A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means not been proofread yet nor edited.1****
Empress Azarese grabbed onto the pillar of her canopy bed, sitting by the edge as she writhe in the same pain she's been going through. It's impossible for a being like her to get sick, yet the pain she's feeling inside is very different. She never felt something like it before. It was much worse; it's so uncomfortable.
"Lord Watts... My Lord... Help me..."
Hands opened the windows to help her feel cool. She's bath in her own sweat, if not, her own tears. Her half moon eyes, opened weakly, found the brilliance of the moons. As usual, they're as lovely as ever. A friend to her ever since. Always been there, looking back at her, too.
"Hnngh... I want to see Lord... Watts... My husband..."
Hands pushed her back but she fought back. They had no choice but support her and guide her, but they couldn't balance her weight and she fell. She felt something sticky between her legs. It's warm at first, trailing down her inner thighs. Then it went cold.
Hands slapped each other and signed 'blood' when they saw the stains on her sheets and gown. A pool of blood.
The Empress tried to stand up. Her palm pressed against something as she try to push herself up. She lifted her hand to see it but couldn't describe it clearly. The thing was black. Matte black and smooth.
It is shaped like a baby.
Time stood still as her mind struggled to comprehend the sight before her. The tiny, incomplete body of the Prince, lay in her hands, meeting her curse first and his mother the second. It was then that the horrible realization dawned upon her---was her baby. She had not known she was pregnant, and now, she was holding the evidence of a life lost, a child she never had the chance to meet or love.1A guttural cry escaped her lips, echoing through the entirety of the Heart Palace across the Empire in the midst of the chill of the night. The sound was filled with an anguish so deep it seemed to resonate within the very walls of the Palace, ringing and playing in the ears of her people.
She cradled the small, still form close to her chest, her tears falling freely now, mingling with the blood. Her sobs wracked her body, each one a manifestation of their indescribable grief and shock.
Celia, wrapping herself with a robe, destroyed the doors of her chambers. She will take responsibility of it later, she must see her Empress first.
She opened the lights and she was in utter shock upon the sight that welcomed her first. In a split second, she ran to the Empress and studied the whole room but she found no signs of breaking in.
"The P-Prince! My son!"
Empress Azarese screamed her throat out. Her aura and magic erupted, blinding Celia and sending her away. The Heart Palace trembled, its walls cracking and bleeding. This woke the Emperor from his stolen nap, just when the knights arrived.
The camera glitches and took its time to stabilize. The Empress's cries continued. The cry of her soul.
"What the hell is going on!? What is this drama about??"
The Emperor fumed as soon as he made it to her room. It was the very first time he's ever set foot inside. He was in state of shock when he found what became of her bed. Too much blood.
Empress Azarese collapsed. She curled like a child, embracing her child.
"My son... My baby... My Prince..."
.
.
.
Hours have passed yet the sun is still not showing up. The moons have rotated, but it seems like the sun forgot to do its only job. But then, the people are already awake and are now talking about what happened.
'The Emperor killed the Prince,' they passed from tongue to tongue.
'She deserved it. Now she knows what it's like to lose a child!' said the mothers who lost their sons and husbands because of their wicked and cruel Empress.
The Emperor dropped the tray of food before his wife, but the Empress's gaze is far. In her arms tucked a towel, rocking it back and forth. Inside it lies the Prince's body.
"My handsome Prince, you're safe. I will protect you. I won't let them hurt you."
Emperor Watts calmed his nerves and composed himself.
"Eat."
But the wife ignored him and laughed emptily, "Yes, my Prince. I will give you everything. You're my sunshine, my only sunshine~" she sang as her tears chase one another.
She left her seat and leave, ignoring the Emperor's presence completely. Celia was about to follow her when he raised his hand to stop her. Instead, he followed her.
They climbed the Tower. But she climbed higher with the help of Hands and brought her to the peak of the roof. She walked close to the edge. The Emperor is behind her, a couple of steps back.
"What year is it now, Xirquit?" she asked softly while looking at the horizon. There it is, the sun. It's taking a peek and it found her.
"046, I believe."
The Empress nodded and looked down on her son.
