{tw://violence, guns, child abuse}
[Christmas special]
♛♛♛
"There you are, son."
The six year old prince walked inside this cold room under the castle and closed the door behind him.
That room wasn't foreign to him. He remembered all the countless hours he was forced to spend in here.
That didn't stop his heart from beating faster.
He stared at a man that was tied down to a chair, his human eyes wide in terror, his mouth covered by a black tape.
An image the little prince should be used to seeing by now.
Prince Canton knew he had to act strong. Not to let his fear dominate him. Not again. He knew what the consequences of his weakness would be.
He swallowed back the burning tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks and looked down, no longer being able to watch a person suffer in front of his very own eyes.
King Alastair grabbed at Canton's hair abruptly and yanked his head back with force, almost causing him a concussion.
Canton let out a small cry at that, his hand unconsciously reaching to his head.
"The prince of Ink Blood and the heir of the throne never lowers his head, Canton. Especially not because of a pathetic mortal." He paused and glared at the Merlot. "Look at him, he's just a piece of garbage. Useless. Those people don't deserve to live."
"They do, dad. They still have a soul. Feelings." The prince mumbled, his low voice barely audible.
King Alastair freed his grip and then threw a hard punch at his son's face.
The prince stumbled back and fell down with a small whimper, his nose now bleeding.
The king then proceeded to throw a kick against Canton's stomach.
Canton struggled to breathe for a few seconds after that. The moment he was able to take a few breaths again, he started coughing a bit of blood.
"Get up." The king ordered, his tone icy cold.
Prince Canton managed to get back on his trembling feet, a hand against his stomach in pain.
His eyes were watery and he had a small pout on his face, not daring to glance at his father.
"Canton!"
Canton flinched.
"Wipe that expression off your face, damn it! Be a fucking king"
Canton closed his eyes for a brief moment and when he opened them he tried to put on a brave face for his dad.
"Feelings are not for our kind. Not for royalties. That's exactly what's wrong with humans. They feel. We don't. Am I clear?"
The little prince nodded instantly.
"Good." He said firmly. "Now, since it's your birthday today, I decided to give you a little gift."
Canton's face lit up a bit at that. "A gift? For me?" He said, a glint of hope on his eyes.
The king smirked. "Exactly. Here." He handed Canton a brand new gun.
Canton's smile immediately fell. He took the gun and a small weight was added to his heart along with his hands.
"You're gonna kill your first Merlot, tonight."
The man in the chair tried to scream but his voice came out muffled against the tape on his mouth.
Canton's lips parted and he snapped his head at the human. His eyes widened and he started shaking his head. "No, I'm not gonna kill him. He's inno- I won't kill him!"
"Alright. I'll give you a choice. You have five seconds to pull that trigger and kill the guy."
Canton gulped, some tears already streaming down his red cheeks.
"If you don't." The king placed his own gun at the back of Canton's head. "I'll kill you instead."
Canton gasped at the feel of the metal against his head, his heart ready to burst out of his chest anytime soon.
The tears now endless.
"Five."
"I don't want to do this" the prince sobbed.
"Four."
"Please, dad s-stop counting"
"Three."
The prince raised his gun and shakily aimed it at the man. His palms were now sweaty.
"Don't. I'm begging you!" He cried.
"Two."
"No!" He shouted in agony.
"One" the king loaded his gun.
His sobbing intensified. He looked at the terrified guy in front of him.
"I'm so sorry". He whispered through his never ending tears.
He looked away and pressed the trigger.
Blood now covered the entirety of his face.
His mouth was gaping open, his eyes as wide as ever. He suddenly found it very hard to breathe.
He felt the gun slipping away from his little fingers and his knees giving up on him.
He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to muffle away his desperate screaming.
The young prince made a handful of mistakes that day.
Mistakes that he would be paying for the rest of his life.
ERROT
I couldn't stop staring at that picture.
At Canton's helpless expression.
He actually looked devastated.
The rest of the paragraph said that the prince had just killed for the first time.
Images of Canton murdering those two Merlots in front of me still haunt me. He looked like he was deprived of any emotion. Like this crime was part of his everyday routine.
Cold.
Ruthless.
And then.. the picture.
I find it very hard to believe that the broken boy from the book, is actually king Canton.
The only thing identical to his self now is his black hair and pointed ears.
Nothing else.
Nothing.
I shuddered.
I glanced at Canton to make sure that he was still asleep and made myself comfortable on one of the chairs.
I kept reading the book, now too obsessed to let it go.
My eyes fell on another picture. This time it showed a group of twelve people, all dressed up in suits and formal dresses.
I looked closer and realised that I recognised almost all of them.
