TEN YEARS AGO...
"You’re Back,"
Elliott stopped to look at the top of the castle to find his brother, Cerzoan sitting atop the weird old tree that had no leaves but Instead, several crooked branches and a very dark bark.
Elliott had just returned from another one of his travels, this time he had returned from his visit to the kingdom of Sabaean, where King Eleazar ruled. Because he was a witch and felt out of place in the kingdom of Erandell which was ruled by Vampires, he’s always felt out of place and has spent more than half of his life traveling around the world.
In the next minute, Elliott had appeared in the same room as his brother. Cerzoan, as always, looked unbothered and carefree. Both of them were the spitting image of the other, well, except of course their demeanor, hair, and eye color. Since Cerzoan was a Vampire, his Aura was very distinguishable from his brother’s.
"How is dad?" Elliott asked.
"Elly, you know I don’t give any takes about the old man. He still blames us all for killing his beloved wife,"
"He’s still your father, Zoan. You need to respect that. And, he’s not old,"
Zoan chuckled dryly, "The only one who still thinks like that amongst the three of us, is you, Elly." Zoan paused, "And the old man passed away last night."
Now, that caught Elliott off guard, "What did you just say?" His eyes widened.
"You’ve been gone for two years, Elly. A lot of things have happened to the old man. He’s grieved the death of his mother for many many years, and his body deteriorated. His body couldn’t bear the burden of what he was, anymore. We still haven’t announced it to the world that he’s passed away,"
Elliott was rooted to his spot. Their father was dead? What now?! This imbalance is gonna throw the Vampire world into peril if they do not do something about it. Elliot’s second regret and worry was regret. He regretted not being able to be by his father’s side those all the hardships, but then again, his father has always loathed him in particular, because Elliott was a witch.
Why?
"Thank Goodness you’re back. You can ascend the throne and bring the council to your side before we announce his death," Zoan was saying.
"Can you hear yourself?!" It was Elliot’s turn to laugh. The laughter sounded ghastly and hysterical, "Have you ever heard of a witch ruling over Vampires? The council would rather kill me than even want to set eyes on me. You, Zoan, are a full Vampire. Everyone would humbly agree that you should be the next king,"
Zoan shook his head and stared into space, "I care about this kingdom, Elly. But I do not care about it enough to want to rule it. I don’t want the throne. I have no desire to sit on the throne, brother,"
Elliott started to think. What was to be done now? There was no forcing Zoan to become king. If they did, Zoan would always put his needs before everything else. They cannot have a King like that.
"Where is Aragon?" Elliott enquired, "Have you been looking after him? Is he in the palace right now?"
Elliott noticed the change in Zoan’s expression from the moment he had called Aragon’s name. There was this dark look that had fallen over Zoan’s eyes, and it did not speak of good things.
Elliott stalked toward Zoan. He was shaking with anxiety and urgency, "I asked you a question, Zoan. Where is Aragon?!"
"He’s alive," Zoan said, "But he’s not well," he added.
"What happened?"
"Not too long after you left, Aragon was kidnapped by a mad witch. For a Span of six months, I could not find Aragon’s whereabouts or any sign of him. But then, Aragon returned home on his own one day and...he had changed... completely. And up till today, he...,"
Zoan stopped talking when he felt his brother’s presence had disappeared, and then he sighed indignantly. Among the three of them, Elliott has always been treated as the outcast yet he had more heart and soul than anyone Zoan had ever met.
Maybe, Elliott might be able to drag Aragon out of that darkness that had taken over him.
.
.
Elliott could not believe his eyes when he saw Aragon again after two years. The last time he saw Aragon, Aragon was still looking like a teenager because of his abnormal and eerie body growth since he was mostly human... but right now, the man that stood there staring outside the window was huge.
Aragon...had grown.
He had caught up to the both of them. He now looked more of his age. Wow, how did that happen?
But, that was the least of Elliot’s worries about his brother. Zoan was very much right. Something was seriously wrong with Aragon now, considering how much his Aura had skyrocketed... and all Elliott could feel was so much bloodlust reeking out of Aragon’s pores.
"You’re Back," Aragon said but didn’t turn around.
"You look and sound different than I remembered," Elliott said and walked closer to Aragon, risking it. At some point, he felt like Aragon might whirl around and attack him. That was just how dangerous his aura was speaking.
Aragon did not reply.
"I’m sorry I was away for so long this time."
Still, Aragon said nothing.
"Talk to me. How have you been?"
"An Intel informed me that the witches have conspired with a certain human and they’ve been able to build a weapon of destruction for all Vampires,"
Okay, that was a lot. Elliot’s brow creased, "Weapon...of destruction?"
"We have to destroy it before it destroys us. We have to get rid of all those pesky witches before they strike first. I am very sure of this,"
"Why do you say so?"
"The Crown Witch has been making several moves for a while. She’s been sending her people to gather items and I’m pretty sure they’ve finished building whatever it is they need. They would be coming for us soon, I can feel it!" Aragon’s tone was deadly, and as hard as a rock.
"What evidence do you have that this is true?"
Aragon replied, "Are you concerned because you’re a witch and you might also get wiped out? Well, that is a very small price to pray to make sure the Vampires continue to thrive. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your name is etched into...,"
And Elliot couldn’t take it anymore. He reached out for his brother and grabbed Aragon’s arm, surprised to see how much strength he had to exert just to turn his brother around to look at him.
And when Elliott finally saw Aragon’s face, Aragon’s eyes... his knees grew weak and his lips quaked.
Instead of the gorgeous blue eyes, the darkest shade of black sat solidly in Aragon’s eyes, swirling like an endless void of darkness, like Aragon had sunk into madness a long time ago and there was no coming out of it.
And then, a cruel and gruesome smile touched Aragon’s lips, "Come on, I was only Joking. No harm will come to you, I promise."
That sounded nothing like a promise.
Aragon...was Lost.
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