|Ch.29

*continuation from the last chapter

From Gabriel's point of view

__________

Lady of the nightmare

"Nabi",I couldn't stop thinking about this name. As I looked down from the terrace,I could see my uncles here and there in the ballroom. And Storm was nowhere to be seen.

After the revelation he gave me,he decided to disappear to who knows where.

"Urg",I groaned in frustration holding my forehead as I leaned against the railing.

"Be careful there now"

I snapped my head towards to the side to see my dad striding towards me with two champagne classes. He handed me a glass before standing beside me. His crimson eyes seemed to be assessing my gloomy expression.

"What's wrong,Gab? You don't look well"

How am I supposed to ask him this? The exact same thing that still gives him trauma every single year? But....

I bit my lip,looking down at the champagne class. I want to know what's causing him this much distress. I want to know about the person who caused this much mental damage to these Pendragon men. Why do they have a portrait of her in the great Pendragon mansion?

And Storm,how does he even know about this?

"Gab"

I sighed and shook my head. "Nothing dad. Just,...my head hurts,it's all",I don't want to hurt him.

"You punk,do you think you can lie to me? Look at me in the eye and speak like a man",dad pressed the matter.

I groaned,"Come on dad,I'm not a child anymore. I'm allowed to have secrets"

Suddenly he started chuckling,"So you're at that age huh? Yes yes,you're right. You're allowed to have secrets but.....if it is something I can help with,you better tell me",he heaved a big sigh with a face of nostalgia. He is definitely trying to make me speak with his tricks. "To think you were just a little brat a few days ago,now you're all grown up"

"I was still an 18 year old few days ago,dad"

"Alright Alright. But light up a bit. It's your brother's birthday"

"You mean 'his majesty' ",I cocked my eyebrow correcting his wording. Sure,Ashen is my cousin,but he is still the king.

Dad rolled his eyes,"He is a Pendragon before everything. So if you want to call him 'brother',just call him that. It doesn't matter if you're infront of a crowd or not. Do whatever you want"

"That's disrespectful though"

"So? Who is going to stop you if you want to disrespect the king?"

I looked away,my dad's influence on the royal court is way more powerful than the king. Actually,all the seven elder Pendragon men have way more authority over the kingdom than the king himself.

"Dad,that's your power,not mine. I am a Pendragon but I'm not you. I can no longer beat up kids for bullying me like back in the day. As a child,it was natural for me to act on your power,but I'm an adult now"

A silence fell upon us. Is he disappointed in me?

I felt his hand on my shoulder and I looked at him. He was smiling genuinely. "Gab,if it is how you want to work,then go for it. Gain your own power. But you must remember that everything I have will belong to you at the end of the day. My authority is yours. Just remember that you can look down on anyone you want"

I couldn't help but to chuckle at this,"Dad,you are a really awful man but I can't even dislike you"

Dad seemed be proud when he heard that. "Heh"

"Announcing the arrival of the Sun and the Moon of the kingdom,His majesty the Ashen Pendragon and Her majesty the Lyana Cenis Pendragon"

The announcement of the Royal family caught our attention. In the ballroom,at the main door,stood the king and Queen.

"Let's go down dad",I grabbed my dad's arm and started pulling him down since we shouldn't be in a higher place than the king when we are in the same room as the royalty.

Dad wasn't that happy to go down but I somehow forced him to go downstairs and stood at a side before bowing to the royal couple. I haven't seen his majesty for few months now. I heard the queen gave birth to a baby prince last month. So I didn't really expect the queen to be here too.

"He has grown into a man now huh?",my dad whispered under his breath. "Used be a little brat who swore here and there with Luca bastard"

"For real?",I asked,amused at the new found information.

Jungkook nodded with a smirk,"You can't let that bastard babysit kids"

He rarely talks about the past,so it's always a new thing if he speaks about the past. I looked at the king in awe. The glorious man had bright and beautiful crimson eyes. His black hair had grown upto his shoulders but it was combed backwards revealing a little undercut. The golden robes looks so majestic over his body.

