“I… really?” Carbel was at a loss for words, he could not believe that the statement had just been spoken. “Grandmother….I must be truthful….as deep down within my very soul do I hate my brother, at one point in my life, when I was a child much older than he, I loved him, it was a fleeting feeling, lasting until the night of his 17th birthday, he didn’t know who I was, for father had kept him away long enough for him to grow up not remembering. I was taken to his bedchambers, to give him his birthday gift. He did not recognize my face, even as he stared into my eyes once he’d fully placed himself inside me. We made love for hours...he came so many times my stomach was filled with his essence. All I’d wanted in that time was for him to realize who I was..and embrace me closer...he did not. "
"He stood up, and left the bed once he heard mother enter the castle. Mother was distracted that day...but all I know is that he killed her, why he killed her I intend to uncover. But from what I could see, my brother enjoyed my body, but he was after the heart of someone else, I was young and foolish then, to think that a heartless bastard such as he would ever feel anything for anyone other than himself." The younger Omega sat up, a deep frown on his face.
Vivluna reached over to pet his hair, “I understand beloved grandchild, worry not over the past, for the future rests and grows within your belly. That child will need all the love and care you can offer. Nurture him, turn him into a man and show him that this world is nothing but lies until one carves their own path through it.”
“For from your own flesh will be born a love truer than any in all the world of mortals...equal to none, never forget that, beloved grandchild.” Vivluna said this, smiling brightly at his grandson.
Carbel smiled warmly at his grandparent, “Thank you grandmother, I must depart back to the surface, my bastard of a half-brother will not plan his own demise. He’s being crowned as King after he goes questing for some sword with the Vampswill known as Jirai. It will be a long quest, or so Jirai will surely tell me once I make contact with him. He lied to me about being a Vampswill you know? When he discovered I too was a Vampswill, he quickly ceased trying to kill me. Such a wanker, anyhow, I leave you now my lovely”
Carbel bid his oracle grandmother goodbye before he made his way back up the long staircase that led to the portal to the surface world.
The Ship Of The Dead, with it’s black sails that bore blood red clouds on each, set sail once more. This time Carbel had no desire to speak to anyone, his grandparent had succeeded in his part of the younger Omega's plans. He rubbed his still flat stomach, it would be another 7 months before he gave birth to his child. He was eagerly awaiting that day, for the next 16 years after that he would be raising his son to take Carbel’s long suffering revenge for him.
Carbel stood on the bow of the ship, watching as the sirens sang their songs, unaffected thanks to his powerful blood born magics. His long india ink black curly, wavy black hair was left to hang loose, it flowed across his shoulders and face into the wind that blew from the east. His pink eyes were painted red with a flare of dark green on the edges in a fashion similar to his grandmother, an eye painting tin nestled inside his kimono. He was dressed a in dark red kimono, the dark green sash tied around him in a female fashion. The kimono had black swirling patterns across it, the robe beneath it was a dark green.
The green robe’s overlong sleeves hung over his hands. His gaze was crimson, the symbol of the Diure Clan, an upside down demon skull, rested on the left breast of his kimono, the symbol was also tattooed on his shoulders and back. He was not his father’s son in any way shape or design. The Stormheart symbol, a sword with a dragon wrapped around it. He knew this because it was the same crest his father had all over everything of importance that he owned, and the castle itself.
The sirens were see through and glowed different colors, one was yellow, one was pink and the final one was blue. He’d noticed this as the sirens song began to crash it’s waves closer and closer to where he stood. The sirens floated around the ship, glaring at him, he glared back.
“Begone from my sight harlots.” he growled and the sirens dispersed back to the other end off the ship with an angry huff from each of them. Carbel stared blankly out into the shadows of the sea. He enjoyed the calm and the quiet, his son rolled inside him before settling back down again. A smile covered the Omega’s face. It would really seem his baby enjoyed it as well. A moment later, he was vomiting over the side of the ship. “Best not relax until you are formed a bit more my love.” He rubbed his stomach affectionately once he finished speaking.
Months past and soon came the night he was preparing to give birth. The Vampswill Jirai had left him a note, telling him that his plot would be unraveled and that he’d informed Salthazar of the prophecy. Sal would order Carbel to give up his babe, upon Jirai’s return with the new king of Dirue.
The vampire prince spat fire on the note and watched it burn.
He’d been home in the tower for the past 5 months, doing research on Sakune and Shifumi. He discovered that they both lived on the Isle Of The Blessed. He would worry about them later however. He sat down in the large nest that he’d built, his mother had given birth to him in this tower and like all avian creatures he returned to the place he was born to give birth himself.
