Dill’s POV:

“Well that sure was something.” Pheles says once the door has closed behind his mother.

“That’s one way of putting it.” I write across my page and he laughs a little, seeming a bit calmer now that his mother has left.

I on the other hand, am a ball of nerves and twitching muscles. Barely able to believe what we both just heard. 

A life debt. I think a bit ruefully. Of course that’s what we have, of course that's something that would happen to me. Have I mentioned how much this world hates me?

The urge to say something, well write something, is overwhelming. I want to talk about it, to ask what it means beyond the fact that he can tell me to go die at any moment, and I’ll just have to do it. I feel like all my freedom has been stripped away from me. Swept away like water dissolving footprints on a sandy beach. I feel torn. 

The silence spreads across the room like smoke and after a moment the prince moves to sit beside me on the plush couch. He opens his mouth then closes it a few times, as if he also has something he wants to say, but doesn’t quite know how to. 

The atmosphere grows increasingly awkward until it reaches a point that it becomes almost tangible. It becomes too much. At last I grab for my paper intending to write the first thing that comes to mind, if only to clear the room of it’s suffocating air, but I never get to. The door to my room flies open just as the point of the quill touches the blank page and a small blonde girl comes barely through the doorway.

“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop them.” Clementine says in a rush, her face showing a deep level of panic that immediately makes my heart jump into my throat.

I know exactly who she means when she says that and I leap to my feet in order to join her where she stands in the center of the room, not caring that I leave a startled and very confused Pheles alone on the couch. My skin is buzzing with nervous energy and my blood is pounding in my ears.

I was supposed to have more time. The thought jumps into my head and I shake it away, knowing full well that it doesn’t matter when they come, only what happens when they do. For the briefest moment I consider asking Pheles to leave or maybe even for help, but I never get the chance.

People begin bursting into the room in waves, all twelve of them breaking through the doorway in a descending order of age. Almost as if my siblings had coordinated the orders in which they would enter my room before they left their own. Knowing the five oldest, they probably had, though it’s hard to believe that the rest would have gone along with it.

First is Samuel, the only sibling I am not related to.

Then Vira followed closely by my parents' first set of twins, Kasandra and Sandra.

Fifth comes Dominic and so on and so forth, until they all pile into the room like a swarm of hateful wasps.

Ren, Timmothy, Boe, Creole. Finally there is a five second gap where Clementine should have gone, before Bran and the second set of twins, Bean and Brie, push their way into the now crowded room.

“Clementine.” Samuel slurs icily upon seeing her and I can tell by his speech and the slight sway of his stance that he is drunk. Well that explains the early arrival.

I spare a quick glance over the rest of the crowd and notice that Vira, Sandra, Dominic, and Ren are also a bit tipsy. Kasandra luckily doesn’t drink anymore and I am thankful for it. This whole situation would have been much worse if she had dipped into the bottle, she was always the more violent type of drunk.

“Ever the doting sister. How dare you rush to the aid of this scum.” Samuel continues to slur. His voice holds no remorse for neither me nor Clementine and I can see a few of my siblings opening their mouths to defend us, but a sharp glare from Samuel shuts them up quickly.

His magic sweeps through the room like static and the hairs on my arms stands up on end. I don’t even need to look at him to know that he isn’t even attempting to reign it in. The room seems to stand still as the magic washes over us, the tension growing worse than it was when it was just the prince and I.

At last the silence is broken by Ren who finally seems to notice Pheles sitting dumbly on the couch. “Your Majesty.” Ren breathes out before dropping into a low bow.

At the mention of being in the presence of royalty, every eye in the room turns to focus on him and I see him stiffen a little at the attention.

“Please excuse our rudeness, your Royalness.” Vira says smoothly while following Ren’s example. “We were unaware that you were in the room.” She apologizes vehemently and soon the rest of the room is bowing and muttering apologies that range anywhere from “Please forgive us,” to “We will accept any punishment you deem fit.”

Pheles, for his part, looks only slightly ruffled to be caught in the middle of my family reunion.

“It is quite alright.” He says calmly before sweeping his hand around the room. “You may cease your bowing now.”

“Yes your majesty, thank you your majesty.” They say in a creepy sort of unison that just goes to show how deeply rooted the ideology to obey royalty has been embedded into them.

“Would one of you mind explaining what this is all about?” He asks and my eyes snap to his, pleadingly.

