|Ch.21

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It was time. Storm stood beside the border that separated the two Kingdoms of East and South. Beside him were Jimin and Hoseok. They could see enemy troops waiting for them.

"Be careful",Yoongi said from behind.

"Let's go",Hoseok took the lead and crossed the border first.

When all the three of them crossed the borders,a group of knights from the East kingdom lead them towards their own tent areas. Passing few tents,they reached another massive tent and it screamed royalty. No need to ask who were in there,it was obvious.

When they entered the tent,there,they saw a man and a woman sitting at a table,waiting for them. The woman had  a crown on her head,brown hair,elegant facial features. However,she didn't look like a fragile woman. Her whole figure screamed power. Those domineering eyes,they were full of arrogance. The Queen Beatrice.

And the man beside him had a duel coloured hair,white and black. He was handsome beyond words. Though he looked unbothered,he had a huge presence he sat there with legs crossed. He didn't wear a crown yet he sure was a king with how kept his figure uptight at the presence of Pendragons. The king Nakamura Kazuki.

The Pendragons bowed their heads slightly,that was all any royalty could get from Pendragons.

"Storm",the queen Beatrice called with a sickly sweet tone and raised her hand elegantly.

Storm stepped forward and took her hand before placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

"What a gentleman",Beatrice uttered with a smile that looks so fake yet professional. "Why are you all standing,we don't want our handsome Pendragon men to stay standing all day. Have a seat"

Her tone was pissing Storm off. It was too sweet like too much sugar yet creepy at the same time.

Jimin took a seat directly infront of Nakamura and gave a slight acknowledging nod to which Nakamura smiled gently and nodded.

Storm raised an eyebrow,they definitely have some history. The bastard wanted to see me but why does he look like he was only happy to see Jimin Pendragon?

Storm took a seat in between Hoseok and Jimin.

"How are you,Storm?",Beatrice asked.

Again,that smile.

"I'm....doing good,I guess"

"Oh~that's lovely to hear. So,where have you been for almost an year? I heard you vanished into thin air all of a sudden",her words are calm and collected as if she had all the time in the world.

"Was just injured. Had to rest for a while"

"Oh my~ sibling fight had gone a little bit too far,I guess"

Storm wanted to scowl at her and he fucking did. "Are you spying on me?"

"Oh no my dear,but the words cannot be stopped from going one mouth to another"

It was definitely a lie.

Nakamura cleared his throat,"Why don't we have our meal first? Our guests must be hungry"

Beatrice smiled and nodded,"That's a good idea",she clicked her fingers and the servants started filling the table with food.

When servants started filling their plates with food,Storm stopper the servant who was serving his food,"I can do it by myself"

Everyone stared at Storm.

Though Storm said he could do it,he couldn't lift his hand to fill his plate. He was paranoid. The last time he had a meal with someone,and that someone being his 'best friend', he was fucking poisoned. He wanted to wait till others eat so he could eat later but they were now staring at him.

All of a sudden,Hoseok started eating his food,"It's delicious"

Storm secretly heaved a sigh and started filling his plate.

"So",Storm started speaking,"You are my mother's subordinates,I guess"

Nakamura nods with no words.

It seems like only Beatrice knew how to hold a conversation. But Storm genuinely liked Nakamura better than Beatrice.

"Oh we are. We used to be VERY close to her",she applied some pressure to the word 'very'. "Especially Nakamura here,oh what a history. He was even in the list of traitors back then"

"Beatrice",Nakamura's tone had a warning.

Beatrice smiled,"What,it was true"

Storm was getting the vibe that these two doing get along. "So,how did you become my mother's allies. You couldn't have been all buddy buddy,right?"

"Oh,Nakamura was one of her best friends",Beatrice nodded as if she said something very important. "Right?"

"It was a give and take deal",Nakamura corrected her.

"You guys used to get drunk together",this time,it was Jimin. He looked straight into Nakamura's eyes,no fear. "You two got wasted most of the times"

Nakamura paused with a slightly ajar mouth. Then he closed his eyes with a smile,"Yes"

Storm had only heard about Nabi's villain story. Not how she used to be. It was refreshing and amusing to hear. To think his mom had a normal life,enjoying her life,drinking with buddies.

And somehow his amused eyes seemed to catch Jimin's attention. So he continued,"I remember you going to hunt ghosts with Nabi"

Nakamura almost choked on his saliva,ears red from embarrassment,"Sir Jimin,that was....",he trailed off knowing he can't deny it. "There were others too. And I wasn't scared. Luca and Ruby —",he paused at the mention of the old friends. "It was just an old story"

"Luca?! Luca Harrington?! He was also my mother's subordinate?!",Storm was genuinely surprised. He had met the man few times but he never seemed interested to talk with him.

"...not really",Hoseok mumbled. "He was....a friend"

"A friend?",Storm looked at Hoseok. "He doesn't even seem to know my mother! What the hell"

Beatrice chuckled,amused,"Oh why the lies sir Hoseok. Storm is a grown man"

"What lies",Storm asked.

