Milestonz village, Y city.
Jack stopped the bike at the entrance gate of a bungalow. He took out the ignition key and put it in his pocket. Then he got off the bike.
The security guard opened the gate upon seeing it was the boss' grandson.
Jack ran in, saying nothing to him.
He pushed open the main door of the home only to see a bunch of elderly men and women having a good time eating, drinking and dancing to music. It was a big party!
Jack was baffled. What the hell was going on here? Or maybe he's in the wrong house?
He stepped outside and looked at the surroundings.
Yes, this was definitely his grandpa's home. Why then was there a party? Where is the dying old man?
He entered the home again.
He attracted their attention this time.
"Young man, you are really as good-looking as the old man claimed. This is good. Very good. I approve of you, my son. Welcome, welcome!" a slim, elderly man (of average height) dressed in casual clothes walked to Jack and extended his right hand for a handshake while sipping from a glass of wine.
"Where is my grandpa and what the hell is the meaning of this?" Jack demanded.
"He's dying and so we decided to party. This was his request." said an elderly lady wearing gold-rimmed spectacles.
"What? You heartless bastards! How dare you..." he got interrupted by a sudden familiar voice.
"Jackie, you are here!"
Jack saw an elderly man coming over to him wearing a black thobe and white rabbit's ears flip-flops. He held a glass of red wine in his left hand and waved excitedly at Jack.
Jack furrowed his eyebrows. What was happening here?
He walked closer to the elderly man
"Mr Todds, where's my grandpa?"
"Hey, kiddo." the man patted Jack's shoulder. "Why speak formally to me? I feel so hurt..."
"Stop being dramatic, uncle Raven." Jack said in frustration. He already had two drama queens at home. He had no spare time for this sissy.
"You called me uncle, but you don't wanna spend time with me. Here is so lively but look, you're bringing down the festive mood..."
"Uncle Raven, where is my grandpa? I won't ask again."
"Jeez! You sound like a gangster. But I'll tell you if you smile."
Jack groaned internally. He forced a big smile, revealing his perfect set of white teeth.
"Good! Keep this smile on for a minute..."
Jack turned to leave instead.
"Hey... hey! You win. Let's talk in private, alright?"
He took Jack to a corner, occasionally sipping wine from the glass leisurely.
"Your grandpa isn't here. He..." uncle Raven sipped wine again and licked his lips.
"This wine's superb!" he commented.
"Don't push your luck, Mr Todds!" Jack looked pissed.
"Hehe, I like pushing my luck. That's how I was able to overturn my fate of being bankrupted 7 years back." he sipped his wine again. "No need to be so anxious. Your Grandpa is only dying, not dead."
"Mr. Todds!"
"Okay. Here!" the old man took out a piece of paper and handed it to Jack.
"That's where he is." he then joined the party, dancing with an elderly lady dressed in a black, sequined, sleeveless gown.
Jack unfolded the paper and saw an address written on it.
He immediately folded it and kept it in his pocket. He left the premises and entered the bike.
************
Blendz.
Meanwhile, Collen looked like he'd seen a lady with ten legs.
He stared at the three ladies who stared at him back, eagerly waiting for him to answer their questions.
He'd agreed on just two questions per person, but they somehow fit 10 questions into two questions. Now he was going to answer 30 questions.
He exhaled and calmed his heart.
"Who wants an answer first?" he asked.
All three put up their hands.
"How about we do this? I'll close my eyes and you'll switch positions. The one I randomly point will get her questions answered first."
"Okay." Evelyn answered, and the other two rose from the seats with her.
Collen covered his eyes and turned his chair around.
The three ladies switched positions by the count of 3. Collen turned the chair around and pointed. He stopped covering his eyes with his left hand and saw whom he pointed at.
It was Lisa.
"Woah!" the best friends clapped.
Cullen adjusted his specs again.
"Are you nervous?" Lisa asked with folded hands.
"Haha. You are humorous. Let's start with you being the lucky one." he took up the paper containing her questions.
The first question was 'How does my mum look like?'.
He cleared his throat and took out a hand mirror from his spatial ring. It was made of rhinestone. It looked really pretty and the ladies' eyes shone. This was made by a skilled master!
Collen pointed the hand mirror towards the wall and a bright golden light shone, illuminating the part of the wall. Soon, a clear picture of a lady appeared. The green-haired lady wore a silver knee-length gown and black harem pants that covered her ankles. She wore white socks. A black belt was around her waist, but if one looked closer, it was actually a soft sword. Her hair was tied up elaborately, with several golden hairpins and a silver headpiece. A black veil with silver spirals covered her entire face; the length stopped above her chest.
