Chapter 7
This chapter begins on a rather jovial note as a pregnant woman was sitting in a small living room, laughing, as her husband danced around to their song on the radio as he made her second dinner.
"And I think to myself~" the man sang, "What a wonderful world~" "The colours of the rainbow," the woman joined in, "So pretty in the sky~"
The man walked over to his wife and carefully lifted her to her feet before he started to waltz with her in that small living room.
Are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do. They're really saying, the radio continued. "I love you." the man said as he pulled his wife in close and embraced her, but before she could say anything, she started to scream in pain and agony as her knees gave way.
He grabbed onto her before she could hit the floor and picked her up before racing outside and placing her in the back of their car.
He jumped in the front seat as she tried to calm herself down while he drove as fast as he was allowed.
"It's alright, babe. I'm alright." she clearly lied, but the man tried to smile at her at every light he stopped at and held her hand.
She was going to be okay. He knew she was going to be okay as he drove right to the emergency room and parked behind an ambulance. She was going to be fine, he decided as he carried her into the hospital with doctors rushing towards them.
The woman continued to smile as she was laid down on a stretcher as doctors checked her vitals.
"I'll be alright." she said as a nurse stopped the man from entering the operating room.
She was going to be alright. She just said she would be, so there was no reason to worry, the man told himself over and over while he paced back and forth in front of the operating room. She was going to be fine-
The man removed the phone vibrating in his pocket to see a friend had tried calling him 18 times before he lifted the phone to his ear.
"The emergency room." the man replied as his voice cracked.
"How can I be alright? They said she had two months before the baby came!"
"You're right." the man said as he sat himself down on a seat.
"Really I can't thank you enough for being there for us-"
The doors of the operating room suddenly swung open as a nurse came out and asked the man, "Are you the father?" "Yes, I am." "Congratulations. It's a boy." "What about my wife? How is she? Can I see her?"
The nurse did his best to block the man's view of the operating room as he told him, "The surgeons are doing their best to ensure the safety of the mother and the child."
The man's ears stopped working as the nurse continued to talk. He felt his vision obscure as the air in the building felt like stone entering and leaving his lungs.
Next was his nose, which filled with the scent of blood as his body grew numb.
*****
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow. They'll learn much more than I'll ever know. And I think to myself, What a Wonderful World. Yes, I think to myself, What a Wonderful World-
The man sat on the floor in the darkness after turning off the radio as a baby cried in a distance.
With a cigarette in one hand and a note in the other. With messy, dirty hair and dark circles under his eyes, the man stared blankly at the paper as he mumbled, "Complications during childbirth, huh? That's a nice way to put it."
The man dropped the hand with the note on the floor as the cries of the baby grew louder and louder.
Annoyed, he staggered up, onto his feet and walked into the room where the small, premature newborn was crying out to him with his little arms and legs waving about.
"What do you want?" the man asked the baby, desperate for a hug, before he started to yell, "What else do you want? Huh? You already took the love of my life! What more do you want?"
However, the child's crying only increased in the midst of the yelling.
"Wah! Wah! Wah!" he mocked, "What do you want, you little murderer? What? You want my life too? Is that it? Do you want to kill me too?"
The baby, then scared, continued to cry, so the man raised his hand to strike the child, but his hand never reached him.
Whether it was because the baby looked so much like his mother or whether a wave of guilt flushed his intent away, the baby continued to cry as the man dropped on his knees beside the crib he and his wife had made.
The hungry and uncomfortable baby continued bawling his eyes out as the man laughed to himself.
"'Love the child for the both of us'?" he asked questioningly, "She wanted me to love the thing that killed her? She wanted me to love the child that killed my wife?"
He turned to the crying baby and screamed louder than the baby, "You should've died, not her! You and that cursed blood should've all died!"
He settled down once more with his back against the crib as he recalled their last conversation on the way to the hospital.
"I love this song." she said, "It makes the world seem so rich in colour." He asked her to save her energy, but she continued to talk, knowing she was calming both of them down.
"I know it's sudden, but I was thinking about a name for our kid. You could change it if you like, but I want to name our son-"
"I," the man said as he stared at the baby crying, "Hate you more than you will ever know, and I can tell you right now: You will bring destruction, chaos, and sadness everywhere you go. That is the cursed blood you have and that blood will be your demise."
