Emrys was laying down on the soft bed when the door opened roughly from outside.The noise is loud enough to startle Neith and Rusty from their game of tag.The dark-haired magician raised an eyebrow at his twin's darkened expression.
This is odd.Arius is not smiling must means that an apocalypse is not as far as he thought it would be.
Arius silently glanced at his twin before throwing his magician cape to the nearby chair. "It took you long enough to come here,"the blonde huffed before sinking in the chair.At the unusual glare from the older twin,Emrys' confusion escalated higher.
He scratched his black hair casually, "Something came up when I was at the Black Tower.I found out something disgusting there."
Now it's Arius' turn to be confused and curious. "What is it?"
Emrys stared right at Arius. "A rat,"before the blonde could question him,he resumed, "Specifically speaking,a rat who refused to die and still running around in a world he doesn't supposed to be."
The older twin tapped his finger on the armrest. "A resurrection spell,isn't it?"at his brother nod,he said, "A pretty nasty spell.Must be a huge price to pay to make it work.Anyone outside the palace you suspected?"
Emrys remained silent for a few moments before answering, "I don't have anyone in mind right now but I suspected someone from the Alpheus mansion.It really stink of black magic on its main building.The duke must have protected someone troublesome to the throne if the greedy old man went to such lengths to hide him in his personal space."
"Ever tried to break into the building?"inquired Arius casually.
"Nope.The barrier around the mansion is stronger than the palace's barrier at the moment.Not to mention it was also laced with black magic.An ant surely triggered the barrier if it ever tried to break in.We need to set up a trap somewhere else,"answered Emrys as a frown marred his forehead.Arius simply nodded at the suggestion.
The younger twin fixed his sitting position on the bed. "Enough about that.How about you?It seems like other things from the assassination attempt are weighing on your mind."
Arius sighed when he remembered the problem created by Jennette. "The princess and the consort wants to adopt me as their son."
If Emrys is sipping a cup of water at the moment,he will surely spray it directly to Arius. "What?!Is she crazy or simply stupid?"
The blonde eased himself on the bed next to his twin.Crossing his legs,he replied, "She is probably an idiot.She is too naive for her age that she made the thick line between naivety and stupidity seemed thin.The princess can be easily dubbed the spoiled brat of the empire."
The dark-haired twin nodded absentmindedly, "She probably is if she wants to make you as her child.Even Dad would leave you in the streets if you're not his biological son,"joked Emrys.Arius answered to the jest with a smack on his brother's face with the pillow nearest to him.
The younger twin laughed as he simply pushed the pillow aside.Arius scoffed when no bump appeared on his twin's forehead.It looks like the palace's pillows is too soft to be used as a weapon.
It was the perfect thing to suffocate Emrys' face during his sleep later though.
"Don't just point that at me.Dad meant both of us when he said that,"retaliated the blonde as his brother simply shrugged.
"Mom and Dad are very worried for us,you know?They even send Felix to look after us in the palace,"Emrys said calmly while observing their magical beasts playing around the room. Rusty is enduring Neith's annoying flapping of her wings on her face as the owl seems to scold her.It's scary to see that even the two acted like siblings to each other.
The older brother raised an eyebrow, "You managed to pass the barrier with two people?The Emperor's magic must be weakened much more than I thought.How did he came and where is he now?"
Emrys gives a glance outside the window. Purple,pink,orange and yellow painted the sky as the sun slowly setting down. "Dad teleported him to my motel room and he is now disguised as one of the guards around the Sapphire Palace.He knows the way around here much more than me.He lead me to the weakest part of the barrier before letting me open it,"he answered nonchalantly.
Then,the younger twin pulled out a slightly wrinkled envelope from his pocket.He put it on the bed,directly infront of the blonde. "Here,a letter from Mom."
The blonde take the envelope with confusion. "I thought that we just communicated this morning regarding the assassination attempt. Did I made her so worried that she need to send another letter?"questioned Arius while gazing bemusedly at his sibling.
The younger brother sighed as he took the envelope and flipped it to the back side before giving it back. "Too bad that Mom didn't send it to the both of us.She gave this to Felix to pass it to you so you could send it to the sender."
As Arius noticed the name written beautifully in his mother's handwriting,his eyes visibly softened. "Ah,I see.Its the perfect chance for me to finally greet her.I haven't had any chance to see her since many people here like to make trouble for me,"said the blonde as a soft smile lingered on his face.
His twin narrowed his eyes at Arius.His gaze unimpressed. "It seems like Mom wants to reconcile their relationship back.It is possible now if we leave a small portion of our magical beasts here for them to communicate with each other."
Emrys continued. "And you just making excuses.You know they had to cut their bond since Mom wanted to make sure our birth stayed completely hidden from the palace.You are just being an ungrateful grandson."
