True Mistress: 45
Thumping his feet repeatedly on the floor, Ignatius threw his eyes open to look at Aslan walking from behind the armchair he was seated on.
" Why do you want to have a tea party in the fu*king midnight?! " he growled when Aslan poured him a cup of coffee, mumbling:
" It's 3 am. "
" Yes, midnight. "
As Ignatius seemed firm in his point, Aslan squinted hard.
" It's the only time the King sleeps with his eyes and mind closed. So bear with it. "
They rolled their eyes at each other and huffed waiting for the other to reach them.
It was not even a few minutes later that Aslan sucked in a frustrated breath and marched to his door, his steps fast and a bit unsteady as if he was carrying himself to do something in an instant without thinking twice. He harshly pulled the door open surprising the younger Knight, who stood on the other side, for a mere second before pulling him inside within a blink.
Isaac flinched when he was pulled into the room out of the blue from the corridor where he had been standing hesitantly for the past few minutes, contemplating on whether knocking the door or just wait for it to be opened or something, magically.
Aslan didn't wait as he simply made him sit on a chair and walked over to sit beside Ignatius on the nearby couch, who squinted his eyes hard at his wavering steps and the stilled Isaac on the other seat.
" We don't have all night to cuss or bite each other. Just listen to me. " clearing his throat to gather himself from noticing what he just did, Aslan sneaked his hands under the seat to pick up the leather-bound old book with some ancient letters over the very first page that read: Mistress
" Where did you get that book? " Isaac, drawn out of the trance by the sheer sight of the old yet familiar book, asked.
He remembered having seen the book back in Kouzlo when he was so small. He remembered Aslan taking the book from the very big rack often to read some pages once in a while without Lady Oh's consent.
Little Isaac had often asked him about the book to which Aslan only answered with a smile saying that he'll learn everything one day.
But Isaac never did.
" From Gramma's collection, of course. "
The pages were swapped hard until Aslan caught what he was searching for. The honey-bound pages were wrinkled and had blotches of something blue here and there.
Ignatius felt a shiver run through his spine when he caught a glimpse of the art on the page. The art was simply majestic.
The page was occupied by a silver diadem with four sparkling topaz engraved to the metal with small little diamonds that added elegance and a polite charm.
" Do you remember this diadem? "
" Yes, it is the ancient diadem of Kouzlo. Reserved for the Mistress. For the Mistress, who's the true mate of a Master. " Ignatius nodded gluing his eyes to the book while Isaac blinked in a daze.
Aslan nodded, elaborating on the origination of the Mistress's diadem. " The first diadem that was supposed to be made for Isabella Osiris, which she never had a chance to wear. "
" But why? "
" Because it, simply, wasn't made for her. "
Aslan looked at Isaac. The rays of confusion and questions over the young Knight's face were keenly waiting for answers.
" Kouzlo had evolved into various generations after centuries. Initially, the people of Kouzlo were guarded by the powerful superhuman. He and she were addressed as the Master and the Mistress. After when we evolved to Kouzlo with humans, Ryunz and Demons, our species were announced in the name of Superhumans. " Aslan shuffled to the first page and showed the small drawing of a cave with a sparkling blue light at the back which they could assume was a portal.
" The first Master had to marry a human since he hadn't found his mate by then and there was something like a rule or just a belief that the executive line should be continued from the very beginning. We know the Masters and Mistresses are known as the Supreme or Prominent Sorcerers. They come from the same lineage that was initiated by the first Master and was known as the Zamay clan. " Ignatius shared his knowledge gently swapping the pages to see if anything catch his eye.
" It wasn't a belief but an order. An order from the Goddess. " Aslan added calmly taking a particular page that was mostly darkened and worsened with various red blotches.
It was a tombstone that read: Osiris
" Master Osiris was the starter of the Zamay clan. We're aware that we rarely find our mates. It was because of the corruption the Goddess let our ancestors do when we evolved. " gulping at the fragile topic, Aslan hardly moved his eyes away from the page. " During the time, Kouzlo had only a handful of people. They had no option to survive and multiply. It was when the sacred mate bond was modified. It was made clear that anyone could marry anyone they love and accept them as their mate. It was how our destiny and our origin met a traumatic phase. The phase of surviving without the destined mate. Superhumans had less than a 3 percent probability of finding their mates since then. " he took a deep breath and dried his lips before disclosing the main point.
