Qrow.

Chapter 68 | Willow Tree

Beau sighed to himself as he heard his door open. His patients were quiet good about knocking. So, he knew exactly who would be rude enough to barge in uninvited. It's not like he could argue much with the only creature that held rank above his own. He kept his eyes on his work, hoping that it would ward off his unwanted guest.

Jasper leaned over Beau's desk and closed his book. The doctor met his eyes with his boss, displaying how displeased he was with this interruption. Jasper simply smiled like the fuck he was. "Hello, my dear. Do you have a moment?" 

"I suppose. I do have a therapy session with one of my patients in a few minutes. It'll have to be quick." Beau replied.

He drew in a breath as he stood up straight, "Oh, I know. I didn't plan on being a bother for too long. I've actually come in regards to your next patient session. I'd like you to try to get as much information about Sixteen out of Knox as you can, without pushing it, of course."

"Am I to assume you'll be sending Croc to recruit him soon?" He asked.

"No, he's far too much of a brute. Besides, the fool went and allowed his pet to brand him. Vampire venom is weakening to demons. He may regain his full strength, or he may not. Only time will tell, but I digress." Jasper walked around Beau's desk, taking notice to an old painting hanging on the wall behind it. "If we lived in a perfect world, I'd just send Knox to do it. Unfortunately, life just isn't that easy. I may have to send you and Finch."

"Do you truly think it's a good idea to take both of us away from the manor? Why don't you just send the hunters?" 

"From what I've come to understand, Sixteen's skill far surpasses theirs. He would kill them easily. If he approaches us with hostility, I need my reconnaissance to be highly skilled with a sword and highly intelligent. This isn't a job for the shortsighted." 

"This demon, he's truly that dangerous?" Beau questioned him.

"Quite. He's not to ever be underestimated. Who I do send for this job will depend on the information you gather today." Jasper cut his words short when there was a knock at the door. "You have your task."

"You want me to get the most numb person here to open up." He muttered to himself as the warden walked out the door. Beau took in a another breath, telling himself that is could be worse. He looked to the doorway, "Come in and sit. There's an important topic I'd like to visit in today's session." 

Knox didn't take that as good news. He wasn't a big fan of getting deep into his past. It was one thing when he had to do it once, when Colton was his doctor. But now that he has a new doctor, he has to do it all over again. He didn't like having to relive his painful moments. Knox sat down on his usually seat in the corner of the leather couch. One thing he was grateful for was the fact that Beau's office was much warmer than Colton's ever was.

The doctor stood from his desk and walked over to the seat across from the couch. He found it made most his patients much more comfortable if he wasn't behind his desk. Knox, however, had always been indifferent. Even now having his family back, he still on auto pilot. Beau crossed his legs, opening up his journal in his lap.

"I noticed in Colton's notes there was something he spent a brief amount of time on that I believe deserves more attention. You once had someone you cared for romantically. I'd like you to tell me about him, if that's alright." 

Knox kept his head down, as per usual. "Yeah," He muttered, "His name was Sixteen Lilavide. In his native language, his last name meant purple willow. That's what I always thought of when I saw him too. He was beautiful, graceful, soft, but he was also a sign for death. Wherever he went, death followed. It wasn't always his fault. People just seemed to die around him even when he didn't want them to. I guess that's why he tried to leave me a few times. He didn't want me to die, but I didn't want him to leave even more. 

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. I wish I could tell you the year, but it's all run together now. All I know is it was a few years before the war. Ripper and I were both living in Shrines. It's not a bad neighborhood, but it wasn't Crystal Heights either. It was a place I could be comfortable. He was working on the outskirts of town and I didn't see him much, but I didn't mind. I was doing okay for myself. I had an apartment in the heart of the city and I was working at the gift shop on main street.

It was early one morning when the shop had just opened. That's when I met him. He came in to buy some flowers, white dahlias, one of his favorites. When we saw each other for the first time there was this... zing. It's like we knew. It was awkward at first, well I was awkward anyways, but that just kind of happens when you're young. I was kind of scared to make a move. He kept coming to the shop once a week to buy a new bouquet of flowers until I eventually got up the nerve to ask him out. 

Sixteen and I were together a long time. I asked him to move in but he didn't want to. I never saw his place either. I'm not sure if he even ever had one. Being the way he was, it wouldn't surprise me if he was living on the streets or somewhere secretive. He had a dangerous line of work and he didn't want it to hurt me. Sometimes he would stay the night and it was the most amazing feeling in the world." 

Knox smiled for the first time in what felt like a decade. "I remember there were a few times he'd for a few days and it was the best damn thing. I'd never been happier," His smile dropped again. "But, it never failed that eventually I would wake up and he was gone. He always came back, eventually, but there were times I wouldn't see him for two weeks. I knew he was just waiting for the heat to die down before coming back but I worried all the time."

"What exactly did he do that put you in such a dangerous position?" Beau asked curiously. He knew the answer but he wanted see if Knox did. 

"He was an assassin for the kingdom." He admitted, "He didn't tell me for a long time. He might've never told me if I hadn't seen the signs. The way he disappeared, and how he always smelled of blood, it tipped me off. Then, this one night, we were getting intimate and I saw he had the mark of the kingdom's army on him. I asked about it, and in doing so accidentally revealed to him that I knew what that mark looked like. 

I had to finally tell him the truth, about who I was. I thought he'd be upset because, well, my dad wasn't exactly known for being a merciful leader. Sixteen told me that he'd never even met my father, so it didn't matter. In fact, no one in the royal army knew he existed. He was one of the best kept secrets of the royal family. I was one of the few people who'd ever seen his face and lived to speak of it. 

We were so happy together. I didn't care about what he did, and he didn't care about my past. Then, one day, he stopped coming around. I knew he was still watching me because I could smell his scent in my apartment. He had a very distinct scent, like a field of lilacs beside a river of blood. I don't know why he suddenly wasn't coming around anymore. Maybe he found out what Carmella was planning, and he felt guilty. Or maybe he was told to stop seeing me, I don't know.

One night, I came home and there was a dahlia on my bed. I wish I knew back then that that was his final goodbye. That night, I was taken by two of Carmella's men and made into her slave until she eventually killed me." He grasped his hand to his chest. "I don't know if he's still alive, but, I think he is. I feel in my heart. His kind, I don't think they can die. They can, I've seen it, but they don't die easily."

There was a moment of silence filled with Beau's pen gliding across his papers. He glanced up at the upset spirit in front of him. This was the most emotion he'd ever seen Knox display. Granted, he hadn't been his patient for long, but Colton had made it clear in his notes that he was closed off. 

"What do you mean by his kind?" He responded.

"He was a demon, but he was also one of them... The six cursed prayers. I didn't think they could die, but after Jarin was killed... I started to worry."

Beau felt his heart skip a beat for a moment. The six cursed prayers, AKA the six most powerful demons to have ever lived. Asher, Jarin, and Jasper make up half of them. They were demons created by the agony of an entire civilization. It was no wonder why Jasper held concern in approaching him. In a way, Beau was revealed to know who one of the missing three were. That does mean there's still two out there that have yet to be discovered.