"Krushem would save Aric. He'd save Aric from himself."
——————————
Chapter 8 Forbearance of the Heart
"I know your heart may belong to a—another, but I am loyal to you. I'll accept you as you are, Aric. Can your Japeth do that? Can he?"
Staring into the mirror at his reflection, Krushem realized how foolish he sounded. He sighed heavily and watched as he raked his fingers through his hair. His hair had grown longer since his time at the School for Boys and a thick lock of brown hair fell onto his forehead. He blew it out of his face and his fingers clenched into fists.
There was deep, dark bags beneath his red rimmed gaze. The baggy eyes were most likely due to his lack of sleep last night. But his dilated pupils were a result of whatever the heck Balleng had given him at the party.
Krushem had never felt so disoriented yet free. He'd felt that when he'd tasted whatever Balleng had given him. He'd lost himself in the sensations and for a moment, he'd felt no fear—not even love. He'd felt absolutely nothing and everything all at the same time. The feelings had been indescribable, and he didn't know how long he'd stayed at that party, dancing without a damn care in the world.
Krushem had woken up outside Aric's bedroom door in the early hours of the morning. He didn't know how he got there or why he went there in the first place. His drugged state seemed to have driven him there. He couldn't remember what happened most of the night. His memories were blurry like a foggy haze enveloping his mind.
It'd been so early in the morning that nobody was up. The party seemed to have come to an end and the partygoers seemed to have crawled into their beds to sleep.
Krushem had struggled to pick himself up off the floor before stumbling back to his room, his muscles feeling like they were made of sludge. Then, he'd flopped into his bed and fell asleep.
Not long after that, Krushem had awoken to the sounds of yelling. The teachers were screaming at boys to wake up, banging on their bedroom doors to rouse them from their slumbers.
Krushem heard that banging on his own door, and instead of opening it, he snuggled deeper into his bed and pulled the covers over his face.
But then the knocking persisted, even louder than before until Krushem became fed up and stormed out of his bed and flung the door open...only to find Aric standing there.
Aric was clad in black. His sleeveless black shirt hugged his torso, accentuating his muscles. His shirt was partially tucked into the waist of his tight, leather pants and the bottoms of his pants were tucked into his tall lace up boots. A sheath hung from Aric's hip and poking out of the sheath was the leather hilt of his treasured dagger. Besides that dagger, Aric had his coiled leather whip hanging from his belt too.
For a moment, Krushem couldn't breathe, Not just because Aric looked the best Krushem had ever seen him, but also because Aric looked more imposing and punishing than Krushem had ever seen him. And Krushem wasn't even watching Aric punish boys in the Doom Room right now!
"Sir," Krushem breathed, finding his voice.
Krushem's thoughts jumped to how he'd found himself sleeping outside Aric's bedroom door. Had he done anything to Aric last night that he didn't remember? Had he said anything to Aric or done anything that he would certainly not have done if he wasn't drugged?
But then Krushem watched a smirk crawl across Aric's face, and he relaxed a bit.
"Heard about the little party you all had last night," Aric said, leaning against the door frame. "Too bad I didn't come. I was busy in the Doom Room."
If Aric noticed Krushem's disheveled appearance, he made no comment on it. His violet gaze found Krushem's and Krushem wanted to shrink into himself and yet he wanted to stand taller at the same time.
"Today is the day," Aric went on, his violet gaze glimmering in malice. "Today is the day I get exactly what I want."
Krushem didn't need to ask to know what Aric wanted. It was all Aric wanted it seemed; to kill his mother.
Now, the day of the Trial was finally here and Krushem could see Aric going forward with no regrets. Aric didn't care about anything. He was a monster. A sadist. A torturer.
Perhaps, that's all Aric would ever be.
But a part of Krushem couldn't believe that. There was more to Aric, he knew that.
And what would happen now that the trial had come? What would happen if Aric succeeded in killing his mother? Would Krushem continue to follow Aric after all was said and done, forever cursed?
Krushem had no answers to the questions plaguing his mind. He had no words to say to sway Aric from his path or to let him know he wasn't loveless.
Aric was Aric. Maybe he'd never change. Maybe all of Krushem's hopes were hopeless and all he could do was nod and go along with Aric as he had been doing all this time.