The sounds of a baby crying simply continued on as the man started to laugh to himself once more.
"You have no idea how much I hate you, Richard."
*****
"Oh!" a woman exclaimed as the 4 year old dashed around the room, chasing after little duckling, who he had let out of his cage. He knew he had to catch Goffer before he made a mess because he knew he would get scolded for it.
And so, with a scolding hanging above his head, little Richard dashed closely behind his little duckling as he ran between people's legs and under tables covered in cloth before he caught the duck right as he tripped on a stair.
He felt himself falling to the ground, but a tug at his back collar saved his life, while simultaneously ruining it.
"What are you doing, Richard?"
Nothing~, the little boy turned to face his clearly annoyed grandfather with a smile as he held him in a suspended pose above the ground.
"It doesn't look like nothing."
Richard looked at the little duckling in his hands before thrusting his hands in front of him and blaming the duck.
"Really?"
It was true! Goffer kept on crying in his cage, so Richard thought he wanted to stretch his legs a bit, but he didn't expect him to make a run for it the second he got out.
Grandpa looked at Richard and then at the duckling before lightly flicking both of their little heads.
"Don't push the blame before telling the truth." he said with a smile before ruffling Richard's fluffy, brown hair all around his head.
"C'mon," he said while extending his hand, "Let's put Goffer back in his cage, and clean you up before the ceremony starts."
Richard grabbed onto Grandpa's hand and followed him into the bathroom where he had the 4 year old wash his hands before fixing his little bow tie.
Richard didn't understand why he had to wear such stuffy clothes though.
"Because it's a very special day." Grandpa replied without looking up from the tie.
Richard knew he hadn't forgotten Grandpa's birthday, or Goffer's birthday or New Year's or Grandparents' Day or Children's Day or Family Day, so what event could he have possibly forgotten?
He wondered what day he had forgotten about as he walked through the weird looking building with high roofs in the middle, but low roofs in the back.
Why was it like that?
"That's the way these buildings are, buddy."
Hmm.
He continued walking while holding Grandpa's hand before he tugged on it, making him bend down to ask him what was wrong.
When could they go home?
"Why are you whispering?"
Because everyone was doing it too.
Grandpa patted Richard's head before telling him, "We'll be on our way home after the ceremony, don't worry."
Richard wondered what a ceremony was as he and Grandpa sat on weird looking benches before everyone suddenly stood up.
He stood up along with Grandpa and turned to see who everyone was staring at as he watched a beautiful woman walk down the walkway they were just on.
She was different, though. She was prettier than everyone else there.
Who was that?
*****
Richard was confused. He was confused as to why everyone was cheering as the two pretty adults smushed the faces together.
He didn't understand why Grandpa kept on shushing him every time he asked him a question, either.
He was a bit sulky, he admitted, because Grandpa said he'd explain everything to him after the ceremony, but he couldn't ask him because he didn't know what that was. That's what he wanted to ask him!
Grandpa, however, just laughed at the toddler before saying, "I'll explain everything on the drive home, okay bud?"
That was fine with Richard as he grabbed Grandpa's hand and walked down the walkway as everyone else was either leaving or talking in little groups. He was happy to be leaving, after all, this "ceremony" thing was really confusing, and he really didn't like the clothes either.
"Mr. Mustollon!" one of the pretty men who were standing in front of everyone called to Grandpa, "He wants to see you before you go."
Richard wondered who wanted to see his grandfather as Grandpa tightened his grip around Richard's little hand as they followed the pretty man. Richard ended up doing the same thing with both hands as he grasped the handle bar for Goffer's cage as tightly as he could while they walked into the back room near the bathroom.
Grandpa said they weren't allowed to go there without permission, so Richard wondered who let Grandpa walk in.
The room was filled with pretty men and less pretty women as a man immediately started to yell at Grandpa.
"What the Abyssus were you thinking, bringing him here?"
Richard?
Grandpa pushed little Richard behind his back, but didn't let go of his hand as he explained, "The invite said I could bring a +1. What? Did you want me to dig up your mother and bring her along?"
The man yelling at Grandpa went to hit him, but the other pretty men held him back.
Clearly frustrated, the man swung his arms towards himself as he turned away from Grandpa, but he kept on talking.
