by C D Muller
Why does she make you angry?
Azrael lowered his head.
I don't know. Because she seems so hopeful, because she's so forgiving of everyone even when they don't deserve it.
Like you? You don't think you deserve forgiveness?
Azrael glared back at his dragon.
“Not after all that I have done,” he whispered out loud.
“Don't worry, we're not as forgiving.”
The voice startled both him and Doragon. Azrael quickly turned around to see Kain leaned up against one of the targets with scorch marks on it. Off in the distance, he saw Silver running towards them in a fit of rage. His face was beet red as he was screaming rambling nonsense that Azrael could not quite understand. All he could see was his trail of dust clouds.
Kain looked up at him and yawned as he reached out with his hand and waited. As soon as Silver was near, Kain quickly grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him back, as Silver tried to make his way towards Azrael while exclaiming about how he wanted to murder him with his bare hands.
“You bastard! How could you do that to her? I will kill you myself if she doesn’t!”
“Silver, that is enough,” Kain said as if he were bored while keeping Silver contained.
“No! It’s not!” Silver yelled at him, “that bastard is going to pay! Let me kill him, just this once!”
“There’s no way that I can let you do that,” Kain said again, “besides, the Empress told me that if he fucks up, I get to kill him.”
“No! You don’t get the privilege to kill him!” Silver exclaimed while running in place in the air. “The Empress told you not to hurt her! You don’t deserve to be at the same level as her, you worthless piece of shit! I will have you court-martialed for this!”
“That is enough!” Kain barked, and threw Silver to the ground behind him.
“He pushed her off the cliff!” Silver shouted again, his face red with anger as he stood up.
Azrael glared at Kain with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What do you care?”
Kain snarled at him and walked over to him.
“You should know damn well why we care,” he growled, “we were ordered to protect her.”
“As far as I’m concerned, she was supposed to be dead a long time ago!” Azrael barked back.
“You, little bastard, agreed to help Silver build the Well of Souls, or don’t you remember that?” Kain said.
“That was a mistake,” Azrael muttered.
“Our job is to make sure that its only success lives because we can use her genetic makeup to our advantage,” Silver replied. “Have you seen how easily she can channel the elements? She also has the blood of a dragon running through her veins and I think she has a hidden ability because of it!”
“Like what?” Azrael shot back.
“I don’t know, but I’ve never been wrong before!” Silver said with a smug look but Kain pushed him aside.
“You will not go against D’s orders again. I don’t think I need to remind you that,” Kain said through gritted teeth.
Azrael snarled back at them.
“Fine!” He spat on the ground, “I’ll lay low for now.”
Silver pushed Kain’s hand away and got really close to his face.
“If you don’t, then the next time you hurt her, by the Divines, I will kill you myself! I don’t care what you are, I swear I will kill you!”
He then turned sharply on his heels and stomped away. Kain glared at the two of them before he made his departure, leaving Doragon and Azrael to their thoughts.
“Silver,” Kain began. “What was wrong with you back there?”
Silver snorted.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Kain reached over and grabbed his jacket collar.
“Stop giving me this bullshit,” he barked. “You're getting way too protective of her.” Silver kept his head down. Kain's eyes widened. “Don't tell me that you have feelings for her.”
“That's none of your concern,” Silver choked out.
“Yes it is, apparently. I don't know how Phantom Dust will take it.” Kain scratched his face.
“It doesn't matter,” Silver said quietly.
“Yes it does. I thought you were more concerned with keeping the proof of your greatest achievement safe?” Kain continued. Silver shrugged. “Dammit Silver!”
“Do you think I meant for this to happen?” Silver asked defensively. “After all of the time I have spent with her, and getting to see how wonderful and perfect she is…”
“I don't want to hear any more of it!” Kain growled. “Does she know?”
“No,” Silver said sadly. He looked towards the North Sea once more. “It's probably for the best.”
“Don't do anything stupid,” Kain barked once more and marched off.
Silver dug his hands into his pockets and stood there for what seemed like an eternity. He looked up at the stars and smiled to himself.
* * * *
The thunder and lightning ceased.
Selena sat on her bed, propping her head up with her arm on her windowsill. Despite all that happened, she kept a watchful eye for Azrael to return. He was supposed to have gotten back before lights out.
She heard the soft flail of wings coming from above her. She flinched at this as she saw a dragon-like shadow gliding across the ground. It flew to the top of the building and at first Selena thought it was Thor. However, she then saw Azrael running down the training field and she immediately knew that the dragon was Doragon.
Azrael continued to run until she saw a few chains randomly shoot through the air at him, wrapping around his ankles to catch him. Azrael tripped and fell face first into the ground, his face bruised and bloody. At first, she thought he was being attacked. Her immediate reaction was to go down there to help him, despite the pain he caused her.
She began to climb out her window, but stopped when she saw a mysterious man walking towards him. Selena noticed that he carried the three chains loosely in his hand. She could not see his face, since he wore a mask and a giant red coat with a collar that touched his cheekbones. His mask sent a cold chill down her spine; half of it was white with black markings and the other half was black with white markings underneath the eyes.
