A Rest Disturbed

Abika

~ A Rest Disturbed~

Suddenly upset at hearing that she wouldn’t be allowed to bond with her sword, Abika was about to snap at Maliki when he looked her way and what words had formed, dried up instanatly.

~If you speak now your opinion, you will never see your sword again, do I make myself clear!?~ His gaze said it all. He had a plan and she sound have known that before letting her emotions take over.

“And so your majesty, I would say we forge new blades for these two, but only after the crucible. For their trial, it would be best that they perform with plain iron blades made from the best ore so as not to activate the awaking process a second time. After they are done, we will take them aside and then present them to the crowds with their true blades in hand. It is an obvious fact that these two have the potential and have already passed their χωνευτήριο—crucible.

Nodding, the king and queen both voiced their agreement on the matter. Even Balthazar seemed to be in agreement, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. He was the commander of the blood jackals and based a persons status off of raw talent and not diplomatic standing. For example, Abika knew that Gũnder would never meet his standards based on what she had learned of the war hero already.

“The next χωνευτήριο will be held in six moons time, which brings us to the next matter that must be discussed. What of Kaiźer? Was Abika able to heal him of his injuries?” Lady Alacrãss spoke with ease, and moved past Maliki to stand beside the bed where Kaiźer lay. “He still seems to be barely holding onto life as it is, which only strengthens my need to know what truly happened in the arena.” She shot a sour look at her husband the king.

They all joined her to look down at the boy whom they —except the queen— had all witnessed turn into a demon.

“I will inform you of the events once we leave here,” Maliki voiced while at the same time looking over at the king.

The king looked at him aghast and Abika couldn’t help but sense that her master was going against an order given to him by the king himself. She watched in interest as the kings and her master stared daggers at each other for a second. After what she felt was only a millisecond, the king wilted in what felt like defeat and her mouth dropped open as the man nodded.

“You may do what you wish, but don’t blame me when it comes back to bite you in the ass.”

“Now honey, what do you mean when you say that? I’m sure Maliki had his reasons for wanting to keep me informed whilst you keep me in the dark, isn’t that right dear?” Turning to Maliki she smiled sweetly. Abika felt that such a smile was like that of a cat that had just got what it wanted.

Smiling back just as sweetly, Maliki matched her charisma word for word.

“Yes your majesty, I live to serve.”

After that, they all turned back to Kaiźer as Víeve tended to his bandages, while Abika knelt beside him on the bed. She brushed his hair out of his face as she did, and unbeknownst to her, everyone shared a look at the motion. Her feelings were being laid bare before them all, but no judgment was shown and soon, everyone moved away to talk strategy for upcoming events.

“The unveiling of the young mans shadow abilities is a hitch in your plans I assume Maliki?”

Balthazar was the first to speak, and his question made everyone’s breath catch in surprise.

“Why would the boys condition involve Maliki?”

This time it was the queen who spoke up. They all looked at her before all staring at their king. The older man grumbled something about ganging up on him, but didn’t tell them to stay silent so Maliki and Balthazar both told her of the boys heritage. Lady Alacrãss’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when they revealed their plots to her,

“Wait, the boys royalty?!”

They all shushed her, and she looked at them incredulously.

“Don’t shush me!” She barked while at the same time glancing Abika’s way. Thankfully the girl was to immersed in helping Víeve tend to Kaiźer she didn't hear them.

“This explains all the secrecy. As to the fact of him being the last decedent to the high king and queen, it seems a bit far fetched...”

At this point her husband shook his head. He uncrossed his arms and pulled a little black booklet out of his pocket and flipped to a section he had marked with a purple feather.

“It not, my love. His birthright is a very real thing indeed. I have here the certificates signed and stamped by the high clergy at the time giving proof that he is indeed the next in line to the throne.

Passing the book around the group, they all stared at the insignia on the paper in thought.

“But why adopt him into the Morningstar family, making him the heir to your throne if he is already in line for the high throne?

Maliki placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her, his face a mask that she couldn’t read.

“How do you think the people would react to some no-named brat being placed on the throne when he comes of age, and to top it off, their reaction to him enheriting over 20,000 gold crowns as a down payment so to say?” —his question was not so much a question but a deceleration of truth— “It was decided, that we teach him the ways of the highborn and then adopt him into a family of high birth before raising his status to royalty. Besides, there is a distant relation between the High King and the MorningStar Family. Technically you are his aunt.

