Chương 501: Extra 5: Dreaming of a Child
"Mama! Mama come quick!"
Amidst the darkness a small boy with bright brown eyes and dark brown hair jumped up and down, covered by a veil of light. My eyes were drawn to him just as a boat was drawn to a lighthouse in the middle of a storm. As soon as I saw him, I knew who he was.
"Asmonious! It's you!!" I ran forward to pull him into my arms, but he dodged me with a giggle.
"Mama! Catch me!"
He turned and started running away from me, laughing from the bottom of his heart. Thinking it was just a game of tag, he ran forward without a single worry. Seeing his figure quickly disappearing, my heart started thumping anxiously. I rushed after him, desperate to grab him, "Asmonious! Wait! Don't run away!"
The faster I ran, the quicker his small figure disappeared. Soon, he had completely disappeared, leaving only myself behind in complete darkness.
I searched endlessly as I cried out for him, "Asmonious!!!! Moni! Where are you!? Where are you-"
I jumped awake and straight into the arms of Cyrus. I struggled to breathe as my mind slowly returned to reality and I realized I was at home in my bed. The scent of his thick musk entered my nose and soothed my racing heart, relaxing my tense body.
Cyrus carefully blotted the sweat from my forehead, "It's okay. It was only a nightmare."
"A… Nightmare…"
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'm just… I'm just so anxious." I let out a groan, "Why can't we find Moni… I was hopeful Uncle Gonza could help, but… He hasn't found a single trace."
"Maybe we can think of another way to find him without having to rely on prophetic dreams."
"Do you have any ideas?"
He lowered his eyes, "No… But I will start brainstorming."
I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes to listen to his heartbeat, "...Okay."
"How about coming with me to work? We can go to the library. It might help to take your mind off of things."
"...Sure."
My eyes had bags under them as I shuffled aimlessly around the library. I should use this opportunity to brainstorm or read, but my worry turned my mind to mush.
Cyrus anxiously watched me out of the corner of his eyes while I stared off into space. Seeing me so despondent, he leaned back and patted his lap, "Want to try to nap?"
I walked over to him and sat on his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and snuggled in, "Not really."
He put down his documents and returned my hug, "Would you feel better if we went to visit Zephyr?"
I shook my head, "No, we just saw him for dinner yesterday. I want to give him and Hazel some alone time."
"Well… Lene won't wake up for a while and Astra and Billy won't be back from the art museum for a few hours… Which means-"
I perked up in interest, "Which means what?"
He smirked, "What if we exercise?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Exercise? But I hate that."
He suddenly picked me up and put me on the desk. Standing between my legs, he whispered in my ears, "You'll like this kind."
My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Even after everything we've done together, I still felt shy.
My eyes fluttered as I reached my hands out to him with a salacious smile. He forcibly kissed me, pulling me closer to his body. The moment we touched, I could feel the heat radiating from him. Intoxicated by his taste, I ripped apart his shirt. My hands rubbed against his chest, accidentally -or maybe even purposely- brushing over his curse mark.
Even though it would no longer kill him, even the slightest touch drove him crazy. His kissing became more passionate and wild as I fell back from his increasing force. I could feel he was still holding back so I decided to tease him more.
I reached my hand out and smirked, "Nice. Very nice."
His eyes were covered in a drunken haze as I saw him lose his last shred of decency, "Y-You…"
My back was pushed to the wooden desk and my legs lifted. I could hear his panting in my ears as our hands desperately grabbed at each other.
Just as soon as things started heating up, a guard rushed into the room, "Queen Reika! King Cyrus! I have good news!"
We jumped apart from each other in the blink of an eye, as we were so used to Astra barging in and ruining our festivities. Cyrus suddenly kicked the chair in frustration and cursed under his breath, "...I'm going to start enforcing the doors with magic."
The guard was so shocked by Cyrus's sudden anger, that his body went taut. I quickly hopped off the desk and fixed myself up pretending as if nothing had happened. Luckily, the poor guard had no idea what he just interrupted. I raised my head feeling little hope, "What good news?"
