Once they reached the east wing garden Willow sat down on the soft grass below his feat in content, happily urging Alex to join him "what?" Alex saw his smiling face and grew curious "nothing," Willow blushed a light pink involuntarily then got up and sat on Alex’s lap "Willow," Alex sighed but didn't stop him from sitting there "Alex tell me a story, one from the battlefield ... about him," he demanded and looked back cutely 'no way can he resist this face' he evilly thought to himself "alright then, just one," he compromised with a smile before wrapping his arms around Willow’s waist and leaning his chin on the younger boy’s shoulder, the action already seeming so natural to him that it was an unconscious decision.
"I was just turning 18 and Shawn was only two years old at the time but my father insisted I get some real combat experience, your father's name was Darren and he was my good friend and comrade on the battlefield," he paused to think "I arrived at the battlefield with Darren not long after my father ordered me to get some experience, it was relatively peaceful with no battles what so ever so I thought it would be an easy ride but I didn't expect what would happen next," he looked at Willow and rubbed his head "after staying in the army camp for just over one week the king gave us orders to head to the boarder, at the time there was an on going war there that wouldn't end for another two years," after thinking for a second he carried on talking now deeply engrossed in his memories of the war “Darren and I headed there with the rest of the army, once there Darren met your mother Mary who was a Water magic healer for the army at the time. We were sent out to fight the very next morning, it was a gruesome battle and many of our friends died but we made it through the first day without any serious injuries." He stopped again and looked at Willow to see the boy's curious expression, eyes solid with determination "Alex carry on, tell me more," he looked straight in Alex's eyes and demanded for he too wanted to know what was going on behind the ‘plot’ of this world "well we stayed at the front for another year before Darren left with your mother to get married, my father made me stay there for another year until he died and I could leave to be with Shawn and Ashleigh. When I got back Darren was ordered back to the front leaving his sick wife and newborn baby alone, she died not long after and Darren was killed in battle that same day leaving you to Ashleigh and me. Before your mother died she asked Ashleigh to look after you, when I allowed Lily to hypnotise me and attack you, that was the moment I failed you and lost all right to stand beside you," he looked sadly at Willow but carried on speaking "I'm truly sorry Willow," Willow wordlessly turned around so his legs were folded on either side of Alex and looked him in the eyes "I'm never going to blame you for something you couldn’t predict, something you couldn’t change and this time isn’t any different,” he hugged him and smiled softly to himself, this was how he really felt at that moment in time and for once he felt loved. He didn’t hate the man before him, not at that moment.
After hearing Willow’s words Alex began to reflect on the time he’d known the small boy in his arms, he began to wonder when he began to have these strange feelings for a child barely 16 years old who could somehow stop the chaotic mess of his mind when others had failed. He immersed himself in his memories as they sat there in each others arms; he wanted to remember when Lily hypnotised him.
It was a day just like any other day but this time Shawn had brought home a girl around his age, the power radiating from her body was above Alex’s putting him on guard against the new girl but that didn’t last long “hello Mr. Smith I’m Lily Seasaint,” she stretched out her hand for a hand shake and not wanting to be rude Alex took her hand, it was like a dizzy spell suddenly took over him and he quickly let go of her hand “well I’ll be going then,” he didn’t know why he was so vigilant anymore, he didn’t understand why he thought that she was a dangerous person and worst of all he didn’t know who the young boy currently smiling at him from a little way away was. He began to live everyday as normal but this time he felt as if a thick layer of fog covered his eyes, blocking important information from him and a sudden sense of foreboding rose inside him.
Then one day he was walking down the corridor after spending the day in one of the offices by the library, he once again saw that boy who once smiled brightly at him. He was wearing old clothes like that of the servants but his eyes were cold, emotionless and devoid of life no matter how hard he tried to mask it Alex could tell this child had been through hell and back. What shocked him more was that when the child looked at him there was a slight calculative look that flashed briefly in his eyes ‘this mere servant dares look at me directly in the eyes?’ were the thoughts going on inside Alex’s mind as he looked into the boy’s eyes, it was only for a second or so but he knew he wanted the daring boy to be his. There was a strange feeling inside his chest, it caused his heart to constrict and he wanted to comfort him, he wanted to know who betrayed him until he was so broken even his eyes lost their light. It started out as a normal curiosity, one which he could easily throw away if he found the servant to be using him or a danger to his family but it silently grew without his knowledge. One minute the boy was a brief thought when he was bored then he was a puzzle he couldn’t sleep without figuring out, eventually he found himself watching the boy’s every move whenever he could catch a glimpse of his ever elusive figure.