"Just a bit more training and then the war is here, sir," Krushem told Aric, agreeing. "Then you'll have what you want."
Aric continued to smirk as if he was on top of the world. And in a sense, he probably did feel that way given he was one step closer to fulfilling his sick dream of killing his mother.
"Well, we should get to class, sir," Krushem told Aric, dipping his head. "I should maybe get dressed though. I'll see you in Espada's classroom?"
Aric seemed like he was barely listening to Krushem though. He just grunted in approval and waved his hand dismissively so Krushem took that gesture as a sign that he should hurry and get dressed.
So Krushem shut his bedroom door and stumbled to retrieve his uniform. He stripped the sweaty clothes he was wearing and pulled on his tight black breeches before pulling on his lace up black shirt. After he fixed his red cloak on his shoulders, he bent down to grab his boots from underneath his bed.
But as he pulled his boots out from beneath his bed, his hand slid against something else. He grabbed ahold of it and pulled it out to find it was his sword. The hilt of his sword was a braided design dipped in gold, and the blade of his sword was long and sharp.
Krushem remembered the first time he'd gotten this sword. After soldier training was over, each appointed soldier of Altazzara received a special weapon as a sign they'd graduated from training and were ready to soon become soldiers.
Krushem had to attend "Altazzara Academy," which was basically an elite school that dealt with soldier training. He'd attended Altazzara Academy at thirteen years old and had graduated from said academy around four years after that.
Krushem had been so excited when he'd received his official letter of approval stating that he'd been accepted as a new soldier of Altazzara. Being a soldier was all he'd ever dreamed. He had arrived to be the best in his training and to become a soldier so he could protect not only his kingdom, but his family as well.
The Servetes Curse has ruined everything for him. That witch, Elaine, was the reason he was here at the School for Boys now about to fight in a war he wanted no part in.
Krushem could not let that witch take anything else from him. He was stronger than her blasted curse. He hadn't succumbed to madness yet and he wouldn't succumb to it. He would go back to his family and he believed wholeheartedly that he had the willpower—the strength—to not hurt anyone he loved.
Determination sunk into Krushem's bones as he sheathed his sword at his hip and started towards Professor Esapada's classroom.
~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~
The classes that day were shorter than the usual classes since the teachers had to be sure that everything was in order for the Trial.
Krushem decided he would be true to himself. To his family. So he went into his room when all his classes had come to an end and took it upon himself to write a letter to his family.
Instead of burning the letter this time, he sent it out with a carrier pigeon and hoped the letter would arrive home safe.
Krushem would go home and he'd give his parents and his sisters a big hug and he'd read Cynthia and Elisa their favorite bedtime stories and tickle them to death. He'd eat his father's fish and his mother's freshly baked bread rolls and finally....Finally he'd be happy again.
And if the worse came to pass....if he never found a way to break his family curse, he'd just leave again. And if he couldn't bring himself to leave, he'd just ask his parents to lock him up somewhere where he couldn't hurt them or anyone else.
It was stupid, really, wasn't it? Krushem going back home after all of this?
Krushem knew his family curse was no joke. He'd seen it firsthand when his uncle, his last cursed relative before him, had literally attacked him with a fishing hook.
But Krushem beloved wholeheartedly that if you loved someone, you would be able to protect that someone no matter the cost. Even if that meant protecting them from yourself.
Krsuhem just couldn't bear another second without his family. He missed them. He missed all of it.
Perhaps he'd just go back and say hello like he was a passing visitor. But if he went there, he knew it's be difficult for him to leave again.
Still...Krushem needed to see his family again. He wouldn't hurt them. They needn't be scared of him either. They would find a way to break their family curse together.
But before that...Krsuhem had to see Aric. After practicing what he was gonna say to Aric in the bathroom mirror of course and staring at his disheveled reflection, Krushem worked up the courage and went off to find Aric.
That's how Krushem found himself in the Doom Room where Aric was.
When Krushem stepped inside the dark, dungeon-like room, he saw Aric practicing on a tattered brown sack full of rice. Aric was shirtless and his muscles flexed as he thrust his hand forward, jabbing the blade of his dagger into the sack over and over again in fluid motions. The blade tore into the bag, grains of rice spilling out onto the Doom Room floor.
Krushem could just vividly imagine that brown sack being a helpless boy and he could clearly picture the million grains of rice being dark, red blood staining the stone floor.
