Revelations
So far the only characters not my own are Klork, Aiden, Keelin and Kevley, they're copyright Erica Branum, Shingami, she's copyright Shin Yuy and Mitch, copyright Veavitdpoh
Ever since capturing the lord of my rival family, I have been afforded a great deal more to think about than ever before. I was raised, these past 19 years, to believe my father, Lord Teirnan, was a great man, and my mother, Diana, was a horrible woman who joined my father's brothel to gain power over her own miserable life as well as those of the other humans under her command. She'd taken herbs to increase her fertility, and when my father bedded her, I was created. She carried me within her womb for nine months, bore me and gave me up as soon as she was able. No one could survive as a traitor under my father's rule, much less a weak human female. My father was killed shortly after in a great battle. My aunt, Lady Karolyn, and uncle, Sir Darryl, raised me to take over the throne when I came of age. Thereafter, even while I was still in training, I was to amass as much power for the family as I could. All was going as planned until about a week ago.
I was leading my troops on a siege against an enemy town. Lord Kevley himself led the force against me. As skilled as he is with a sword, in one on one combat, he was no match for my magic. Shortly after he was under my drainage dome and I had taken his voice to prevent him from chanting any spells did he tell me through mind-speak of my mother still being alive.
The natural response, of course, was, "You lie."
The full-blood simply chuckled. "You have no way of finding out, now do you?"
Briefly, I allowed the anger rising within my chest to have an outlet as my fingers curled and I closed the dome around him, thus starting the energy drain. "You would do anything to get out of this situation...that is proof enough."
He grimaced and sank under the spell. "Perhaps. But I also know that Diana is actually quite alive, and I know where she is."
He's lying. He must be lying. There is no way this can be the truth. My mother was a wench who was burned alive for treason.
However, something deep within felt the truth in his words. I paused the spell. "How can I believe you?"
"You really can't afford to not believe me, now can you?"
A growl rose from my throat as I activated the spell again. "She wanted nothing to do with me. Why should I even care?"
By now on his knees from the drain, he clenched his teeth. "You were stolen more than likely. She didn't even give birth to you. She thought she had a miscarriage. Somebody apparently took you from her womb."
I have heard of such things... I slowed the spell. There are rumors that my father saved an elven girl-child from the womb of a monster shortly before I was born; only to have her stolen away from him. Brenna, or something...child of the raven hair.
"She didn't have a chance to want or not want you. You were taken before she could know."
He's playing with me. This cannot be true. My eyes hardened and brows furrowed as I took the rest of his energy. "Liar. My mother gave me up as soon as I was born."
The elf gritted his teeth, already pale skin losing more color as his muscles slackened. "Believe what you will. But you will never know the truth now."
A growl fought its way from my throat and my foot impacted with the full-blood's ribs. "Filthy liar..."
"All you will live is a lie then."
"Why are you even telling me this?"
"Because you look like her...and even though you act like your father, Diana IS a friend...it's very difficult to fight or kill someone who reminds you of a friend...much less is their child."
Something within me tore between what I sensed was true and what I was raised with being the truth.
His tired look met my glare as he was tied up, and he continued. "You're lucky in that aspect. At least you got your mother's looks."
My brows arched as the elf was lifted. "Oh, and you have a thing for her?"
A whispered chuckled escaped the other man's lips. "I won't lie and say I don't find her attractive, but she is not the one I love nor long for. Just a close friend."
I smirked as I mounted my steed. Kevley was loaded onto his before we started for the castle. "I see..."
His jaw clenched as his wound was pressed upon during the ride. "I have my doubts..."
My brow arched. "Do you now. About what?"
"I doubt that you see what I mean..."
"Explain."
The elf grimaced as he was carried to the dungeon. "It'd be easier if I had my voice back..."
"Deal with it."
"You cannot likely blame me for trying."
I secured the cuffs around his wrists to attach him to the wall and went about cleansing his wounds with a stinging solution kept only for prisoners. "True."
He winced as his teeth and fists clenched. "Well...where do you want me to start explaining...? It's not like I won't have time now..."
I crossed my arms and lent against the table torture implements were spread over as I watched him. "The beginning would be a good place."
