Aureus Elidan (POV)
My father, when he was alive, stressed the fact that when a man is given power and authority over others, it is within his nature to keep ahold of that power and authority, because if he loses it, he will be left less the man he was than when he first gained it. That lesson stuck with me as I grew old and matured within Zarendal. In my late teen years, I could truly see how the world was slowly giving me power over the people in this kingdom. They would submit and wait for my orders because they understood that it was I who was given authority over them. My coronation only solidified my belief in that lesson, as I still remember vividly how low and honorably they all bowed to me as the crown was placed upon my head that blessed day. However, from then onwards, I slowly began to see the true meaning of what it meant to have power and authority over others. When my father first told me about the ways of kings, I thought that I was special, that I was lucky to be born as the prince of the Elven kingdom, and that life would be nothing more than sitting on the throne and having my greatest desires fulfilled day and night. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong as to what he truly meant.
“Uriel, when I die, and you take the throne and inherit the kingdom from me, only then will you understand the true meaning of authority,” I said bleakly.
We stood together atop one of the porches on the upper floors of the palace, looking down over the capital city of Doriveir which was being drowned in a constant shower of snow while the sun sat idly in the crisp sky.
“And what would that be, father?” he asked.
I smiled while keeping my gaze on the whitened city. “You will learn soon enough. We all do eventually, albeit in different ways, but eventually. There comes a time in a man's life where he must stand tall and make the decision to push forward and take control over his own destiny.”
I spoke to him with only good intentions in my mind. It was slightly funny, a bit ironic even. Uriel was special. Not only because he was born different from everyone else, but because he is destined to play an important role in leading our kingdom and the continent forward in the upcoming years of his life - at least that’s what the seers told us. However, I just found it humorous that it was now me, passing down the knowledge that my father had taught to my own son.
“Are you saying that my time is coming soon?” he asked, now turning to look at me.
“The truth is, Uriel, no one knows when their time will come. All we know is that it's coming, and it’s up to you to be ready for it.” I replied. However, I could still feel his gaze on me as I looked out at the city. “What?” I said turning to face him.
“Father, did you bring me up here to tell me this because you think I’m not ready? Or perhaps, that I would be disheartened by my . . . ailments?” he said indicating to the pearly cain in his hand.
“W. . . what? No, of course not.” I said slightly taken aback. “I just wanted to remind you. Now that you’ve turned sixteen, you ought to know that this continent is about to go through some change, and it’s our job to be ready for that change. People like you, people who are special, will have an important role to play in that coming change. So be prepared, my son, to help and guide our people in their times of need.”
“ . . . So you think I’m special?” he said still glaring at me with his single blue eye.
I sighed, “What is it with you and all these questions? You already know I think you’re special. Haven’t your mother and I always told you that? Or have you forgotten the story we would tell you when you were younger?” I asked him. “Let me remind you, Uriel, while your mother was still pregnant with you, a woman came to the palace requesting an audience with me. She claimed to have prophetic abilities - called herself a seer - and told us she was sent by her covenant to relay a message to the king. Of course, we were skeptical at the time, but I was curious nonetheless.”
“You’ve told me this story a thousand times,” he moaned, turning to face the city.
“Just listen,” I said, “The woman told me that the child to be born in my wife's belly would cause great change in our world and would become a great leader of many. She said that the fate of our society would rest in your hands,” I said placing my hand on his shoulder. “So don’t ever downplay your worth, my son. You are indeed special, whether you want to be or not. Just because I have said it to you or even if I never did, it would not change a thing.”
As cliche as it sounds, Uriel was right, it was a story Solara and I had told him on multiple occasions growing up. From a young age, Uriel struggled to understand and come to accept his natural-born defects. It isn’t easy telling a child that they're different from other kids, especially when the reason for that difference is a negative one. We would usually resort to telling him that story to make him know that he was special, and for good reason. There was even a time I worried that he would grow up haughty with how often we would praise him and call him more important than other children. However, it seemed he had grown up to be an honorable young man.
Uriel continued to gaze out toward the snowing city, his silver hair flowing in the wind as it picked up. The cold of the day sent a slight chill down my spine as I took a glance at him.