" Master Osiris was said to be against this idea. So...he denounced his wife Isabella Osiris from accepting the diadem that was reserved for his mate. But things escalated shortly after his death. The diadem was secured within his treasury and was jinxed to be opened when one of the Master of Kouzlo had only found his mate which hadn't happened since the incident. "
" So... His Majesty is the first ever Master that found his destined mate. " Isaac mumbled, realisation hitting him with a flight of goosebumps.
The sacred mate bond of the first prominent sorcerer was finally bonded with his mate.
" So, we can come back to why we're meeting here. This diadem has something else within it. Do you see these...topaz? " he continued when they nodded with twin frowns.
" They represent each of our clans. The first one is Nike. The second Sezral. The third and fourth are Quin and Gyun. "
" What? " Ignatius found himself gaping at the head Knight, who nodded confirming his doubts with further explanation.
" Yes. Each of the topaz stands for each of the clans. " Aslan quickly shuffled some of the pages to the last one and immediately spread it down over the table for the guys to take a brief look.
The picture was a brief account of how each topaz represented a clan to make a title to the Zamay clan.
" This could sound like a piece of made-up sh*t but I've read it enough times to know it's not. " Aslan gulped before staring at space. " Half of the written history of Kouzlo was a lie. "
" What the hell, man?! " Ignatius was gaping hard.
This guy shook him awake in the mid of the night for some freaking tea party, accompanied by another male that hardly recognised what they were discussing about, only to tell him that the history, he had to study his ass off, was a lie.
" You don't have to trust me. You'll know once we head back to Kouzlo. "
" Kouzlo? We? " Isaac blinked as if it was impossible.
It is impossible. Yes, Aslan knew.
" Yes. " he, nevertheless, nodded to the younger, who was still in disbelief.
" You're kinda talking rubbish, Gyun. How do you expect you to go back? I'm... I'm different from you, guys. But— You... " growling and swallowing some profanities Ignatius was pushing all chances to mention some of the common words.
" I don't know. " Aslan, finally, talked, staring down. " But we'll be there. "
While Ignatius was ready to curse him off again, Isaac pushed the older to the side to ask something other than going back to Kouzlo.
" Why do you say the written history was a lie? "
Looking up at Isaac's eyes, calmly, Aslan breathed.
" You do know our ancestors originated from Ukiyo...do you? "
Though Ignatius was quick to stare at him like it was obvious, nodding frantically, it took a few blinks for Isaac to nod, still, hesitantly, as if he was not sure.
Ignoring the fact that started churning his heart at the sight of Isaac's clueless blinks, Aslan breathed through his mouth.
" We were, truly, robbed. There was more mythical evidence about everything a few centuries ago. Not going to blame the Masters or Mistresses, to be honest, I'm not sure why they've been lying to all of us. "
" If you, boy, continue to make up sh*ts, instead of speaking out about which lie you're talking about, I'm really going to break your legs today. "
With Ignatius's, final, low growl, Aslan decided to break it. Moreover, it wouldn't hurt a fly if he could take some of his burdens down his back to the other two.
" You guys could've wondered why not everyone has an idea about the history. It was because the copy of this book that was made before centuries were destroyed due to an old prophecy. Keep the prophesy apart, " he added quickly stopping them from asking further. " we must focus on the matter now. It is said that the destined mate of a Master has to perform a ritual to gain her power as the Mistress, in which each superhuman from each clan would take her vows and accept her as the Mistress on behalf of each of the clans. The four topaz represents the four superhumans, who are bound to her fate even before their written destiny. "
" I see no lie here. "
Rolling his eyes at Ignatius's impatience, Aslan ripped a sigh.
" The rituals said to be done by a Mistress have to be a lie. We have no idea why one Mistress is mentioned significantly in the past and it seems like they had tried to hide some truth about what was really said 8000 years ago. "
" What happened 8000 years ago? " asked Isaac.
" It was when we evolved. I have no idea what you did during your history classes in school, Isaac. " snapped Ignatius as he grimaced at the younger lacking ideas about their own origin.
" He... "
" I had no chance to go to school. " Isaac cut off Aslan's hesitance, causing Ignatius to gape at them.
