Scias was the older brother of Lucien, but even with the years in between them and the completely different personalities, the two brothers looked exactly the same. They were both tall and handsome, with dark blonde hair and baby blue eyes. The only difference is that because they had different personalities you could tell them apart easily. While Lucien always had a cold and dark aura surrounding him, his face controlled and drained of emotions almost all the time, Scias was the total opposite. He was always smiling softly at everyone and everything about him screamed unicorns, flowers and rainbows.
However that didn't seem to be the case at the moment. The Scias sitting on the shack looked so miserable and drained of energy he didn't resemble the First Son everyone knew at all. He was either unconscious or sleeping in such a bad position, Yue Zian wondered how his neck will be cramped after this.
Yue Zian bit the inside of his cheek and unconsciously rubbed his chin. What was he supposed to do with him? He couldn't kill him, but leaving him alive would stir up problems with Lucien. What could he even tell him?
Nadia stared at the First Son with wide eyes, biting on her lower lip. If before she had somewhat gotten used to Yue Zian, now her heart skipped a beat and dropped. Her face appeared calm but inside she was almost certain that Yue Zian brought her here to kill her and the First Son at the same time, but Yue Zian didn't say anything. Didn't do anything. He just stared at the man tied up against the chair while rubbing his chin, looking deep in thoughts.
One of the two guards walked inside the shack. The wooden floor whined under his weights, making everyone turn their gazes at him. The instant Yue Zian heard the floor whining and met eyes with the guard, his face lightened as if he had finally came to a conclusion from all the thinking he had done and the corners of his lips lifted. "Get lost." He told the guard with that soft smile on his face that reached his eyes, but the words were in such a deep contrast with the expression on his face, it took the guard off guard. The poor man froze with his foot in mid air not daring to step back or forth, his hand frozen on the door.
"Huh?"
It was because of the confusion that the guard got over the fear of the Menace of Keogon and dared to even mutter a "huh" in his presence. But the second the sound left his mouth, all blood drained from his face and now he looked white as a ghost.
Yue Zian didn't care less. His hair whirled a strand of hair that had fallen over his shoulder from his pony tail around his finger and turned his eyes to Scias, wondering if the First Son was sleeping or had just passed out, his body bended to look at his face behind the hair that had fallen over his face. Nevertheless he responded to the him with a calm voice not paying too much attention to the guard scared to death. "Get your friend and return to Keogon. Your job is done here."
The guard blinked twice, still not daring to move a muscle.
Yue Zian "What are you waiting for?"
Upon hearing this, the guard finally turned around to leave, but Yue Zian called after him. When the guard turned to look at him, Yue Zian's face had turned dark, looking as if he was about to go again in a killing rampage. "Don't tell anyone that a woman was accompanying me, or I will make sure to pay a visit to you and your friend."
The guard shook like a leaf, frantically nodding his head with only a few "yea-, yea-, yea-'s" barely leaving his lips, before running out of the shack, closing the door behind him. On the other hand, Yue Zian chuckled in amusement as the door closed with a loud slam.
Nadia stared at Yue Zian. He meet her eyes and shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. His face was so funny. Besides I had to make sure Lucien doesn't find out you ran away." He explained himself. Nadia didn't say anything. Seeing this, the smile dropped from Yue Zian's face and he awkwardly coughed. "Anyway… Hmmm…" He walked around the table and tapped Scias lightly on the shoulder. The man didn't react at all. The only proof of him being alive was the rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathed, otherwise Yue Zian would have thought that he was already dead.
Yue Zian felt his heart sink. For some reason he knew that with every bad thing that has happened, is happening and will happen, he will feel guilty for all of them. The man in front of him was in such a miserable state because of a few words he had written. Yet at the same time, his logical part told him that feeling like this was stupid and pointless. It was just a book. Just words on paper, pain thrown upon people that didn't exist. How could he know that somehow he would find himself inside his own book?
He asked Nadia. "Could you please get me some water and some clean cloth? We have to clean his face at least. The poor guy looks horrible."
Nadia nodded and walked to the kitchen, opening and closing drawers. Meanwhile, Yue Zian unsheathed his sword, feeling its weight on his hand. He wanted to observe it carefully for his own amusement, but this wasn't the time for such personal pleasures. The blade of the sword cut the ropes around Scias' wrists and ankles before it returned in the scabbard.
Now that the ropes weren't holding Scias' body against the chair, the head seemed to weight him down and he almost fell on the ground. Yue Zian reacted fast and held him by the shoulders. The young man didn't seem like he was going to wake up anytime soon, but Yue Zian couldn't just let him in that painfully looking position. His neck hurt only by looking at him. Carefully, trying to be as gentle as possible in fear that the guards might have beaten him near to death and his body might be hurt, Yue Zian laid Scias on the bed brushed the hair off his face and sat on the floor beside the bed.
Nadia had found some old black pot and had filled it with water. On her forearm hung a piece of white cloth, probably some old towel she had found around. She handed the things to Yue Zian without muttering so much of a word and stepped back. Her eyes watched him carefully, studying every move he made.
Yue Zian dampened the piece of cloth in the water and wiped Scias' face with it. After a few times of wetting the cloth and wiping, Scias looked somewhat more decent yet he didn't wake up. Yue Zian had no idea what to do. It's not like he was a doctor or anything, he was just a writer and now a psycho murderer. Helplessly, he looked at Nadia and scratched the back of his neck. "Do you have any idea how to wake him up?"
"He seems to have passed out, so maybe we should give him some time?" Nadia suggested not so sure herself, after all, medical help wasn't something she had bothered to learn.
