A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means not been proofread yet nor edited.1****
"Bubbles!"
Prince Valerian blew the bubbles on his palm. His mother only smiled and gently scrubbed his skin. Washing his hair took the longest time in doing. She put extra care in washing it because it's beautiful, and it reminded her of her last husband's but in black instead of red.
There's another characteristic she noticed. Scales. Soft at that and opalescent. There were scales on the back of his hands to his wrists, then on his chest and a trail of scales from his nape down to the bottom of his spine.
"You're beautiful," she softly mutter to him as she wash his hand, rubbing his scales gently with her caring hands.
After washing him, she soaked the Prince in a bathtub of milk. He almost drink it if only she didn't see him. There was no conversation between them during that, but comforting smiles and loving stares. After his bath, she wrapped him in a towel and brought him out the bathroom, where they found Watts Xirquit waiting for them with clothes and baby necessities.
"These clothes are mine when I was younger. My mother kept all my things... And the Prince don't have anything to wear yet, so..." He flashed a coy smile and laid the clothes on the bed.
"Thank you, Uncle," the Prince told him with a smile, his head resting on his mother's shoulder.
It warmed his heart and smiled back to the Prince.
"Then... I must leave. Chancellor---I asked my Ninang to make something for the Prince. The Prince must be fed before going to bed." And when he have nothing more to say, he walked to the door and opened it. He was about to leave when Azarese's words stopped him.
"Assist me. So when I brought Zodiac back, you will know what to do, too."
She laid the Prince on the bed.
"Mommy, I'm cold," he murmur softly.
"Then let's get my baby dressed."
Watts Xirquit joined her. Unnecessarily, he brought too much necessities with him. His mother made him to. Baby powder, baby cologne, lotion, ointments, and so much more.
"Diaper? He's a big boy now," Azarese.
"How old is the Prince? I think he will still need to wear one. I think."
The Prince, sucking a pacifier, showed his fingers to them.
"Two?"
They looked at each other.
"Do they not age?" asked Watts Xirquit.
So, the Prince answered him, "We don't know how old we are already, but I was two when we're still seeing Mommy. And we never grew up! We will always be Mommy's babies."
The expression on his mother's face is filled with regret and pain. She looked down, her hands shaking and cold.
She pulled herself together and smiled.
"The next crescent moon will be your birthday. We will celebrate grandly. How does that sound?"
The thought made the Prince happy but also unhappy at the same time.
"But my brothers... I want them to be there. I want us to celebrate...birthdays."
She made things worse, she thought. So, Watts spoke to save the moment from getting bitter and spoiled.
"We will. But they have different birthdays, too. Your brothers...were taken. But we will bring them back. Don't you think they will be sad if you won't celebrate your birthday? I think they will be happy. Their turns will come. And once you're with them, we will celebrate your Mommy's birthday altogether. Exciting, right?"
"Mommy's birthday!?"
"Yes. Mommy's birthday."
The Prince giggled and nodded. His eyes, shimmering.
"I want to celebrate Mommy's birthday!"
Watts chuckled and nodded, "Yey! Dress up, it's cold. I hope you'll fit in my clothes."
After dressing him up, they combed his hair and tied it in a low, twin pigtails. They went out, each side is an adult and between them is the child. The Prince is very happy.
"Mommy, cupcake! Cupcake!" He danced when he saw the desserts on the table as they come to the dining room. The Earthlings were getting a fill for themselves. There are so many food on the table and they helped making them.
Watts picked up the Prince and showed him the table from a higher view. His eyes sparkled. Prince Maxigaufeas scrunched his nose. The Prince's eyes are...better than theirs.
"Cupcake~"
Spike Xirquit looked at the specific cupcake he's looking at and took it. Thinking that it's taken, the Prince got sad and sulk on Watts Xirquit's shoulder.
"A-Ah! It's not for me! It's for you!" Spike panicked with fear. He couldn't look at the woman just beside his brother. Her glares are already telling him that he might as well be their next meal.
Watts chuckled and wiped the Prince's liquid tears. But when it dried on his skin, it turn into sparkling dust. While those who fell past his face turn into diamonds.
Watts stared at the glitters on his hand.
"You're a crybaby," he said with a smile. The cupcake is now in the Prince's hands, eating it silently.
