Brewing War!

That moment, I felt nothing, at least that was what I should say since I did not know what to feel or how to react. I just knelt there, my eyes flicking between stiff, cold-blooded Father and the weeping, swaying Lucerne.

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                        WAYNE’S POV

     Demons-bane remains a no-joke poison to a demon. It was lethal, with no cure, obviously the only thing that can cause even a Demon Lord’s sudden death. Father just revealed the secret that before now, he had this toxic poison running in his veins from several decades ago and I could not stop the gasp that escaped my lips.

     Lucerne and Damien turned questioningly to me, obviously wanting answers, as they did not have the tiniest idea of what the poison was. 

     I recalled a chapter I read in one of my history books that talked about this herb. I did not take it seriously then; I had immediately concluded that it was just some type of belief associated with a myth and had nothing to do with reality, so I had quickly turned past the page. 

      “It is a poison that can cause the death of a Demon,” I simply told my brothers and turned to Father, they too did the same.

     This probably explained the color of Father’s skin, the reason why he could not move. In my head was a hazy memory of a line, which stated that the victims of Demons bane would not die at the first time unless mixed with another lethal poison… Blah, blah, blah, I would probably go back to the book after this.

     I watched as Damien sank to the floor, and Lucerne took Father's hands in his. The latter sighed and spoke again, “Over the years, I felt my powers dwindle due to the poison in me. It was painful, but I had to endure it. Now is my time to finally rest. Re--” 

     “So, let us get this straight,” Damien cut in. “You have had the so-called demons whatever poison in you for years and you never spoke up. And now it is killing you, yet you are proud of it?” he blurted angrily.

     Father heaved a sigh, “It cannot be cured, so why should I bring down your spirits by telling you earlier. But now that you all know, you need to remain strong...” Father's voice trailed off as a hard, long cough interrupted him.

     Damien breathed out loudly and I turned to him. His expression was so dark and scarifying. His teeth bit painfully into his lower lip as the corner of his eyes gloomed. The aura around him exuded a chilly temperature that I feared he would flare and throw tantrums.

     However, just as our eyes met and I shook my head as a gesture to make him go against whatever he thought to do, he clicked his tongue and dashed towards the door. “Damien!” I called aloud, but he was already out, slamming the door shut after him.

     “Let him be, he cannot take the sight of seeing me this way,” Father said. “My Princes, I want to let you know that there is no safe spot for you outside the boundaries of Coral shore. Therefore, you must never go past these boundaries. I am leaving the mantle of Lordship in your hands now; it is time for you to take responsibility while I rest after decades of toiling with my lost strengths. The witch had just ended the torments for me…”

     I wished there was a way I could shut my ears from hearing Father's words without seeming disrespectful. I was unaware of how to feel as a tear freely slid down my left eye. Father‘s cough came harder this time and I compelled myself to go kneel by his side. Lucerne's hands still held tightly onto Father's as he shook with the throes of his cry. I could not console him.

     Damn, I was not even able to console myself either. I still wished for someone to do so, maybe Mother walking into the balcony and kneeling beside me, or Father coming along with his teases to force a smile out of my face. 

     My hands slowly moved and came to a pause on top of Lucerne's. I mildly ran my fingers on it as Father said his last speech. “Remember my words; this marks the beginning of a fierce battle. Therefore, you must all remain strong and always bonding, never allow a dispute to come in between you, as that would be the beginning of your doom. Also, keep in mind that there are no rules in this world to determine the good and bad, it is left to one's choice to decide which is. I trained you all to be brave and be courageous, knowing that a day would come when I pass away. Lucerne, you are the eldest, protect your brothers, bring them on the right path when they try to deviate, and always make sure you are there to settle their disputes.”

     Father remained quiet; sparing me what seemed to be a last glance. A smile stretched his full lips, but I could not help but think that he was hurting within. I saw the pain in his feeble eyes. I was so certain that he did not plan for this to happen, and he did not plan to leave us so soon, especially after he watched us endure the pain of losing our Mother.

     Lucerne nodded frenziedly at Father’s advice as he keenly watched the Latter’s face, probably to make sure he did not die on him.