He sighed and rested his chin on his chest plate, blond bangs falling over his eyes. "The beginning...talking about your mother or...where?"
Not the sharpest sword in the armory, now is he?
I smirked as I went about removing his armor. "How I came to be, if you know so much...then perhaps my mother."
Kevley lifted his head with an inaudible mutter. "Well...I was not there when you were conceived...so it will not be first hand...I can only tell you what she told me, what Klork told me, and what my sister and Devnet told me..."
By brow arched, as the name 'Klork' was foreign to me, but I nodded none-the-less and leant back once his armor was off and piled in a corner. "Go on..."
He sighed and slowly shook his head as he looked around. "It's really ironic...but you were more than likely conceived in this very room..."
I blinked. "Oh?"
A grimace crossed his face as he nodded and shifted slightly. "Your mother and two others were prisoners here...your father beat the two men...etc...Klork, your mother's...well, they are as close to brother and sister can be, having a blood tie. Klork was the one that was beaten, the other was my sister's lover...Teirnan, however, raped Diana rather than break her knees... They managed to escape...but Diana left pregnant without knowing. Went days without being healed...barely bandaged well enough to survive. They came upon Aiden...were treated...as well they could be. And then they returned to their home outside of Underhill..."
I furrowed my brow, thinking aloud more than anything else. "The world of the humans..."
He nodded, teeth grit. "She is human after all. But...for a few weeks she fought off your father...to keep him from bringing her back. And one night...she lost the baby...or at least we thought as much...a few weeks later, Teirnan was defeated in battle by my sister....and a woman named Shingami..."
I blinked a bit. "All this took place nineteen years ago, eh?"
A nearly mute, pained chuckle rose from the chained man's lips. "In this world perhaps...the time is different in the human world...Diana only lost the baby a few months ago in the human world."
My gaze was measuring as a frown curved my lips. How can this be true? Why does it feel so true? My aunt and uncle...have they been raising me on a lie? My mother...
The cuffs were already cutting into his skin, making him shift and grit his teeth again. "What else do you need to know...??"
Again, my brows furrowed. "What do you know of my mother...?"
He tilted his head back. "She's average height...muscular...red hair, green eyes. She has dragon tattoos that circle her arms to her back...has a lot of very clouded histories...but is one of the most caring people I know."
I nodded, feeling the need to speak with those who raised me. "I'll...ponder what you've told me...as for now...I will leave you for the night." A smirk tugged at my lips. "Rest well."
"The least you could do is give me my voice back. I'm already going to freeze my ass off without my armor..."
I shrugged. What harm can it do? I lifted that spell, although I kept the magic-block up around him. As an after-thought, I heated the walls a little to get rid of some of the chill. "Better?"
He blinked, a surprised look in his eyes as he nodded a little. "Thank you."
I nodded with a small smirk. "You're welcome." With that, I left him to his solitude.
I found my aunt in her sitting room, reading one of the romance books she's so fond of. I've never understood why those amused her so much; I've always found them a horrible bore. Perhaps she can find within their pages something my uncle couldn't give her. In any case, I stood politely at the doorway, still clad in my travel gear. "Aunt Karolyn?"
With a blink of her pale green eyes, she looked up. "Revelyn? You've returned already!" She stood to glide over and rest her hands on my shoulders, kissing each of my cheeks. "Come, sit with me and speak of your journey."
"Yes, m'lady." I settled into the chair she indicated for me, and proceeded to tell her of the battle with Kevley as well as the aftermath.
When I finished, she looked penetratingly into my eyes. "Nephew, you have won. What troubles you so?"
I sighed softly and leant forward. "It is what Kevley told me, about my mother..."
She paused, a flicker of fear dashing into her eyes for a moment before laughing nervously. "Ah, Revelyn, you jest! You cannot truly believe what that monster was saying! Of course, he lied to try for an escape. If you were to let him free, you know you would have a blade between your ribs in no time."
"Most liars do not believe what they say so completely, Aunt."
She stood and took a few steps away, turning her back to me, expression troubled. "You are saying we have misled you? You truly believe your great father would stoop low enough to rape a mere human whore?"