“Father, Willow is falsely accusing my fiancé of ordering people to attack him,” his only son Shawn came to him one day and although he didn’t know who Willow was somewhere in his heart cried out to him, it told him that Shawn was mistaken and that his beloved wouldn’t do such a thing but he was angry at the blatant disrespect someone was showing to his only son “where is he,” it came out apathetically and his heart was clenching uncomfortably at him not defending the boy called Willow, he stood and followed behind his son. He was confused when Shawn brought him to the east wing, the one place he didn’t want to be. The place he and Ashleigh used to share together before she died and the place where the garden of cherry blossoms lay abandoned, it was also the place where the servants now stayed. Just thinking that it was a servant that disrespected his son made his anger almost explode, they made their way all the way to the last room on the corridor and a wave of nostalgia came over him “he’s in there,” Shawn reached for the door handle but it was already open, the melodious laughter was pleasing to the ear and the person on the other side of the door was that servant from the library ‘so this is Willow’ his heart throbbed in knowing and called out to him, scolded him for not believing but he was still angry. The infatuation wasn’t so strong he would ignore his only surviving family member for a servant despite his heart’s erratic behaviour “what are you laughing at, your stupidity?” Shawn spat venomously and the once beautiful expression was replaced with cold indifference, it was the same as the first day Alex had seen him walking in the corridor and he felt like some of the fog surrounding him had dissipated “Shawn, General,” he politely greeted them “Willow is what Shawn told me true?” Alex unconsciously used the boy’s name but the boy only looked at him in confusion “is what true sir?” he questioned coldly whilst glaring at Shawn who glared back, Alex noticed and his anger grew again slowly consuming the rational thoughts influenced by his heart "that you are implicating Lily in things she didn't do," Willow looked like he finally understood, he hardened his expression further and clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood but Alex’s anger stopped him from intervening no matter how badly his heart hurt at the sight of the boys blood "my only son and his fiancé are being implicated by a mere servant," his anger was at its peak and his patience wearing thin at the disrespectful servant before him "father what are you saying? Willow is my younger brother and your son, how could you forget that?" Shawn’s words were like a bucket of cold water thrown at him as more of the fog lifted, he was more confused now than he ever was before "I would remember something as important as having another son left to me before your mother died," he was no longer angry and wanted to understand what was going on, ever since Lily arrived it was like his judgement was clouded and he didn’t like it "no father Willow is your son, look at the picture of mum and him in her old room," Shawn argued "what do you care anyway?" Willow muttered under his breath but Alex heard it anyway and his heart couldn’t help clenching once again, during his confusion Willow pushed passed them and started running towards the main entrance "Willow get back here you bastard!" Shawn’s words made Alex angry but he didn’t say anything and rushed to catch up with the boy.
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It didn’t take him long to reach the much slower boy, he grabbed him around the waist to stop him running and brought him close to his chest "le ... let go ... let go of me," Willow cried and struggled against his hold but he didn’t let go, the feel of the boy in his arms was amazing and he didn’t want to let go, he couldn’t even if he wanted to "come with me, prove you did nothing wrong," Alex cooed in Willow’s ear and slackened his vice like grip in fear of hurting him, he stopped crying but struggled some more "TRASH KEEP STILL!" Shawn once again said words that angered him but he only tightened his slackened grip when he heard Willow whimper and saw his cowering form, he wanted to protect him but noticed his tense form and lack of struggling was due to his harsh hold and not his son’s words "shit I'm sorry," he whispered against the younger boy’s ear slowly loosening his grip clearly noticing the shivers coming from him. Without hesitation Alex picked Willow up bridal style and began walking up stairs ‘too light’ he thought as they walked ‘definitely the best’ he decided when he realised he could protect the boy when he was in his arms, when he realised the boy wouldn’t be able to escape from him like this.
