Episode 10
1100 Words
“Well, I am getting a bit tired for standing too long. You didn’t even offer me a seat earlier, King Octavius… so I suppose, you wouldn’t mind if I sit here, right?” Linfred smiled. Taran followed him and stood to his side.
“So, you won’t strain yourselves from standing there for too long, you can all sit on the floor now…” Linfred added.
The Emperor said that but, no one could even move or take a single step. Linfred gave them a chilling stare, that terrified the guests more.
“Gather them all at the center…” Linfred ordered.
His knights immediately moved and gathered all the guests in the center, including the King of Prilassi and Alyona. The knights then formed a circle and surrounded the people. Alyona’s two children were in front near Linfred, held by his knights.
“Mommy!” both children cried.
Alyona tried to reach her children but she was held back by the knights who were surrounding them. “My babies… don’t be scared, mommy is here! Everything will be fine.”
The two children slowly nodded to their mother.
After a moment, the hall’s doors opened. The knights who were sent earlier had returned with the Marquis and a child. She was only dressed, like she was living on the streets alone, barefooted and eyes wrapped with a cloth.
The Marquis was pushed towards the pack of the guests who were gathered in the center. One of the knights immediately escorted the little lady towards the emperor. When they halted in front of him, the emperor looked at the child from head to toe. Linfred noticed that the child shared the color of her mother’s hair, but he was wondering why her eyes were wrapped with cloth.
“Why are your eyes hidden?” the emperor asked.
There were no signs that the child was frightened or scared when the emperor talked to her. It amused the emperor. He found the child interesting. Well, those he spoke with, in that tone would be trembling in fear now but, the child didn’t.
“I can’t see…” the child replied with a monotone voice.
Linfred leaned his elbow on the throne’s arm rest. “You can’t see?”
“Yes…” The child nodded.
“Remove the cloth that wrapped half of the child’s face,” Linfred waived to his knight. “You seemed older than those children who were with your mother.” he said.
“I don’t have a mother…” the child replied, with her voice devoid of any emotion.
Taran started to notice that the child wasn’t bothered on talking with the Emperor. It was surprising for him. What’s more amusing to him is that, the child would reply to the emperor’s question with the same cold voice. She wasn’t even giving a second thought on what she would say in front of the emperor.
This feeling and aura are familiar. Taran thought and brought his eyes towards the emperor. If she really turned out as Linfred’s daughter, then I wouldn’t even doubt it. Like father, like daughter…
When the knight removed the cloth that wrapped the child’s face, her eyes were closed. But it was obvious that she had taken the likeliness of her father than her mother. That’s what everyone thought, including Linfred.
“The child resembles you… I guess, she is truly your daughter,” Taran whispered to Linfred.
“Well, I can say that your hair color resembled your mother’s… but on how it flowed down to your shoulders and back, you got it from me…” Linfred spoke to the child.
But that wasn’t all, Linfred could really tell that he was feeling something from that child. He couldn’t exactly pin point what was it but, he can definitely feel it. In which he didn’t felt when he looked on the two children who were with Alyona.
“I really don’t care if I had a child or not… I don’t care if you were alive or not as well…” Linfred said.
“I see…” the child replied, still flat and lifeless voice.
“Aren’t you afraid?” Linfred asked.
“And what would someone like me be afraid of? To a child who can’t see like me?” the child replied.
Linfred smirked. The child never failed to amuse him. “Open your eyes…” he commanded.
“I won’t,” the child retorted.
Linfred raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“It is unpleasant to see…” the child said.
“I don’t care… just open them.” he ordered.
The child couldn’t do anything but to open her eyes. Linfred was surprised but he remained composed, while Taran’s jaw almost dropped upon seeing the child’s eyes. They shared Linfred’s eyes characteristics and color. Though it wasn’t as vibrant as Linfred’s, they were dull and cold, devoid of any emotion, like a river that lost all of its water. Her eyes had grey patches and wounds in them as well. A sign that she couldn’t really see anything and a proof of all the hard ship she had gone through.
“Are you blind, since you were born?” the emperor asked.
“I can actually see before… before Alyona stabbed my eyes.” the child replied.
Linfred fell silent upon hearing the child’s answer. His face darkened and his aura chilled the entire hall. Even Taran was surprised upon hearing the child, he was filled with rage and held his sword with a tight grip.
“Your Majesty… please allow me to punish and eradicate the whole family from existence! They cannot be allowed to live any longer, after committing such atrocity!” Taran stepped forward, trembling with rage.
“Who the hell would dare to stab your eyes?” the emperor asked once again.
“It was Alyona, my so-called mother… or not.” The child answered.
The emperor shot up from his seat, and erupted into laughter. All the people inside the hall were surprised by the Emperor’s reaction upon hearing the child’s answer. Even Taran fell silent, he knew what’s going to happen next.
Linfred ceased from his laughter and grabbed Brax, Alyona’s son without having a second thought. He dragged the child to the throne, in front of everyone who were present in the hall. He let the child stand there. Linfred then drew his sword, and aimed the tip of his blade to the child’s eyes.
Brax turned pale in fear. Even both Alyona and the Marquis was shocked as they saw what the emperor did, but they couldn’t do anything about it. The knights weren’t letting them go at all, they won’t even budge a bit.
“I wonder what you would feel, if I stabbed your child to his blindness in front of you?” the emperor said, his eyes were gleaming.
- Writer