A grinning Adan had his arm around Flare and he was kissing her on the cheek.
Flare was laughing.
I need to remind myself to ask him about that later.
King Elian was also grinning but it appears that he only had eyes for Canton.
Canton, who sported his usual deadly expression, his posture stiff and frozen just like a statue.
Elvina was standing next to Canton, one arm wrapped around him and the other around Nerissa.
Nerissa was smiling widely.
Cress, I believe, had an annoyed look on her face while Quinn was wearing a mischievous grin.
At the ground, literally laying on Canton's feet, was a smirking Tristian, with two little identical kids on his arms.
The kids seemed to be laughing hysterically, their heads thrown back in amusement.
My eyes were glued on Tristian.
I'm still not used at looking at a copy of myself.
I don't think I ever will.
I shivered at the sight and looked at a person I don't know, standing next to the Teals.
He is blonde and tall enough and his Teal nature is betrayed by his ears. He is holding a glass of wine on his right hand.
I read the sentence under the picture.
"Left to right; Adan, Flare, Prince Elian, Prince Canton, Elvina, Nerissa, Princess Cressida, Prince Quinten, Noel.
Prince Andres, Princess Gabrielle & Tristian at the Annual Royal Revel in Ink Blood. "
I assume the blonde dude is Noel and the little kids are Prince Andres and Princess Gabrielle.
Judging from their black clothes they are definitely Inks.
So that makes them.. Canton's siblings.
My eyes widened.
"Shit." I mumbled under my breath and immediately checked to see if I woke him up.
I didn't.
I redirected my attention at his little brother and sister.
They were twins.
Definitely twins.
Twins that are apparently dead.
I flipped at the pages and I gasped out loud at one random page I stumbled upon, immediately closing the book shut along with my eyes.
I was about to open it again as slowly as I could when I heard noise next to me.
I stood up abruptly and looked at the king who was now mumbling nonsense.
His head looked like it was glued against the desk and he was dripping in sweat.
His nails were digging so deep against his palms that he was now slightly bleeding.
Still bewildered by the haunting picture, I gasped again when his head suddenly shot up, his eyes as wide as it gets, more awake than ever.
He placed a palm against his probably racing heart and tried to control his breathing until his eyes locked with mine.
"Tri-Err-" he shook his head a bit, still in shock. "Merlot."
He looked around him and then turned to look at me again, his face now more stable.
I watched as he turned from a human to a robot again, his cold features making a comeback.
"What? What are you looking at?" He demanded.
"Nightmare?" I asked and tried to keep my voice calm.
"No. Yes. N- it's none of your business."
I figured he was still a bit shaken up.
His gaze then fell at the book in my hand.
"Found anything yet? What time is it?"
I also glanced at the book and then put it back in its place, with slightly trembling hands.
"No...Nothing...." I trailed.
" Uhm.. it currently is.." I checked the watch on my wrist. " three thirty in the morning." I mumbled not being able to look at him in the eye anymore.
"Your hands are shaking." He pointed out.
"No, they're not." I placed them behind my back.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "The fact that you moved them behind your back just proves that they were."
I let them fall on my sides again. "I'm just very tired, your highness." I mumbled again and then gulped inaudibly.
Silence.
I felt his eyes on me the whole time.
"Why are you lying to me?"
It was then that a single tear decided to fall.
It had to fall when he was examining my whole face.
Why did it even fall in the first place.
I shouldn't feel bad for him.
For this cruel monster.
Why am I feeling bad for him, damn it.
He's probably done way worse things to others than what I just saw.
He's killed people.
A monster.
That's what he is.
I need to get myself together.
To stop letting my empathy control me.
Stop.
Stop.
I clenched my fists.
Canton kept being silent, his eyes still on me.
"You're crying." He stated blatantly. No emotion on his voice, whatsoever.
"I'm not."
I am crying.
I quickly wiped the unwanted tears off with the back of my sleeve and forced myself not to shed any more.
It worked.
"Look at me." He ordered.
I slowly raised my head to look at him and I focused my gaze on his green eyes so I wouldn't have to actually look at him.
At his face.
So I wouldn't be reminded.
"What's going on." Cold.
I didn't answer right away.
"The pressure. It was probably building up on me and now I guess I..exploded."
Canton kept staring at both of my eyes, his own expression indifferent.
He then glanced at the bookshelf and the book I was holding and back at me.
He got up from the chair and walked in front of me, only stopping two steps away from me.
"One thing I hate, is liars." He said and started walking out of the room. "Let's go back tonight and we'll return tomorrow." Stern.
I stared at his back for a few seconds before I decided to move.
I don't wanna leave that library anymore.
♛