Creatures of the Light

Fourth Light

Fourth LightCreatures of the Light

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##### Fourth Light #####

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Light is the key to freedom

Light is bliss of sun and the stars

But can light even reach the darkest corner

And bestow the purification of an evil mind?

This is a curse of decades old

Shall the game be defeated

Or shall it consume the light?

We have been spending our time in looking for the answer we want to find out so badly, but even the other half of the ancient history that the Blancort’s possesses can not help us. Jullie has made sure that I can never turn back to my real self, and my condition is turning my mental state down every time my consciousness knocks the reality into my mind. Every time I look at myself in the mirror, tears will start to rain down from my eyes, knowing that it is almost impossible to ever becoming the real me ever again.

I might not be able to become a Noirmelns anymore.

When I draw blood from my finger, instead of black, it is white.

My flame is no longer dark but light.

Slowly and surely, I am turning into someone entirely different.

Soon, I might not even remember who I actually am anymore.

Like a broken vase, I am starting to become useless.

There is a knock coming from outside the bathroom while I am drowned in my thoughts, followed by the swinging door and footsteps of someone.

“Sorry to interrupt, but you have been here for so long that I began to worry....”

Valline stops talking when he sees what I am holding in my hand and quickly ran to my side, carefully removing the piece of broken glass that is still on my hand.

“What were you doing?” He sounds worried and.... disappointed, something I had hoped he would never left towards me. But it is too late.

“I am already broken,” I answer in tears.

He pulls me into a hug and whispers words to calm me down. But the damage has been done. Just like my bleeding finger. It will heal because of the power I possess, but it is still will never be the same again. My blood is still white, and my powers are still made of light.

After this incident, Valline has not permitted any mirror to be placed anywhere around the places that I usually occupy or pass, in hope that something like this will never happen again. He also makes sure that no sharp objects are anywhere near me, afraid that I might try to hurt myself again. My emotional condition tends to tip off at the most unexpected moments, it seems, though never happen unprovoked.

But as the days turned to weeks, we all begin to lose hope. And then comes a night when I begin to doubt myself.

“Valline....” I whisper his name weakly, suddenly beginning to become nervous as I place myself on our bed. We have been staying in his residence for a while now, though I have contacted my family to let them know my well-being, despite the fact that I might be fine for long. But they can not know about this. At least not yet. Now is not the time to worry about them yet, though, because I have a question much more important that might put my relationship with Valline in a huge risk.

“Yes, my wife. Is there anything you need?” he responds, still staring at me with sparkling blue eyes full of love and that angelic features of him every time he turns his face to me. Those are the features that I fell in love with, though not really at the first time, but beginning to slowly. Those are the similar features that I have today.

“Let’s just say.... that there might not be a way for me to turn back─”

“But we will, eventually. I am sure there is some way out for this,” he tries to assure me, holding me hands in his and squeezes them.

“Yes, I know. You will try to do everything you can in order to change me back. But let’s just say that if there is a possibility that I might never turn back to normal, will you still....” I swallow, “love me?”

“Bein sour, mean amour (Of course, my love),” he replies in ancient Blancort language, closing his eyes and leaning in to kiss the back of my hands, before sparing me with his brilliant gem-like eyes. The light of the moon that comes from the balcony of our room shines upon him when he says his next words, making his skin glows. “Leu importe conbiel vous ressemblez, mean amour pour toi me nourra mazais (No matter how you looked like, my love for you will never die).”

Tears are building up again in me. But this time, out of happiness. I smile as tears run down from the corner of my eyes. “Zen alors que se cera suffisiante mour poile (Then that will be enough for me),” I reply.

Thus that night I can finally sleep in peace, protected in his arms.

The next morning, I have no idea how or even why, but an invitation has been sent to the Blancort residence, addressed specifically to me. The sender must have known about my marriage with Valline, because instead of writing my name as Arsene Noirmelns, the writer wrote it as Arsene Blancort. The letters are written in gold ink on ivory envelope. I turn it and find a royal seal at the back of it. Opening the envelope with a swift of my finger instead of a letter opener, I take out the letter inside. The letter is also written in gold, with the same type of paper. My eyes scan the words, addressed to me in such a polite manner. But in the end, there is only one purpose that this letter is sent to me.

“What does it say?” Valline asks curiously, both of his hands are supporting his head.

“Nothing good, if you are wondering,” I reply, blinking.

He crook an eyebrow at me. “Why is that? I saw the royal seal on the envelope. Surely it must not be a bad news.”

“Well, first of all, this is something that involves Lelouch Sullivan, the prince of wizards. And second of all, his secretary is asking for my help, regarding his condition.”

“The prince? Why would his secretary ask for your help instead of the royal wizards if he is not feeling very good? It is not like you are his subordinate.”

“Technically, we all are, since he is the prince of all wizards. But there is also another reason why his secretary is asking for my help specifically. And I think I know what kind of condition Lelouch is in.”

“How do you know about it? Does the letter mention something about the prince’s condition? And why do you address him so informally?” Valline sounds even more curious than before.

I chuckle at him as I take a seat across from him on the dinner table.