" Coming back to the topic, " Aslan quickly shied away from Isaac's silence and tried to pull them back to the matter. " why do you think Master Osiris bound the diadem of his mate under a mound? Why was it ever mentioned in history? Don't you think we miss a very big hunch between Master Osiris and the others? " he looked too firm for something unanswerable to the already two clueless people.
" I can hardly understand what you're coming at, Gyun. "
" Master Osiris married Isabella Osiris, a human, 60 years after they evolved into Kouzlo. "
" How do you know that? " It was Isaac this time.
" It doesn't matter right now. Why did Master Osiris have to wed after 60 years and to be honest, only after the wedding the diadem of the Mistress was jinxed by the Master. Does it ring a bell? " he looked at them, staring back at him slowly realising something was definitely off in the big picture. " Because it was Master Osiris himself that created the diadem for his Mistress and he himself only know what the diadem and a true mistress could do. "
" Which means... " Before Ignatius could assume Aslan completed it.
" Yes. Trust me! " Aslan almost growled loud, surprising the other two. " Our ancestors have no idea why the topaz represents the four clans or how powerful a true mistress could be to tell she has to be accepted by four of the clan. " Hearing his voice firm with determination and distress was first for both men. Though Alsan had always been strong and quiet, he had never been loud and weak. " Kouzlo never had a true Mistress ever in the last 8000 years. "
" This feels like a complete mess. Her Majesty is the first true mistress of Kouzlo. " Isaac was mumbling to himself, looking down at the floor as the seriousness finally etch on to him. " I have no idea how they could be mates. How in the world would two know if they're mates? "
" They'll know if their eyes—
Before Ignatius could tell, Aslan cut him off suddenly with a harsh snap.
" It doesn't matter right now. " he shut the book with a thud. " The other thing I wanted to tell you guys was that the four superhumans have something else to do than accept her as the Mistress. Because you see... I can feel that they are nowhere near her when it comes to Kouzlo, to be honest. "
While the other two slowly nodded, understanding what he meant, the head knight decided to give the final blow.
" And... I think I found the three among the four of us... " Aslan finished staring at them.
#
" Of course, I'm delighted. I shall be there on time tonight. Yes, thank you, Mr Harrinton. " Lucas declined the call with a sigh. He was finally done with the phone calls for today and only had a conference to attend with the ambassadors of the country tonight.
Lucas, as a ruler, was always responsible and had a definite supervision over the state but despised the day that comes once in three months.
The Negotiation Day
The King of Briston was always compassionate in his service to his people. But never once liked it when he would be cornered by 27 ambassadors from every nook of his country, arguing about the financial measures and foreign policies trying to not wage conflict with any of the other foreign states, which Lucas had never done by himself.
Earlier that day, he got to meet several people, who had personal requests and complaints that were to be reported to the King. It was pretty boring as the people, who visited the King were joyous and only mentioned how they were satisfied by the current income of an individual yet wished to expect several other policies and projects where new industries and manufacturing sectors could be invested for a prosperous economy while some of them were thankful for the Free Academic institutions along with a few of them, who had mentioned their concerns about some economical problems yet again.
The Economic Bureau of Briston which deals with the structure of the country's economy had been working hard with new policies and regulations within banks and institutions to provide owners and innovators with funds. But still, they faced issues based on the expenditure and the profit of the country which had been only a pain in the head for Lucas.
Shaking his thoughts aside, he decided to take a short stroll out of his suffocating study to free his mind.
Immediately after walking out of his study, Lucas was met with Ignatius sneaking behind a pillar with a huge glass painting and found it a bit strange for Aslan to be not guarding his door right now.
Not like Lucas would disappear in thin air or be assaulted out of the blue in their advanced technologically well-secured palace. Simply, Aslan hardly leaves his side without a piece of information.
For now, Lucas decided to think about Aslan afterwards as he blinking in confusion, followed the guy and saw him peeking from behind the pillar, searching for intruders while his hands protectively held the painting close to his body.
Lucas slowly patted his shoulder that almost had Ignatius jumping a few inches in the air as he didn't expect anyone to be this soon to find him–
No. He was right. He wasn't caught yet, it was just the dumb king of the country, who had no idea that startling a person from behind their back while they're already trying to hide would give them critical attacks that could lead to fatal death.
Lucas asked him what he was doing to which Ignatius spat out that they were now playing hide and seek to entertain the Queen and the Princess when both the guys flinched to the bones screeching, hearing the Queen screaming out of nowhere:
" I got you! " Ava laughed holding her stomach while both Lucas and Ignatius had to take a minute to calm their racing heart.