Krushem blinked for a second, screwing his eyes closed tightly. When he opened them, he found it was just a bag of rice as it always had been.
"Sir?" Krushem mustered up the courage to speak, but his voice came out shaky.
Aric turned around and finally caught sight of his henchman standing there. Aric's violet eyes held no surprise, no distinguishable emotion whatsoever in fact, as he gave Krushem a smirk that didn't meet his eyes.
"What do you want?" Aric asked, but his demand was biting as if he didn't care for whatever Krushem had to say to him.
Krushem took a step forward, and his knees felt wobbly. He swore he'd collapse if only he didn't find the strength to somehow hold himself up.
And then...Krushem opened his mouth to speak, feeling his heart swell as if he actually had the power to speak his truth. To speak his feelings. To let Aric know he was loyal to him and always would be.
"After all this is over, Aric...I want you to know you're forgiven, and nobody will ever leave you again like your mother did"—like Japeth did. I won't leave you.
It was one of the first times Krushem had addressed Aric by his name instead of "sir."
"I don't need forgiveness," Aric snapped back. "I'm going to give my mother what she deserves. I thought you were for that."
"I am for that, Aric. I am. I just...I need to go back," Krushem admitted, hearing his voice drop. "I need to go back to Altazzara after this."
Krushem didn't clarify why he wanted to go back. But seeing the incredulous look upon Aric's face, he knew Aric knew. Aric realized why, and he didn't approve of it one bit.
"What, you actually miss your family? You miss them after they threw you out like a damn dog?" Aric chuckled darkly, shaking his head.
That's just what Aric believed. That's just what Krushem had made Aric believe; that his mother and sisters had thrown him out. But they hadn't. He'd left on his own.
Aric thought Krushem was a coward for wanting to go back to his family. But the truth was was that Aric was the coward for staying here. He was driven by this obsession to enact revenge on his mother but deep down he cared about someone more than that stupid desire. He cared about Japeth, and he tried to hide it but Krushem knew about it.
If Aric could go back to Japeth, would he? Was Japeth in Foxwood where Aric had said he himself was from?
Staring into Aric's eyes, Krushem felt his heart clench. If Aric insisted he'd stay, he would. If Aric begged him not to go just as he had once begged Japeth not to leave him, Krushem wouldn't dare go.
But Aric didn't tell him any of that.
"I can replace you easy," Aric pointed out, his violet gaze burning a hole into Krushem. "So leave if you want. Go home to your mommy."
Krushem felt himself flinch as Aric took a step towards him. He wondered if this closeness was just a ruse, a way for Aric to seem like he didn't give a damn about Krushem leaving. A way to protect himself from feeling the way he'd felt when his mother had left him behind as a young boy.
But staring into Aric's face and seeing the coldness of his expression, Krushem knew he was fooling himself. Aric didn't care. He never would.
Knowing Aric didn't care about him leaving should've made Krushem's decision on leaving easier. But it only made it harder. It hurt more somehow knowing Aric wouldn't give him a second thought after he went back to Altazzara.
But what else had Krushem really expected from Aric?
"Maybe I'll stay then, just for a while longer," Krushem proclaimed.
It was stupid for Krushem to change his mind right after Aric basically dissed him. But Krushem still held onto the hope that somehow, by some miracle Aric would come to understand how loyal his henchman truly was.
Or maybe Krushem was still fooling himself.
"Like I care what you do, just as long as you don't forgot who's in charge here," Aric scowled at Krushem as if he believed Krushem would ever go against him.
Krushem just nodded as he always did, falling back into his role as Aric's loyal henchman who would never dare question Aric's decisions, let alone question Aric's intent to kill his own mother. If being Aric's henchman satisfied Aric, Krushem would continue to follow Aric.
But what of Krushem's family?
Perhaps....just perhaps they could wait a little while longer for Krushem's return to Altazzara.
Aric carried on into the armory where Balleng and Armeq were sharpening their weapons. Krushem reluctantly joined them and listened as Armeq and Balleng blathered on about capturing Agatha and Sophie.
As Krushem half heartedly sharpened his sword, he glanced over at Aric a few feet away, dragging a file against the blade of his rusted dagger. As Krushem watched, Aric suddenly opened his palm and sliced the dagger across his skin.
