The Exceptional Clockwork Journey of The Perpetually Alone Hugo Gerard (NaNoWriMo 2012)

Chapter 10

Awkward spacing, late post. THIS IS L-O-N-G LONG. I forgot I hadn't started a new chapter so I just kept on writing :D NaNoWriMo's close!!! :o

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Chapter 10 

Stifling a sob, Hugo pressed his hand to his mouth, eyes full of tears. “Ravens?” he managed to choke out.

Oblivion nodded mutely, sharing his nephew’s sorrow.

It may have appeared, from his rather sharp appearance and unholy actions, that Oblivion was a generally bad person. But what he had never told anyone, however, was why he really did the things he did. It was not because of hatred, greed, or just pure wickedness that he had decided to take over Time’s throne, it was simply because he was jealous.

Even as a child, Oblivion had always been overcome with jealousy, it always hanging on his shoulder, always there, never relieving. While his perfect older brother got to be the center of attention, Oblivion had always been cast to the side by his parents. Time had always been the favored one, what with his birthright as the single controller of Time, while Oblivion was left with the merciless task of making sure Time never let order get out of hand.

In a way, Oblivion was the master of chaos, born to make trouble. That was all he had ever been and would ever be, just a boy in the background. Creating chaos was all he knew.

And so what Hugo did not understand, was that Oblivion was not a bad person. Evil was simply all he had known, all his life he had been told and had accepted that he was who he was, and he could not change his fate.

Fate was woven by the strings of time, stitch by stitch, and this was his, no matter how unbearable it was.

Oblivion snapped out of his train of thought, training silver eyes down to his nephew. “You should return home, Time will be waiting for you.”

Oblivion, as Hugo noticed, said this with a hint of sorrow hidden beneath his words, but chose to ignore it. “Alright,” he replied, still slightly shocked that when traveling, his symbolism was ravens.

For all his life, Hugo had fostered a deep fascination with the works of Edgar Allan Poe, especially The Raven, and the fact that he could be a part of that legend both excited and frightened him.

And with a fluster and without a goodbye, Oblivion disappeared into a flurry of silver dust, leaving behind more questions than had been answered.

-

For the rest of the week both Time and his brother remained hidden and Hugo’s week continued as normal, although he began to adapt to his newly found abilities. He always wore a cloak, no matter where he was, and often traveled back and forth to work when he did not feel like walking. Hugo and his mother still had not spoken, just casual murmurs of hello, goodbye, and weak smiles rarely seen.

It was an early Friday morning when Hugo decided that he was not going to sit around the house and avoiding his mother any longer and tromped out to the woods, boots quickly filling with cold, wet snow.

Although he didn’t show it, Hugo was still paranoid by the ravens. They haunted his every thought and movement, only one thought going through his mind.

Does this mean I am evil?

He had willingly spoken with the enemy, he had emotional connections to both species, and he had blood connecting to both sides as well.

On one side, Time was his father and kept order in the Earth. He was an honest Clockwork and did his job well.

On the other hand, both his uncle and his mother were Lanrete, a dangerous yet intriguing species that he was half of as well.