“I know, father. You’ve mentioned it before. Apparently, I am special. And I do know my worth,” he said with little emotion on his face.
He tapped his cain slightly on the ground and took a limping step back from the banister. “Going somewhere?” I asked. Surprisingly, I had been seeing less of Uriel around the palace lately. Not only because of the increasing stress of my work but also because of his own absence. I suppose I wanted to cherish this moment with him a little longer. “Is my company beginning to bore you, son?”
“Agh, nothing like that. Just going to prepare for my eventful future,” he replied with a humorous tone.
“On your own? What did you have in mind?”
“Nothing for you to be concerned about, father. I have Nept to assist me with my plans,” he said assuredly.
“Ah, Neptune,” I sighed, slightly disappointed. “You and that slave of yours have gotten very close, don’t you think?”
“He is a slave no more, father. It was you who said I could choose anyone as my personal assistant, and I have chosen him.” He retorted.
“But why, Uriel? The boy is a lower elf.” I exclaimed with a slight whisper, “It is not in good taste for a high elf to be seen with the likes of them, let alone royalty. You could have chosen anyone. I even presented you with a number of the finest servants within the royal staff and you still chose that boy. Why?”
A sigh escaped his lips once more, and I could see the heat of his breath take form in the air, his face showing an expression of dissapointment “There are more qualities to a man than status, father.” He said with a slightly cold tone. “If only our people could understand that, then there would be no such thing as lower and higher elves. We would be a unified race.”
“Watch yourself, Uriel." I warned him. "By defending them, you dishonor your ancestors. Or do you think that the blood they shed was for nothing? Or that it was right for over two-thirds of our population to sit back and let our ancestors fight for them? Die for them!” I said raising my voice.
The wind howled in the back as we spoke. A sudden gust filled the silence as I stopped talking. Uriel still facing out toward the city, hardly flinching as the cold smacked against his face.
“Every man, father, will come to a point in their life where they must stand tall and make the decision to push forward and take control over their own destiny.” He said, quoting my previous words. “Is it right to bash those who make the decision that displeases the masses? Or should have the king of Zarendal during the time of the war forced the people who were unwilling to fight into battle?”
“What are you saying? Have you learned nothing about the war?” I said with a full voice. “The humans who came and kidnapped the prince - our ancestor, your ancestor - and murdered him had no right to get away with their deeds. So of course, we went to war, and we would have won if it weren’t for the revolt in the kingdom and two-thirds of our own population refusing to fight for the death of their own prince. And on top of that, the likes of Crucious Vayne didn’t help either. Those two major setbacks are what would have been the reason for the defeat of the elven kingdom if it weren’t for the Giant race stepping in and ending the entire thing.”
“Yes, I know, father,” he said. “I have studied our history.”
“Oh, so you know now?” I exaggerated with a slightly condescending tone. “If you know so much, then you should be able to tell me what fate befell our people after the war.”
He sighed again, “All who fought and survived were granted the status of nobility, and the families of the men who died in battle were compensated. However, the rest who refused to fight were ridiculed, hated, and condemned. Forever cursed to be in poverty and were de-ranked to what we now call a lower elf.”
“So you see why it is unorthodox for us to be around the likes of them. They chose to make the decision that not only dishonored their own race, but also themselves. They are no longer elven, they are scum.” I said with spite.
Uriel was silent for a while. It almost seemed as if he were going to say something in response, but then stopped himself from continuing the argument.
“Well, what’s done is done, I best be on my way.” He said bleakly. Turning around he began to walk away.
I didn’t want things to end the way they did. I understood that it had been some time since I had spoken with Uriel like this on our own. I had never gotten the time to hear his own thoughts or express his feelings, and now that he has, it feels as if I was scolding him for it. However, that wasn’t the case. I just found it hard to believe that he could have changed so much in that time away. The way he spoke, the calmness in his voice, his views on the kingdom, I had no recollection of this person in my memory. Even the clothes he wore seemed to be increasingly sophisticated.
I simply didn’t know how to respond. I just stood there as I watched him slowly back away from the balcony edge.
