"She's a seductress. Princess Palari was right." Lyria seethed as she stood in the hallway with her husband. The meeting hadn't restarted because Malari and Railin wanted to speak to Kasian privately for a moment.
"Are you upset that the King seems to like the woman or you're just upset that Master's parents are allowing it to happen?" Melire asked. "He should stay loyal to Master." She replied.
"He wasn't loyal to her? Ten years without another woman by his side and only now he seems interested in this woman. What did she do to you for you to hate her so much?" He asked. He was really confused.
"You don't understand. You've never seen Master without her mask." Lyria tried to deflect but he scoffed. "I've seen her without her mask multiple times. We met almost yearly. You really think I didn't know? She looks nothing like Master."
"I don't like her attitude." Melire's eyes narrowed at her. "What attitude? The first time we met, she was humiliated. The second time we met, she spoke about the meeting. Just then, it was King Kasian that started to talk and to ask. So, tell me, what attitude?"
"The way she acts is just like Master. It annoys me. It makes me think that she'd acting this way on purpose." Melire sighed. "None of Master's personal information has ever been sold. Besides, the woman was poisoned by Master and has always been weakly! How can she act like master?" She glared at him.
"You think I'm lying? Im not the only one that doesn't like her or think so? Even Master's sister thinks so?!"
"Enough!" Melire shouted angrily. "You're blowing this out of proportion for what reason? If you don't want to tell me then stop with this stupid behavior or you'll kill us all!" He walked off angrily.
She turned to leave and bumped into someone. "Princess. My apologies." Lia nodded to Lyria. "It's fine." Lia walked off, leaving Lyria standing in the hallway.
The next few days came and went quickly and quietly. On the day of Jailin's birthday, the family held a small gathering amongst themselves. A gift was sent to Jailin from Opal and her family.
Jailin opened it when most of the family left. Only Lion, Kasian and Kai were in the room with him when he opened the wooden box. It was a sword.
Lion snatched the sword from Jailin's hands instantly. "Second brother-." Kasian stopped Jailin and watched Lion inspect the sword. In a few seconds his eyes went through multiple emotions.
"Sorry. I was excited because it's a magnificent sword." Lion apologized before giving it back to Jailin. Kasian smiled but didn't say anything. "It's a really great sword, Jai. Let's put it to some sort of use tomorrow in training." Kai encouraged.
"Let's do it." Jailin smiled brightly. "I think this is the one thing I love the most from the gifts I got." Jailin looked at the sword closely, his eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement.
Kasian placed a hand on Lion's shoulder. "Whatever you're thinking, wait." Kasian warned him in a low voice. Lion looked up at his father, their eyes locking for several seconds. "I won't say a word." The two nod to each other.
********************************************************** Five nights later
**********************************************************
A sharp, long and painful scream made high level martial artists bleed from their ears. It was late into the night and happened so unexpectedly that it made them all fall unconscious.
Only a few were unaffected. Six in the palace were unaffected and the entire family from Ojun were as well, despite them being closest to the source.
Rain and Kain rushed out of their courtyard, not caring about how little they were dressed int he cold winter night. When they reached Opal's courtyard, Dasa stood by the door, unaffected.
She looked at them and they looked at her and knew that she wasn't moving or letting them pass her by. The sound of wood cracking intensified as did her scream. They didn't know what was wrong, what caused it or how to help her.
The scream died down two minutes later. The timing wasn't that long but it was powerful enough to nearly kill almost all high-level martial artists in the Kingdom. Dasa still didn't move from her position.
At this time, Varin and Soria brought their husband's clothes and shoes for them to wear. Dasa turned her head, as if listening to what was said from inside, but they couldn't hear anything.
"Return tomorrow. Master will talk with you then." Dasa said to the group. "Is she okay?" Varin asked. "She is now." Her answer made the brothers throw each other a glance.
"Then brother and I will come early in the morning, mother." They bowed towards the door and left. "What's going on?" Varin asked as the group stopped in front of their courtyards.
"From the looks and sound of things, Mother might've regained her memories." Kain answered. "That's a good thing. Isn't it?" Soria asked. "Some things are better off not remembering." Rain sighed heavily and walked into his courtyard.
The brothers' mood was the same. Somber. They didn't know what exact change would happen in the morning. They feared the morning and the possibilities it possessed.
In the Palace, Bira and Kana were standing on the training field looking in the direction of the Mansion. "How far away is everyone from the Kingdom?" Bira asked Kana. "They'll be here in five days."
"Don't you think we should stop this before it gets out of hand? The two of them are-." Bira glared at Kana and she stopped talking. "We aren't the only ones who heard that scream." She turned and looked at the Palace.
"We'll do what we were told to do. We don't live forever, if we keep jumping in then they'll depend on us too much. Even the King understands this, you also need to." Kana nodded.
"Father." Kasian greeted Railin. "How many of the children heard it?" He asked. "Kai and Lion did." Railin sighed. "This really shows who's been skipping on their training." He joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Do you really think-." Railin stopped himself from asking the question. Kasian sighed deeply. "It strangely feels colder." Kasian said as he looked at Railin.
"The meetings are finished; the details have been confirmed. A banquet has already been scheduled for the signing of the peace treaty. We won't see any of them until that day." Kasian turned and walked off.
Railin looked up to the sky as a snowflake floated towards him.