Chapter 97
When they had received the news of Martina being in danger, the Valentinos had rushed here at their fastest speed, leaving the guest without a second thought.
But, who would have thought that they would be witnessing such a scene upon their arrival?
"Martina!"
"Tina!"
The first thing that they noticed was Martina, extremely eye-catching in her purple cocktail dress. With blood on her face, and her dress soiled, she knelt on the ground, struggling to move. ...And then they saw her surroundings.
"!!!!"
"Bloody Hell..." literally.
Dead bodies laid everywhere, densely packed within an area of 10 metre radius around her. Rivulets of blood flowed out of the bodies, pooling around and making puddles on the ground. And the most shocking detail... none of them had their heads attached to them.
"Martina! Are you alright?!" Her family quickly rushed to her side, checking her condition.
Finally seeing her family after experiencing such a traumatic event, tears once again started to overflow from her eyes.
"I'm… fine... I need to.... Axel."
Whatever she had been trying to say, she couldn't complete it as she ended up losing consciousness.
"Martina? Martina!"
....
Later that night, in the meeting room. The Valentinos, and their most trusted members of the family, all sat together at a round table.
"How is she?" Asked Alessandro.
"She suffered minor injuries, and from poison. She was about to be kidnapped. The intruders were the infamous special unit of Malcolms." said Francesca.
Alessandro nodded, his face setting in a grim resolve. "It's war."
The men had already been identified. The Mikhailovs might have thought that the Valentinos weren't aware of their connection with the Malcolms, but that was not the case.
"Have you called in the best healers?" he asked.
Francesca paused at that. "She had already been expertly treated before we reached her. There's nothing to heal."
"And the bodies? No survivors?" He asked.
Francesca shook her head. "No survivors. Everyone dead.... beheaded with a single clean cut. No signs of any other wounds," she said, her voice wavering in disbelief.
Everyone in the room felt a chill travel down their spine at that. "How... how is that even possible?" Asked one of the men. Gang wars are extremely messy, and all members, especially those of a special unit like this one, are not supposed to go down without a struggle. How could so many men allow their heads to be lopped off just like that?
If it could happen to them, it could also happen to their men as well.
Alessandro downed his glass of alcohol. "First the Atlantean Relic, and then this!" He exclaimed, slamming the cup down.
It was enough of a surprise that the Mikhailov had somehow gotten their hands on Atlantean Relics, but there's also someone who is capable of easily taking down an elite squad just wandering around in their place.
The person took down the elite squad, saved Martina, and patched her up within minutes, before disappearing. This was not a small matter. If a person capable of doing this joins one side, it would change the outcome of the whole war. That's how big of a matter this was.
"Dad... do you think...it's the boy?" Asked Endo, raising the million dollar question. Everything pointed towards the person being Axel, including the fact the cuts on the necks were identified to be made by a Valentino, and a Mikhailov knife. Just how many people possess the knives of both of the opposing families at the same time?
Alessandro sighed. "Most likely. But we can't say for certain," he muttered, resting his forehead on his fingers. He was certain, but he just didn't want to believe it.
"Why don't we call him here and ask him ourselves?" Enzo asked.
Francesca gave him a severe look. "You think that's possible? After what we did, He's going to be hostile towards us. If he really is the person who did this, d'you think it's a good idea to annoy him further? Not to mention saving Martina. We're in a great debt to whoever killed those men." she said as she sighed. "We.... We might have just made the worst decision by offending him," she admitted lamentably.
She had, of course, suspected that he had been hiding his power, but... to this extent? She had never dreamt of it. This was definitely a terrible decision. The war which they tried to avoid was going to happen anyway, and they had just lost the favor of someone who was capable of doing "that" at the age of 13.
Alessandro poured himself another glass. "What's done is done. Nothing can be done mulling over it. The question is, what do we do now?"
Francesca pursed her lips. "There's not much we can do really. We can only do our best to make up for it. To start with, I'll be giving his wand the best possible treatment."
