27 the hour before

- 2 years ago -

The day of the tea party.

Careth awoke in his bed and stared at the ceiling. Today was the day he was going to die, and he was not enthusiastic about it at all.

The dried stains on his pillow were warmed by the rays of the morning sun. As he continued to stare into oblivion, Careth pulled his blanket closer, seeking comfort in the warmth of his bed. He felt lethargic, absolutely drained of any energy or will to move.

'I kind of wished... I died in my sleep.'

Nevertheless, the boy untangled himself from the sheets and got up, heading towards the bathroom to get ready. There was still two hours before the opening ceremony, but with all the changing and makeup he was required to do, Careth would be just in time for the event to start.

As he brushed his teeth, Careth had a blank mind. It was odd for him to not think, to not have thoughts circulating at the back of his head; whether it be his duties, or his plans to escape. For the first time, Careth felt the silence of his mind, and instead focused on his hand that controlled the toothbrush back and forth.

'Is this... acceptance?'

Careth spat into the sink and wiped his mouth. As he was about to rinse, he heard a knock on the door, and a voice called out, "Morning, young master. I have left your outfit for today on the bed. Please change into it and come down by seven fifteen."

The door closed, and Careth peeped at the clothes the servant had prepared; a white dress shirt with ruffs running down the center, a royal blue vest embroidered with gold, slim grey pants and a black ribbon he assumed to tie around the collar.

Careth changed and went down as instructed, heading towards the dining hall for breakfast. Upon entering the room, he saw Sir Felluor having his morning coffee while reading a newspaper, but still no sign of Master Willdyer.

"Where is Father, grandfather?" he asked loudly, and the hearing-impaired senior lifted his head.

"He'll show up when the tea party is going to start. Don't worry about it," he replied and returned to his reading.

Careth had a feeling his father was locked away somewhere, and he had a good hunch on where he was. But seeing that there is nothing he could do to help, Careth went to sit at the far side of the table, and the servants served him with croissants and milk.

After the bland meal, Careth wandered around the manor to kill time. He strolled past the hallways, entered each room and took in the sights of them, knowing that he would never see them again tomorrow.

Memories of when he and Marylith raced down the hallway when they were eight, hid in the library and guest rooms when they were ten, and squeezed through the vents of Master Willdyer's room just two weeks ago, all resurfaced in his mind. He smiled at the happy times. Although he still felt sour over the fact that she lied, Careth couldn't just forget the times they spent together. At least, those felt genuine to him.

As he sauntered around in a guest room, Careth heard someone come in and shut the door. He turned, and his curiosity was immediately replaced with shock.

Master Willdyer locked the door urgently, catching his breath. He was clad in his formal suit, different from the one Careth saw previously. Once the master had breath to speak, he walked towards Careth and bent to his height.

"Son, listen to me. I- We have a way of getting you out alive."

Careth gaped at him. Master Willdyer had been trying to keep his son in the manor, preventing his escapades at all costs—but now he wants to help, after all that effort?

"I don't understand. And where were you?" the young heir questioned.

Master Willdyer sighed. "I was kept in the basement, which I suppose you know of, seeing that you have already met Darian. We were released minutes ago to prepare for the tea party, and I knocked out the guards in our room to find you."

The boy's eyes widened for two reasons. One was that his father somehow knew about Careth's encounter with Rian, when he had never said it to anyone else but Marylith. The second reason was that his father had got physical and acted on the guards, which was something you wouldn't expect from the usually calm and civilized master.

He continued. "You know that terrible soup I had you drink? There was actually an antidote in it, and it's to prevent you from dying when you drink the poison. I never wanted you to die, Careth. I planned to let you live as long as you can. But I didn't anticipate you knowing about the Tradition from Darian, and your escape attempts were absolutely reckless, so that's why I acted harshly towards you. I'm sorry, Careth."

Careth didn't know what to feel. Relieved that his father had always cared for him? Or angry that his father had waited this long only to tell him? Master Willdyer had witnessed the multiple attempts and failures of his escape, yet he did nothing to help his son.

'Why is it that no one ever tells me what's really going on?'

"So what are you trying to say?" Careth asked in a steel tone. "That I won't die? Because I'm immune to the poison? And somehow that will bluff the whole of Hiraeth, when they probably already knew I wasn't Blessed in the first place?"

Master Willdyer gripped on his shoulder. "I do not know if you're immune. The antidote was never tested. I hate to say it, but it will be a gamble."

Careth shrugged him off and scoffed. "Ha! So I'm a guinea pig. If it doesn't work on me, you'll know what to not give your next son, right?"

"That's not true!" The master exclaimed, desperate. "The antidote will still try to fight the poison, but I cannot guarantee you will be spared from the symptoms. There is a chance you will survive, but you will have to be prepared for a suffocating experience."

