing." Yue Zian beamed but didn't dare speak the words at loud. He could only be amazed in silence, fighting the struggle to jump up and down in excitement. "This actually worked. I did an Ink Spell… I… wow. WOW!"
Truth be told Yue Zian didn't expect much at first, after all he still found all of this quite odd. To be born in a reality where magic is real only in books and stories and then to be thrown inside the said books… the change of reality made a person feel skeptical. How could this work? Nothing will happen even if I try and write it, right? Such thoughts fed by his insecurity were normal, his brain still not fully accepting his new life. But now Yue Zian was riding Abyss with a slow pace, the scenery changing with every step the black horse took. The magic his brain couldn't accept as real, was actually working. In less then half an hour Yue Zian was standing in front of the shack the First Son was being kept.
The two guards were outside the shack, playing cards nearby the door. When they saw Yue Zian come out of nowhere, the blood froze in their veins. They stood up and fixed their clothes and hair, cussing under their breaths.
Yue Zian made sure to wipe the Ink Spell away first before jumping of his horse. If not erased, the Ink Spell would only take him farther away, being more bothersome than helpful. It took wiping only one letter from the writing on his wrist for the Ink spell to be broken, but Yue Zian refused to take another step without wiping the whole thing off. Once he was done he walked towards the shack.
Nadia had thrown her cloak over her wings again, the face hidden underneath the hood. She followed Yue Zian closely, eyeing up and down the guards in disgust. The two of them walked inside the shack without exchanging any words with the guards. What was behind the door of the shack, made Nadia suck in a breath, her eyes widening in shock.
The place was so small it didn't have too much space for anything else other than an extremely small kitchen and a bed beside the only window of the shack. In the middle of the room was a small table with four chairs around it, but only one person was sitting on one of the chairs, his arms tied up behind his back. The man looked miserable, his dark blonde hair were messy and dirty, probably not been washed for days. His face was smudged with dirt and God knows what else, his clothes even dirtier than his face. The man was the First Son of Keogon himself, Scias.