Wither of Thornes

Chapter 3: illusional visions

~When getting to the 3rd and 4th chapters, that's usually when the ideas for action and adventure start kicking in. So I had a lot of ideas for this chapter, but it'll get more intense in the upcoming chapters. Hope you guys are liking it so far!~                                                                              —TazTree

Kings have a natural loud voice. They usually don't need to speak so loudly to announce something or express their emotions. But the King today yelled the loudest the people in the castle ever heard.

"WHAT?" the King bellowed.

The guard gulped. "Marvin Graydown, your M-Majesty."

"How? HOW? THE GRAYDOWNS SHOULD NOT BE ALIVE NOW! EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM CEASE TO EXIST!" 

Arine winced at the words. It seemed like a huge threat to feel the need for a whole generation of people to die. 

Arine looked around the room. Everyone else looked stung by the name 'Graydown' and the King's loud voice. 

The King then took a few seconds to compose and calm himself. He squared his bony shoulders. "Where is this Graydown? Have you tried to find him?"

The guard bit his lip. "You see...the thing is that only certain people can find him." 

The King raised an angry eyebrow.

"His ma-uh, specialty makes him visible to some." 

The King was silent for a long while. The guard was starting to shake, and so were Arine's legs. The King sighed and muttered "Nothing is special about them." 

He ordered everyone to go back to their rooms and the workers to get back to their jobs. The King walked to Erik, whispered something, and left. Everyone proceeded to exit the room except Arine and Erik. Erik turned towards Arine. "Aren't you going back to your room?"

"I-uh-I actually wanted to talk to you." Arine said nervously. With all the news they heard, Arine wasn't sure if Erik would talk to her, much less the topic being about what they all learned.

"What honor do I have to get your attention?" Erik teased.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about the Graydowns."

Erik's pleasant smile faded away. "Oh. Them."

"Yes. Them." Arine repeated.

Erik's mouth turned to a tight line. "Come then. Let's sit."

Arine followed Erik as they reached the empty dining room.

"Why here?" Arine asked.

"There's a table and chairs for 2, right?" Erik replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"More of chairs for 20 but understood."

They both sat down on one of the seats and faced each other.

"So what do you want to know?" he asked, picking at the cuffs of his yellow and blue pressed noble outfit.

"Why does father depise the Graydowns so much?" Arine questioned.

"They are a family of dark magic," Erik started. "Well, the magic they had wasn't bad, it was the way they used it. Have you—" he looked at Arine's sharp green eyes. "Read the HISTORY OF SEASONS?"

Arine nodded. "I saw it in the library. It said that there are families with so much power that they could change the seasons into anything. And it also said that the Graydowns were gone from this world."