Courage is the key to freedom and freedom is the key to life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The man who claimed to be my step-brother raised his gaze on the top of my head. He must be inwardly questioning why his half-brother from a royal family had no crown.
Caleb, Peaches, Raphael, and Crowley tensed when my 'brother' walked forward and placed his hand on my head. He shut his eyes, exhaling before withdrawing his hold from me.
"Lucius isn't here yet but you are welcome to wait."
"When will he be coming back?" I queried.
"Who knows?"
Why was I not surprised with his answer? He sounded like he knew how Lucius made promises of his return but would only sprout out of nowhere after a few decades when you no longer expected him to.
Leviathan watched me closely; I fell into a trance after realizing that my older brother might take another eighteen blue moons again.
"But he did come back for you, didn't he?"
I inclined my head forward. "He did."
He faced the ocean, watching the push and pull of the waves that drenched the sands of the shore. "Keep moving forward, Lucian. Don't focus on the passing time. The more you pour your attention on the days without him, the more you'll grow weary. He did not retrieve you from your prison just to imprison you into his protection. He is counting on you to fulfill your duty to live with or without him."
I swallowed the growing lump in my throat, straightening my posture and glancing at his taller and broader form. "He doesn't need to come back to me."
"He doesn't?" Leviathan clarified, the edge of his lips curling up.
"He has a mission to save the world and I am here on a mission to pay what the Ancients owe to the world."
He lowered his head in thought, snorting and walking forward to meet the waves.
"The two of you…really get on my nerves."
He changed into his serpent form and dove back into the ocean. He kept things simple, short, and quick. He was the complete opposite of Lucius who made things dramatic, complex, and long.
"Please follow me; there are grottos ready for your temporary dwelling," Saber said.
The sun rested; our diverse caravan got a well-deserved rest after a hearty meal that the Tourmaline tribe had prepared for us. Peaches savored the seafood, especially the ones with tentacles, that the drakes had to fish for more to keep the servings coming. I had no clue how they knew that I was to be served with merely vegetables. Saber only said "He knows" in referral to Leviathan.
Frey was kept in a separate grotto when we informed Saber of his status and how he was our prisoner. He protested non-stop from his spot, not knowing how we could hear him perfectly.
"Don't you know who I am? I am the Prince of the Vosredal Empire! You reptiles will all pay! You will all pay for this humiliation that you have given me! Prince Lucian, do not think that I have let you off the hook! I will make sure that you suffer the most!"
"He's like a broken parrot," Crowley groaned.
"I don't know why we still keep him alive. I would have spiked him from his butthole all the way up to his throat," Rui grumbled.
Crowley and Ziru winced.
"You're a ruthless kid," the Hanuman commented.
"Don't you ever put that tail of yours close to me," Ziru warned.
"Rui's tail scratches my back nicely," Buck cheered.
I set my eyes on Peaches and Caleb who were on each of my side. Caleb was lying on his side with his eyes shut tightly. He wasn't asleep. I have been with him every night and he never wears a frown on his face when he slumbers. I had not fixed things with him. My stomach churned whenever I thought that my connection with him would forever be strained.
As the night deepened, the drakes returned to their grottos to sleep. The children didn't want to slumber yet, but with one glare of the reaper, the adults in the caravan had to insist that it was time for bedtime.
The twins remained unconscious with no signs of waking up any time soon. Their wounds, however, were fully healed. Leviathan visited them with no greeting and left with no goodbye after splashing them with water to aid with their recuperation.
My half-brother was allergic to giving explanations for his actions. He was the type of man who did things without asking. Perhaps he thought that transforming into a magical flying fish gave him authority over everyone.
The only ones left around the pyram were me, Peaches, Caleb, and Raphael. Caleb remained 'sleeping'. Peaches sat quietly with his eyes blankly staring at the floor. Raphael leaned against the wall with his spear in his arms. His eyes were shut.
"You do not want to sleep?" I asked Peaches.
The reaper glanced at me with his red eyes that held so much power just from the way they glowed.
"I do not sleep because I do not get weary," he answered back.
"You should try it. When you sleep, you completely take a rest from the world," I explained.
He was absolutely deprived of the pleasures in life. He took one of my hands, placing it on his chest while he caressed it with his thumb.
"But I do not desire to take a break from you," he reasoned. "You are a world in which I can be happy in..." he murmured.
His words of endearment sent my heart to beat faster.
'You love him…' a female voice giggled.
The voices came back to pester me whenever my heart would race crazily like this.
'And you love the werewolf too. You are also fond of the angry twin as well as the calm twin,' she chirped.
'Aurora, let my nephew figure out his feelings for himself. It has more impact that way,' my uncle scolded.
Another woman intervened. 'Not to be blunt but that would take him a century before he can figure it out. Just kiss him, Prince Lucian.'
Would kissing him solve my racing and aching heart? I placed my lips over his lips; multiple squeals were heard inside of my mind. Most were females. Peaches held the back of my head and then pushed me down. Our lips molded slowly.