His words were fanning the sparks of hope in Careth. But Careth didn't want to feel hopeful—not after experiencing failures time and time again, with his hope always crashing down on him, leaving nothing but debris of despair.

"... you can't do this to me, Father," he said weakly. "That's cruel. I just accepted my fate. You can't give me hope after I have just decided to give up."

The master grimaced, disappointed in himself. Another son had lost the will to live.

"Careth, please listen to me." He gripped the boy's shoulders once again, and spoke gently. "I'm not the only one helping you escape. Nurse Rosetta and Darian are in it too. If you can't find a reason to live, at least do it for them. They have poured their hearts into this plan, so I ask that you at least respect that."

Seeing no reaction from his son, the master pressed on. "If you can't do it for them, at least do it for Merry. I believe she promised to get you out, right? She wouldn't want to see you die here. She would want you to escape and live your best life out of this town."

This earned a twitch from Careth. If anything, Careth didn't want to leave seeing her depressed. He originally planned to just ignore his imminent death and enjoy the party with her. He wanted to do whatever that would make her smile, so at least his last memory of the world would only be her happiness.

Careth looked up. His father's eyes were shining, flickering with determination—it was something Careth had never seen before. Master Willdyer was really set on getting him out alive.

Alas, he spoke. "Fill me in with the plan first, then I'll decide whether I'll go with it."

The master nodded. "Fine. Listen carefully now."

—

If there was one thing Rian learned from his constant pursuit around the manor when he was young, it was that he had noticed a handful of blind spots in each room. For example, in the dining hall, the corners of the room were the best places to hide, because that's where the curtains meet. The thick cloths were enough to conceal a full grown man, so for a youngster like him, it seemed as if nothing was behind the unmoving curtains.

Not only was this the perfect hiding spot, but he also had view of the entire room. Rian slowed his breath as he caught sight of nobles flocking in, and his resolve to execute the plan successfully only strengthened when he saw his brother.

'It should've been me,' he thought bitterly. 'I should be the one drinking the poison.'

As guests inched closer to his hiding place, Rian concentrated on muting himself. He saw Marylith seated a few feet away, and for a moment, felt bad for what she was going to experience.

'Sorry, Merry, but your genuine reaction is what will help us prove to the nobles that Careth really died.'

He watched as the tea party commenced, focusing on Careth's movements. The boy started stirring his tea cup, calm and poised. Rian's eyes shifted to his father, but the man hadn't give the signal just yet.

'According to Rosetta, grandfather cannot have changed the poison, nor change the food or drink that will be poisoned. Because if he did the former, it will not be adhering to the Tradition. If he did the latter, he does not have enough knowledge on how the poison will alter if mixed in with a new substance. So the only thing he could do to ensure that Careth dies, is to increase the dosage.'

Those were the conclusions of the trio's careful thinking. As such, when Rosetta was released, the first thing she did was to check on the supply of poisons in the infirmary, and report to Master Willdyer on whether more than the required amount was extracted.

If that was the case, Master Willdyer will signal to Careth to prepare himself for a painful experience, and also to prepare Rian for his interference. If not, Rian will just have to lock his vision on Careth until the boy hits the ground.

A few moments later, Master Willdyer poured milk into his tea, and Rian saved some energy for the next phase of the plan.

The poison had indeed increase in dosage.

And another few moments passed, and Careth was down on the floor, gasping until his face turned blue. Merry's cries pierced through Rian's ears like shattered glass, but he forced his worries down his gut to focus on the plan. Once Careth stopped moving, he has only seconds to accomplish his part.

The heir went still, and not long after Sir Felluor called for the new nurse. It would aid greatly to explain how Rian was going to seemingly stop Careth's pulse, or at least, make it seem that way for the inexperienced nurse.

First and foremost, sound is a type of energy. Sound travels through vibrations, and vibrations can only travel when there is a medium, such as gas, liquid, or solid. In other words, sound will not be able to pass through when there is no medium, because there will be no vibrations, hence no energy passed on. One example of a non-medium is a vacuum.

But creating a vacuum is entirely different to creating a soundproof barrier. To create a vacuum requires the complete removal of air from a closed container, which is something Rian's Talents are unable to do, nor was it possible in this environment.

Therefore, the only safe way to block out the pulse entirely was to create a thick soundproof barrier above Careth's chest, and to manipulate the frequency of the pulse so it wouldn't be detectable by any medical instruments.

Rian could feel a strain on his neck as he controlled the sound. Reducing the magnitude of sound was way harder than amplifying it, as an immense amount of concentration was needed to keep the frequency at bay. But this was nothing compared to what his father was about to do.

