It has been 2 months since the announcement of the couple and their unexpected triplets that are soon to be on the way, but even as most are elated. There are some who aren't exactly excited to hear of such news at a very late date.
"So she's having triplets? What an unexpected surprise" the emperor spoke whilst sat unfazed on his throne not even caring by the fact Blaire was having another chance at life.
"Yes, your greatness. The guards managed to get the information from an unknown source that came at directly when midnight struck. Whoever the messenger is remains unknown" a servant confirmed showing no hesitation on explaining further details of how they gained such valuable knowledge about the traitor.
"Hm? What about the enemy? Is he still grumpily lounging about in that old castle of his?" Aelius questioned immediately changing the subject onto something he thought was more important. The servant began to sweat gulping nervously scared to even defy his master.
"Not exactly.. Recently he's become far more active than usual with some of his minions. Some are starting to believe one of them is walking amongst us listening in on our conversations your greatness" they announced striking come concern onto their emperor as his gazed glanced around, before standing up from his throne and made his way down the stairs.
"I want everyone on guard! If any signs of any outsider working with that bastard Alaric should be executed straight on spot! No hesitations or those who dare to fail me will be next" Aelius growled stomping through as his cape flowed behind him, and it was clear he planned to take immediate action against Alaric's plans to possibly attack his kingdom.
"YES SIR?!" Everyone yelled hitting their hands against their own chests in a way of saluting their honour to the fearless leader, as he left the throne room with some assistance to immediately start a meeting with nearby allies and prepare for what is to come.
The servant went their own way down a different corridor before phasing through the wall, into a huge unknown area decorated to look like a library like meeting room. It also appeared to be closed off to everything else and they weren't alone. Another ghost was present having their back faced towards them, light yellow skin in colour, long orange fiery hair they had tied up into a plat. When the servant got closed, it was clear to see that this ghost wore some goggles gently resting on the top off his head keeping them firm in place, as those ruby red eyes stared down at a map that was laid spread out on a freshly polish dark wooden table, that stood firmly in front on them. His clothes was similar to what an adventurer would wear prepared for anything.
"How is the planning going? Do we finally have an opening?" The servant asked until dropping their disguise revealing to be no one other than Dex himself, he seems to be working alongside this ghost who hummed resting a hand under their chin while analysing the map in front of them. "Severus?" He asked coming right up beside them and down at the map, seeing all the notes, arrows and different coloured letters and stuff they had noted to know their way around the castle without being spotted.
"Give me a moment, will you? Preparation takes time ya know, and Alaric clearly stated that he wants me to make this unexpected entrance completely flawless. And with my reputation on the line, I do not wish to displease him" Severus replied sounding rather posh and stern with his words, placing down his hands against the table directly peering down at map, but then something caught his eye. "Yes! That's the one!" He excitedly yelled pointing at the middle back part of the castle, since this was the oldest map and isn't being used it, reveals that there used to be a secret opening hiding behind some spiky crystal rose bushes. "We need to explore this secret entrance before we think about going any further with the plan. So do your part and let me do mine" Severus was pumped and ready to seek out new secrets no one has uncovered before, as Dex smirked knowing that a powerful, unstoppable revolution is soon to come. It is practically inevitably for anyone to try and escape it at this point. A war is going to break out wether the people like it or not, after all they're just.. Puppets being pulled by a single thread. Used against their own will for someone else's personal gain.
"That bastard isn't going to know what hit him!" Dex said with the same pumped energy ready to get this long plan over and done with, turning back into his disguise ready to do possibly one last shift, as Severus faded off and scout the area he finally managed to find.
Severus' POV:
Upon walking towards the area this secret passage is hidden, a glimpse of a guard caught my eye fording me to jump up into a nearby t as going invisible is impossible, especially around these kind of ghosts. Their ability allows them to see ghosts who are lower than them in power when invisible, but I do not wish to waste my power to hide when I can just do it myself.
The guard eventually passed by allowing me to jump down as I landed on both feet, and quickly rushed towards the spiky crystal rose bushes that hid the secret entrance fully from view. I stopped when seeing such dangerous beauty as it power allow could paralyse or protects those who it touches for wither a max of 30 minutes or more depending on their blood, abilities or relations. It was believed to have been grown by the blood of a god that create this very realm before life dares to exist. The only way on getting through or past them was by destroying it or chilling away it's forns, but even I don't have that much patience when it comes to gardening a huge bush filled with dangerous plants.
"I wonder what they'll think of some blue flames?" I thought opening them palm facing it towards the roses and set the area ablaze, melting them down to liquid and ash. I was finally given the opportunity to phase through and see if this secret entrance truly does exist. And for what I'm about to find next was far off from what I had expected.