"It wasn't that easy to roam around the palace when I had just arrived,you idiot.A lot of people will be suspicious if I suddenly visit the Ruby Palace out of nowhere.I need to gain the trust from other staffs too,"defended Arius as he carefully put the envelope on the nightstand.
The dark-haired magician shrugged before pulling the same soft smile as he gazed at the name on the envelope.
"Send my regards to her and tell her I will visit soon."
"Sure."
***
The next morning,a brunette sat at a table in the middle of her rose garden with a down expression.The maids near her looked at each other anxiously as the tea and the snacks on the table remain untouched.All of them has an idea on what is weighing on the princess' mind but none of them dared to speak a word lest they worsen the brunette's mood.
They barely could imagine what will the Emperor do if his beloved daughter complained about them.
True to their thoughts,Jennette sighed as she circled the rim of the cup absentmindedly.A sign that shows she is in deep thought.A habit she yet to break since her teenage years.Her mind wandered to a certain blonde teenager who served as the Emperor's personal healer in the present.
Is there something not enough in her for the boy to accept her as his foster mother?She has everything needed to care for a child.There is nothing wrong in having a second family,isn't there?The fact that being the most powerful and wealthiest family in the continent should make it much more easier for Arius to accept them.A normal child would surely be extremely delighted to catch the interest of the imperial family.
As she finally sipped her black tea,Jennette felt her eyes brightened as she caught the sight of the person who invaded her mind.The blonde youth is strolling leisurely through the garden, yet to notice her presence as he was quite far from her.The teenager seems to be casual today as he forgone his magician uniform with simple white shirt and a pair of dark trousers. His sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a few buttons unfastened,exposing his collarbone.
With his handsomely tousled platinum gold hair,it was not a mystery that he is the most good-looking young male in the imperial grounds. The junior maids blushed in attraction when he passed them by with a kind smile.Others sneakily stole glances at the young man,hoping desperately for an eye contact.
The princess thought that he had come to see her and she intended to welcome him warmly as she expected the blonde to change his mind and accept her offer.However,Arius simply passed by Jennette's table with an uninterested glance at her palace before continuing his walk. Confused and curious,the brunette rose up from her seat.Aiming to see where the blonde will go.Her maids immediately clustered around her.
"Where do you intend to go,Your Highness?"
"Please let us join you,princess."
Jennette waved them off. "I just want to stroll alone for awhile.Don't worry.There will be nothing to threaten my safety with the high security of the palace's barrier and guards,"
assured Jennette as her maids reluctantly let her go.
Following the youth,she wondered if Claude had invite him yet again for tea when they entered the Garnet Palace's garden.In contrast to her expectations,the same thing happened. Arius simply glanced at the Emperor's palace in boredom before turning his gaze to the flora around him.Much more keen to admire the various colour of flowers than gawking at the most luxurious palace in the empire.
They continued to walk with Jennette sneakily placed some distance between them,not wanting to be noticed by the blonde.Not long after,they finally entered the garden of another palace.The flowers are not very exquisite like the ones in her garden but it was taken care greatly by the maids of the palace.White flowers from different kinds of breed sprouted around the castle,casting an ethereal and serene view with a few sprays of pink and yellow petals all over.Arius finally stopped his tracks infront of the run down palace.Jennette gazed to the place in recognition.
This is the Ruby Palace.The home of Princess Athanasia until her death.What business Arius has to come all the way to this abandoned castle?
The princess watched as the blonde knocked on the palace's doors,patiently waiting for one of the maids to open it.Then,Arius spoke something to the maid.His eyes softened and gentle as the maid tilted her head in confusion. Jennette strained her ears to hear the conversation from her spot behind the tree but she can't hear anything from her distance.
She observed as the maid went back in, presumably calling for someone.Arius stood calmly at the entrance as his eyes were fixated on the only yellow flowers in the garden. Athanasia flowers.No doubt it was planted as a memory and tribute towards the fallen princess.
A few moments later,a familiar brunette with a pair of clear blue eyes emerged.Her youthful face didn't change at all since Jennette saw her last.The loving nanny of Princess Athanasia. The only one brave enough to plead for her ward's innocence at the Emperor before the deceased princess stopped her.Someone who has been at Princess Athanasia's side from the day she was born to the day she breathed her last.Always the one who can effectively cheered up the gloomy princess when her father kept rejecting her existence.
Lilian York.
Her blue eyes no longer has the light whenever she saw her surrogate daughter entered her sight.Now the bright aquatic eyes are dull, hollow and lack the warmth that can easily enticed any man around her.The lady gazed confusedly at the young warlock who probably asked for her presence.
