Kapitel 5: Cursed Cursed

In the deepest tunnels of the castle of Marcos, Merlin was seen invoking a spell on a chained civilian. Light glowed from his hands as he waved them around over the struggling man.

He placed his hands on the man's chest and pushed hard, blowing out pure black malice(demonic energy) from him which collected itself back into the man and imploded, blowing him away.

The spirit of Tiyanak formed from the malice, laughing "Give up ,mage! My curse cannot be broken by the likes of a contractor!"

"...I think I may be starting to believe that now." said Merlin as he rose to his feet.

" I don't know why you still insist on helping the humans, they're the ones who led the hunting of your kind to extinction. I believe you remain the last of the once feared contractors, do you not?" Tiyanak added.

"Great power always baffled primitive men. I personally don't blame them. But don't misunderstand, I'm merely doing this for my own gain." Merlin responded as he dusted his clothes.

"Mhahahaha, I think I may like you after all, spell caster."

"Oh yeah? enough to cancel the curse?"

"Don't push it, human!"

At around the same time ,king Marcos was meeting with Johnathan who had just brought Ernid back from beyond the city to a guest bedroom in the castle's east wing. She had curled herself up at a corner and refused to talk to anyway.

"Why does she look so pale?" Marcos asked

"She refused to eat or drink anything for the past three days until she met Grey ,her brother. She cried about it at first but eventually just stopped talking altogether." replied Johnathan.

"So that's the brother's name. What did she tell you about her transformation?" Marcos inquired.

"About that, she doesn't seem to remember any of it. Like she was just asleep the whole time. The last thing she remembers is a ' scary man' ,as she put it, breaking into the healer's house where she was kept and that's about it." Johnathan explained. The scary man being one of Tiyanak's undead.

"Why were they searching for a healer? Do you think they already knew about her condition?"

"Most likely ,but that's not what bothers me. We looked into her brother, Grey. The boy doesn't exist, I sent some of the knights to ask around the surrounding villages and not a single one came back with anything. Of course not knowing their last names didn't help but you'd think at least a single person would recognize them from the sketches."

"She won't tell you her last name?"

Marcos asked as he turned to Johnathan with a puzzled face. How much did these kids have to hide?

"That and where they're from, they're the only things she won't fess up about."

"*sigh*...get her cleaned up and ready to meet her brother but make sure you never leave them alone. There's still too many unanswered questions about these two"

With that Marcos walked out of the room in a hurry after hearing a sort of ring in his ears. He heads straight to the throne room from the guest bedroom where he finds Merlin playing with a knife while sitting on the stairs to the throne, balancing it's on his index finger.

Marcos signaled his glaives to leave before slowly walking closer "It's rare for you to summon me first" he greets, "How bad are the news?"

"Very bad , your majesty. You may want to sit down." He said firmly as he caught his knife and stood to clear the way.

"What happened?"

Merlin waited for Marcos to sit on the throne before he finally said everything he wanted to in a single breath, "... Tiyanak has cursed your people. Everyone who was bitten by his undead will become undead themselves though with their thoughts and free will intact but this doesn't make them any less of a threat because Tiyanak seems to be able to project his astral form from their malice and inside their minds which means he can always manipulate every last one of them as he wishes and try to destroy the kingdom once again and with the added bonus of them still needing human flesh to sustain their health ,it will be significantly easy. "

He spoke so quickly that Marcos couldn't process what he was saying fast enough for him to show a clear facial expression, like a child trying to avoid getting in trouble with their parents. As he spoke ,Marcos was slowly rising from his throne. Upon finishing, Merlin finally took a deep breath and waited for the king's temper to catch on.

"WHAT!? No, Tiyanak is dead! I watched my daughter turn him to dust! You saw it, You were there!" Marcos screamed as he stood up straight, banging his foot on the floor.

"With all due respect, your majesty, Tiyanak is a demon without a physical body. What the princess destroyed was merely a possessed host he linked to his form in order to survive in our world." Merlin clarified while trying to sound as humble as humanly possible as he just kept adding to the bad news.

To which Marcos glared, "And you never thought to tell me about this sooner!?"

"I apologize for that." Merlin said, "I had hoped to find a way to dispell it before the day came when it would take effect. I realize now that I was being too naive."

Marcos fell back to his throne and placed his index finger and thumb on his tightly shut eyes with a sigh, his anger fleeting with the energy he had invested in it.

"How long until the curse takes effect...and how many people have been infected?" he asked light-heartedly.

"Less than half the current population but still a considerable number, women and children included. As for time, well ,we have until tomorrow night."

The anology drops Marcos's spirit even lower as he felt the world get heavier, "...and what do you suggest I do?"

