[Bring Me To Life- by Evanescence(low volume)]
"full name."
"Canton Severin Alastair"
"Age?"
"Ninety eight."
"Occupation."
"Prince of Ink Blood and the heir of the throne."
Tristian and king Alastair shared a knowing look while the rest of the team were writing down the answers and the reactions.
"Who is this?" Tristian asked Canton and pointed at king Alastair.
Canton briefly glanced at his father. "The king of Ink Blood" His face was blank.
"What do you do when a human appears in front of you?"
"I kill it." Canton replied coolly.
Both Tristian and the king grinned in satisfaction.
"But what if they're innocent?" Tristian pushed.
"No human is innocent."
"Do you think they all deserve to die?"
"Yes, sir"
"What about the Inks that defy you?"
"Killed."
"Why?"
"Nobody defies the prince."
"Won't you feel guilty?"
Canton was silent for a few seconds. He looked like he was processing Tristian's words. "I do not recognize this word."
"Who are these people?" Tristian asked and showed him a picture of his mother and siblings.
Canton stared at the picture unmoving and expressionless. "Family" he paused for only a second making everyone hold their breaths. "Of slaves."
Tristian exhaled inaudibly while king Alastair chuckled lowly.
"Finally, who am I?"
Canton fixed his gaze on Tristian, his eyes emptier than ever.
Tristian was staring back at him, his expression intense, eager.
"A scientist."
Tristian kept looking at the prince, his eyes never leaving Canton's.
"Good job, Valder. Leave me alone with my son, now."
Tristian nodded and bowed his head at the king. "Your highness."
He glanced at a numb Canton one last time before he and his team walked out of the laboratory.
King Alastair was staring at Canton with a wicked smirk on his face.
"Now." He said and grabbed at Canton's chin. "I can proudly claim you as my son."
Canton kept looking at his father with a stone cold expression. "Yes, sir."
"You're everything I ever wanted you to be."
"Yes, sir."
"You made my life really hard, Canton. I was actually about to kill you." He started caressing his cheek. "Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
"No, sir." Canton said.
"Tell me, son. What does 'love' mean?"
"I do not recognize this word."
Alastair's smirk widened. In fact, it widened so much his cheeks hurt.
"The biggest and hardest part of the procedure is over. We'll run some tests on you the days that follow, make sure you work perfectly fine. After that, Tristian and the rest of the team will deal with your body parts. Arms, legs, all metal. "
"Yes, sir."
Alastair continued. "This will make you way stronger. You'll have weapons in your hands. All kinds of weapons. Name it and it will be on you. Your legs.. you'll be able to run so fast. No bullet will have the power to pierce into your skin, anymore." He patted Canton's head.
"Do you even realise how big the power of science is? How big your power is."
"No, sir." Canton kept being blank and unmoving.
"Hn." Alastair kept admiring Canton in silence.
A few minutes passed by like that.
"You finally shut up and obeyed." He scoffed. "Who would have thought." His amusement could be heard clearly.
Canton was looking at him unblinking.
"I won't be here tomorrow but I'll return for the tests."
"Yes, sir."
"I'll go visit some friends at the Blaindows Isle. It's an island created specifically for the original families. Nobody should know about this except from me, you and the rest of the originals. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
Alastair grinned and continued. "We'll go together one day. Once you are completely fixed. " He tapped at his shoulder. "You and me, we'll make one hell of a team. Remember my words."
Canton remained silent.
Alastair pulled Canton into a tight hug. "I'm so fucking proud of you."
Canton didn't even move a finger. He looked like a frozen statue.
"What's that."
Alastair pulled away. "Don't let anyone else do that to you. Okay? Consider it an attack from now on and act accordingly."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I'll be back soon." Alastair said and walked towards the wall at the back and stood before it. He pressed his palm at a 'hand recognition machine' and a portal opened.
A voice could suddenly be heard.
"Confirmed access. Riverland, Teal Blood."
And then, king Alastair was gone.
He left Canton all alone inside the lab.
Canton kept staring at nothing in particular, his eyes still unblinking, his face still blank.
He kept doing that for ten whole minutes.
He wasn't moving, his body frozen.
Until Tristian walked in again.
He looked at Canton, wrote something down his paper and never questioned Alastair's absence.
He approached Canton, his expression unreadable.
He looked right into his glassy eyes.
"Canton."
"Sir." Canton replied dryly.
"How do you feel?"
"I don't, sir."
"I know you're in there, damn it." Tristian examined Canton closely. "It must have worked. Tell me it worked." He mumbled.
"I do not understand." his tone almost mechanical.
"If it worked, it means that your inner self can hear me. It means that I didn't destroy your brain completely. You're just trapped there. No? "
"I do not understand." Canton repeated.
"Give me a sign, come on. If you can actually hear me, blink."
Canton blinked.
"I do not recognize this word."
Tristian smirked. "I know you don't. But Canton does."