She was holding a golden staff with a white orb atop it and green veins enclosing it.
The woman possessed a majestic aura that could be felt by all, even though it was just an image.
"This is my mother's healer form?" Lisa asked, longing in her eyes.
"No. This was one of her everyday outfit. The healer queen can't be seen by others easily. But there was a time I got to see her face, and I paid for it with 100 beatings of the bull rod. This is what I remember." Collens replied.
The image reflected in the mirror changed. Now, there was the image of the lady without her veil. All three gasped.
The grey-eyed lady they were looking at was too beautiful to believe she existed. Why, many rulers would kill to get this kind of gentle beauty!
"That's my mother?" Lisa asked again. Her heart was pounding.
Collen nodded.
"But the face shown to Jack Reynolds was the one belonging to a maid. Only her family and true love may see her face." he explained.
"So... how was her kingdom like... I wanna see the palace." Lisa requested.
The image turned to a video depicting how the throne room and ballroom looked like when she was ruling. They got to see so many of her subjects.
All were pale-skinned and good-looking. The females, young and aged (no matter what outfit they wore) had on various veils that covered their nose to their neck. It seemed only the queen's traits could not be seen at all by any non-deserving person.
But the men didn't need to cover their faces. Their attire was a long-sleeved robe that reached their ankle. Their hands couldn't be seen coz the sleeves were very long, but the boys were an exception. Their elbows could be seen too.
The highest tower in the palace contained a very huge pearl. It contained the source of healers' energy.
The kingdom wasn't too large, but other kingdoms respected and highly sought after healers. In a war, no one needed soothsayers to tell them the benefit of a healer behind the soldiers.
It was like a system cheat!
The higher the healer's energy level, the more chances of winning. Healers were neutral in other kingdom affairs and could be hired so long as the hirer met the requirement. If someone had a disease that normal doctors couldn't cure, they'd seek the healers out. The rarer the disease, the higher the level of the healer needed. Healers of a low level can only heal themselves coz healing others would drain their energy and even reduce from their life span, so healers were hard to please.
To get the queens' healing, the one needing help or his relative must send something that is worth half of his kingdom or even a heirloom. If she deems it worthy, then she'll call a date to show up. The person must arrange for a grand procession to escort her to the venue. But if she deems the procession as too shabby or boring, if she also happens to be in a bad mood at that moment, she'll either send someone else or just go back into her residence to be in seclusion.
There were salso people dressed in armour. They were flying about the kingdom. Their job was to protect the healers- they are the warrior race. Collen was from that race and served the queen personally.
"So, can I see my father, too?" Lisa asked eagerly.
The images changed to that of a man wearing a red leather jacket and black pants. His blue hair was braided, and even though it was tied in a high ponytail, it reached his waist.
There were several diamond beads fixed into his braids and they dazzled with his every move.
His eyes were purple, and he looked dashing with a chiseled face, long nose and peach colored lips. He held a enormous black sword with a zig-zag edge. Various precious stones were embedded in the blade.
The name of the blade was written in a foreign language.
"What's the name of that sword?" Lisa asked with interest.
Collen took the list of Lisa's question.
"That would be answered in the next lesson." he declared and put down the paper.
"Gosh!" Lisa groaned in frustration.
"Just watch, little one. The patient dog always eats the fattest bone." Evelyn put her hand around Lisa's shoulders and she nodded.
"What are my parents' names?" Lisa asked.
"Your mum was Queen Cannenta Galena Vespertine. Your dad's name was Nali Doyle Kaminsky." Collens answered.
"What was his job? Where was he from?" Lisa asked again.
"I'm afraid you ain't ready to know about it yet. I promise to tell you when you are ready. Cross my heart, princess Relia." he placed his right hand on his left chest.
Lisa felt tired but didn't give up on asking the remaining questions.
"Why did my mum leave me here and not come back to take me even though she's still alive? Are my parents still together?"
"I can't answer any of those questions. You are not ready." Collen said with a sigh.
"Fine. But can I take a picture of my mum and dad?"
"No. Phones cannot capture it. But your staff can record it. You are still low level, so it might drain your energy a bit. Still wanna go through with it?"
"Yes!" Lisa said in resolution.
Her scepter immediately appeared, levitating in front of her.
"To record everything I've shown you regarding your parents, you'll have to say these words...."
***********
5 minutes later, Lisa crashed into Vanessa's hands fast asleep. Her scepter had disappeared.
Now, it was was time to see who would get answered second.
Collen closed his eyes and spun the chair around.
At the count of 3, he spun the chair again and pointed at one of them. He uncovered his eyes and saw that it was Evelyn. He exhaled and picked up the paper carrying her questions.
