The butler stilled. Glancing down he let out a choked gasp at the sight of a sword sticking out from his stomach. Without a word the sword twisted causing the butler to let out a blood curdling scream. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and fell to the floor as the sword was ripped out of him. Letting out a hoarse laugh he attempted to cover the hole in his stomach. A pair of feet came into view and With haggard breaths he gazed up and made eye contact with the King.
The King sneered down at him, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust as if he were looking at him as if he were dirt beneath his feet. The butler, though pale and sweating, tried his best to glare right back with a gaze full of hate.
The King scoffed at the lame attempt, "Ren. Rael." The two young boys were standing at the entrance of the room, their legs shaking as they gazed into the room. They perked up when their names were called and despite their obvious nervousness they made their way towards their father. The bruises on their cheeks became visible to the naked eye as they walked further into the room.
They didn't speak and stuck together. Their eyes still filled with resentment from what had happened landed on the intruder and the intruder shuddered. The twins' lips quirked up at the subtle movement.
"Tie up the intruder." The King flicked his sword to the side as the twins came forward, their eyes gleaming at the prospect of possibly getting back on their fathers good side.
The butler laughed and staggered away from the twins as he tried in vain to stand up. Blood oozed out from his wound, dying his hand and the floor a deep red.
"You think- Cough- I would let you…" he wheezed, "...take me alive? Ha!" The butler took a step back, his one leg almost giving out. The shadows around him gathered once more. They danced and twirled, but the King was no fool. He could see the way the shadow twitched with every move they made. The butler didn't have enough energy. He couldn't kill himself even if he wanted to.
The King didn't even bother with the butler. His focus was on the red that dyed the once beautiful room. His grip on his sword tightened.
The butler's eyes went wide and he soon found himself crumbling to the floor unable to breath. His vision blurred as the pressure forced him even further to the ground, to the point where his head was almost touching the floor. He could do nothing as the twins bound him in a rope with magical properties weaved into it, successfully capturing him.
The King watched absentmindedly as the butler was tied up by the twins and hoisted up before turning his focus on the situation in front of him.
The youngest Frenzel laid passed out on the floor. He was deathly pale and a few dribbles of blood were seeping from his mouth. He silently sighed, already not wanting to deal with this. He didn't have to turn around to know that Erik was silently seething. The deadly energy coming off him in waves was enough to tell him that. Everything would have been fine if Erik could go to his son, but at this moment he could not.
This was not the ideal situation.
"Irina." The King called out to his forgotten daughter. She bristled at the name. The King held back a sigh and instead finally observed his one and only daughter. She was a petite thing that was so frail a breeze could not knock her over. Completely opposite than the rest of his children and not in a good way. Admittingly he had pushed her out of his mind when it came to succession and in doing so neglected her, but it wasn't his fault. If she were anything like the others she would have been trying to prove herself from day one, successfully gaining his attention and therefore not be neglected. But, to think that she had the potential to wield a unique ability and a deadly one at that.
She was snarling at them. Her eyes were dark and the furniture creaked with every breath she took. She stood firmly in front of Aether, both hands outstretched wide as if she were trying to hide him from prying eyes.
The King watched with mild interest and sheathed his sword. "Irina" He spoke in a tone unheard of by the people in the room, "You did a great job in protecting him." he lightly praised. She blinked, her eyes wavering.
The King noticed that the pieces of wood surrounding her wavered, some of the smaller pieces even dropping to the floor. He smiled and gestured for Erik to move next to him, "He is safe now thanks to you, but if he doesn't get treated by his family…" he left the rest up to her imagination.
"He…but…the butler…" her voice was soft. If he hadn't been listening so carefully he would have missed it.
"What's wrong?"
Irina's gaze snapped to him, "He used me!" She snarled, "He tried to take him! He tried to-" She cried out and covered her face. The King sighed. This was more trouble than he ever wanted to deal with.
The awakening of a unique ability was already complex and difficult to deal with. With the situation at hand and her emotions fluctuating as it was, it was only time before her ability lashed out and attacked everyone in the vicinity.
"Irina, come here." He held out his arm to the side, gesturing for her to come to him, "It is time you join the rest of the family."