Gripping at the bedsheets covering and mingled with the downy feathers, the grasses, the tree branches, the leaves, sticks, twigs, moss and other soft padding. He pulled the bedsheet away and settled into the embrace of the nest itself. He’d stripped down naked curling up as the contractions began to rip through his body. Vivluna appeared, wiping the sweat from his brow, he gathered supplies to help him, but a powerful magic slammed the oracle into the farthest wall. Carbel, in between gritting his fangs as he struggled through the labor, screamed at the sight of this. His grandparent faded away, but not before calling out, “the babe’s name shall be Zillah!”
The note Jirai left was not burned away completely and it glowed with his power. Carbel snarled, he roared at the note, sweat dripping down his body, his legs spread he pushed with a strangled cry. He knew they would come to take his baby away from him, Jirai appeared just as soon as he felt Zillah crowning.
“You...were you not traveling with my brother?” he rasped, still caught in the throes of childbirth, he stared at Jirai through sweat drenched bangs, sticking to his face, breathing labored and heavy, contraction after contraction leaving him gripping at his own hand in pain. He felt the blood as it rushed from his vaginal opening, he could feel his sweet baby's head pushing through his stretching entrance. Carbel took a long moment to coax his baby's head free, his shoulders following. His Zillah's body was large and did not slide out so easily, he had to keep pushing. Panting he glared at Jirai through narrowed eyes, his voice was low and dangerous "what do you want with my baby, Jirai?".
“Taijit has fallen dead in the throne room. Salthazar is now king of Dirue, and as such he will quest for the sword when he has time to do so. He knows not where the child is, so he has ordered every child with magic to be sent to him across the sea.” Jirai spoke briefly, guards flooded through the chamber doors. Neither Jirai nor Salthazar knew that the child Carbel was currently giving birth to was the one destined to kill the King. All they knew was that Carbel was one of the number of Vampswill who were with child.
He pushed and pushed some more, the vampire spread his wings covering his body in an attempt to shield himself and his baby from their eyes. He bit into his bottom lip, fangs dragging across it until it burst into blood. Carbel let out a blood curling scream once he felt the silent guards break his delicate wingspan. The guards grabbed onto him, one gripping him from behind. Tears threatening to fall at the searing pain, he pushed onward.
The struggling Omega could only watch, too weakened to use his magic as all his power was being focused into birthing, as the soldiers used anti magic gloves to restrain the magic power of the newborn. They ripped his baby from him and headed to the door. Carbel slammed the back of his head into the face of the guard holding on to him, rushing toward the door as the man reeled back in pain.
He could go not a step more, for one of the guards sent their fist flying into his pale face. tears streaming down from the panic and distress in his eyes. Carbel let out a heart shattered wail the guards surrounded him, pushing him back, back across the room, down into the nest. several held up holy water soaked rags to his face, burning his flesh.
"No no no give him back! give me back my baby!!" he cried out, groaning in pain as the afterbirth flowed out. And as the pain from the holy water made his eyes roll back into his head.
The guards that held his wriggling newborn slammed the tower door shut and Carbel stared at the wood blankly, as if blaming it for allowing the men to rend his beloved from him.
Silent for what seemed an eternity, the vampire suddenly started again screaming for his child while the other guards held him down. Their heavy boots crushing into his milk laden chest...
The baby, his baby, his little Zillah, chose that moment to open his mouth and wail in misery at being torn from his mother's shaking hands. The guards carried the newly born baby to the docks, where all the other babies born that night were already being loaded onto tiny boats and packed into larger ships. Zillah was placed, still slimy and naked, onto one such tiny boat and set adrift with the thousands of other screaming infants. The mothers of each child left where they lay while giving life to their precious ones, left crying in heartbreak for King Salthazar had not sent for the babies to be brought to him, so that he might lock them in some kind of darkened tower and raise them all to be forces of good...
King Sal’s first act as king was to to set every child out to sea born on the night he knew the child that was his son though he knew nothing of who the mother was, would be brought into the world. One thousand babies were set to their deaths that night, screaming in agony as the storm crafted by Jirai wiped out every boat and sunk each of the ships.
Little Zillah however, freed from the anti magical barrier of the tiny boat he was on, grew a small tree from his back, which held him above the rush and roar of the deadly sea below. Eyes still closed, he tilted his head up to the moon light that shone down around him. His great grandmother's embrace from the underworld, his voice whispered to him, Zillah's crying quieted to happy gurgles, comforted by his presence around him, they muttered,
"Cry, cry if you wish to open your eyes to see your mother for the first time...cry if you wish to live, cry for me my handsome great grandchild, cry and be saved, I am always watching over you....I will keep you safe this night...cry! Cry and live for it is your destiny to live through this betrayal of your father to you. Cry!"
When Vivluna's voice faded, he cried like he'd hadn't cried in all his 20 minutes of life. Soon enough a fisherman heard his cries, and plucking him from the protective branches of his self made tree fortress, the fisherman vanished into the night, cleaning the child and wrapping him in warmth and comfort...
Comments (0)
See all