“Uriel,” I said softly. “I just thought that someone else would be better for you. I won’t stop you from making your personal decisions but just know that everything I say regarding them is only for your benefit,” a gentle smile formed on my face.
“I know, father,” he said standing at the balcony door.
“Will you be joining your mother and me for dinner?” I asked eagerly, “I hear Horus is making the chefs cook something special.”
“I will see, father.” he closed the balcony door behind him as he left. A gust of wind following after made it slam against its frame much harder than I’m sure he would have liked.
‘Uriel,’ I thought to myself, ‘What happened? When did he grow so much?’
The real reason I wanted to speak with him was so that he would be prepared for major change. Anything could happen to those who are in power and many people will throw threats at them, or perhaps do things that will make them question their loyalty. I only wanted Uriel to understand that we must be ready for those kinds of situations. Especially now that I am uncertain about our future, due to the human who approached me the other day. Lord Lucintroph his name was.
No threat was given. No order was made. He only asked that I be ready to cooperate with the human kingdom in future events - whatever that means. I don’t trust the humans, not after what they did to my people. However, other problems are beginning to arise within the continent. Problems that seem to be affecting all four kingdoms. I only pray I make the right decisions for my family and for my people.
I gripped the cold metal rails tightly in my palms as the chill of the wind beat gently across my face.
“A king cannot show fear, A king cannot show weakness,” I repeated under my breath. However, the truth is that I was fearful. Fearful because I didn’t know what my rivals were planning. Something is happening in Sunderland and I know that Zarendal and maybe the entire continent of Lumerick, was about to be thrown into the mix.
HARRISON SAUNDONT (POV)
A drunkard lay unconscious at the foot of a tavern building, a half-empty bottle clutched in his right hand. A young teary-eyed woman embracing herself as she sniffed her troubles away in a back alley could be heard as we passed by. The shouting of a man, the cry of a baby, and the call of the morning birds rang throughout the air.
“Whether it be night or day, this place is just depressing,” I said as we walked through the streets of Vixen’s quarter.
“Just be glad our lives didn’t end up taking us here,” Raja replied. “Although, I can’t say the same for the others.”
“Yeah,” I said regretfully. “I suppose, we were lucky with how things turned out.”
“You think we were lucky?” Raja said. “When you avoid one problem, it usually just means that you'll end up with new ones. If luck does exist, there isn’t very much of it left in the world.”
I hesitated before I said anything, but I knew of the pain my old friend was in. “. . . Raja,” I sighed, “I’m sorry about what happened to Olivia.”
He scoffed, “So you found out, huh? That job of yours gives you more information than you ought to know.” He said with a salty tone.
A light smile formed on my face, “It was your son, Elex, who told me, actually.”
“W . . . What?” he gasped. “Why would Elex tell you something like that? Why were you speaking to him anyway?”
“I pulled him into my office after he had been caught in a fight with some other students,” I explained. “One of the boys got seriously injured. Elex is a very gifted child, didn't you teach him how to control his powers?”
“Fighting!?” Raja exclaimed. “That doesn’t sound like Elex. Besides, he does know how to use his powers, I trained him myself.” His eyes widened, “it must have been the . . .” He trailed off.
“The what?” I asked.
He sighed, “It doesn’t matter. All I know is that Elex isn’t one to go around starting fights with other kids.”
I smiled again, “Rest easy, Raja. Know that your son isn’t a troublemaker. Although, as for the people who he got into trouble with . . . I can’t quite say the same.”
He was silent as we walked for a while longer. Raja and I had not spoken about Elex before. Not like this. As if we were still on good terms. I suppose Elex was the one thing that kept the relationship between me and Raja. Me being his teacher and Raja his father.
“. . . You know, Harrison. Elex is wind user like you,” he finally said.
“Is that so?” I replied. “Perhaps if I knew he was going to be coming to the school, I could have trained him myself on how to use his abilities,” I said in an attempt to shed some light on the situation.
“Perhaps . . .”
“Well, I guess it seems he is quite popular in terms of strength. I’ve heard many good things about him from his sparring teachers.”
He didn’t say anything, but I could see Raja smile as I walked next to him. Talking about his family was a touchy subject when it came to be the topic between us. I wasn’t too hesitant when talking about Elex, but Olivia was a different story. Especially now that she is gone, the tension would be much higher when we spoke about her.
