Bloodied Heir

Uneasy Confessions

        I looked down at my blood soaked hands through a gate of tears as we headed towards Mr. Porter's house. He was the only one who wouldn't yell at us for being up so late at night. When we reached his house I quickly wiped away some of the tears away from my face and knocked on the door.
        "Just a minute!!" A woman's voice yelled through the door. The door flew open and Mrs. Porter was standing, eyes closed, in the doorway in her night gown. "How may I help you..." She asked but once she opened her eyes she went completely silent.
        Tears started falling down my face as I stared at her. I kept on trying to wipe them away so I could stop, but they kept on coming back. Mrs. Porter leaned forward and grabbed my hands, "Stop it," She mumbled, "You're only going to make yourself more of a mess." I sniffed in response, letting my tears drip. When she dragged me inside she waved for the girls to join.
         Sana closed the door behind her and re-balanced Anlie on her back. "So what happened," Mrs. Porter questioned, "I've never seen any of you so shook up like this, not since Caleb left anyway."
        I looked into the far right corner of the room, blinking away more tears. "I-I'm not too sure how to expl-" I shuttered, but was cut off by Mr. Porter. "Sweetheart, have you seen my house shoes?" He asked as he entered the room in a robe. "Oh! Lenin, Sanami, Anlie! What are y-" He paused in horror as he came closer. His wife turned to face him and asked him in a calm voice, "Dear, could you please get a washcloth, some tea, and run a bath for Lenin?" He nodded in response and hurried to the kitchen. "Why don't you girls make yourselves at home, and Lenin, please stay standing. Once you leave to get washed I'll clean the blood off of your clothes." I nodded, sniffing as I let my tears drip onto the floor. Sana walked over to the couch and set Anlie down on it, then sat next to her.
        After a few minutes Mr. Porter came out with a wet washcloth and tray of tea. Sana took the washcloth and two cups, she then a cup to Anlie, who just stared into it with a horrified expression. Mr. Porter walked over towards me with a pained look. "You can head to the bath now. Set your clothes by the door, my wife will take care of them," he said whispering in my ear. I nodded in response and headed towards the bath area.
        I quickly untied my hair and took my clothes off, setting them by the door. As I entered the tub Mrs. Porter took them, "I'll return these soon dear, you just relax and clean up." Once she closed the door, all my emotions came pouring out at once. Anger, sadness, grief, confusion, all of it.
        I submerged my head into the water and screamed. Growling bubbles emerged as my breath escaped me. I laid there unable to breathe for a second before emerging, gasping for breath. I kept on submerging myself and screaming until I could hardly breathe.
        I looked down at the bloodied water, and leaned back. Tears rolled down my face as my body submerged more into the reddish water. "Why... why did it have to be him," I cried to myself, hoping that the Porters couldn't hear me.
        My mind went back to yesterday morning and how the outsider had died. Why was that man in black there for both of their deaths? Sana should've been able to see him, right? His skin stands out from his outfit and his eyes were glowing daggers... so why.... didn't she see him? I covered my head in my hands, and silently sobbed.
        Once I had cried my emotions out I quickly finished scrubbing the dry blood out of my hair and off my body, then exited the tub. I looked into the mirror that was above the sink. I'm still myself, a skinny boy with long red hair and an odd looking birth mark. Nothing stood out on me, besides the birthmark. Guess it's good to be normal-ish... I turned farther into the mirror, something seemed off. I looked closer into the mirror. My birthmark.... it... it's different. The birth mark usually had the longer part usually was up towards my neck, but now the string circled around near my stomach, standing out from the irritated skin behind it. I crept closer to the mirror, and poked my chest. A slit opened up and an eye popped out. I quickly pushed away from the mirror, "GAAAAAAAAH!!" I squealed, wobbling backwards and tripping over a toy that was on the floor.
         "Lenin?!" Mrs. Porter yelled. "Lenin, is everything ok?!" I stood back up with wobbly knees, "Y-yeah! Everything's fine! I just saw a spider near the sink!" I yelled back, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Ok! Just be careful! You're clothes are outside the door!" She responded, and with that the house went near silent again, the murmuring of the people the living room. I looked into the mirror again. It was back the way it always had been. Did I just imagine it? I shook off my thoughts and finished drying myself off, then quickly grabbed my clothes from outside the down or, got dressed, tied my hair in a terrible bun, and left the bathroom.
        I rubbed my shoulders as I entered the living room. Perhaps I stayed crouched over for too long, or maybe it's stress. I looked at the people that had gathered in the living room. Anlie clinged to Sana, the tea that they had drank was gone and the wash cloth was covered in the blood that was on the girls' faces. Both of the girls had  distraught look on their faces. Mr. and Mrs. Porter looked at me perplexed. "Lenin," Mr. Porter cautiously asked, "What happened out there?"
        I looked at the girls, "What did they tell you?"
        "Nothing, just that something had happened with the Chief" Mrs. Porter sadly replied.
        "The Chief...," I looked away from the girls, fearing the glare of their eyes"The Chief is dead."
        Mr. Porter jumped up and placed his hands on his shoulders, "What do you mean?! That man has lived through several wars and has seen countless battlefields, how could he be dead from an earthquake?!"
        I looked up at him with confusion, "Earthquake?"
        He squeezed my shoulders tighter, "Yes, what else would that have been?!"
        I winced from the pain as my arms slowly grew numb. "NOW STOP IT!!" Mrs. Porter yelled, "You're hurting the poor boy! Let him speak!"
        He looked at his wife, then back at me, and let go, clearing his throat "Alright, my apologies, please explain."
         "It might be a long story so you might want to sit down." He complied and handed me a cup of tea, I sat down and explained what had happened. I tried to avoid details that could've been hallucinations, like that man, but I told everything else that happened, including the dragons. Him and his wife just sat their listening. Mrs. Porter seemed so surprised by everything, wouldn't blame her it was surreal, even the girls were surprised by some parts, but Mr. Porter just had a straight face throughout the entire thing, as if he had heard it all before. Once I had finished he just sat there and contemplated, only murmuring one thing, "Dragons, eh?" After he had said that he went on to bed.
        "I'm sorry, Lenin. He gets like that sometimes," Mrs. Porter said, rubbing my back.
        "Really? Why?" I asked, looking up at her worried face.
         "He was in the military with his brother when he was younger. The Chief was his commander and well," she placed her forehead on her hand, "I guess that you remind him of his brother. He died suddenly on duty, his entire squadron was wiped out while they were off-duty. We... we were never able to find out what entirely happened."
        "O-oh..." I looked down at my hands, "s-sorry..." She looked up and patted my head, "Don't be, wasn't your fault. Anyway It's time for you kids to get to bed, you all need the sleep." We all nodded in response and laid down on the couch.