Seeing it made Krushem's arm sting as he recalled inflicting a cut on his own wrist just yesterday.
Was Aric wanting to feel something just as Krushem wanted to feel something when he'd cut himself? Or was it something else?
When it came to Aric, Krushem knew there was more to him than what could be seen at surface level. Aric was a complicated boy, a mystery Krushem was intent on solving. He had some of the clues as to who Aric truly was, but he didn't have all of it figured out just yet.
Aric was a sadist who tortured others and wanted to kill his own mother. That's what everyone saw. Everyone except for Krushem because as much as he hated it, he couldn't accept the idea that that was all Aric was. He couldn't be fine with the idea that Aric was a monster and that was all.
And here Krushem was defending Aric again. Defending the sadist who'd killed Carmelo! Who'd caused so much and suffering to those around him! Who'd said he didn't care if Krushem left him...
If Aric didn't care about Krushem, why was Krushem still holding onto him?
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Krushem glanced away from Aric to fixate his gaze on his lap as he continued to sharpen the blade of his sword.
Balleng and Armeq continued to bicker about who'd catch Sophie and Agatha first when the Trial began. When they dragged Krushem into the conversation, Krushem pretended to go along with them as they boasted about killing the two girls.
When Armeq asked Aric if the boys would win the Trial, Aric responded by mentioning yet again his desire to kill his mother. This came to absolutely no surprise to Krushem, but he was still a little unnerved by it.
Krsuhem didn't know how much longer him and Aric and the rest of them continued on sharpening their weapons in silence, but he was just grateful that Balleng and Armeq had shut up about capturing Sophie and Agatha.
Eventually, Professor Manley popped his head into the armory and informed them that the Trial was to begin in eight minutes. That meant the boys now had to gather outside their prospective gates before entering the Blue Forest.
Krushem felt as if his stomach was in knots as he followed Aric and the others into the Great Hall where the teachers were directing the trial participants outside after checking their weapons.
As Krushem stepped into line, he found Aric was leant against the back wall next to the entryway of the grand hall. As Krushem watched, Aric's lips moved as if he was saying something to himself, but the room was too loud for Krushem to pick up his voice.
Was Aric having second thoughts about killing his mother?
No. That couldn't be it. It wasn't as if Krushem and Aric's conversation in the Doom Room had had some miraculous affect on Aric.
Krushem barely took notice when he moved to the front of the line and Professor Espada checked his weapons before waving him towards the trial gates. When the trial gates parted, all Krushem could do was stumble through, hoping Aric would be somewhere nearby.
The blue forest was magnificent. Krushem had never been in the blue forest before but he couldn't help but gaze around in wonderment at the glittering willow trees and blue tinted grass. But Meant to replicate the endless woods and prepare students to survive in the endless woods, the blue forest's appearance was a deceitful one—especially when this forest was now full of boys and girls who wanted to kill each other.
Frost crunched beneath Krushem's black boots and the end of his blood red cloak trailed across the ground behind him as he stepped further into the forest. He halted and listened for sounds of life, but all was unusually quiet.
Krushem felt exposed. His red cloak stuck out like a sore thumb in a blue background, and he wondered why Aric wouldn't have chosen any other colored cloak for him and his henchman to wear—
But then Krushem realized Aric didn't want to hide. Aric wouldn't dare hide from his enemies. Aric wanted to be seen. To Aric, he himself was the one his enemies needed to fear.
Besides, this wasn't some game of hide-and-seek! This was what decided the fate of the schools. Either the girls won and the boys became their slaves or the boys won and the schools would presumably go back to how they used to be.
But Krushem didn't care about the fate of the schools. He needed to find Aric.
So Krushem shoved his way through a blue thicket. Sticks slapped his face and threatened to stab out his eyes as he pushed through the thicket, and he ducked his head to protect his face from the sharp thorns.
When Krushem came through, he glimpsed a familiar boy.
But it wasn't Aric—it was Balleng.
"Who's there?" Balleng shouted, hearing the thicket rustling.
But when Krushem's head burst from the entanglement of the branches, Balleng relaxed and laughed as if he'd just been told the funniest joke in the world.
Krushem freed himself from the thicket and shook himself, running his fingers through his hair to get rid of all the leaves that'd become stuck in his brown locks. Balleng greeted him by punching his arm playfully, and Krushem rolled his eyes.
