The Kingdom

[crimson92]

"Not bad, Vesper! You're pretty good at defense!" Max cheered, though that grin never left her face as her eyes glowed brighter, "But you're going to have to do better than that. The battle could turn at any moment."

Suddenly, what Vesper thought had been Sparks suddenly morphed into a shadow beast and lunged itself at a surprised Vesper, locking its' jaws onto his neck and giving the impression of biting down, but not piercing the skin as one would think. It just gave the illusion, pain included, but the teeth never broke through. A few feet ahead of him, the real Sparks materialized, being held prisoner by a very tall beast with gangly features, tentacles for arms and a sadistic grin on its' face. It had one of its arms wrapped around Sparks, keeping her locked in its grip and preventing her from moving or using her powers. Eli then fell from up above, landing in front of Sparks as if trying to keep Vesper from getting closer to her.

"Remember, Vesper, this is your fight and you have to learn how to become stronger in a little amount of time. Lesson 2: Offense. I figured you would take it more seriously if something precious was taken from you," Max explained, waving her hand as the creatures and Eli melted into the shadows again, taking Sparks with them, "They now have her and you have to fight to get her back, if you care enough to get her back that is. They won't make it easy for you and now that they know you're pretty smart, they're going to pick up their game. If it makes it seem a little more important to you, pretend that Sparks is your new kingdom and the shadows are from an enemy kingdom trying to take your throne away from you."

"OOWWW!! AAAHHH!" Sparks voice suddenly rang out, slicing through the air.

"You might want to hurry," Max said with a grin as the shadows all began to move about, running here and there and confusing him.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper now seriously wondered if this wasn't real. The teeth dug viciously into his throat felt real enough. And his impeneding anger felt real enough too. Suddenly he felt the immense strength ringing through his muscles and he began losing control.

Not this way young king.

His anger melted a little as he slithered out from the shadow being. The voice sounded familiar to his furry ears.

Shadows only defeat shadows, do they not? So what must you become?

Vesper jumped over one diving mutt and cast a severe glance at the beast holding Sparks. 'I can't' he thought. He knew he could only become his form now and what the ring gave to him- The ring!

He turned on his heel and took a flying leap, morphing in mid-air, and retrieving the ring from his pocket. He slipped it on as he hit the ground. The blinding anger that followed rendered him out of it and he didn't realize he was towering above the shadowy monsters until he heard the voice again.

You must focus. You won't necessarily lose control if you pay attention. Keep you mind on one goal. You can do this.

Vesper heeded the words and allowed himself enough loss of self-control to let out an ear piercing scream. He was some kind of huge monster, though he didn't know what, and he quickly realized this must be the form the trio had seen him use at Gunther's. The sheer power of it stunned him for a moment, two shadow creatures attacking his foreleg bringing him back to the present. He growled and shook them off.

The darkness emanating from him intimadated some of them into running off and dissapearing but there were still a nice number of them left. He heard the voice in his head, almost cooing at him, and he used the distraction to focus, swinging his large clawed arm at them all and hitting nearly all of them squarely. A chorus of yelps went up and the monster that was Vesper forced himself to become even bigger. Mindful of his energy he opened his large mouth and roared at Eli, who was standing defensively before Sparks and ready to jump at Vesper. Anger began clouding his vision again as he lunged for the dragon's throat.

Roughly the same size as the dragon, Vesper felt
Eli bowling him over. He growled and once again anger took over. He locked his jaws on Eli's leg and bit down until he felt a slight give, a tiny crack.The great dragon yowled in pain and Vesper took the moment to kick him off with his back feet. He pushed himself up as Eli hit the ground heavily, and gouged the earth with his humongus claws, jumping for the dragon. Somehow Eli managed to rear back and Vesper hit him squarely in the chest.


They toppled to the ground with Vesper pinning him down, and sinking his long thick fangs into the dragon's neck. He came too and had to force himself to remain morphed into the large form as he felt his energy levels draining. But he also felt a cooling, thick sensation flooding through the veins in his jaws and the roof of his mouth. He smiled and bit down even harder, pushing the venom out of this fangs. After he'd wasted a good two or three minutes hanging on he felt a tentacle wrapping around his neck and dragging him backwards. He screamed and tried to fight against it, but it had him on his back and was dragging him along the ground, twisting his wings in odd waves and sending waves of pain through them as his weight was pushed onto them. He felt his air slowly being cut off and he ripped at the ever tightening tentalce wrapped thrice or more around his neck.