As he heard the nurse announce Careth's death, Rian sighed in relief. The body was carried towards the next room as expected, and Rian dashed out of his hiding spot quicker than the nobles could turn their heads.

—

Master Wildyer knew all too well that Sir Felluor had a 'see to believe' belief. Given his personality, he wouldn't let his eyes off Careth until he witnessed the boy being buried under. And because Sir Felluor was being so careful, he did not pause to think that the Careth he saw before him was a mere illusion.

Once the workers from the funeral parlor had patched up the real Careth, Master Willdyer manipulated Sir Felluor's vision by fixing the image of Careth lying in the coffin in his mind. It was like placing a camouflaging cloth around his eyes, and this allowed Rian to heave the boy out of the wooden box and drag him out of the room, right under their noses. Of course, no sound was produced in the process.

But it was what came after that that was the hard part. Guests filed in to pay their respects, and Master Willdyer had to fix the image into each of their minds, while simultaneously controlling Sir Felluor's vision. With his hands in his pockets, he directed one at the direction of the grandmaster, and his other rotating according to the guests walking past the coffin.

He disguised his manipulation as grief, and he himself was surprised that he managed to fool the grandmaster. Sir Felluor had believed that he had the upper hand, and this was the very thing the three of them had hoped to achieve.

Rian had placed his unconscious brother in a nearby room, and went to Master Willdyer's quarters to retrieve the survival sack, then to the armory to grab a grenade. When he returned, he was relieved to see Careth opening his eyes.

"Can you hear me? Careth," Rian said, shaking him awake. "We've got no time to lose. Can you walk?"

Careth was still in a daze, but he nodded weakly. He stood up, but stumbled right after and clutched his heart to gasp for air. Rian opened the windows and grabbed Careth's arm, guiding him out.

"Yeah, you're in no shape to run by yourself. Just try to be awake."

Careth went along, trying to keep up with Rian's quick strides. Commoners had begun to crowd at the gates, peeking into the estate. Rian extended his arm and threw the grenade towards the opposite direction, the explosion diverting the crowd's attention. But he made sure to direct the sound waves away from the manor, as the guests in the manor cannot afford to be alarmed or it will ruin the entire plan.

The brothers ran towards Witherblaire, past the meadow that had a rectangular hole dug in advance. They stayed low to avoid attracting attention, but that was just a precaution as the guards stationed at the roofs had mysteriously collapsed in a series of stomach aches, courtesy of their favourite nurse.

They finally reached the mouth of the forest and went further in, until they were completely hidden from the town's eyes. Under the shade of green foliage, Rian equipped Careth with his survival sack, and explained his supposed course of action for the last time.

"Everything about the Tradition is explained in the note attached to Dotilda's book. There's a pistol in there, as well as money, canned foods, and everything there was from the first escape attempt. Father had not touched anything inside."

Careth nodded, remembering the second time he went to steal the sack, and was quite elated to find everything still in place.

Sensing that time was not on their side, Rian gave a last pat on his brother's shoulder. "This is goodbye, Careth. Live on."

But the boy was not ready to leave. "Why don't you come with me as well?"

"Huh?"

Careth gripped Rian's wrist and stared into his eyes. "If I leave, you'll be the next heir. But you don't want that. Why don't we just leave together? That way we can both escape this hell!"

Rian was momentarily speechless, but quickly recovered. He slipped Careth's grip off sadly. "I appreciate the thought, but I can't go with you. I still have something I must do."

"What? But Father didn't say anything about you—"

"That's because he doesn't know what I'm planning to do," Rian cut him off, and wore a grim expression. "I'm planning to end the Tradition, once and for all. Only you will be spared."

Careth processed his words, and came to a frightening conclusion. "You're not saying... no... Rian! There must be another way!"

"What other way is there? With no more heirs to continue the bloodline, there will be no way to continue the Tradition. Careth, just run, please." He shoved the boy forwards and turned to head back. "You can finally live. Don't lose this chance."

"Wait!" He grabbed onto Rian's sleeve, pulling desperately. "Wait for me. Once I'm in Accruxia, and I've found Dotilda, I'll find a way to rescue you. I promise. Until then, don't die, please." Careth tightened his grip. "You're my only family."

Rian was conflicted. He was already prepared, but now Careth had to mess up his emotions and resolve again. Sighing, he made the decision for Careth's sake. "Fine. I'll wait. I'll wait for you, so go! I won't kill myself off just yet. You better come back quick."

Upon hearing his words, tears of relief dripped from Careth's eyes. The boy then ventured into the forest, and Rian watched as the back of his brother became one with the shadows of the trees. He then turned his back and ran towards the manor, blending in with the shadows, just in time to witness them lowering the empty coffin into the ground.