Nil

My exploration was going great. There was an occasional noise, but whatever caused them was outside the range of my . This castle was a lot breezier at night than the day which was weird. Why were there so many random drafts of air? Right as I was about to head back, a shadowy figure descended. It was wearing armor and a cloak that covered its entire body. An assassin. Oh no. Not like this! I immediately cast back to my crib. It was a long distance, but I should be fine. I was back in my crib. Someone please help! I don’t want to die! The shadowy figure entered the room with ease. I didn’t have enough magic to out; I barely had enough for a . The figure walked slowly towards me, emitting a menacing aura. I began to cry as loud as I could. Someone hear me! Mom! Dad! Please make it in time! The figure just chuckled. I noticed a cone around us. It was some form of silence . I am doomed.

I was not going to go down so easily; I had a little bit of left that could cast . There was nothing heavy I could drop on him. The figure walked closer, taking its sweet time. Focus Nil. There has to be something. That is when I noticed the figure had nothing to defend himself against me. I just knew he wasn’t expecting an attack. The best thing I had at my disposal was . Wait, doesn’t have to be used on inanimate objects does it? What if I tried to grab something like his heart? Well, only one way to find out. I tried to the figure's heart into my hand. I was guessing the anatomy of a demon wasn’t too far off from humans; from what I could tell it wasn’t drastically different. The figure lurched awkwardly, then spat out a cloud of blood. But there was no heart in my hand. I am so dead. The figure roared in agony. I was out of , that was my only shot. The cone around us vanished, so I immediately began screaming and crying. Please hear me mom. Dad. One of you two. Please. My parents descended upon the figure in an instant, who was writhing in pain on the ground. The figure was clutching its chest, swearing like a sailor. The language was so foul it was unreal. My mom immediately picked me up as my dad burst out laughing. What? Me almost dying is funny?

“So brother, what happened here?” Dad asked with a wide grin on his face.

“Heal me. He tried to my heart. I barely severed his in time.” the figure gasped.

“And why is he crying Nox? You didn’t chase him did you? His is extremely low.” Mom interrogated with an irritated voice.

“Senna, this is not the time. Please heal me.” Nox wheezed, sounding desperate.

“Nox Abaddon Crowthorne. Elite assassin done in by my ten-month-old son. It was a valiant fight as Nox struggled to sneak up on a baby and got hit by a powerful as Nil defended himself. I can see your tombstone now. Speranza thanks you for your service, if only we could have made it in time.” Dad teased. This monster is my uncle?

“I am not dead! Can you please heal me Senna?” Nox spat with a cloud of blood coming from his mouth.

My mom relented and healed him. My uncle sat rubbing his chest, glaring at me. That’s what you get! I thought I was going to die! She was holding me close. I held onto her tightly. Someone was shaking. Might have been me. Not saying I lost control of my baby body, but there was a slight smell.

“So why is Nil so scared Nox?” my mom pressed. Her voice was like ice.

“The kid was exploring, so I scared him a little. He used to get back here. I followed him. At that point he really started to freak out so I put a around us, and I cut my to try and get him to calm down. That didn’t work. While I was trying to figure out how to calm him down Nil tried to use on my heart. Luckily, he is a baby and his aim was a little off.” Nox explained desperately.

“So you terrorized my son and almost got sent to the Lords of Tenebrae by him.” Dad clarified, struggling to keep a straight face.

“I had no idea he would freak out so bad.” Nox retorted.

“A stranger, at night, who generally has a menacing aura, and you wondered why a baby would find that scary?” Mom inquired while my uncle looked like he wanted to vanish.

“I may not have thought through how he would react. The way he reacted it was like he thought his life was on the line.” my uncle replied.

Because I did think my life was on the line. You are quite a scary person! My mom was clearly judging him silently while she changed my garments. I was beginning to feel better when my mom picked me back up. Uncle Nox I am going to use the strongest weapon at my disposal; you deserve this. I hit my mom with the best baby eyes I could, which I immediately followed with a little whimper and snuggled into her. I wasn’t looking up, but even I could feel the avalanche hit the room. My uncle's desperation was palpable.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Empress Senna, I swear I am not lying. I have no idea why he is so scared!” Nox pleaded like he was on trial.

“Oh really?” Mom snarled. Her voice was so cold my spine tingled.

“Honey, I am sure my idiot brother did not mean to terrify Nil.” Dad interjected, clearly trying to calm my mom down.

“So you are taking his side?” Mom checked with my dad which only added to the palpable discomfort in the room.

