The Council's Decision

"Nessus, surmon my council immediately. We need to solve this and first",the king said turning to Nessus who is still standing with his sword out still confused...

Nessus sheathed his sword and obeyed his orders immediately without any further questions. He could sense that something was amiss.

He gathered everyone in matter of minutes. As they all sat in ernest waiting for the king to arrive, Nessus was restless where he stood.

'Did his Majesty really slay his queen? But why. He did say something about the curse. Did the curse make him do it?' he asked himself rhetorically. 'The answers to my questions lies with the king. We shall know what Happened once he arrives' he thought.

The throne room's heavy doors opened as two maidens Walked in one in front of the other carrying the babies in slings. The king was right behind them with no hint of joy on his face. He was still looking pale from all the weeping.

They all stood to welcome him.

The two maidens went and stood on both side of his throne while he sat. Every one else then sat down too.

"I met Pandora again. She... She made me kill her", he said almost breaking up in tears again but he forced it in. He could not afford to break down in front of his subjects.' I must stay strong', he told himself. He then narrated everything Pandora had told him and how he was given five days before the urge would come.

"We must find a way to prevent this. I can't bear to lose my children. I can't lose everything", he said soberly. The air was filled with emotions. There was total silence.

Then Nessus spoke,"My Lord, we are truly sorry for your loss but this is not the time to get emotional. We must find a solution to this predicament and fast".

"That is why I have surmoned you all. I need suggestions, loop holes, anything you can think of. We have to act fast", the king said. He was not feeling emotional anymore. If there was a solution out there he had faith that his courtmen would find it.

"Sire, according to you, you said the urge would be insatiable and you will have no choice but to end their lives. What if we take them away, far away from your reach. Then they will be safe don't you think?", Fenrir a Lycan suggested.

"I don't think there's anywhere in this world that I cannot find a foe who have wronged me. No one can hide from me. I'll eventually find and slay them *sigh*", king Miguel said shaking his head. He knew he would surely find them even if they hid at the ends of the Earth.

"Perhaps you can find them anywhere on Earth but what if they were on Earth but in a different time. You wouldn't have to know when and where they are", Nessus said thinking deep.

"Is that really possible? To hide them in time. I sure wouldn't be able to reach them if they were not of this time", king Miguel said. He sat up now interested in that idea.

"It is very much possible sire or haven't you heard of lord chronos and kairos the keepers of time. If you can find them and make them do your bidding then your children would be very safe in the future where you can't reach them", Nessus assured.

"You mean the tired old man and his son Kairos that lives up in the mountains. They only claim to control time but no one has ever witnessed it", Euryale the Far Springer spoke with doubt in her voice. King Miguel stood up from his throne pacing to and fro in deep thinking.

"Lord Chronos the tired, bent-backed old man with a long grey beard you speak so frayly of stands for linear time, meaning that he watches over everything and leads human life so that one event happens after another in a sequence. Without him, our life would be made up of small instances and we might not be able to easily distinguish between what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future and Kairos his son a young man, handsome and energetic stands for opportunity and the 'best' time to act on something. So tell me Euryale, does that sound like just an old man and his son living up in the mountains. You should watch your tongue", Nessus explained slowly. Euryale felt shamed and spoke no further.

"Even though we find this Chronos and somehow sends your offsprings further in time sire, don't get me wrong but wouldn't it be the same as losing them? I thought the point of all this was to have them in the first place", Celmis a Daktyloi added.

"It's only temporary celmis, till we find a way to rid his Majesty of the curse", Nessus replied.

"Then I suggest we imprint them with some magical talisman that would lead them back to us when the time is due or atleast make them aware of who and what they are", said stheno. There was murmur in the air. It was a good idea but who has the capacity to create a talisman that powerful was what everyone wanted to Know.

"Perhaps the talisman should be in form of a birth mark, if so then celmis can handle it", Nessus suggested. Daktyls were known for there birth mark and curse mark imprinting in Middleton.

"Well then, seems everything has been sorted out. Now Nessus, fetch me this time master for he's our only hope", King Miguel said as he finally sat down on his throne. He was glad they came to a befitting conclusion. He couldn't bear to lose his beloved children, not now that he has lost his wife.'I would rather die' he thought.

Nessus took some men and they went up the mountains in search of the time master and his son. It took them two days to find and capture them then bring them back to Middleton. The old man did put up a fight but he wasn't as agile as he use to be.

Meanwhile at the castle, the daktyls were working around the clock trying to perfect the birth marks. They made it into identical dragon shaped tattoo-like birth marks and imprinted them on there left arms.

On the fourth day the king assembled his court once more and summoned Lord Chronos. He then pleaded with him to help him prevent his curse.

After much persuasion Chronos agreed but made a deal with the king that after this that him and his son would be left alone and would get protection from any other intrusions. He would perform the time ritual on the fifth day....