CHAPTER 4
[ ACT I ] Where the Sun watches [4]
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It's not something you think about often, but your typical funeral was met with the most god forsaken weather, doesn't it? Rain, thunder, lighting… such things were no strangers to this terrible event. It was a welcomed thing, this weather, as it was comforting in its own strange way. When the skies turned gray, it meant you were not alone in your sadness… the clouds were letting out tears along with you. They, which lacked even the most basic bit of sentience, could miraculously share your grievances with you. They helped you cover your sadness, the relentless raindrops producing a sobbing even louder than your own.
The gods must really not care for you then if they can't even provide such a basic level of pity.
Today the sun was square and center in the middle of the sky, Letting out small rays of warmth into the wild fauna scattered on the horizon wide hills. Without a cloud in sight, the unique starry day time of this odd world named Terra could shine in its full glory, each star shimmering elegantly on its Blue canvas. Everything was absolutely vivid and saturated, the colors so intense that one could never hope to capture them with anything shy of the full potential of a human eyeball. Butterflies danced a waltz with one another, following an invisible beat that came straight from the lips of Mother Nature. A tune made more apparent by a comforting rustling all in the area as matching with the rhythm of the dancing insects, the wind made the flower-fields bend into waves of grass that gently flowed across the land.
Amidst all this with jarring contrasts, a gathering black-clad humanoids stood in an area with shortened grass. They were so out of place, they did not belong there. The best they could be described was like wine on a white carpet, forever standing the scene. Even their expressions were at odds with this place, their faces cast downwards away from the sunlight, eyes dry and without any focus…
There was only one person who took in the full glory of the sun and the star above, facing it without any slowness or shyness.
A man who lay under all their gazes: the man, or rather corpse, who was perfectly still in a box.
The coffin was incredibly fine. It was crafted out of expensive wood, with a glass covering that showed off a man with white hair that could be no less than 20. He was clothed in white silk completely from the tip of his chin to his toes with not even his fingers spared, hiding the fact that he was cut into two perfectly. Out of the people gathered, he was probably the one who looked most at peace, his thick brows curved in a relaxed manner as if he had no care for the world. He even breathed in and out as if he was alive, appearing more like a napping man than the dead.
In fact this whole scene seemed wrong, as if they were burying someone alive.
One of the forever slumbering man's hands was cupped in another's as fingers caressed the palms of his gloves. These hands were almost as white as the gloves with odd blackened fingertips and claws, rubbing the fabric in an attempt to transfer whatever chill they had into the other. However this was no use as the head of his skin was now eternally warm.
The owner of these pale hands, Luciel, was kneeling at the base of the coffin-- or more accurately had collapsed on top of it as his snowy hair was scattered all over the place. His legs were sprawled outwardly on the grass causing his immaculate pants to be darkened with morning dew, his usual dandy tendencies who would not allow such a thing currently buried deep under piles of stress and grief. He reeked, but not of sweat or grime but the thick stench of alcohol, covering up his flowery cologne so much that he could be mistaken for a walking brewery. Under a thick black veil, his eyes and cheeks were so flushed that they appeared almost bruised, driven to such a state by both alcohol and emotion— he wiped his skin of tears so many times by now that he had probably damaged his skin as well.
Some ways away, a throne shaped Centaur-- the empress's left hand-- held out a scroll as he announced, ‘We have confirmed that the death of prince Stellatu Noc was a homicide. Thankfully due to the quick response of the Solari guard, the culprit was apprehended and will face execution later this week. While interrogating the culprit we have also confirmed his purpose: this aim was the relations between the people of Sol and Noc. But we must not let his death divide our countries and instead make us stand stronger than ever against our common foes…..”
The centaur spoke in a booming voice, making sure his-- or rather the empresses-- message spread to the heavens itself. However when it made its way to Luciels ears, that voice turned into nothing more than white noise.
“Brother. “ seeing Luciel’s hand putting more and more force into his grasps, a person intervened. “That's not going to help…”
It was Jegudiel, her face aged ten years and utterly haggard.
“No, no, worry not, I know what I am doing. Look, he is still breathing is he not?” Luciel answered back. The tone of his words were high-class and posh, clearly birthed of many interactions of noble society, but its usual pleasing cadence was lost to hoarseness akin to a rocky desert. They also held a slight slur: he was nor clear of mind. “Oh my darling star… he just needs some encouragement…”
“....”
The man raised his head, meeting her Golden eyes head on as he tried to latch onto any possibility other than the cruel truth. “If I encourage him enough, he will be able to get up again, right?”
Self deceit was buried firmly into every flick of his serpentine tongue, but this man showed no intent of breaking this illusion of his. Hell, the countless bottles scattered around him was all you needed to know that he did not want to face reality in the slightest.
But the fact was undeniable, no matter how much he told it to himself, no matter how alive his son appeared at this moment.
Stellatu was pronounced Brain dead just a few hours before.