"We need to find Aric. Have you seen him?" Krushem asked, getting straight to the point.
Balleng shook his head and jumped from foot to foot as if he was doing a stupid game of hopscotch. Krushem swore Balleng's head was full of rocks. But he knew Balleng wasn't trying to act stupid, he was just getting himself pumped to fight. Capturing Sophie and Agatha and fighting "dumb" girls was practically all Armeq and Balleng would talk about, after all.
"Haven't seen him. And I don't care. He can handle himself," Balleng said, turning to head into the trees. "Besides, I got two witches to catch. Wish me luck!"
As Krushem watched him leave, he bit his lip to keep himself from giving Balleng a piece of his mind. Just as he wished Balleng would get beat up by some girl, his wish was suddenly granted.
A body fell from the trees, landing squarely onto Balleng and sending him flat to the ground. Before Krushem could do anything, another body emerged from behind a tree to aid their fallen companion.
Balleng shouted out, struggling against his attackers. He managed to lurch to his feet, but just as he did, a third newcomer emerged from the trees. Krushem watched in shock as Balleng started to flee from his attackers, and his attackers—all girls—chased after him.
They disappeared into the darkness of the undergrowth and Krushem lost sight of them.
But Krushem didn't go and try to save Balleng. Balleng was a whiny coward anyway. Aric would be displeased when he found out Balleng had been jumped by three girls.
A few moments later, Krushem tilted his head up to the sky to find Balleng's name had magically been erased off the boys' scoreboard.
Choosing not to dwell on Balleng's failure, Krushem continued onwards in search of Aric.
Excited voices drew Krushem out of the trees and to a bramble thicket where he found a group of boys chanting, spears, axes and swords raised into the air like flags of victory.
Krushem recognized some of the boys. He'd punished some of them in the Doom Room with Aric. But here, on this battlefield when it was boys against girls, these boys and him were brothers in arms.
Krushem decided it'd be best if he go along with these boys until he stumbled across Aric. Protection in numbers was a clever move, after all.
As Krushem stepped up to join the crowd, he recognized yet another boy. It was Armeq this time. Armeq was a bit more tolerable than Balleng at least.
"Hey!" Krushem called to him, raising his voice to be heard above the boys' insufferable chanting. "Armeq!"
But just as stopped Armeq turned to Krushem, Krushem glanced out beyond the undergrowth and his heart lurched, seeing the top of a head, raven beaks pointed to the sky.
"Sir!" Krushem shouted, his feet carrying him forward. It was like he'd been given a sudden burst of energy that drew him straight to the raven haired boy, skidding to a halt in front of him.
"Glad I found you when I did. Where's Balleng?"Aric said, clearly noticing that Balleng was not with Krushem and Armeq.
For a moment, Krushem felt his heart fill with warmth as if Aric had praised him. Aric said he was glad he'd found Krushem as if Aric had been looking for Krushem as much as Krushem had been searching for him.
But then Krushem had to remind himself who Aric truly was; a sadist who didn't care about anyone but himself.
Krushem felt his head droop in shame, in the embarrassment of having fooled himself over once again for believing Aric could care an ounce for him.
"He..." Krushem had to take a deep breath before he could properly speak again, still feeling awkward about him and Aric's last conversation back in the Doom Room. "He was intercepted by three girls, sir. I didn't see what happened really, but his name was erased off the scoreboard a while ago."
Aric sneered. It was the exact reaction Krushem expected from the sadist. Aric snapped his head up to stare up at the sky as if to determine whether in fact Balleng was no longer in the Trial, and when he did, Krushem saw his fingers curl into fists.
"What a coward," Aric lashed, his voice venomous. "Less than thirty minutes in the trial and he surrenders to some lousy girls?"
Krushem wanted to say something, but then a voice rang towards them, and all the boys in the group snapped their heads up to fixate their gazes on a new boy who'd approached them, screaming at the top of his lungs like a damn banshee; "I found her! I found Agatha just by the Blue Brook Bridge with some other girls! We can ambush them there!"
As soon as the declaration came out of the lone boys' mouth, all the boys in the group hollered, their war cries echoing into the sky before they took off after the new boy. The new boy led the charge towards the direction he'd come from and for a moment Krushem stood there, stunned as to how these idiotic boys could still be so hell bent on hunting down one measly girl.