Irina's eyes snapped open. Her mouth opened wide and closed in disbelief. She took a step forward, but stopped once more and gazed down at the boy passed out behind her.
"Don't worry about him, his father is here to help him." Irina looked up at Erik who stood by the King's side.
Erik's eyes were staring straight at Aether, avoiding the Princess's stare. His youngest was not only passed out, but he was also deathly pale. The awakening of a unique ability was not an easy thing to go through. It caused the user an enormous amount of pain and in some cases they would even go berzerk. He wouldn't have worried about the princess's awakening before, but now that his son, a non-user, was next to her side…he feared the worst.
Irina's gaze annoyed Erik, but he did not show it. "The butler…" she looked at the butler who sat silently next to the twins, "...he said that they don't treat him right." The air grew thicker and the wood creaked. "He said that he was outcasted, bullied and forgotten by his own family." her voice cracked at the end.
Erik grit his teeth. "No, he wasn't neglected." he lied through his teeth. The King gave him an amused look.
"You meet my son in the garden, correct." Erik continued after he noticed that Irina wasn't budging. Irina met his eyes and hesitantly nodded.
Erik sighed in relief. Now he had a way of convincing the Princess that they do not neglect Aether, well at least not anymore. "He was sent there with my eldest son for his protection. I wouldn't have done that if I had truly neglected him."
Irina gripped her nightgown tightly, "But…I didn't see his brother when I arrived."
Erik silently cursed Leon for going against his orders and leaving Aether unattended. The King raised his hand in front of Erik who made a move to take a step closer.
"Leon was briefly called away to help with the intruder problem. I am the one who pulled him out. If you need to blame someone, blame me." All eyes focused on the King.
Irina clenched and unclenched her nightgown. She wasn't used to hearing her father speak, but with the way the others were speaking it seems that this was abnormal. Faintly she knew that he was probably coaxing her, but she also knew that this was an opportunity, one that she shouldn't throw away. She gave one last glance to Aether. He was dressed nicely and was enjoying the garden when she first met him. If he truly was neglected wouldn't he be wearing worn out clothes?
She gazed at him for a moment longer. With her mind made up she bit her lip, hung her head down and walked over to her fathers side. The furniture in the room stopped creaking and the splintered wood fell to the ground with a clatter.
Her fathers hand came to rest on her shoulder. She gasped at the warmth and glanced up at her fathers loving smile. Why had she never seen this look on him before?
The twins watched their father pass them with apprehension. They gave each other a knowing look and silently followed their father, dragging the intruder with them.
*
"You useless fool." Erik seethed out, his voice lowered just enough for Leon who was standing next to him to hear. "You had one job, one job and you couldn't even do that." He glared at Leon who was standing tall next to him. Leon's fists were clenched at his sides and his chest heaved slightly. "Fucking useless." His father spat in his face and turned towards the bed where Aether lay sleeping.
Erik had wasted no time in taking Aether away from the King and back to the protected guest room. Despite his reluctance to stay in the Palace, at this moment he wasn't allowed to leave. So he had to make due with what he had.
He gathered the pillows and blankets and wrapped Aether up in them and placed him on the bed. He wasted no time in sending someone to wake up Bert and send him to grab a Royal healer.
Erik was pleased when the Royal healer arrived quickly, though the healer looked pale and a little scared, it meant little to him. The Royal healer asked no questions and immediately got to work on healing Aether.
Leon remained silent as the healer worked. Erik noticed how Leon's gaze would shift towards Aether who was sleeping on the bed.
'Good' Erik thought, 'he needs to learn what he did wrong.'
"Do you see what happens when you don't take your job seriously?" Erik didn't shift his gaze away from Aether. "If you would have stayed by his side, you would have caught the intruder and this would have never happened, but you didn't." His gaze was cold as he glanced back at Leon. "You made a damn fool of yourself! Not only in front of me, but also in front of the Royal Family!" Erik lashed out, throwing a glass of water at Leon hitting him in the forehead. Blood dripped down Leon's face as the glass shattered.