[crimson92]

Max narrowed her eyes in what looked like irritation as she cursed and clicked her tongue, "You let your guard down, Vesper! You took too long in your attack that you allowed for another enemy to grab you from behind and now you're vulnerable!"

As Eli was set free, he reeled back and opened his great mouth, a wave of fire shooting out from its depths and circling around the still struggling prince. The monster that was holding him, one of Max's followers, loosened its' grip so it wouldn't kill the king.

"Think, Vesper, think! You're losing your kingdom!" she shouted as three more shadow demons slithered out from the dark and grew in size, all of them snapping at Vesper to give the illusion of certain death, but none of them touching him, "You're losing your people! They're taking over!...You're losing your love!"

There was another pain-filled scream as Sparks was attacked, a shockwave of dark, cold energy filling her body and setting her pain-nerves on fire. When the prince continued to struggle with no sign of actually getting free or of even controlling that immense power he has, Max just sighed and called back the attacks. The shadows backed away from Vesper, Eli stepped back as well, and the monster that was holding the prince released him and slithered to its master. Max glared at the prince, her arms crossed and her face set.

"You really are a lost cause," she sneered angrily, provoking him to do better as her own power continued to grow around her, standing on her guard since she was provoking a rather powerful person, "I guess the former king really did make a mistake in choosing you as his successor...you're pathetic. You just lost your kingdom, your people, and your queen to the enemy and you didn't stop it from happening. You just let them come in and take it. How disappointing..."

[❖Amani❖]

"I guess the former king really did make a mistake in choosing you as his successor...you're pathetic. You just lost your kingdom, your people, and your queen to the enemy and you didn't stop it from happening. You just let them come in and take it. How disappointing..."

Vesper had been laying, gasping for breath and listening to Max's voice taunting him and turning into his father's voice. A cold fire ripped through him and suddenly his eyes shot open. But instead of seeing everything normally, his vision was dark, seeing everything as if it were night instead of day, yet it was clear. He saw Max's form standing beyond him and noticed that she seemed almost completely dark, like a shadow, with a few vague features visible. But the shadow creatures looked almost normal, every feature and detail suddenly clear to him. It was almost as if his vision had completely switched over and now he saw what the human eye did not.

He raised his lips over his large teeth and saw the lines of shadow monsters beside Max, feeling a surge of hesitancy and defeat. But as quickly as it was there, so were a line of men branching out to both sides, with the monster form of Vesper surely in the middle. He didn't have to take his gaze from Max for even one moment to see them clearly in his mind's eye, both familiar faces of Rajus and Tafe side by side at the end of the right line. At the end of the line of Kings. He heard the voice that had coached him earlier and this time it was joined by Rajus'.

Lead the way, young king. We will follow you in ourselves.

You've discovered something vital Vesper. Use this to its full extent. We are with you.

Feeling a fresh wave of strength roll over him Vesper focused his gaze onto Max's disgusted face. He held a new feeling, one of immense power but keen awareness. He could feel his emotions and he could choke them down, or call them up as much as he pleased, not even phasing his crouched form. He realized that somehow, someway he was in control of his most powerful form and the sudden thought struck him, he couldn't let her know he was in control. He could use that to his advantage.

With a screech he lunged for her, his powerful legs easily launching him across the clearing to her. Immediately shadow monsters leaped at him and he smartly dodged. He landed on empty ground and looked over to notice Max had leaped away in time and was running out further, keeping an eye out for him. He growled, a deep throaty sound that shook the ground, and twelve of the forty-two men shot forward, killing shadows as they attacked Vesper. Vesper simply swiped his claws at some, slicing them to pieces and getting rid of them long enough for another two men to join the fight. Soon thirty-seven former kings were keeping the shadows busy with various black magics and talents and powers, and Vesper found the opening he'd been waiting for. He roared and raced towards Max who'd by now fallen far enough back that Vesper and she had traded places in the clearing from where they'd begun.

