Cold Blood and Icy Hearts: Tale of Caine Conven (Discontinued)

Volume 2 Chapter 6: Requiem Cometh! Return Shadows!

Shortly after the scuffle with Brooke, Bunni and Noelle returned to the courtyard to find Zane standing there and looking off to the stars. Taking deep breaths, and smoke began to show up around him. The two knew this kind of phenomenon only happens when the man is angered beyond all reasoning, so they slowly approached him and sighed before standing on either side of him. Both taking one of his arms in theirs, they kissed his cheek and smiled.

Bunni: "Zane, my love...we have some news for you. A bit of a lead, in a way."

Noelle: "Would you like to hear it, dearest husband?"

Zane, sighing: "Not now, my loves. I want to think about what we all have gathered in terms of information."

The two women took a quick look at each other and took deep breaths. Noelle shook her head and turned Zane's head to make him look at her. She kissed his lips gently before pulling away and smiling.

Noelle: "Zaney~...does the name Ashley, often shortened to Ash, sound familiar to you?"

Zane shook his head and sighed before he looked off behind Noelle and realized something. A look of worry swiftly appeared on his face before he stood up and pulled his arms away from Noelle and Bunni. He didn't know what was calling him, but that name made him remember something he had seen in his father's old books. Quickly running to his bedroom, he grabbed a box from under the bed and opened it. Inside were a multitude of books...some bound in leather, others in the standard cardboard.

However, he took one out of the box, and it was special. It was a book that was a lot bigger than the others, the book itself seemed to be bound in flesh of other demons. The exterior was a multitude of textures...some parts were hairy, some smooth and leathery, and others were scaly. Definitely bound in the skin of demons. He flipped through the pages, before stopping on one very early passage in the diary. The passage read as follows:

'Dear Journal, today...we finally did what we needed to do in order to become the king. To start the day, the twins' caretaker Ashley was sent away to fetch something from them. However, not too long after, he was swiftly dispatched and knocked unconscious. With nothing else standing in my way, I snuck into the boys room and...did what I had to do to my poor brothers. Both Mangetsu and Akuma were swiftly dispatched and made to appear as if they killed each other. Nobody else knows it was me, however...Ashley has been side eyeing me today. Perhaps he believes he knows that I did what I did. Tomorrow, I shall pay him a visit and see how he feels about me killing my two older brothers. After all...a king must dispose of those who threaten his reign and the sanctity of his home, right?'

And there it was...just like that, the pieces began falling into place for him. He began to understand what the threat he faced was, and what he had to research in order to defeat them. However, he still had no idea what he needed to do in its entirety. Instead, he realized that he had others who had more information than he did. So, he rushed out of the room and back into the courtyard. When he was there, he found Bunni hunched over on the floor, crying as she shuddered and cried. As he got closer, Zane noticed she was bleeding.

Zane: "Bunni! Bun, what happened? Where's Noelle?"

Bunni: "They got her...they came after me and she fought them off. So, they took her. But, they told me to leave you a message for them. They said, the twin kings will rule as they intended hundreds of years ago. Zane, what's going on?"

Zane: "I don't know, entirely, Bunni. But, I do have an idea. It'll be easier to explain once we get back in the castle. Come, now."

He said before quickly pulling Bunni into the castle, a worried look appearing on his face, before he stopped in the throne room, and sighed. Looking at Bunni, he opened the book and flipped to the page of the diary that he read before. As she read it, she began realizing what was going on. She turned to face him, and sighed before nodding and tilting her head.