Chapter 457: Chapter 457

457 Memories And Riddles

Tidas was boiling over with rage when he had left Marco’s office. He knew that his level was boardering on irrational, and wondered if his brother had used his magic to exasperate his pent-up fury. It wouldn’t have surprised him, but Tidas couldn’t figure out a purpose behind it.

Marco was an ambitious, calculating, cold-hearted person, so he always had a reason for his actions.. ‘But what was the point in fighting me?! He just revealed his Tank trait to me: I seriously doubt that was his goal.. He learned about my Shaman trait, too..’

Clenching his jaw in self-disappointment, Tidas continued towards the front of the castle as he thought.. ‘Nevermind his motive for now: How the Fuck did he get another trait?! Not that I understood how he could have Dark and Ether magic to begin with, but I just assumed it had something to do with the Spear..’

‘What if it doesn’t just have to do with the Spear? ..What if it’s about the Catalyst legend, or whatever? What if he’s that so-called Cataclysm thing that Skye mentioned? Was that in the Catalyst legend, or another one? I can’t recall; she’s mentioned so many.. Should I ask her? Dammit, she’s gonna be pissed that I hit Marco-‘

As Tidas walked down the hallway at a relatively fast pace, he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t see Genie rounding the corner as he went to pass. The prince barely budged, but Genie promptly fell onto his arse. As he apologized and helped Genie up, he noticed Tidas’ distraught demeanor..

In truth: Genie wanted to keep going about his business, but Tidas was his former pupil, and genuinely looked like he needed a sympathetic ear. The pulse of Dark magic he’d felt a little bit ago was gone, which meant that Ahriman was as well. With that assumption, Genie decided to focus on Tidas instead.

As they started to talk about the fistfight between the two princes, they were getting glances from eavesdroppers catching bits here and there. Not wanting to be the center of gossip, Tidas lead them away from the main hallway, and used a few of the side halls that were primarily used by the servants. Since most of them were tending to guests, not many were around to hear Tidas and Genie’s conversation.

As he told him about the guards that had seen the end, and heard Marco’s words; Genie scrunched his face. Seeing it: Tidas asked what was wrong. At first he tried to brush it off, but Tidas wasn’t about to let it go..

Leading him into a familiar garden near the front of the guest quarters of the palace, Tidas sighed; “That’s the same face you’d make whenever I got a terrible grade. What doesn’t add up here to you?”

.....

“I’m most likely wrong, but.. I think your brother wanted those guards to see his wounds from you. I know that there’s a law stating that not even other royalty can harm another. Those guards wanted to arrest you, correct?” Genie asked in a low voice.

Tidas nodded; “Aye, but Marco told them not to. That ‘it was a fight between brothers’, so they didn’t do anything.. Not that they could, really.”

“What do you mean?” Genie’s voice was uneasy as he’d asked.

“The only one with authority to order any action taken against me is my Father, the King. Even if he had solid proof of wrong-doing on my part, Marco can’t do anything more than bring it to my Father. My rank puts me on par with him as the Crowned Prince, so all he can do until he’s King is present a case.”

As Genie processed Tidas’ words, something about it all still didn’t still well with him.. ‘So if he has so-called ‘witnesses’ to Tidas beating him, then why isn’t he going to Magnus? He could easily have Tidas penalized for attacking a royal family member, so why not? I don’t like this..’

As Genie’s mind started to tailspin, a small laugh from Tidas brought him back with a huff; “What is it about this situation that has you so amused?”

Tidas had mostly calmed himself as he replied; “First off, sarcasm is never helpful. Secondly, I was laughing because this is the second time that we’ve been stumped in this garden.. Remember that brain teaser thing that Skye gave us to work out? And how Lawrence had actually pulled out some of his hair because he was so frustrated?”

As Genie glanced around, memories from a more innocent time flashed through his mind’s eye. Three young children running around as he tried to rein them in. They had refused to sit still for their lesson, and Skye had made Genie an offer: figure out her riddle, and they would agree to learn.

Lawrence had thrown a fit, saying that he was ‘too old’ for the same lessons, so Genie had told him to figure out the riddle before he could, and he’d let him go. For an hour straight: Lawrence had guessed, but never got it. At the end of the time limit, Genie had guessed right. Neither could remember the riddle, but both clearly recalled his brother’s tantrum over losing.

