Chapter 11: Of Princes and Lost Keys I
1665 Words
Chapter 11: Of Princes and Lost Keys I
Key for this chapter:
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*Rinzen's Thoughts*
//Anyone Else's Thoughts//
'Old dialogues memories, spoken out loud thoughts, the past in general...'
///Memories///
POVs
""Not an Actual Speech or Thought""
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Warning: Alternative POVs
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1-04-2113 (07:20 am California: Tovio Den, USA.)
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Marcia Skywalker on certain days genuinely hated her job.
Her last conversation with a seventeen year old, moments before she landed in front of a gargoyle, a sheriff aiming a g*n at her face, a woman with long brown hair and two teens aiming staffs at her.
"I come in peace?" she stated warily.
"Who are you? State your name and business", the man wearing a crisp sheriff's uniform greeted her, albeit without lowering his g*n a centimeter.
Before she could even begin to explain why she had appeared in their foyer with no harm done to her person, thankfully Zen appeared with the grace of a gazelle on ice; he stumbled, tripped and slid across the bare surface of the marbled floor, and stopped between all four of them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!!!" he chanted, arms up and placating, "Everybody, calm your horses!" he pleaded flailing.
His Californian accent coming through clearly and rendering any magic the Hale Academy envelope held to be useless. The translation spell if active would have eliminated the accent in its entirety, and would have sounded more or less cleaner. Well for a lack of a better term.
"Do you know who this woman is?" the sheriff asked curiously.
"Yes", he answered succinctly, "We should have this discussion elsewhere like civilized people"; he stated not relaxing even a little.
They stood at an awkward standoff for several minutes before the sheriff relaxed infinitesimally.
"Um…" the younger looking male relaxed infinitely, "Should we?" he asked turning to the sheriff.
The sheriff hummed, "Please come in", he stated and lowered his g*n.
Maria nodded and stepped out of the circle, she only noticed after Zen turned and squatted down to wipe of fragments of some kind of powder on the floor, "Well this was an interesting welcome", she muttered dryly.
Zen rolled his eyes, and "I did warn you", he hissed and then offered his arm.
Marcia rolled her eyes and accepted his arm, allowing him to escort her through the corridor, "You said I'd be safe, not that I'd be greeted to an armed arsenal", she grumbled vexed.
"Quit acting so vexed, you overheard the conversation between my aunt and me, you don't think she called my mother the minute I hung up. You should consider yourself lucky, I managed to completely pack my belongings so if we need to make a quick escape we can do that", he muttered as they walked steadily behind his siblings and his parents that lead their procession towards the parlor.
"European followers?" she asked eyeing her hosts.
"My mother is a follower of the Archaic Covenant", he answered, "In modern terms, she's what you would consider a Countess", he explained softly.
"So you're the son of a noble and a sheriff", she muttered.
"Well", he winced, "Technically I'm a prince", he muttered. "Or a duke if we were to be pedantic", he considered.
Marcia stopped walking and turned to him, "Say what?" she demanded.
"I mean dad is from Ireland, sort of, he's half Irish and half Italian. Mother is half German and half Italian", he hurriedly explained and gently but forcefully tugged her forward, "Father is a descendant of the kingdom Darini, in Tyrone, Armagh, Northern Ireland to be precise—"
Marcia stopped again in her tracks.
"Would you quit doing that", Zen hissed agitated, and tugged her forward again, "Why do you keep doing that?" he demanded as he smiled then suddenly when his sister turned around.
Marcia sighed weakly, "The Darini was a kingdom located by Ptolemy's 2nd century. It doesn't exist anymore", she hissed alarmed.
"Magic didn't exist, until earth went mental and exposed us all", he stated through his teeth, "So dad's a descendant from a hidden kingdom, so what? He's also just a Prince or a Duke whicjever makes more sense", he muttered, "We get the title, but it's not like there's an independent kingdom to return to and rule over. And if there is, how would we even get in? The gates and location are under strict lock and key. I'd first have to inherit it, if it existed", he muttered, "And that's if the legacy isn't first offered to either my brother or twin-sister", he stated, "So mom may be a Countess and dad a Duke, and we're some kind of royalty, what effect does it have on the situation at hand?" he hissed as he smiled at a few of their guards and servants.
Marcia sighed, "If I could explain the significance, even you would be shocked", she muttered dryly.