He saluted me as if afraid to make us angry, "Gonza had a vision. He said you'll let him free after this one. He had a vision about a boy-"
I sprinted out of the room, pushing the guard aside. Cyrus fixed his suit before rushing after me. When I burst into Gonza's room, I didn't let him speak one word before I shouted.
"Is it true!?!"
An exhausted Gonza groaned while Caldwell rubbed his shoulders. Whether it was exhaustion from sensory deprivation or the incessant bothering from an owl "keeping him company", I didn't really care.
"Did you or did you not?"
He weakly handed over a piece of paper which I snatched from him immediately. Cyrus peered over my shoulder, "It's a map?"
I pointed to the X written on it, "Is this where he is!?"
"Mmmmmn."
My eyes lit up as my body suddenly felt lighter. Without waiting, I rushed outside and created an ice dragon. Just as I went to climb aboard, Cyrus hopped on behind me. I looked at him in surprise, "You aren't staying?"
He hugged my waist and kissed my neck, "You keep forgetting my promise."
I faced forward with a slight blush, "...I didn't forget, I just can't believe you are willing to leave your kingdom unattended because of me."
He snuggled in closer to me, "I can't let my wife search for our son without me."
I chuckled and forced the dragon to fly faster. After several hours, we arrived in an extremely remote place nowhere close to any major town. As we landed, people gathered to whisper.
I stepped forward, "Um. Hello. I am looking for someone… A little boy? He should spend most of his time in the ruins near the village orphanage."
At least, that's what Gonza wrote on the map. When I pulled out the map, they made a face.
"The demon kid?"
"Who are you, his mother?"
I nodded indignantly as I put away my map, "That's right. We are his parents."
"Good riddance. Take him away already."
Another added, "If it wasn't for a new law saying to protect demons, we would have gotten rid of him already."
I felt a rush of irritation, "And why is that?"
"His anger is out of control!"
"His anger-huh?" I stared at them completely in shock.
"That's right! He's always shouting and causing problems! Then he just stands there motionless!"
"Not to mention the fires!"
I blinked, "H-Huh? Fires?"
Cyrus leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Seems like Moni's changed."
I furrowed my brow.
No…
I feel like… Something is wrong…
The townspeople pointed us in the direction of the local orphanage that was placed on top of a hill. Once we hiked up, they then pointed in the distance explaining where we could find him.
As we walked, I kept looking back at the orphanage. Cyrus noticed my expression and asked, "What is it?"
"I was just thinking about the discrepancy in the children."
"What do you mean?"
"There were no demon children except one and they were clearly being isolated. While there isn't anything wrong since the child looked healthy, I don't think the children are being treated fairly."
"Ah… Well, prejudice is hard to get rid of overnight."
I nodded and faced forward, "Maybe we should make more of an effort to keep an eye on things. This town may follow our rules, but I know better than anyone how corrupt officials can be."
He leaned close to me with a playful smirk, "Royal magicians usually find a social issue to address. The last one conducted charities… Even though it was clearly for the sake of Nobles."
I propped up my chin, "Hmm… That's not a bad idea. We could do surprise visits to ensure everything is normal… We could even go in disguise as a couple who wants to adopt!"
Cyrus suddenly grabbed my waist and pulled me in, "And what kind of child would we adopt? An older one? A baby? A toddler?"
My cheeks flushed red, "W-We don't actually have to adopt one…"
He pretended to be hurt, "Oh? You don't want a child with me?"
My cheeks flushed redder, "I-I didn't say that… I'm… I'm open to the possibility."
"Then it's decided." He kissed my cheek, "If the opportunity presents itself, then we can adopt."
Before I could playfully swat away his face, a voice shouted to us.
"It's YOU! YOU!!!" A boy barely the height of my waist stomped over, and as he did, fire erupted at his feet and burned everything around him. I quickly extinguished it as he pointed his finger at me.
"YOU! YOU CURSED ME! LOOK AT ME!"
Two pairs of horns were planted firmly on his forehead, his eyes were mixed red and orange just like the color of flames. His teeth were razor sharp and his pupils were slits.
