The Puppet Master [Noblesse]

Chapter O: Prologue (Kind Of)

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." |Oscar Wilde|

Waring** This could contain extreme profanity, nudity and obscenity.

The outside is beautiful and full of tranquility, silence and lonesomeness. Through the windows, Appollo can see the moonlight shine on the pond below and fireflies cloud around it. The crackling fire destroys the feeling of loneliness. He welcomed the scent of burning wood and heard small rustles in the trees. It was that bird again. The one that always said goodnight to the dear little lord, Appollo. He closes his small green eyes slowly.

His bedroom door opens slowly with a creak and one of the Clan Leaders--Urokai Agvain--walks quietly in the room. Appollo turns, leaving one hand sit on the window sill. "Is there something you need, Urokai?" He smiled.

Urokai looked troubled as he darted his eyes from the Lord. "I know you're just about to go to sleep, Milord but..I have-- We have urgent business to discuss with you." He bowed to Appollo.

"Lift your head. Your a Clan Leader. Let's go, shall we?" He walks past Urokai and Urokai's smirk goes unnoticed by the fragile Appollo. He walks into the long hall only to see something that cannot be unseen.

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"What can I do to prove myself to you?" His lips parted every so slightly with those words. He had thought long and hard about whether or not to ask, for he was afraid of what might happen if he did. But what was so dangerous about asking that question? Well, my dear, everything was dangerous when you talked to him.

Appollo stood from his lovely, fancy, royal throne chair and walked towards his servant. "All you've done is proven yourself guilty to me! You said you would stay loyal to me. You said that you would follow my orders without question no matter what I had asked of you! You said you'd never leave me! You said you'd love me!! Why are you saying such foolish things when your words are untrue? How dare you lie to me!!"

"But I have not-"

Appollo grabbed the older man by his shirt collar and together they had fallen to their knees. "Don't lie to me, Raizel!! I don't understand why you would do this to me..." He cried, he sobbed, he became a mess. Then he was quiet. Raizel grew an uneasy feeling as Appollo stepped away from him. He had raised his hand and pointed it at his servant. A blinding light came from inside the palm of my hand as I chanted fine, graceful words.

"Я призываю далее ваши предки, это будет наш полиэстер, пусть этот ярко светит свет, как вы навсегда должен быть моим, мы никогда не будем Кардис."

The wind busted through from the gust of power. Doors rattled and windows cracked. "Appollo, what are you doing?!" Raizel covered his eyes with the sleeves of his arms. Leaves and flower petals covered his body along with a strange tattoo forming on his right hand. It was a small, laurel tree with a dolphin swimming around it. "W-what is this?" The light disappeared, but something still wasn't right. Raizel felt weakened and his body started to fail him. Appollo had also vanished with the light.

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"Master, there is someone here to see you." Frankenstein bowed as he delivered the news to his beloved master. The breeze flew into the window and tousled his hair while the curtains became disheveled. It's been 500 years since I last saw him.. His master thought.

"Alright..let them in.." He spoke softly in his new, sad despondent state.

Frankenstein let their guest in and it was a woman. Her long black hair basically floated in the air and her deep, dark red eyes pierced his own. "Cardis Etrama Di Raizel." Her voice was stern.

"Erga Kenesis Di Raskeria. What business do you have on this fine day?" Raizel asked

"The Lord has summoned your presence right away. I know it's none of my business, but I had overheard him saying something about having information on a boy named Appollo-"

Raskeria didn't have room to say anything else before Raizel had spoken. "Frankenstein, it's time to visit the Lord." And so they were off to the castle of Lukedonia, where the current Lord resides.

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I honestly though for sure he was dead...but apparently, that has changed my thoughts. The Lord thought. From what has Raizel told me.. is that Appollo should've disappeared within his body as that tattoo on his right hand. It is such a shame to withhold so much power and not be able to use it without a ramification like this...

Interrupting the Lord's thoughts, Sir Gejutel entered and kneel'd before him. "Lord, Lady Raskeria has returned with The Noblesse, Cardis Etrama Di Raizel along with his servant, Frankenstein." Then the three filed into the room and kneel'd beside Gejutel.

"Oh my, what a surprise to see you here as well, Frankenstein." The Lord smiled down at his followers. "What brings you along? I'm sure I only called for Raizel." The four subordinates stood.

"Forgive me, Lord but I told him to come along with me." Raizel spoke up. "I heard you had news on Appollo, sire and I would like it immediately. I need to find him.." The last sentence he said was in a whisper, but surely his servant Frankenstein had heard it.

"Don't you want to discuss this in private?" The Lord stood from his throne chair. The throne chair that used to belong to Appollo- no. It does belong to Appollo. He was the first lord and no one can take his place. Not even his own brother, the current lord can fill his large, empty shoes.

"No, it's quite alright for everyone here to hear it." In fact, Sir Gejutel, Frankenstein and Lady Raskeria don't even know of Appollo. He may have been the first lord, but no one knew their was a lord before the current one except for his parents, his brother and Raizel. Plus, only they knew of his name so those three couldn't possibly know who the Lord and Raizel spoke of in such a happy, gaiety and courtly manner. They would be the only ones to carry on the memory of their former lord.

"When I met with Muzaka, the werewolf lord, he said something that has been disturbing me.. and that is that the clans under his rule are starting to reject his ideals and priority's..." The lord paused but continued, "All because of  a strange boy looking around the age of 17, and matches every characteristic of Appollo to the bone. Brown hair, green simplistic eyes, small lips and a chiseled jawline. Everything. And do you know what this means, Cardis Etrama Di Raizel?" Raizel grew uneasy and awaited for the Lord to speak. "It means that.. Appollo, the former Lord, could possibly be our enemy."

"What?! F-Former Lord?? Why wasn't I told there was a former lord, Father?!" Lady Raskeria was upset. Of course she would be. "So you've been lying to us all this whole time?!"

"No! Raizel, this is why we speak of him alone." The lord, for the first time seen by everyone in the room at current, saw he was indeed angry. Was it really because of Lady Raskeria, though? "Never have I ever lied to any one of you. I just couldn't tell you because.." He couldn't finish his sentence without exposing Raizel and Appollo's relationship. Raizel had wished to keep this in secret and this very promise, he would keep until his Eternal Sleep.

During all this, Raizel kept a straight face but then he said "We'll go check it out, Frankenstein. Thank you lord. I appreciate everything you have told. I must be going now." Now they both headed for one of the most dangerous places in Lukedonia... the werewolf territory.

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Sir Gejutel still hadn't understood what the Lord had really meant to say. After he had yelled at Lady Raskeria, he was confused. Anyone would be. Just who is this former Lord, and why is he so important to both the Lord now and Raizel? "Just how much does the former Lord mean to the two of them?"