(Dirty mind, dirty mind~)
Alessandro nodded unwillingly. "Everything aside, I truly am grateful. From what we can gather, the Malcolm brat was trying to...." his fist clenched as powerful magical fluctuations filled the room. "If Axel hadn't gotten there in time, or didn't have the abilities he has... the unthinkable would have happened to Tina," he said, downing another glass.
Everyone had to agree to that. "That bastard… to Princess… it's so damn infuriating!"
"Yeah!"
"If something had happened…"
There were enraged murmurs from all around. Martina was the heart of the Valentino family. Everything had changed after her arrival, and it was for the better. If anything were to happen to her, the whole family would not only go back to its previous darkness, it would have done everything in its power to take down those responsible for it.
Endo also nodded. "Gotta appreciate what Axel did to them. Especially that Malcolm brat," he said, a grim smile coming to his face. "My only regret is he didn't leave him alive so that we could torture him more."
"Yeah!"
"I heard he suffered a brutal death."
"What exactly happened to him? All I saw was a charred corpse."
"I hope it was painful…."
Francesca looked at the report in her hand. "Well, he was stabbed through his crotch, piercing through his penis and testicles, with his own wand. The wand was rough and jagged, and it was long as well, increasing the damage and pain several folds."
Everyone: Oooooh
But Francesca wasn't done yet. "I don't know if it was on purpose, but the wand was pierced at the place and at an angle that hit the most nerves. It couldn't have been stabbed more painfully, if we're talking about the general area."
Everyone: Oooooooooooooh
But, Francesca STILL wasn't done yet. "After he was stabbed, the wand was repeatedly twisted… and a spell was cast, causing an electrical discharge to travel into his body, intensity of which was gradually increased. The pain caused was so intense that the victim was brain dead even before dying from excessive electrical discharge."
Everyone: OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!
"The Electrical discharge was continued well after he was dead."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Perfect son-in-law! I could kiss him!" Said Alessandro, laughing maniacally, his men joining him.
"That he is."
"Heck, I would have given him my daughter if he wasn't already taken by the princess."
"Same with me, if I had a daughter."
"Same with me."
"Dude, your daughter is 5."
"...."
....
Daphne Greengrass has been very anxious lately. Her holidays had started well enough. It was a great start, in fact. A lap pillow from Axel! She could cry out of happiness!
Too bad she wasn't able to remember it! First, it had been so damn comfortable and she had been so tired that she slept through almost all of it, and when she woke up, she had been so overwhelmed that she had fainted.
But, could she be blamed? She had found out that she had been resting on Axel's lap, her one hand looped around his waist, and her head buried in his cloak. How overwhelming is that to process!
To make the matter more difficult, her eyes were all groggy, her hair was like a bird's nest, in a complete mess, and she had drool leaking from the corner of her mouth! For someone who had tried her absolute best to look presentable in front of him even while going through all that hellish training, this was definitely a lot to process.
When she gained consciousness, it was only because Axel had to wake her up since they had already reached Kingscross. While she fumbled to fix her appearance, he was already leaving, saying he had to meet with Martina.
And hence the reason for her anxiousness. He was living at Martina's place! For days! He had come to the Greengrass manor only for a few hours, and had to leave wrongly misunderstood. And then she finds out he's going to stay at that wench's place for such a long period of time!
Who knows what could happen while they're living under the same roof? She has always suspected Martina's intentions. That witch claims to only be friends with Axel but Daphne doesn't like the way she sometimes looks at him. Something about it just screams "SUS!"
To make matters worse, Axel hadn't picked up any of her calls, or replied to any of her messages. She knows that he just forgets or doesn't even bother checking his Magi-mirror most of the time, but that didn't stop her from worrying. What if there was another reason for his inactivity? It's the powerful and infamous Valentino household after all. With all the rumors concerning him and Martina, who knows what they might do to him?
That's why, she couldn't help but feel anxious. The dinner on Christmas Eve at her home was, therefore, a bit subdued, unlike the last time, which was the best Christmas they had had. His presence had made their family... complete. So, not only Daphne, but even Astoria and Evelyn felt the absence of Axel. Her mother even said it might have been better to just go to one of the parties they had been invited to, but of course, there was no invitation for the party Daphne really wanted to attend.
