A Fairy Tale

Chapter 16

Xander

      "So... What do you think your father wants?" Emma asks as soon as I finish reading the letter.

      "I don't know." I quickly fold it up and place it in the pocket of my pants, not caring if it gets rumpled. "What happened to Woods?"

      "I sent him to his room for the time being," she answers.

     "Once this meeting is over with my father, I want to pay him a visit." I start walking towards the exit. Emma swiftly follows.

     "What for?" She looks at me curiously.

     "Reasons," I say.

     "Oh. I see." She nods her head. "Reasons."

      We're both quiet as we walk along a hallway, entering an elevator that brings us to the fourth floor. After we pass a few roundabout hallways and doors we finally reach my father's. Two massive guards are situated on either side. Both armored in black metal and moussaif red swords. They don't even glance at us as we situate ourselves in front of the imposing doors.

      With Emma beside me, I somehow feel stronger. I glace her way, wondering if she feels the same. Before I can ask, the doors swing open, groaning loudly. A cool breeze escapes the doors lips, whispering unpleasant sounds.

      There's no reason to be afraid, I reassure myself. He did his damage already.

      "Let's go," I say. Determined. Emma inspects me before she smiles slightly.

      "Okay." Even though my whole body aches, telling me not to, I enter the room.

      It's just as dark as his throne room. A red plush carpet makes the floor feel as if it's been drenched in blood. A large king size bed dominates the center of the room with a window framed on either side.

      Aidoneus waits for us, seated at a desk to the left of the room. There's just enough room for me and Emma to sit down with him, yet neither one of us will move until he says to.

      I scan the room, looking for any family pictures or small mementos. The burgundy grey walls are bare, devoid of any personality. Every table top, ranging from his nightstand to his armoire lacks any sentimental belongings. His windows are covered by the darkest, ugliest curtains you could imagine. As if he views sunlight as a distasteful thing.

      The sound of papers rustling gains my attention and I turn back towards my father. He's peering over the tops of his glasses to read whatever's on the papers.

      "Come. Sit down." His voice sounds rough.

      No questions are asked as Emma and I sit down on the opposite side of him. Emma scoots her chair back a bit, still being respectful of the difference in her ranking compared to us devils of royalty. Aidoneus looks at her momentarily before he turns his attention back to the papers. Emma nudges my shoulder before nodding at the papers questionaly. I slightly shrug my shoulders. She mouths,

      "Ask him." I shake my head mortified.

      "Are were playing charades?" My father gazes at us over the rims of his glasses. He sighs before taking them off. For the first time, I notice he looks more exhausted than aggressive. Dark bags appear heavily under his eyes. His red eyes are more faded than bright. His hair has less volume and is swallowed up under the weight of his crown. The dark, threatening horns atop his head and the dark energy releasing itself from his body are the only things that remind me of what he's capable of.

      Being a delirious, mad-driven, monster. A devil with the power of the Underworld King. Aidoneus, my father.

      I narrow my eyes.

     "What's with the papers?" I ask.

     "They're to cover your mistakes from that horrible attempt of your so-called ceremony in Canada a few days ago." He slides the papers over to us. When I finally have the papers in my hands I can finally see that the images aren't stand still. They're delved so each one allows the viewer to see outside of the original visible spectrum.  One picture catches my eye, a pair of white wings moves in one of them before it suddenly disappears.

     "What's that?" I point at the picture and my father crosses his arms, suddenly upset.

     "That's what I called you two here for." He rubs his temple as he explains, "Whatever happened after you attempted to ruin that small child seems to have gotten the attention of the Gods."

     "But sir," Emma interrupts. "That means-" He holds up his hand to stop her.

     "Let me finish." He looks at her crossly before locking eyes with me. "Thankfully, it was only an angel. We know that Gods can not imitate the same form as an angel because of the incapability with their glow and an angels wings. As soon as I found out about your failure, I situated a spy of sorts to remain there." He lifts up his hand and a crow appears nestled on the ridge of his thumb. It flies off his hand and jumps on the table. "According to my source, she carried a bow of high power. From his description and the way she used it, my guess is it was Cupid's bow. Which has the power to make love connections between human beings. So whatever happened to the boy must've affected the parents. Their 'love' dispute was what alerted her to the scene."

     "When was she there?" I ask

     "Last night." He answers. The crow leaves the table and disappears into the dark corners of the room.

     "And the plan is...?" I smile slightly before he answers.

      "I want you to terminate her. Since you failed your last cerenomic kill, she's your alternative. I'm sure she's on her way right now to tell Cronus about your ascending to the throne. So there's no helping that." He looks down and mumbles, "All of my sacrifices."

     "What?" My fingers twitch.

     "Nothing," he clears his throat and stands up. I look at Emma warily before we both get up. He hands me a piece of paper. "We were able to track down the past few places she's visited recently. I'd tell you to find where she's at presently, but sadly, you entering the heavens would be suicide. This will have to do for now." He grabs my hand and pulls me in for a hug. I'm confused by the show of affection until his hand makes connection with my back.

      Pain shoots up my spine before lingering in my shoulders. I grit my teeth and smile. As he pulls away he looks into my eyes.

     "Don't fail me this time Alexander." His voice lowers to a whisper, "Otherwise you know the consequences." I nod my head and leave the room. Emma bows before tailing me. As the doors close behind us I speak.

     "Show me to Woods room." She cuts in front of me and leads the way.

***

A/N: I'm sorry about how short this chapter turned out to be. Especially when I haven't posted a chapter in about a month. I'm thinking about updating the next chapter agin soon, possibly ahead of schedule. Mostly because there's so much I wanted to add onto this chapter but I decided to make it part of the next chapter.

So many ideas in my head and I need to just write them down now before I forget.

Again, thank you for your patience. And I can't wait to write to you all again soon.

Until next time! <3