And his queen,I heard she is from a parallel heaven that assisted the war back then. She truly looks like a goddess. And the seat that was made for her was not below the King's seat like other kingdoms. It was on the same level as the King's seat.

Damn,brother Ashen is such a fine gentleman for his wife. I hope I'll also find someone to treat like that.

His majesty stood infront of the crowd and raised his champagne class,"Start the banquet"

That was it. He doesn't do long speeches and I love him for that.

Soon,the ladies and gentlemen started dancing to the music.

"Where is your lady?",dad asked nudging me from his elbow.

"I'm still single"

"That sucks"

"Hey!",I pretended to be offended.

"What about your best friend by the way"

Storm,where did he go?

"I don't —",I was cut off by my dad.

"There he is"

I looked at where he is pointing. He was going towards his majesty and her majesty's seating area. What is he going to do?

"Huh? Does he know Ashen personally?",dad asked with curiously ringing in his tone.

"Well,his majesty had met him quite a few times because of me. Brother Ashen sometimes invites me to have tea,so I bring Storm along with me sometimes"

I kept my eyes on Storm. Something doesn't feel right for some reason. And after that conversation we had,something is definitely not right.

I could see Storm whispering something to his majesty's servant. And the servant delivered the message to his majesty.

After getting permission to whatever Storm requested,the king signalled the dance floor to be cleared. And only Storm remain in the center.

Storm placed his right hand over his heart before bowing from his waist,politely.

What the hell is he planning?

I immediately walked a bit ahead and stood infront of the crowd.

"Your majesty,the first Pendragon king,for your birthday,I prepared a special gift to present before you. Let this humble gift of mine be  pleasing enough to present before your eyes"

He is too polite. Storm is too polite and it's fucking scaring me for some reason.

"I don't usually accept gifts directly but since it's you Storm,I'll allow you"

Brother Ashen actually adores Storm. Whenever brother Ashen invites me to have tea,he will always prepare another tea set for Storm specially. So it's no wonder that his majesty let Storm do this.

My heart feels uneasy now. 'Nabi'. The name is repeating in my head even more.

Suddenly,a few men started bringing a portrait covered from a white clothing.It was larger than a human body frame. And now my heart is in my throat. This isn't what I am thinking,is it? No,it can't be. He said it's in the Pendragon mansion. No way he brought it from there.

"This is a painting specially drawn by me",Storm announced.

"You drew it?"?his majesty asked in amusement. "I didn't know you could draw? You are multi talented Storm"

Storm smiled and bowed,"I'm grateful for your compliment"

"I'm getting impatient now. Could we see it?",his majesty asked.

Storm smiled innocently,"Of course,your majesty. I will not keep you waiting"

I held my breath. Sweating furiously,I clenched my fists. Storm had always been unexpected. But this is....

The white sheets were removed by Storm.

My breath left from my mouth,my heart was still beating like a drum. It was just a drawing of a dancing lady. A lady in white silk nightdress,dancing in a complete dark background. And her face was covered in a white veil too,like a bride. This was a common concept in drawing arts. A dancing lady.

"It's indeed beautiful",his majesty complimented.

Storm,you dirtbag,I thought you were going to ruin everything!!! Damn you! I will kill you after this for giving me this heart attack.

"What is the name of this art?",it was her majesty the Queen who questioned this time.

"Lady of the nightmare"

"What an interesting name",her majesty smiled. "So,what is the story behind this portrait?"

Storm turned to the picture and let his fingers touch the art gracefully. "....it's hard to tell.......but I can show you"

Again,that nagging feeling behind my back is back.

Now everyone was whispering in excitement. Even the king and Queen seemed focused and interested.

Storm looked at his majesty with a slight smile as if waiting for his permission.

"Go ahead",Ashen gave him the permission.

