Confusion in the Demon Kingdom

The huge gloomy building which housed the demon king and his family had become more gloomy. Added to the dark and tensed atmosphere was the continuous loud crash that had been coming from Damien's chambers.

All his servants had been careful to steer cleared of him since his return from one of his mysterious outings. No one had seen him since that night, the only sign that he was around had been the sound of objects breaking and his gruff voice.

He had passed a strict instructions, ordering them not to enter his chambers.

They had thought his anger had subsided despite being unaware of the cause until rumour started flying around that their king's  horn had been broken. All his counsels had tried to seek him out since that morning but no one had been granted entrance.

Damien threw the last marble vase across the room, however his anger continued to fuel. He had broken everything that could reflect his image, he detest the uneven horns on his heads. If only he could transform back to his false human body instead of being stuck in his true form, perhaps he could deceive his people till his witch arrive.

He needed her to look for another alternative way to get to the kingdom instead of through portals so he can capture Seraphine once and for all. By now he was sure the Upper House leaders would have taken steps in fortifying their territory from outsiders. Whispering the incantation once again to summon Tiannah, his witch.

His brows furrowed even more, hearing the insistent knock of his son on the door and the faint voices of the people who wanted to enter the palace with force.

"Father? It's me, allow me in"

"Go away!" He bellowed.

"Please, open the door" Desmond urged him, "even if it is just for a second. Please" he begged. "Your councilmen are worried about you, so am I."

After few minutes the door swung open, "what do you want?" He demanded.

Desmond stepped carefully around the broken objects, shrinking his nose from the stale air which hung in the room. He moved towards the window, opening it halfway to allow in some fresh air.

"Close the curtain" he commanded

Doing his father's bidding, he turned to him, "Father, is it true?" Wanting to confirm the news of his broken horn, when he was met with silence, he continued.

"The whole kingdom has been in chaos, everyone wants to know if the news is true. We need to bring normalcy back by proving to them that the rumour is false"

Studying his father in a black hooded cloak who kept muttering words underneath his breath, with his back facing the window, he feared the rumour might be true since he was still in his true form.

"I care not about any false rumour, I have something more important to care about" Damien's mind was occupied. His thoughts were Seraphine.

"The Eyes?"

There are two other things his father care about instead of his own son; Phemerah's eyes and the throne. The first was far more important than the second, if he was this impassive about the throne, that could only mean he had found a way to obtain his long time goal; the Eyes..

It was no news to him that his father was obsessed with possessing the eyes. Something that annoyed him greatly because nothing could capture his attention as much as news related to the eyes. Desmond had witness throughout his years while growing up how he fought tooth and nail for Damien's attention over the eyes but all had been to no avail. With his mother's death, the only care he had received had been from his nanny and other servants.

"Do you really believe the eyes have surfaced?" Desmond studied him intently, "shouldn't you be worried that many of your rivals might challenge you when they hear the news of your broken horn?"

Damien pushed back the hood, allowing his son to see the damage Seraphine did. He inhaled a sharp breath, "so the news is true!" Desmond spoke in disbelieve, "who did this?"

Their horn is one of the strongest object that cannot be easily broken, it must have been done by someone powerful, what was even more baffling was how his father didn't worry as much as he should towards the broken horn. He further had no doubt that Damien must have the Eyes in his possession or almost at his reach.

Asking a question of his own instead, Damien snapped at his son, "don't question me, rather look for a way to make the noise of the people go away"

"But your councilmen are waiting?"

"Shouldn't you by now have learnt your role as my heir and stop behaving like a coward?" Shaking his head in disappointment, "I should've tried harder in birthing a better son. What a spineless idiot"

Desmond sighed, used to witnessing his father's regrets in not having more sons.

"Lie if you have to, just make sure you convince them that I am still in possession of my two unbroken horns. I know how much of a weight your words carry in my absence"

Damien had heard news from different sources on how Desmond strangely had a way of persuading his council members to do his biddings. How they believe whatever he says. Something he as a father had never witness before, he always act timid and meek around him, which always upset him a lot.

"I need to know how long you want me to delay them so I can know what to tell them"

Once his witch arrive by nightfall, they would be able to come up with a spell to regain his powers and also capture Seraphine, he was sure of it.

"Just for today"

Desmond straightened his shoulder, giving his father a blank look, "all right"

"Better" Damien watched his back as his son exited. It irked him greatly that no matter how bad he expressed his resentment towards his son, he always maintain his reserved. Now that his strength are half of what it usually was, he needed to keep his guard up.

Unlike Desmond, most sons his age would have been rebellious, staking a claim on their right as the only heir.

Well, his worry about such trivial issue won't matter for long, once he finally owned the eyes, he wouldn't be weary of anyone, rather, people would be weary of him.

"What did he say?" One of the councilmen asked in agitation as Desmond emerged.

He sat on his father's throne, "I'm afraid the news is true. Unfortunately my father has lost his power"

"Unbelievable! If words get to the wrong people, the throne will be at risk, his enemies will come for him" another one said and the others agree.

Desmond's lips tugged upward, covering it with the long sleeve as he pretended to cough, "that's exactly what I'm worried about as well. What do you think we should do?"

One of his servants entered with a letter, with a quick scan of the content, he sighed, "this is a query from the Upper House, it said father had broken their long time treaty. Apparently he had been visiting their kingdom without permission"

"Could that have been where he had his horn broken?"

"Possibly" Desmond shrugged. The look on their faces already suggested that the next thing one of they would say would be what he had been hoping for.

"To be honest, your father has not been an exemplary ruler and if care is not taken, the throne might be usurped."

The others nodded in agreement while Desmond masked his satisfactory smile with a hard face.

"Might I remind you that you're talking about the crown with such disrespect?"

The man apologized, "I'm sorry I was just pointing out the consequences of the throne being empty"

"And who says the throne will be empty?" Desmond queried.

There was silence for a while before another councilman spoke up, "I heard a broken horn could be fixed if one knows a good witch, we could look for one"

"Unfortunately, i don't think father has enough time to look for any."  Lowering his head to garner pity, "I wish I knew how to help him"

"How about we go home and continue the discussion tomorrow, we might be able to come up with a better idea" He stood and they did the same, "I don't need to remind you that we need to be as discreet as possible in handling this matter. I will go talk to the people at the entrance. Father already assure me that he is also deep in thought, trying to come up with how to ease the mind of the people"