Azrael scurried to roll over on his back as he breathed in heavily, looking angrily at his attacker. The man stopped and lifted up his hand casually. The chains unwrapped themselves from Azrael’s ankles and disappeared underneath the sleeve of his jacket.
Selena sunk back in her room and poked her head out of the window to continue to watch.
The man leaned on one knee beside Azrael and said something that Selena could not hear. She tried to lean in closer to try to understand what was said.
“…You need to learn to control your anger,” the man said in a monotone voice. “You were given strict orders by the Empress and me.”
Azrael continued to wheeze as he spat blood to the ground. He growled at the man.
“I already dealt with this shit from Silver and Kain. I don’t need you to tell me the same thing!” He struggled to stand up on his feet as he reached for the sword that he carried on his side. The man did not flinch.
Azrael unsheathed it and attempted to strike, but his attacker flicked his wrists and many chains shot out from the sleeve of his jacket and wrapped themselves around Azrael. The sword flew out of his grasp and landed on the ground.
The man moved his hand towards the nearest brick wall. The chains followed his motion by picking up Azrael and slamming him against it.
The man walked over to him slowly, his footsteps echoing into the night. Azrael snarled and struggled to break free from the chains, but remained unsuccessful in his attempt.
The chain master curled his fingers and the chains tightened their grip. Azrael cried out in pain and hung his head low with the blood dripping down.
“You’re weak in this form, from your anger,” the man said again. A
zrael bared his teeth, but did not respond. The stranger flicked his wrists again and the chains disappeared once more.
Azrael fell to the ground and landed on his hands and knees, coughing out blood onto the ground. The man knelt beside him and whispered something in his ear that Selena could not hear. Whatever it was that he said, though, Azrael glared at him and snorted in response.
Selena felt too horrified to leave her spot, but she wanted to get down there to try to help. She felt that he did not deserve this.
The man stood straight up and allowed Azrael to scurry away. She heard Doragon moving on the rooftop above her as he took to the sky to snag Azrael with his talons before disappearing into the night.
Selena immediately jolted out of her room to try to catch this chain master before he vanished.
The man walked in the opposite direction from which he came. Selena kept herself hidden in the shadows and tried to keep up with him.
The brisk night wind blew through her hair, sending chills throughout her body. The man remained undeterred as he took long strides towards his unknown destination. He was very tall and intimidating. Her walk then turned into a jog as he suddenly took a turn into the Hinterlands.
“Where could he be going?” she asked herself as she dove into the trees.
The trees grew thicker and darker as she continued her course. The stranger was not deterred by the darkness. Selena, however, was almost blind but followed the white of his mask that glowed.
She eventually reached a small glade with a little bit of moonlight shining through. However, the man was gone.
She swore under her breath but suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind. Her skin began to crawl and she felt like her heart was in her throat. Selena quickly turned around and saw the chain master.
He stared at her condescendingly through his mask; the eye sockets were a dark void.
Selena backed away slowly as he approached her.
“You shouldn’t be wandering around unarmed,” the man said in his monotone voice. It had no emotion.
Selena grew more afraid. She began to try to summon a weapon for herself in hopes of deterring an attack. However, before she could, the man reached out and grabbed her hand while it was in midair. Her eyes became wide with fear and her heart started pounding. She knew, at that moment, he had her at his mercy and that he was probably about to kill her.
However, he did not move and just stared at her. Sweat dripped from her face as her hands trembled.
She forced herself to get a closer look at him. On the very top of his mask a symbol was engraved of what appeared to be a fox. Her eyes widened as she recognized it as the symbol of Gundisalvus.
“As I have said before,” he began again, “it’s unsafe to wander around unarmed.”
He let go of her hand and, at once, she fell to her knees and cowered down, her tears filling up her eyes. He seemed to be unmoved.
Selena scooted across the ground away from him, but he took a step towards her when she did.
“Leave me alone,” she cried out, “what do you want from me?”
The man did not speak; instead he waved his arm and, at first, Selena thought he was going to summon his chains to capture her. She prepared herself for this but was taken aback when he pulled out a small, leather bag.
“What is that?” she asked.
“You’ll find it useful. It’s dragon bone mixed with steel.”
He offered the bag to her. She was reluctant but found the courage to accept the gift from the stranger.
“Why are you giving me this?” Selena asked again.
At first, the man did not respond. He turned sharply on his heels as if he were going to leave, but stopped.
“It’s supposed to be much better than ordinary steel. Mind your manners to Kain, Silver, and even Azrael.”
“Phantom Dust?” she breathed out. She overcame her fear of the man when he gave her a slight nod. “I assume that you probably know all there is to know about me.”
“Silver talks too much,” he said monotonously. “And I think he already told you more than you were supposed to know anyway. If you had any other questions for me, then I’m afraid you’ll be wasting your time.”
