You Tried

Chapter 32- Murder

-Vikk's POV-
I won chess. I never win chess. Preston cheated, but I still won chess with him. I ran outside, and gave up after a short distance. I sat back, and my chair folded out under me.
Lachlan came up behind me, and pushed me out of sheer stubbornness to not let me do it myself. But we make it out, and I see a horse standing not too far away. It has its head in the grass, and it's not paying attention. Sky walks up behind it, and its head pops up. The horse is white, and it has pretty green eyes.
I can barely hear him, but I think Sky talks to the horse. "Sprite. Seriously. Go home and rest." The horse nickers at him. "I know. Just go home. I know you wanna be here with me, but you need to rest at home. There isn't enough energy here." The horse disappears into thin air.
Rob hadn't come out, and I didn't know what he was doing. I decided to try and find him, so I wheeled myself inside while Lachlan was distracted. I found an empty first story, so I tried to go upstairs, only to be met with an echoed crying. It was coming from up here, so I went closer to it. It was Rob.
He was sitting in front of an open doorway, staring inside and crying. He spotted me as I crept forward. "Don't- come closer Vikk. Please." So I stopped and stood where I was. Rob stood, shaking.
He rubbed his face, and wiped his tears away. "Wh-" "No. I have an announcement for the castle." Rob stiffly drags me by my shoulder back down the staircase. He pulls everyone, even the staff, inside to the main hall.
When everyone is settled down and confused, Rob speaks up. "Guys. I- I hate to say it. But- my mom, the Flower Queen, is dead." The staff gets up, and several leave the room. Others go up to Rob, and I watch as he breaks down in the medic's arms. Preston runs up to him, and hugs him.
Rob collapses between them, and just cries for a few minutes. Most of us leave, to give him some space, but Preston and the medic won't leave. So while Rob sorts himself out, the rest of us go back outside. While we're out here, I notice some staff people come out with a rolled up blanket. I know what's inside.
A few days after, Rob is very withdrawn, and not too active like usual. But the one day, I'd been awake because I couldn't sleep, and saw Rob and Sky in the yard, talking and staring at the stars. I decided to go down, because I wasn't sleeping anytime soon. I skip down the steps, and wheel into the grass behind them. They haven't noticed me yet, so I make the dumb idea to eavesdrop.
"I just don't see why they wanted to blind you. It's just stupid." "And you're telling me- this? Seriously? The kid who wondered that for 19 years? Really, are ya sure?"
I'm too surprised to stay quiet. "Y- you, are, b- blind? Ho-How?" Sky turns around. "Vikk? Why are you up? You should be asleep upstairs." "I- I can't. N- not tired." Sky sits up.
He comes over and lifts me to my feet from my chair. He holds my hand, and says, "Yes, Vikk. I'm blind. It's only because of my dad and uncle. They thought it'd relieve the stress of those who knew about me when I was younger."