"I do not understand."
"I will bring you back to life. There is a possibility you might never be the same again but you will be better. Perfect, even. Conscious but murderous. Conscious but not an error anymore. You'll be everything I'll ever need." His smirk widened. "So, I promise you that I will bring you back to life. Back to me." Brief pause. "I will wake you up, baby. Trust me." Tristian cupped Canton's hand with his own.
"I do not understand."
Tristian gave him a fainted side smile. "You will."
ERROT
It's currently 12 a.m. and we just walked inside our room.
Canton grabbed one of his bottles and hopped on his usual couch.
I looked at him.
He opened the bourbon, took a few sips and then glanced at me.
"I don't need you, go to sleep."
"And you will stay here, drinking your life away until the sun comes up?"
"You got it, love." He kept drinking as if to prove my words. "You care?"
"Won't you sleep?"
"No." Canton replied simply.
"Are the nightmares so bad you-"
"They're not nightmares." Canton interrupted coldly.
I feel taken aback.
"Oh." I blinked at him. "What is it then?"
Canton sighed.
He took a very big sip of his bourbon and looked at me.
"It's one of the curses." Canton started.
I realised he needs his time to form his thoughts into words so I didn't interrupt him.
"Whenever I fall into a state of sleep or unconsciousness, my father is able to invade me and make me..." he paused, his head lowered. He took a deep breath. "Make me feel things. Like they're happening in reality. Like...he's there. In flesh again."
I gulped and looked down, my mind getting filled with those horrible pictures and the unknown nature of the rest of the ninety three tortures.
I don't even wanna know how many more he had to endure until his father passed away.
His father died but he's still alive, tormenting him every single time he falls asleep.
He's been getting tortured for one thousand ninety nine years non-stop.
He can't even find peace in the most peaceful part of the day.
My heart is suddenly heavy.
"Can't those curses break, somehow?"
Canton snickered. "That's what I'm trying to do, dumbass. Why do you think I've been dying to find the Lyttletons? Definitely not to have a heartfelt reunion." He mumbled the last sentence.
I frowned. "Why the Lyttletons? I mean, wasn't your father that cursed you? Didn't he die?"
"When an Ink dies, the curses go with them. But my dad...he had a few enemies. And by few, I mean almost the entirety of Ink Blood. So, in order to keep himself safe and his immortality going, he casted a spell. Dark magic. He connected himself with the Lytteltons, in a way that if something happened to him, their strength would merge and it would make it very hard to kill him. If one of them died, parts of the soul and power of that person would transfer to the others. That means that not only his curses basically managed to live on through the Lytteltons but it turned them into semi freaks. Basically, they are now two immensely powerful, half brain dead pieces of shit that hold my own sanity and freedom into their filthy sinful hands." Canton ended his speech with a tight grip around the bottle, his face dark and cold.
I keep telling myself that I shouldn't feel bad.
That he has killed and tortured more people that I could ever count.
That he tortured me too.
That I became his slave.
His slave for life.
So, I shouldn't feel bad.
He could always choose not to be an asshole but he still is.
Nobody is forcing him to be a wicked criminal.
Canton had drunk half the bottle by the time I zoned back to reality, my jaw clenched.
"Why?" I asked him.
"Why do I suddenly talk so much? It's probably the alcohol. Makes me a talking extroverted machine and such. Now that's a nightmare"
I shook my head. "No, why do you insist on being so cruel when you've been through so much in your life yourself." I frowned, feeling slightly upset.
Canton looked at me. He was being indifferent, his expression giving nothing away.
"You think I'm such a heartless monster, don't you?"
"Answering a question with a misleading question so you don't have to tell the truth? Lesson number one on 'how to be a convincing Ink'. Won't work on me."
Canton kept staring at me until he smirked.
He, then, immediately looked away and covered his amused expression with a sip.
"My god, Merlot you're gonna drive me crazy. Such a piece of work." He mumbled.
"Thought you were already crazy?" I dared to ask.
He smirked again. "Do you feel entitled to say whatever you want to me now that you know..stuff?"
I shrugged. "I guess I always felt a bit comfortable like that."
Canton raised an eyebrow at me. "You did?"
I did. Until he looked at me.
Now, I certainly don't.
I looked away.
"I did." I mumbled.
Silence.
"I'll keep being horrible." He paused. "To you, to everyone."
"You don't have to be."
Canton scoffed and kept drinking.
"You don't understand." He muttered almost inaudibly.
"Help me understand, then."
Canton suddenly got up from the couch and got dangerously close to me.
His eyes glued on mine.
"You are just my slave, Merlot. Stop acting like you're something more than that. Do what I ordered you to do and go to sleep before I decide you'll be more useful awake."
I didn't look away from him. "Fine."
I held his gaze for a few more seconds before I turned around and walked to my room, shutting the door behind me.
ELVINA
"And you stayed with her for years?"