My jaw clenched as I stood. "No...I..."
"You would rather believe one of them instead of your own flesh and blood?" She went on. "Where have we gone wrong?"
"Aunt! Please! Just stop and list-AGH!" Pain raced through my head as my uncle appeared out of nowhere to slam his fist into my jaw.
"Why do you insist upon upsetting the lady, boy?" His baritone voice cut through the pain as I brushed blood from the scratches the jewels adorning his fingers left.
"Uncle, I did not mean to! Is the truth about my origins too much to as..." This time I saw the blow before it came. I caught the bigger man's fist and managed to divert it away from me.
"Again, you accuse us of lying!"
I dodged the kick. "No! I just...agh!" Another punch diverted. "Will you just stop this and listen to me?!"
That had to be one of the most stupid moves in my life.
Blue eyes flashed and I could no longer move. "Half-blood, do NOT forget what you are! If not for us, you would be long dead by now."
The blows reigned down upon me, then. The spell kept me immobile as my uncle beat me for only gods know how long. With every new pain, however, the doubt of Kevley's story diminished.
Finally, he let me fall to the floor, bruised and bleeding. He stood over me as I knelt, my hand pressed to my ribs. "Now, Revelyn, you should have seen this coming. Who speaks the truth of your upbringing?"
"You and...Aunt Karolyn...m'lord." I managed through clenched teeth. My head, however, I kept bowed to hide the defiance within my eyes.
"Good. Now go clean yourself up, and spend the night planning what to do next."
"Aye...m'lord..." I forced myself to my feet, bowed painfully, and left for my room.
The next evening, after a great deal of thinking, I rejoined Kevley in the dungeon. Thoughtfully, I watched him as he hung there, half-sleeping. His wrists were bruised and cut from the shackles.
Finally he sensed my presence and slowly looked up. "Hnh...?"
"Hello..."
He popped his neck with a grimace. "...hi..." His hands flexed a little. "What's with the bruises?"
Ah...that's right...Uncle Darryl made sure his blows would mark me until I healed...
I shrugged. "They're nothing. How are you feeling?"
"Stiff...bruised...tired...been better to say the least...but I've also been worse."
I nodded. "Aye..." I went silent and quietly watched him as my thoughts took over again.
What does he know, if anything, about her world? If it does indeed exist...
He blinked. "What's with the look?"
I shook my head. "Nothing...thinking a bit..."
He nodded and shifted again, perhaps trying to get comfortable.
I furrowed my brows. "What is the human world like?"
With a blink, he slowly shrugged. "Humans...a few mutants...very vast and different..."
"How so?"
Another shrug. "Large cities...open farm land...island villages...small towns...mountains, forests...fields...deserts..." He shrugs yet again. "Very different and much larger than here..."
I nodded. "How did you get there?" I paused. "How did you meet my mother?"
He rolled his shoulders. "A bard opened a portal, and I was tracking your father..I came through the portal to find him about to attack your mother..."
I nodded a little. "Where exactly is she?"
His brow furrowed. "Why...??"
Frost entered my gaze. "Why should it matter? Where is she?"
He let his body lean against the wall. "Because she's my friend, and I want to know why you need to know before I tell you anything."
Loyal...
I straitened. "If she really is my mother, I have every right to know."
His navy eyes locked on me... "If you intend to hurt her, I have every right not to tell you."
I shook my head. "My intentions are really none of your business...I'm asking nicely now. I will find out one way or another."
The elf shifted, shrugging. "New York City; a city in the country of America; continent of North America."
I nodded. "Is this a big city?"
Another shrug. "Relatively."
"Where in the city is she?"
"I don't know the address..."
"What's the area like?"
"Not in the middle of the city is all I could explain...there are several parts..."
I nodded, listening.
He sighed when he figured out I was waiting for him to continue. "It is a safe house for mutants...there aren't many..."
"Who owns it...? Who is usually in it...?"
"Your mother and another woman own the place. There are several that I do not even know that are in it."
"I see...and this other woman...what does she look like? What is her name...?"
"Gods you ask a lot of questions...Mrs. Happy I've heard her called..."
