Omen

The child's purple eyes were losing their light. A gloomy shadow was looming all over him. Fleshed out arm bone, bruises on his upper body, and an unsightly number of cuts adorned his once beautiful body. His purple robe was almost indistinguishable due to the amount of blood sprayed all over.

"Guards!" he bellowed from the distance. He could already catch a glimpse of the gates of the South Kingdom. His body could relax a little bit now that he feels safe. But losing the two women in the hands of that demon and oracle was intolerable for him.

Two guards in purple uniforms ran to his aid. Here, no one would dare ask why he went back bloody and wounded. No one would openly accuse him of anything. No one will utter a word.

"Somebody must have angered the child emperor. Tsk, I think they ended the way they deserve to be ended."

"Such a pity. Some people really do not know who should not be offended in any way."

"Have you heard? The empress was said to have run away with another man and was hunted down by the emperor. I guess we would be welcoming a new empress soon since she did not come back with the emperor. Hehe."

The streets were full of talks about how foolish those people who have angered the emperor are. The words spread throughout was never against the emperor but praising him more for being brave, for bringing justice, and whatever the ordinary people could think of positively about the child emperor.

Among the crowd who have gossiped, a man cloaked in tattered clothes smirked. "What a shitty trap this emperor was setting up for his people."

For a moment, some people heard him, but when they were to berate him for what he said, the man disappeared.

~~~

"Are they awake?"

"Not yet. One of them has been poisoned and she does not have too much time left. The poison entered from what seems like wounds from a battle. The man in black clothing is also in danger. The other two will be fine."

"I see. Call me when they wake up or when my brother arrives."

There were two voices talking inside the room. Midel's vision was still hazy. He felt his body was shivering. 'What happened?' he wanted to ask, but his voice got caught in his throat. He pressed on his eyes trying to remember how they ended up in here.

He could remember Yllana fell a few minutes after Lucien lost consciousness. With the three of them unconscious, he was the only one who could carry them. But since he almost depleted his own life force by filling it in the crystal ball, he only managed to take them a few meters away from the spot before he collapsed from exhaustion.

When Midel felt he could speak a little, he lifted an arm and groaned. The room was lit with something small. He could only make out a small figure walking limply towards him. "Where-*cough*"

He felt a lump coming out of his throat when he tried to speak. It tasted like iron. When he tried to swallow it back, his stomach hurled it out even fiercer that his eyes misted from the pain. This was the result of using all his life force.

"It would be days before you could sit and speak. Stupid fools. Always trying to impress the old ones. These younger generations are really troublesome."

'An old woman?' Wooden floor, cold air seeping through the walls, dimly-lit room, all seemed familiar to him except the old woman. But if he put everything together, he knew where they are.

"How are you feeling?" the childish voice entered the room again. Midel did not realize that the old woman walked out of the room.

"You?"

"Oy, young lad! I told you that it will take a week before you will get better. Do not push yourself!" The old woman was even pointing her finger at him as he lied back down on the mattress.

Orange eyes and orange hair, Midel could not remember her name. But one word popped in his mind. "Banished,"

The two went quiet after hearing Midel. The old woman walked to the windows and peeked outside. While the girl peered outside the door. They were both light on their feet and not a sound was heard. "We were not banished,"

~~~~~~

South Kingdom's Imperial Palace

There was dancing, wine, and women inside a room decorated with flowers and incense. Laughter and music can be heard in all corners. Amidst the festive aura, a smiling child sat on the throne in front of the hall. People kept glancing at the empty seat beside him and urging the young women to approach the ten-year-old emperor.

The young women giggled nervously. Their steps were light, and they pause for a few times before facing the emperor. "All of the elders and council members were killed. You want to add up to that number?" there was a playful tone in the emperor's words but his message was clear to them.

The young women scrambled to get out of Darion's sight. And they thought it would be easy to fool a young boy.

"I thought the empress got her position easily."

"So cold,"

"I thought he was celebrating for the empress' death? Why doesn't he sound happy at all?"

The women whispered among themselves when they turned their backs on him. Darion's eyes carried a dangerous glint. He tapped the arm of his chair twice and a servant walked up to him. He whispered something to the servant.

The servant's eyes widened. He stumbled on his steps as he stepped back to fulfill the emperor's command.

After a few minutes, the servant came back with old men and women. Their backs were straight and eyes sharp. There was a different kind of air about them. As they walk, soft clanging sounds echoed. The elders were bound in chains!

There were gasps and words of recognition within the crowd. There were sons and daughters of some of the elders who entered. But their eyes never wavered for a moment. They only stared straight to the child sitting on the throne.

When the twelve men and women arrived in front of the emperor, the guards escorting them from behind kicked behind the elders' knees.

Thud!

"We refuse to acknowledge you even if you force us to kneel." One of the elders hissed. There were dark circles below their eyes. The skin was sagging on their cheeks and some could even see bones protruding from their ankles and elbows.

"Your Highness! What is the meaning of this?" Among the crowd, a man in lavishly decorated clothing stepped forward. His eyes glanced at all the elderly people kneeling before the emperor.

"These traitors hired a witch to curse the kingdom's most talented individuals years ago. I want to know where they hid those people. And all of you will help me convince them. Do you have any objections?"

Nobody said a word of rejection. They all held their breaths.

"Father…you did that?" A woman in a green dress also stepped forward. Her eyes concentrated on the very first elder who spoke earlier. "Was Mariek and Kareem involved in your schemes? Where did you take them, father? Where are my children?"

Words of accusation and anger erupted inside the celebratory hall. The child sitting on the throne hid the grin that was forming on his lips. A glint flashed in his eye as he watched the people inside the hall bombard the elders in chains with questions. Some even spat on them or threw wine and food, but the elders never wavered. There was something inside their eyes that the others could not see.

Nobody else spoke from the elders. They knelt even though their knees were aching. They stood rooted in their spot like deaf statues. When the crowd felt that none of them will give out, they looked at the emperor. Panic started to rise in them.

"Elders, please just tell us where you hid those young people. Let us be united with them. The emperor will surely lighten your punishment if you do so." One started begging to them while peeking at the emperor. It was obvious she was trying to curry favor with the child emperor. One of the elders saw this and chuckled.

"Trying to grab on that demon's leg will not end well for you. He let the current elders and the council die in some demon's hands when he could easily defend them. What makes you think you will be special if you gain this little favor from him? Fools." An old woman with graying hair and green eyes revealed.

"Liar! The emperor told us what happened! That demon was searching for a woman with red hair and red eyes! She was the target of that demon and is now well-known inside the South Kingdom. Do not tarnish the good name of the emperor!" The lavishly dressed man harrumphed and looked down on the old woman.

"You never thought of asking us why we did what we did, but you are already taking sides. There is no point in arguing. You…" The old woman gazed at Darion, "You will only bring death to this kingdom together with these bunch of clowns. Someday, someone will bring you to your knees the way you did to us. I swear with the heavens as my witness."

When the hall went silent again, the emperor's stare turned icy. He leaped from his throne and swished his finger in front of the old woman.

Thud!

"Mother!"

~~~~~~