CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN 'More important things'

When Violet awoke, she meditated first and went to take a shower. Then she got dressed in leggings and a long sleeved top. By then, she heard a knock on the door. 

She went to get the door. 

Alaric was standing there with elegance. He looked as neat as ever.

“What?” Violet asked.

“It's 9am. Breakfast is served.”

“What of your servants?”

“Most of them were grateful for the impromptu vacation.” 

Violet exhaled, that was good.

“What of Uak?”

“Still sleeping. I was going to wake her but she seemed really tired.”

Violet smirked as she stepped out of the room before closing the door. “Let her sleep well. I got so many more tasks for her.”

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows, “I'm interested. Tell me! I'll make sure to help you out.”

Violet tssked, “Let's have breakfast first, what did you cook?”

“Toast bread, lamb and salad.”

Violet mentally celebrated as she cascaded down the stairs. Although she didn't need food to survive.. meat sure sounded interesting.

Across the kitchen was the dinning room so she immediately went to take a seat in front of the delicious delicacies. Alaric smiled as Violet picked a knife to cut her portion of meat. After placing it on her plate, she used to smaller knife to cut the meat before using a fork to place it in her mouth.

Violet frowned, it tasted poor. In her entire lifetime, she had never tasted a food so poor. 

She grabbed one of the napkin on the table and spat the food out. 

Alaric was surprised, “What's wrong?”

“It tastes like Poison!”

“But I followed the recipe..” Alaric trailed off before taking a piece of the meat on Violet's plate, he placed it in his mouth and chewed. He became confused, it tasted very well in his mouth why was she complaining? 

“It's pretty good.”

“Master I'm up!” Uak informed as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Uak come here real quick and taste what Alaric made for breakfast.”

At the sound of breakfast, Uak rushed to the dinning table and served the salad first. Then she had a mouthful. Immediately, she spat on the table napkin and started cursing while heading to the Chicken.

Violet exhaled, “You didn't even taste the chicken!”

Alaric sighed as well and took a spoonful of the salad but he refused to see anything wrong with it. Violet facepalmed herself. He definitely had no self awareness and his taste buds were obviously faulty.

“Who taught you the recipe?”

“My dad.”

Violet shook her head. What did she expect? Alaric was from a clan that had no women in it. Of course, they had poor taste!

She sighed. It couldn't be helped.

She stood from the table and entered the chicken. Uak was making salad since there were abundance of fruits in the kitchen. She grabbed a bunch of carrots and shoved them into her mouth, eating them excitedly. They were now in the raining season. Not only were there fresh fruits but also.. it was the best time to strike Lagsu and take over.

Alaric also stepped into the kitchen, “You don't like my cooking, do you?”

“Are you blind? Of course we don't!”

Alaric sighed, “It seems I need to develop my recipe.”

Violet snorted, OBVIOUSLY!

“Can you give me pointers on how to improve my cooking, purple head?”

“I can't be bothered to involve myself with such trivialities. Second, don't call me purple head.”

“I don't even know what to call you, you have so many identities. Purple head sound convinient.”

Violet smirked and stood in front of Alaric's face. “Why don't you call me Master?”

Alaric eyes widened as he watched the Violet in her eyes glow. His mouth parted in surprise, he was completely mesmerized. 

So this was the beauty of Xenia..

Then she turned to Uak, “Eat quickly, Uak. We have work to do.” Then she gave Alaric a tap on his shoulder, “Get me a black ink and several blank sheets.” With that, she headed outside where the wind blew softly against the trees. 

She flung her hair side to side and inhaled the refreshing air. She curled her fingers as she walked through the garden containing beautiful flowers. She hadn't seen the outside of the house before because Alaric teleported them directly to inside of the house. Not only was the inside spectacular, it was also classy with a medieval theme but even the outside had luxurious paths that separated the flowers and trees.

She inhaled the amazing scent of the flowers and every step she took made leaves from the trees fall. It was as though they recognised her and were bowing to her.

Beautifully, she synced with nature's beauty and flow with it with every breath she took. Even the voices in her head silenced themselves respectfully.