Arius greeted her with a perfect noble bow,a far cry from the awkward greetings Jennette received on the day of their first meeting.The teenager pulled out an envelope from the pocket of his trousers and held it out to the head maid of the Ruby Palace.Lilian took it suspiciously and opened it as the young man simply pulled a kind grin.
As Lilian read the contents of the letter,her blue eyes visibly become teary as a hand raised up to cover her mouth in shock.She looked back at Arius as something made her eyes widen.Recognition filled the woman's eyes as she suddenly hugged the teenager, overwhelmed with emotions as tears dripped freely on her smooth cheeks.The warlock shocked Jennette as he returned the embrace, gently holding the brunette in his arms.
The princess teared her gaze away from the heartwarming sight.Jealousy filled her chest as she noted how happy Arius and Lilian's faces in each other's embrace.They looked like a lost family who had reunited after a long time despite it being their first encounter.She had known the boy for more than a week but she noticed a subtle disgust in the blonde's eyes whenever she walked too close to him.He smiled kindly at her but the warlock always ensured that Jennette never cross his personal space.
However,Arius didn't flinch or hesitate when Lilian hugged him out of nowhere.He gladly returned the favour,much more than willing to allow Lilian York invaded his space.Maternal affections were crystal clear in the older woman's eyes as she broke the embrace,wiped her tears and excitedly beckoned the blonde to enter the Ruby Palace.
Before Arius could enter the building,a bird appeared from the sky before comfortably perched itself on the blonde's shoulder. Jennette's eyes widened as she recognised the bird as the snowy owl from she saw a few days back.The magician seems unsurprised at the owl's sudden appearance.He casually stroked the bird's head before following Lilian in tow into the least magnificent palace in the Imperial City.
The sight of the former nanny and young magician disappeared as the door closed tightly behind them.Jennette exited from her hiding spot.Mixed feelings of anger,jealousy and sadness filled her chest at the sight of the teenager cheerfully accepted Lilian's casual affections when they just met a few minutes ago.
Is there something important written in the letter that Arius had given to the woman?A love letter?There was shock and delighted surprise in Lilian's eyes when she look back at Arius' face after reading the letter.Maybe there was some kind of past relationship between the two of them?
As the princess walked back to her palace,her mind thought about many possibilities that could explain Arius' genuine cheerfulness to meet Lilian as if he had known about her a long time ago and Lilian's extremely welcoming and warmth to the boy after reading the letter. However,none of the possibilities make any sense.Arius has said that this is his first time to visit the capital and Lilian never really travel far from Ruby Palace except for the York house ever since the first princess' demise.
So what is going on between the two?
***
"The princess talked about you and your brother alot in her last letter.How happy she was to see both of you so healthy after having a difficult pregnancy.Tell me.H-how is she now?" asked Lilian curiously as she poured a steaming crimson liquid of Lippe tea.The woman keep her gaze trained to the cup,not having the confidence to see the boy infront of her without being overwhelmed by her emotions again.
Is this how a proud grandmother felt after not having a chance to see her grandchildren ever since their birth?The younger blonde by no means her blood grandchild but she already see his mother as her own since her birth.The heartache she felt when she let her ward to run away with the black-haired magician 20 years ago for the princess' safety.Lilian would rather not have Athanasia in the palace than seeing her true lifeless body hanged from the Emperor's cruelty towards his daughter.Even if that means Lilian could never see her surrogate daughter again.
They continue to exchange letters with the common mail service in the town for a year and a half.The magician could easily deliver the letters via magic but they could not risk other magicians in the Black Tower to recognise his signature mana lingering around the imperial grounds. Especially the Ruby Palace.All of its inhabitants could be suspected for a possible coup d'état if a powerful mana can be sensed around the perimeter.
How happy Lilian was to hear the princess finally gained the happiness she deserved with the birth of the twin boys and how heartbroken she was when she knew it meant that it was the last news she could receive from her ward.A random curious maid could easily ransacked Lilian's stash of secret mails from the princess behind her back and see the address written on the envelope and traced it to the princess' location.The head maid position in the Ruby Palace barely held any power even against the lesser nobles served in the neglected palace of the empire.
Words cannot expressed how surprised and delighted she was to know the magician who healed the Emperor is actually Arius,the eldest son of Princess Athanasia.One of the babies she longed to see and care in her arms is standing alive infront of her as a teenager, respectfully greeting her and acknowledged her as a part of his family.When he revealed his blue jewel eyes,Lilian could only see Athanasia in him.Not a trace of the Emperor can be seen in those gentle and kind dark blue jewelled eyes.From the soft shade of platinum in his hair to the curvy slope of his nose to his chin, the woman see Athanasia,Lucas and the late Lady Diana.Instinctively she found herself hugging the boy and crying in his arms.Tears of joy and the heartache of missing the princess flowed freely from her eyes.
