"How long?"
Adan didn't reply. He was staring at his feet.
Tristian was staring ahead of him, at nothing in particular, his face serious.
I started rubbing at my forehead in frustration, my heartbeat deafening me.
"You can't even tell me that." I shook my head, my eyes burning from holding back the tears.
"I can explain." Adan mumbled.
"Explain what, Adan? That while I'm fighting for my life every month my best friend is screwing my fiancé? Yes. I would love for you to explain. Please, go ahead." I said calmly, feeling immensely heartbroken.
Adan run a hand through his hair while Tristian remained unmoving.
"Tristian.." I begged.
He finally turned to look at me, expression unreadable.
A few tears started strolling down my cheeks.
"Tell me I'm wrong. Please, love." My voice softly breaking.
Tristian just stared at me. No emotion on his face, whatsoever.
"You are destroyed, Canton. You can't be fixed. I certainly can't.. fix you. You're a mess. A mess that's gonna die anyway, whether you end up finally killing yourself or Alastair decides you're not worth the fight anymore. You can't and will never be the king Ink Blood needs. Your heart is too pure for this position and Alastair is aware of that. He just doesn't want to kill you yet, not because he cares about you but because he can't accept that his own son is a failure. His own blood. An error.
An error to this society, to this dimension, to this throne. An experiment gone wrong."
He paused for only a second.
"I'm losing you. I've been losing you since the first day I met you. I don't want us to break up but I don't really see a future. Not unless you become a whole different person. You love people. You are always trying to help, care for them while I turn them into fucking robots. You are mentally damaged, miserable, in damn pieces. I can see you trying but you're not trying enough. The only way for you not to end up in a casket is to become what your poor father has been so desperately trying to turn you into the past ninety years. Stand up to him. Show him why his crown deserves to be on your head instead. And then, I'll be by your side. Always and forever. What I'm not gonna do, is sit here and apologize for fucking Adan because it's not my fault. It's entirely your fault because you never comply to what your father tells you. It's your fault for being tortured since you were a fucking baby, its your fault for now wanting to end it and it will all be your fault when they kill you. But its also up to you to fix it. To change it. So we can finally have our happy ending."
ERROT
I decided to do what I was assigned to do and come back for the books when he will be too busy to pay any attention to me.
Hopefully tomorrow.
I've finally found a meaning in my life.
I can't help but be intrigued by his past, especially since I now know it was excessively brutal.
I feel like I'm getting to know the person I see in front of me everyday. The person I live with. The person who's hurt a lot of people on all of his lives.
It's been six hours since we last talked.
Since that book.
I was ready to give up when a postcard fell from a book I was about to place back to the bookshelf.
I frowned and picked it up.
Canton turned to look at me.
"Did you find anything" he was now back at his old, cold self.
"Yeah...I think? It's a postcard."
Canton grabbed it from my hands.
He examined it back and forth.
It was a picture from a couple somewhere..magical to say the least.
It looked like they were on an island, the sand and the sea water teal coloured.
Teal Blood.
I looked at Canton who is examining the picture as if he just found an answer to a very hard question.
"Those are the Lyttletons?"
He nodded and turned the postcard over to read the words written on the back.
To: HRH King Alastair
From: King Arthur & Queen Cecilia Lyttleton.
Come and join us at Riverland when you're done with your son.
We'll be right here.
-A&C L.
"Is Alastair your dad's name?"
"Last name. He never used his first name so the Alastair line would always be remembered." Canton mumbled, his eyes still scanning the picture, eyebrows slightly furrowed.
I raised my eyebrows at that. "So your full name basically is Canton Alastair?"
Canton paused, blinked at the picture and then turned to glance at me, his face blank.
I cleared my throat nervously, my eyes a bit wide. "Uh...I mean.. your ...uhm ..royal highness king Canton Alastair ...the.. great?"
Canton kept looking at me like that, unmoving and now unblinking too.
I looked away. "I'll shut up now" I mumbled.
He redirected his attention to 'Riverland' apparently.
He seemed skeptical, slightly confused.
"I need to show that to Elian." He muttered.
"Is there a possibility for the Lytteltons to be there right now?"
"I don't know. Let's find out." He said and looked at me. "We're going to Moccasin Blood".
We.
Hooray.
I nodded at him.
He kept looking at me. "Apparently making out with my staff isn't the only thing you're qualified to do."
And with that, he started walking out of the library, postcard in hand.
You're welcome, king Canton.
♛♛♛
"So we basically came here, uninvited, and what? Are we gonna ring the bell or something and say 'surprise' at 9 p.m.? This is not even Elian's palace."
Canton looked at me indifferently and without breaking the eye contact, he rung the bell.
I raised my eyebrows at him.
The door suddenly opened and revealed a shirtless Elian, his golden hair wet.
Elian looked shocked at first but then he grinned widely.
"Surprise." Canton said monotonously.
He pushed Elian aside and walked inside this small house.
I pressed my lips into a thin line and awkwardly waited for Elian to let me in, unlike some people in here.
