Markus
Markus’ head felt light for a long time before he began to feel normal again. When they neared a town, he decided to risk a slower recovery and yanked open the carriage door to climb in, acknowledging Wilhelm and his peeved look before he took the seat across from him. He slumped in his seat to stay out of view of the window as they passed through the town, staring at the floor with a blank look as he focused on keeping his thoughts separated from others.
“Are you afraid of them?” Wilhelm asked him after a short while of watching him.
“No.”
“Then why are you cowering under the window like a child?”
Markus frowned and lifted himself in his seat to sit correctly, squaring his shoulders and straightening his back. “There are too many of them. I can’t keep them out of my head if they all put their attention on me. If they don't see me, they can't focus on me.”
Wilhelm let out a short noise of laughter. “Y-you’re joking, right?” Markus shook his head and Wilhelm’s smile fell off his face. “You can’t be serious.” Markus nodded with a small frown and Wilhelm snorted as he looked back down to his notes. “Good God. I heard you were untrained, but, really. How pathetic that you don’t know even the most basic of skills.”
Markus perked up a little. “Is it hard to learn?”
“As long as you have a lick of sense to you, no, it isn’t.” Wilhelm flipped his page then, pursing his lips in thought.
Markus nodded to himself before he tried to offer Wilhelm a polite smile, the feeling foreign on his lips. “Perhaps you can teach me?”
“Perhaps I’m not interested.”
Markus frowned. “I would compensate you.”
“There’s is nothing you have to offer that I want.”
Markus frowned, sullen.
A long few minutes passed between them before Wilhelm spoke again. “I wasn’t aware that you nearly died. What happened?”
Markus inwardly winced at the memory. “I ran into a rock.”
“And that...almost killed you?” Wilhelm asked skeptically, his gaze still on his papers.
“I was running fast,” Markus stated. “It was a very big, hard rock.” Though, it wasn’t so much after Markus collided with it.
“I see...and, tell me, was your head injured at all at the time?”
“No...just my chest...and my hips...and my back.” He rolled his shoulder until he felt the pang of pain in one of the several areas the healers had had difficulty addressing. The benefit of vulnerability was that it was not easy for him to be injured, but the downside was that it was not easy for him to be healed. He would push through the pain and stiffness, though. If he didn’t, he might be invalid - and then Alexandros would certainly try and seize the opportunity to usurp him.
And a prince that had no use to his kingdom...was not a prince that was kept long.
“How interestingly. Judging by the things that come out of your mouth, I would have thought there would have been at least some damage to the head. Severe damage.”
“I have frequently taken blows to the head,” Markus confirmed. “It is my Aunt’s favorite target during practice.” They actually made a game of how many things they could bounce off of his head before he recovered from whatever blow they struck to knock him off his feet. The record was sixteen, held after one of them throat punched him hard enough that his throat had nearly been broken. It was one of few injuries that his father didn't know about, as his Aunts hadn't let on about it and Markus knew it would have been the one that saw his Father finally forbid him from leaving the palace without him, as his aunts wouldn't dare to strike Markus in front of his father.
“There we have it. Severe head damage. Why am I not surprised?” Wilhelm said with a little chuckle. When Markus nodded in agreement, the other prince growled. “This isn’t as fun as I was hoping for.”
Markus continued to nod. “There is little fun to be had here. This is a very solemn task. If we make positive identifications, then we could be at war.”
“I’m not talking about that.” Wilhelm said in an annoyed tone.
Markus frowned. “The ride, then?” Were they supposed to be fun? Traveling was never fun for Markus, but it was a necessity.
“Yes Markus,” Wilhelm said in that certain tone of his, hard and forced and slower. “The ride.” Wilhelm rolled his eyes and glared out the window to proceed to ignore Markus for some time. Once they cleared the town, they began to travel through another one of the numerous valleys and its rolling hills, dotted with settlements and people. “Your land...seems pristine. How lucky you are that it remained untouched by the war.”
“Was Penemue badly damaged?”
“Yes...terribly so.” Wilhelm said quietly, frowning. “We didn’t have shields like you did...like you still do.”
“The obelisk.” Markus stated.
Wilhelm’s gaze jumped to him. “Yes. The obelisk.” He shifted in his seat to face him better. “Tell me...what do you know about it?”
“It provides a shield from outside influences, preventing all manner of things from entering our kingdom from the eastern seas, thus preventing entry to our kingdom other than cross the mountains that surround us.” He frowned in thought. “The obelisk has also been there on the island before we moved down from the mountaintop where our kingdom originated.”