He made short work of the distance, ignoring the shadowed creatures that she quickly created as he neared ever closer and letting the five kings he kept with him take care of them. He saw the tiniest flicker of slight panic in her dark eyes at the thought she couldn't summon enough creatures quickly enough, and hissed. Nearly there, he pounced and came crashing down to the ground with a half-way healed dragon on top of him, sliding of and biting into his shoulder. Vesper howled in agony but instead of fighting blindly with anger and striking wherever was closest, he raked his claws down the open wound in Eli's leg, bringing the dragon to the ground with him. He shot out and dug his teeth into the creature's neck again, latching on and ushering the tiniest fraction of venom into his veins. It was just enough to have the dragon howling in pain so that Max would turn their way instead of toward his comrades.

He bit down a little harder and let an appearance of anger take over as he held on still. Max had no other monsters currently in use that could attack him thanks to the former kings distracting them, therefore she would have to intervene herself. And intervene she did. He knew she would mistake him for losing it again, though he was strangely in control albeit tired, and he used that to his advantage. When she sent a tendril of the long black rope-like thing she'd used to bind Sparks earlier, charged and fiery, his way, he let go and jumped back just in time. The tendril instead wrapped itself around the nearest thing it could find... Eli's neck. Vesper saw the split-second shock of what she'd done flicker across her face, and he used it to spring at Max and morph to his wolf form so she couldn't slip from his grip. He landed heavily on her and he felt the breath drive from her body. He morphed his hand enough to surround her throat with his clawed hand. The sharp points dug into her neck and he pressed on her throat, putting pressure on her windpipe. He growled, showing his blood-stained fangs.

"Call them off and we might negotiate letting you up... alive."

[crimson92]

Max looked up into the angered eyes of Vesper, gasping for air as she clawed at the hand around her windpipe. She put up a fight, struggling to get the hand away from her throat. Then...she stopped...and then she grinned. That grin grew wider, darker, until it looked like a hideous blemish on her face and the white parts of her eyes turned black and the pupil red. Then, what was originally thought to be Max turned into one of her many shadow creatures and then dissipated into thin air, out from under his claws. He turned in surprise to see the dragon, Eli or who he thought was Eli, morph and disappear as well. Vesper was left standing there, gawking, wondering how this could be. Then, he heard laughing and looked around only to find his teacher, Max, sitting on the branch of a very tall tree, her leg swinging as she placed her elbow on her upright knee and held her chin in the palm of her hand. She turned to Eli, who was wrapped comfortably around her neck, and Sparks, who was also sitting on the branch with her, and smiled.

"Well, looks like we did pretty good. Boy picks up quick," she commented, tapping her temple and giggling.

Eli merely chuckled and nodded, "That we did and that he did."

"I think he did very well," Sparks praised, looking back down at Vesper, "And it looks like he handled his anger and his powers faster than we originally thought."

"True, but he's still got quite a bit to learn. He just knows the basics now," Max answered before she leaped down from the branch, swung herself from the various other branches and then landed on the ground as gracefully and quietly as a cat. She stood up, golden-green eyes shining as she approached Vesper, her demons crowding around her obediently.

"Not bad, King!" she said cheerfully, "You seem to be a quick study; that will help you in the long run. Now you at least know how to control the better part of your emotions and your anger. That's a big step for you."

She called forth the shadow creatures that had been bitten and injected with Vesper's venom, her hands beginning to glow a neon green as she swiped them over the wounds. The venom streamed out like a beautiful wisp of green crystal water and then dove straight into an empty vial that Max kept with her. She corked the vial and looked at its contents, smiling contently as she stored it away again.

"That will come in handy for me, too," she said quietly, patting the vial and then looking up to catch Vesper's confused face, which made her click her tongue and roll her eyes, "Oh come on, did you really think I would put myself in harm's way like that? Remember, I'm the teacher here, meaning I have to be on my toes at all times. That's something you'll have to learn as well; try to think of all possibilities and then have a plan for that. Stay one step ahead of the game."

A demon dog appeared by her side and she pet it affectionately, cooing at how it did such a wonderful job in helping train Vesper, the creature giving a happy, demonic bark.