Has Caleb awakened from his false sleep? A tail caressed my face but there was no fluff on it.
Peaches' black tail swished behind him. Two small and pointy horns grew on his head. I did not know what race he was from. Peaches seemed to be the only one of his kind.
"What are you?" I asked him after our lips parted.
His eyebrows furrowed; he went back into his shell of timidity.
"I'm a...I don't know," he mumbled, sitting up. He pulled his hood over his head, ashamed of his horns. "I'm neither good nor evil. My Father had made me this way."
I reached the pointed end of one of his horns.
"Create your own kind. You are the only one who can do it; you know yourself best," I stated. I did not like seeing him perceive himself as a lowly being. "To me you are already someone who is outstanding. You are the reaper who reaped my heart."
Multiple awes resonated in my head. The reaper looked at me wide-eyed. A strong radiant blush matched his flaming hair.
"Lu–Lucian...I'm...a–a," he stuttered and stood. He was having a hard time mustering bravery to tell me something. "I'm too withdrawn to say it!" He groaned, holding his head in a tight grip. "Samael, you fotze (cunt), say it!" He shouted at himself.
Was cursing his way of gathering courage? This was also his first time to acknowledge his name. Maybe doing unfavorable actions and saying non-friendly words gave him a sense of freedom. The twins went out of the grotto to find the source of the noise; Caleb took an annoyed peek, and Raphael had to grip his spear tightly, while the rest of those around us were terrified with what was transpiring.
They should be grateful for witnessing both revolution and evolution.
"Samael, say Arschloch (asshole)" I commanded.
I had been with Slade long enough to learn more than one cuss in different language translations. Thank you, Slade.
The reaper was a man of obedience; he repeated what I had said.
"Arschloch."
"Du Hurensohn (You son-of-a-bitch)," I said.
Samael imitated submissively like a child trying to please an adult.
He had a gleeful expression.
I stroked Caleb's hair as I taught Samael his lessons of becoming a man that he might enjoy being. Caleb's tensed body relaxed under my touch. His frown lightly faded.
"Air il'e yoshmotak (May you be struck by a dick)."
He laughed out loud which caused me to laugh with him.
"Air il'e yoshmotak!"
The reaper landed on his bum as he laughed his heart out. He finally tasted the freedom of not caring about the consequences of living the life that made him euphoric.
He stopped laughing and then gave me a devious look. This time, I realized that I have aided an innocent creature to shed off his shy skin, presenting a layer that could either charm or just annoy the life out of an individual.
"Lucian..." he purred, crawling towards me. His voice sounded more natural now.
He brought out his tongue to lick his lips while he stared at me hungrily. He cupped my neck to place a kiss on my ear, shamelessly whispering lewd words.
"Ich will ficke... (I want to fuck...) you."
"Shinigami!"
Both of our heads snapped to Raphael's direction. Caleb's eyes were fully opened and gleamed with hate.
"Let him," I intervened, placing a hand on the werewolf's heaving chest. "Let him be the one who he wants to be. If he turns out to be hurtful, I'll handle him myself," I assured and then nodded at the reaper who froze from the angel's scolding tone.
I should start to teach Raphael on how to preserve his existence. I held Samael's face, calling his attention. He was guilty of his actions.
"As I have said, you can be what you want to be. Don't let others define who you are."
Samael shut his eyes close and then later on, opened them as if he had woken up in cognizance. He captured my lips once more and leaned his forehead against my chest after.
"Thank you..." he murmured.
He rose, throwing his hooded cape to the ground, exposing his well- built chest.
"I'll come back. I need to be alone for a bit," he informed me with a sincere smile. "Thank you for waking me up, Lucian."
He burst through between the grouchy Slade and Sevor who just came down from their grotto. He bumped onto Slade, causing the man to snap at him.
"What are you–"
"Arschloch!" He spat humorously at the younger twin before vanishing into thin air.
What a masterpiece.
Slade faced me with a confused expression. "What the heck happened to him?"
'Are you satisfied with the results?' Uncle asked me.
'I am worried about his sudden change,' I replied.
Liar..." uncle mumbled.
A grin spread on my lips and a pressure in my chest built-up. I had planned to say something to the souls trapped inside of me.
'Uncle?'
'Yes?'
I knew that words could not match or even repay them, but that was all I could do for now.
"Thank you...Thank you for the sacrifices that all of you made for me."
I may not be worthy of their deaths, but I will make sure to make use of this second life to bring home those who were orphaned by this world.
'You are welcome, nephew. None of us regret our sacrifice to give you life.'
But because of their sacrifice, I destroyed the lives of those they left behind. It was the very reason why Queen Titia took her own life and why Lettice rebelled.
I felt a tight grip on my wrist, finding Caleb glaring at me in a degree of subzero.
"I'm hungry; come with me to hunt meat," he gritted out.
But we just ate...What kind of meat was he craving for?