"Mommy, too."
Azarese's eyebrow raises as soon as she heard it. The Prince didn't see it, luckily. Or else, it would make him cry. Watts saw it and he smiled at her apologetically.
"I am not." The mother strongly denied.
The Prince pouted, "Mommy, don't lie. That's bad. Kuya Zoddy said lying is bad."
She was taken aback from the mention of her eldest and most loved, silenced. She took him from Watts Xirquit and went to the living room where they sat, the Prince on his lap, enjoying the sweet cupcake.
"Tell me about your brothers,"
Watts Xirquit reached for a tray and put plates of food on it. Then he joined the mother and son leaving the tray on the table.
"Kuya Zoddy is the best!"
It made both of them smile, "A capable big brother to you. I'm happy you get along."
Prince Valerian nodded. His smile stretches out to his ears and his eyes sparkle more.
"He always tell me he loves me, too. He's very sweet. He's my shield, always protecting me from Maximilien. Maximilien is very mean. He doesn't respect Kuya Zoddy. Always picking a fight with us. Maximilien is scary. He loves his guns and threatens us with it. Ivy and Ambry are best of friends and they're nice to me, too. They're always making fun of Maximilien. Ambry is very elegant and beautiful. Ivy is calm but mischievous. I love my brothers. I love them and they love me, too. That's why..."
And from the sparkle of his eyes fell acidic tears.
"I was...chasing the butterflies. But when I return home, they're gone. I thought they left me. I was so lonely. Mommy, I miss them. Maximilien, even if he's mean, he's nice to me sometimes. Whenever I cry because of him, he will look so guilty and will throw his toys at me for me to play. Maximilien is nice. I miss my Kuya. I want Kuya Zoddy back."
Azarese buried his face on her chest and console him with her gentle caress and touch.
The Earthling saw them from the dining room. They looked at each other, then to Prince Maxigaufeas who's staring at the boy.
"I will bring them back. I promise you." She swore, her words buried through her soul.
Suddenly, their environment became pitch black. The Earthlings found themselves standing in the middle of the darkness. A light shone from above and now they could see each other.
"You're very ungrateful," the Prince said in the comfort of her frozen mother's clutch.
A light shone shone over them. They're still seated. Watts is as confused as everybody else, but they knew that it is the Prince's doing.
From his mother's shoulder, he lifted his head to look at the Earthlings behind them.
"The fastest way to save your husband is by my mother's methods, not mine. And yet, you dare refuse her kindness?"
The Empress Dowager felt cold right there. Prince Maxigaufeas transferred to her side and stood in front of her.
"P-Prince... We don't... I don't... Understand?" Watts Xirquit stutter.
"My personality?"
Watts Xirquit took a step back. The Prince is staring at him straight through his soul. He couldn't tell the names of the emotions surging in his eyes. Is he mad? Is he disappointed?
"This is not deception, believe me. I am me. What you see is what I am. This, too."
He levitated and circled around his mother. He gave her light kisses on her face with a smile so dear in his lips.
"We know about out mother's suffering. We know that she thought that we're just characters created by her minds, so we played our parts. The perfect sons and the sweetest boys. We truly are. We want our mother's love and she want ours. It's just us. Mommy and us. So, we made a vow,"
He stopped in front of his mother and cupped her face.
"Protect Mommy and make her happy. But what do we know about those? We're only little babies who's never seen the whole world, inexperienced and depraved of knowledge. But we tried. And we were trying."
He pushed himself away from his mother and levitated higher until he's high enough for them to look up to. He raised his hands to his sides; and within the darkness, the combined symbols of his brothers emerged to become a sight to behold.
"We may be kids, but we are of great capabilities. Power was never a challenge to us. From the moment we were, it's right within our palms. We are terrifying weapons, Maximilien used to say. But we're not weapons, are we? Because we're her sons. Children of the abandoned and unloved Third Lady of Heart. We sought means to help our dear mother. We worked hard, but Kuya Zodiac worked the hardest. He is the real weapon."
Prince Zodiac's symbol manifested his form below it. His astral body moved around, then when it recognized his father, he ran to him. Watts Xirquit was too stunned to greet him.