Hoseok glared at Beatrice,"He doesn't need to know the details —"

Jimin,"Luca was your mother's best friend"

"Jimin!"

"Brother,just tell him when he listens without making a fuss",Jimin said. What he really meant was that they would not be able to talk with Storm without him trying to kill everybody with Pendragon blood. "That's right Storm. Luca was your mother's best friend. But he doesn't remember her now"

"What"

Jimin looked at him,"No body came out normal after the war. Everyone lost something. For Luca,he lost his memories. All the memories related to your mother and he probably will never remember her"

Storm looked at Nakamura,he was looking down at his own food plate with no intention of eating.

"Who is Ruby then"

"Her maid",Hoseok replied. "And best friend"

"What did she lose?"

"I don't know",Hoseok mumbled. "I haven't heard of her since then"

"Now,this has become depressing",Beatrice sang. "Continue to eat gentleman. Dinner is getting cold"

Storm was still not satisfied. It was like a hunger to know the truth. The truth far hidden among the evil clouds of his mother created. "And what about you? Friend?"

Beatrice raised an eyebrow before sipping her wine,"Oh no Storm darling. I was an unfortunate soul who fell into your mother's cheeky little trick. I simply couldn't betray her unless I wanted my soul to crumble into dust"

"What does that mean?"

Beatrice smiled and took her time to answer,"Well darling,there is this thing in your —I mean,your mother's family",her smile was taunting,"Have you ever wondered why you never heard stories of Pendragon servants or knights betrayals?"

Now Storm thought about it,he had never heard such a story.

"Even if there was someone who tried to betray,he would have never lived to tell the story"

Storm squinted his eyes,"Why?"

"That my dear,I cannot tell you. It is supposed to be a 'family' secret. I wonder,if your uncles would want me to tell you it",Beatrice looked at Hoseok with a condescending smile. It was really a low blow. She was asking whether Storm was considered family or not right infront of Storm's face.

"It's a portion",Jimin spoke. "We give it to every knight and servant under our name. If they were ever to have thoughts of betraying us,they die instantly"

Beatrice raised her eyebrows in pure amusement. "Is that really alright to say,sir Jimin? I mean,we have an outsider here",she looked at Nakamura.

Jimin looked at Nakamura.

"I swear upon my name that I would speak no word about what I heard here",Nakamura gave his word,looking straight into Jimin's eyes.

Beatrice,"How admiring"

"So,you were tricked into drinking it? By mom?"

Beatrice had a slight salty face,"Well,I had no intention of betraying her. I got what I wanted and I gave what she wanted"

"And you are still loyal to her",Storm stated.

"Of course. It was a promise after all"

"But she is dead"

"Dead? Oh Storm,you are still not getting the picture here. She is indeed dead but people still don't believe it"

"What do you mean?"

Beatrice's eyes darkened,voice lowered,"Haven't you ever tried listening to rumours? What they whisper behind closed doors"

"Enough!",Hoseok warned.

"I want to hear",Storm pressed.

"Storm,you don't have to listen to these nonsense"

"Continue",Storm was firm.

"Storm,my dear,your mother is feared. She is a dark shadow in everyone's heart. In their minds,she never left. Her terror is still roaming around,scaring every living thing. People say that she is not dead. They fear that someday she would rise from her grave,and that's why Pendragons are worshipped today. Only your bloodline can hold her back from coming back to life. Well,that is indeed nonsense. She is definitely dead.  But that is what they say"

Storm didn't know what to feel about this.

"There are three types of people in this world,Storm. One party think she would be back,so they try to avoid doing things to provoke her,like hurting you. So,they would never dare touch you,no matter how much you piss them off. The second party is people who live in ignorance bliss,people who were born after the tragedy. And the last but not least,people who are living to kill you. "

Storm's face didn't change.

"Your mother did a huge number on people. She gave birth to a lot of evil. Children who lost their parents,parents who lost their children,husbands who lost their wives,wives who lost their husbands,you name it,Storm. Today,they are living just to kill you—"

Hoseok stood up banging on the table,face red from anger. "Enough!"

Silence.

"The dinner is over",Hoseok announced. "We are leaving. Bring Gabriel to us"

Beatrice smiled as if she is seeing through Hoseok's soul. She raised a finger,"Bring the boy"

A servant walked out to get Gabriel.

"Sir Hoseok,you are repeating the same mistake",Beatrice taunted. "Back then,you all saw Nabi as some sort of fragile girl who needs protection. You never saw beyond that wall. That's why you never until it was over that your sister was the one plotting behind the curtains. She was far way superior than you all. I humbly ask you to not repeat the same mistake with Storm. What he needs isn't protection. He needs knowledge. Knowledge of what he needs to know. And power. He would be fine on his own. After all,he is her one and only child"

Just then,Gabriel entered the tent.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

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