It was the twenty-third hour.
King Janes finally felt his mind ease after Lord Gaven was stabilised.
"Great thanks, my king!" Lord Gaven appreciated, still quite shaken. His voice was hoarse, but would be fine after some days of rest and maple tea.
After receiving advice from the shaman, he made an exit with his attendants.
Once King Janes sensed that he was out of earshot, he cast a soundproof barrier and turned to the Shaman.
"Your son needs caution." The Shaman said to the king without preamble. His thousand-year old eyes, aloof, bore into the king.
King Janes shrank, all the words in his throat shriveling up. "He does."
Shaman Gu nodded and turned around. With the carefulness, he began to put away his supplies.
The king stood behind, lost in his thoughts until a smile tugged at his lips.
"What amuses you, my King?" The Shaman asked without turning. The king's eyes widened slightly, smile fading.
Shaman Gu continued, voice harder. "You have slacked in the preparation of your child for this hour, yet you find it in your heart to make merry."
King Janes lowered his eyes, thoroughly chastised. The little candle flames flickered. King Janes agreed that despite his efforts, his son remained unruly, quite alright but...
This hour? Was he hearing alright?
His gaze snapped up. Shaman placed the last medical supply on the shelf with a clink that seemed too loud in the silence and faced his king.
"This-"
"You-"
They spoke at the same time. Their gazes locked on. A confused gaze and an impassioned gaze.
Shaman Gu said calmly, yet carrying an edge, "you forget so soon..."
King Janes didn't need to hear the rest. He vanished, the barrier dissolving behind him.
A gust of wind blew, snuffing out the candles.
The words the Shaman didn't get to say murmured through their mind link.
"... the sins of your father. "
After what seemed like an eternity, the candle flickered back to life to unveil an empty room.
----
"Relik!"
"Father?" Relik pushed his head up from his aunt whose bosom he had been resting on.
His servant, a young boy standing beside them made to follow, but withdrew on a second thought.
"Relik!"
"Father!" The young man jumped to his feet and rushed to the door. As soon as he opened it, big mistake.
He was yanked out by the ears.
"Father!" Relik cried, wincing at the sharp pain.
"It's your king to you," king Janes corrected, grip tightening.
"Fa - ow!" Relik struggled, but it was torture to pull away when his ears were getting pulled in the opposite direction.
"Ow, alright. My Ki- ow. My king. My king!" He begged pitifully.
When he tried to vanish, his father sensed that and tapped the freeze point on his neck.
Stewing, he spread his aura but his servant was nowhere to be found.
"Shedrik, you traitor," he screamed through their bond but was met with a unmovable wall. His jaw dropped.
Like that, the hopeless fish was forced down the winding halls.
As they turned a corner, the strong scent of silk scarfs wafted through the air. He glued his eyes to the floor when they passed the source. The sniveling giggles of the maidservants taunted him until he was flung into his room.
Relik was slammed into the bed, face first. His brain ran two laps before it pitied him.
Just then, he felt an unexpected release. The tightness slipped out of his joints and his muscles relaxed.
With difficulty, he lifted himself up.
Evil man, he cursed. But not without setting up his own barrier.
Father sized his son up like he had heard his sin.
What's taking you so long? Hand over my punishment. Relik's eyes narrowed.
Gingerly, he touched his ear, and let it go when it burned.
"Father look now - you impeded the blood supply. Soon, it'll fall off. Then, I'll be the first one-eared prince."
King Janes' jaw slackened. "You- you- What have you been doing with manners you were taught?"
"I was saving the Moonlight princess," he mumbled, but was heard very clearly.
"What-" King Janes was about to send his son a blast of wind , but caught the roguish grin on his son's face.
A faint resignation came over him. The permeating look he gave his son was as if he was seeing him for the first time. "You caused a ruckus today. Do you confess?" He inquired flatly, and gave him his back.
Relik started. He didn't know why he suddenly felt wary. "I confess but-"
"Silence!" King Janes thundered. Relik recoiled.
The king turned slightly to the side, hands tucked behind him. "You will go into seclusion until you finish your studies. Am I understood?"
A sense of dread percolated his skin. His face fell. Why now?
It was clear that he had gone too far this time. "Father," he meekly pleaded.
In monotone, laced with a silent threat, the king repeated, "Am I understood?"
"Yes, my king." Relik almost began to wail. There was no away to approach from here. That stance, his tone - it was final.
All the adventures he had planned with Shedrik and his friends was going to dust.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew, and his unbound hair whipped across his face. As Relik pushed it back, the wind grew insistent, scattering it more. He pulled a black rope that adorned his wrist and tied his hair up in a bun.
Simultaneously, the wind grew violent. It whistled an eerie melody against the windows, weaved its way through the fireplace and rattled objects.
Relik backed away unconsciously, unease creeping through him.
As if time had frozen, the air stilled.
As far as his ears could reach, the castle was suddenly a graveyard. He approached his father, saw the bulging of veins in the tight grip of the staff he held, saw fear in his visage.
About to open his mouth, something fell with a loud clatter. Both spun around. At the foot of the curtain lay an unlit candle stand.
However, it wasn't what caught their attention. Because looking up between the rich golden material, revealed the thunder clouds gathering outside the window, dark and ominous.
In the middle of the harvest season...
Rain?
Did the weather champion send a report and he'd missed it?
King Janes shook his head frantically, denying the terrifying sight before him.
Lightning struck the sky, illuminated the shrouded world. The window before them was thrown open by an unseen force. A loud crack followed instantaneously, zigzagged across the window panes. The large mirrors behind Relik's headboard followed in tandem.
Goosebumps rose over Relik's arms as he adopted a protective stance.
Are the vampires responsible for this? Can they control the sky?
He shook his head, dispelling the thought.
He blamed that bald man for his myopic thinking.
I should have trained yesterday. What if I miss a step? He stole a glance at his father and dared not say it aloud.
An earth-quaking thunder shook the earth vigorously. He knew what was about to come.
The beholding of a disaster, they all shattered to pieces.