"Son, you know I took Richard in to let you have the room you needed to get back on your feet." "So what," the angry man asked, "You're here to ruin everything I've been building up until this point? Is that it?" "I would never ruin your happiness, son, but starting a new life and pretending your son doesn't exist isn't getting back on your feet."
Son? Richard remembered hearing that word on the radio once. If he recalled correctly, that man being Grandpa's son would make him Richard's-
Before the 4 year old could figure anything out, the door in front of him opened and a woman stared at his face before suddenly screaming. She dropped the vase in her hands, and it shattered as she screamed while one of the shards cut Richard's leg. Everyone rushed over to the woman as Grandpa picked Richard up and away from the glass shards.
In the midst of the chaos in the room, Richard heard the man say, "Please, for all our sakes, just get out of here and take that demon with you."
Demon? Where? Richard couldn't see any of the demons the man was talking about as Grandpa walked out of the room with a sad look on his face. Richard hugged Grandpa as he walked through the door and out of the building, but he didn't stop until they were by the car.
There, he put Richard in his safety seat and buckled him up as Richard wiped a tear from Grandpa's face. He placed his palm on his head and moved the sadness away from Grandpa and into the air as Grandpa hugged him tight.
"Listen to me well, Rich. No matter what happens, no matter who tries to hurt you, I'll be right here to protect you always, okay?"
Okay.
"I love you, bud. I always have and I always will."
He loved his grandpa very much too.
*****
Richard wondered if there was any truth in those words as he watched the wooden casket being lowered into the ground.
How could he lie to him like that? Who was supposed to love him now?
He wondered as he sat in a small corner of the house he had grown up in as his Grandpa's daughters yelled and screamed at him.
He didn't care anymore. He couldn't even hear their voices. He could only see their expressions.
He only guessed the emotions hidden behind their incoherent words as he blankly stared at how loud they were. He could see why Grandpa always skipped out on family reunions and such. No one would want to be around such loud, dramatic females like them.
"What did you say?" one of them asked, trying to be threatening, but Richard knew there was little they could do against him as he asked them to respect his Grandpa by shutting their mouths for two minutes.
Though he knew he would get a rise out of the women for asking for such an impossible request, he didn't expect one of them to take off their heel and try to strike Richard with it.
Key word: try.
Richard looked up at the last second to see a man grasping the woman's wrist as the shoe dangled above his eye.
"That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble, you know."
His gaze didn't change as he watched his grandfather's son disarm his sister.
"C'mon," he said, "The car is out front."
He pulled the lifeless 17 year old along to his car before opening the passenger door and telling him to, "Hop in. Don't worry, I don't bite."
Richard seriously doubted the lie as he got into the back seat of the SUV and into the most uncomfortable car ride of his life.
"So," Grandpa's son said while driving to break the silence that followed them for the past hour, "I heard you graduated. I'm sorry I missed it, but what college are you going to?"
The one in the city.
"Oooh. You must be smart to get into a prestigious college like that."
Richard didn't feel smart.
"Why not?"
He just didn't.
"Cool. Cool. Do you … play any sports? You seem pretty built for a 17 year old."
Not really.
"Why not?"
He didn't like sports.
"Aww, c'mon. There has to be one sport you love."
There wasn't.
"... That's alright! Not everyone loves sports as much as me and the old man."
Richard tried to stare at his new surroundings as he wondered how he'd be able to avoid being with him for the 3 months he had to spend with Grandpa's son and his wife.
He tried out his first option and closed his eyes.
"What about … a … girlfriend?" he exclaimed, "Surely a man as handsome as yourself has a girlfriend."
Richard ignored the question and kept his eyes closed until the man stopped asking him stupid questions.
The first method worked like a charm, but it alone wouldn't be enough, he thought as the car filled with Grandpa's favourite song.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white. The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.
*****
Richard was unrecognizable when compared to his gloomy teen years as he and his friends laughed and joked around while they were leaving their campus.
For someone who hadn't truly lived his life until the age of 22, Richard was doing quite alright, if I do say so myself.
Luckily for him, Grandpa had saved enough money for him to stay at the dorms for all 4 years of college, but he couldn't keep riding on the coattails of his grandfather's will.
He needed to get a job soon, after all, he only had a full year of college left until he was out in the real world. However, he wondered where he could possibly be hired after getting a Master's and Associate's degree in diplomacy.