The first question was 'Where does my fairy tribe live? And also show me the way the ruling system is like.'
Collen sighed, and the images changed.
Now they could see a place full of ice all year round. The residents wear a white coat on whatever outfit they chose. Their hair was at least knee-length and they had pale skin. This fairy tribe kingdom was called 'Frost blade'. Their powers are mainly ice and water. But there are select few who can control blood. Such people are a great asset in war.
Being a royal doesn't mean one can have that ability. Even a peasant can possess it. It is a divine gift! When found, such people are taken to the palace and given the rank of a noble. It comes with a nice abode on a blessed mountain. Such mountains are very good for improving one's power level. He will first practice on various sacred beasts of different ranks- both cold and warm-blooded. Later, he'll practice on worthless criminals caught over the years.
They can then become guards for the palace. The queen then was called Alaska and Nicholas Whittaker. They had seven children. Only one among them was a female called Bianca. She was beautiful but quite wayward, unlike her brothers, who were praised all over the kingdom. There is another tribe that lives close to them called wind fairies living in the Wind's expanse kingdom.
They had silver hair and tanned skin. They mostly had wind powers. Those from the ice kingdom could be married to them. Whenever there was a ball in any of these two kingdoms, they'd invite each other before anyone else. The inhabitants of the wind kingdom all had a tattoo on their right shoulder and a tribal mark on their left cheek. The queen regent of the Wind expanse kingdom was called Lyra Stallard. She had a son who was betrothed to the princess of Frost blade.
"I have answered most of your questions on the list." Collen said as the images vanished. All that could be seen was the bright light reflecting from the wall.
"But there was a last question that hasn't been answered." Evelyn said. She took out a small jade pendant and handed it to him.
"Do you recognize this?" she asked.
He took it from her and examined it.
"Who gave it to you?"
"My late mum. She said it should never leave my possession."
"Can I have a look at your mom's picture?" Collens asked.
"Vanessa has it. I didn't bring my phone."
Vanessa gave her phone to her bestie to have a look at her gallery. Soon, she found what she wanted and handed the phone to Collen.
Seeing the picture on the phone, his eyes widened.
"When I saw your transformed self for the first time today, I said you were a princess. In Frost blade, there are different princesses. Those who had noble status were referred to as conferred kings, whether male of female. But their children are called conferred princes and princesses. I thought you were a conferred royal, but seeing this jade pendant... it means..." he pointed the mirror towards the wall again and bright light reflected from it.
Soon, the image of the naughty princess of Frost blade kingdom appeared. She wore a red cropped fur coat and black lace skirt. Her eyes were brown and hair ankle-length. Her face was covered partly from nose to neck by a transparent mask. She was holding up the hands of a man who could be considered the male version of Evelyn. He had purple hair and pink charming eyes. His skin was dark, and he had several scars on his body. There was a pair a red bat wings at his back and he looked scared. There was a crowd booing at the two of them.
"That's my father?" she asked in disbelief.
"The pendant you're holding belongs to him. His tribe will either give it to their love or heir."
"Then my biological father was a bat? A demon?"
"Vanessa, please leave us. There are some things only she can know for now. I hope you don't mind." Collen said with pleading eyes.
"No probs. I'll take her out for a while." she carried Lisa on her back and left, not forgetting to shut the door.
Evelyn sighed.
"Now, can you tell me?"
"Your dad was indeed a demon, but he was an incubus. Your mum was his supposed first victim."
"I don't get you. What's an incubus?" she asked with creased eyebrows.
"I... well... let me explain. Incubus is a creature that increases his powers by sleeping with females at night without their knowledge. Their first victim must be a virgin. But after that, they can choose what type of women. They could continue with virgins or go for older women. There were some rare ones who'd go for young males of around 16-18.
They do have mates, but it's very rare. Once they meet their mate, they will become vegetarian incubus, which means they would stop going about their nightly stuff. When incubus and his mate, often a succubus, copulate, they increase their power together, especially during the full moon.
At a time, the incubus king waged a war against Wind expanse. Frost blade wasn't on good terms with the king of Wind expanse when he was alive so they just watched. But when some incubus hurt their maidens, the king of Frost blade got enraged and joined hands with Wind expanse. Along with aid from three hired healers, they were able to conquer all the incubus and succubus. Only a few survived and were taken as captives in Wind expanse and Frost blade. They had their wings plucked off and their horns broken. This severely weakened them and cut off any hopes of escaping. With time, they began to look more human inside and out after being exposed to sunlight too much.