As we approached a crossing on the road, our destination could be seen just a few blocks away. The very apartment that our old party members were rumored to be staying in.
“Look, there it is,” I said pointing to the building.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Damn, It looks run down,” Raja exclaimed. “I suppose it isn’t very conspicuous, though. Just what they would want.”
My heart was slowly beating faster within my chest as we got closer to our objective. How long had it really been since I had last seen them? Darwin, Alice, and Omar, our old friends had been like family to us. It pains me to think about how our fates changed so drastically. What would they say when they saw me? Or better yet, what would they say when they saw Raja? He left all of us way before I left them.
“Are you ok?” Raja asked. “You look nervous.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I am, but just hold it together. They’re not our enemies. So, in truth, we really shouldn’t have anything to fear.”
I sighed, trying to gain composure of my emotions, “Right.”
As we began to take further steps toward the building in front of us, an explosion accompanied by a plume of smoke could be seen rising in the distance not too far from where we stood. The sudden blast of noise caused us to duck in response, and any other civilians around us ran in fear.
“What the hell was that?” Raja gasped in his crouched position.
“I don’t know, but I can sense mana,” I replied.
Raja turned to stare at me, “You think it could be them?” he asked.
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check,”
“Well, let’s find out then.”
Picking up the pace, we ran towards the direction the smoke came from, ruble and damaged buildings starting to appear more frequently as we traveled closer. Running around a final corner, we approached a burning building that looked like it was much too affluent to belong in a red-light district.
“What the hell is this?” Raja exclaimed. “There’s a hole in the side of that building, a robbery mabye?”
“Raja, this is one of the council-owned supply buildings - like a storage house for goods,” I explained. I had come across several of these kinds of places in the inner city before, and I knew that they were spread throughout the entirety of Haulburn. It was just surprising to see one here on the outskirts of the Vixens Quarter.
“So it is a robbery then,” he concluded.
Suddenly, another shake from the ground caused the other side of the building to crumble in an unnatural way that hinted arcin magic was being used. We stood there as we saw a hooded individual run out of the building with a bag over their shoulder.
“Hey, stop!” Raja shouted as he began to chase after the robber.
“Raja wait,” I said, following after them both.
The hooded criminal looked back at us before waving their arms behind them and causing the ground to react to their manipulation. The road crumbled beneath us, resulting in us losing our footing as our target ran off ahead. The city pipes could be seen at our feet and the now-altered road caused one of them to burst, creating a leak.
“Get back here!” Raja shouted as he hurled a ball of fire in the robber's direction.
The flaming projectile collided with the figure’s back, causing them to squirm as they stumbled to the ground but swiftly continued their escape.
We followed them in an elemental-induced chase throughout the outskirts of Vixens Quarter, dodging and avoiding their barrage of attacks filled with cobblestone and brick walls, all while attempting to slow them down with our own abilities.
‘The way they move,’ I thought, ‘It’s so similar, if not the same as Darwin.’
“Raja, get behind me,” I called out to him before creating a large torrent of wind to sweep the robber off of their feet and into the air. Following up with an attack of his own, Raja leaped into the sky with the help of his flames behind him and plunged back toward the ground with the person in question in his arms.
They landed at the side of a building with a violent crash. A decent cloud of dust formed as Raja stood above the robber with his hand clenched tightly at his neck.
He coughed, spat, and struggled to get loose, but Raja’s grip was unyielding. “Why don’t you tell me what you have in the bag around your back?” he asked.
“You with the Royal guard? Y’kow they won’t reward you for handing in stolen goods! If you live in the outer city, you should know that.”
“Unfortunately for you, we don’t work for the royal guard . . . not really, anyway,” he said.
“Then who are you?” the man said through gritted teeth.
Raja unhooded himself and removed the balaclava around his neck. The man’s eyes widened and he took off his own concealments.
“R . . . Raja?” Darwin said in disbelief. “I must be dreaming.” He turned his head to face me, “And who might you be?”
“It’s me, Darwin, Harrison,” I said removing my own covers.