Mrs...Happy?? Great gods what an odd name...
He shrugged again. "Wings...black and red hair...hell, I've only seen her with sunglasses on..."
Sounds like she'd be easy enough to spot...
I nodded, memorizing that for later use. "Is there anyone else who stands out...?"
A blond brow arched. "It's a mutant safe house, Rev, EVERYBODY stands out."
That's right...outside of bards, ordinary humans have very little natural magic...
I shook my head. "Anyone in specific...family...?"
He muttered irately, "MY sister lives there...what else can I say...?
"Hmm..." I nodded a little.
The elf tilted his head back. "Anything else, Lord of the inquiries?"
"What customs are there?"
He blinked, arching his brows. "Hell if I know..."
I blinked at his blank stare and shook my head. "Never mind..." I watched him relax and go to rub his wrist, then mutter when he couldn't. "Tell me of yourself..."
He groaned. "Our families have been at rivalry for years, shouldn't you know more of your worst enemies...?"
I arched a brow. This could be fun... "I may be young, but I do know that different sides of the story hold different information. Or have you forgotten how half-bloods are usually treated?"
Another groan breached his lips as he leant back again. "I'm sorry for that, but can't you do something other than ask so many damn questions...??"
Thinking hurts him that much, hm?
A smirk curved my lips. "Would you rather I whipped you or something more along those lines?" My laugh rang through the air as he seemed to seriously consider this.
"Quiet. I'm thinking of which would be worse."
I smirked at that and leant back to watch him, unable to hide my amusement. How funny...the mighty Lord Kevley...unable to stand up to simple interrogation...gods...his sister must have gotten the intellect in that family...
"I seriously cannot think of which WOULD be worse."
A chuckle flowed from my throat before a grin tugged at my lips. "Why's that?"
"I hate questions. I've been under serious surgeries without numbing agents...I don't recall them being more painful than this."
My brow arched, grin not leaving. "And that would be because...?"
Navy eyes narrowed. "Quit asking questions damnit..."
I crossed my arms over my chest and went deadpan. "Why?"
He sputtered. "Your doing it again!!!"
"Doing what?" I calmly matched his glare with a light smirk. When he lent back again, I simply shook my head.. "Ah...thought a bit too hard, hm?" Once it became apparent he wasn't going to answered anything else, I stood. "Enjoy your solitude..."
I watched him blink and look up before I turned to leave. I paused at hearing his mutter and attempt at freeing himself of the shackles. "You'll only find yourself missing fingers if you continue that."
"If you let me down, perhaps I won't loose them."
I looked over my shoulder at him. His jaw was clenched, eyes narrowed with a small trickle of blood running down his arm. Cut himself open, I see... "And why would I want to do that?"
He muttered, "God, your hospitality is absolutely charming."
I smirked. "You expect to be treated like royalty?"
"I'm closer to it than you are." He then mutters, "You do realize if you try to get to the Asylum that my sister will only have your head."
So he CAN put two and two together...
I rounded on him to face him. "I am the only son of Teirnan, Lord of the Unseilegh Court...once I complete my training...I will be lord, oh chained one. And you were saying?" I narrowed my eyes. "She is not friends with my mother then?"
You're assuming too much, Revelyn, there's no guarantee she even wants anything to do with you...much less that she's even alive...
He snorted. "As I am the heir to your opposing family." Then the topic of his sister was brought back up. "She is, but she is less forgiving than I am."
I smirked, trying to keep the strange hurt raising within down. "Perhaps, we shall see..." I shook my head. "Rest well." I turned to again return to my lonely room for the night.
Two days later, I received word that Keelin, Kevley's younger sister, and Devnet, her bardic lover, were on their way here.
That, in and of itself doesn't serve as any particular surprise... If I killed them, my family and I would gain great power, and more followers...however...
The master scout knelt before me watched fearfully as my brow knit in thought.
...I don't want to kill them. They could very well bring me to my mother. How to hide this, though...
"Hire seventeen orcs, and have them set up an ambush on the eastern trail. That being the shortest rout, is the one they will take. Keep your scouts stationed along the trail as well."
