The wailing of the queen reverberated to the far end of the chamber. She held her babies close to her, making the scene tense. To prevent the curse from spreading, the King stays away from touching the infants.
"Your Majesty!"
The queen turned to face the guy coming into the chamber with anger, and the place fell silent. As Linth moved forward to give the news to the King, he had an anxious expression in his eyes. With an apprehensive look on his face, the Marquis trails behind him.
"What is it now?"
The change in the peaceful mindset of today greatly infuriated the king. The Marquis grimaced, looking over at the infants with a shudder. It was terrible that after being born completely healthy, they had contracted curses.
"The councils call for a meeting. It is very urgent."
The king glances back and forth, sighing, and then turns to leave the room. The queen kept staring at her babies, with the nurses by her side. They showed signs of burns on their bodies, indicating just how badly the curse had damaged both infants.
The three of them proceeded to the throne along the dimly lit walkway. To make sure the monarch could not be hurt, the knight followed.
The king eventually arrives, huffing and puffing, and slamming the enormous door open. Everybody in the room turns to give the king a proper greeting.
As he rushes to the throne and takes his seat, a man approaches and kneels. Many people may recognize him as Muni, the Vamore royal healer. His family has been with the royal family for ages, displaying no evidence of treachery.
"It is a great worry your Majesty. We've observed the light wishes. The Duke has sent us a sample, and we can't guarantee anything."
Another person approaches Muni, both palms facing the floor, and recites the appropriate words before adding to Muni's remarks.
"There has been an urgent matter from the great borders. It is not the fault of the Dukes as we strive to find and do the best. But I cannot keep this matter from you."
The king slammed his hands and insisted that he give a straight answer. He was sufficiently angered by the abrupt earthquake and the curse on his healthy heir.
"It's the curses. Only a couple months ago, we have found that it has been spreading nonstop down south. The cause behind its sudden rapid aggression is unknown."
As he attempts to take it all in, the king's grip on the throne becomes increasingly flimsy. The two men on their knees pray that the king will consider the sudden conflict calmly.
"I also must add, your majesty. We did find that these light forces seemed to react well to our life forces like before, it-!"
Bam!
When the door opens again, Dansa is accompanied by three people wearing shackles and guards. The priestess caught the king's attention, causing his eyes to quiver. An internal flood of anger rose up in him when he considered his heirs once more.
"Bring me that witch!"
Ana's head turned as quickly as the king stated that. Fear welled up in her eyes as she looked at those in front of her. She recognizes a familiar face and attempts to converse with the man, requesting extra assistance.
"Please! It is not me! You must let me explain everything, Your Majesty!"
She cried as much as she could as she begged. Neo surveyed the dimly lit room, taking in every one of the well-known faces. He had never seen their faces in person; he had only ever seen them on television. The seriousness of the situation sank more into his bones.
"Explain then. Let's see how well you can defend yourself."
As soon as the guards let go of her, the priestess sighed in relief, able to lessen the discomfort from the chains around her wrist. Glancing toward Dansa and the bag he was holding, she tried to come up with an idea.
"It is that pair of mother and son! They were armed with forbidden things, threatening my life."
The priestess cried out in pain. Her eyes pleading to everyone in the room.
"So you deliberately conspired with them to curse my heirs?! How stupid must you be?!"
An old man hurriedly stepped into place, seeming to have grasp a bit on the situation in front of him.
"What do you want, Presian?!"
"Your Majesty! As you may know, any Priestess that comes in contact with forbidden items can pass on curses without their knowledge.
It is the fault of these two that the Priestess had accidentically done this! Please be lenient on her! She's the only priestess that had been trained under Chauvir!"
Enraged, the king struck the priestess in the face with a torch. The priestess remained kneeling on the floor, horrified. Elaine was a little out of it, but she seemed to have calmed down. Neo could do nothing but hold his mother close.
"You said these two were in possession of Illegal things? What are they?"
Dansa steps forward and bows to the king. With his hand searching through the bag, he takes out the item from the bag.
"That-!"
Neo's abrupt action is stopped by the guard. Something was wrong with the bag Lord Dansa had.
"Your majesty, I have ventured back from the borders today, and stumbled upon this."
"Void Powder"
The whole room was silent as they all glanced around at the powder in his hand. Lord Dansa placed them back into the bag and laughed.
"It is daring of me but I will say that a mother and son will find it harder to attain such items. It is either placed onto their hands by someone of a higher status or…"
With a scarcely conscious grimace, the priestess turned to face Lord Dansa. It appeared as though she was begging him with all her might. Lord Dansa knew what desperation looked like, and he planned to take advantage on that.
"Or what?!"
The king spew out of anger. He barely held it in as his hands shook with great tremor.
"Or they have participated in those practices. Those that had been enforced by Ivane. You know how the rebel group has been against the royal family. With rising curses, I say they collaborated with the rebel group to do harm to your heirs."
A vein sprung out of the king's skull as he thought about what to do next. He has suffered enough; his successors are in trouble, and the frontier is losing soldiers for no apparent cause.
At first, he thought that his heirs' quick birth would signal the start of a new era of wealth. He was, however, incredibly mistaken.
"Throw the Priestess into the cells. As for the Mother and Son, prepare for their execution."
Not understanding any Eruin being spoken, Neo could only assume whatever was going on. The only person that could make sense of this situation was his mother, yet she has been calm. There was something wrong with this situation.
The king did not care to glance at the two as they were taken away. Priestess Ana appeared to have succumbed to the king's demands and obeyed the guards. The room is silent as the king rubs his temples.
—
"Eagle."
A familiar voice jolted Eagle out of his nap. Piercing lights dazzled his eyes as he peered at the scene in front of him. Dark, dead lushes. Nothing like his uncle had taught him about the outer world.
"Orion…Orion?"
He panicked, seeking around for any signs that his uncle was still alive. In the distance, he notices the little girl who had peered directly into the creature's eyes.
"You…"
As he peered into her eyes again, he comprehended the reason for the creature's rapid incursion. He sprang up and violently grabbed the girl's shirt, threatening to strike her.
"It was your fault! Why would you lie?"
The young girl, who appeared to understand what Eagle was saying, grabs his wrist and hands him a bottle of water.
She pushed him off of her without saying anything and returned to her original position. Eagle was left dumbfounded by her acts, but he was thinking about something else. As he viewed what was exposing itself in his eyes, he felt a scorching sensation across his entire arm.
"A curse. It was a curse-."
Gazing at the black markings on his arm, he forced himself to swallow his emotions. His uncle was hiding a curse from everyone else. It wasn't her fault; the group was doomed from the start. He was that person at fault.
"Hiding a curse wasn't going to get us anywhere. Why?"
His uncle understood that hiding a curse would not work in Sasan. Nothing works better than being completely free of curses. Eagle turned to face Aziel, as though he realized why she had not attempted to defend herself from him.
"You knew right?"
He asked her again and again while crying. Aziel turns her back on him and concentrates only on the cloth that the elderly woman has given her. She buries it under a spot after giving it a kiss.
"The creatures came because of me. It was all because my uncle risked to get me out of there."
Everyone knows that Sasan does not tolerate cursed individuals above the kingdom of light. Yet here they were, all because Orion risked his own life for Eagles'. Children of light do not entice the monsters from below; rather, they are drawn to the stench of the cursed.