"You did pretty well against my shadows and seemed to have control over your powers fairly well," she stopped when his jaw went slack and she rolled her eyes again, "Remember, I was watching. I saw the instant change in your whole aura and felt the wild power sudden right itself. Who knows, I might actually let you fight me for real, one day. Just you and me, one on one."

She smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, "I may be small and I may not be able to shape shift like you, but there are still things you don't know about me. Hint: shadows, although my strongest allies, aren't the only things I can control."

Her smirk then turned into a grin again and she turned around to look at the trees, "Well, that was a good lesson, but you still didn't complete every one of your tasks," she pointed up at Sparks who was being carried down by Troph, "you didn't save the lovely Queen."

"Will you stop teasing me?!" Sparks cried with a blush.

"But that's okay. Two out of three isn't bad," Max finished, ignoring her blushing friend.

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper growled again, this time playfully, and took a flying leap at the tree. He tackled Sparks and twisted mid-air so that Sparks landed on top of him. He then leaned up and licked her cheek, his wolf form wagging its tail happily. She scrambled off of him and stood, Vesper doing the same. He gave an exhausted chuckle and forced himself to his feet.

"Now we have three out of three."

He grinned widely at Sparks and butted her shoulder with his big head. He let her pet him and he sat down with a force. Warily he eyed Max and the grin slipped from his face.

"I suppose if we're through for the day, we should keep moving and make the rest of the light we have."

He suddenly noticed his eyes had suddenly shifted back to the normal, somewhat sharper thanks to his wolf-form, vision and he gave a slight sigh in relief. He'd begun to think he would be stuck with it. But a slight noise distracted him and he frowned, jerking his head to the side. Tafe smiled at him and gave a little wave before disappearing. The thought suddenly hit him and he swung his great head back to Max.

"Max... All of those demons, those shadows... They were the only ones fighting, right?"

He knew what he was fishing for and hoped he'd get a decent answer out of her. He was curious to know if she'd seen the kings. He half hoped she hadn't for some selfish reason.

[crimson92]

"All of the ones attacking you were shadows, yes. However, whatever was attacking them back wasn't just you," she answered, drawing a circle in the dirt with a sturdy stick, following it up with a smaller circle on the inside and then one more after that, finishing it with a triangle that almost looked like an arrow pointing north, "I don't know what else was out there, but I could feel other energies, not just yours, but it was somehow connected to yours. Don't really know how to explain it...but I know for sure that I couldn't see what else was out there, which is kind of weird, but anyway."

She stopped and kneeled on the ground, putting one hand between the space of two of the circles and then raised her other hand over it. Her eyes started to glow a dark orange color, the aura spreading over her body and through her hands, a stream of it coming from both of her palms and straight into the triangle. The triangle began to glow and, surprisingly, it began to spin, slowly at first and then rapidly as if confused on where it should stop. After a moment, it began to slow down and then stopped with a sudden force, pointing northwest. Max cut the power and the triangle stopped glowing, becoming just a shape in the ground once again. Standing up and skidding her feat to get rid of the 'compass' she had created, she began her walk in that direction.

"Come on, the only thing we can use the rest of the light from today for is finding somewhere safe to sleep and there's probably a cave up ahead in this direction," she said, stopping to let Eli slither is way up to her shoulder and then around her neck, "You need to rest, Vesper. We all do and we need to do it somewhere that isn't so out in the open. We're still in danger, even though we can't feel its presence anymore; we can continue with your journey tomorrow and get to where you need to be before we waste too much time."

As Max began to lead them to their safe haven, Sparks hung back with Vesper and smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and buried her face in the side of his head, giggling a little as his fur tickled her skin.

"You did good today," she said gently, kissing the side of his head, "I told you Max was a good teacher. You should really learn to trust me more."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper's ears pricked at her comment and he let out a rumbling chuckle.

"I trust you plenty Angel. I just have a hard head sometimes."