But then he saw Aric following them, and Krushem followed suit, their legs pumping and feet flying across the ground until what appeared to be a bridge came into view.
By Krushem's count, there was six girls, all of different appearances. Two of the girls were seemingly about to leave the brook behind, but they didn't get very far before two boys from Krushem's group intercepted them, seizing one of them and holding an axe to the other one's throat.
Aric stepped up, taking charge of the situation like the commander he was, squaring his shoulders.
Krushem watched with his heart in his throat as Aric began to talk back and forth with one of the girls under the bridge—Agatha (he recognized her from having read his little sisters The Tale of Sophie and Agatha).
"It's the danger of fairytales," Aric told Agatha. But his voice was soft like a whisper as if he was laying himself bare, as if his words held a deeper meaning than he was letting on. "Sometimes one story opens another."
Krushem stared into Aric's face and found Aric was staring outwards, gaze directed towards the School for Girls beyond the trees. But Krushem wasn't sure whether Aric was talking about his mother or someone else and he just had to stop trying to pretend he knew what Aric was thinking. Aric was unpredictable. Krushem could never possibly understand Aric no matter how much he wished he could.
"Kill them," Aric ordered the princes.
Krushem's gaze widened in shock as he watched they boys about to kill the two girls they captured. He found himself lurching forward as if to do something. To stop this.
But then a red horned demon came out of nowhere, knocking both boys to the ground and miraculously saving the two girls by ripping their flags out of their pockets.
The two girls vanished and in their absence, Aric threw his dagger straight at a witch—presumably the owner of said demon. But the witch flung out her glowing finger and Aric's treasured dagger flew right back at him.
Krushem watched in horror as blood gush down Aric's nose, but other than that the raven haired boy was fine. As the demonic witch and Aric faced off, the other girls fled from beneath the bridge to get away.
Two other girls stayed behind too, allowing Agatha to flee, before they were intercepted by more boys who'd emerged from the trees, bloodthirsty and ravenous.
Krushem caught sight of the demon heading for Aric, and he sheathed his sword to help. The demon's fiery gaze scorched into him and Krushem scrambled out of the way just in time as the demon charged at him in vengeance.
Krushem raised his sword to stab the monstrous thing but then the Demon opened its mouth and a ball of fire pummeled straight towards Krushem. Krushem shouted in surprise and barely managed to avoid the fireball from hitting him. It impacted a tree behind Krushem, setting the tree ablaze. Flames licked up the tree trunk at lightning speed and branches broke off from the canopy, falling towards the ground and almost impaling Krushem.
As the demon opened its mouth to spit yet another fireball, the demon suddenly stopped, it's mouth ajar as if in a pained gasp. Krushem watched in puzzlement as the demon grew pale and dropped to the ground.
"Hester! Your flag! Use your flag!" A girl was screaming. Krushem saw she was looking at the demon witch, a look of horror fixated in her gaze.
Aric was on top of the demon witch, Hester. His fist was practically through her chest, the blade of his dagger embedded into her flesh.
Krushem watched, feeling half sick and half mesmerized as Aric pulled his arm back and the dagger ripped free from Hester's flesh. Aric seemed all too pleased with himself, not the least bit regretful that he'd brutally inflicted a stab wound into the poor girl laying beneath him.
Hester's two friends were staring at Aric in horror, gazes wide and fearful, and Krushem too was half stunned, unable to look away from the damage Aric had inflicted.
He'd seen Aric torture many many times, but somehow this felt real. It's the same thing Aric had done to Carmelo when Krushem first had the epiphany that Aric was a monster.
And yet Krushem hadn't actually seen the act of Aric killing Carmelo. He'd only stumbled across Carmelo's dead body after Aric had left the scene. Still in Krushem's mind there'd been no doubt that Aric was the culprit—That he'd murdered Carmelo and then made it look like Carmelo had been attacked by an animal.
But here Aric was, having dealt Hester a blow that would most probably succeed in ending her life.
Krushem had followed Aric all this time. He'd watched Aric torture boys and even aided in Aric's work. But that's because he feared Aric. He'd always feared Aric. He thought he'd known what Aric was capable of having inflicted so much atrocities on the boys in the School, but now?