“What in God’s name are you two doing here . . . together?”
“Darwin, we need to talk with you and the others.”
He pushed Raja off of him and dusted himself off, “Talk with us? It’s been years, Harrison. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, and now, suddenly, you pop up out of nowhere and ask to . . . talk?!” He said with a raised voice,
“Alright!” Raja exclaimed, “Shout and be as mad at him as you want, Darwin. But at least do it somewhere with a little more privacy. We didn’t come here to make a scene.”
He sighed as he gripped the strap of the bag around his shoulder. “Fine, follow me.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our suspicions of the building where we thought our previous guild members were hiding was proven right as we were led back to it by Darwin. It was indeed a hiding place for them, a place of storage too. However, only one of them seemed to be present. Darwin.
“Where are the other?” I asked as we walked through the messy room. Boxes and small crates filled its corners while a stale smell lingered within the room.
Darwin hesitated before answering, “. . . They’re not here.”
“You left them?” I asked.
He scoffed, “What, are you looking for something to relate with?”
“I didn’t mean it like tha-”
“Just tell me what you want,” he interrupted, getting impatient.
I sighed, “Darwin, we were sent by the council to investigate and put a stop to the attacks on government storage buildings.” I explained, “The things you’ve been doing have caught wind of the higher-ups and-”
“The council? The bloody council, Harrison! You left us all those years ago, just to become a royal lapdog?”
“W . . . what? No. I-”
With a loud bang, the front door to the apartment swung open, and two more masked individuals came waltzing in with with bags held in their hands. Panting as they threw the bags on the floor of the room, they froze as they saw Raja and I standing in front of them.
“Darwin, what going on?” The taller of the two said. His voice was deep and had clearly changed since the last time I had heard it.
“Why don’t you ask them yourself.” he said rhetorically, “Seems Harrison here left us and now works for the council. Probably came here to arrest us.”
“That’s not what I said,” I replied.
“Wait? Harrison? You mean, like, Harrison Saundont?” Omar said skeptically, taking off his own mask.
“In the flesh,” Darwin added.
I sighed, and tried to speak as non-threateningly as possible.“O . . . Omar, I know it’s been a while, but I-”
Without any explanation being given, I was slugged with what felt like a mana-induced fist straight to my face. I tumbled to the ground and felt Omar sit atop of me.
“You bastard,” he continued to pummel my face in. “You left the guild, you left our members, you left us!”
If it weren't for me cladding my face in mana, I would have been left with a lot more injuries than just a bleeding nose.
“Hey, Hey, that's enough, Omar!” Raja shouted, grabbing his next oncoming fist.
“Raja, it’s fine,” I said wiping my nose.
“Raja?” Omar said stepping back in shock. “What are you doing here?” I could visibly see the pain in his eyes and also in the face of the woman who stood behind him.
I looked around the room to see us all together again. It reminded me briefly of when we were just kids. I wanted to be happy, I wanted to smile even. However, I couldn’t. For I knew that the reason we were all together was not for joyful moments.
“Let’s all just try and calm down, ok,” Raja said, attempting to take the lead. “We didn’t come here for a fight.”
“Calm down?” Darwin repeated. “How can you tell us to calm down? Don't you understand? You can't just leave us for years on end and then expect us to be jolly when you come back, Raja. Have some damn perspective. We deserve an explanation!” He finished sternly. When we were younger none of us would even think about speaking to Raja that way.
“Don't be like that, Darwin. You all know why I left?” Raja replied, briefly looking over in my direction.
I didn’t want it to come to this, I didn't expect things to go down this way. I thought that by bringing Raja here, we would be able to make up and leave the past behind us. I didn’t want to talk about it again.
“No, we don’t” Alice finally said. It appears she was on the verge of tears, and knowing her, she hasn't changed a lot since we were kids. “You left us, Raja, with no warning or message. You left us all alone, you were like a big brother to all of us and you just left.”
Raja turned to face me, but I couldn’t look him in the eye, I stood there with my head down, eyes averted elsewhere. ”You didn't tell them?” he said slightly enraged.
“No,” I said with my eyes to the ground.
“Tell us what?” Omar insisted.
