28. Chances
Elijah was scared.
He couldn't remember the last time that Andreas had called him and he hadn't felt his heart hammering.
He sighed and sat on the high backed chair near the ornate fireplace and stared dismally into the merrily leaping flames.
He hadn't been in Andreas' room since he was a child. He gazed at the tastefully decorated room. A large four poster bed towards the end. A huge bookshelf was set up against the opposite wall. There were several photoframes, mostly consisting of Andreas and his long deceased wife, Catherine, who passed away when Augustus was still a child.
The door opened and Andreas walked in, his severe eyes landing on his grandson in disapproval. Elijah got to his feet warily and gave him a slight bow. Andreas walked over to him and sat on the armchair opposite Elijah.
"I hear the bastard is training how to wield his powers," Andreas said, his words dripping with mirth. "I see you have spectacularly let me down again."
"I'm sorry if it doesn't come naturally to me to kill," Elijah said, biting his tongue the moment the words were out of his mouth.
Andreas stared coldly at him. "I am not forcing you for anything, Elijah. Abdicate. I shall be more than happy to grant the kingdom to Meredith."
Elijah grit his teeth and spoke in a voice of forced calm. "I tried. I did what you taught me. His friend saved him," he looked at his granddad. "I don't know what else I can do."
Andreas took a deep breath, his eyes flashing malevolently. "Nothing. I will no longer entrust you with this simple task. I shall assign my own men to the cause. At Zenithium which I am sure your dearest brother-" Elijah flinched. "-would be attending."
Elijah didn't say anything, glancing at anywhere except his disapproving grandfather.
"I suggest you attend Zenithium. Enjoy the last few days of liberty."
Elijah glanced at him, wondering what he meant.
"After the Zenithium, your father and I shall start appointing you more thoroughly in the affairs of the kingdom," he rose to his feet. "Leave. Had Ezra been alive, this day would never have arrived."
Elijah felt his heart wrenching but got up silently, leaving the room. Despair suffocating him. He wished his Grandfather would let Zeke go. But there was one thing common in both of them. They were unforgiving.
*
The Zenithium was nothing like Elijah had ever seen.
There was a cacophony of colours. Sounds. Noises.
He broke off from Meredith as he roamed around the vibrant conundrum. She was with Aidan and he knew she would be safe. He could experience tastes and smells he had only heard or read of. Dance forms which were a mix of acrobatics and fighting. Games of every kind. People flocking around in all kind of colours.
It made Elijah's brain seem like it was vibrating in the cranium.
He started walking away from catatonic noises, the crowd thinning as the streamers and floaters and stores became rarer and rarer. He reached the end of the village where a few run down cottages stood, deserted. Perhaps used only for storing wares for the festival. He wondered if he could go into one of the cottages and just lie down away from the crowd and noise till it all died down. His twin was probably enjoying herself. She loved the colours and festivals.
He found an abandoned building which seemed to have been a store of some kind and was about to enter when he heard a loud cry, muffled almost immediately. He turned at the sound of the voice coming from behind the narrow alley and ran towards there. His heart lurched as disgust filled his stomach when he saw a few men, surrounding a young girl. One of them had his meaty hand on her mouth, muffling her as another advanced on her.
Anger surged through him as he called at them, his voice commanding. "Leave her alone."
The men whipped around as they saw him, one of them grinning malevolently. There were five men and Elijah's guts twisted in disgust. The grinning man looked at him, a grotesque scar covering almost entire of his face. "What will you do otherwise, sonny?"
Elijah clenched his teeth. He could tell them who he was and he knew they would go away scuttling. They didn't seem to be very up-to-date with the tabloids anyway. His father had been protective of all his children being in the paparazzi, hence, he wasn't surprised that they hadn't recognized him right away. But the anger and resentment that he had been harbouring since a long time swirled around him in a destructive tornado. Here he saw an opportunity. A situation that was finally under his control.