Now, Krushem considered the idea that perhaps he'd been wrong this whole time. Perhaps his determination to believe that Aric wasn't all that bad was all for naught. Perhaps what he'd thought he'd witness in the doom room so many times as he watched Aric endlessly torture boys was not a sign of vulnerability—of humanity—after all.
No. Perhaps, it'd all been sadistic, through and through, and nothing more than that.
Krushem's thought were churning, over and over again on an endless cycle he couldn't rip himself free of.
He was conflicted with himself, struggling to tell himself that this was Aric and this would always be Aric and yet another part of himself fought against that, reminding him of how Aric had cried and pleaded Japeth's name, the same Aric who'd been angry that Krushem was gonna leave not because he disapproved of Krushem's decision to go back to his family, but perhaps because Aric didn't wanna feel abandoned again as he had once been abandoned by his mother.
Krushem barely noticed it when Aric left, Hester having disappeared after her demon pulled her flag out of her pocket.
But then Krushem finally did take notice and he rushed after Aric, only to lose sight of him in the trees. Frantically, Krushem stumbled through thickets, and shoved past trees in his desperate search for the raven haired boy.
Balleng was right, Krushem knew. Aric could handle himself. He didn't need protection from anything or anyone.
But Krushem couldn't lose Aric. He couldn't lose sight of Aric and he couldn't lose Aric's importance to him.
Krushem hadn't seen it clearly before. He'd been blinded by the havoc that Aric had wreaked upon the School for Boys, havoc that Aric himself had dragged Krushem into.
Elaine hadn't specifically confirmed that Aric was the raven from Krushem's dreams. But he'd known from the first moment he'd laid eyes on Aric that Aric was apart of him in some way or another.
Aric was the raven from Krushem's dreams! Aric was somehow linked to Krushem's family curse, whether he was aware of it or not.
Krushem had to chase after the raven. He had to catch Aric, no matter what it took.
The raven was the only clue he had for his stupid curse!
And perhaps Krushem could change his own fate if only he found Aric. If only he swayed Aric from his path from destruction to peace.
Elaine had said there was no second path Krushem could take to steer clear of the fate she'd foretold for him. But Krushem had to try. He couldn't do nothing.
"The Raven is my path," Krushem uttered to himself, rushing through the trees, the wind hitting his face. "The Raven is my path. The Raven is my path."
Those words of his echoed, rooting themselves deep into his soul. It was a declaration he could not ignore, so he carried on faster, legs aching and muscles clenching.
Just when Krushem thought he could no longer carry on as he was, he found the ground beneath him trembling before it split apart, creating a wide crack that he barely managed to not fall into.
The grand crevice stretched further ahead of Krushem, having uprooted trees in its path.
Krushem could hear a cacophony of screams echoing towards the schools, and he knew the worse had come to pass. The war had come and boys and girls were at each others' throats at last with no more trial rules to adhere to.
Krushem rushed past a looming silver tower that reached high into the sky—the School Master's tower now having settled in a new area it appeared—and then there he finally spotted who he'd been searching for this whole time.
"Aric," Krushem breathed.
Hope overrode his worry as he prepared to step up and take ahold of Aric, to get through to him and convince him not to kill his own mother.
But Krushem could see he was almost too late.
The air suddenly became hazy. The earth beneath Krushem divided further, kicking up a huge cloud of dust that made Krushem throw his hand over his eyes to shield his vision.
He took a step forward, but his foot got caught on a rock and he fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
Through the swirling dust, Krushem glimpsed a familiar figure, dark and imposing. Picking his head up off the ground, Krushem had watched as the figure tensed, prepared to pounce.
And in front of that figure stood another figure, tall and slim with a long braid. It was clearly a grown woman so Krushem concluded she had to be Aric's mother, and that pouncing figure was clearly Aric.
Krushem waited for the dust to clear, and he screwed his eyes shut to keep the dust from clouding his vision. He inhaled sharply, only to suck in dust and he coughed wretchedly, his body shaking from the effort of trying to clear his lungs.
"You never loved me, mother. Now you're going to pay for everything you've done. Say goodbye," Aric's voice was sharp, his dialogue sounding like a villain monologue that villains always said before enacting their revenge.
It was comical somehow and yet Krushem found himself shaking harder in desperation. He lurched to his feet and struggled to step forward, to do something.