"Every since that day, I have loved you. You were so kind. I felt normal. Because my curses didn't work on you, and that you greeted me, talked to me, and approached me like I'm not a monster everyone thinks. You were as sweet as the cupcakes you have given me. And I know... That ever since that day, there's another man I will love other than Daddy Liorei."
He was all ears.
"Because of me, you got hurt. And I am truly sorry for that. Until now, I blame myself. If only I stayed in that room, if only I pushed you away, then he wouldn't have found out. When you left, I was all alone again. I don't have Daddy Liorei anymore during that time, and then you sent Celia to me. I was so happy. But my guilt lingered, so I buried it deep in my heart. I loved exchanging letters with you. I'm glad that you understand my ugly handwriting and incomplete sentences. And while I was writing a reply for you, he paid me a visit all of a sudden...and heard me and Celia conversing."
The Emperor braced himself for what's to come.
"I got my mother's memories. I know everything about her. Just...everything she's seen. And he heard that. And he said, 'I should've known, Sio. You needed a body. A new body. You must be reincarnated. You were here all along!'"
She slowly turned around to face him. To see his face, to look straight into his eyes and see how he will react as she tell her everything she had to go through because of him.
"I-I was four. A k-kid. He gave me this paper and I watched my naked body grow up to be in this form. I felt s-sick. I ran away but he caught me. He told me that I'm just confused---that my identity is just a confusion---that I am his beloved wife, Azazel. He did it. I was four."
His legs wobbled.
"Weeks later, we found that I'm with child. And I felt so... It's just so... I-I want you. I wanted your baby. I wanted everything about you. But my father's? In my womb? I had to d-do it. I don't like it. I don't want it. So, what did I do? I used Excalibur to open my stomach and my womb to take it out and flushed it down the toilet. Over and over until he found out and chained me. But he's a fool because I have Hands to do the deed for me. So, I showed him. Hands sliced me open and tore his baby apart."
Empress Azarese laughed while the Emperor was too dumbfounded to react. His eyes did; tears streamed down his face from his wide-open eyes.
"Day and night, I've been hoping! I've been waiting for you to return. I've been looking past the windows, hoping that you will come and save me from that fucking, twisted dragon, Lord Watts! You're my only hope and you killed it. I would've waited forever had you showed up even once and assured me that you will but YOU DIDN'T! YOU NEVER! It took you so fucking long to recover!? Your parents are doctors---and to think you're already too wealthy to afford the Pope's healing services! Did you know that your mother saw me in that state!? She caught him doing it on me! I begged for her help but what did your fucking do!? SHE WALKED AWAY! SHE WALKED AWAY ON ME, LORD WATTS! ME! A CHILD! A FUCKING CHILD IN A GROWN WOMAN'S BODY! I was only four! She left me! She didn't save me. Your mother abandoned me! Like you did. Like everyone did."
"I'll give you choices: stay, and I will forget and leave everything behind. I will trust you one more time. But you will never see nor hear me beg for your love and affection. You will never see me on my knees again. I will release my prisoners and I will leave everything in your hands. That's how far I can go for you. That's how much I love you. Or walk away, and watch me destroy the world. You're not alone yet in this world, Watts Xirquit. Those Vernignacs are still alive."
When he took a step back, she smiled bitterly and accepted his choice. She needed no words. She's not blind.
"Then, I will give you enough time. Leave. The next we will meet...will be on the battlefield."
She turned her back on him to hide her grief and defeat. She held her sobs back and failed miserably.
"You're a-all I have..." her breaking voice whispered to her son.
Wattroid opened himself, revealing his Master inside, wearing a full-body, black bodysuit. He stretched out his hand; and though invisible to his naked eyes, his hand bent and pushed the area of her curses's effectivity. When nothing happened to him, he locked his wife in his arms and and joined her.
"I'm...sorry."
Empress Azarese, realizing that he chose to stay, faced him one more time to see if he truly meant it. His transformation shocked her and found Wattroid behind him, opened like a case.
"What---"
He claimed her lips. His hands held her waist and pulled her closer until they're pressing against each other. She felt his warm tears falling on her face, blending with hers, thus, the creation of her opal tears.