The Royal healer flinched, "Um, ah, please My Lords, uh there shouldn't be any fighting with a patient ar-EPP!" The Royal healer squeaked and hid behind the bed as an object was thrown in his direction. With a shaky breath he peeked out, making sure his hands were still in the right position to heal the patient.
"Do you know what would have happened if he had been taken?" ignoring the Royal Healer, Erik gripped Leon by the collar and pulled him down until he was forced to kneel. "Do you have any idea what we would have lost? As a Kingdom? As a family?"
Leon clenched his teeth and lowered his face. Erik grit his teeth and let go of Leon's collar. "You will kneel here until he wakes." Erik turned his attention back to his youngest, "and if anything and I mean anything is wrong with him when he wakes up, you will be the one to face the consequences."
Aether groaned in pain. His head was throbbing and his limbs were heavy. He tried to move them, but found that he couldn't. He could just barely hear his father yelling in the background, but he was unable to make out the words.
He tossed his head towards the noise and pried his eyes open. He was met with the eyes of a panicked man.
'What's happening?' He thought. The last thing he remembered was running away from the butler.
The man's eyes shifted to his. Aether went to speak to the man, but before he could, tears welled up in the man's eyes. Aether panicked at the sight and tried to stop him from crying.
"..w-" Aether coughed.
'Why is my throat so dry?' He thought.
The panicked man gently placed something cool against Aether's lips. Aether welcomed the refreshing water, taking larger gulps than necessary.
"Is he fine?" He glanced to the other side of the bed to see his father glaring daggers at the poor healer.
"Yes my Lord!" The Royal healer squeaked. "It seems that there was no damage to his body-"
Aethers gaze landed on the bloodied figure kneeling on the ground. "Leon! What happened?" Aether interrupted the healer. He tried to push himself up and throw off the blankets, but found that his body wasn't responding to him. On Top of that two rough hands pressed down on his shoulders preventing him from sitting up. He shot both the healer and his father with a questioning glance.
"There is no reason for you to worry about him. He got what he deserved." His fathers tone was flat, but he couldn't miss the slight annoyance that laced his voice.
His father pushed him back into the bed, placing the blanket back on him. He patted the pillows and pushed them more behind Aether's back.
Aether was both thankful and disturbed. It was strange to see such a frightening man act in such a caring way. Though this act may be that, just an act, it was still a little creepy.
The healer beside him let out an audible sound of relief. "Well then, please excuse me my Lords, but I am needed elsewhere." The healer all but rushed out his sentence. He gave a quick bow of the head and practically ran towards the door.
"Wait."
The healer flinched, one foot out the door. He gulped and turned to face Aether's father once again, "Yes? Is there anything else, my Lord?"
"His mental state? Was it affected?"
The healer frowned and shook his head, "No My Lord, an awakening will only do harm to the body, never to the mind, especially to others within the vicinity. You have nothing to worry about."
His father, though relieved, scoffed, "Leave."
The Royal healer didn't have to be told twice, without even sparing the others a glance he was gone.
Aether's mind was reeling at the new information. From the sounds of it, someone had awakened their abilities when he was around, but as far as he knew the only one who could have done that was Irina, but she wasn't supposed to show her abilities until much later.
In the Flower of Soline, it was specifically stated by the first Prince that Irina was a late bloomer when it came to developing her abilities. Her awakening did not happen at the ripe age of five like it was supposed to, but instead at the age of eight.
'Did the plot change?'
He frowned at the thought. On one hand it was good for Irina that the plot changed. Perhaps now she would be treated like an actual princess rather than a piece of dirt, but on the other hand he had no idea how much this change caused.
'Would the world still follow the plot of the story? Or will it fall apart'
Aether wasn't sure which route the plot would go, but he knew for sure that no matter what he had to survive. If that meant changing the plot a little bit in order for a happier ending, then so be it.
"Aether."
Aether turned to meet his fathers eyes. "Yes?" He replied confused as to why he was called out.
His father was silent for a while. His eyes searching Aether's for something, "Get some rest. We leave in the morning." With that, his father grabbed Leon by the clothes and half dragged him out of the room.
"Yes father." He answered. His gaze lingered on the door. Although the room itself was empty, he knew that he would not truly be alone tonight.