"I'm sure its riveting, but for now, one trial at a time, yeah?" he requested for her attention and brought her into a charmingly decorated parlor.
//Well show-time...//
"Said the spider to the fly", she muttered out loud.
Zen bit down on his snickers and shot her an amused glare.
"Madam", the sheriff interrupted their camaraderie and offered her a seat directly opposite her.
Marcia straightened and walked into the room, as she let go of Zen's arm she eyed the furniture slightly bemused and took in the way they were seated. As they'd essentially surrounded them from three sides—a pincer effect. The parent-figures were seated opposite the couch she was offered, a unit of authority easily showcasing their power against her. The armchairs on either side were occupied by their children. The boy on the right, the girl on the left, as she sat down, she noticed Zen remained standing directly behind her couch, in a position to offer council but at a respectful distance, illustrating his position as the one making his request and the only one with no authority.
//A lot about his schedule from Hell suddenly makes so much sense. Well here goes nothing…//
Marcia bowed her head, purposely keeping them all in sight, and started, "Allow me to offer my sincere greetings, and apologies", she stated, "For arriving unannounced", she clarified. "My name is Marcia Skywalker", she grinned a bit amused at the sheriff's lips twitching. "In my parents' defense, they really did adore the classics", she informed amused.
Amused the sheriff nodded and responded accordingly;
"I'm Sheriff John William Carter, and this is my wife, Rosalia Schwartz-Carter", he greeted her simply, "This is my Eldest child, Theodore James Carter, my second eldest Mikayla Carter and you have met ~Zen Ryder~", he introduced them all.
Marcia nodded as the children had stood up accordingly, the son bowing and the daughter curtseying accordingly. Zen she idly noted stood still not bowing or moving at all, at attention and waiting.
"Greetings", she stated simply.
"And so how do you know our son?" John asked simply.
"First I have a question, have you heard of The Hale Academy?" she asked quietly.
John nodded, "Yes. I have", he answered, and "We have a few Ascendant Class deputies in our HQ", he answered surprising her.
"Good, then what is your view of those who are Ascendants?" she asked.
John shrugged, "Power is power", he answered unconsciously echoing Red's mother, and "Even borrowed power is power", he answered simply.
"Excellent", she smiled, "With a mindset like yours, it gives me great honor to introduce you to our seventh selected Ascendant and student of Hale Academy: Zen Ryder", she smirked sharply, "I have been assigned as his mentor and guardian, as per his wishes and the will of our prestigious Academy", she announced, shocking almost everyone in the room.
Marcia hummed amused as both siblings stood up in shock and the Countess clapped a hand over her mouth. The several guards and maids, and a butler standing in the four quadrants of the room, also looked oddly surprised. Marcia felt oddly insulted on her charge's behalf, internally she wondered;
//He's a talented kid without factoring any magic into the equation, why are I they so bewildered?//
"That's quite interesting", John hummed amused, "And, is this, what you want?" he addressed his son finally.
"Yes sir", he answered respectfully.
"Why? You could live here as a mundane without judgment", he promised, "Or do you feel unworthy to stay here and live without magic?" he asked, "Does your greed push you to want to attend a school most people haven't even heard of?" he fired off rapidly.
Marcia scowled and opened her mouth to refute the insolent statements, but she stopped as she heard her charge speak;
"My greed has made me who I am. It's kept me alive and capable to be your son and stand on equal footing with these two", Zen answered before she could find the words and pointing at his siblings with little to no respect.
Marcia smirked as both siblings scowled fiercely at him and listened as he continued without missing a beat;
"I'm an incredibly greedy person, hasn't that always been my default setting?" he asked somewhat mostly to himself, "It's my greed that brought forward a protective guard, it's my greed that allows me to push forward, it's my greed that gives me the patience to deal with Aunt Evellyn, and you know how much I hate her", he paused, "Sorry mom", he added and then continued without waiting for her reaction, "And well I've always been greedy, this is what I want", he shrugged, "And since it so very conveniently, has dropped into my lap—", he smirked cheekily, "—well, I'd be an i***t if I were to ignore it now, wouldn't I?" he sassed amused.
They all sat in silence; half awed-half genuinely too shocked to speak at the teen's audacity, if the jaws dropping were any indication to go by.
. . .
. .
.
//Well, now what?//
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TBC...
- Writer
