His Protector | TVD & TO

Chapter 5

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characteristics. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity." — John F. Kennedy.

Jhaeros looked down at Elijah, just watching as the body started to squirm under his gaze. He had to withhold a chuckle at seeing the boy struggle to keep eye contact. After a few moments had passed, Elijah looked away, still feeling that critiquing gaze upon him.

Solas looked between his father and the boy before sighing, "Ada," Solas whispered to gain his father's attention on him.

Hearing his son call for him, Jhaeros turned his gaze onto his son, where he was given a look, causing him to roll his eyes, "Greetings, Elijah, son of Mikael; how do you do?"

Elijah was startled by being addressed by the man, "I-I-I am fine, Jhaeros; how are you?" He stuttered, cursing at himself for showing weakness in front of such a dangerous man.

Jhaeros sighed. This boy was so frightened of his presence that he could barely hold a conversation with him, "I am well, young one, take a breath. I won't hurt you. Why don't you and Solas go and play here? Hm? I still have errands, and you two are around the same age."

Solas's eyes darted to his father instantly upon hearing his proposal. It wasn't that he disliked being able to know children his age. However, he wasn't comfortable being around people in this village. It was like he could feel the malice thrumming in the air and taste the lies that floated about. Clearing his throat, "Ada, are you sure? Is it safe?" He whispered under his breath.

Jhaeros knelt at eye level with his son and pulled him close to whisper in his ear, making it look like he kissed the side of his head, "My Solas, when have I ever left you alone where I couldn't protect you? If anyone were to try something against you, they would face my wrath. I would not leave you alone if I were not sure you would be fine. Besides, you can protect yourself enough for me to return, right?"

Solas nodded his head, "Come back safely, Ada." Solas and Jhaeros connected their foreheads before Jhaeros rose to his full height and disappeared in the distance.

Solas turned to Elijah, "Well, Elijah, what shall we do?"

Still stunned by everything, Elijah shook his head, "Uh, um, we can practice sword fighting if you like?"Solas tilted his head slightly before agreeing as the two ran off to get the practice wooden swords.

Mikael and Esther, who watched the whole interaction, were seething, wondering, 'How dare that monster come to this village with that despicable thing?' 'what if the people find out the truth?', 'what if that thing hurts Elijah?' And the thoughts continue to run through their heads a mile a minute.

The couple was so entrapped with their thoughts that they didn't see Jhaeros return and stand a few feet away from them, watching his son and Elijah battle. He could see that even though Elijah was older, Solas had the upper hand. Elijah was off balance and wasn't centered, while Solas lowered his stance to pivot faster than him.

Until Esther spoke, "Mikael, what are we to do? That thing is playing with Elijah, and that monster is still around the village doing something? You saw that thing's features; it no longer looks like us. That must be the work of the dark arts!"

Jhaeros snapped his head towards Esther when he heard what she said; he couldn't help but chuckle. 'This supposed 'witch' was powerful?' Please, he could feel an even stronger presence than her. He knew who the other witch was; her name was Anya. If he remembered correctly, she was a direct descendant of Qetsyiah, a powerful traveler.

Mikael furrowed his brows and frowned, "What do you mean the dark arts?" He turned his head towards her.

"Only the dark arts can cause that shift of someone's features; there is no way by normal means that someone can change one's appearance." She spoke with conviction.

Hearing this, he could only think of one thing, "Are you saying he is a practice of dark magic? Are you trying to tell me he is a follower of Loki?"

At the mention of Loki, Jhaeros slowly crept over to the couple. He already knew where this was going, and he knew it would lead to a threat to his son.

She nodded, "He must be mighty to perform spells like that, even more powerful than me or my sister."

Mikael grunted. He already knew there wasn't anything they could genuinely do against Jhaeros because of the deal that was struck. But hearing this on top of everything caused his pride to be wounded, slowly becoming a problem. His anger tightened like a cobra in his chest. Before he knew it, he spat out, "Maybe this is a sign from the gods that they are nothing but evil." His voice was full of venom, and his tone was full of fury. "We have to do something before that thing follows in his footsteps."

When Mikael spat out those words, Jhaeros felt anger course through in his veins. It was like hot, melting lava had melted the ice in his veins. His calm facade slowly tempered his fury; he had to remember that his son was safe. His son was only a few feet away from him, and he could slaughter everyone before anyone reached him. He inhaled deeply and exhaled before letting a cruel smirk appear.

Before Esther could reply, they heard a cold chuckle; the tension in the air dampened the air from their lungs trapped as they gasped for air. "Is that so? Hmm, nothing but evil?" The one person they feared spoke behind them, causing them to whip around as if they had broken their necks. They could feel the fear spike higher in their hearts as they saw him.

"It would be best if you were more careful about whom you speak of, Mikael and Esther. After all, the people of the village will see the truth behind your facade. And we don't want that now, do we?" Jhaeros teased as he smirked, staring at them with cold eyes, tempting them to do something.

Feeling their blood freeze, seeing his cruel smirk, they remembered why they couldn't do anything. "Hm, nothing to say now? I see; you are too afraid to say it before me or even follow through with your plot. In that case, remember the feeling you have at this very moment because I will always be there around the corner to strike at you if you lay a single hand on my son." Seeing they wouldn't reply, Jhaeros turned on his heel, "Solas, it's time to go; say goodbye to Elijah for now."

Solas waved Elijah off as he jogged toward his father and reached for his hand; as they walked off, Jhaeros turned his head to the side and eyed Mikael and Esther, then turned his gaze to Elijah as a warning. Seeing the dangerous glint in his eyes, Mikael and Esther flinched and gulped before calling Elijah over to them.

They continued watching them as they vanished into the tree line without a trace of them, not knowing what would happen next—wondering if Jhaeros would come to reap what was sowed or not—wondering if they would ever be safe with those two monsters wandering about near their homes.