Dark crown

Even Monsters Have Monsters

Aries took another sip of his wine this dinner was finally getting somewhere. "I didn't think your soul could be saved," Mae thought aloud. She gave Aries a scared look that same look everyone gave him as if he would murder them for stepping the smallest bit out of line. Aries simply gave her a smile saying, "Well no, my soul will never be good but that's not what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"You ask far too many questions."

"And you are a very questionable person." He studied her again she was so, comfortable as if she had done this before. "Where did you come from?" He asked. She cocked her head to the side choosing her words carefully, smart the girl was smart. "Friela," she simply said "I'm from Friela." Aries again smiled. Mae saw it as a smile but he knew it was a confirmation to himself that Mae was royalty. "Do you know who your father was?" Aries asked. Mae shook her head no and Aries sighed. "Am I supposed to know?" She asked.

"I was hoping you would," Aries shifted in his chair dilegian felt uncomfortable in his pocket. A sharp pain hit his chest and he lurched forward. Mae cocked her head to the side, "Aries?" The pain came in waves going from his chest, spreading out, and then coming back again. He took a deep breath he was an Amwraithian soldier trained to see pain as unimportant. Aries was able to breath in time with his pain normalizing it.

He sat up again and looked at Mae and even as the world began to spin he was still able to start up the conversation again. "Your father has magic and so do" Aries said. The room grew cold and his head began to ache he looked around the room for a focus pint something to hold him in place. He looked into Mae's eyes they were a simple brown and that's what Aries needed simplicity. "Magic?" Mae's eyes went a lit with surprise. "Yes," Aries was able to muster the single word.

"What does it have to do with any of this?"

"The magic you have is what I need." The words were a struggle to get out. The pain came again in a larger wave this time. Aries felt like he was losing grip on reality and that's when he knew exactly what was happening. Quickly he said, "Your magic is strong I can sense it and tomorrow I will tell you more."

"Wait," Mae said, but before she could stop him Aries was out of the door. He walked as quickly as he could down to the old jail cells. They had been empty for awhile now. Once Aries became king no one dared commit any time of crime. The world began to spin faster and that pain wasn't a wave anymore it was simply there numbing every inch of Aries skin. The jail was quiet save for Aries stumbling footsteps. He crashed into a wall struggling to stay up and keep his grip.

The pools of moonlight were the only source of light adding even more difficulty to walking. Aries could feel it that other half of him coming alive and taking over. He tried to stay awake tried to grip onto the thin thread that kept him in control. He reached into his jacket pocket and took out dilegian throwing it across the floor. He dropped to his knees and began to scream. His mind felt as if it were being torn apart and his body slowly began to go numb. The dagger had started this it was crafted by the gods themselves and Aries other half was crafted by something else that wasn't godlike nor human. He broke out into a.

Cold sweat still holding on fighting to stay in control. "No," Aries whispered "No!" That other half the darkness still crept along his heart, his veins, and all across his body. "I am the least of your worries ," the darkness whispered "I know your plans and it's a shame that mine unraveled first." He took his jacket off and wrapped up the dagger careful not to come into any contact with it. He slowly stood still silently willing the darkness not to take over. He limped up the stairs and, before entering the main floor, cleaned himself up trying to look as normal as possible. He walked with a long stride barely giving anyone a glance as he walked by. The color still drained from people's faces and they still looked terrified so Aries did play the part. Aries tasted copper in his mouth and knew that the darkness was remaking havoc on his insides. At last he reached his chambers and immediately threw blood up into his chamber pot.

His tiny desk stood in the back of the room a giant window door behind it. Aries scavenged the drawers and in the bottom was a tiny vile of bright yellow liquid. Aries drank it all in a matter of seconds and waited. He paced in front of his large mattress and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the mantle. His left eye had turned completely black and dark veins crawled up his neck. He looked like a true monster now. Slowly the veins began to recede and his hazel eye came back. He looked in the mirror again his face was back to normal but his eyes he had inherited them from his mother didn't hold her love they didn't hold anything. He screamed and the mirror shattered.

No one came in and no one would. He thought back to dinner what that girl had said that he was lonely. It circled his mind a few times and then left when he remembered what his true purpose was to conquer the world. He would use the girl and then discard of her. He poured a cup of brandy and sat in front of the fireplace that word still somewhere in the back of his head lonely. He remembered his father's words 'son' he could practically hear him 'only he dead are lonely.' Aries downed the brandy and called it a night.