ROYAL BLOOD

SEPARATION LEADS TO DIFFERENT EVENTS

Lore couldn't sleep the whole night so, when it was early in the morning, his eyes were burning.

Leo looked at him and asked, "Did you pee your pants?"

"Huh?" Lore replied.

"Why do your eyes look teary?"

"I had a nightmare. I couldn't sleep the whole night." Lore replied as he got up.

"What do we do, today?" Wisteria asked everyone.

This question hit Lore. He was literally blank and had no idea what his next move was going to be. Jackson sipped some tea from a cup and said, "Let's explore this place."

"Go where?" Wisteria asked.

Jackson looked at Rufus and asked him, "Do you know any place which is fun?"

Rufus replied quickly, "Actually, I was thinking of visiting Scott."

"Oh right. That guy." Jackson groaned.

"Didn't Grivald say that he works for Gary too?" Wisteria asked.

"Yeah. And I think he might lead us to him." Lore told Rufus.

Jackson interrupted saying, "I don't think he'll lead us to anything."

"He might." Rufus said.

"Let's go, then." Lore said.

Rufus hesitated and stopped him saying, "I think it's better if I talk to him myself. He might freak out if he sees you again. It was a plan earlier but who knows what he might do now. You kids can go and explore this place." He laughed nervously.

Jackson and Lore exchanged glances and Lore said, "Fine. We'll have fun here."

Rufus smiled and headed out. Lore looked at others and said, "What do we do?"

"Let's have fun." Leo replied.

"How?"

"Let's go out and pull pranks on people."

"Not funny." Wisteria said.

While they were discussing about what to do, Jackson decide to enter Rufus's room and check what he was hiding the other day. He tried to push the door. Locked. Smart guy he thought and walked around the house looking here and there hoping to find something.

Lore looked and Wisteria and Leo and told them, "I had a strange dream the last down."

"Nightmare?" Leo asked.

"Yes. Do you remember how I ran into the forest yesterday and said I heard something?"

"Yes." Wisteria replied.

"I actually heard a woman's voice whispering my name. It got louder the more I ran deep so, I couldn't stop myself and-"

"And Grivald entered and tried to stop you" Leo interrupted.

"Yeah. He did but what's strange is that he said that he heard the whispers too. But the voices were calling out his name."

"That jerk was probably lying." Leo laughed.

"No, and what's weird is that I saw him in my dream. I was in the woods again and I saw Grivald but he ran away and I heard the voices again. It was like they were going to burst my ears."

"You were probably thinking about it too much."

"And what about the voices? Do you think I was just hallucinating? It's impossible because Grivald heard it too."

"Maybe he was just lying!"

Wisteria stopped them and told Lore, "There must be some connection with you and Grivald. Aren't both of you from the royal blood?"

Lore replied, "That is what's confusing me. We don't know who he is. Nobody does. Not even him. There has to be something in the forest."

Jackson gave a good look everywhere but did not find anything. He returned back to the others and asked, "What are we going to do?"

--

Grivald woke up and his head was dizzy. He couldn't sleep properly the last night because of the nightmare. He looked out and saw Gary still in his study table.

"Were you hear the whole night?" Grivald asked him.

Gary looked up and replied, "It is always dark here no matter morning or evening so, I didn't realize that it's morning."

Grivald nodded and he got out of the long corridor and climbed out into the open. He stretched his arm and took a deep breath. Staying below the ground in darkness and no fresh air was very tiring indeed. Grivald always felt good to come out in the open especially, in the morning when the wind was cold and it hit his face. Grivald always took a walk in the forest every morning because he loved to admire nature and its beauty. It wasn't only the love of nature which attracted him, he felt a connection with the tress. Sometimes he used to wonder if something from his past had a connection with the trees. He walked away from the mulberry tree and looked at the trees. He wanted them to whisper his name again. If he heard it again, he would keep chasing the voice until he reached the final point. The sound of his footsteps were loud enough to be heard because the forest was extremely quiet. Suddenly, he saw Leo and his group approaching the forest. He quickly took cover in the bushes and watched their moves.

Lore looked around at the trees and the thought of voices whispering his name hit him. He had promised to himself that if he heard the voices again, then he would chase them till the end.

"Are we just going to move around?" Jackson asked Lore.

Lore replied, "I'm actually hoping to hear something again. There has to be a reason for why I heard the voice and-"

He stopped and looked right in front of him. He saw something which made him gulp and he took a step back. Wisteria and Jackson took a look at where Lore was staring and they saw a strange creature.

"What in the world is that?" Leo exclaimed as he took a step back.

They were looking at an unearthly being; it was large and looked very strong. It had a human body. It was wearing black quarter pants which was torn right above the knee. The chest was bare and smeared with dust and wounds. The head was the most surprising; it had a head of a lion. It just stood there and looked at them. The creature's mane moved as the wind hit its face and it slowly walked towards them.

--

Rufus knocked on Scott's door not knowing how to face him. He was feeling very awkward because he knew about Scott helping Gary. He wanted to talk it out of him and why Scott would do that.

The door opened and Rufus smiled at Scott.

"Ho! Rufus." Scott exclaimed and he looked behind Rufus, "alone, eh?"

Rufus nodded and Scott let him in. Rufus sat down in a chair near the fireplace and asked Scott, "How are you?"

Scott stroked his beard and replied, "Very good. Scotch?"

"Sure." Rufus replied. Scott nodded and grabbed a bottle from a box nearby. Scott lived in a small wooden house which had been standing on that ground for years. Although the house was solid, the interior and the exterior were already worn out and Scott never renovated it. He used to say that there is no one after him who will live in that house so, it would be better if he kept it as it is. The interior had a very small room and only a few people could fit in. There were only two arm chairs near the fireplace and a table where he kept his drinks.

Scott started preparing the drinks and he asked, "Mate, what brings ye here?"

Rufus laughed and replied, "Nothing particular. Just missed my old friend and thought we could have a talk."

Scott laughed and handed him the drink. He sat down opposite to Rufus and said, "It 'as been a long time, eh?"