"I'm asking you for the last time," his voice trembled, with anger. "Leave her alone or you'll regret it."
The grinning man gestured at a tall lean man with long hair and he started advancing towards Elijah. He sighed and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, the five scoundrels were hanging in the air, their bodies suspended, lopsided and their eyes wide. "What the fuck?"
"I will drop you now," Elijah said, his voice dangerously calm. "Get the fuck out of here. Or else things will get worse for you."
He could see the fear in their eyes. Nuvues were still feared and revered all over Obscura, something he could use to his advantage. He knew they needed to be threatened just a little. Disgusting creatures like them were cowards. He waved his hands and an air column grew menacingly as a swirling tornado formed under the five of them. He suspended them over the eye of the tornado and relished at the sheer horror on their faces. The menacing sounds of the blowing wind scintillated his senses. He felt powerful.
"LET US GO KID! FUCK! SHE'S NOT EVEN THAT HOT!"
Elijah dropped them with as much force as he could and they fell with loud thuds and grunts. He watched disinterestedly as they scramble to their feet and ran pathetically way.
His gaze landed on the girl and his heart lurched.
He could tell that she was no human girl. She was sitting on the ground, her body trembling. Her skin was pale white, luminous, almost like the moon. Her hair was as dark as a raven, striking a contrast to her icy blue eyes. Her lips, like pink petals.
He walked tentatively closer to her as she finally looked at him. Elijah felt the earth give way under him. She was astoundingly beautiful.
"Are you okay?" he walked over to her and crouched in front of her, studying her intently for any signs of injury.
The girl nodded, hugging herself. "Who are you?"
"Elijah." He answered. He didn't want to tell her his full name. For once, he didn't want his name to define him. He felt a twinge of pain in his heart. Her mesmerizing eyes were fearful. "Are you lost?"
"No," she said, her voice breathless. "I'm Castalia."
Elijah stared at her. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she shook her head. "I'm sorry. My friend is named Losahna and we call her Lost as a joke and-"
She gulped.
Elijah smiled softly, amused. Relieved that she seemed less scared now. "That's a beautiful name, Castalia," her name felt strange on his tongue. Almost as if it was forgotten, forbidden old magic he wasn't uttered to experience. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
She shook her head."I was looking to visit the Zenithium festival. I've heard it's the humans' greatest event," she seemed to relaise what she had said as she bit her lip, her eyes wide.
Elijah let his gaze to her neck, spotting an intricate, floral tattoo on it as he realized. "You're a fairy."
"You're a Nuvue," she nodded. "I'm not supposed to be here. Please don't tell anyone."
Elijah had seen fairies before, but something about her was different.
"I won't," he stretched out a hand as he stood up. She gazed at his hand for a while before finally placing her soft, small ones in it and rising to her feet.
She wore a flowing, light green dress. Her eyes wandered behind, to the garbage dump and she bit her lip. "They..tore my jacket."
Elijah felt a rush of rage.
"I can't go to the festival without it. Everyone will see," she delicately touched her tattoo.
"It's not that special. The festival," Elijah said, his heart fluttering unexplained. "We can just roam around here. If that is alright with you?"
She gazed at him for a while before she said. "I didn't know human men were so handsome," Elijah stared at her, his face heating up as she continued. "I've heard they smell like the vile they do but-" she closed her eyes and Elijah saw her long, dark lashes. She took in a deep breath. "You smell like black amber plum."
Elijah's eyes flitted to her lips and back to her eyes, amused. "That's oddly specific."
She smiled softly, her eyes lighting up. "It's my favourite."
Her cheeks burned again as she realized what she had said. "Yes I mean...yes we can just stay here. As long as you're sure no one will come here?"
Elijah nodded. "You'll be safe with me. Don't worry."
He clasped his hand gently in his and started leading her away, a strange, unfamiliar feeling in his chest. He held on to the warmth, trying to distract himself from the mangle of mess that awaited at the palace.
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