"What of the longer trail?"
"You and I both know Driders infest that stretch." I paused with a smirk. "Even the squirrels have been known to devour an unlucky traveler or two."
The scout nodded. "Aye, m'lord, you are of course right."
I nodded. "Now go carry out my orders."
"Aye, m'lord." He bowed. "Thank you, m'lord." He hurried off.
I'm sure those two can stand up to those challenges. Keelin is fabled to be the best archer there is and a powerful warrioress, while Devnet is a Master Bard and strong fighter
I turned back to the battle plan I was formulating with my highest ranking general. "Now where were we?"
"The pattern of attack, m'lord."
"Ah, of course..."
I only hope they live up to their reputations...
No more than a day or two later did one of my guards bolt into my throne room, breathless and wide eyed.
"M'lord!" He gasped as he bowed before me. "There are two bounty hunters who have captured Lady Keelin and Bard Devnet!"
I arched a brow and waved the people I was conducting business with away before looking back to the guard. "Show them up, then."
"Aye, m'lord." Another bow before he hurried out.
I sat back in my throne to wait. Although I felt as though my heart was going to leap from my chest, I kept my exterior calm and collected. My gaze remained fastened on the door as I waited.
Whatever could be taking them so long?
Finally, the four stepped in. Keelin and Devnet were chained, and besides the bard looking a little beaten and groggy, seemed to be in good condition. Their captors were an odd couple as well. The woman was a lovely creature with strait dark hair and fascinatingly violet eyes, while her partner was a rather gangly man with mussed hair and a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes.
The dark haired beauty curtsied as the scruffy man bowed, out of nothing more than obligation. Before either of them could say anything, Keelin burst out with, "Murderer!!!" Her voice went horse. "You killed my brother...!!!"
"Good evening, m'lor--" the woman started before spinning to glare at Keelin. "SILENCE!"
I simply nodded, a smirk curling my lips as I watched them, arching a brow at Keelin. "Nae...I did no such thing, Lady Keelin."
While the she-elf glared at me, the dark woman turned back to me with a sigh. "I have brought to you both Lady Keelin and the bard. It was no simple task...but it's been done. Now I wish for a reward. Something that will compensate for the weapons destroyed and lives lost when we captured them. I...am quite sure there MUST be a reward."
...gods she likes to talk...
I nodded as I casually stood. "Oh, you will be repaid with money and food...have no fear of that..."
She smiled darkly as she curtsied low again. "Thank you, my lord...but I was hoping to have them this night, so my partner and I could go about hunting our next victims..."
I gave her one of the smiles designed to charm any of the empty minded courtiers I was forced to deal with on a daily basis. "Of course...I simply need to see their conditions from closer up..." I made my way down the stairs.
The woman moved out of the way with a nod. "Of course, my lord. It was difficult to convince your guards not to roughen them up any further..."
I ignored the man's bow and mocking "after you" gesture.
Apparently, whoever raised him failed to address his insolent attitude...
I circled the two captives. "I can only imagine, m'lady..."
The woman cleared her throat. "You have the most polite manners of any Lord I've met. Doesn't he, luv? He must have had a WONDERFUL mother!"
"Oh yeah," her partner chimed in, "Regular king of the lands, he is."
"Very well," I started, then blinked and looked up at the woman. What are they trying to pull? "I thank you. The woman who raised me is a wonderful woman."
"Ahh...so the woman who raised you isn't the same as your mother? Too bad..." She pouted slightly. "Wished to have thanked her for doing something right..." She sighed and shrugged as she walked at my side.
"Woman raised you to be generous, I hope..." The man chimed in again.
I don't know who is more greedy...the man or the woman...
"As you can see," she continued, "they are only slightly injured. We had to use certain methods to apprehend them."
I arched a brow and tilted the bard's chin up to get a better view of the bruising on his face. "What sort of methods...?"
She smiled. "That man had to be knocked unconscious, as you can see." Her hand then reached out to remove mine from the bard's face. "Now now...you haven't paid for them yet, m'lord...and like any good sales woman, I cannot let you touch and perhaps...'lower the value' of my goods..."
