Elemorts

Chapter XXX - X-lash

Planet Wystalline

X-lash Riplartz glanced at the enertron limiters on his wrists. They were not linked by a chain and did not restrict his movements, but they inhibited his powers all the same.

Not that even having access to his powers would have helped much in these circumstances.

He sat in the middle of a circular containment cell surrounded by a translucent, emerald force field. He wouldn't dare move too close to it lest he got the burn of his life.

But he had to get out of here, and soon. The room was dark, and the details were hard to make out through the force field, but X-lash knew it was floored with metal slabs, and the only exit was a reinforced, sliding metal door situated ahead at the far end. A warden roamed outside his cell, and CCTV cameras monitored him day and night. The high-security, elite prison was located deep in the bowels of the palace.

He was the Traitor Prince, after all. And King Riplartz had always made it abundantly clear to his subjects that no traitor would ever be spared — not even his own son.

His father's fury during the trial had hardly surprised him, though — that was an inevitable consequence of which X-lash had been acutely aware all the time. He had vividly envisioned his father's wrath numerous times — even when he was in the middle of the treasonous acts. He couldn't deny it had scared him, but he also found a particular pleasure in imagining his father's face upon finding out.

But it was his sister who had given him the shock of his life. He had always believed she held a soft corner for him — that she found him insufferably stupid but loved her little brother all the same.

The trial had woken him up to the reality — Scyfe wanted him dead. She had vocally advocated for nothing less than the death sentence for X-lash. Although the King had maintained a stoic silence, X-lash couldn't help but notice that even he had seemed a bit perturbed by this development.

Her demands were not fulfilled — X-lash had been imprisoned for life, instead — but for a few days in the cell, he had almost wished he were dead. He had not wanted to live a single day with the memory of his sister baying for his blood.

He had gotten over that fairly quickly, though. Now, he was determined to escape and pay her back in some way, someday. He had looked up to see his faint reflection in the force field. Although his shabby, white prison clothes didn't do him any favors, he still saw the spark in his big, black eyes. He had held his chin high as he gazed at his sharp, rectangular face with a mop of thick, spiky, albeit tousled, jet-black hair at the top. I will never forget or forgive, sister, he had resolved.

But first, he had to deal with his father. He was the one who had Wystalline in a chokehold and the one who had corrupted his sister.

The democratic monarchal system operational in Wystalline should have seen King Riplartz's reign end and the next monarch elected five years ago.

King Riplartz, however, had refused to let go of the throne. As far as X-lash could remember, he had always been an avaricious man, but things took a turn for the worse eight years ago when X-lash's mother was assassinated by a sniper.

It had always been said that the fatal crystal was probably intended for the King. The Queen just happened to be in the way at the wrong time.

Whatever else was true about the King, X-lash knew his mother was probably the only person in the galaxy his father had ever cared about.

The King was mad with rage, and the people of Wystalline suffered his wrath. After swiftly making an example of the assassin and annihilating the syndicate that had ordered the hit, he tightened his grip on the throne.