A stairwell covered in dust and mold growing from the cracks of the stone walls decaying the longer they're left unattended, clearly showing that this place hasn't been attended to for thousand or possibly millions of years. I started to descend down feeling the steps almost crumble and break no matter what weight is put against it.
Everything started to get darker the deeper I went so I did the only option I hade and used some simple magic and opened my palm, creating a head sized bright red glowing orb allowing it to float off in front of me guiding the way, just incase there was a hole or something I could have fallen into if I'm not careful enough.
"This place could collapse at any moment. I need to hurry up and somehow stabilise everything before we notify Alaric of this place" I thought cautiously watching my step when entering to what seemed to be a endless pitch dark room, as the orb started to drift off so I created more to light the area up and to my surprise it was massive, filled with endless treasures, pictures and other ancient things including a painting that belonged to one of the oldest kings to ever rule this realm. Leontios the first of many that brought dignity, loyalty, power and respect to the entire kingdom and a long ancestor of our recent deceased empress Dione. Her picture too is down here half covered with fabric and covered in dust.
Books of old history and magic was scattered like someone use to be down here studying this stuff, but I cannot read such old witchcraft. It had pictures and everything inside along with the others having symbols, weird wording and more, it was clear someone had been reading them illegally.
However, after scavenging around for more intel until finding an leather diary with the old queen's name on it. My curiosity got the best of me and I blew the dust that had set on it as I coughed before finally opening it seeing how neat her hand writing was.
"There's absolutely no way is this actually Empress Dione's diary?" I muttered completely stunned at what I was witnessing starting at the beginning, but it appeared like she wrote all her experiences and confessions into a book of some sort. Almost like that at least from how in detail it all was, pulling me in like a tidal wave aching me to dig in even more. I then stopped once Devina was mentioned, the emperor's daughter? "No way.. she confessed on cheating on him with Alaric having no clue she had a mutation, therefore she got pregnant the same day with another man's child" I was dumbfounded, not only was Dione cheating with Alaric, but they had a secret child under the emperor's nose as well. "Wait! There's something else.. 'I had to put a spell on her, it was the only way to hide the monstrosity I had brought into this world. I refuse to have it reek havoc on my people, it's what my father would've wanted. Even though murder would've been a better option, but I couldn't do it! She was my first daughter.. A daughter I had made with a monster'" I didn't know what to think and yet when I use to work in the castle the empress absolutely adored her child, everyone saw it with their own eyes. Was it all just for show? I need to show Alaric this before I decide to read on. There are too many dark secrets I've found out already, I don't want my view of the lady to darken even more than it has now. I worry for Devina's safety more than anything knowing she's possibly the only living daughter he has left.
I grabbed what I needed information and all before quickly leaving and hiding the entrance for Alaric to find, secretly teleporting myself back to his castle where he waits impatiently for my return.
No one's POV:
Severus randomly appeared within the throne room immediately peeking at Alaric's interest when seeing his scout return unharmed, as he sat up repositioning himself to appeared more serious and ready for what they had to deliver.
"I have interesting intel for you, and a book you might like to read about what the woman you dearly loved and cherished behind Aelius' back" Severus held out Dione's diary forcing Alaric to stand up and walk over taking the book with honour, before opening it right then and there. Severus stood there nervously as the huge man that stood there carefully read every word and page she wrote. Alaric's expression quickly shifted to annoyance as his tail flicked and hit the ground aggressively with a single strike.
"THAT WITCH?!" Alaric roared loudly slamming the book shut as his flowing interstellar cosmic like hair began to fire up in rage, before suddenly in a swift motion he lifted his head towards the ceiling and opened his mouth, letting out a huge burst of purple blue coloured flames to escape engulfing the ceiling as he roared out all of the anger and lain he was currently experiencing.
"Holy shit.." Severus quietly yelled feeling the heat fill up the room longer Alaric continued to rage. This caused everyone to evacuate including Severus for now allowing their ruler to cool himself down before anyone gets themselves seriously hurt.
It took Alaric hours to stop trashing up the throne room until sitting down back on his half burnt throne. He was catching his breath when glancing his eyes around at the mess that had been made, but this was only just the beginning.
"My little princess is no monster, but I AM! I'll show you what a real god is capable of doing to your precious little kingdom. It's what you deserve for lying to me, betraying me and using me only for your own personal pleasure. And hear I thought I actually had someone who truly cared about me" Alaric muttered and growled rethinking some of the words that had been spoken within Dione's diary, but he didn't manage to go through it all and refuses to incase of another outburst. He glanced down at the diary that laid unharmed at the bottom of the stairwell that led to his throne. "Devina deserves to know the true about her mother, I don't want my little girl to be blinded by her fake love" he thought getting up and grabbed the diary with nothing, but hatred to that woman's name and immediately opened a portal before walking through without a secret thought.