His worry turned to him dodging his friend's tickle attack by a hair and watching him faceplant into the grass as he laughed along with everyone else.
"How'd you do that?" the fallen friend asked before another friend joked, "It's cuz you're as loud as a stampede, you moron."
Richard laughed as the two friends started to argue before a girl walked up to the rowdy group of friends and asked Richard if she could, "Talk to him for a minute."
After chasing his friends' whistles and cheers away, Richard turned to the girl, and asked her what it was she wanted to talk about.
"T-t-there's this cafe that I think you'll like," she blurted out, "So I was wondering if you wanted to come get some coffee with me?"
Richard smiled at the obviously timid girl and went to decline her request, but she latched herself onto his arm and pleaded with him.
"P-Please!" Richard, confused, but alert, pried her off him with one arm before grabbing her hand and asking her to lead the way.
The girl was trembling as they walked, so Richard pointed out how her shoes were a pretty rare find, making her crack a smile.
"You can find these anywhere." she said laughing as she introduced herself to him.
Talking to him made her ease up a bit, he noted as Richard noticed three men following them.
At first, he thought it was simply a coincidence until he asked her if the 3 guys were stalking her.
"You noticed too?"
How long had they been doing this?
"I noticed a few days ago, but I had a lab, so I used it as an excuse to stay in school overnight, but the lab ended today."
Which was why she approached Richard, but why him?
"You're famous for how you can beat up anyone anytime anywhere. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you, though."
Richard clarified she wasn't inconveniencing him in the slightest as he started to question how he got such a reputation. Was it-
His attention turned to his phone as he read a text. He suddenly remembered he was supposed to go over to their house for dinner, and offered to walk the girl home as he replied he'd be home late.
"Thank you so much." the girl replied as she grasped Richard's hand.
*****
Lock the door, Richard instructed the girl as he walked out of her apartment, into the main hallway where he was confronted by the 3 men.
"You her boyfriend or something?"
So what if he was? What did that waste of space have to do with anything?
As Richard expected, the 3 morons charged at him with blunt metal poles, but the weapons would have no effect as Richard's eyes turned a dark indigo.
They all stopped running as they stood frozen in the hallway as Richard walked towards them, slowly and steadily. He grabbed the pole from one of the men's hands while they were dazed and went to knock them out when he heard someone yell out, "Hey!" from behind him.
With his concentration broken, Richard's spell wore off and the men were back to normal and as pissed as they could be.
He used the pole to block one punch and a kick, but the third guy socked him in the gut, knocking to the ground. He held his head as they began kicking him until one of them grabbed a pole. Richard braced for impact as he watched the pole get closer and closer to his face, until it was not.
The man with the pole suddenly flew backwards along with the other two as Richard saw their wrists and ankles bound to the walls with a rock?
How was that possible?
"Are you okay?" Richard turned around to face the voice that had broken his concentration and was met with warm brown eyes hidden under an expression of worry.
He was fine, but was this man the one who saved him?
"I hope I did," he said with a blinding smile, "It'd be a problem if I caused more trouble for you."
Richard found himself laughing as the man offered him a hand off the floor.
"I'm Chadwick," he said, introducing himself, but Richard could've sworn he had heard that name before somewhere.
However, before he himself could remember where he had heard the name, a frantic voice called out, "Prince Chadwick! There you are!"
T-T-The prince?
Before Richard could realise who he was speaking so familiarly to, three guards tackled him to the ground and pinned his arms behind his back.
They kept yelling, "Don't resist!" and "Stop resisting." as Richard laid still on the floor, trying to figure his way out of this fiasco.
Prince Chadwick tried telling them the situation, but it was useless as they hushed him and continued to call the police.
"Wait!" the girl suddenly yelled, grabbing everyone's attention, "Richard is not the bad guy. They're the ones who were stalking me."
She pointed to the men, who were still bound to the wall as she realised who Prince Chadwick was and bowed to him.
"That's really not necessary." he said to the girl before turning to the guards and asking, "Now you know the situation, is it really necessary to hold him like that?"
With that being said, the guards released Richard and apologized before turning to apprehend the 3 stalkers. Richard bowed in the king's presence, but he assured him, "That really isn't necessary," and offered him a ride home.
The guards went to follow him, but Prince Chadwick instructed them to, "Stay with the young lady until the authorities arrive. I'll be back at my residence in about 45 minutes or so."