"I don't know where he is, but I know he's doing a good job. And I, I aspire to be as great as him. He put his faith in me. He trusts me. He loves me, and I will hate myself if I were to fail him or disappoint him. I want to prove myself to him, that he can rely to his brothers, too. I am second to the eldest but he's doing most of the work."
"We are brothers but we have different views. Maximilien seeks vengeance against his father and everyone. What Kuya Zodiac seeks for is much complex for my understanding. Ambry and Ivy? Hmm, who knows? I do not know. What do they want?"
Watts Xirquit went down to his knee and meet his son. Prince Zodiac then bursts into sparkling dusts.
"What about you? What do you seek for?"
The Prince is glad that he asked.
"Change."
He closed his hands and the symbols of his brothers were cleared. And when he opened his hands again, their environment changed. Before them plays the moment of his mother's birth, the birth of the Third Lady of Heart.
"When I learned about this second chance, I was glad. I had high hopes that times in this one will be different, that the 'change' I seek has come. I seek to change my mother's fate. And to do that, I need the expertise, experience, counsel, and wisdom of the adults. I looked forward to meeting you, believing that you're different from your first selve. You may not know what happened before, but you are still you. And you proved that when you did the different yet same thing to my mother now. And I'm quite happy about what Maximilien did. You're indebted to me now."
Prince Maxigaufeas felt his heart fell when he heard it. The haunting smile on Prince Valerian's lips was buried in his mind.
"Who are you? No, what are you? How did you do it?" Voltage Xirquit braved, asking about how the Prince helped them.
"I don't know much about me. I don't know who my Daddy is yet, but Kuya Zoddy told me that I will inherit the darkness. The girl, Fifa, I used her to extend my help to you. How did I know where his sister is? The same thing happened before. She went missing, he tried to look after her, but the longer he delayed his mission, the faster she will be forgotten. That's all I know, though. But then despite my efforts, you dare challenge my mother's patience. Why?"
Prince Maxigaufeas held his mother's hand tight, while the other hand is waiting and prepared to summon his gun to defend themselves in case Prince Valerian chose violence.
"If you truly know your mother, then you should understand why we are guarded. We witnessed her cruelties. She's something dangerous and we must be cautious. We are grateful for your help. I truly am and I respect you for that. But your mother is a threat to us. What do we know about the past? Why must we shoulder the sins of our previous selves? Why must we held responsible and accountable for the things we are innocent of?"
And though his reasoning made sense, it didn't pleased Prince Valerian.
"And what about when you saw her brothers bullying her?"
Prince Maxigaufeas's forehead wrinkled.
"Did you know what they did to her? You bunch ignored her as if she was never there. You were the adults but you turned a blind eye. Yes, given that you were brainwashed, but where is your compassion? You call yourselves 'humans' but where is your humanity? You were the ones who declared equality and fairness but you depraved my mother of such basic values. And you, you saw it with your own eyes but you looked away because IT'S NOT YOUR BUSINESS. An accomplice!"
His horns began to grew as the orb in his eyes turn into a slit. His teeth jaw clenched, teeth gritting as he seethe. Prince Maxigaufeas felt spiky chills crawl under his skin.
Prince Valerian closed his eyes and calmed himself.
"I maybe associated with the darkness, but I won't stoop low to meet your level. I am better. I don't want to dirty my hands, but I know someone who will."
As he slowly open his eyes, his lips began to stretch into a meaningful smile. He went down and returned to his mother's lap, still looking at Prince Maxigaufeas.
"Maximilien will be truly delighted," then he looked right at the baby bump of his mother and his smile faded, "Remember what you did to my brother. He's coming. What comes around goes around."
Azarese kissed her son, "Do you want to sleep now? Sleep in my arms. I will be here."
Prince Valerian smiled and nodded and stared into his mother's eyes. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw something dark lurking within his mother.
It waved his hand to him.
Krone.
"What is it?" Asked his mother when she saw the change of his expression.
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck, "Nothing, Mommy. You're so beautiful. I love you with all my heart."
"Oh, my sweet boy. And I love you, too."
They cuddled warmly and the Prince placed his hand on the back of his mother's head. There, he absorbed the thing within his mother and erased its existence completely.
"Mommy, as long as I am here, no harm will ever come your way again."
A promise much greater and serious than a declaration to the heavens.