Cassandra Ⅲ

A terrible, cold, and most awful presence stood there gazing at Reginald that of Sir Knight Prince. The now inhuman figure of Sir Knight Prince icily thundered, "What is that which is being asked by the Head of the Prince family?"

"It has been forgotten and purposefully lost that which Herpo, the Foul produced," Reginald growled. "However, we know and still remember, what terrible creation Herpo forged, a Horcrux. And among the cousins of our ancient homeland, it is even whispered that there was one, who continued this work."

"And so, I ask, what is known about the being that is called-," Reginald paused to spell the following name, "H-Y-D-R-A." He was being cautious lest there be a spell or curse tied to that namesake.

Sir Knight Prince's eyes blaze terribly as the room temperature plummets even more causing for Reginald's breath to be seen. "Long ago, not long before the clans were destroyed, there was something very particular that was discovered. An orphaned boy with eyes like that of the night sky was found and taken in by one of the clans. The orphan was loved and cared for, but all those that grew to love him, began to change. Some almost remained the same, and others wholly changed, but they all had one singular thing in common, they were all able to speak to each other in their hearts. This clan sought to use this power to destroy their enemies, but in the end, it was much too late, and the clan fell to the combined power of the four founders might. And thus, every single clan member was slain down to every woman and child."

"And?" Reginald querulously remarked.

"There is only one other such recorded incident," Sir Knight Prince icily declared, "that of my own."

"You?" Reginald sputtered in blatant disbelief.

"Indeed," Sir Knight Prince inclined his head at the statement, but no emotion showed on his face. "In my youth, the Prince family had only just returned from Gaul for less than a decade. Our position was precarious, and we needed the legitimacy that only the court of muggles could offer. And so, a bargain was struck power and land for a great and powerful spell to ensure that this land never fall to foreign enemies, but the spell never mentioned anything about rebellion nor that of overthrowing the crown."

"Considering my stature, and personality, I was sent to court as a courtier with the title of a Knight. All was well until I feel for one of the Queen's handmaiden's, Delilah of Sorek. It is rather ironic considering her namesake and the great semblance to the maiden from the muggle bible," Sir Knight Prince stiffly said.

"Nevertheless, I digress, I believed myself in love, and confessed my existence as a wizard, and even that of a parselmouth. She loved me far and true and we were happy for a time," Sir Knight Prince frankly stated without even a hint of emotion. "That is until one day, Delilah returned from confession. She said that the priest had touched her hand."

"Naturally, I thought nothing of it, but Delilah began to withdraw from that day on. During her lucid moments, she whispered that a demon was eating away at her soul. I believed her cursed, and sought every means which to free her, but to my great joy, one day, she returned to herself," Sir Knight Prince confessed. "And all was well until the day she betrayed me and accused me of treason. I was beheaded without further delay, before word was even sent to the family. And so, I died, and I awoke at Prince Manor vowing to protect the Prince family line until the end of time."

"And what else?" Reginald flatly asked. "You recognized that name, Sir Knight Prince, what else is there? Answer me?!"

"No," Sir Knight Prince frigidly refused. "The girl is already in danger from Fate as it is, Fate will not allow another to know such knowledge without a price. You are still needed; the girl and the boy must be protected."

Reginald visibly startled at the mention of Severus as well. "Rowan, I can understand, but Severus?"

"The boy has yet to fully awaken," Sir Knight Prince explained, "and he will."

Reginald impatiently waited for Sir Knight Prince to expand more on the subject, but Sir Knight Prince did not speak another word on the subject. Furrowing his brow, Reginald curtly says, "Is Severus, a Parselmouth?"

"No," Sir Knight Prince replied in a dead tone of voice.

Reginald's mind runs a list of gifts in his mind, before picking a few from the Prince family repertoire. "A Farseer as well?"

"No."

"Divination?"

"An accurate instinct, yes."

Reginald went down a list, and to which most of them Sir Knight Prince replied with a "No." Annoyed and greatly vexed, Reginald finally says, "Then what exactly will be Severus's role to play?"

"Fate has yet to finish weaving her tapestry," Sir Knight Prince cryptically answered to the further annoyance of Reginald.

Seeing that Reginald does not seem to have any further questions, Sir Knight Prince says, "Head of the Prince Household, are you satisfied with that which has been asked and answered?"

"No, but I have one more question."

"Go on."

"Just why has fate allowed for such an abhorrence to continue to exist?" Reginald flatly countered. "Surely, life and death must be balanced, and such an abominable existence would destroy the balance between this life and the next."

"It is why Fate has permitted the existence of the girl," Sir Knight Prince emotionlessly stated. "However, there must be a balance to all things, and it is the girl's duty and her alone to do so." Though Sir Knight Prince seemed to pause at that last part as if considering someone else as well.

"I understand," Reginald murmured with a cunning gleam in his eye. Hydra might be out of the question, but that did not mean if encountered he could not move against such an existence.

However, he would have to wait, and without a doubt, he was certain that Hydra would come for him, and his family. Because if Hydra was truly that orphaned boy from ancient times, then Hydra must loathe the very existence of the founder's descendants. And time had proven that as all the founder lines were said to have been destroyed until the Prince's stepped out into the light.

The Prince's were the children of Salazar Slytherin, the last family left. (If one ignored the Dark Lord, and Reginald would. Because he refused to acknowledge such an existence as being related to himself.) But even more worrisome, his grandchildren, Rowan and Severus carried the blood of three of the four founders. And so, wait he would.

"The vow is removed," Reginald finally said, before departing from the attic without another word.

A loud sigh is almost heard as the temperature in the room returns to normal. The lit candles begin to burn normally as the terrible wound on Sir Knight Prince's neck almost seems to bleed a thick dark steam, before the body of Sir Knight Prince removes the head from its neck, and returns to the chess board again.

Sir Knight Prince lets out a loud tired sigh as his more jovial nature seems to return back to him, but there is still a cold chilly gleam in his eyes. The dead were bound by the constraints of the world of the living, but there are always exceptions and loopholes. And Sir Knight Prince was a Slytherin, sooner or later, his time would come.