A guard went to argue his instructions, but he simply glanced at them, and as soon as they made eye contact, the guard quickly became obedient as the prince pulled Richard along by his arm.
His grip was firm, but it wasn't painful. Strangely, it was comforting. Richard suddenly felt he could follow this man anywhere, but he couldn't understand why. The image of his back as he pulled him along reminded him of a nostalgic time.
It reminded him of Grandpa-
"Hello?" Prince Chadwick elongated as he waved his hand in Richard's face. "Where am I going?"
Huh?
"I said I was going to drop you off at home, but I don't exactly know where you live."
He told the interesting prince the address of his "parents'" home as he started to question the prince's sanity.
Wasn't he suspicious of Richard in the slightest bit? What if he was a hitman sent to kill him?
"Are you?" the prince asked, confusing Richard, "Are you a hitman sent to kill me?"
He wasn't but-
"Then it's fine. You don't look like the kind of guy to kill people for money."
He could tell after meeting him a few minutes ago?
"Of course I can! It's my superpower."
Richard found himself laughing at the childish joke as the prince of the Southern Kingdom drove him home, but the prince was a lot different from who Richard thought he was.
"What?" the prince asked sarcastically, "Did you expect a fire-breathing ogre with 3 heads? Cuz that's my sister, not me."
Not at all! He just expected him to behave in a more uptight and arrogant manner. Richard was shocked by how modest and down-to-wisteria he was.
"Well, when your father refuses to pass the throne down to you, you tend to humble yourself quite a bit."
Oh. Richard didn't mean to offend him.
"It's fine." the prince said as he made a left turn, "I wouldn't give the throne to my son if he had a kid at 15 either."
Really?
"And here I thought everyone knew." he laughed, but Richard sensed a hint of sadness in his words.
The king may not have thought of Prince Chadwick as capable enough to rule, but Richard was sure he would make a great king if he was given the chance.
The prince simply laughed a bit as he pulled over in front of Richard's destination.
"Give me your number, won't you?" the prince asked before Richard got out, and he obediently gave him his contact information and finally got out of the car.
He hoped he could repay the prince back for his kindness one day, and Prince Chadwick offered, "Why don't you get me coffee the next time we go to fight some stalkers?"
Richard laughed as he went to his front door, but the prince yelled to him, "By the way, Chadwick is just fine!" before driving away.
Richard couldn't believe his luck.
He met the prince and heir to the throne. He even drove him home and saved him too, not to mention he gave him his number.
The prince's number!
Richard's grin spread from ear to ear as he opened the door to his "parents" home.
He called out he was home, and Grandpa's son yelled from the living room, "We're over here, bud!"
If Richard wasn't so happy, then maybe he would've sensed the tension in his voice as he called to him.
Maybe if he actually had his guard up like all the other times, then maybe he would've seen the guilt riddled all over her face.
Maybe he would've been able to leave that cursed house and catch a ride back to the dorms from Chadwick.
Maybe then he wouldn't have been beat half to death as he went on and on lying about an affair.
"I opened my home to you," he yelled angrily, "And this is how you repay me? Sleeping with my wife?"
She was the one who-
"Shut up! I didn't ask what she did, I'm talking about what you did!"
What did he do?
"Tell him, babe. Tell him what you told me!"
What did she tell him?
"How you forced me down the weekend he left for his fishing trip with his friends."
What?
"How you threatened to tell him if I said anything too."
She was obviously lying! She was the one who forced him down, and she was the one who threatened Richard! Not the other way around!
However, the man was beyond reason. He kept on kicking Richard in his stomach until he coughed up blood. Then, with his own son's blood splattered on the floor, the man told him to, "Get out. Get out of my home and never return! If you do, I'll kill you myself!"
*****
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Richard rolled towards his nightstand as he turned the alarm on his phone off before rolling back to the center of his bed, and embracing his lover.
"What time is it?" Chung-Ae asked, but Richard said it was fine.
"Are you sure?"
He was sure.
"Even though you haven't checked the time?"
Even though he hadn't checked the time-
Richard realised his slip up as he sat up and looked at his watch.
See? He was right. It was only 8:30 ... Eight thirty! He was late!
"Told you so."
It was not the time to be smug when they were both about to be late to the ceremony.
"It's fine, isn't it?"