“Go on, Harrison. Tell them the reason why I left in the first place. Tell them what you did to me and Olivia ” Raja said sternly with an angered look on his face.
“It was in the past, guys. Let’s just move on” I pleaded.
“Say it!” He repeated louder.
I stood there for a moment, with all eyes watching me. I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to confess what I had done in the past, but I knew if we were to all move forward, then there would have to be no more lying between us.
“Twenty years ago, when we were just moving out of Fortica city, Raja came and told me that he was planning to propose to Olivia.” I started to explain. I could feel the shame and guilt in my heart build up as I confessed my sins to the group.
“Me, also in lov-” I stopped. “Me, not wanting that to happen. Went and told Olivia that it was Raja and you guys that had broken into her father's store that previous year and had almost caused the downfall of the company he was trying to build.”
“What?” Alice gasped. “H . . . How could you do that? You know that when her fathers store was robbed it affected all of us. How you say we were a part of it?”
“Tell them the rest?”
I sighed, “Then, I told Olivia that Raja was only with her because of he wanted to gain the benefits of her fathers company after it began to rise up again and that he had planned to leave her once he was done using her.” I said. “Olivia then left and Raja followed her, in an attempt to make things right.”
They stared at me with shock and slight disgust. I didn’t want to look at them, but I knew that this truth would come out sooner or later. I had been holding it in for many years now. Playing the fool, lying to them, acting as if I didn't know the reason why Raja had left.
“By Arcinose,” Omar sighed shaking his head in disbelief,
“Why, Harrison? What is wrong with you?” Alice asked.
Darwin gasped, “So all this time? All the struggle and hatred and pain we went through because Raja had left, all happened because of you? And on top of all that, you had the audacity to Lie to us about it for years!”
“I know, and I’m sorry!” I blurted out.
“You think a simple sorry can fix this?” Omar said, pushing my chest, “No, sorry isnt enough harrison. You tore our family apart.”
“How could you do something like that?” Alice said with another tear escaping her eyes, “How could you lie to us?”
“I . . . I wasn’t-”
“You are sick, Harrison.” Darwin said unforgivingly, “I want you to know that.”
“It was in the past, I wasn’t thinking straight back then,” I said.
“You think that makes a difference? You’re past actions are the only reason we are all here in the first place. If Raja never left we would all be together and still be a part of the guild. But you - sick and twisted - ruined it all because of your own selfishness. Tell me, why did you really do it?” Darwin asked. “Why did you say such lies to Oliva about us.”
“Because . . . ” I trialed off.
“Why, Harrison!” Omar shouted.
“It was because I loved her,” I shouted back, pushing him away from me.
The room fell silent and they all stared at me except for Raja who had his head to the ground. I wondered what he was thinking at the time, but my emotions blocked me from understanding his silence.
“I loved Olivia. But I also loved Raja too. Like you said, he was our brother, and I couldn't bear to see them together. Not while I held the feelings I did for her. So I had to chose between the two of them, and my choice ended with me trying to make Olivia leave.” I finally said, taking another weight off my chest. “I just didn’t think Raja would leave with her.”
No one spoke for a time, as we all stood there letting our emotions and feeling out into the room. I understood their sorrow, I was probably the worst person to ever live. I was so selfish and so in love with my brothers woman, that I decided they couldn’t be together while I was around. I hate myself for it now, but back then I was overcome with my feelings and I knew they would grow into something far worse than jealousy if I let Raja go through with his plan of proposal.
“You’re right, it was all in the past and none of that matters now,” Raja said, breaking the silence.
“What?” Omar protested, “He tried to sabotage your relationship with Olivia, lied to her, and blamed us for what happened to her father and you’re saying it doesn’t matter anymore? Do you think Olivia would say that it doesn't matter?” He complained.
“Well, I guess we will never know Omar, since Olivia is dead!” Raja finally exclaimed.
“W . . . what?” He said taken aback.
"Olivia is dead," Raja repeated.
"I . . . I didn't know, Raja. I'm sorry"
“No, you didn’t and I don’t blame you for that, but the fact is Olivia is gone, and within our time together after we left you all, she came to forgive Harrison after I told her about his lies.” He rubbed his eyes while sighing and said, “And within that time as well, I too have come to forgive him.”
