-Break-

A few days later

Hearing a noise, I open my eyes and turn my head to the right where I see Mariana throwing up, and I say, “Oh so do it as well. Are you ok?”

Mariana finishing her release, looks at me and gives me a thumbs-up with a sickly expression.

So I respond with another thumbs up back towards her.

Seeing the sun shining outside the room, I say, “It’s late, why didn’t they start ringing the bell to get us up.”

Then moments later memories of last year start flashing throughout my brain, and I say, “Bricriu is coming.”

-Break-

Location: On a path towards the centre plain

Mariana beside us says, “So that’s how I found how I got this scar on the back of my knee.”

“Urgh.”

“Hey, what with that urgh?”

“I was worried about you this morning but it seems you're doing just fine, you haven’t been able to stop talking since we started walking.”

“Well, what else are we supposed to do!? Everyone is being forced to walk to who knows where, so how else I am supposed to keep you entertained.”

“It isn’t entertaining it is annoying!”

“Then why don’t you do some talking.”

“Ok, I will then.”

“Tell me what’s up with today, why is everything so strange?”

While this is a good opportunity to inform of what’s probably going to happen today, I feel like I shouldn’t. The terror of knowing some of your loved ones might be killed today is too intense, it is better if she just experiences it all at once instead of worrying about it beforehand.

“I can’t really say, but you should make your heart as strong as Charles punches.”

“DON’T DODGE THE QUESTION.”

A beastkin screams over in our direction, which causes everyone who is even talking around us to quiet down.

“Control yourself.”

“Then don’t make me angry.”

“So when you're angry, you lose control.”

“YES!”

“You suck.”

Charles beside me says, “Didn’t you hit me cause you were angry?”

Full of shame, I say, “But I apologized for that.”

“It is easy to preach isn’t it you hypocrite.”

“Urgh fine, ask me another question I will directly answer it.”

“Yes! Ok then tell me where you and Charles disappear to on the castle days.”

“Yeah, I can’t tell you that.”

“YOU LYIN-.” Putting my hand over her mouth I cover it so she doesn’t let out a loud screaming.

I know I lied, but I have already discussed whether or not we should let her know about or relationship with Dónal or not, because I don’t know how she would take us being so friendly with a beastk-, “OUCH!” I scream as she bites me.

“What are you an animal.”

“Rawr,” She says while putting both her hands up like claws.

“Just for that, I am never telling you anything.”

“Well then, the same goes for me.”

“Oh with how much you love talking just try it.”

Turning my head, to Charles I say, “Do you have anything you want to say?”

“I would like to go over all the different types of birds again.”

“Ok, now where do I begin.”

-Break-

3 hours later

Looking at Mariana's face which has started to turn red, I say cheekily, “You ready to talk now?”

With a face of frustration, Mariana swings her head from right to left, indicating her stance. But as she does, I can see the muscles on her face tightening to keep her mouth shut so she doesn’t talk.

Charles looking at Mariana sticks up his thumb and says, “Good job.”

Looking at him, her face relaxes then she says, “My god is that things face annoying.”

“Hey, you just talked to me?”

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Giving me a glance, she says, “Charles did you hear that? Of course you didn’t because nothing just spoke, but I am sure if something did just speak it would be coming from an ugly, idiotic, annoying, person.”

“Using Charles as a way to avoid talking to me is childish.”

“Hey, Charles it also seems that if something did exist, it would need to know the fact that, I AM A CHILD.”

“Why yo-.” Stopping I walk into the back of a man in front of me, and then I notice that everyone has stopped walking. “We’re here.”

As everyone scattered, the three kids looked in front of them to see, that they were all right next to the sculptures made of human flesh, and in front of all of those sculptures, were countless long tables spread out on the grass with one in the centre of them all sitting Bricriu.

Bringing a shatter shell close to his mouth he says, “Today I have decided to have a nice dinner with all of you so would you please come here, and take a seat. I have prepared rather scrumptious food for everyone.”

Suddenly the beastkins start to scream and direct us to go walk to the tables, but as I prepare to move a beastkin says, “You three come with me.”

It is the same bat beastkin that branded me, I haven’t seen him in a while, so I thought he had moved away, but it seems he is still here.

After a very little bit of walking, he guides us to our table, and our table is long like the rest of them but unlike the rest of them, it is specifically in front of one of the sculptures.

But when I look at the sculpture I notice something, of the countless distorted and ruined human faces on the sculpture one of the faces is visible and preserved. Looking at it with a face of shock and horror, I say, “Dad.”

Suddenly countless emotions rush up begging to be let out of my body, but I can’t let a single one out, as the very sight of what I am seeing freezes me in my tracks.

Then from my side, I am hit across the face by the beastkin who says, “I told you to sit there three times already, what’s taking so long?”

He was speaking? “R-Right.” Without even looking where I am going I just follow his finger and sit down.

But looking straight, I see my father's face is directly in my line of sight just a bit upwards from where I am sitting.

As I stare at it almost everything else in the world including all the sensations in my body fade away as I look at my father's face. Memories flash through my mind and each time they do I stop at my father's face; no way my father's strong and kind face looks like this.