"I'M DEMON SCUM! SCUM! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO-SO-so… so…" He paused and scratched his head, "So… So? So. Uhhhhh…"
As he stood there motionless making a strange sound, Cyrus and I exchanged a look.
As the flames died down, the strange demon boy looked at us in confusion. "Wait… I know your faces… You two… Are… You are… Wait… Who are you? Where am I?"
Cyrus blinked slowly, "...Captain Lou?"
"Captain Lou?" He tilted his head as he thought, "Ah… That… Hm."
My eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious? This is Captain Lou!?"
Cyrus shrugged, "I don't know… But… Doesn't his way of talking sound similar?"
My gaze returned to the child who was gritting his jagged teeth and drilling his knuckles into his head. As he growled in frustration and stomped his feet, more fires started which I quickly put out.
Around his wrist was a red line that resembled a ribbon. When he noticed it, his face lit up. "I REMEMBER! I REMEMBER!"
"What's happening?"
"This stupid price! Anytime I'm angry I forget everything! I can only remember when I see this stupid mark!" He waved his wrist frantically in the air, "AUGH! Can you believe it!? That stupid wench said I had to pay a PRICE! ME! For what!? Doing what I was ordered to do!? Ridiculous! I didn't want to kill anyone! But I was a soldier and I had to follow commands!!"
As I watched him prattle on about his injustice, I felt a sinking sense of failure.
Once again, I was no step closer to Moni.
It was another disappointment.
He started spitting on the ground, "I WISH I COULD JUST- just… Just…"
Wait…
If Lou made it back, wouldn't that mean Atta did too?
His stomping ceased as he looked around, "...What was I talking about?"
I filled in his gaps of memory, "The price you had to pay."
"...Price?"
I let out a sigh and raised his wrist to eye level. His dazed eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh yeah!!! That woman took away my anger! MY ANGER!"
I pursed my lips, "How is that a bad thing? You always had anger management issues."
"My anger was the thing that defined me! It was my only character trait!!! Now it's gone." He slumped to the ground in depression, "...Now what do I have? I'm just a demon who lives in the middle of nowhere."
"Well I wish I could have sympathy for you, but I don't." I looked around in expectation, "But what about Atta? What happened to her,"
"Atta?" His demeanor suddenly went docile, "I… I don't know… I can't find her."
I blinked in disbelief, "You… Tried to find her? Why?"
He shrugged and averted his gaze stubbornly.
My lips twitched, "So she also reincarnated?"
He nodded, "Yeah, but I don't know the price she had to pay. The old bat wouldn't say."
As silence descended around us, Cyrus whispered in my ear. "So what should we do?"
As I thought about the best course of action, my eyes were slowly drawn to the morose Lou. No matter how much I disliked him, it wasn't like he was bad to Atta. In fact, he surprisingly made a good impact on her.
I held out my hand to him, "Wanna come live with us at the palace?"
Cyrus and Lou both gave me a baffled look as if I had suggested painting myself blue.
Lou spat out, "YOU want ME to live with YOU!?"
I raised an eyebrow unimpressed, "If you don't like it, you are free to stay here."
He quickly jumped to his feet, "I don't want to stay here! I can't even remember where here is! I've never heard of this country before!!!"
"So?"
"So I will go with you!" He gave me a cautious look, "I just don't understand why you would offer. We don't get along at all."
"We don't." I smirked arrogantly, "But if you are by my side, Atta will eventually come as well."
His cheeks turned bright red and a few more flames fell onto the grass, "I… I doubt that…"
I laughed and summoned my dragon, "Whatever you say."
As Lou got settled into his new room at the palace, I made my way to Gonza's room. I tried to push down my frustration as I barged inside.
"...Uncle Gonza."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember the vision you had with Cyrus holding the hands of a small boy?"
"I do."
"Was the person you had the vision of the boy you had seen from your earlier visions?"
"...No."
I sucked in a deep breath, "...Back to the sensory deprivation chamber with you."
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Nekoru
Nekoru I promise I didn't forget about you! I've just been too busy to post~
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