“My wife is right Nox! How dare you scare my son to such a degree!” Dad barked at him. And the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, all through the town.

“What do you think is an appropriate punishment, Nox?” Mom questioned him, her voice still terrifying.

“I am sure Empress Senna in her infinite generosity can forgive such a small mistake.” my uncle replied foolishly.

I hit my mom with the snuggle in deeper as he finished his sentence. Not a chance Uncle Nox; I am going to lay it on extra thick; try digging yourself out of this one. I could feel his despair. It was delicious as I put my little baby hands on Mom.

“Brother, your kid is a natural schemer. He set me up. I swear what I did should have only mildly startled him!” Nox begged his brother.

“Oh yes, my ten-month-old son, the devious mastermind who has clearly prepped and made your destruction, has sprung forth his master plan.” Dad mocked him. Mwahahahaha.

“Nox, you are looking quite sad. Please accept your punishment with grace.” Mom instructed him as I could almost feel his soul leave his body.

“As punishment, when Nil comes of age, you will have to train him how to fight. It is only fair for traumatizing him so much you teach him to properly defend himself.” Dad declared with an odd joy to his voice.

“What?! Why do I have to teach your brat to fight! That will take years!” Uncle Nox shouted back at him.

“It’s not like you have a lover or friends, what is the problem of waiting around a few years?” Mom retorted. I think my uncle just died.

“It’s settled then. I think you can have the rest of the night off to reflect on your actions as we will be taking Nil back to our bedroom. Senna, I will join you shortly.” Dad announced with what I imagined was a grin.

My mom quickly left the room with me. I could see my uncle looking defeated on the ground so I stuck my tongue out at him. Wait, do I really want this idiot teaching me to fight? Couldn’t you do a little better? I thought as my exhaustion caught up with me.

*

Nox

I could have sworn the little troublemaker stuck his tongue out at me as his mom left with him. That kid was not normal; there was a devious fire in his eyes. Brother, you are going to be in for a world of torment once he gets older. Nil did panic way more than I anticipated; I have no idea why he freaked out to such a degree. Unless his ability to detect and feel the of others was sharper than I realized. Still, how on Tenebrae did a baby come so close to using on my heart? His aim was almost dead on. I felt his at the last second and abruptly cut it off. Master assassin nearly killed by a baby. I had completely let my guard down as I tried to figure out how to calm my problematic nephew; I was taking this shame to my grave. And Senna was super pissed because it was like that hellion intentionally laid it on as thick as possible. She and I didn’t get along on our best days. Once his parents were there to protect him, it’s like his only goal was to screw me over.

“Seriously brother, you can tell me, Senna is gone. What happened?” Azzeck probed. You traitor. Siding with your wife. Granted, you were probably getting no chances at making another child for at least a year if you didn’t.

“I only meant to startle him. He was investigating this floor of the castle. Originally, I was only throwing stones in the distance and making drafts appear on him. I wanted to see how he would react to a stranger and he absolutely lost it. It was like he was terrified he was about to die.” I explained to him.

“He does have a and has always been in tune with quite well. He probably sensed more of your and than you realized.” Azzeck replied, chuckling a little.

“Probably. I am telling you though, he was not struggling to move around the floor. That kid even waited a few days while checking for guards or people watching him before he made his move. Your son is going to be devious.” I warned him. I was convinced he was more cognizant than we realized.

“Cesar and Elder Repte keep telling me that. Now you are joining them too. Does he seriously have such a devious look in his eye?” Azzeck asked, clearly only seeing a sweet little angel in his son.

“Honestly it might just be a Crowthorne family trait to have that kind of glint in the eye. Now was making me have to train him to fight necessary?” I whined back.

“If I left it to Senna she might have honestly executed you. Plus, you wanted to take it slow for a while and are an excellent fighter. My main options are you and General Railos, but I think between the two of you, the better fighter is most certainly you.” Azzeck informed me.

“Thanks. Now I get to train him while holding back so I don’t accidentally hurt him too much for Senna’s sake.” I groaned. That was going to be so tedious.

“Not exactly. Senna is aware of how Princes are typically trained and is fully on board with it. She would rather him get hurt and learn now then get a costly lesson later.” Azzeck told me.

“That’s surprising. Did she have to bring up my being single? That was such a low blow, like my chops did not need to be busted that bad.” I whined to him.

“You scared her precious little baby. That one’s on you. Plus, you will have plenty of free time to look for someone now.” Azzeck shot back with a smirk.

“Thanks for your overwhelming support. Really makes me feel loved, you know?” I snapped at him.

“Anytime brother.” Azzeck said with a chuckle.