Vesper chuckled and continued walking with the trio in silence for a while. He didn't mind the quiet though. His mind was wandering back to what had happened in the clearing. A cold excitement filled him when he thought of how something had just snapped and he'd found control. He felt like he was the most powerful being there once the Kings had joined him. It was as if they all shared the power each of the possessed. As if it were all in one big pool and they each dipped into it as needed. It filled him with a satisfaction. But he wasn't foolish enough to look forward to fighting with "Max" again. Even his pride allotted him the acknowledgement of her being much more powerful than he. And much more cunning. If he learned half of what she taught him, he'd certainly be one of the best kings to have reigned over the King's Men.

Easy there. Don't go getting all high and mighty boy. You've still got a lot to learn.

Vesper softly snorted at Tafe's voice in his head and twitched an ear. Earlier on the beach flashed back to his head. Armi's cocky face painted his vision and he unconsciously growled. He realized what he'd done when Sparks shot him a confused and slightly alarmed look. He quickly apologized and frowned. Max's voice rang in his ears and he jerked his head up. He supposed he didn't need to put his hand on Armi like that, but with the way the King's Men worked...

You have to prove yourself. These men only listen to someone they KNOW can protect and fight with them. The only thing I could see wrong with what you did on the beach was your rashness.

Vesper sighed.

Tafe, they don't see it that way. I could tell. They believe in peace first... then violence only if needed. And Max, she was just being sensible.

I can perhaps see where she's coming from. But the fact of the matter is, once they respect you and know you are worthy, you won't have to use violence at all. You must get there first though, and to do that you have to prove yourself.

Vesper silently sighed in agreement and focused on Max's back, feeling Sparks' hand entwined in his fur. A sudden thought hit him and he lifted his head higher.

"Max... when you said earlier that there are those out there that hunt for powerful beings... What exactly did you mean? Am I going to have to constantly watch out for them? I don't quite understand."

He took a breath and turned to Sparks smiling at her.

[crimson92]

"I mean that there are those that hunt for the powerful magic wielders of this world in order to harness their powers for their own benefit, either by taking the powers themselves or making the beings their slaves, and yes, you will have to watch out for them although not as much as Sparks and I do," Max answered, continuing on their path to shelter as she jumped over fallen trees and strange, large plants, "You are considered a powerful being, Vesper, but since you are a King, hopefully one that the people will want to protect and follow, you will have guardians there to protect you from what I just simply call The Hunters. I'll even go so far as to say that the Hunters won't even want to touch you since it'll seem like a lost cause unless they get you by yourself. Someone like me, on the other hand, or Sparks, will have a harder time since we are not of royalty nor do we have protection except from our own two hands. A lot of Hunters are amateurs and don't exactly know how to find magic wielders, but then there are those that have been doing it for years and can pinpoint one by their aura."

Stopping just before what looked like a rock hidden among other rocks and covered by shrubbery, Max reached forward and pulled back some of the green, revealing an opening in the rock; a cave. She smiled and beckoned everybody inside before stepping in herself and letting the green plants fall back into place. She set about creating black magic symbols that were to act as shields to guard them from any sense of harm or danger that was out there, trying to get them. She turned back to her friends and looked at them, smiling at Sparks and Vesper as the two stood close to each other.

"Don't worry about it so much. It looks like there is a Hunter on this island, but he's hiding right now and he doesn't want you...he wants me," she told them, peaking out from the shrubbery for anything strange, "And possibly Sparks, but...I think she would be just an added bonus."

She turned back to Vesper, golden green eyes flashing in the darkness of the cave, "Why the sudden question? Do you think there's something after you?"

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper forced himself into his human form and shook his head slowly.

"I just wondered. Thank you."

He took a breath and shifted to look behind him. He felt a strange presence that wasn't supposed to be there and it left him feeling uneasy until Tafe materialized. He smiled and casually threw an arm over Sparks' shoulders, not realizing the clouds gathering over the already darkened sky. Tafe stepped forward to address the group with a slight bow. He and Vesper exchanged a look before he took yet another step.

"Well, settling in now I see."

Vesper nodded and silence fell for a little while before he frowned at the old king.

"Will Rajus be joining us when we reach the capital, Tafe?"

A strange, shot look echoed in Tafe's eyes and instead of talking, he softly nodded. He became quiet and Vesper stiffly nodded as if to end the conversation. Too much pain he supposed.