“Then answer me this one question and I will leave it alone forever. Who and where is my father?” she asked.
D did not stir in his spot. It was an uncomfortable silence.
“He’s dead. The Council killed him a long time ago,” he finally answered.
Selena felt as though her heart was being squeezed.
“I think you’re lying,” she whispered.
“Think what you will,” D said again and attempted to walk off but Selena ran in front of him.
“You have been in charge of everything that concerns me and my fight against the Lich. Now I need you to tell me...”
“Tell you what?” D said back to her, “what good will come to you knowing anything else right now? I don't have the kind of time to sit down and explain what's going on. I'm already behind in my plans of what I need to do.”
He strutted off but what Selena said next made him stop dead in his tracks.
“What is so important that you have to leave when I have these questions, father?”
Chapter 23:
D immediately spun around and walked up to her.
“What did you just call me?” The question sounded more like a plea than a demand.
“So it’s true then. Why did you tell me that my father was dead when I first asked you?” Selena trembled.
“I am, according to the Council,” he whispered. “I will admit, you’re incredibly bright for someone so young.”
Selena was not sure what to do. She wanted to scream, to hit something just to vent and lash out, but she also just wanted to collapse and cry. She wanted to run up and hug him but at the same time, to run away. She had never felt so conflicted.
“Why was everyone wanting to keep it a secret?” she asked as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“To keep you safe. There really is no other answer. I can’t tell you how devastated we were when you were stillborn. Your mother and I tried to do everything to bring you back. We did treasonous things that night. The Council somehow found out and immediately ordered me taken away and to have me executed but spared your mother. Meanwhile, Silver was almost finished with his project and offered to help when it was finished.”
“The Well of Souls,” Selena said; D nodded.
“I managed to escape the Willow Creek Institution before I was to be taken to the guillotine and was on the run for quite some time before Vidar declared me to be dead. I had to stay away from Alfheim. The only way I could contact my wife was through letters.”
“You were in hiding for over two hundred years?” Selena asked in astonishment.
D nodded.
“After Silver’s success and for the next two hundred and sixteen years after, I got a letter from your mother through Loki every week about how two were doing so that, in some small way, I was still involved. The Council knew nothing about you or the Well but somehow the Lich did. I have a feeling that he sought out the power to control death and to study your magical genetic makeup. He took all of Silver’s research notes and destroyed the Well. Rescuing you and your dragon was our first and only priority. After the mission, we only wanted to keep you with Chaliss temporarily until the situation was resolved, but we learned that you had no memory of us and we decided to let you live there. You were happy and so was your new companion. Your caretaker was kind and generous to help raise you as one of her own and so we compensated her well, but she had to keep that hidden too. We wanted you to grow up to have a normal and happy life. That’s why we didn’t come back. I can’t tell you how painful that was for us. But we had to intervene as soon as the Council decided to take you away.”
“Was that why I met Silver and Kain before Vidar and Ashur came to tell Chaliss?” Selena asked hoarsely.
“You weren’t supposed to meet them, b
ut we were secretly around as we had to come up with a plan to keep you safe. In fact, we were planning on coming to get you before you ran away but you were faster than we were.”
“Then why did you finally come back to Alfheim?” Selena asked.
“Because I wasn’t happy when I found out what Azrael did. I know Kain and Silver almost tore him to shreds, but he needed to hear it directly from me.”
“I don’t understand! Azrael is one of the Order!” Selena cried. “He’s almost tried to kill me before!”
“Azrael has a complicated past,” D answered, but Selena was not satisfied. “I will let him explain it when he’s ready. It’s not right for me to speak in place of others. You probably hate and despise us. It’s probably best that way.”
“You’re my father. All I’ve ever wanted was to know my parents,” Selena said quietly. She did not know how to feel: happy, sad, angry? “Please take off your mask.”
D hesitated.
“You want to look at the face of a dead criminal?”
Selena shook her head and reached up to touch it, but D immediately grabbed her arm.
“I want to see my father,” she declared.
They stood in uncomfortable silence. It felt like an eternity.
He finally nodded and let go of her hand and lowered his head.
She looked into the sockets of the mask in an attempt to look at his eyes, but they were empty. She swallowed her fear and pulled it off.
His pale face was strong, toned, and narrow but it showed a lack of emotion. His deep blue eyes were empty pools. He had long, spiked black hair that looked like raven feathers, that was swept behind his long, pointed ears.
She dropped the mask and, without another thought, embraced him.
D staggered backwards but regained his posture as he hugged her back. Selena tightened her embrace and started crying into his jacket.
“How could you two have left me? I appreciate Chaliss and all that she’s done for both me and Thor, but I needed you! I needed my parents! I understand why you two did what you had to do. But why do I still feel this way?”
“Your mother and I love you more than anything,” D said quietly. “Even as I was in prison and on the run, I thought about you two every night. I missed you both so much. I swore that I would never let either of you two fall into harm again. We will take back our Empire from Vidar one day. The Council has been trying to take down the royal family for generations, but we will put that to an end.”