They entered the brightly lit room and he reluctantly put Willow down to stand off to the side "where did she keep the pictures?" he asked wanting to quickly clear up the misunderstanding, instead of answering Shawn just strode in carefully and looked in the study table drawer where he found an old journal. He passed it to Alex who quickly flipped through it; sure enough he found an old portrait of a younger Willow sat with his mother in the garden at east wing. Willow was around three years old and the woman was petite, red haired and had sky blue eyes "Ashleigh left me another son?" it was easy to see the resemblance between the three year old and the fourteen year old, both of them had jet black hair that was longer than normal boys that shone a brilliant red under the midday sun. Contrary to what he thought he wasn’t infatuated with the woman in the picture, the love he once felt for the woman was nowhere to be found and it was instead replaced with the love he felt for the boy. It was at this time the hypnotism began to weaken somewhat, much to his disappointment Willow had already escaped “father how will you punish him?” Shawn only cared about punishing his brother “you shouldn’t believe everything that woman says,” he turned and left before deciding to head off to see his old friend or the battlefield, he needed to clear his head.
Coming out of his memories he smiled slightly and squeezed the boy in his arms tighter before relaxing when he realised he wasn’t going anywhere.
One year later:
Alexander had decided to look into his friend’s untimely death and Mary’s sudden sickness, he had his suspicions but to accuse the king’s younger brother of a crime without proof would only lead to his death. Despite his long and deep friendship with the current king there were some things they didn’t see eye to eye on, the king’s younger brother Thorn was just one of them. Thorn was not only a prince of the kingdom but also the pope of the church, it is said he can predict certain future events directly connected to Dark Arts magic users and has been known to wipe out entire families to prevent the rise of one such practitioners. It was during his first year being able to stand beside Willow that he received news from his network of spies that Thorn had predicted the rise of a practitioner around seventeen years ago, at first he didn’t see the connection between Mary and Thorn but the deeper he delved the closer he got to the truth. Mary had rejected Thorn during their younger days and decided to join the army as a healer, in retaliation Thorn had sent her to the frontlines in hopes she would die with his secret but luck was not on his side. During her time at the front lines she met Darren and they fell in love, when Alexander learnt of Mary and Thorn’s past he knew something bigger was going on but he couldn’t find what he was looking for.
One year later:
Alex and Willow spent almost everyday together, when he was alone Willow practiced his Dark Arts magic and finally reached level 7 in the three year time limit.
Willow was sat in his old room in east wing when several consecutive beeps sounded signalling the completion of several tasks, he headed out of the room only glancing back briefly at the engraved name 'Willow' and the faint scratches forming the letters 'M' and 'W' then carried on walking with his tome hidden safely inside his robe. He was planning on avoiding Alex today for one reason only; the time for the battle was almost upon them.
On his way towards the library he saw Shawn getting ready to ride out with Lily and an army of around 200 men, he stopped to look at him with a cold look 'I didn't know he was back' he thought 'this must mean it's time, they've already heard of the Dark Arts magic practitioner' he sighed and as he turned to walk away Shawn turned to look his way, a sneer on his face. He didn't mind and instead carried on towards the library, when he arrived he called out "Zaphion today is the day, come meet me on the battlefield at the end so you can follow me," Zaphion turned into his human form again and smiled lightly “to think I was once the one in need of your help,” Zaphion joked “I told you all those years ago Zaphion, you’ll always be my little brother ... even if we were just street rats and not even related to one another,” Willow expressed his true thoughts and for once was happy Zaphion had not given up on him, as he thought of those words he remembered his younger years as Adrian Grove.
He was only four years old and yet was living out of dustbins and scrounging for food on a daily basis, his mother had cast him aside as she already had a young child to care for and his father didn’t want his wife to know the mistake he’d made. It was on those very streets that he encountered a young woman in the same situation as him, she had no home and barely enough food for herself never mind the baby in her arms “please help my baby,” she would plead everyday to the people wondering the streets until one day she didn’t, Willow remembers the feeling of having to find the woman and help the young child or he would regret it and even until this day he was glad he found the young Zaphion still alive in that alleyway. Despite being unable to even feed himself he did all he could to keep them both alive, that was when they were adopted by a noble who couldn’t have children. They were looked down on and almost killed many times but he made it to adulthood whilst carefully shielding his younger brother, Zaphion was later taken by a wizard to be his disciple leaving Willow alone with the cruel control of the ring and the God.
He snapped out of his memories once again and got ready to leave 'here goes nothing' he prepared for the worst and knew he would have to face death this time around, he just hoped it would all fall into place at the end.