Their kissed lasted until the Empress lost her unconsciousness from fatigue and stress. The Emperor carried her and opened a portal to his chambers in the Heart Palace. He carefully laid the Empress on his mattress, wiping her tears before taking their son to him for the very first time.
He burst into tears and covered his face with his hand. The guilt is killing him because it was his fault. He killed his son. His personalities are clashing with one another; one side saying that she deserved it. The fruit of the cruelties she grew. And he agree to that. But she told her story. One he never knew. So, to know the truth, he summoned Celia.
"I told you to look after the Princess,"
Celia remained still with her head low.
"And I told you tell me everything."
Celia closed her eyes. A tear fell from it.
"Where were you and why didn't you tell me?"
"The King imprisoned me, My Lord. For months. When I was released, I returned as the Princess's maid but there were eyes on us since. Believe me when I say this, I swore to give my life to the Princess, that's why I made up my mind to kill the King. But the Princess stopped me. The Princess...lost her faith."
The Empress moaned, a nightmare visited her dreams again. He squeezed her hand, hoping that it will help.
"...Where are they?"
Celia gripped on the fabric of her skirt. Only one thing can change everything that has happened, but that one thing is impossible to be found again unless it shows itself. Perhaps if the Empress will learn how to use her Bloodline like her mother did, then that would change everything.
"I know where Prince Fiery is. He was seen recruiting forces. I know where their lair is, only one of the many. There were rumors that Prince Ascel and Prince Eddrien are lingering in Voxwein. Prince Izaac was said to be found trying to drill a hole through the barriers. I think they're trying to make it past so they could seek shelter in Vernignac Empire."
And the Emperor didn't liked it.
"I used to look up to him so much. Prince Izaac is one of my role models. She's leaving their Empire as is because of me. Because they're all I have. Once they make it there, who knows what she will do to Uncle Max? To their people and his family?"
He rest his head on her hand, holding into it tightly.
"Bring Fiery and Zephyrus to me. Alive, but you may have your way with them if they disobey. No, just Fiery. Let the other escape, but make sure to tell him that I chose her. To make her happy, I must take out what makes her unhappy. Am I right, Celia?"
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."
The Emperor nodded, "Don't fail me again and bring me Fiery alive. He might commit suicide if caught, so break his jaw or knock him unconscious quick. We will play by the shadows, and the Empress must not know any of this. Do you understand?"
Celia lowered her head more and placed her hand to her chest, "I am grateful for your mercy, Your Imperial Majesty. Allow me to redeem myself."
He nodded and Celia turned around to leave when he said, "That knight. There's a knight that's been watching her. Dryllivan, his name, I hear. Send him to me on your way out."
"I must."
When Celia left, the Emperor pulled a dagger from his space storage.
"This will hurt a little, my love," he told the Empress and tainted his dagger's blade with her blood. As he do it slowly, he's staring at her face to see if it will wake her up but didn't. She didn't react at all.
The knight then arrived in full armor.
"You called for me, My Emperor?"
Emperor Watts crossed his legs. The dagger is hidden behind him, away from the knight's sight.
"How about you remove your helm and bow with your greetings? I see that you are tardy. You can't even pay your respects properly,"
The knight was surely taken aback but managed to pull himself together.
"Forgive my rudeness, My Emperor."
He pulled his helm up to remove it, revealing his face. Yet when he looked at where the Emperor is, he wasn't there anymore. He felt something cold touch his neck and it was too late.
Emperor Watts walked back to his post and hold his wife's hand as the knight began to return to the heavens. His particles were leaving through the windows he opened before he deliver the knight's swift death.
"I don't know who you are and your motives, I can't tell if you're sent by her blood or not, but I know that you are something shady. So, die. You will never win against me."
As he expected, Hands caught the faded knight's armors before it fell and cause noises that may wake the Empress. Emperor Watts ignored that for once and settled beside the Empress, sitting by the bed's edge, playing with her hair.
"Come in, brother."
From the windows he opened came his eldest brother, Ohms Xirquit. He's wearing a tank top turtleneck, not hiding his tattoos before his brother anymore. To that the Emperor already knew, yet it still mesmerizes him. His eldest brother, if not him, is the finest among the Xirquit siblings. He got most of their parents' better genes as he was the firstborn, but that doesn't mean what's left for the rest were bad.
