Status: About once or twice a week. More if I ever get a break from school. :)
The Damned
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-two
3rd Person
"Ruby, you don't understand. They're looking for him and they're looking in OUR country. They keep getting closer and closer and it's only a matter of time before they find him," Micah's father said, running his hand through his hair nervously, never once pausing in his pacing. He was the opposite of the man his subjects saw. His hair was disheveled, he looked exhausted from lack of sleep, and he couldn't stop fidgeting. If his people ever saw him like this, they'd be much less likely to trust him as their king.
The Tsarina just smiled at her husband, condescendingly. "I know you're worried Jackson, but you really have to get control over yourself. It will be awhile before they find him. When, or even if, they find him, you have to remember that we have a huge bargaining chip. The boy is here and they know that if they make any attempt to get him we can kill him before they even get close," she told her husband.
The Tsar looked at his wife, doubtfully."You know as well as I do what would happen if we did that."
"Yes, I do. I believe we have the resources to deal with them," she said coldly. "You don't doubt our citizens, do you?"
"Of course, I don't. I'm being realistic though. our citizens won't want to fight for something they don't understand. besides, we might be able to deal with just them, but they have a lot of friends. We never know who might join them. We need to play it safe. Kill him now and hide any evidence he was ever here."
"Not only would that ruin the whole situation, but do you really think our son wouldn't notice? Our son and the demon are dating," Micah's mother said. "We'll wait."
"I'm about ready to scrap the whole plan; forget the land and just focus on keeping our citizens alive," he sighed.
"Our country is growing. We need the space to keep our citizens happy. They won't care how the war started. It won't be hard to convince them to fight. You know everyone finds demons as monstrous as we do. They're disgusting and no one will object to a war to eradicate them. Really, we're killing two birds with one stone, so to speak."
The king knew she was right so he switched to his other tactic. "I think the boy would understand if we explained things to him."
"Our son is sixteen. He can't be expected to act like an adult yet," Micah's mother snapped.
"He almost is an adult!" the Tsar snarled back.
Micah's parents have always had very different ideas on how to raise their son. Micah's mother, although no one would be able to tell from how little time she spends with her son, really cares about Micah and still thinks of him as her little boy. His father, on the other hand, has thought of and treated his son like he should be a man from the second he was born. He always had high expectations for Micah and was disappointed that he still acted like a child at times. This situation with the demon was one of those times, as far as the Tsar is concerned.
It's not that the Tsar is a bad man. He was just never meant to have children. Micah's father only had Micah to continue the bloodline. Lucy was an accident and so far the only use he's seen for her is to marry her off to a member of one of the royal families far away and get a large dowry from her.
The Tsarina knows that and it bothers her, but she knows there's no point in arguing about it. What's done is done. That's not to say that her hands are entirely clean in this matter. She's just as willing to exploit her children. She just doesn't want them to know about it, which may make her the more dangerous one.
"Let's just wait a little bit longer. Micah and his…uh, the demon won't learn anything we won't want them too. The good thing about living in a place like this is that we can control what goes in and what goes out. If we have to kill the demon we will, but I want our son to be happy for as long as possible. No matter how disgusting and vile the demon is, I don't think our son would understand if we killed the thing. All we can do now is hope he tires of the demon and then we can eliminate the problem without any backlash," she said.
The Tsar sighed. He knew his wife was a great politician and she proved it every time they argued like this. "Fine. I hope you know how dangerous this is. If this is what you prefer, it shall be done."
"Thank you," the Tsarina said.
The Tsar nodded. "The demon will live…for now."
3rd Person
"Ruby, you don't understand. They're looking for him and they're looking in OUR country. They keep getting closer and closer and it's only a matter of time before they find him," Micah's father said, running his hand through his hair nervously, never once pausing in his pacing. He was the opposite of the man his subjects saw. His hair was disheveled, he looked exhausted from lack of sleep, and he couldn't stop fidgeting. If his people ever saw him like this, they'd be much less likely to trust him as their king.
The Tsarina just smiled at her husband, condescendingly. "I know you're worried Jackson, but you really have to get control over yourself. It will be awhile before they find him. When, or even if, they find him, you have to remember that we have a huge bargaining chip. The boy is here and they know that if they make any attempt to get him we can kill him before they even get close," she told her husband.
The Tsar looked at his wife, doubtfully."You know as well as I do what would happen if we did that."
"Yes, I do. I believe we have the resources to deal with them," she said coldly. "You don't doubt our citizens, do you?"
"Of course, I don't. I'm being realistic though. our citizens won't want to fight for something they don't understand. besides, we might be able to deal with just them, but they have a lot of friends. We never know who might join them. We need to play it safe. Kill him now and hide any evidence he was ever here."
"Not only would that ruin the whole situation, but do you really think our son wouldn't notice? Our son and the demon are dating," Micah's mother said. "We'll wait."
"I'm about ready to scrap the whole plan; forget the land and just focus on keeping our citizens alive," he sighed.
"Our country is growing. We need the space to keep our citizens happy. They won't care how the war started. It won't be hard to convince them to fight. You know everyone finds demons as monstrous as we do. They're disgusting and no one will object to a war to eradicate them. Really, we're killing two birds with one stone, so to speak."
The king knew she was right so he switched to his other tactic. "I think the boy would understand if we explained things to him."
"Our son is sixteen. He can't be expected to act like an adult yet," Micah's mother snapped.
"He almost is an adult!" the Tsar snarled back.
Micah's parents have always had very different ideas on how to raise their son. Micah's mother, although no one would be able to tell from how little time she spends with her son, really cares about Micah and still thinks of him as her little boy. His father, on the other hand, has thought of and treated his son like he should be a man from the second he was born. He always had high expectations for Micah and was disappointed that he still acted like a child at times. This situation with the demon was one of those times, as far as the Tsar is concerned.
It's not that the Tsar is a bad man. He was just never meant to have children. Micah's father only had Micah to continue the bloodline. Lucy was an accident and so far the only use he's seen for her is to marry her off to a member of one of the royal families far away and get a large dowry from her.
The Tsarina knows that and it bothers her, but she knows there's no point in arguing about it. What's done is done. That's not to say that her hands are entirely clean in this matter. She's just as willing to exploit her children. She just doesn't want them to know about it, which may make her the more dangerous one.
"Let's just wait a little bit longer. Micah and his…uh, the demon won't learn anything we won't want them too. The good thing about living in a place like this is that we can control what goes in and what goes out. If we have to kill the demon we will, but I want our son to be happy for as long as possible. No matter how disgusting and vile the demon is, I don't think our son would understand if we killed the thing. All we can do now is hope he tires of the demon and then we can eliminate the problem without any backlash," she said.
The Tsar sighed. He knew his wife was a great politician and she proved it every time they argued like this. "Fine. I hope you know how dangerous this is. If this is what you prefer, it shall be done."
"Thank you," the Tsarina said.
The Tsar nodded. "The demon will live…for now."
♠ ♠ ♠
Just a bit of foreshadowing. :)