Yue Zian thought about it for a second then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. Are you hungry? I took…"
Before he could finish the sentence, the man lying on the bed shot straight up the second he heard the sentence "are you hungry". The sudden movement took Yue Zian by surprise. A high pitch yelp came from him as he jumped away from the bed, falling on the floor. The yelp confused the just awaken Scias whose eyes weren't even fully open yet. He looked around the shack, his eyes unfocused. "Where's the food?"
Yue Zian was unable to react upon seeing such events take place in front of him, his cheeks turned a rosy color from the embarrassment of screaming in such way. Nadia looked as surprised as him, but no weird sounds came from her.
Scias had woken up, but the eyes refused to open fully. In that hazy state of his, maybe it's better if we feed something to him, thought Yue Zian. He turned to Nadia and caught her eyes. "Grab something to eat from the saddlebag." He mouthed the words her.
Nadia looked at him in confusion. Her head titled a bit on the right trying to figure out what the crazy Yue Zian was trying to tell her. Yue Zian didn't know if he should laugh or cry, and mouthed the words to her again. Failing again, he got frustrated and started to make hand gestures. Only then did Nadia nod and ran out of the shack. In a moment she came back with two cheese filled buns and the leather flask filled with water in her hands. She handed them to Yue Zian.
Scias must have been starving all this time, because the moment the buns were on Yue Zian's hands he sniffed the air, his eyes cracking open just a tiny bit more. Yue Zian felt sorry for him thinking that the guards were heartless enough to let him starve to the point he passed out from starvation. He placed one of the buns on Scias' hands and lifted them near his mouth. Scias bit into the bun, moaning a bit in the process, making it look like that bun was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life. With every bite he took, Scias' eyes would open more, but he still looked confused. When all the bun was stuffed in his mouth, Yue Zian handed the flask to Scias.
It was only after he drank half of the water in it, that Scias finally seemed to have came to his senses. "Are you here to kill me?" He asked Yue Zian with a calm voice.
Mathis Bauer hadn't written much about Scias in general, other than the times where he was described as very cheerful and when he was lied down on the floor with Yue Zian's sword piercing his chest. Seeing him being so calm and collected while asking such question, Yue Zian was taken back. A soft smile appeared on his face as he rested his cheek on his hand. "Yes and no." He said and handed the other bun to Scias.
The First Son took the bun silently and ate it without saying anything. Yue Zian just studied his calm face and couldn't help and be amazed by this man. How could a person be so collected in such a situation, was beyond him. And it was the first time since he woke up in this morning, that Yue Zian was treated like a human, talked to with such tone, looked at like he was a normal human being and not a monster or a killing machine. The smile on his face looked almost fatherly at this point. "I have decided that I like this man a lot." He thought the smile widening.
When he saw that Scias finished the second bun, Yue Zian stood up and brushed the dust of his clothes.
"I would like to apologize for the poor conditions The First Son was kept in." Yue Zian said. He turned the chair where Scias was tied up so it faced the bed and sat on it, crossing his legs, the right one resting above the left knee.
Scias stared at Yue Zian, not knowing what to make out of his words and behavior. "You seem different today." He told Yue Zian who just chuckled in response. Right then he noticed that the two of them weren't the only ones inside the shack. Two blue eyes focused on Nadia and Scias' eyebrows raised. "Isn't that your maid?"
"I would like to call her my friend but it's still a work in progress." Yue Zian said, glancing at Nadia once before focusing on Scias again. "Your brother sent me here to kill you."
Scias only "oh"-ed. His forehead furrowed, but other than that his expression didn't change much. He looked like he had came in terms with his fate a long time ago and now that the time came he was more than prepared to welcome it with a peaceful heart. Yue Zian found himself admiring him. He truly couldn't believe his eyes. Watching Scias of Keogon being his own person, outside the words he wrote was truly an amazing thing to witness.
"But I'm afraid I won't be doing that." Yue Zian casually said while twirling a strand of his hair around his finger again. "This will become a habit." He thought to himself while still playing with that strand of hair.. "I know that it is rather shocking for me to disobey the Second Son, but maybe I have had enough of his shit."
Scias blinked in bewilderment, not believing his ears. "And what will you do?" He asked.
Yue Zian shrugged, brushing the strand of hair behind his back. He stood up from the chair and stretched once, before looking down on Scias with a carefree smile. "I don't have a plan yet, but I think I will pay Azariah a visit and ask him."
Upon hearing that name, both, Scias and Nadia widened their eyes.
"But that's… that's just a legend, my lord." Nadia spoke.
"Of course he's not. He's very real and very annoying, must I tell you." Yue Zian chuckled despite himself. It's not like he had personally met Azariah, not even as a character, let alone as the writer. However he knew the man was very much real in the book so he might as well make the best of the knowledge he has as the writer.
However, being the writer didn't give him the upper hand. Even when knowing what will happen, there wasn't much he could do if that said future changed. Changing the plot at random might throw everything in chaos and that was a big no-no. Despite accepting his fate and die in a few days, Yue Zian couldn't do more than that. But he wasn't Scias. He had died once already, drifting away from life at just 30. Dying again felt like doing himself a great injustice. He was given a second chance, and in a world of magic and wonder at that. There's no way Yue Zian would waste this chance. Yet acting without thinking as he wished would most likely get him killed, despite knowing pretty much everything there is to know about this world. So what could he do?
Changing the plot meant that he would be nothing more than a character with no idea of what future he had ahead. He would lose the only advantage he had.
Yue Zian had long ago decided to change only a few certain things, but he had to make sure they were the right ones. The problem was that he had no guarantees that those changes would be the right ones. So how could he be sure?
The answer was Azariah.