King Wesely came rushing into the garden after hearing the absolute mayhem that ensued just moments earlier. When he entered the terrain, he was met with burned trees and crops along with blood smeared across the trees and grass. The short and out-of-shape king was accompanied by three of his concubines who were all significantly taller than him. He had convinced them to join him in his crusade downstairs, but he didn't tell them that he was going to use them as human shields if the "assassin" was still alive and managed to kill Luca and Gou. The king walked through the botanical arena, trying not to step on any blood. The smell of smoke entered his nose, causing him to plug his nose.
"Luca! Gou!" He called in his nasally voice. "Are you dead?"
"We're here." A man called. The king's head snapped in fear towards the direction the voice came from. He was caught off guard, but quickly came to his senses when he realized he knew the voice.
"Luca? Is that you?"
"Indeed it is, Your Majesty." The man with long, auburn hair emerged from the shadows. His hair was out of its usual ponytail, but his face remained the same. His skin was light as he was a North Continent native, but appeared discolored due to the red shine of the moon. Black eyes and eyebrows with a smile of gold was how many described him. His beauty mark on the left side of his chin and a canine that resembled a fang that protruded from the left side of his mouth. His armor was marvelous, brilliant shades of blue ran all along his body, torso and lower body alike. He towered over many things, including people. On his back were two things, his extravagant golden sword and his best friend, Gou Twendlen.
Gou Twendlen was a man around the same age as Luca, but next to Luca, he appeared younger. Upon Luca's back, the man was fast asleep. He snored softly while he took his much needed slumber. His long, black hair was messy, which was understandable as he had just finished engaging in combat. His face had masculine features, such as his thick, dark eyebrows and well-developed jawline. However, he also had soft features, like the moles on his chin and under his right eye, and how he slept like a princess awaiting her savior. In short, the man could be described as beautiful, despite his masculinity.
The king's concubines looked at the two men with eyes of admiration and lust, more than they had ever looked at the man they were currently serving. One of the concubines who went by the name of Cecelia who especially had a liking to Gou. Cecelia was bold, more courageous and outgoing than the other two of the king's lady friends. She had hair that was reminiscent of a lion's mane, in both shape and color. She acted as prideful as a lion as well, so her nickname around the castle was Lioness of Zelch.
"Excuse me, sir." Cecelia approached Luca. "Is that man on your back looking for a friend?" She asked as she winked at Luca, trying to convey a secret message to him. Luca understood what she was asking about and took it as an opportunity to play a harmless little joke. His lips curled into a twisted smile.
"Sorry, but he has two husbands waiting at home."
"Oh. Um...what about you?"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'm hardwired to only be attracted to Ogres." This time, Luca told the truth. From the moment Luca had began developing crushes, it was never on human girls, or any other race. In the West Continent, there are a different species of Ogre known as the Cherry Ogre. Growing up, Luca's crushes were all on female Cherry Ogres. He's chalked it up to be because of his Ogre lineage (which is what he was told by his father), but in actuality, it's just preference.
"That's enough out of you!" King Wesely snapped at Cecelia. "The three of you, go back inside!" The women hung their heads in shame, but followed their monarchs orders. Luca did feel a little bad for them, but he knew Wesely wasn't mistreating them. He's known him basically his entire life, so Luca would know if anything fishy was going on just based on how Wesely acted. He was just harsh, but he wasn't the worst person in the world, well, at least to Luca's knowledge.
"Your Majesty, the assassin has been slain. I admit that it took effort that I wasn't expecting, but we got the job done. I burned the body just incase it had the Magic ability to resurrect, so you're safe now."
"Oh, what joyous news! I knew you two could do it! Good ol' One Arm and One Eye! I shall pay you both in the morning, but please, stay until your injuries recover."
"I'm not really injured, just tired. Gou on the other hand suffered some heavy damage in his chest area, so he could use an Oraphim." The Oraphim race, a race of humanoid creatures with pointed ears, absolutely exceptional hearing, and light-colored hair. Native to the southeastern territories of the North Continent. They are very connected with the god they worship and have learned Magic from him, over the years, gaining the natural ability to heal others. Gwendolyn has this ability, while Adeline has not yet developed this technique.
"An Oraphim, eh? Hm...well, I'm sure I could find one."
"Either an Oraphim or just a use of Magic of Healing. That should work."
"Okay, very well! By morning, you two shall get your pay and Gou shall be treated and be back at perfect health!" King Wesely had his moments, but to his allies, he was the most honest man you'd ever meet. When Luca heard the words of the money-loving king, the ends of his mouth curled into a smile and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks a lot, Wesely. Knew I could count on you."
"Anytime, my friend! Now get your rest." The king said. He dismissed the two off to the guest bedrooms in the castle. He could tell Luca was tired and thought he needed a good sleep, especially for the trip back to Karangan. Once Luca had went back inside, the king's mind switched to finding a person who could help speed up Gou's recovery. He wandered around his garden, thinking of all possible and quick options. As he walked through the garden, he held out his hands, green light emitting from them and restoring the crops and trees back to normal. Once everything had been restored, the king sat on the ground near the seeds. He sat there for hours, thinking of ways to help Gou. It was by the time that the moon had fallen and the sun was reentering the sky when Wesely came to a realization.
He jumped up from his grassy seat with hope in his eyes. "That's it!" He yelped, turning back to waddle his way back inside of his golden royal mansion. If this idea wasn't going to work, Luca couldn't say he didn't try.
Gou
A red moon and a white haired boy. Freckled shoulders and tanned skin facing away from me. Ears of an Oraphim. I know this set-up, this wasteland behind me and the figure with dark, gnarled trees in front of me. The third time I've had this dream. It was horrible of me to say, but I had given up on saving that boy. I tried twice, but failed just when he was out of reach. As the boy walked towards the woman, I just sat there. I knew the dream would end as soon as he joined hands with the woman, so it was best to wait it out.
But, the boy stopped walking. "The heck are you doing?" I thought to myself. I could see the boy ball up his fists, shaking subtly. Something is wrong. This never happened in my previous dreams, everything had always played out the same way. The boy was still on my side, so his entire body was illuminated by the sun. I heard a slight exhale from him as he turned to face me.
A young boy with round eyes and red pupils was in front of me. He had freckles on his face and tears running down his cheeks. His white hair was his most striking feature, but what caught my attention where the two, long bangs of flowing hair that covered the sides of his face. As he silently cried, he stared at me with confusion, sadness, and a bit of anger. Teary-eyed, he yelled at me.
"Papa...aren't you going to help me?!"
With that, I awoke from my dream, staring at a dark yellow ceiling in disbelief. My heart was racing and my chest was still in pain.
"Pa...pa?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't call me that." A voice answered from my left side. I turned over on my side to look at the person who spoke to me. It was Luca, out of his armor, wearing a long-sleeve black shirt with a white shirt on top.
"Don't be stupid."