Storm,"Your majesty,this lady....is the person I hate the most. Also the person I couldn't let go. And the person responsible for your nightmares"

It was almost unnoticeable but I could see how Ashen flinched slightly.

Storm raised his palm and a green mist covered his palm. The mist grew bigger right infront of the portrait.

What's happening? How did he manage to make a mist out of his palm? He is not even a mage. Wait.....did he always have mana? Even as a knight? Did he become a knight even though he could be a mage? That's possible,some knights do have mana but because of their passion to be a knight,they choose to not learn mana control. But I could say just by looking that Storm is incredibly good at controlling mana. Mist manipulation using mana is hard,I heard.

But why did he keep it a secret? Even from me?

I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw something appearing through the green mist. My eyes widened,I don't know if it was amusement or terror. Because what appeared through the mist was the lady in the portrait!!

How?

Paint manipulation? No,paint manipulation using mana is not like this. This is a different technique. But since I'm not a mage,I couldn't comprehend the technique behind this mana manipulation.

The lady was in white silks,with a white veil covering her face.

I could tell,everyone was tensed or amused at this point. From the corner of the hall,I saw uncle Taehyung,walking through the crowd,with an unreadable expression. Was it confusion? I can't tell.

Suddenly,a music started playing and the lady started dancing elegantly. Nobles were excitedly smiling and praising Storm for bringing this elegant gift. Yet I couldn't bring myself to smile,not when my dad was stiff with wide eyes next me.

"Dad,are you alright?",I whispered.

No answer.

I touched his shoulder,"Dad"

"I....y–yeah",he stuttered,unfocused.

I again looked at the lady who was dancing in barefoot. Storm,what are you doing?

All of a sudden,the hall was filled with gasps. I immediately looked at the dancing lady,only to see her arms turning charcoal black as if she had been burnt. The burn marks ran upto her collarbone and inside the veil too.

A wind. A sudden wind caught everyone off guard. But the wind only grew around the dancing lady.  The music was reaching its climex while the wind blew wildly.

The veil blew up yet no one could still see the lady's face. Due to the wind, white silk clothes and her long hair covered her face.

But there was something no one missed.

The pair of crimson bright eyes.

No one whispered anymore. Everyone was laser focused on the mysterious lady.

By now,the seven elder Pendragons were standing infront of the crowds with mixed emotions. Even Ashen looked pale.

Red eyes? Why did Storm draw this lady? Why red eyes?

Storm,you better stop this.

For whatever reason you did this,I don't think the Pendragons will want you alive looking at their paled expressions.

I need to stop him.

Just as I was about approach Storm,the queen herself stood up,"Enough!"

The music stopped.

The dancing lady sat on the floor with her palms touching the marble floor. Her hair still covered her face.

I looked at my dad who seemed to have stopped breathing. The expression,it was so familiar. This is what I saw when I was 15. The trauma of my father is emerging.

"What's the meaning of this?!",Queen seemed to be enraged. Her hand was trembling as she stood straight with wide eyes.

Storm grinned seeing her reaction. It seems like he is enjoying this very painful environment. "Lady of the nightmare,God's Fallen Servant,Elmyr,......Nabi Pendragon"

The lady on the floor raised her head.

"STORM DAMIEN!",Ashen exclaimed as he stood up from his seat with cold sweat all over his face. His whole body was trembling,was it fear? Or shock? Or disbelief?

But I could see that all the other Pendragons were in the same state.

Suddenly,Storm started laughing,a laugh that I was never familiar with. It's so ominous. Storm,you bastard! What the fuck are you? Elmyr? She is Elmyr?!!

The evil catastrophe from years ago?

The villain that destroyed our kingdom?

I looked at Storm who was still laughing.

He looked dead in the eyes of the king still keeping his malicious smile."You spelled my name wrong,brother. It's Pendragon. Storm Pendragon"

Next thing I knew,his eye patch was on the ground,revealing a bright crimson eye.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Hey guys

Hope you enjoyed

See ya soon

Vote and comment