Ohms Tesla Xirquit is proud, egotistical, and arrogant, as he should, he said, for he's a Xirquit, the greatest privilege there is. His mother came from a prominent noble house in Great Britain during its prime. Her father is a close and trusted confidant of the English Prince, Prince Devonacci. She was fated to be a Noble as Empress Siofra was fated to rule. A woman of beauty, but entertained none of her suitors. And his father, two centuries younger, is a son of an award-winning actress and politician.
Voltage Xirquit, however, was abandoned for his parents were both in their prime when he was conceived. And when both was ready to fulfill their parental duties to him and become a family while they remain in their spotlight, his brother happened. Thus, he was never loved by them.
But Voltage Xirquit was never jealous. He was never a mean boy, never rude, and never grew horns. Though he was completely abandoned, he was grateful for living a comfortable life. He simply accepted his situation as is and so, he left. He kept his name and flew to America where his life changed when he met Aloisia, the country's most important but anonymous figure, the shadow behind the Presidents the great nation has ever seen and will see.
"The Puppetmaster," the politicians dubbed her, but Aloisia is only using them for her own gain and they benefited from her, too.
Ruthless but merciful is how she was described by the mafias and gangsters and such. Betray her the second time and both you, your roots, and even its stems will wither. But only one dared to challenge Aloisia---the Godfather, founder of Sinister Phantom.
Those who wish to see her downfall seek allegiance with the Sinister Phantom. Sinister Phantom is more than just a mafia, but it is an organization making vicious technologies and discoveries. They seek their downfall only to fall the hardest in the end.
"I want Aunt Dearil's tears," he once said during the Empress's birthday. Though he didn't threw a fit nor make a scene, they knew he will do anything to get his hands on her diamond tears.
The only time he got it was when the Empress cried during Prince Izaac's first day of school in kindergarten. Duke Paris and Emperor Maxism gave it to him themselves to win his favor, and he gave them the power to make his father their slave for a day.
That Ohms Tesla Xirquit is well-aware of his roots. He admired his parents and loved them, but not more than he does to himself. Pampered and spoiled, even the Dragunovvs has no say when it comes to giving their children luxuries. No other brands but designer ones touched his skin. Every month, his parents would take him to places. They hired the best people to attend to him: doctors, dentists, dermatologists, teachers, personal chefs, and everything.
When two families meet him and Prince Izaac, they did not click. Prince Izaac is only two years older, but even a spoiled prodigy himself couldn't stand another spoiled prodigy such as Ohms. He simply didn't like Prince Izaac, but he liked Prince Astaroth. He kept his relationship with the Dragunovvs civil, but it is known that he likes the thirdborn son. So much that when Prince Astaroth celebrated his coming of age, he gifted him a customized luxury car crafted by Blaze Avelin Titania Slaynov herself.
When the Empress resurrected the adults and found that Prince Astaroth is married and with a daughter, they bet, "I can imagine Ohms rolling in his grave. He will definitely demand himself be their godfather if he was alive." And that much is true, because when Prince Astaroth and Princess Fionna remarried the second time, he was their only godparent.
When Prince Astaroth left and chose isolation, they knew it hurt Ohms. His favorite Dragunovv left and only bid his farewells to him through a letter. That must be why he harbored more negative feelings against the Imperial Family, especially the King.
~
He is a genius. He's aware, and they know, but he didn't pursue the path they expect him to be. Science is tiring, mathematics is annoying---and he only pursue engineering because he was bored. He loved his fame and dating esteemed women. None of them lasted and ended in marriage, though. One after another, he dated them because he's 'giving them the experience and memory of what it's like to be a Xirquit's lady'. He never loved them. Never introduced one to his parents.
Ladies all around the world knew that he's a heartbreaker, but they still wanted him anyway.
On the other hand, the reason why he's hiding his tattoos from his family is because there was thrill to it. He was careful; they didn't even questioned why even during summer, he's wearing long sleeves.
"To serve. Fashion," he simply reasoned to them.
And until now, they have no knowledge of it. They died and were resurrected back to life and Ohms Tesla Xirquit remained uncaught.