After reminiscing in the garden for a time, the two headed over to Zazzy’s Place. As they came near, Tidas and Genie could hear Zazzy making little roaring noises. Concerned, the two used their magics, and ran/flew over to her as quickly as possible. When they saw her, both took in a massive breath of relief to see Zas playing with her in the field.

It looked like they were playing a game of tag, since Zas was running from her. When he saw Tidas and Genie, he stopped and waved, which was the worst decision..

Zazzy ran up to him, and jumped. When she landed on top of him, Zas immediately disappeared underneath her, making the two cry out in panic. They didn’t realize that Zazzy still had her butt up in the air, so she hadn’t brought all of her weight down on him. As the two rushed at her screaming for her to get off of the General, Zas poked his head out from under her arm, and asked; “Why are you two freakin’ out? We’re just playing.”

Tidas and Genie exchanged a look of relieved frustration before they started yelling at Zas. They explained that anyone would’ve been worried to see a dragon weighing thousands of pounds jump on top of him, but Zas brushed them off while saying; “We play like this every time we see each other. She’s big enough to make it difficult to evade, and I’m one of the few that she can’t squish.”

As the three stood and argued, Tidas could hear the familiar hoof beats of a large horse heading their way. There were three horses in total, but one in particular, he could recognize anywhere: Thoth. Looking down the road, Tidas waved at his wife with a smile.. Until her face became clear.

As she came closer and closer, the prince could see the anger on his wife’s features. He considered running away, but Shasta and Lawrence would never let him live down the fact.. ‘I suppose it’s time..’

Skye didn’t even wait until Thoth was close before she had dismounted, and started to freak out on her husband; “Have ya gone bloody Insane?! Fer the love of the gods, WHY would ya pick a fight wit yer brother?! Ya know that he’s lookin’ fer an excuse ta kill ya!”

Tidas shrugged; “According to Marco himself, it was just a scuffle between brothers. Why are you flipping out?”

Skye put her hands on her hips as she replied; “Cause everyone in the palace is sayin’ that ya tried ta take the crown from him! It could be the exact Opposite of what the gossipers say, but tis still gonna cause yer da a headache. WHY, husband?! Just...why?!”

Because he pissed me off, that’s why,” Tidas snipped back before Genie intervened.

He told Skye everything that had happened between him and Marco, which only seemed to make her more irritated. He had obviously goated Tidas into the fight, but she couldn’t figure out the purpose behind it.. ‘Was it ta spark the rumors? To what end? I dinna like this.. Maggie’s gonna be pissed at them..’

As thoughts started to run rampant within her mind, Tidas asked Skye; “Did you track me down just to yell at me, or are we going to lunch? Thanks to Marco, I’m behind for the day.”

Skye narrowed her eyes on him; “Dinna go puttin’ all the blame on yer brother. Ya didna have ta hit him: ya chose to. So any delays ya face today are of yer own makin’, husband.”

As Tidas went to argue, Shasta chimed in; “What did he look like when you did it? Was there blood? Was he surprised? Oh! I would’ve paid Good money to see it!”

Me too,” both Lawrence and Zas added.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As the three snickered, Skye flashed a disapproving expression as she said; “Ya know karma’s gotta way of biting people on the arse fer enjoyin’ the sufferin’ of others.”

Shasta scoffed; “Oh, don’t you go actin’ like you didn’t smile when you first heard of it. Even that guard you questioned looked at you funny..”

As Skye’s cheeks turned pink, Tidas defended her; “She does have a point, though. My Father’s gonna tear me a new one when he finds out.”

Zazzy watched and listened to the others in silence. She didn’t like anything about the man that her parents called Marco. He never looked happy, had never talked to her, and he had a weird, scary smell about him. It was similar to the rotten stench that came from the monster in the Highlands, but worse.

There had been a particularly nasty smell wafting in from the city, and it reminded her of the man. It wasn’t scary like him, but it made her sick to her stomach all the same. As Zazzy debated on telling her parents about the smell, the six decided to play with her for a little while before heading off to the Cat’s Paw for lunch. They all chased each other and the young dragon for nearly an hour before Skye said that she was ready to pass out.

After bidding her farewell, the group left to eat right as Larry showed up to feed Zazzy. As she happily waited for the food to fill, Zazzy forgot to mention the smell of rancid corpses to her parents. A decision that would come to haunt her...