Chapter Sixteen- Daddy Issues
The crickets chirp loudly, but not enough to drown out the sound of the nearby train. Samuel looks up at the night sky, he should be worried about Allen, but he could only focus on his dad.
*Flashback *
Samuel stood in the center of the room, his dad still sitting quietly on his chair, his hand rubbing his face ,the aggravation leaking right off his skin.
The clock that hung above the door ticks away, to Samuel's ear its louder that a train, he nervously shifts and wipes away sweat rolling down his forehead. His father looks up at him, he looks down at the deep red rug he stood on.
" So you almost violated the treaty and put the prince in harm's way …. it seems your incompetence has grown more after your last punishment " his father's shaky yet deep voice rang like a train's whistle.
"Fa... A..ather I..".
" SILENCE " the old man's voice rings, his eyes glowed a sinister red but it was bland in the room filled with the same color.
Samuel begins to choke and coughs as his father strangles him with magic, cutting off not only his ability to breathe but also his magical abilities, rendering him vulnerable.
…
* End of flash back *
A single drop of tear runs down his cheek as it falls onto the balcony's rail, Samuel grits his teeth and clenches his fist. This surge of anger triggers something within him, the blue radiates off him like that thin smoke off dry ice.
A surge of thunder ripples in the sky and the balcony cracks, not enough to fall apart but enough to make it unsafe.
Samuel feeling no more remorse for himself, walks back inside and out of his room, he walks straight pass his father's room and heads towards the the council's hall.
He enters through the grand wooden doors, his tension leaving his body, he felt himself absorbing the state of the room, calm, quiet, peaceful, undisturbed. He stops at the first painting and looks at the man's face, the very first council member.
Samuel remembers when he found out he was gonna be a council member, he came in here and spent the night looking at every painting, he had felt stripped of a major decision on his life. He had no other choice.
He continues to walk around and look at the other paintings, he remembers his mom and begins to smile, he remembers the very first time he was in here. He and his mother walking along each and every painting, admiring them, he remembers his question he asked at the end.
" why no woman " the little boy sweetly asked his mother.
She smiles and says " the mask never chose a woman.
" why not " he asked.
" I don't know sweetie, I wonder the same thing whenever I'm in here " she picks up her son and sways him in her arms.
He stops at his father's painting not daring to look at his father's face, he just inhales and continues walking, he stops at Darius Smith's painting, the previous council member of the mask that chose him.
He looks down at the glass case at the bottom of the painting, his anger flying higher than ever, he was surprised, angry, no, infuriated at the sight.
It was gone.... he screams at the top of his lungs, and storms out of the room.
…
Allen's body was stuck floating in a black void, nothing to be seen or hear from for what seems like never-ending.
He huddles his own body, trying to confine the little warmth radiating off his tiny pale body.
He closes his eyes and whispers in his clustered mind, his body tenses as he hears water gushing around him, the cold impact was calming.
He relaxes his body, his limbs float out, his eyes still shut. He floats to the top of the water, he slowly lifts his eyelids and the bright light bulges in his eyes, blurring his vision.
He blinks a few times, when his vision clears he sees them, he immediately shut his eyes again, wanting no longer to see those..... those.... masks. Those cracked plae masks, the people wearing them, they haunt his dreams, they laugh because he screams.
He flashes back to when he walked to the room filled with these people, these masks.
Allen looks inside as the door slowly opens, his brown orbs fixated on the people inside, his heart beating in his chest.
He was scared, he couldn't see their faces, but rather their masks an he recognizes every one, his nightmares flash in the back of his mind like memories, he sees each of them standing over him, trying to hurt him.
He stood frozen, the doll masked faces stare at him, their body structure told his they were all men.
In the back of the room his eyes pierce onto the old man sitting on a throne like chair the color of the hallway curtains, his mask was more cracked than the rest, and his brown eyes examine the small boy just outside the door.
He enters, each step he takes, each one he regrets, the claustrophobia weaves thicker around Allen, his breathing was rapid, his head swings. He walks closer and closer until he stops....
He stops in front of the throne, in front of the old man wearing the mask that haunts Allen the most, the very first mask he ever saw and the one he saw most of in his dreams.
Allen couldn't continue anymore, his body collapsed, and so did his memory, nothing of what happens after or during this moment.
Allen reopens his eyes, they were all gone, it was just him alone in a bathtub?! He pulls himself in a seating position only to be hauled down back into the water. He felt the liquid burn his nose and lungs as he screams, inaudible.
He feels familiar arms wrap around him, and soft lips presses against his head. Allen felt so safe in these arms, loved by that one single kiss, he opens his eyes once more to gaze on a bare red chest.
He looks up and sees the most beautiful creature he has ever laid eyes on, his hair looks almost on fire, his eyes a bright orange with a red ring around it, they were large and seemed captivating, his lips were black and thin, he had horns red from his skin but fades black when reached the tip.
The creature smiles and rests his forehead on Allen, his deep, knees bucking voice whispers closely to Allen " Soon you will remember ".
No other words were dared to be uttered, the creature lightly presses his lips on Allen, the small boy closes his eyes, never wanting this feeling to end, the feeling of being safe, the feeling of trust, the feeling of being loved.
Allen opens his eyes but he sighs as he was greeted by reality, his skin was sweaty and hot, he lays his right arm over his forehead, he remembered the kiss, his pale skin tints with red.
He raises in the bed, propping himself on his palms, the door swings open banging against the wall. Allen springs up, his eyes focused on Samuel.
Allen starts to pulls into a ball, the anger leaks off of Samuel, but it scares the small boy, Allen was scared, whenever someone was angry around him, he got hurt.