Father and daughter
De voe was training in a very large hall in the castle. The large entrance door suddenly pushed open, as Raja walked inside.
"Greetings my master," he said, bowing low before De voe.
"Greetings to you Raja. Have you brought me news of progress in the excavation mission?" asked De voe.
"Ur... about that master, there's something that I need to tell you," said Raja.
"Go ahead, I'm all ears," said De voe with a compelling smile. He quickly gave the man he trained, an aggressive takedown.
"In private please, I'll prefer the presence of only your ears," said Raja.
De voe motioned to the rest of the guards to clear the room. They all left at once, in a manner that can convince someone that they possessed a unified mind.
"Speak now," ordered De voe.
"My great and powerful master, your loyal servant has made sure your will be done. We have recruited hundreds of prisoners to do your mighty desires, making sure we find that which you long to obtain," said Raja, bowing down before him in respect and loyalty.
De voe nodded, walking around majestically.
"But master, your servants have searched for quite a very long time, but...," he said, as De voe cut in.
"Then search harder, I can't be mistaken you know. I'm sure it must be somewhere around the mountains," said De voe.
"Forgive me master, but we've searched for months and weeks, even nearly a year, but we've not found anything of that likeness. Perhaps, this treasure we seek does not exist," said Raja.
De voe had a sudden change of mood on hearing this. He became so annoyed with Raja. With clenched teeth and a furry stare, he looked like he was about to devour Raja.
"Do you hear what you speak, does it mean that you've started losing faith in my doctrines?" asked De voe.
Raja just stood silently still, like a sacrificial lamb waiting to be slaughtered. He fixed his gaze on the ground beneath him, maybe praying it would just part and swallow him up. De voe seemed to be growing more angry and violent by the passing moment. He roared in anguish like a bruised beast.
"Do you know the blood that I've spilled and the corpse that I've buried to be in this position I am? The efforts that I've put, in and the sacrifice that I've made to take charge of this realm?" he roared, breathing heavily.
"This is not enough, non of this is, and you know it. I need more hosts, I need more power to fulfill the destiny that I'm preparing for this world," he said with intensity in his eyes.
"I promised you a great future Raja, one with the both of us reigning side by side. Don't let me put out your flames, and ignite another's. Prove your loyalty," he said at last.
"Pardon my ill manners master, I promise I'll make you proud," declared Raja. He left the presence of De voe at that moment.
Later on, De voe put on his royal apparel and sat upon the exalted throne of Sirkari on the highest floor of the castle.
"Bring me O'Neil, my brother," he whispered, with a million miles' gaze in his eyes. There were two sentinels guarding the large entrance door which was meters ahead of him. All of a sudden, they both dropped the spears they held at the same time, and started climbing down the stairs, like they heard the whisper of their master, though it was impossible for them to.
O'Neil and his family lived in a very calm and peaceful area. They lived in a small cottage near the shore of the silvery Sea. He and his wife Isabel had a thirteen years old daughter named Iris. That cloudy day, he was out early with his daughter, training her on handling the blade.
"It's so heavy," she grumbled after an unsuccessful move.
"That's because you weren't holding it with a firm grip," said her father, O'Neil. He demonstrated to her again how to wield the sword, then he gave it back to her to try.
"We're going to start over again. Here's a tip that has been of help to me, try directing your mind to the enemy ahead, not on the weight of the weapon, or any other stuff," he said.
"Alright," she muttered.
"Hay, you can do this," said O'Neil at last.
"I can do this," she affirmed to herself.
She summoned courage and took up the sword again. Holding it strong enough, with a firm stance.
Slice!... Swoop!... Slash!...
She cut through the bamboo stems lined in an irregular pattern. As she was about lowering the seventh one, the sword slipped off of her grip, flickering through the air.
Clang!
It fell to the ground.
"I can't do this," she said, wearily lifting her blade, and inserting it back into the patch. She had tried so many times already, but she was still getting it wrong. She wanted to give up, after all, she have had enough of disappointments lately. O'Neil went to where his daughter stood, gazing at the sea.
"Don't say that Iris, maybe you just got a little bit distracted," he persuaded. She just rolled her eyes and dropped the sword to the floor.
"Forget it Dad, I'm not like you, I suck". She trudged down the shore, and sat down on a rock, skipping little pebbles at the water.
O'Neil thought for a while, he was pushing her too hard, he knew he had to try being a little patient with her, to see her improvements. He went down too and sat by her side. Far across, were fishermen on their boats, casting their nets to the sea to get salmons and tituses. By the shore, were those mending and washing their nets. Birds like Kingfishers and flamingos swayed around momentarily, to get their share of the catch. De voe hung his arm around his daughter, they both were enjoying the fascinating view. Unlike other parts of the realm that has been taken over by De voe, and desertified by the reign of terror that he brought, the seaside remained a calm and peaceful place, and this was because of the presence of O'Neil. De voe's men scarcely came around the area, maybe because they were ordered not to, or they were just scared of one man.
O'Neil was so sensitive about his daughter. Even now, he could sense that she was upset.
"Hay, don't be hard on yourself," he said with a look of concern.
"Why shouldn't I? I fail every time," she mumbled.
"It's okay to fail you know. Sometimes I fail, we all do," he said, looking into her dreamy eyes.
"Do you know why? Because we're humans, not gods, and humans are not perfect. Every day we just work towards perfection," he added.
A little cat came by and crept close beside Irises leg.
Meow..., It sounded, with innocent and expectant eyes. She took out some of her fried fish, wrapped up in fresh green leaves, inside her side bad, and fed the kitten the fish.
"Here kitty," she said, as she fed the kitten, stroking its furry back.
"See when I was just about your age," said O'Neil to his daughter, who sat back with interest. She knew that he was about to tell a story. He continued.
"When I was about your age, I wasn't so good at sword fighting or wrestling. I was considering a loser, constantly beaten in the arena. I was known by everyone, as a figure of defeat. This continuous streak of failure sickened me. I hated myself for that and I got broken. It wasn't long enough till I made up my mind to quit the young warriors' academy and start shoe making, but at the zero hour, I met your mother, or perhaps, she met me. She taught me that to live up to a higher expectation, I had to embrace the true me. She said that I shouldn't give in to failure, but rather, learn from my mistakes to improve. I'm glad I took her advice then, it had made me victorious ever since," explained O'Neil.
"Is all of that true, or did you add something to it?" asked Iris.
"All true, no addition, no subtraction," he sounded confident.
"So you're trying to say that mother gave you some advice?" asked Iris.
O'Neil nodded.
"Where?" she curiously asked.
"In the center arena," he answered.
"But you always say that you met mother at the temple when both of you were assigned sentries to the sacred library," said Iris.
"You are wise like your cousin Iris. I did say that, but I meant when we were of age. Growing up, I knew Isabel, but I never met her then. And point of correction, it was she who met me back then in the center arena, and gave me the comforting advice," stated O'Neil.
"Oh, now I get it," she said at last.
"Do not let failure get the better of you, rather let it be a stepping stone to your success," said O'Neil.
"You're a man of wisdom father, so far I've grown to know you as a perfect person. I just wish I were like you," she said.
"How about I say you're better," said O'Neil. He picked up a stringed instrument that was on the ground and struck the strings, producing a pleasant melody. He sang as he played the instrument.
♪♪ I'm beautiful, I'm wonderful,♪♪
♪♪ That's who I am♪♪
♪♪ I'm invincible, powerful,♪♪
♪♪ Gonna show them who I am♪♪
♪♪ Neither a raging storm nor a mighty host can stop me now...♪♪