No, it wasn't, Richard declared as he yanked Chung-Ae out of bed and pushed him into the bathroom as he scrambled to the kitchen.
Winston was going to skin him alive if he was late, he worried as he dashed into the bathroom.
"You're overreacting."
No, Chung-Ae was underreacting! He never had to deal with his death glare, did he?
"I've been through worse."
What could've possibly been worse?
"Have you met my sister?"
Oh, she's terrifying.
"I know right?" Chung-Ae said as he gargled the rest of the toothpaste out of his mouth and Richard dashed for his ringing phone.
He promised to be there in 15 and hung up before he could get scolded as Chung-Ae put his toast in his mouth and offered him a ride.
Richard was grateful, but he and Chung-Ae couldn't be seen together for more than one reason. He then noticed a glum look cover his face, so he planted a kiss before running out the door with his briefcase.
He had a little less than a half an hour to get to the palace, but he couldn't stop himself from helping an old lady in a wheelchair up the stairs.
In his defense, the granddaughter was clearly struggling, so he just picked up the elderly woman as the girl carried her wheelchair.
"Such a strong young man!" the foxy elderly woman commented as he set her down in her chair, embarrassing her granddaughter.
Richard laughed off the obvious pass and started running again before the old matchmaker could ask about his marital status.
To his surprise, he was still going to make it with time to spare if he kept up this speed and if he didn't spot a little kid trying to get his kite out of a tree.
He tried to ignore the child and keep going, but he just couldn't as he stopped to find something to balance on as he reached the kite.
After finding nothing steady, Richard asked the child if they thought they could reach the kite if he picked them up and he vigorously nodded his head.
Careful not to touch the child in the wrong place, Richard lifted the kid high into the air as the child reached out and untied the kite from the branch it was stuck on. With the kite rescued and the child happy, Richard looked at his watch and ran as fast as he could.
He ran and ran until he saw a group of teenagers picking on a middle schooler.
Without thinking twice, the already late to work 35 year old man charged into the group, knocking a few of the kids over and scaring the rest away with a glare. He helped the child with dirty blonde hair up to his feet and asked him if he was alright, but Richard's phone started ringing right before he could answer him.
Richard answered the phone while holding it away from his head and still heard every syllable as the Queen yelled at him through the phone.
Once her lecture was over, he turned to face the boy again, but he insisted, "You should go. Your boss sounded really mad."
She was, believe him, but what about him?
"I'll be fine, but I don't know about you if you keep dilly-dallying here."
Richard laughed at the boy's old choice in words before he took off towards the palace.
He tried to tell Celestia what happened on his way to work, but the queen didn't want to hear it as she lectured him for arriving 6 minutes later than he was supposed to.
After everything he had been through that morning alone, he was rather impressed by his arrival time.
"Well, I'm not!"
He was there so what was the issue?
"Ugh! You're always like this! What if we all died because you were late? Huh?"
First of all, why would the king's secretary being late kill everyone? Second of all, she was using an extreme.
"Extremes are possibilities, too." she retorted, but they were extremely unlikely possibilities.
Hence the name.
"It's great to see you two getting along so well," Chadwick said sarcastically as he walked in with his grandchildren and daughter-in-law, but Richard and Celestia really couldn't see where exactly they were "getting along."
"They even sound the same." Lady Letitia said while holding her youngest, Spencer, in her arms as 4 year old Lameckus and 2 year old Mahogani ran over to give Richard and Celestia their hugs.
Richard couldn't help but gush over how cute they were as Lameckus tried his best to tell him about how he rode a horse for the first time.
Though he couldn't exactly finish a sentence, Richard got the picture and asked Mahogani if she rode a horse too.
Her face lit up as he used sounds and the words "horsey" and "camel" to describe how she watched her older brother ride horses. He really couldn't get enough of hearing the kids' babble as a man walked into the room and declared, "Your majesties! I'm here to escort you to the presentation of the heir ceremony."
Looks like Richard wasn't late after all, he snickered to Celestia as she discreetly elbowed him in the side while the rest of the royals lined up in their order.
She really couldn't handle being wrong, huh.
*****
Ding.
Richard pulled out his phone to check his notification as Chadwick sat at his desk, going through documents.
It was from Grandpa's son. He wanted Richard to stop by for dinner, but he couldn't understand why he wanted to see him after all those years.