As the two came into a silent stalemate, a woman slowly made her way towards them. With a rustling of hair and fine silk, a shadow was cast onto the man on the coffin, pulling the grieving man into sudden darkness. With the sun's heat gone, the Luciel’s limbs froze as he rubbed his son's digits more intently, mumbling incomprehensible pleas with fear seared into his trembling flesh. It was as if he was a mouse that had been tossed into a ice cold river, holding onto a stick of his own self deceit as he shriveled in on himself.
What brought him back to reality was a rhythmic tapping coming from the owner of the shadow. It was a simple movement of a finger drumming on a poker watch. But as minuscule the movement was, for Luciel every tap was like a knife being thrust deeper into his skull, a feeling that made him see white for a second as his blood pressure rose. Not even hearing his own thoughts over that sound, he lifted his head up—
“Pathetic as ever, *Muł*.” the looming Estell said, voluptuous blue lips enunciating every syllable with unhidden derision. She did not even speak his name, instead opting for something that could only be an insult. “its four already… and you sit here doing nothing, yet again drinking yourself into a fool,”
She paused, sighing her next words more to herself than to the man below, ‘What an utter waste of time.’
It was a cruel sequence of words but they were filled with honest thought. She did not see the need to grieve for people who were already gone— this funeral was nothing more than meaningless lipservice for the emotionally weak.
Though the others did not share her opinion.
Luciel’s sister was the first to react. She pulled on Estell’s arm, her expression dismayed. Before she could say anything to lower the tension of the situation, Luciel finally recovered.
“So… your son's funeral is a *waste of time*.” growled Luciel, his voice incredulous, his voice becoming clearer as anger sobered his mind, “Stellatu died and you only complain that I grieve. Please, **my dear night**, you can at least pretend to have a heart in that cold cold chest of yours.”
“It is not that I am not saddened by this, Luciel.” Estell stated in a less aggressive tone, tapping the back of the pocket watch with her nail as if to count each second passing by, “I invested time into time, seeing it all wasted is a shame. but it was merely one child. And we are both old old creatures, Luciel, we have seen plenty of death. I wonder how you have survived thus far when you break down after someone’s death like this.”
“Our child is not *someone*” growled Luciel.
“That makes it even more worrisome that you are grieving, after all it is not difficult to create another one.”
Luciel did not even have a response to that. All he could do was widen his eyes at Estell, his chest inflating in a chimeric amalgamation of emotion. Getting up, his Triangle-pupiled eyes sharpened, fingers flexing as he did his best to hold onto any thread of decency towards the woman before him. He took one breath in, one breath out, a small smile crawling onto his lips as his eyes crinkled into genial slits. “Do you have anything else to say?”
This wasn't actually a question. It was just a polite way of telling her to shut up.
“Of course I do,” she said, unfazed at the dog-like snarls he was producing, “I have a scheduled meeting with my father, the moon's crescent, and your mother, the empires sun, later this evening in leu of this event, I would appreciate it if we hurried up with the processions— i don’t want to keep them waiting.”
As she spoke, she continued to tap on her pocket watch. And for every tap, Luciel's eye twitched as if being stabbed with a needle. It felt as if there was a little thread trying self control to his body, but each tap pulled that thread tighter, begging it to snap and sap Luciel of rationale.
Thankfully, that had yet to happen though. Luciel only made a round motion with his fingers on his forehead as if trying to gather his destructive thoughts into a spool, flicking them away a moments later as his smile increased tenfold.
He laughed shortly, sarcasm so damn potent you could almost smell it over the stench of alcohol coming though his lips, “Oh my~~ you have plans? Dearie me, then I have no choice but to speed this up, don’t I? Afterall, I don’t want you to miss a *meeting*… but if your day was so planned out, why even show my darling night? You didn’t have to be here.”
Estell frowned, “you did not invite me, and I was notified last minute. As such I of course had some scheduling issues.”
“Tsk, then in the name of the Dame above, clear your damn day. Or better, don’t come anyway,” Luciel went out of his way to avoid her coming for this event— what was happening was exactly the reason why he did so. Today was not a day he wanted to argue… but now that they started, of course Luciel would take it to the very end. “Funny that you mention it, my night. *why* Are you here anyway?”
“I was invited here, obviously.” she said, her brows bitterly lowering as she was reminded of how this situation displeased her. “By your sister no less… unlike you, my *husband*, she had the decency to call a mother to her own son's funeral.”
Luciel clenched his fists. “*Now* you pretend to care? What about this being a ‘waste of time’ and all that.”
“I'm not pretending, I’m not particularly upset… but it is a shame indeed that he died. He was obedient and listened well unlike other more annoying children. Hopefully the next spawn will have the same personality.” said Estell as she sighed, “and Luciel, You shouldn’t be sad Luciel. He served his purpose.”
Instantly Luciel's face turned black, “What?”
“Do you not see it? He has made between us to make sure the political situation in our two nations was stable. He was all about honor, was he not? I’m sure he is proud in the grave, who would not like to lay their life for their country? I mean, if I knew the death of one measly child could make us diplomatic allies, I would have killed him ages ago myself.”
She was saying she wanted to kill their, no… to kill his *his* child?
Even if she was saying it casually, how dare she? On this day?
The narrow winding thread inside Luciel's mind finally snapped.
