Tell Me

"Tell me what you know about my birth."

Seth had returned with fruits and a jar of water for the wizard. Ling needed fluid as he was still coming in and out hallucinating.

Ling tried to sit up and Seth wondered if that was a good idea, "Are you sure you can sit?"

"Oh, yes," Ling arranged himself using the wall behind him to support his back. "Your mother, Seth... she was... or is, I do not know about her whereabouts so I do not know if she is still alive or not."

Seth was listening intently. No one had ever volunteered to give him any information about his birth or why he was sent far away from the kingdom and brought up by strangers that weren't related to him. He still didn't feel good towards this wizard but seeing what Ling had just suffered earned him some sympathy from Seth.

Ling had paused to see how the prince's reaction would be hearing that his mother might still be alive, but he was going to choose his words carefully so as not to raise his hopes. Ling knew that after what Seth would hear today, he would try to find her.

"Let me ask this before you continue, Ling. Do you know her name?"

"No, Prince, I do not."

"Hmm..." Seth nodded.

"I was told that she seduced the king because of his royal bloodline. No one knew the reason why but then she conceived you, came to the palace, and announced it to the king in the presence of everyone at court. The queen at that time didn't say anything, I witnessed the whole conversation, and Queen Zyne never uttered a word. So, nobody knew what was going to come next."

A deep cackle came from deep within Seth's throat and that sound unsettled the wizard who began to question his decision and feel some regret as to his position at that moment.

[What if he gets angry and switches on me? I will not be able to defend myself, at least not yet because of my state... gods of our kingdom!], the wizard thought. He hoped it wouldn't get to that though.

Ling continued, "One night, I was called upon to escort the new prince to a cottage that had been prepared because I was to seal the place with a magical barrier. It was to keep you from venturing away and to keep nosy people away as well. The king and queen were worried and didn't know what your birth mother wanted, so they had to keep you away from any influence of hers whatsoever, they banished her from the Red Kingdom and its environs"... he paused and took a sip of water, his brows creased with worry.

"Why wasn't I sent away with her? Why didn't they allow my own mother to nurse me?". It was obvious that Seth was controlling himself. Yes, he didn't know his mother, and there was no relationship developed, but she was still the woman that gave birth to him. He felt he would have been better off with her.

"Because you are a Prince. The Red blood has gone on undefiled for generations, and your father couldn't let you out of his reach. You are a product of his loins, with his blood running in your veins"

Seth scoffed. He had begun making mental notes on some steps he was going to take, some things he was going to do. Listed, was to find his mother. [But come to think of it...], "Someone has been speaking to me in my dreams. Most times, I do not hear what she says, but one time, I heard the word 'mother' from her"

Ling's eyes widened and his mouth opened as well as if he wanted to say something, then he closed it back and turned his head to the side, away from Seth's gaze.

"What is it, Wizard? What does that mean?", his face tight with confusion.

"I do not-"

"Yes? You do not what, Ling?", Seth demanded.

"I do not think she is alive then. If you heard her in a dream, that was Spirit Communication then, and it is unlikely between living beings"

Prince Seth scratched his full hair and said, "Explain further"

"Recently deceased people often appear as spirit visitors or visitors in the dreams to either provide comfort or guidance to their relatives and deliver important messages from beyond the grave. It usually happens with the kin that they are emotionally connected to. So, I think she is trying to reach you from beyond. If that is the case, Prince Seth, I am deeply sorry"

Seth let out a maniacal laugh, and his lips stretched in an unusual manner that made Ling think he was about to turn again, "Are you really sorry? You were among the people who separated me from her, and now you give me your stupid illustration?". He got up from where he was sitting and walked out of the room and the house entirely.

Seth just kept walking and walking.

[If I stay there, I would take his head as a trophy]. [Does that really mean his mother is dead?]

He stopped in a clearing that was bare of plants, squatted, and held his face in his hands. Seth didn't know his mother but what Ling told him had hurt him in a way he didn't expect it to. [Was she really dead?]

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!"

The birds in the trees nearby and around took off!

The ground vibrated.

It sounded like a roar and Ling felt the shaking in the little cottage he was sitting in.

"What have I done?", Ling lamented. But he also knew that he didn't have an option in the matter. Seth had demanded answers and Ling felt he owed it to the prince after he saved his life.

But, he dreaded the outcome of the information Seth had gathered now. Ling had seen Seth in his real form, and he knew the prince was just beginning to find out about his abilities. Even him, an old wizard, was wary of the demon prince.

"What will become of us?"