C L (First Version-Complete)

33: Tale of Life and Death

Twenty two blue moons ago, the ancient race mourned for the death of a prince. It was an unexpected death that brought thousands of ancients in shock. They mourned for Prince Lucian's death. They mourned for Your death.

At that time, I was new to this responsibility. I was already assigned to watch over you since the day that life sparked inside of your mother's womb but I never had a clue on when I will execute redemption for your benefit. They say that Father will whisper in our ears as our cue to move but...Father's voice never reached my ears.

"Where's Marianne?!" King Lucas asked in a demanding tone. He just heard from the palace maids that his wife was finally giving birth to their second. They wished for it to be a girl since their first one was a boy but set aside the gender preference, they will still love their child no matter what gender it had. The great King stumbled on his way in excitement. It was heart-warming for those who saw the usual steely man shuffling his feet clumsily as if he was a senseless child who did not know how to play catch.

"Otousan!" He heard Lucius call out to him. Today was just full of unexpected events. Lucius just returned from his travels at the same day when his sibling will finally be welcomed by the world. Although they just recently isolated themselves in a cave to hide because of the abuse of other races of their power, they made this cave livable. It was a cave that contained a floating castle which you left in rubbles after the dispute between Wye Fye and you.

"Lucius!" The King greeted his rebellious yet well respected child enthusiastically. "When did you-"

"No time to talk Otousan! My otouto is finally getting born!" He cheered. Lucius always wanted a younger brother. He was the only one who wanted another boy as opposed to the Kings and Queens of the ancient kingdom. He wanted someone to play with him in his rough plays and he wanted someone who wouldn't take after his mother's moody days.

Lucius sped up ahead of him which left the King to grumble as he tailed after the faster man. His son surpassed him in every way but the man refused to inherit the kingdom. Lucius never wanted to be locked inside a cave. He was a man who lived under his own rules which earned him both reverence and scathing intolerance from those who loathed his compassionate heart.

When they arrived in the bedroom, there were already several people  in it: Queen Eliza who was his wife's bratty younger sister, King Caspian who was his younger brother and other ancients who knew much about birth.

I cut off the story of the angel with another question while eating a raw tomato."Why were there two Queens and two Kings?" Wouldn't there be conflict in their ruling?

Instead of answering me directly, Raphael explained through his story.

The ancient race was separated into two kingdoms. The kingdom under the reign of your parents didn't want anything to do with the outside world while the kingdom under the reign of King Caspian did everything to help the other races thus urging the other kingdom to help as well. Both kingdoms contradicted each other's ideals but they get along well through thorough convocation. Because of their great leadership and unity, the people loved them to the point of sacrificing the life that they possess. It was one of the benefits of being in the higher class of bloodline.

The royal family watched how the Queen delivered their precious young one. Glee and excitement dwell within them. King Caspian and Queen Eliza loved their nephew Lucius and they knew it in their hearts that they will love the second one too. It was no secret that the younger Queen could not conceive. It was something that she was ashamed of for she was one of the people who symbolized life yet could not provide an offspring of her own. It was questionable but those secrets were already left behind because of a particular incident that I will tell later on. She envied her older sister yet her jealousy never transformed into hate. Merriment was the only emotion seen in her face as the older Queen pushed off a gift that the younger Queen could never have.