That night, Daphne called Axel once again. But, since he wasn't picking up like always, she left him yet another voice message before going to sleep.
"Hey, it's me again. I still haven't heard from you. I know that you've probably just forgot to check your MM, but I'm still worried. Today was Christmas, and we all miss you here. Astoria was pouting all the time. You know you're her hero, right? Even more so after the Quidditch match. Her voice was all hoarse due to all the cheering she did for you, and so was mine." She smiled a bit recalling that.
"She couldn't meet you at the match too. So she was quite upset to know you weren't coming. Mom also seems to be quite fond of you. She's asked me three times if you're coming for the new year or not."
"Last Christmas, it was the best Christmas we had. This one, well not so good, but it was still better since we didn't have to go to one of my father's boring parties and pretend to be all prim and proper. Only your presence was lacking. Just… try to come, alright? You're part of this family now. And, please, please give me a sign that you're alright, okay? I worry."
Ending the message, Daphne sighed as she laid on her bed. "Maybe, I'll know by tomorrow," She thought.
She didn't know just how right she was.
….
"NO!!!!!" Martina's eyes flew open as she woke up with a start. She had been having a nightmare.
But… the reason for her nightmare wasn't Damien, or Maksmilian. It was Axel.
In her dream, Axel was angry, with his eyes glowing with magic and his skin blue, and he was murdering everyone indiscriminately. Nothing Martina did could stop him. And she was scared, so scared as she called out his name repeatedly. And then, he fixed those eyes on her… and she woke up.
Martina shook her head. Was she really scared of Axel? No! That can't be. He just saved her life! Again! And as for violence, wasn't her family the same? How could she be scared of him?
"Martina, are you alright?"
Martina realized that she was back in her room. Her mother sat by her side in her nightgown, seemingly also waking up now.
"Mom..." Still scared and quite reassured with her presence, Martina hugged her mother tightly, her eyes blurring with tears.
Francesca hugged her daughter comfortingly, gently patting her back. "It's alright Martina. It's over now. We're so sorry... we couldn't protect you..."
As Martina slowly calmed down, she finally recalled something else as well. She pushed Francesca away, turning her head. "Why are you here?"
Francesca sighed. "I'm here to look after you. I'd say it's for the best actually. Otherwise your father and brother were going to camp here tonight."
"Go away, mom. I don't want to talk to you."
Francesca looked flummoxed, "Martina? What—?"
"Go away! Axel probably hates me now because of what you did!" Said Martina, trying to push her away.
That...I'm really sorry. But—"
"One friend... I had just one real friend who I was able to befriend without already knowing everything about him and who wasn't affected by my family background. And you probably ruined it!" she murmured. All her friends at Hogwarts were because of the impressive front she had put on.
Then there were Luna and Hermione, who were different. But she had befriended them through manipulation because she already knew almost everything about them through the books. And those two had also not really seen the real her.
Only Axel was the one friend she had made, who had seen her for who she actually was, and still befriended her. But he probably hates her now. Not to mention the ramifications he'll have to face with what her family has done.
Francesca shook her head. "I'm really sorry for what we did, dear. But you already said it. Axel doesn't care about your family. If your family did something wrong, he won't blame you for it now, would he? Or else why would he go out of his way to save you? Not only that, but also take revenge for you? I'm sure if you apologize sincerely, he'll forgive you."
"I… he…" Martina had to accept, her mother was right but her cheeks still puffed up as she refused to look at her mother. "But that doesn't mean I'll forgive you!"
Checking the time, she quickly got out of the bed. "It's early, but he might have woken by now. I'm going," she said, pulling on her robe and picking up her wand.
"That's my daughter." Francesca smiled, also getting up. She had better get started with the preparations of his wand as well. She would have gone with Martina to apologise as well, but she was afraid to anger him by her presence.
"Just be honest with him, Martina. I love you the most when you are," she advised. Martina has a lot of secrets, and she's not honest with them many times.
Martina glared at her mother. "I'm still not talking to you!" she declared as she left, banging the door behind her.