-Sky's POV-
In the dark, I can barely see Vikk anyway. The lighting certainly doesn't help my sight, and there is no obvious sign of incoming light. It had just grown dark, and I'd run into Rob on the lawn again. It seems we've only talked when we run into each other on the grass. And that's been every night so far.
He's pretty torn up about his mother's death. And what he told me, I can conclude it wasn't natural death. It was forced, meaning she was assassinated. Which also means that Rob is in serious danger. He is the last Latsky now, and if he's killed, the Latsky tree ends.
I've seen the tree personally, because it grows thick and healthy at my dad's Aether castle in the garden out back. I've watched the trees grow for years, and never understood the nameplates at the foot of each tree. There were a total of 4 trees out there. Latsky, Barn, Solace, and Sorcerer. The Sorcerer tree was always quite small, and so was the Barn tree. I don't know if those have grown, but I can bet they have quite a bit.
I've been trying hard to not let Rob out of my sight to often or too long, for just the reason of a positively near dead tree. Rob's health has deteriorated, mainly from depression, but he's still good. But with Vikk awake this late, I thought- Why not? I have questions for him anyway... Vikk sits next to me on the grass. I lean closer to him.
"Vikk." "Ya?" "What exactly is your full name?" He shifts, confused. "Vikram- Star- Barn." Oh no. Not a third one of them.
Remember the trees? Barn was one of them. Was he part of a higher up family? Why would they abandon him? Was he a defective child or something?
What royalty family did Vikk belong to? Barn was always one of the smaller trees, but it wasn't tiny like the Sorcerer tree... It was quite big, but the tree had stopped growing long ago. It stopped when I was 13. The same year Vikk was born, which means the tree didn't register his birth correctly.
You see, every year, the tree will grow. If the family line ends, the tree dies. But the Barn line clearly didn't end, and yet- the tree stopped growing, but didn't die. I knew that Brice and Rob were part of the trees, but I never knew Vikk was. And who is the Sorcerer that keeps that tree growing?
I push the thoughts aside. "Oh! Okay. That's neat." "What's- yours?" "Skybrine." "Robert Aaron Latsky."
"Why, Vikk, do you think you're parents left you? Not to make you upset or anything... I'm just curious." He just shrugs. "I- I don't... really- know. They didn't... see fit to uh, tell me." I start thinking of the past history of when if watch the trees grow. I'd seen that tree grow for years, and it suddenly stopped. Like no new members were around. Like the line ended.
But for years and years, I'd watched it grow like mad. It's a big fuckin' tree, but it's noticeably smaller than the Solace and Latsky trees. Those are both about 50 feet tall. The Barn tree is a substantial 35 feet. But the Sorcerer tree... that's only about 10 feet tall. It's tiny compared to the other trees.
But it kept growing, unlike the Barn tree. If my dad knew Vikk was here, bad stuff would happen, resulting in the Barn tree's death. If Rob was to be killed, the Latsky tree would also die. If Brice and Sadie were to both die, then the Solace tree would be killed as well. The trees are bound to the lifeforces of the youngest and last of a line. But the question is- If the tree didn't register, why didn't it die years ago? Why did it just stop growing?
It finally bugs me enough to tell them. "Guys. We have an issue that's bothering me." They both look at me. "What?" "In my backyard at my dad's Aether castle, there are four trees. Well, each one is bound to a certain family line, specifically royalty and such." "Okay?"
They were totally confused by my words, so I tried to dive further into detail. "Well, the names are Solace, Latsky, Barn, and Sorcerer. You guys should recognize three." "Um... Me, Vikk, and Brice?" "Yes. So- when a bloodline ends, the tree will die. The year you were born, Rob, the Latsky tree grew 3 feet- like it always does with a new member of the bloodline." "Um..."
"Guys. Here's the part that bugs me. When Vikk was born, and left to die in the forest, the tree didn't die. It just- stopped growing. It never grew the three feet for the birth. It just stopped. But every year, the trees grow simultaneously a whole foot for every living member. The Barn tree never grew. And it never died either. It just stood there."
Rob tries to comprehend. "So... You're saying that we all have trees connected to us? And that if we die, the corresponding tree dies?" "Yes. Exactly." "But... Vikk didn't die, and he's alive. Why didn't his tree grow?" "That's my question. I don't know. If it never registered Vikk's birth, it would've died. But if it did, it would've grown the three feet and kept growing. But it did neither."
"That makes no sense! It only has two options! Die or grow. Why'd it make a third choice?!" "I don't know. But Rob. You need to relax. It's a serious question, but there's no need to get upset and wake the boys." "Sorry." Vikk is just blankly staring at me, totally confused. "Wait. So- I'm..." "Yes, Vikk. It means you're part of a royal family. I don't know where the kingdom is, or the name, but it's out there."
"Well, then we have some research to look forward to. To find Vikk's family." "Yah. I guess we do, Rob. But I have a better source of information, even if it's a risky move." "And what's that?" "My library in my room at the Aether castle. Yes, it's in Herobrine's castle, but I can enchant my room. And either way, my dad's so injured, he wouldn't dare."
"Oh. Okay. Let's go. But... Vikk. You need to sleep." "So- do you!" "Bud, we'll be fine. But you need sleep Vikk. You're too young to be pulling all nighters like us. Rob, you are too, but you have the advantage as the Flower King. I'm sorry Vikk." He looks disappointed. "Okay... I'll- stay."
I lead him back to his room, and he falls asleep in an instant. I go back down to Rob. Next to him, is his mare Bianca. Sprite is behind him, no armor this time. But the glowing good armor wouldn't have changed anything. His shimmering white coat will shine enough.
We mount our respective horses, and start slow as we start to ride to the castle. After a mile or so, we speed up to a gallop. The castle appears on the skyline soon. I rein in Sprite, so he doesn't run into the mountainside head on. Rob slows down behind me.
We hide the horses where they can graze, and I teleport us to my room, simultaneously laying a thick enchantment around my room. Our presence is invisible to anyone and everyone. I lean into my shelves, and they give way to my library. It's small, but it's still a reliable resource. I have plenty enough books to reference the trees from. But I also decide to show Rob the trees out back, just so he knows what exactly his soul is bound to.
Rob looks through a lot of the books, while I search for one in particular book. It evades me for a good five minutes, before I dig away enough of my fantasy tales from childhood to see the bridge and spine of the book. It has a gold inlay of spirals running down the spine, and silver lettering. The History of the Trees was always one of my favorites, and it's a true story. I know because they live in my backyard, very close to me.
I take the book, and Rob had found a few books as well. I take his hand, and he looks confused. "Where-" "I wanna show you the Trees." We teleport out, and Rob gasps in utter amazement.