When one of them gave birth, the child was declared human after tests and was allowed to live. The unruly princess started visited the captives area when she turned 17. She saw this weak boy who was being bullied. She punished the guard and fed him. They became secret friends and would hang out in a secret place. But when the boy turned 19 on a full moon, he transformed into an incubus in front of her. Unfortunately, his screams of agony while changing attracted the royal guards. He escaped but was caught back the next day. He was to be beheaded before the citizens of Frost blade and some natives of Wind expanse.
But at the crucial moment, Princess Bianca stopped the execution and took him to a high platform made from her ice powers.
She declared him as her mate and true love, causing an uproar. She escaped using one of the treasures of their kingdom that could only be used when her life was in peril."
Evelyn's mouth was opened wide.
"My dad's an incubus. My mum's an ice fairy..."
Your mom's lineage has an ancestor with wind powers." he said. The light reflecting from the hand mirror dimmed until there was no more light. He then placed the mirror on the table. He sighed and walked towards her.
"Then... does that mean... the one I thought was my mother is just a foster parent?" she was shedding tears now.
"Collens... where are my actual parents then? Are they still alive?" she asked as he sat beside her.
She hugged her and patted her back.
"Your parents' union was a taboo and her betrothed felt betrayed. He spared no effort in looking for them."
"How do you know all these things?"
"They sought my help, offering me a stone that was vital to increasing my warrior rank. I accepted it. It was also then that I saw that jade pendant and he explained it was a heirloom. Only chosen heirs can receive its protection," he said in a whisper, breaking the hug with a flushed face.
"Now, I gotta ask you something. How old are you?"
"That wasn't listed on the paper..."
"Collens, you are my mate. You owe me that answer!" she barked and then turned to face the entrance to the office.
"Evelyn... are you... accepting me?" he looked excited.
"Dream on. There's still a month's deadline. I might not even choose you in the end."Oh that! Sorry, I forgot. But you aren't qualified to know my actual age right now."
"Hmph! If you don't wanna tell me your age, so be it. I won't ask anymore. It's not like I'd gain anything from knowing."
"Why are you this pissed now?"
"Collens, how dare you ask that? I'm gonna poke you to death with my ice needles." she pounced on him and boh fell to the floor with her on top. She raised her right hand and several ice needles appeared, levitating.
"Eh! You win. You are always right and I, Collens, am a dummy. Alright?" he raised his hands in surrender.
The ice needles vanished, but Evelyn still looked pissed.
"Do you want ice cream?"
"Am I still a kid?"
"You are... no no... you are a big lady, ok? Fine by you? And can you get off me? Your butt is indeed soft and bouncy but..."
"PERVERT!" she shrieked and embedded ice needle into his hands.
"Ouch! That really hurts. Do you wanna kill your husband?" he said with gritted teeth.
"Husband?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wife?"
"Do you want to die?" she was preparing another set of ice needles to impale his hand again as the first set had melted.
The door suddenly opened.
"Err... boss, there's this... hehe, I saw nothing. Boss isn't here. Where is he?" the employee closed the door with a knowing smile.
"Evelyn, get off me please!" this time, his spear appeared, levitating and facing her.
"I'm not afraid. Since you won't tell me your age, I'll force it out of your mouth."
"Didn't you say you didn't wanna know anymore?"
"Haven't you heard the saying ' When a lady says no, she means yes and vice versa?"
"Then, does that mean you accepted me as your mate deep inside?"
"That's different!"
The door opened again and Lisa walked in, looking pissed. She closed the door behind her and flew towards the bantering two.
"How long will it take to answer her questions? Why are you two being lovey-dovey here? You're wasting time meant for my mum on her." she ranted.
"Lisa, go play with you mama. We aren't done yet." Collens said.
"Hehe. Since you aren't done, why don't I join the fray? You only answered 4 parts of my questions. I replaced the earlier 6 with new ones. Now split up and start answering my questions, Mr. Collens! I hate being shortchanged." she hit the table.
"Jack Oliver Reynolds, better pray I don't cross your path for I'm gonna beat you up for raising a healer princess like this." he swore in his heart.
Your playful A/n:
I thank you who stick to this imperfect story. I can't wait to leave the fictional earth into another planet. But I have to take it slow. Thinking back to when I said this book's ending soon, I want to hit myself and hide in shame. I should never forget my position as a puppet for Lisa and her crew. Okay, jokes aside, thanks for reading. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave it in the comments. But if you don't want, then dm me here:
lilyroxy53@gmail.com.
If you're a fan of werewolf, then you can try out,
Spurned Luna's Return
Maybe it can suit your taste. I'm not too good with wolfy stuff... Jeez! Let me stop wasting your precious time. Accept my kisses and have fun with other books. I'm off to hug MWS book.
JKSmanga is my favorite. Hope you can join me in devouring his books too. :)