But a few seconds later, the door opened again, as Martina came back to check her appearance in her mirror. Finding her hair a bit messy, she first arranged them with her brush. "Don't!" she said to Francesca, who was about to say something, before leaving again with a bang.
Francesca sighed. "I was only going to say the messy look was better suited for seduction."
She really wasn't planning to point out the fact that Martina never seemed to care about her appearance before.
....
The door to Axel's room was knocked, and Axel, who had been training, looked back at the door. Activating Arcane Eyes, he realized that it was Martina.
"It's open," he said, throwing on a T-shirt.
The door opened and Martina peeked her head in. "Sorry for disturbing you so early... I came as soon as I gained consciousness," she said, entering tentatively.
"Why are you here?" Asked Axel, wiping his face with a towel. His face was neutral, with no fluctuations.
Martina stepped forward. "I've come to thank you, of course."
Axel scoffed. "No need." Mass murder and that kind of torture… a girl like Martina wouldn't like it.
She's the kind of girl who'd risk her life for strangers. In the first year, she first went out of her way to save him from the troll, and to the third floor corridor to save Rose, even though she had almost died there the previous time.
Then this year, she first risked her life to kill the Basilisk, and then helped him out with the Demogorgon. She also went out of way to help out Luna, a complete stranger, even calling in her favor with him. She made so many weapons but never used them, even though using them could let her family dominate their enemies. She'd rather agree to marry someone like Maksmilian than choose violence.
Not to mention she's quite timid. Would such a girl still treat him the same after witnessing him for what he truly was? Or would she treat him like how she treats people like Malcolm.
So, he just shook his head. "You don't need to force yourself. I know I traumatized you more."
Martina flinched. "How… I mean No! You didn't!"
Axel wasn't convinced. "You don't have to lie to yourself, Martina. The fact of the matter is, you don't like violence. I bet you haven't even seriously injured anyone, have you?"
"I haven't, but my family..."
"They're your family, Martina. You've been with them your whole life. You know them, and you can trust them. I'm someone you met for a year. And, you know nothing about me."
He raised his hand towards her, and Martina flinched again. Axel laughed humorlessly. "See? You might not even know it yourself, Martina. But I know it."
Axel went to sit on his bed. "Go away, Martina. And tell your mother to quickly do my wand. Then you won't have to see me more."
Martina wanted to defend herself, and she wanted to contradict Axel. But like always, Axel's presence seemed to have dumbed her down, and his eyes, which seemed to see right through her, made her realize that he might be right.
She had to stop lying to herself. Seeing him like that did make her feel scared. And, it really was different compared to her family, since she barely knew him. But, she really couldn't control it. This aversion towards violence and this need to be selfless and kind…. It was something that had been ingrained forcefully into her in her past life. And she hated it. It was the reason for her death in her previous life after all.
It had been going away slowly, but it would take some more time.
'But… what do I do right now?' She wondered. She could see her friendship with Axel, something which she had come to cherish deeply, breaking apart. Axel seemed to have simply given up on it, retreating back into shell he had kept him before.
Not knowing what to do, she recalled her mother's advice. 'Be honest…'
Martina pursed her lips. Axel was someone who had saved her life. Twice. Thrice, if counting the duel. Her life was as good as over if she had agreed to marry Maksmilian. He had also gone out of his way to take revenge for her. She couldn't afford to lose his friendship. And he at least deserved to know it wasn't his fault.
Thus, taking a deep breath, she made her resolve. Walking towards him, she kicked of her slippers to sit him on his bed. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until you hear me out," she said resolutely.
Axel looked at her for a moment, and sighed. "Go on, then."
Martina created a privacy ward around them. "I'm about to tell you something I haven't told anyone. It's also... the reason why I'm the way I am." She said seriously. "Can you promise not to tell anyone?"
This got Axel's attention. He turned his head to look at her with interest. "I won't."
Martina nodded as she leaned forward. "Do you.... believe in past life?"
....
A.N.: Next chapter: Past Revealed
Next next: Breaking News! Axel Hunt, a Muggleborn Orphan?
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