"So... what now Max?"

[crimson92]

"Now you rest," she answered, casting a glance at the other king before approaching Vesper and pulling down on the collar of his shirt to reveal crescent shaped indentations on his skin, a few of them having actually broken the skin and drawing blood, "You need to let these heal for now before we do anything else. I'm sure Sparks will take care of you."

She let out a chuckle and dodged one of Sparks' lightening bolts before she made her way to the entrance to the cave, "As for me, I'm going to go scout around for a little while. Something doesn't feel right and I want to make sure that the spells I cast on this place will actually hold."

With that, and Eli around her shoulders, Max disappeared into the night, leaving Sparks and Vesper to themselves. Sparks looked at him and then at the ground bashfully; this was the first time they were truly alone since the kiss on the beach...well...sort of alone. She glanced at Tafe and then turned to sit against the wall of the cave, leaning her head against the cave wall.

[❖Amani❖]

Tafe simply looked away, something amiss on his face, and disappeared. Veseper heaved a sigh.

"Well. There goes Tafe and there went Max."

Awkward silence fell on them and Vesper settled himself down beside Sparks. It was quiet for a long time until Vesper softly spoke. He stared out at the entrance of the cave and a steady rain could be heard, building up.

"I wonder if... I wonder if my father even misses me..."

He frowned and drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on the top of one. He sighed heavily.

"I'd be hard pressed to say I even remotely thought he did..."

Vesper's mind whirled and he thought of Rajus and Tafe. He didn't want to end up with a relationship similiar to that. Granted he hadn't, and wouldn't, try to kill his father... But still.

[crimson92]

Sparks looked over at the young man and smiled gently, laying a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm certain he does miss you," she replied, watching the leaves and shrubbery begin to move as rain pelted down on them, "Your mother too; I'm as sure as I'm breathing that they both miss you terribly. They love you too much to not miss you...they must be worried sick about where you are, angry that you left, and probably confused as to why."

They both fell silent again, Sparks mindlessly encouraging electricity into her hand and then using it as a source of entertainment, twirling it here and there with her finger, watching as the light went from white to blue to red to green and back again.

"Tell me about King Rajus and King Tafe," she said, braking the silence once again, "I'm slowly having my questions answered and that's one of them."

[❖Amani❖]

Vesper gave a wry grin. He looked over to Sparks who was playing with electricity in the palm of her hand.

"Heh! It's a long story... Kind of complicated."

He leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling as he talked, his eyes taking on an emerald glow.

"When Rajus was a young boy, he lived with his mother and the man he called father, Malki. Malki was General over the entire Agasian Army and assistant to the King, so he had a cushy life. Rajus was brought up in Agasian royalty and nobility when the first mentions of Annaleian rebellion were rising up. General Malki was naturally summoned by the King and sent out to Annalei with his troops in order to help suppress the rebellion which the King's Men were aiding. However, the night before his departure, he was spending time with his family when there was an attack upon his house. The King's Men had brazenly swarmed Malki's house and, led by Tafe, left Malki for dead and took Rajus. For nearly a year Tafe held Rajus captive, trying desperately to teach him the ways of the King's Men. But Rajus wanted to hear none of it; he had only hate for Tafe for stealing him from his family, father and destiny to take the place of Malki as General one day. So when the chance arose to get even and escape Tafe, Rajus took it."

Vesper sighed and stretched out, eyes tuning a dark smokey gray.

"Tafe took Rajus with him to the signing of the treaty between Annalei and Agasia, knowing well enough that the boy could easily be recognized with a little prompting. Knowing that Rajus hated him enough to have him exposed. And when they got there he told Rajus, 'I'm setting you free. If you want to go then go. I won't stop you any longer. Just make sure that I'm gone before you bring light to who you are.' And Rajus, knowing he wouldn't ever get another chance like this to get back to his father Malki, agreed. He quickly departed from Tafe as soon as they docked and they went their seperate ways, Tafe to the meeting to stand by Annalei's new Governor and Rajus to find someone who would listen to him."

Vesper looked over at Sparks and ran a hand through her newest shape, cringing ever so slightly at the small shock.

