Forbidden magic

chapter nineteen

Life begins
At the end of 
Your comfort zone

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Niklaus tipped the cup into his lips, the warm tea trickled into his mouth and grazed his tongue. His taste buds flared hungrily at the touch of the passing beverage. He sat cross legged on the terrace outside his room, finding utter peace in the silence around him.

He set the cup down on the silver tray next to him, a slate of rich food remained untouched. It was a good thing that urgent matters had surfaced, if not he would have been eating with the queen.

Niklaus wasn't too sure about how he felt about that, for some reason Amorra gave him a tad bit of unease. The force of callow habit would often make him fidget under her radiant gaze. She was both ageless and flawless but there was something about her saintly aura that gave him the shivers.

He pushed thoughts of the aristocrat to the back of his mind before he stared up at the sky, wisps of chestnut colored strands fell down from his rich mop of brown, partially blocking his vision.

Approaching winged figures emerged out of the clouds, Niklaus got to his feet slowly. From his point of view, Kadisha was leading the swarm of guardians to the castle. For some reason she looked grave, her blotched cheeks were blemished by tears.

She'd been crying.

Niklaus kept his gaze affixed to her for a minute longer, he knew that Kad as one of the toughest guardians in the kingdom. After all, she wasn't termed general for nothing. But now all she was was a ruined mess for everything about her denuded grief, Kad seemed at loss and Niklaus felt defiling concern slipping into his previously composed expression.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, her knees buckled as she fell. A friend of hers came to her aid as he rushed forward and steadied Kad, collecting her into his embrace. Niklaus frowned at this, he didn't like Lionell Zorr. He was one of the many that would grimace upon his gifts, it was Lionell who had warned Niklaus about the consequences of him placing a toe out of his room.

Lionell firmly believed that Niklaus was a besetting issue, and at times the boy would ponder on this. In the process of being belittled, he had lost a fair amount of self esteem. The rumors had attenuated his ego and pride so much that he had just about none. 

Lionell led the shattered Kadisha into the palace before the rest of the guardians made a tensed landing. Niklaus could discern the widespread unease in the faces, many were lip sealed while others murmured under their breaths and shook their heads slightly.

Niklaus noticed three beings that stood the most, a trio that he had never seen in the guardian kingdom before. A black crow swooped down onto the very edge of the floating city, it morphed into a human as its talons dallied to the ground.

An alluring girl arose, her impassive eyes were solely directed ahead of her. Dried blood tinted her slightly black disheveled hair and her right leg, dark red smudges were etched all over her clothing. Even from a distance Niklaus could tell that albeit the barbaric appearance, the girl remained unfazed.

Unlike the rest, she was collected and calm. But the same could not be said for her companion, a blonde guardian that hovered beside her patiently. He only made ground contact when the girl took her first step.

The blonde was much like the shape shifter, arid blood stains located at various scathed parts, matted hair and dilapidated clothes. Niklaus saw the regret in his contrite eyes, as if he repented for something he had done. But what, exactly?

The pieces of the puzzle merged together when the boy's curious gaze dropped to what the blonde guardian bore in his arms. A full grown man lay limp in his hold, he was obviously more gory than the other two.

Niklaus, being a very observant spectator, stared at the man's chest. His eyes wandered over the muscular surface with precise scouring, he tried to detect the slightest rise and fall that indicated life. The brunette froze when the stillness confirmed his suspicion.

By then, each and every guardian that was present had their feet glued to the ground, wings shrank into dense backs while the eerie silence took over. The blonde guardian laid the man on the ground gently, treating the deceased form with respect and honor.  

Now that the man's features were fully displayed, it wasn't hard to discern the resemblance between him and the emotionless girl. Every curve in their faces duplicated each other, the stunning shade of grey in the girl's eyes must also have been the same color of his irises.

Twins! Niklaus exclaimed aloud in his mind. His bedazzled stare locked onto the girl who seemed to be looking everywhere but her brother. Her stone hard face portrayed nonchalance and effaced care, almost as if she was purely bored. 

Niklaus felt that it was his cue to act, even though he was farther away than most, a hundred and fifty feet off the ground to be exact, Niklaus felt that he needed something to distract him from the corpse.

The teenager once again focused his gaze at the effulgent sun, he knew that he didn't even need to concentrate to do it. His annexing eyes summoned the clouds with a mere flicker of the pupil.

The cotton like giants of water vapor scurried across the sky towards the floating city at his bestirring behest. From a welcoming color of alleviated white, they took in the dull shade of dark grey as they became heavier by the second. The clouds clustered together on top of the palace while blocking out the sun's beaming charisma.

Niklaus tore his gaze away as he looked down again at the hundreds of guardians that had crowded before the three, Kadisha and Lionell were nowhere in sight. 

A woman, by the name Tulia was the first to drop to her knees. The earnest guardian bowed her head in respect as per the norm, others followed suit as they knelt slowly with bowed heads.

He must have been importantly recognized by the queen's subjects. Niklaus had read about this type of behavior before, tradition demanded that it was necessary to show divine respect for a passing legend of a high caliber. An aspiring hero.

Niklaus let the clouds above the palace thicken into a colossal group of dark fog. He knew he shouldn't be using his powers, the queen had forbidden him to do so until further notice. But Niklaus felt obliged to defy her words, he wanted the wet kiss of the sky to be bestowed upon the dead man on the ground. 

He had amenable control over the weather at the very tips of his lanky fingers, the wind was his to command and even the very sun and moon would obey him if he pushed to the apex of his abilities.

The grey eyes that belonged to the girl flitted up and met his gaze, Niklaus brooked the tiny droplets that splattered on his forehead before the heavy raining commenced.

Her cold stare never faltered as her eyes burned into him, Niklaus shuddered as he averted his antsy gaze. No matter the amount of power he had, Niklaus had capitulated to the icy look. She had made him cringe with a simple stare, he felt befuddled and aphasic.

Suddenly doors flung open as the guardian queen stepped into view.