'.... and down.'
"Girls, can anyone explain to me what is going on?" Max asked in a shaky composed voice which echoed for a little while. He made sure his legs never gave him to the ground even with the amount of fright enveloping him. His eyes were widely looking at the red eyes, his mouth agape, and his breathing disheveled.
"Fucking goodness gracious! Can't any of you really explain? Armless! Weirdo!"
'Why can't they respond?'
"My name is Hazel, alright! Nothing to be scared about and believe me, you have the right to respect some silence. Everything will soon be clear. How freakish of you!"
Standing, Armless's reaction was to simply-silently look back at the red eyes; her "hypnotized" brain was processing blankness of words; hardly breathing through the heavy aura of the stagnant, blank atmosphere.
"This weak minded is your mate." commented the red eyes with flashes of intensity when each word was uttered. "And the future Imperial Alpha if all goes well? How disturbing to believe."
Hazel courageously said back: "He is the man I chosed." Having Max and Armless beside her, she felt less anxious than she normally felt whenever doing this, even though they were only strangers.
'What does that mean...'
.
.
.
'...chosed or forced?'
Owner of the two red eyes said in booming murmurs, "As long as he matches the requirements, it's fine."
"He. Does. Matches."
"Humm... potentially good but a weak minded vampire with a simple dream," Red Eyes addressed Max in a flat tone. "To become a human once again."
'Uh?'
"Listen to me the hows, whats and whys. Agreement to be established. You are about to take a way of no return." Red Eyes started explaining and paused for some seconds. "In addition, it's my pleasure to inform you there's a way out to all you think are impossible to solve."
'How come he...'
"How a'never told them about that intentionally." Max whispered to himself, slowly remembering his Wild Vampire form under the effect of Truth Mist, therefore telling Hazel and Cameron things he deemed they shouldn't have known, things like his goal of becoming a human once again...
Armless managed to speak to Red Eyes: "What are you?"
Amused, "Armless, is it?" Red Eyes continued. "Your presence here resembles coincidence, tell that to those who don't know your wish to have your two arms back if wizards should currently exist."
"What the hell are you!" Armless screamed in shock.
Angrily, "YOU DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE!" replied Red Eyes.
"You speaking of me having my arms makes me think you are a wizard."
'...That Penelope said don't exist?!'
"Yes I am the great first wizard king!"
'...That doesn't sound good.'
The wizard king's voice kept booming in echoes, and echoes that spread through the darkness.
There was a long moment of silence because that was quite a revelation, which, nevertheless, didn't hinder Armless from speaking again. Forcing her surprise were the words "first Wizard King."
Armless gulped, then gulped again. "So the rumors are true that you are alive," Her words were turned from whispers to fully-heard. "the princess had accessed you, and that the condition of her mother, together with the death of the Alpha Wolf are all true. The dots seemed connected evenly..."
Hazel grimly dragged Armless' attention. "I didn't bring you here to rain him with questions." Her tone was laced in a mixture of irritation and shame, the shame of hearing about her mom.
The Princess slimming her eyes that glared at the black beauty through the dark space, she heard Max grunting.
"Ya people SHOULD STOP! Let me go home ALRIGHT! A'don't mind all these damned shits, AH NEVER CARED! Allow me to go my way, thanks for ya help but no!"
'All your so-called helps do nothing more than cause troubles! I don't need any more troubles.'
Now, Hazel was getting fully irritated. "Oh you truthfully pretend not caring to become a human, hah? After I heard you saying the truth in the dungeon? What's the essence of lying and of having the chance to live your dreams but to intentionally misuse it? Stupidity isn't it?"
'I am stupid, okay? Since trusting Penelope.'
"Trust me, a'can't remember seeking for ya help." Max walked so close to Hazel that he could see mischief in her eyes screaming to him saying, "You have lost the game."
The young princess smiled at him, folding her hands on her chest. "Learn to say thank you if someone helps you without asking for it."
"Ya never helped me." Max declared back.
"ENOUGH!" The Wizard King commanded in a high voice that caused the three to shiver internally and externally. Dark red mists started revolving around his red eyes before spreading out forward and twirling round his two special guests.
Her eyes following the moves of the red mists swirling around her with discomfort, "Princess Hazel, if what he is saying is true, I doubt if the Absolute Law knows what you are doing..."
Hazel cut Armless' words saying, "I am done talking with you." A sign for the Wizard King to practicalize the agreement.
★★★
Since birth, Armless never had arms while in her human form.
It caused her many times to wonder how it could feel to have her arms in the human form ever since she knew who she was;
It took her through the pain of knowing her father named her Armless due to hatred he shortly but permanently developed for her because of her disability;
It made her wondered why others hated her nature and what could be the feelings of those who pitied her due to the same nature;
It took her all her might not to tell the Wizard King she would do whatever he wanted from her as far as he could bring her two arms into being.
Being armless was torturing;
Being armless was cruel;
But not anymore;
But not today;
But not now;
Two arms in the color of star dusts began forming right from her shoulder, slowly, downward, enchantingly, and beautifully in a way she could forever treasure remembering. The good thing was it wasn't painful but rather pleasurable.
'Wizard doings...' Max thought, his eyes examining the expression of happiness vibrating on Armless' face which was visible since the color of the star dust was so bright.
On the other hand, Hazel couldn't suppress the feeling of sympathy towards Armless because of how happy she looked. She was thinking how could her life be if she were like that?
It was a very touching sight.
Armless was experiencing something she believed to ever see happening in her dreams. There were no wizards nor witches anywhere to be found in the current era, and now this was really happening?
Not even the Dragon Descendants could do anything about her missing limbs… and she never wanted to have robotic arms, so the Vampires were out of her options.
"Oh my word." The black beauty didn't realize exclaiming in whispers. "I couldn't ever dream of this moment… to have my arms." Looking at Hazel, she added by the time she could feel the two arms and use her palms to brush away tears of joy rolling down her face: "What do you want in return as a thank you?"
Pridefully, "Just wait for it." Hazel smiled back. Out of the blue, Armless hastily starting walking towards Hazel, her tears flowing down her face.
Without Hazel doing anything such like stopping her from coming closer, Armless hugged her tightly, and embraced her like her soul. Hazel, too, hugged her back in a friendly way.
During that girls-emotional moment, being a lonely onlooker, Max didn't know when he asked the wizard king: "Ah… Ya can make me a human too?"