Anger took over… and as Estell continued to impatiently tap on her pocket watch, that anger had found its focus.
His claws opening up, he swiped them at her with no thought. His movement ripped through as he swiped at her pocket watch, cutting the skin on the back of her hand as the little watch flew out of her fingers. If that was not enough, he moved his fingers causing black threads to pierce the watch and practically rip it into two, letting little springs and gears rain down all over the place. It was a petty action, a small act of defiance, but this one action brought back the smile to his face as a wave of catharsis hit.
“Fufufufufufu!” he could hardly contain his laughter, stomping down on the left over pieces as he taunted Estell, “well, let's call the procession over then! Go leave now, my night! Oh dear, what's with your face right now? Are you upset I broke your little watch? Dame above, It looks as if you lost a child or something! God, if I remember correctly, we are at a funeral right? But why cant I tell which thing is your son between the man in the coffin and these metal pieces on the floor? Gasp, or did you have a affair and fuck some watch and that is your secret love child? I won't question the logistics of that because if was as inhuman as you, I too would be trying fucking every inanimate object I see as they would give more compassion for you than any living being with a pair of functioning eyes. You utterly shameful, disgusting being --“
Luciel, unprepared, stumbled backwards as Estell punched him in the side of his face. Her cheeks were read and eyes flared up in anger, breathing heavily like an enraged beast,“do you know what you just broke?! Even a hand of that was worth more than any spawn i make yet you reduced it to this???!!! That was a generational keepsake! And how dare a dirty blooded, inbred and slum raised thing like you say that to me? Have you not looked at yourself?”
She was going to swing her fist at the man again, however Jedgudiel who got over her initial shock quickly restrained her. While much smaller than Estell, her strength was much larger as a simple arm loop around her waist was enough to hold Estell in place.
Luciel wiped the black blood off of his nose, her strike momentarily stunning him. But then he smiled like an angel, exposing his sharp fangs which were now dyed in black. He let out a madding laugh again, showing no hesitation as he returned Estells favor now that she was conveniently restrained.
“!!!!” Jegudiel paled as her attempt to calm the situation did not work, “Luciel! Stop it!”
“Oh shut up, Judy.” spat Luciel, like his wife did a second before him immediately preparing for another hit, “For once in your life, mind your fucking business and close that mouth of yours!”
Masahiko, who was taking care of the guests, finally noticed that the situation between the husband and wife was quite wrong. He ran over, restraining Luciel right before he had a chance to get a second hit in, “calm down… Luciel… Calm down!’
“You too shut it Masahiko! This is between me and her!”
Like so, this fight between them fell into an utter mess. Both were restrained by a stronger party, their claws fully extended as they manically tried to strike one another. Quickly realizing that that was impossible, they went back to shouting obscenities at each other, attacking anyone who got in their way of their feud.
Their argument at some point got so intense that Luciel took off one of his shoes and threw it at her, Estell returning the favor within seconds.
Once their energies and insults depleted slightly, Masahiko dragged Luciel back a bit as he looked at Jegudiel, “your highness Neriah Zul, please Take lady Estell back home. I'll deal with Luciel… hes a fucking mess right now, the best thing is to separate them right now. And please pay Luciels words no mind, he is not in the right state of ming right now.”
Jegudiel nodded.
“Sorry about this, your highness Neriah Zul, I know it is not your job to take care of this but….” he said, his voice helpless, his voice barely audible under the screams of the lovely couple.
“No need to be sorry, he is my brother too, I understand. I feel like I should be sorry for you to have to deal with him like that.” Jegudiel gave Masahiko a weak smile. She was clearly affected by his words, but did her best to appear strong, “Come on Elle, people are looking, we should leave.”
Once the two women left, Masahiko glared at the peanut gallery that was watching in interest, raising his voice as he growled threateningly, “Everyone leave! There is nothing to see here!”
Only when there was none left did Luciel speak up, “let go of me, Maki.”
Masahiko quickly eased his grip. He crossed his arms, shaking his head as he watched Luciel sit by the coffin again. Unconsciously, he resorted to nagging Luciel like a mother whose kid was up to no good, his words filled with helplessness and worry, “I get your upset and you really didn't mean it, but you did not need to be so cruel to Jegudiel. Don't let out your anger on innocent bystanders…. ”
“Hmm, you make a good point.” smiled Luciel, “but fuck you, I'm not in the mood to be preached to. Leave. Don't make me say it twice. And I’m not saying this as a friend, I am ordering you as your superior.”
“....” Masahiko opened his mouth wanting to say something, but he knew he could not come up with anything to change his mind. Shutting his eyes tightly, he turned on his heel as he left Luciel all alone under the gaze of the sun.
[ ACT I ] Where the Sun watches [END]
・•・•・•・•・
#they call her a snake#
Maki: Ok, maybe playing ‘whose family is most dysfunctional’ wasn’t the best idea we’ve had.
Maki: Judy has been silently staring into the ceiling for ages,
Maki: Gabriel has teleported away, and Luciel has been crying in the bathroom for an hour…
Estell: *eating popcorn* I don’t know what you're talking about, I think it was a wonderful idea.