During all this talk, Keelin had lunged at me, and I now held her by the front of her shirt for a brief moment before letting go. "Of course...one of my guards will give you your gol--" My eyes narrowed at the sword suddenly over my wrist.
The woman's voice lowered. "Release her...I do not sell my goods tainted..."
"Love," spoke the man again, "remember the gold? The shiny happy gold? If I don't get to kill, YOU don't get to kill..."
The woman blinked and looked back at the man who was giving her a sad, pleading look. She sighed, her sword vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "Fine...I just do not like being ripped off..." She met my eyes challengingly.
...if I were my father, these two would be long dead for their insolence...
The man was suddenly all grins with manic happiness again. "We won't be! His mum brought him up right. Lord Revvy's a-okay!"
Hmm...on second thought, she'd be dead; he'd be the court jester...
I simply eyed the two as I stalked around them. "What is the price you wish?"
The woman gave a dark smirk. "I wish...to be given someone who can help me fight." One hand rested on her hip, the other going into a shrug. "I need someone that you do not care about when it comes to terms of life and death."
I arced a brow and shrugged. "Then you shall have one of my slaves..."
"Someone who will fight EXTRAORDINARILY well...because our next target is a...bit more difficult." She paused in her ranting. "No...I was thinking more along...a loan of a prisoner, m'lord...because I will bring him back in the same condition he left." Again she smiled darkly. "Right, luv? We need someone who is...expendable...but more than likely won't die." Her gaze returned to her partner.
I arched a brow. "A prisoner, hmm? We have some from the war, aye..."
The man snickered. "What good are they dead? They're fun when they bleed."
She nodded. "I need an exceptional warrior, though...because this will be no easy task." She eyed my throne before actually slinking up to it and running her fingers along the arm.
Here's one my dear aunt and uncle would love...
I smirked to the man. "What kind of a fool do you think I am? Of course they live..." I then shrugged and smirked as I followed her. "We have a few of high rank. Which would you prefer?"
"Depends on which you have,,,, m'lord?" She lounged seductively in my throne, drunk with the power. "I just want...someone with POWER...who HAS to work for me, m'lord."
I smirked. Were I any other man, I no doubt would have taken her up on what she seemed to be offering. But I'm not, and I know what comes of that course of action from watching those around me. "We can work on that..."
She looked up at me, her fingers still tracing along the arms, her voice now quiet. "Goood....because I like strong...warriors..."
I smirked amusedly and crossed my arms over my chest as I watched her.
She smiled up at me. "And...I like winning..."
Just then, music sounded.
I spun and glared at the scene below. All the doors were sealed shut and most of my guards knocked out. I started chanting a spell, only to find my voice stolen by the bard. I suddenly felt powerful arms close around my neck and a blade to my throat.
The woman's voice hissed in my ear, "Move again, and you'll lose more than your voice..."
I should have known! Damn them...!
I growled soundlessly and glared at her as she called, "You can come out now, I'm not killing him!"
My eyes fixed on the young woman clad in dark armor stepping out of the shadows.
My...gods...she looks...
"Diana...feel free to start the questions now, if you like," the woman started. "I will keep him here."
The world around us faded until it was only she and I. Our gazes locked and I lost myself in her eyes, so much like my own.
"Revelyn," I heard Kevley's voice through the fog. "You aren't leaving...I told you before of your mother...show your respects for her."
My gaze on her was unwavering. A deep connection was finally realized. My mouth formed words, but even without the spell in place, I doubt anything would have come out.
My...mother...it was true...I've been living a lie...
At last she spoke. Her quiet voice resounded with power, mystery, unnamed emotion. The sound, dark satin tinged with gravel, captivated my mind. "Revelyn...I do not know what they told you about me...I do not know what you believe...I know nothing of you...demo...I'm sure they told you lies...and from the way you stare...they told you I died..."
Great gods...
I felt a gentle probing in my mind; a soft caress. So similar, but vastly different.
"Hai, Revelyn...I am your mother..."
I shook my head a little, trying futily to clear it as a brief discussion ensued. The content I don't know. I simply watched her and reveled in her presence as she led me through the portal leading to my true path.
My true home.