"It was just twenty years but still. Wasted down the drain." I said while taking another bite from one of the numerous chocolate breads I got.
"Just twenty years? Just?"
"Yup." I said while covering my mouth with my hand. I swallowed. "I know it sounds a lot to mortals".
"You think?" Oda chuckled, still quite shocked.
"I literally thought I was gonna spend eternity with that girl. Had plans for us. But no, screwing up Elvina's dreams cheeeck." I took another bite.
"What really happened?" Oda asked, her curiousity extremely obvious.
"That little two faced cheating wh-woman...was fucking Cress."
Oda's eyes widened.
I nodded. "Exactly. And she also went against Canton, working for the Lyttletons. Bet she still is."
Suddenly a frustrated looking Canton burst inside the room.
Speak of the devil and he might show up at your door.
Seriously.
I raised my eyebrows at him.
He glanced at Oda, hurriedly. "Out, Orla."
Oda frowned and got up from our bed. "It's Oda, your highness." She mumbled but Canton didn't seem to hear her. He was too busy freaking out.
She was out of the room in seconds.
"What did Errot do?" I grinned at him.
"Can you believe the nerve? Can you believe it, El. The audacity."
Canton started pacing around the room.
"Bread?" I asked and extented a slice at him.
Canton came at an abrupt stop and eyed the food I was offering him.
He grabbed it out of my hand and took a bite. He continued pacing around. "The last few days he acts all weird. He's all about having conversations and-- is that chocolate?"
"Mmhm." My grin got wider at that.
Canton took another bite and kept talking. "And like asking me things without really hating on me. Or being bitter. Or angry. Or anything. And I keep answering him cause I can't help it, alright? I can't and I don't know what's going on, he shouldn't have been like that. Did I mention he's seeing Adan? Adan. Fucking Adan. Last thing I know, he will finish what Tristian couldn't do and turn the rest of me into a robot." His eyes then widened. "Do you think that was the reason he showed up? Elian said he was monitoring his life from the start, maybe he is some kind of evil scientific experiment Tristian made to--"
"Cant." I tried, way too amused by the situation.
"To come and make me fall in love again so he can have me however he wants me. I mean, he is capable of that, no? But I can't- he seems way too good to be the experiment of a mad scientist. He cares about people, he cares- did you see his face when I killed those Merlots? I was one hundred percent sure I wouldn't stand a chance after--"
"Canton Severin Alastair." I raised my voice at him.
He snapped his eyes at me. "What??"
"Take a deep breath. Come on."
Canton took a deep breath. And then took another bite. "I'm not sure why you want me to take a deep breath, I'm perfectly calm and- damn, this is way too good. Where did you find it? Did Oprah make it?"
I finally gave in and laughed out loud. "Who is Oprah??"
Canton frowned and pointed at the door with his bread. "That blonde. Or is it Octavia? Olga."
"Oda. It's Oda. It's not even a difficult name. Yours is way more complex." I smirked at him.
"Do I look like I care right now? Errot is losing it, he's losing it and I don't know what to do."
"Maybe you're just growing on him. Did he by any chance learn anything about your past? It tends to make people pity you. And then you unconsciously go back to your soft self because you know they have now blown your cover up and there's not really a reason to play tough anymore and boom."
"I'm not sof-"
"Want examples?"
Canton went to talk but closed his mouth. He opened it again. "This is not what's happening with Errot. He's an experiment. He will make me fall in love and then betray me. Break my heart. Marry Adan or something. Turn me into a complete piece of metal. And then he'll... leave. He will leave me."
My face turned serious at that. "Ca-"
"I'm already-- I'm- I won't take it. I can't do this twice, okay?" He said and accidentally lost grip of the bread and got his palm covered with chocolate when he tried to save it from falling down. He looked at his hand and decided to drop it anyway. "Fuck your bread." He mumbled. "See now how everything good in life abandons you?" He pointed at the bread on the floor. "It tried to leave and when I saved it, it got me all dirty. It did that so I would be forced to let it go. I treated it very good but he chose the floor instead."
"Are you drunk again?" I casually asked him.
Canton blinked at me."Focus on the bread story, El."
"Maybe it chose the floor because it knows that you deserve something better than what it could offer you. You definitely don't deserve a piece of bread that did you dirty when you gave all your love to it."
Canton remained silent.
"You also don't deserve a bread that turns you into a fucking robot. I know you love it but you-"
"Hey." He suddenly said, his eyes widening.
"You old grandpa, don't interrupt me when I'm trynna knock some sense into your-"
"Shit-"
I sighed. "What is it?"
Canton came and sat on the bed next to me. "Alastair has talked to me about Riverland."
"Riverland?"
"Riverland. He..." Canton furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "When Tristian modified my brain. He talked to me about that island." His eyes kept being widened.
"What are you talking about?"
"Elvina, I...I think I know where to find it."
♛