“It is because I used to be a very close friend to His Majesty. Before I joined Sorcier, I used to spend my days playing with Lelouch when we were still children.”

“Really? I never knew about that. Tell me more,” he demands inquisitively.

“Hmm, where should I begin? Before I befriended him, he didn’t have any other friend, much because his siblings does not favor his existence so much, and because making contact with strangers might put him in danger. He was, after all, just a child back then. But one day, my parents took me along with them to the castle for political purposes with the king of wizards. My parents were too busy to pay any attention to me, and their lectures with the king were kind of boring. So I sneak out from the throne room and ended up in a garden. That was the moment when I met Lelouch.

“He was reading a book on his lap while sitting on the grass, something that was quite improper for a prince, I must say. He noticed my presence and suddenly stood on the grass, panicked because I caught him in that position. He was rather clumsy back then that he even held his book upside down. But I promised him that I would not tell anyone about what I saw that day. It did not take long for us to be friends after that. Once in a while, when my parents asked me to come along with them to the castle, I would follow them obediently. Then, I would sneak out from their sight to meet with Lelouch. Sometimes we spent our time at the garden, while sometimes we would go to the library or the passageway that he showed me, which was connected to different parts of the castle.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Valline comments gleefully.

“It was, until something happened.” I turn my gaze to the window. “I can still remember it vividly. There was one night of a celebration. The prince was having a birthday party, hosted by his father. It was his fifth birthday, when he was disturbed by something that he could not go down to his own party for the celebration. His secretary, which is still the same one who sent me this letter, asked for me to check on him, since the prince did not allow anymore to come into his room. I was not so sure at first, but thankfully, His Majesty let me in. I was startled to see what had happened inside, though.

“Furniture were upside down. Decorations were thrown all around the floor. The curtains were ripped, and so do the wallpapers. It was not long until I could find my voice again to call out for Lelouch. Finally, after calling for him for minutes, he finally replied. But it was not the same Lelouch that I knew who replied to me. Instead, stood a serpent in place of him. His tail was silky black, covered with scales. The other half top was Lelouch’s features. But he was different, as so did the way he acted. He was not the kind and good-hearted friend that I knew, but instead an entire different character. He was cruel and savage, even the way he spoke to me is different.

“I was frightened, because I was a child myself back then. And I could remember calling for help, though no one came. It was such a dreadful experience for me, that after the night that I found myself passed out on the floor in his bedroom because of how frightened I was the night before, I never had to courage to come back anymore. Not even when my parents asked me to come with them. I was too scared that the monster might appear again, and that he would haunt me down until I became as vulnerable as a feather.”

Valline shows his regard towards me through his saddened eyes when he puts his arm on me.

“I am so sorry that it happened to you. But.... what exactly happened to the prince?”

“After that night of the incident, his secretary explained to me that Lelouch was actually a half-serpent, half-wizard. His father breeded with a female serpent, in hope to gain a stronger descendant. And his wish had come true. Sadly, whenever the moon appeared, and he happened to look up on it at the night of his birthday, the prince would turn into his other half.

“The serpent has a complete opposite personality with His Majesty. He was what exactly a monster may be called. Every word that flows from his mouth is a form of cruelty. I could not stand him at all. The way he talked.... it was completely different from the Lelouch that I knew. He mocked me, made fun of me, and even harassed my mind.”

“So, knowing about this, will you still come to the castle as the request from the prince’s royal secretary?”

“It would be considered rude not to come, and perhaps I can even be considered as a traitor to the kingdom, no matter how smooth the words in the letters are. But I can’t actually come either. I am, look at me. I can’t even fix myself. How can I help Lelouch turn back to the way he was?”

“But if the prince had looked up to the moon on his birthday, doesn’t that mean that he has been a serpent for quite some time now?”

On the prince’s birthday.... That means the night when he invited all of us to his castle to celebrate his birthday, which happened when I found out that my parents were involved in a deal with The Devil himself. After that, I offered my help and had to leave immediately. That was quite a long time ago, and Lelouch has became a serpent since then.

Has it been a year already?

I narrow my eyes. “You’re right,” I say passively. “But what can I do to help? It is not like I was a great use to them before.”

“That is true. But you are his closest friend. He even let you in, despite the fact that he did not let anyone else. You must mean something to him that he was able to recognize you previously,” he tries to wheedle me.

“How can you be so sure that I can help him? I can’t even help myself,” I scoff.

“Perhaps this is the perfect moment for you to see the light in all of this. Maybe you can find a way to help him. You can try, although that does not mean that you really have to find the exact way to turn him back. But maybe, just maybe, if you succeed, then you might find a way to turn yourself back to normal as well in the process.”

I think about what he just says, and eventually agree with him.

“You really know what to say in this kind of situation,” I tell him as I leaned in for a kiss. He leans in as well as our lips meet in the halfway, grazing against each other with a perfect synchronic move.

“What can I say. I really do enjoy the prize,” he replies with a smile. “Now, don’t worry. While you’re away, I will be researching as well. Who knows? I might find a thing or two that might be useful for you.”