Please don’t. Just get up and leave. You don't have to get involved. I try to tell him with my eyes, but he just brushes off my pleas with a roll of his eyes.

“It is nothing of importance to your Lordship. It is merely a family matter.” Samuel says defiantly and despite the situation I almost crack a smile. Of course the family member who hates me the most would also be the most like me.

“Oh? Well then do proceed.” Pheles says and I bite my inner cheek. A feeling of betrayal raises unbidden in my gut. I know its not as if we are friends or even acquaintances, nor does he understand what he has just given his permission for, but that doesn’t make the feeling go away.

Damn the Gods! Stop being a dick and just leave! I beg again, but like before he ignores me. Fine, then watch for all I care. I shoot him an angry look. 

There's a good chance that the reason he doesn't seem interested in me is because he doesn’t understand what I am trying to tell him, but at the moment that doesn’t seem to matter.

“Samuel.” Clementine tries to cut in before anything can start, but Samuel doesn’t seem to care. He just swishes his hand at her and her jaw clamps shut.

“If you have a problem with what is about to happen you can stop me.” Sam says as Vira, Sandra, Kasandra, Dominic, and Ren come to stand behind him. “That is if you think you are capable of taking us all on.”

“Does anyone wish to test their power against us? Does anyone dare challenge us?” Vira asks the room at large and I can see the rest of my siblings squirm in place. I don’t hold it against them for not stepping forward, The six of them are intimidatingly strong when they stand together.

Timmothy surprises me however, by raising his voice and coming to my defense. He is usually one of the ones standing with them so him speaking up is entirely unheard of and the six look just as shocked as I do. “Come on guys. Don’t you think he's had enough?” His voice is soft and unsure under the piercing gazes of the others and when I look closer I can see him shaking.

“Are you going traitor on us? You dare take his side? You of all people?” Sandra demands angrily and the room crackles with her magic.

“I was just thinking…” Timmothy trails off as he speaks and he shuffles a bit more.

“You don’t think.” Kasandra mutters in the same voice as her twin.

“You shouldn’t do this.” Bean says finally and the siblings who like me start nodding along with him. The ones who don't however look enraged to be chastised by the youngest member of the family. 

“Is this a challenge Bean? Do you really think you stand a chance in hell of defeating us? Don't forget what happened last year.” Dominic snaps at him and Bean finches at the reminder.

“Don’t you dare drag Bean into this. He's a good kid and he doesn't deserve that shit from you lot. Just because you all lost your souls doesn't mean the rest of us have.” Creole growls and that's when the room truly erupts into chaos.

Everyone starts screaming at once until their voices blend into one cacophony of sounds. Pheles rises from where he still sits on the couch and joins in, but surprisingly no one even looks his way. The room is too full of energy for anyone to pay him even the slightest bit off attention. 

“That's it!” Samuel suddenly roars over the noise, his magic stretching out like fingers and squeezing the room into silence. “None of you stand a chance at stopping this. So shut the fuck up.” His tone is viscous and cuts me to the core, my breathing speeds up and I look around the room meeting each eye in turn.

Clementine seethes as she struggles against the lip locking spell Samuel put her under, her eyes burning a hole into the side of his head. Everyone else is in similar states of either rage or pity, all of it directed at me.

“What is happening?” Pheles takes the opportunity to jump into the conversation and all eyes turn to look at him. “I thought you said this was a family matter. Why do you all look like you are going to kill each other?”

“This is a family matter and we would appreciate you keeping your nose out of it.” Samuel finally brakes, turning his scorching rage on the prince.

“How dare you speak to me in such a way. I could have you arrested.” He growls back, eyes burning right back at Samuel and I get the fleeting impression that this was the first time he had been talked to in such a way.

“Frankly, I don’t care much. It wouldn’t matter anyway. Your father would side with us and a king is far more powerful than a prince.” Samuel tells him ruefully. “Now I think we have humored you long enough, so why don’t you just shut up and watch?” He finishes snidely and for the first time ever I truly realize the extent to which I am in trouble.

I always knew the king turned a blind eye to this, but I never considered that he might support it. Though now that I think about it, that would make sense.

“How dare you! Who do you think you are, you grotesquely obnoxious fop! You think my father would side with ingrates such as yourselves over his own flesh and-” A stream of profanities pours from Pheles’s mouth and I get the feeling he would have continued on forever if a piercing scream hadn't sliced through the air.