"There is no other choice but to pluck out the weeds before they ruin the whole garden." Merlin suggested, "Your majesty. Sacrifice the few to save the many, you cannot falter in your decisions"

"Give me a little more time to think. I'll call you when I've made my decision" Marcos said, so stressed he couldn't raise his head and just waved his hand to signal Merlin to leave.

"of course."

Merlin replied obediently.

Merlin bowed and made to leave when Marcos calls him back, "Wait!" ,he shouted, "What about Emberle's condition, any developments?"

"Oh yes," Merlin turned again, "her vitals are now stable, she just used more of Eve's malice than her body could handle. I suspect she'll wake up soon, though she may be rather parched when she does"

"...hmm ,very well" Marcos mumbled sluggishly as he signaled him to leave again.

As the sun drew closer to the horizon , Johnathan went to fetch Grey from the basement to take him to meet Ernid. He took him out into the city to a small house near the market area where there are two guards on the front gate and another at the front door. There was no conversation between the two the whole carriage ride there.

Grey took a deep breath before he entered the house, leaving Johnathan outside.

Johnathan could hear Grey walk around the house while calling for Ernid. He walked past the small kitchen to the living room where there was only a single couch behind a small wooden table in the middle of the room, facing an old looking built-in fireplace not too far from them.

While calling ,Grey heared running footsteps tapping on the floor boards upstairs. At the top of the staircase that was just on the right side of the entrance to the living room ,Ernid appeared with tears running down her cheeks.

Johnathan could hear her as she jumped from the stairs into Grey's arms and he fell on the floor with a thud. He could hear Ernid cry as she called out his name over and over, he could also hear her trying to beat him while she asked why he left her alone for so long. And finally he heard him gently say ,"I'm sorry , I'll never leave you alone again. I promise."

Feeling awkward, as anyone would,Johnathan decided to leave without saying a word to give them some privacy. "Call me when they get over it" he told the guards.

Back at the castle ,Marcos hadn't moved an inch from the throne even after. His posture hadn't changed either. Queen Maria entered the room with a tray of food. She walked to him, placed the tray gently on the floor and knelt there waiting for him to notice. Marcos raised his fingers a little to uncover his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice sounding dry and parched.

"I heard my husband refused to eat all day and told everyone to leave him alone so I made something myself and came to see what was wrong...as any worried wife would. Will you refuse me too?" she asked humbly, knowing very well her words would have him cornered.

(She had him)

A lazy chuckle left Marcos's mouth as he sluggishly stood without a word after taking the time to build up his strength, and went to sit by her on the floor. "...I would never dare" he said to her.

Queen Maria picked up a spoon and leaned over to feed him some of the soup, "What troubles you ,Marcos?" she asked gently.

"...The curse of the crown. It finally takes it's toll on me" ,Marcos replied after emptying the spoon.

She split the bread and fed him that too then poured him some wine in a silver cup, "I was not aware it was cursed" she said as she gently placed the cup against his lips.

Marcos drank the wine, then rested his head on her shoulder, "Haha, well you do now" he laughed wryly, "...Back when I took it from my brother, I swore I would never be like him. His weakness disgusted me so much that...*sigh* but now I see, it bent him the same way"

She moved the tray aside and slid on the red carpet to sit in front of him, then held his face and looked hard in his eyes. "Who am I talking to right now? You do not sound like my husband. I married king Marcos Redstorm, the man who took over the city in one night. The man who went to knock on my door one morning and told me I'd be crazy if I didn't marry him, even though I was already a single mother. The man who raised his daughter all alone when her mother passed, even with the entire world against him. There is nothing in this world I know of that can ever break you, whether it's the curse of the crown or hatred."

Marcos looked firmly in her eyes and saw not a single shred of doubt, her words were real, "bff- haha, that was forty years ago." he laughed as he grabbed her hands and held them tightly against his face, like a child melting at a mother's touch.

"and you believe you've gotten weaker?"

"Time is no man's friend"

Marcos replied as he lowered their arms.

"Do not falter, Marcos. The curse of the crown cannot bring you down. You're strong enough to carry it and bend it to your will, that much I know, but...whenever it gets too heavy, I'm always here to make you some soup." she chuckled lightly, "Don't ever be afraid to make decisions. You're the king of Ignatia." Maria added with sparkling eyes and resolve that even Marcos could feel from the warmth of her hands.

"Seriously, what would I do without you?"

"haha, Let's hope you never find out"

She then stood up with the tray after giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"To ask the cook to make you a proper meal. Bread and soup is an embarrassing thing for a king to eat, but sadly it is all I know how to make. Plus, I think my work here is done. I'll wait for you in the bedroom"

Said Maria as she left with a smile.

Outside the room ,she found Merlin standing against the wall near the door ,though the guards didn't seem to see him.

"Much appreciated, your highness" He said with a bow.

But Queen Maria doesn't say a word and just passed by with a discrete glance.

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