The Cursed: Threads of Destiny

Skaidras - III

They work well into the morning, trying to find anything that has the potential to be linked to SV7. Information wasn’t hard to find, but there was a lot of information, which was surprising as the settlement hadn’t existed 2 decades ago. The lights in his room were turned on and the curtains that were supposed to let in the morning were drawn close.

He refused to put the automatic curtain in his room that opened at the c***k of dawn, no matter how convincing Scarlett’s argument of their aesthetic was—he proceeded to go to great lengths to find the same set of curtains without automation. They hadn’t a clue that it was morning already as they kept adding to the holographic mind map. It is only when the current beta comes in to inform the King of the events of the day that they realized that their time playing detective was up.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” the beta says, looking over at the empty bed as he opens the curtains and continues, “We leave in one hour. Has Zach reported to you? I can’t seem to-GODDESS!”

“Hey, dad,” Zach says, dropping the rank as he fights to keep his eyes open. He hadn’t been subjected to the King’s fixations before, which, while being odd, also reminded everyone that he is very old and a few decades is not enough to gain his trust. This realization made everyone try harder, and it was entertaining to him, but only momentarily. Perhaps he was too old to take an interest in anything for more than a moment, he’d thought. But the prospect of war might wake him.

“Good morning, Theo,” he says, gesturing at Zach, “Your son’s here, as you can see.”

“Yes,” he says before bowing quickly, a frown taking its place in between his knitted eyebrows, “I think I regret agreeing to you teaching my son the concealment trick.”

“I remember my mother saying something similar,” he says with a chuckle.

Theodore’s eyes go wide before he signals for his son to get up from his place to leave the King alone. He’s rarely heard him talk about his mother, so rarely that he finds it to be a signal of sorts that the King required some time alone. He also informed the Lady Scarlett so that she could converse with him and comfort him if necessary. Sadly, he could never become more than the King’s trusted second-in-command, but he prides himself on performing his duties to the best of his abilities. He wonders perhaps that he was so keen on doing his job that it kept the prospect of friendship undiscovered.

“If I may be dismissed, Your Majesty,” Zach says, standing, “I must prepare for our departure.”

“You’re not leaving with us,” he says, “I need you to stay and deal with the council members regarding His Highness Šero’s case. They seemed reluctant to heed my word and I fear they may act on it themselves.”

“I understand, Your Majesty. I see to it that all things are in order when you return,” Zach says. He looks over at his father, who gives him a proud smile before walking towards the window to talk to someone on his holo-phone.

“He’d probably send an envoy to present his case. Make sure they listen,” he says, “Let them protest if they must. It is only after chaos that they will be ready to see reason.”

He looks up at Zach, who sighs as he looks at something in the room, but his eyes seem distant as if he’s recollecting something. “Do you find it tiresome, my lord?” he asks, “To watch them discriminate so easily?”

He recovers from the revolt he feels at the use of that way of addressing him and takes his time to think the question over before answering: “I suppose I hold out hope because I find that they are very young. Change has always taken so much time that I have become accustomed to it. That being said, it has never been easy to adapt. If I may, why do you ask?”

He gives the King a small smile before looking away as he says, “I don’t understand their struggle, so I find them more enraging than tiring. I mean, I understand there’s history, but if they refuse to even try, then what’s the whole point of coming out of the shadows? To create more violence? I don’t understand it!”

His gaze shifts from Zach to his intertwined hands and a smile appears on his face as he listens to him talk. He wonders if this is how his brother felt when he rambled on about a world where they didn’t have to hide anymore, where there would be no war with the vampires or running from their own people for a crime that doesn’t exist. He stands, grabbing the holo-phone as he does, before gently hitting Zach’s shoulder.

“You will make a good leader, Zach,” he says, moving to gather the papers, “You just need to learn the patience of one.”

“I will try,” he says, dryly, remembering something his mother said along those lines.

“You are dismissed,” he says, setting the papers on the table, “And Theo?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Theo says, putting his holo-phone away.

“I will see you in an hour.”

“54 minutes, if possible, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Theo,” he says, in a dismissing tone.

He walks into his closet, listening to the ruffling of papers, and shakes his head. When he walks out, he finds the father and son gone with the papers on his table put in their respective files and neatly stacked. The pendant lies beside the stack of files, dormant with no signs of any ominous activity or its untimely glowing. He picks it up and examines it closely as he has done a thousand times over. It is a remarkable stone, chosen by the Goddess herself, and he can barely stop himself from destroying such beauty. He drops it on the table and moves quickly to take a bath before Theo takes it upon himself.

As they walk towards the plane, he remembers how badly he wanted to travel on the train, enjoying the views. He finds himself more fascinated with the invention of trains rather than planes. When he traveled in one for the first time, he could not stop the childish joy and curiosity he felt, examining everything around him. But, alas, planes are faster. They fly to the city closest to the town, Saltor, before traveling to Dāsna’s mansion-house-and-office by road. He said that he found the place to be too vast for him without the children, and so he turned half of it into his office as the Alpha of the town. The King admits that it saved a lot of costs they would have spent on the office building otherwise.

Even after choosing the fastest means of transport, he finds the wait to be long enough to wreck him with his unbalanced mix of excitement and nervousness. They have reconciled to some degree, but he can still feel the distance between them. He has long abandoned the need to hide his need for friendship, still the problem remains. He knows the distance between hearts cannot be closed by simply being close.

He tried to think of a way or a trick he had used, but he never had to fight for friendship. He had it when he desired it. The awkwardness he feels is so appalling to his human part and so entertaining to the wolf part of him. Somewhere during his struggle to find a solution to his problem, they reach the mansion. It is not until tomorrow that they meet the people, so it’s just Dāsna and his mate, Razluce, with the high-ranking members of the pack. Oh, Goddess, he thinks as he sees them, If you must kill, do it now! He steps out with a contained, diplomatic smile and walks up to the couple.

“Jūsu Majestāte,” Dāsna greets as he bows, “Laipni lūdzam Saltor pilsētā.” Your Majesty, Welcome to Saltor Town.

"Mans draugs, ir pagājis ilgs laiks,” he says, holding his hand out and hoping. My friend, it has been a long time.

Dāsna looks at his hand and raises an eyebrow before a growing smile appears on his face as he pulls him in a hug. And the King could not for the life of him remember the forsaken thing that made him believe that he should not return to this warmth. If someone asked him now, what is that one thing constant in all of earth’s history since the existence of the first humans, he would say love. Because it is true. There has been love since creation before humans existed, if not always visible, then hidden in small things. It’s as if people cannot seem to stay away from it and love binds everyone.