Ignatius almost dropped the glass painting that Isaac grabbed within time before it was shattered to pieces.
It's a different kind of Hide and Seek that Ava had found an hour ago for each of them to hide from the seeker anywhere in both the King's and Queen's corridor while securing something like an object or a person.
Isaac giggled slightly seeing the horrified expression on the guys and asked the Queen to muffle her laugh using some signs, which she didn't notice for sure.
" Ava— Oh my! What were you guys doing? " Lucas huffed, his eyes still spread wide.
" Come and join us, Your Majesty. You've been inside your study since breakfast. C'mon, Aslan is also hiding somewhere on the third floor. Let's go and find him, " Ava beamed happily pulling Lucas's arms to play along with them.
But Lucas stayed put only staring at Ava's hands that were grabbing his arms while she happily smiled asking him to play with her. He was smiling as if she had touched him for the very first time and continued to stand like a statue.
Ignatius and Isaac looked at each other sensing their King's whipped state due to the flustered aroma of feelings that strongly engulfed them in place.
" Come to earth, Your Majesty! Hello? " Ava grabbed his face and shook his head to the sides when he forgot to respond.
" Eh— No, no, Ava. I have works to be done. I've to get ready for the conference. " Lucas finally shook his head sensing he probably lost control for a brief while again.
" Is that the conference that Aslan mentioned at lunch? " Ava added quickly when Lucas nodded. " I'll help you then? You look a bit stressed and then you could get some rest before departing. "
Lucas smiled at her caring suggestion. He simply nodded not having the heart to betray the hopeful eyes.
" Let Alaia lead the game then, Isaac. I'll join you guys later. Bye, " With that said Ava trudged to the King's study with him closely following behind her like a lost bunny.
Ava helped him arrange the required documents and check through some of the census data of the country's production and distribution for the next hour. A while later, Lucas sighed straightening to ask her something regarding a document when he noticed her.
He calmly focused on her frowning brows and breathed softly resting his chin on the mount of records and old books without making noise.
Lucas remembered the day when they first saw each other.
When he first met the beautiful stranger standing inside Nythera's chamber shivering like a deer in headlight.
The first thing that attracted him towards her were those large fluttering foamy blue eyes. They were scared and frightened the first time, concealing the real beauty.
Lucas grabbed Ava's hands and gently pushed himself close to her side. Ava raised her eyes to the King feeling his fingers tilting her chin.
" What? "
Lucas gulped hard on watching those eyeballs slightly squinting on him. They were crystal blue with a light tint of rich black as the pupil. He couldn't help but think back to everything that had ever happened while staring at the eyes that seemed like a beautiful untouched universe to him. His fingers itched to brush past her chin to her dried lips and to her cheeks.
" What? Is there something on my face? " Unaware of the inner battle he was going through, Ava blinked, rapidly disturbing Lucas in his soft moment.
But he breathed by mouth and curtly nodded, shutting Ava's mouth.
The Queen couldn't help but close her mouth seeing the fading sparkle in the King's eyes. Because Ava had never seen them ever before. His eyes were softly twinkling while they handsomely gazed through her in search of something valuable, precious, delicate which only belonged to them.
The feeling was different. The warmth of the fingers softly brushing past the corner of her lips was different. Within a few seconds, she didn't realise her eyes were fluttering close to enjoy the warmth of the warm hand on her cheek. But Lucas did.
Lucas harshly pulled his hands to himself looking a bit shocked and scared when he came to his senses. Ava blinked and shook her head when the pleasant warmth vanished out of the blue leaving her exposed to the cold.
" Y—yes... Yes, there was something on your cheek. It's—it's gone. " he hurriedly mumbled bolting up from his seat. Ava shrugged her shoulders and stood up as well.
" Then everything is settled for now. You can go through the papers later. Now go and rest, I'll see you later, Lucas. " she smiled and turned around after his nod.
Lucas watched her walk out of the study as he slowly slipped back on the nearby couch. He placed a hand on his racing heart and felt the even beats as if his heart was content seeing her smile and be happy.
Not all the time, a suppressed heart could be hidden beneath a facade as whatever the situation it was, it would bound to act in its own way.
Hunger makes a human change into an animal. But love changes one beyond humans.
To be continued
DhiraDhi_Writes