“Yes, I heard the obelisk was built by the kingdom that previously occupied these valleys - I just haven’t quite been able to determine which one.”
Markus frowned. “Why do you want to know that?”
“Why do you think?” Wilhelm asked sharply. “Someone built a structure capable of protecting an entire kingdom, a structure that has stood the tests of time, survived the violent attacks of any and all. To have such a structure would be an amazing asset to my kingdom.”
“It’s actually three structures,” Markus said then, Wilhelm cocking his head in his direction with a bright look in his eye. He was interested. “There are three obelisks that work together to form the shield...most people only ever remember the one on the island, though, as it is the most visible. That is the central obelisk.”
“....Where are the other two?”
“In the mountains on either side of the coast - on the eastern side of Lackland,” Or Mytikas, the mountain that separates them from Penemue, “And on the western side of Bakhu.” The mountain that separates them from Azazel, the desert kingdom that stayed out of all wars due to their utter lack of worth. No one bothered with the kingdom with no resources and a family with no great gifts. Being able to speak and hear any language truly was agreed by all to be the most useless of all the gifts.
Wilhelm seemed to think about this. “Thank you, Markus.”
Markus nodded. “I could show you them.” Markus offered. Wilhelm nodded with a pleased look, his gaze drifting to the views outside. “For a price.” Wilhelm’s eyes narrowed as he returned his gaze to him. “Teach me to keep from hearing the thoughts of others.”
The other prince scowled. “I’m sorry to say I can’t teach it,” He said, not sounding sorry at all, “It takes a master to be able to successfully guide one to that skill, and there aren’t any that I know of. My own master died just recently. I am only capable of turning off your ability, so unless you want me to-”
“Yes.” Markus said firmly.
Wilhelm stilled. “Yes? You’d...you would want me to...make it all go away? No more being able to read minds?”
“I wasn’t aware that was a possibility.”
Wilhelm sat back in his seat, blinking at him. He was clearly taken aback. “It is...but most wouldn’t want to. To turn off your gift would be like...tying a hand behind your back. Both, even.”
“Or finally freeing said hands. Not all gifts are good ones.” Markus said quietly.
The other prince eyed him for a long moment before he nodded sagely. “I actually understand what you mean.” Wilhelm said with a little frown, his gaze jumping down briefly before he sucked in a breath and squared his shoulder. He then fixed Markus with a hard look. “Are you sure you wish to do this?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Really? It’s easier to turn it off than to turn it back on. The binding must fade on its own.”
“I wouldn’t want it back or to fade. I’d never want it back.”
“Well, the binding will fade after some years, but maybe you’ll want it back then-”
“Not likely-”
“It’s rude to interrupt!” Wilhelm snapped, Markus’s lips tightening. The other prince huffed and ran a hand down his coat, smoothing invisible creases. “I will do this for you, but you will show me the other obelisks first. Deal?”
“Deal.” Markus said firmly and Wilhelm sat back with a pleased look. “Will it hurt?”
“No.” Wilhelm chuckled dryly. “You’ll be put into a deep sleep, deeper than any sleep you’ve ever had. It will let your mind rest. When you wake up, you will no longer be able to hear the thoughts of others.”
Markus nodded. That didn’t sound bad at all. “Will I dream when I sleep?”
Wilhelm quirked a brow at him. “Do you usually dream when you sleep?”
Markus nodded. “I always dream the same dream…maybe in this deep sleep I’ll be able to get to the bottom of it.”
“Maybe...” Wilhelm said in a distracted tone. A long pause before a suspicious “What do you dream?”
Markus stared at him. “I don’t know. When I saw you yesterday at the table, I thought I dreamt of you.” Wilhelm gave him a funny look, a little grossed out. “But I don’t think so anymore. Someone that dresses like you, maybe. Different face. Different eyes.”
Wilhelm tilted his head back. “What color eyes?”
Markus shrugged. “I usually only dream of his back. He has a similar back to you, similar hair color. Gloved hands, but I know the eyes were not like yours. I just...do.” He finished lamely.
Wilhelm nodded a little. “If it’s the same dream, you might be having a premonition.” His lips turned slightly in a little sneer. “Do you know what that is?”
Markus nodded slowly as he remembered what he had been told about them. “It’s when you dream of things that have yet to come.”