Arius gives a smile. "Mom is fine and healthy. Dad,too.We also have a new set of twins not long ago.Girls this time.Attheia and Eva," informed the blonde.He can feel a genuine happiness crawled into every fiber of his being for the first time during his stay here.It was a very good idea to visit Lilian when he has the chance to do so.
Once again,Lilian felt an overwhelming waves of emotions threatened to fill her.Twin girls.
She bet both of them are as lovely as their mother and late grandmother.The elegant lady fanned her flustered face as her eyes become teary again. 'It seems that God really blessed you this time,princess,'mused Lilian as she felt her chest brimmed with joy and pride.
Without a word,Arius reached up to the owl perched on his shoulder and Neith silently passed a paper that appeared out of nowhere between her beaks to his waiting hand.It was a small family picture.
The blonde put down the picture on the table and motioned politely for Lilian to take it. "I always take this wherever I go.I always thought it was quite pointless since we are so close at home but it seemed to be a good idea to do it now."
It was nothing formal like the monotone family portrait of the imperial family on the palace's walls that Lilian ever saw.It was so casual,so heartwarming,so loving and everyone in the photograph is smiling brightly.Her ward and Lucas are sitting on a small bench with their children standing around them.A pair of 10-year-old girls with straight black-haired and wavy blonde hair with similar jewelled red eyes sandwiched their parents respectively while two teenagers stand behind the couple,making funny faces at the camera[1].
As Lilian continued to watch the picture,Arius kindly pointed, "The straight black-haired girl is Attheia,the older one and the wavy blonde girl is Eva,the youngest one in family."
The touched brunette thanked the stars that she lead the boy to sit at the back garden away from other maids as she insisted to serve him herself alone or they might witness the head maid crying at the family picture of the unknown warlock.Arius is smart enough to change back his eyes to red when he walked along the halls of the Ruby Palace and let it remained even as they are alone.A preparation for any interruption that might come will not hurt anyone.
"Mom miss you very much,"talked Arius quietly. "She always sing the lullaby you taught her when she was little to us.Everytime she sing it,she will remind us that someone very precious to her also sang it to her and told us that the person love all of our siblings as much as she do.She didn't mention any name but my brother and I finally knew when we accidentally found your letters and the picture of you both."
"At that time,we thought 'Ah.This the person who love us very much even though we never met her.Her name is Lily'",informed Arius with a gentle smile.
Said Lily feels relief flooded her chest.All of this time worrying that her ward might have forgotten her but it was a silly anxiety.The princess miss her,sing her lullaby to her children and told stories about her.
"Tell me more about your family,"Lily said with smile as she remained standing at the blonde's side, "I want to know all bout it."
"Before that,"Arius snapped his finger and a similar chair appeared. "Come and sit with me,Lily.I'm not a such rude person to leave you stand like that."
The maid was horrified at the idea.Her sitting with a child of a princess?What a blasphemy to do so. "I can't allow myself to do that,Prince Arius.You are a child of Princess Athanasia and I am just a lowly maid and a mere nanny."
The blonde sighed, "My mother might be born a princess but I was born as an offspring of irrelevant commoner.I never was a prince and I know you and Mom regards each other as mother and daughter.Doesn't that make you my grandmother?"
Before the beautiful woman could replied,he resumed, "And today,I just want to enjoy my snacks and tea with a family member who I met for the first time.Won't you indulge me, Lily?"
At the youth's pitiful pout,similar to Princess Athanasia,she relented with a resigned smile, "All right." Arius smiled brightly when the lady sat down on the chair opposite to him.
They chatted animatedly at the table. Reminiscing stories and anecdotes that made both of them wistful and mostly amused.Cups were refilled over and over again as the snacks gradually decreased.
When a certain dark-haired teenager with blue jewel eyes appeared from thin air with his loyal fox and joined them,Lily once again hugged and cried in the teen's arms.Startling the younger twin slightly but the boy quickly returned the embrace,a joyful grin pulled on his lips.
As their talk continue and become more heated when another person included,a warm atmosphere filled the garden once more.Lilian felt happiness filled her heart again after many years of sorrow and longing for her princess.
***
[1]Its been 20 years.Some modern age must have begun.So I decided to include that camera has been invented by some curious magician.A magical world should be more modern than us in my opinion.
Alright!A new chappie with finally Lily making her debut!I made her still alive so the children can have a grandmother too.This is the reason I included the dream part with the lullaby in the previous chapter.Its like a hint actually that Lily will make an appearance next.
I hope you all enjoy it!Don't forget to comment and vote!