"A—Aric! ARIC!" Krushem cried out, knowing Aric wouldn't be able to see him through the dust but hoping Aric would be able to hear him.
Krushem stumbled forward, struggling to find his footing. He had to get to Aric. He had to help him. To hold on to him and never let him go.
Krushem would save Aric. He'd save Aric from himself.
He'd save Aric from doing something that would only destroy him in the end. And by doing so, Aric would be grateful to Krushem. Aric would finally see Krushem and then all would be fine.
Krushem's hope drove him forward, further and further until he was so close he knew he could reach out and grab Aric and get Aric's attention.
Aric was so close now, but the dust still hung heavy in the air. Krushem glimpsed Aric's impeccably spiked hair through the veil of dust and Aric's hand gripping his treasured dagger, arm raised, poised to plunge down into the woman standing before him.
"Aric—" Krushem called once more, but then he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. Then, he was being pulled back with force, and he fought against his attackers, thrashing around in a desperate attempt to break free.
"Stop, it's me!" A voice chimed in Krushem's ear, but Krushem kept fighting, struggling to get away.
"No! No! I have to get back! I have to save him! I can't leave him! Please!" Krushem pleaded, slipping out of his kidnapper's grasp and spinning to face them.
Armeq's face was gashed, his forehead streaked with mud. He didn't seem willing to listen to Krushem. This was apparent by the way he grabbed ahold of Krushem again and shook him like he was an incompetent child.
"It's gone to shit, Krushem!" Armeq shouted. "We gotta go. We need to get out of here. Come on!"
But Krushem couldn't just leave. He couldn't abandon Aric just as Aric had been abandoned by his mother. It wasn't too late to go back. He had to go back.
"Leave without me, Armeq!" Krushem hissed back, wrenching himself free and turning to head back.
He started forward, but then Armeq's cry of surprise startled him. Krushem looked over his shoulder just in time to see three girls emerge from the trees, fingerglows aimed.
Krushem reached for his sword and before he could say a word, the girls advanced on them. Sparks shot from their fingers. Pinpricks of pain stabbed at Krushem's hand and he flinched and let go of the hilt of his sword.
"Get 'em, girls!" One of the girls called.
Krushem spun on one of the girls and before she could cast another spell, he seized her wrist and twisted it around to pin it behind her back. Meanwhile, Armeq was tussling with one of the other girls, the two of them rolling around on the ground like two raging gorillas fighting to be on top.
The girl Krushem had ahold of cried out in pain but she was unable to properly aim her fingerglow at Krushem. The third girl looked from Krushem to Armeq and seemed to come to the decision that Krushem would be an easier target.
With a scream of outrage, the third girl stormed at Krushem and thinking quickly, Krushem used the girl in his hold as a weapon. He maneuvered his body forward and as the screaming girl charged closer, he let go of his hostage and shoved her forward. Krushem's hostage stumbled forward, her body smacking straight into the screaming girl. This caused the screaming girl to fall too and with both girls struggling to collect their bearings, Krushem turned his attention to Armeq and the last girl.
The girl had somehow regained control and she was on top of Armeq, her fingers wrapped around his throat as Armeq choked beneath her.
Krushem freed his sword from his belt and he snuck behind the girl before jamming the hilt of his sword hard into the back of the girl's head. She released Armeq's throat and as she was occupied with that, Armeq seized his advantage and kneed the girl in the stomach.
The girl screeched and Armeq planted his foot into her stomach to shove the girl off of him.
"Let's go!" Armeq hollered at Krushem and started towards the trees.
But instead of following him, Krushem turned back to where he'd left Aric, planning to head back and save Aric.
That was the plan at least...But the thing with plans is that sometimes they become foiled.
This indeed became the case when Krushem suddenly was struck hard from behind and he succumbed to pain, collapsing to the ground. He rolled onto his back to find the screaming girl standing there, clutching a rock in her hand.
Krushem's gaze shifted to the distance to see Armeq rushing back, panicked.
That was the last thing Krushem remembered before the darkness closed in around him and he fell unconscious.
——————————————
What'd you guys think of the chapter?
Sorry for the wait. Hope this made it up to you guys.
Don't forget to comment and vote please!
Thanks for reading!
—Alexis Peters ❤️