A loud ringing sound breaks throw the air, which snaps me back to the present, and then I hear, “Now everyone please enjoy the food I have brought out for all of you today.”

As everyone around me starts eating, I look down to the right where I see how long the table is with everyone just eating. So I try to reach out my hand and grab some food to put in my plate, but as I do my hand starts to shake uncontrollably.

Looking to my left, I see Charles staring at me with a worried expression, and directly across from me, I see Mariana talking away as usual but taking breaks to put food in her mouth.

How can all of you act as if nothing is wrong? How can we all live here with monsters that do this? Why are we just living like this letting them treat us this way? Why is a man who cares for me even after death left in such a state? What have I done wrong to deserve this?

It isn’t right, it isn’t right, it isn’t right, it isn’t right, it isn’t right, it isn’t right, it isn’t right, FATHER.

Looking over Mariana's head, I stare at my father's face, and then all the emotions I have are about to break out. My eyes water, my face contorts, and the start of what is a scream starts to form in my throat.

But as it is about to break loose, Mariana puts her hand over my mouth, and says, “Nero, I need you to stop.”

A beastkin walks up towards us with a smirk on his face and asks, “Is everything ok.”

The look he has when he asks is as if he is mocking all of us. This lone look causes my emotions to surge but at the same moment Mariana tightens her grip and then turns her head around saying, “Everything is alright just trying to make sure he gets a taste of this heavenly food.”

Holding back his laughter the beastkin turns and says, “Alright then.”

Looking directly at me Mariana, says, “I hear what you said I know who that is, and right now I have no idea what you feeling, but right now your reaction is only going to bring harm to yourself but more importantly to Charles.”

Looking to my left, I see Charles making a usual face, one of a frightened child. “Nero I know what I am about to ask is unfair, but please just ignore it, and focus on me, focus on my face, focus on my words, and just don’t look up.”

Sitting back down, Mariana begins to speak with a smile so bright it has to be forced. She talks and talks and talks, while making as many gestures as she can with her body to keep my focus, and holding the hand of Charles who is right beside me.

Φ Nero, Ogier, Sarah, Ganelon, Alfred, Alex, Petra, Morelia, Charles. Seeing the faces of my favourites so contorted in pain, or completely devoid of life really is a sight to behold.

“Marquis Bricriu, are you alright.”

“I am in; what do the human call it again? Right heaven!”

-Break-

A few hours later

Location: Beastkin dorms

Φ Dónal lying on his bed looks at the flower that was on Sofia's head, and as he does he thinks about her.

Staring at the rather pretty flower in my hands, I say, “I think she might have been a bit like me.”

Sitting up, I say, “Dónal don’t say such things. This is the reason the other beastkin hate you, at the end of the day you are one of the mighty red branch families children, you are a Fuinseog!”

Suddenly my door blasts open, and from the other side, I see Ryan, who says, “You're wanted Breast mil-, I mean Dónal.”

As he walks away in utter confusion, I say, “Did he just use my name.”

Getting up I run out my door, and follow him to a large crowd of beastkin, and as I come through they make way for me, and after a little bit of walking, I am faced to face, with the Marquis himself; Bricriu.

Seeing him I instantly bend, the knee and say, “Hello my lor-.”

“Stop right there, Dónal Fuinseog.”

“You know my name,” I say while raising my head.

“Of course I do, you're just like me, a member of a red branch family.”

“I am nothing like you. You are the head of your family, while I am nothing more than exiled trash.”

“Still regardless of that great blood runs through your veins, so the fact that you a mere worker here is an insult to the entire red branch.”

Bricriu makes a look at all the workers around me, and as he does they all look away. “So I have decided to change that, from this moment on Dónal Fuinseog, you are the head of this plantation and boss of all the workers here, effective immediately.”

In the instant he says, this I look at him, and scream, “WHAT!”

-Break-

Location: Campsite

That night Nero cried, and cried all through the night and as he lays on the ground, both Mariana and Charles simply laid beside him giving him hugs all throughout the night.

-Break-

Location: Bricriu carriage

Φ Across from me, Liam asks, “Sir?”

“What is it, Liam?”

“Why did you promote Dónal, what he has done is an utter betrayal of the red branch?”

“Many years ago, when I was but a child, I was part of a siege over in the eastern continent of Enotita, and in the eastern continent they have a large wall said to be impenetrable blocking entry between Victoria and Enotita, a bastion one might said. So as you can imagine it was quite a pain.

But while the siege was going on, I noticed something, that for a certain section of the wall, the blocks on the base were incredibly fragile and weak.

So we devised a strategy to send in heavy-duty wonderbeasts to damage the bricks, and then that entry section of the wall fell. A great magnificent wall fell simply because of a few shitty blocks that were used as its base, hilarious isn’t it?

Ever since then, I have always wanted to see such a sight again, but in a different form, so I have just done so. Now that’s my answer to your question.”

Φ Even with the time we have spent together, I still have no idea what he means, but at the very least I know this I would never want to be the object of this man's interest.