My eyes slightly widened in surprise. Did I hear him right? He forgives me?
“I’m not saying that there is something to justify the stupid acts that Harrison committed. Nor will there be any solace to the pain that came about after, but that's not a reason for us to hate him forever. Even I have no excuse for leaving you all without explanation.” he explained. “Harrison is and will always be our brother, he may be a very stupid one at times, but he is still our family nonetheless, and as family, it’s up to at least one of us to humble ourselves and confess our wrongs. So, among other things, we came to apologize for what we’ve done to you.” he finished.
I was surprised, slightly in shock even. I had no idea this was how Raja felt. All this time, I thought things would never be as they once were because of my foolish actions, but the very fact that Raja was apologizing for himself and for me was a sign that he still saw me as his younger brother. That he still felt and took responsibility for my actions. I could feel tears beginning to rise from my eyes, but I held them back.
How long had it been since I had felt something like this before? The feeling of love that one can receive only from a family member. Although none of us were truly related by blood, we all saw each other as so. It was different from all other forms of love. It was unconditional. Raja standing before me, and asking for forgiveness for my sins was the very proof that that love existed. I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t how to act. All I could do was watch and wait for their response.
Though his request was not answered with words, instead, Alice ran into his arms and cried her eyes out into his chest. I never thought that I could cause so much pain to my siblings as we grew up together. I knew that the reason they acted the way they did when they saw us was out of complete shock, but I never thought that it would be me to cause that reaction.
Darwin sighed, turning to me with my head down. “What is it you’ve come for then?”
So it’s going to be like that, huh? He didn’t want to give me the satisfaction of knowing that he had forgiven me, but he did on the inside. I had lived with him long enough to know how he acts in times like these.
I looked him in the eyes more seriously, “Darwin, I may have been sent by the council, but not as their lapdog. They have caught notice of what you guys have been doing and they told me to come and put a stop to it.”
“Preferably without violence,” Raja added.”
“Yeah, well it’s not that simple, Harrison,” Omar said taking a seat on some of the boxes. “It’s not exactly like we want to do this?” his head turned away with slight shame.
“How so? Is someone forcing you?” Raja asked.
“To simply put it, yes. You could say that,” he confirmed.
“What could they possibly have or do to you, that would make you listen to their demands?” Raja said. “I know it’s been a while, but the last time we were in the dungeons together, you were all very gifted fighters.”
Alice stepped back from Raja and said “It wasn't a matter of strength, but more so, debt.” She explained. “After Harrison left, the guild started to grow more popular. For a time, we were getting bigger in number every single month, to the point where we didn’t even know half the people in the guild. However, a couple of years ago, mass amounts of our funds had been spent without any of our knowledge, which might have seemed irresponsible, but we trusted the people in charge of our finances. However, within a year, all of our money had been spent on who knows what, and we had started taking loans from . . . someone.”
“Somone?” Raja repeated. “What do you mean by someone? How did you not know who you were taking loans from.”
“Because we were only filled in on the situation after it had all happened,” Darwin said through gritted teeth. “Everything, from the spending of the money to the borrowing of it, was only relayed over to us once we were already extremely in deep debt, and to make it worse, we didn’t even know who our finance members were taking money from. When we asked them, all of them said they didn’t know who was requesting for or providing the money. So then, about a month later, we had to close the guild and sell everything.” he said. His hands now clenched. “Of course, the money we made was nowhere near enough of what we owed, but it wasn’t too long after then that we received an anonymous letter telling us that if we raided and stored supplies from certain locations in Hualburn, all our debt would be paid off.”
“I see,” Raja said with his arms folded. He took a glance at me, wanting me to share my matter of opinion.
“I should take this up with the council,” I commented, “Tell them that there is someone else behind all of this and that you’re just taking orders. Maybe they could help with your financial problem.”
They all glanced at each other in silence. Most people would assume that it was just a look of conformation between them, but something felt off about the way there eyes interacted with one another.
“Do what you think is best,” Darwin nodded. It felt more like he was complying rather than agreeing, but I didn't think much of it.