"And find someone who'd listen to him he did. Rajus had no trouble locating a young ambitious officer and telling him where Tafe was. Together they crashed the signing and in the chaos Tafe nearly got away. But he only succeeded in entangling himself in a scuffle with three of the other officers. In this struggle he dropped something that Rajus found and immediately investigated. It was a letter from Rajus' mother explaining she understood why Tafe had taken Rajus and that she wouldn't pursue him. That Tafe's brother, Malki, had survived but hadn't managed to successfully track him down yet. She ended the letter by apologizing for what had happened and a soft plea to 'Please take care of Rajus... He is your son too. I'm sorry about what happened between us. But I'm not sorry I got my son out of it.' By the time it hit Rajus what had happened, it was too late. He realized the truth but was powerless to do anything about it. He tried though. He saw Tafe managing to slip away from the three officers and he thought the man was nearly free. It didn't matter at the moment what was going to happen after this. It only mattered that he should get away."

Vesper ground his teeth and momentarily looked outside.

"But the young officer Rajus had procured to join him in taking Tafe out, had noticed him getting away as well and had a gun trained on him. He took a breath and pulled the trigger, but Rajus had already seen it coming and as he tackled Tafe and they fell to the ground, the bullet grazed his cheek. Rajus thought he'd done the right thing, that he'd saved the man's life, but one of the officers Tafe had been fighting with managed to sink his sword into the King. Rajus barely comprehended what was going on until he felt himself being dragged away. When he came too it was too late. Tafe was finally dead and the chaos in the room was overwhelming. Rajus wrenched himself away from the young man who thought he was helping, and threw himself over Tafe's body, sobbing. Later, after he left and was settled in on Tafe's flagship which was heading back to the Capital, he lamented over what he'd done. In the end, he'd killed his real father blinded by principles and teachings of his false father. But what really got him was that his mother and Malki could just lie to him like that. He wasn't angry at Tafe. He tried fruitlessly to sort through the crazy emotions he felt running through him, but he couldn't. The only thing he knew was that the ring in his pocket was now his future. And in time Rajus gained full control over the King's Men. Rather quickly actually. But he was never the same again. The guilt of Tafe's death had turned him hard to the world and sharp tongued. My own father was the only one to TRULY get close to Rajus and then myself. He told me this story one night when we were in hiding at Gunther's... Not even his most trusted advisor ever knew it was him who was responsible for Tafe's death. They all assumed it was someone random who'd tipped them off and Rajus was innocently caught in the commotion and after seeing what happened, decided to align himself with the King's Men. Even to this very moment, not even Rofus knows. You're the only soul I've shared this with. I don't think Rajus would mind."

Vesper softly stood and stretched. He quickly dropped his arms again, his body protesting the action. His sides hurt and the area around his collarbone where the fake "Sparks" had bitten in the fight was a little sore. He sighed. Somehow reciting Rajus and Tafe's story had quieted him.

"I can't even imagine what he went through."

[crimson92]

"I think it's best if we just don't try to imagine it," Sparks commented, her eyes focusing on the light in her hands, "Unless the circumstances are the same, I think it's just best that we leave it as it is and understand that it's not something for us to bring up or use for leverage."

She stared at the shapes she mindlessly created in the air, her next image becoming three people: two tall figures and a smaller one. She gave a bittersweet smile.

"Sometimes I wonder, though, if I had done something like that, too," she confessed quietly, biting her lower lip, "I mean, I don't believe the situation is the same because I don't remember, but...sometimes I find myself wondering if I...maybe...killed my parents."

She cut her hand through the images, watching as the two taller figures suddenly collapsed and left the smaller figure behind to cry for the loss. Grimacing, she closed her hands around the light and watched it disappear, leaving them in the dark with nothing but the rain outside to give them noise.

"They're strange thoughts," she continued, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, "but I can't help but think them. I don't remember my past. The only thing I can remember is waking up cold and lonely in a dark, scary forest with this...strange hair...and these powers. No one knows who I am, no one knows what I am...I just exist."

She laid her head on her arms, "But maybe that's a good thing. Maybe I did something terrible and was forced to forget...I don't know, maybe I never had parents to begin with."