He wondered if he should go or not as his mind started to wonder what his true intentions were by inviting him over.
Richard was so lost in thought that a little tickle from Chadwick nearly scared him out of his skin as the king's uncontrollable laughter filled the room.
What a jerk. Him and his wife!
"I'm sorry," he said while still laughing, "You were so still. I thought you had become a statue."
Richard tried to remain angry as the king continued to laugh hysterically, but he soon found himself laughing as well.
"That's better." he commented, "So what had you so down in the dumps in the first place."
Richard paused for a moment before vaguely saying how he was invited over for dinner, but he wasn't sure whether or not he should go. He didn't tell anyone what happened all those years ago, and he wasn't about to then either.
"Well," Chadwick said after thinking for a while, "How about you go show your face, and then I'll go in after 20 minutes or whenever you give me the signal, and I swoop in and use my powers as the king to save you?" "That's abusing your powers, genius." Winona said, scaring the two as she appeared behind them out of nowhere. "It's great to see you two are working really hard on the issue at hand."
Richard placed his hand on his chest to check on his heartbeat as Chadwick looked at the document in Winona's hand.
"You really have a bad habit of scaring people everywhere you go-" he said as he read the document before his tone changed.
"You want to start a task force to specialize in Obrussa periods?" "Yes," she replied confidently, "The young magicians are often the most unstable and destructive, so we need to take care of them."
Chadwick, clearly torn on what to do on the matter, turned to Richard and asked what he thought.
Richard, however, didn't see a need for such a group when most contracts are formed between Magis and people over 20 years old.
It was an unspoken agreement, which was rarely broken, and the police were more than capable of apprehending those who went berserk.
"What about the people who are killed?" Winona asked them. "What about the people who die because of those unstable Obrussas?"
Richard didn't know what to do about such a complicated subject, and neither did Chadwick.
"Just sleep on it. The others are already on board, so we're waiting for you." she said. "Why me?" Chadwick asked, confused. "Your father is the one who wants you to make the task force before you choose Winston's heir and abdicate the throne to him."
Richard quickly changed the subject back to the dinner at the mention of the former king by asking Chadwick what the signal should be.
"I think a phone call should suffice." he said with his warm, yet sad smile.
*****
Richard stood in front of that door. The last time he saw it, he was thrown out by a man who claimed to be his father.
What did he want now? To kill him?
Richard, confident in his power and strength, knew he wouldn't just let him do whatever he wanted.
If the discussion he wanted to have was about that time, then he swore to himself he wouldn't just sit there and let them lie to his face. This time he would fight back.
With his resolve in mind, Richard reached for the door knob, momentarily forgetting he didn't have a key. This moment of stupidity soon turned to urgency as the door opened anyway.
It wasn't like them to just leave the door open. Did something happen? He wondered as he opened the door and slowly walked through the entrance towards the living room.
Something inside him kept telling him to turn back, but he pressed on ignoring his instincts until he arrived at the horrid scene.
The man was lying in his reclining chair and his wife was laying flat on the floor with stab wounds in each of their chests.
The blood, blackened and cracked, meant they were dead before he received the text earlier that day.
Had the killer sent the text? Was this all a trap to kill him? Why? What had Richard done to deserve such a fate?
"Oh."
He snapped around to see a little girl standing in the hallway near the living room.
Who was she?
The girl walked up to Richard, unfazed by the bodies as she said, "My name is Doria. This is the first time we're meeting. I am your half-sister and I am the one who killed them."
Richard's mind went blank as he ran for the door, but she grabbed the back of his shirt before adding, "I helped you rid yourself of your curse, so you should do the same for me."
What was she talking about?
"I know what they did to you, and I got revenge. I'm not asking for much, just a name and guardianship change. That's all."
What?
*****
Richard remembered his little sister's big brown eyes as he stared at her headstone.
He knew she was insane from the moment he met her, but she wasn't wrong in what she was trying to acquire. It was a shame she was betrayed when she was so close to her goal, but Richard told her not to worry. He was going to live up to his promise and rid the world of the curse that took her from him.
"Preparations to take the palace are complete," Chung-Ae said to his lover as he wrapped his arms around his neck, "Everyone is waiting on your command."
Richard wasn't going to change the world. Something like that would've been a waste of time for him.
No, he was going to fix it for his perfect little sister.