Elian shook his head amused and took a step to the side. "Come on in, handsome."
I walked inside and went to stand next to Canton who was now playing with a tiny angel statue he found at the table in front of the fireplace.
Five year old.
Elian closed the door and looked at us, the grin never leaving his face.
"King Canton, Errot. Where do I owe the pleasure?"
"I want a favour."
"Of course you do. Let me put a shirt on first."
"No need to." Canton placed the statue back to its place. "Make my life easier would you? Shirts always get in the way of your price." He said casually.
Elian grinned wider at that and then pointed at me with his head.
"Oh, the kid? He'll wait patiently until we're done."
My eyes widened at that.
"In here?" Elian and I said simultaneously.
Canton raised an eyebrow and looked at both of us but his cold stare got fixed on me. "You don't mind having an audience, do you, Elian?"
I gulped, my eyes still slightly widened.
"I mean.." Elian trailed.
"Good, it's settled then. And Merlot here can watch and imagine it's Adan and him. Maybe have a bit of fun with himself, too." He said and looked at me, his eyes unreadable.
I frowned at him, his obsession with us getting a bit out of hand now.
Elian looked confused. "Wait, what? Adan and Er-"
"Now, what do you want to do first?" Canton finally tore his gaze away from me.
"Canton I-" Elian looks a bit startled but still amused.
"Yeah, you're right. The favour will take way more time anyway" Canton walked to him and pressed his lips against Elian's.
I blinked at what I was seeing, feeling unable to look away.
I was standing frozen dead on my spot, not knowing what to do with myself.
Elian immediately started kissing back, his hands at the back of Canton's hair, careful not to drop the king's crown, his own already off because of the shower he took before we came in barging into his door.
Canton raised Elian up with ease and placed him down at the table, kicking all the items off in the process.
I covered my mouth with my hand and took a few steps back, not being able to believe two kings are having sex right before my own eyes.
Elian went to take Canton's shirt off but Canton grabbed at his hand and pulled a bit away.
"Forgot, sorry." Elian mumbled breathlessly and reconnected their lips.
Is he really having sex with his shirt on?
I might not know a lot things about it but one thing I know for sure is that every person included is naked.
Elian moved his hands to Canton's pants at the same time Canton started unbottoning Elian's, neither of them breaking the kiss.
I looked away abruptly, feeling a bit heated up.
They are really doing it with me present.
No shame.
Literally no shame.
The moment I turned to look back at them, Canton thrusted inside Elian, a moan escaping both of their mouths with the difference that Elian was looking at Canton while Canton was staring directly at me.
♛♛♛
"I'm sure I've heard about this place before." Elian said while biting his bottom lip in thought.
We were currently at the main Moccasin Blood Library and Elian was trying to remember anything about this mysterious island from the postcard.
Canton was pacing back and forth in the library, his body and movements tensed, making him look somewhat anxious.
His face on the other hand was as emotionless as ever. I've noticed that his body always betrays his feelings when his expressions won't.
Elian kept muttering the word 'Riverland' while searching through his numerous books.
"Stressed?" I asked.
Canton snapped his head at me, a bit of shock quickly getting replaced by his usual nothingness again.
"Excuse me?"
"You look stressed. What happens if you find them? Will you kill them?"
"That's for me to know, Merlot." He said coolly.
"What's so important about them anyway? Why do you want to find them so bad? They've been missing for a thousand years now."
I said trying not to reveal any information I wouldn't have known if I hadn't eavesdropped on him.
Canton looked away from me and proceeded on pacing around the room. "I need to get rid of a few curses." Brief pause "and take revenge" he mumbled and I frowned.
Curses?
I'm dumbfounded.
"Curses as in plural?"
Canton clicked his tongue. "We usually put an 's' at the end of a word when we want to talk in plural, you uneducated creature." Cold again.
I rolled my eyes at him.
I remember him talking about being cursed the day I got tortured by Santos.
He said he got cursed by a 'very powerful creature.'
A very powerful creature.
Not two.
"But-"
"Found it." Elian said.
Canton froze for a second and then walked rather hurriedly to Elian and the book he was holding.
I also approached them.
"Look at this. Riverland. The real name of the island is Blaindows Isle. It is an undercover island used by the Originals to just take a break and relax, away from the public eye. It is located at Teal Blood but we don't have any other information about the location." Elian looked at Canton. "It says only the original families know about this place but I don't think our parents ever told us about it."
Canton looked troubled, his eyebrows slightly furrowed while staring at the book.
"On the other hand, I believe the Lyttelton kids know about it. And if their parents are in there indeed, hiding all those years, I'm sure they won't utter a word. Especially to you."
Canton tore his eyes away from the book, his jaw clenched. "There must be another way. I'm sure my father has told me about it. The name sounds extremely familiar."
Elian closed the book. "I'll keep searching. If you remember anything just give me a call. " he paused. "Or, you know, come by again." He grinned at Canton.
Canton nodded absentmindedly.
I watched as he was slowly getting lost in his thoughts and thought of how his head is probably a very dark place to be.
♛