     However, he was very wrong. I watched Father’s teeth clamp behind pursed lips as his eyes forever closed out of the literal world. The tone of his skin darkened the more, with his veins stretching stiff on his flesh. Lucerne's body shook with reckless abandon and his tears flowed freely that I could not resist the urge to cross my hand around his shoulders.

     That moment, I felt nothing, at least that was what I should say since I did not know what to feel or how to react. I just knelt there, my eyes flicking between stiff, cold-blooded Father and the weeping, swaying Lucerne.

     The Chiefs came in to fix the body for the royal morgue until the funeral. I then had no choice than to guide Lucerne out of the room, though it was a bit difficult to do so as he insisted on remaining in the room.

     Somehow, I managed to pull him out and he immediately took me in for a tight hug the moment I shut Father's chamber door behind me. I hugged him back, stroking his hair soothingly as he expressed his feelings with tears upon my shoulder. 

     I felt warmness behind me as a hand snaked around my waist from behind. It was Damien hugging me. I felt him shudder too, and I sensed he also cried. Now this took me back to twenty-five years ago when the news of Mother’s death reached our ears. I had to sit on the floor and rub Father's legs to console him as I patted Damien's hair to stop his tears. Nonetheless, now, this got me asking myself why I was always the last to cry out.

     Lady Anastasia, Sofia and Sage, wearing their solemn expressions, came to our sides to take each of us to our rooms, but I declined. A moment like this was the perfect time for my brothers and me to bond and understand our current feelings the most, so I took the two crybabies to Lucerne's room.

     Immediately I shut the door behind me, Lucerne left my side and hopped into his bed, grabbing a pillow by his side and hugging it so close to his chest. Damien on his part still clung to me as I sat beside Lucerne. By now, they had thankfully stopped crying.

     My elder brother buried his head in the pillow for a while before speaking up, “Mother's handmaid once told me the same thing Father said before he died,” He muttered, the effect of his lips pressed against the pillow almost stealing his voice away with a muffle. I turned to look at him, just as he raised his head from the pillow.

     “What was that?” I asked.

     “He precisely said her words; there are no rules in this world…to determine the good and bad. It is left to one's choice to see which is,” Lucerne technically counted his words and I did not help but huff. He sniffed. I looked away.

     I did not see how the current situation concerned what he just said. However, just as Father’s death seemed like a mystery to me, so did the disappearance of Mother’s handmaid, though I do not know the details of the things that happened then as I was just half a decade old. I would pass that.

     We stayed in silence afterwards for what lingered to hours, everyone by himself. I had my thoughts running in my head; it was so not a coincidence that the witch appeared at the back of the Castle before this happened, as Father’s death by poison could be related to her.

     I was beginning to be sure that the witch's mission of returning to Coral shore after four days was to take Father’s life. I was also certain that she was the same person who had been haunting me because the scent I perceived when I landed in the woods with Damien was the same as the one in my dreams.

     Yet, why should a witch want to kill the Lord of the Demons, we had stayed out of their way for as long as centuries, so why would they want to brew a war now?

     “Do you guys think what I am thinking?” Damien suddenly remarked, interrupting my thoughts. I craned my neck to look at him as he lifted his head from my shoulder, and I felt sharp pain course through it— the effect of having Damien's head resting on it for so long. 

     He stood up on his feet before he went to lean on the door to have a better sight of Lucerne and I. He folded his arms, regarding Lucerne, who closed his eyes; and I, who blankly stared back at him, with a scrutiny.

     “The vanishing lady in the woods was indeed a witch and, as we are all aware, the witches are subjected to the Werewolf Alpha,” He said logically and Lucerne opened his eyes, those yet sad orbs flashing directly at Damien’s figure. “Therefore, she could have been here on the Alpha’s order,” The latter concluded.

     It felt like something jerked up to my head at Damien’s word, and I cringed. I did not even think of what he said just now― I did not recall that the witches literally did not have their own choice or freedom, but were rather made to do whatever the Alpha told them.

     It was therefore certain that the witch might not have barged into the shore for the sake of the beef her kind had with us. However, the same question yet came to my mind. Why would the Alpha want to eliminate the Demon Lord?