“Yes. Very good.” Wilhelm said, Markus almost smiling at the compliment. “All mentalists have a touch of it, but most don’t experience it unless they are experiencing extreme distress. Do you feel like you are under extreme distress on a nightly basis?”
Markus shook his head. He just felt normal.
“Then maybe that’s not it.” He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin up at Markus, considering him. “Wasn’t my uncle your Godfather?”
The top of Markus’s head hurt briefly before he nodded.
Wilhelm pursed his lips. “Perhaps it is him, then. He would have dressed like me...looked a little bit like me, even. He would have different eyes - he was of the house of Abel, I am of the house of Aden. All in Abel’s house had eyes the color of honey. You’ve met my Grandfather?” He asked blandly. Markus nodded. “Do you remember his eyes?”
Markus thought about that before he nodded slowly. Sharp, critical, cold - but the color of dark honey.
“Do those eyes seem more familiar? Your Godfather’s eyes would look just like that.”
Markus frowned. “Yes...maybe.”
“Then it is likely your Godfather.” Wilhelm decided.
An unsettled feeling began to develop in Markus’s gut and his head began to hurt more intensely. He reached up to rub at the spot with the heel of his hand as he tried hard to remembered his Godfather. He couldn’t, however.
Wilhelm did not miss his movements. “You do know how he died, don’t you?” Markus stilled, his eyes wide as he stared at Wilhelm. “He had a chandelier dropped on the top of his head, split his skull in half.”
The pain in Markus’ head grew, going down the center of his face like a lightning bolt, a tear in a piece of fabric. His stomach soured.
“If I were a betting man,” Wilhelm started, “I’d say it was exactly where you hurt. Does it hurt there often?”
“Only when I wake up. After the dream. Sometimes when I...when I try to think about him. When I try to remember him.” He had never really connected the two things until just now.
Wilhelm nodded slowly with a smug look and seemed to think to himself for a while, frowning when he turned to look out the window.
“What was he like?” Markus asked after a while. He swallowed before he choked out “My Godfather. What was he like?”
The other huffed. “I don’t know. I never met him.” Wilhelm said under his breath with a conflicted look. “You’d have to ask your aunt Cydonia. She was his fiance. She would have known him best.”
“She won’t speak of him.”
“Well...I don’t know what to tell you, Markus.” The other prince said irritably, “The only things I’ve heard about him were unpleasant. Heartless, cruelly ambitious, cold-” At Markus’ distraught expression, Wilhelm hesitated. “But...I heard he loved you as much as he was capable of loving anyone.” Markus lifted his gaze to him. “If you are dreaming of him, then he must be trying to reach out to you.”
“Then why is his back always turned to me in my dreams?”
“Well...maybe he knows you don’t like people in your head and is trying to be respectful of that.” Wilhelm offered with an uncomfortable look. “I’m sure the last thing he would ever want to do is harm you. Godparents are very protective of their Godchildren and visa versa, I hear.” He added.
“Do you have one?”
“No,” Wilhelm scoffed. “For whatever reason, Grandfather didn’t want that for me, which is good. I can’t imagine being under someone’s thumb like that.” He shuddered. “I’ll never be bound down to someone like that.” He said flatly.
“Expect when you and I form our Covenant,” Markus said then. “We’ll be bound then.”
Wilhelm gave him a long blank look. “Right. That.” He turned a little in his seat. “Do you know what that will entail for us, Markus?”
“It means you and I, as well all of our descendants, will gain an additional blessing on top of the two we have already been bestowed,” Markus said, parroting word for word what his father had told him. “The third Covenant of Houses, Regeneration, will give us and our descendants the ability to heal near instantly from any wound other than complete decapitation.” How Markus longed for this, more so now than ever, with his chest still stinging and head hurting as it was after his dive.
Wilhelm nodded dully. “It also means you and I will be bound together for the rest of eternity, Markus, forever having profound influence over each other and never able to free ourselves from the other. In the afterlife, in the next life, in whatever form we take, our souls will be bound together irrevocably forever and ever until the end of time...and then beyond that.” Wilhelm said grimly. “Is that really something you want?”
Markus suddenly looked unsure.
So Wilhelm continued. “The Covenant of Guidance is what you share with your Godfather and he shares with you. Your soul is tethered to his and visa versa for eternity, but the bond is less profound than the one we will share when we make the Covenant of Houses. When he died, you felt it just as if you were wounded yourself. If I were were to die after making the covenant of houses? You would die as well. My pain would be your pain, my sorrow yours. But even more importantly, I could make you do whatever I want, and you’d have no choice.”
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