Lady Alacrãss crossed her arms under her breasts and all the men looked away politely as she contemplated the new info, doing what she could to decipher the whole of it.

“How am I supposed to look at him the same now? I can no longer view him as just some orphan we’ll be adopting. His status is now higher than even mine, how am I going to deal with such?”

Maliki chuckled as her husband the king, scoffed. “That was one of the reasons we were trying to keep you in the dark. If not for the events prior, my king would have made us keep you in the dark till at least the year of the boy’s coronation.

“Oh really?” She said slowly, her voice low, each syllable dripping with venom. “He would have kept such a big secret from me for so long? I should he ashamed of you!” She snapped at the end, her hand flashing quick as lightning to strike her husband upon the cheek. “Such secrets destroy marriages you well know, as well as topple kingdoms in our case. You should have thought of that the first day you heard of the boys arrival in our city.”

Cheeks flushed with embarrassment and rage, Kaznik wilted before his wife, for what could he do. He was not a man to strike a lady and it wasn’t in his nature to yell back at her either. Maliki found it curious how most men, himself included could run buck naked into battle with nothing up their battle cries to defend themselves, but when it came to their wives, they wilted like week old flowers before them. Such power had always been held within all families and he was sure that would never change.

“My queen, this matter was not something I could bring up during pillow talk.”

The men chuckled at that and Lady Alacrãss blushed crimson. Maliki felt her maña ripple within her and he quickly blocked the energy from flowing out of her. The only evidence of him using his magic was the breath that hissed from between his lips. And that alone was enough to alert the older woman of his intervention.

Shooting a look of shock and rage his way, she brushed her consciousness against his.

~You dare to block me from berating my husband?~ She screamed in his head. All he did was shake his head as he respsonded.

~My queen, who was it who just seconds ago, berated Abika for unleashing her magic the way you were just about to?~

She simmered for a few seconds before giving a barely perceptible nod his way. Maliki waited as her maña cooled and settled before unleashing her, and relaxed his shoulders when she tossed her hair in frustration. No one had noticed their mental exchange. Letting out a slight sigh, he faced Kaznik and took the book from him before flipping back to the page parked with the purple feather.

“The boy—

“AGHHHHH!”

Eyes going wide, Maliki pivoted on the balls of his toes to face behind himself even as everyone else drew their weapons or summoned magic upon their hands, each of them falling into defensive positions. They were faced with a wild torrent of pure maña that was a pure sphere of blue and black energy. Even the walls of the infirmary were unable to absorb it all as it kept growing.

Grinding his teeth, Maliki cursed the world for he realized too late, Kaiźer had awoken.

Eyes ablaze with negative energy, Kaiźer lay trapped beneath Abika as she gripped the mattress in a death grip. She had felt him jolt suddenly and had barely gotten her arms around him before his eyes had snapped open to flash with magic. She was glad for her grasp on the bed when a dark energy erupted from his very skin to whip at her and the surrounding area.

“Let me go,” he barked. She shuddered as his voice came out deep and gravely. He sounded nothing like the Kaiźer she knew, and she realized it wasn’t the voice of the demon from before either. It was the voice of someone who’s vocal cords had been burned and scorched.

“Calm down Kaiźer, the battle is over, everything is okay now. Gũnder was defeated, you defeated him.”

he didn’t seem to register her, his body convulsing as he wriggled beneath her like a wet eel. She marveled at the strength he had despite his physical condition. Despite being covered him burns, he was overpowering her, and too late, she felt her grip give and cried out as she was whipped off the bed and thrown from the miasma of energy. Thumping into the wall, she crashed to the floor. Wincing, she pushed herself into a sitting position and stared at the tornado of energy that surrounded her friend.

A flash of dark cloth whipped past her, and she watched, her vision slightly blurred —she had a concussion she realized— as Maliki ran towards the torrent of magic. His hand flashed and, his sword arched through the air to cut a path through the magic. She hadn’t even seen him draw it but all the same his hand had been quick and sure.

Abika glimpsed Kaiźer through the gap, but what she saw of his face was warped by a blood red shell. She saw a horn jutting from his brow, the tip a ruddy orange, but a glimpse was all she got as the magic reformed, hiding both Maliki and Kaiźer from view.