A Song of Silence

Chapter 26: A Past in the Dark

50 Years Prior:
The guards let me in with a smile. To them I was familiar. They had never seen my face, but the telltale sparks of my power were all the proof they needed. The Lighting was rare and nobody else in the Capital city possessed such an ability. I walked the halls of the castle that I had long memorized. The servants knew me and nodded and smiled as they went by. They lived a good life, a safe, carefree life, led by a kind and beloved, but sickly High King. As sorry as I was to do it, that beloved reign was about to come to an end. If I did not, thousands would die.

The High King had been sick for many years, but it had become even worse these days now that the Crown Prince was ever rarely to be seen. Crown Prince Azazel was a rake and a player, no matter that he was similar to my age. We only interacted rarely and when we did so, my hood was always up. I didn't trust the man. Nor he me. We merely tolerated each other for the Crown Prince was nearly always gone, doing heaven know's what, and I made myself scarce when he did deign to visit the capital city.

He would be endlessly angry for what I was about to do. He loved his father and so did the people. I was about to make an irresponsible player the most powerful man in all of Altreya. Great. The High King was powerful but that did not even compare to the well of might that lied in the grasp of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince's wrath will be felt throughout all of Altreya once he hears of this. All the more reason to get the job done and be gone.

The High Kings guards dismiss themselves with a wave of my hand. Per the High Kings request, he was the safest with me and no guard should be in the vicinity for they would only be a distraction. The High King lay on his bed, coughs wracked his body, the sickness wasting him away. The High Queen retired to her rooms, exhausted from watching over the High King all day. "Ah, my dear Lighting Bug! What brings you here on this fine night? He asks.

I merely pulled back my hood as my silver hair cascades down my shoulders. The High King regards the expression on my face as it sit down on the bed at his side. "It is time then?" I only nod. "I knew this day would come, I just thought I'd be more prepared for it. Even after all of Miranda's warnings." He said, referring to the seer that had died fifty years prior. I merely held up my hand, lighting cracked at the tips.

Anyone you'd like me to leave a message for?

"No, no. It'll bury them in grief. It is better this way, but I am very sorry child that you will be the one to do it."

As am I.

Tears starts to run down my face. The High King and I may not be blood related, but he basically raised me and is the only father figure I've ever known. I shake my head as I attempt to resist the vow weighing on my conscience.

I can't do it.

The High King places a hand on my leg in comfort. "You must do it child, for many will die if you don't. The Grand Assassin may be an evil bastard, but he's a man of his word, through and through." Reluctantly, I place my hand on his sweating forehead. I try to tell myself that it'll be a kindness to put him out of his misery, but the truth is that I was tired of killing. I wanted it to stop. I almost succeeded, but then the Grand Assassin gave me an order and I refused. That always came with consequences. The High King closes his eyes and says, "Tell my son, tell him to not let his light go out." I would. A small zap at his temple. Not even a mark or flash of pain and the High King was dead. I never got the chance to tell his son the message.

If I was lucky my sin would be discovered by morning. I sprinted out of the royal suites and jumped out the nearest open window. I needed to get out of the city fast. I wasn't lucky. I felt the tremors of the new High Kings anger from miles away. He would hunt me to the ends of the continent for this. He would find me. If I had learned anything in my time in the Capital city, It was how to hide. And hide i did.