He exited entering Blaire's and Dan's living room within their home a new scenery for him, but that wasn't the top of his priorities at the moment and started to walk around in search if his daughter. It didn't take long for distant mumbling to be hear coming from the basement, he stood there at the top of the stairwell seeing how lowly lit it was and went into his human disguise, looking just like his daughter, but male before casually heading down.
"Devina? Are you down here?" Alaric called out finally getting to the bottom and started to look around, not expecting to see who she was exactly with at the time.
"Oh, hi dad. I didn't know you were coming today, is something wrong?" Blaire called back as she spotted him as he glanced up seeing her standing there within her new library quiet room big belly and all, but when seeing Dione standing there behind her his entire body froze like a statue. "Dad?" She asked as Dione's she's met his instantly knowing who this man was, the core remained the same from how they last met.
"..." deafening immediately silence hit the basement floor being so quiet you could easily hear a pin drop from upstairs. Blaire cleared her throat in response glancing between the two as Dione glanced down at what he was holding. Alaric grabbed his daughter and pulled her away from this faker before she decides to harm more with fake tears, love and support.
"I refuse to believe any words that dare to escape that foul mouth of yours. My daughter is not a monster and I starting today you are to keep your distance from her for now on. And if you dare to lay a single hair on her, I will tear you apart" Alaric was stern when threatening Dione as he pointed the book on her direction while glaring at the woman, she was shocked and so was Blaire who had no idea what he was blabbering on about.
"What on Earth are you talking you? You sound absolutely ridiculous! My mother will never hurt me" Blaire argued pushing herself away from her father who was caught of guard, but he didn't blame her as she knew nothing about this woman's true nature.
"Why? I thought you knew me Alaric, but you're just like the others. Cruel and never listen, and now you're trying to turn our only daughter against me!" Dione responded sounding rather upset turning her face away as if hurt from how he was acting in front of their child.
"And? Is that supposed to make me feel guilty? I do have proof of your betrayal my dear, in this pretty little diary of yours" He replied unfazed as her eyes darted up seeing him waving the book for all of them to see, Dione's eyes widened in horror when seeing this and tried to grab it, but Alaric was just too quick and dodged causing her to fall hitting the ground with a thud. "From your reaction I guess these feelings of yours are true. How vile of you to be so unholy. Oh how your father would be sooo disappointed" he added knowing the old Emperor very well as it was supposed to be him to marry her, not the brat who got lucky to take the seat last second because of some 'deal' he made.
"I don't get it! Why are you acting like this? I need to know what the heck is going on!" Blaire demanded to know the truth as Dione slowly picked herself off from the floor and turned to faces her daughter, fear was painted in the mother's eyes as Alaric walked towards their daughter with his back turned leaving himself wide open.
"Here. Take a read, it'll show your mother's true colours sweetheart, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't care about you" Alaric said handing over the book completely distracted as Blaire took it unsure if she wanted to read or not. "If you're not ready I won't force you, take your time and think this through" he added placing a hand on her shoulder when Dione bolted straight at him, claws out and everything before plunging straight through his core revealing it in her hand in front of their daughter. "T-take it!... Quickly" he muttered struggling to keep a hold on his words as she grabbed his core and hid it away along with the book using her magic.
Blaire was distraught seeing her father being killed in cold blood by Dione his once thought to be true love, but he finally knew that it was all a lie. Dione pulled back the claw from inside his chest as he fell backwards hitting the floor hard with a thud, losing his form revealing the true identity of what he was. Blaire started to choke up tears flowing through as she collapsed down beside his dead body, leaking with ectoplasm.
"NO! Please don't do this, I need you! Daddy?!" She dramatically screamed as Dione stood there hovering over his dead body surprised by her actions, staring at the claw she killed him away covered in his blood. "Why did you kill him?! You MURDERER!" Blaire glared up at her mother with eyes filled with rage while hugging Alaric's dead body, it was slowly turning cold.
"I-I.." Dione didn't have the chance to explain when Dan came rushing downstairs in his ghost form when hearing Blaire's screams, then did he see the mess that had been made.
"Get away from her!" He growled quickly darting into action about to attack Dione before she disappeared he wanted to chase after her, but leaving Blaire alone like this isn't the best idea especially after losing one of her most supportive parents. He kneeled down beside her and gently rubbed her back in a supportive manner, hating it when she's like this it reminds him of what happened to Avery and if he could've changed it. Could all of this have been prevented if only Severus hadn't let Alaric know about the book's existence?