Intuitively, she had blocked out their voices so their silence no longer made a difference to her. 

She danced with the wind and it enjoyed her, constantly feeling through her luxurious hair and body. Her magic filled the entire town as her waist and fingers moved to the wind's seductive rhythm.

In front of the mansion was an astounded Alaric and a shocked Uak who had a spoonful of salad in her mouth.

Violet's movement was that of a goddess and they felt her peaceful essence within their souls, enlightening them, making them feel a sense of warmth within.

Alaric's eyes were tearing up as he was reminded of his entire life story and every single he had done. It was all so he could feel something. All of what he did was so he could feel something inside.

He even killed many, just for the fun of it. But it only lasted for a short while.

In reality, he was fearful of uncertainty and lack of control. 

Every single move that Violet made reminded him and he could no longer avoid it. It was truth. She was the truth.

She lifted her legs that tightly clung to her skin, showing off her curves. She stood on her tiptoes, revealing her scars.

Then her movement turned a bit aggressive as the wind blew harshly against her hair. Her magnetic hands made it seem like she was fighting to be free from the wind's move and then, she stumbled back but caught herself mid fall. Slowly, she went back up and twirled around the flowers in the garden.

The flowers that looked already fresh seemed to grow even more beautiful than it originally was.

A tear trickled down Alaric's cheek. That was too beautiful.

Violet smiled at the flowers as they grew beautifully and Alaric also caught himself smiling. Then Violet glanced at his direction, he immediately turned away to wipe the on his cheek. Then he turned back to face Violet who hand her arms stretched in front of him.

He immediately placed the blank sheets on her hands and handed the ink and feather to Uak.

“Then I'll give you ladies some time alone.” With that he turned back to his mansion and let his tears fall as he closed the door. His back buckled against the door as he sat on his butt, fresh tears rolling uncontrollably down his cheeks.

This was the second time he felt something move his heart.

The first time was when he went to visit Poison and heard her story.

***

It was a chilly evening and the moon was full and bright in the dark sky. He had knocked on a wooden door but he heard a voice of someone.

The person was sitting on the tallest branch of a tree.

“You're looking for me?” The voice asked, a trace of mockery in his tone. “I heard the son of an influential clan leader was tracing me and a little girl called Violet. So I figured it would be you, loser.”

He had unsheathed his sword but Poison sighed, “Today I'm not in the mood to fight. Mortals are so troublesome. They only know how to fight, fight without really facing any consequences.”

“I'm not here to listen to your lame jokes, Where is the purple haired monster?!”

Poison cackled, “Monster?”

“So are you. But she's worse. She killed the real saintess of Lagsu and took on her identity, then she killed the chief of my clan! I'm going to find her and seek revenge!”

“Fine. I'll tell you who she is and where you can find her.”

“Her name is Yak Ann Sinora, the second princess of Thestryn but she is popularly known as Violet because of her eyes and hair colored.”

Alaric was surprised. So she was a princess.. What use was it stealing a lesser person's identity? It didn't make sense. But whatever her identity was, he would seek revenge.

“Where is she?!” He had yelled.

“In the cold dungeon.”

“What?”

“She was accused of killing their queen.”

“But.. she's the second princess?”

He was confused. How could a princess be severely punished? She was just a little teenager. The weakest he'd ever encounter.

“She joined Keitan killer's association because her mother was taken hostage by her lover, the ruler of Keitan. The mistress of the killer association promised her mother would be freed if she accepted missions and completed them successfully. That's how she ended up at Star rock. Guess what happened later? She gave the real saintess of Lagsu her sword and convinced her to leave.”

Alaric eyes widened, It was like giving away her reputation to a stranger.. The sword was important. It could make or destroy her. 

“Then she entered Star rock and you discovered her identity and killed her. Just like that. My plan was to save her later after finding information about her mother so they could both go back home safely but before I came back. You had killed her but you didn't just kill her, you unlocked the greatest trial for her by the heavens. Because she found the other half of her soul, she is doomed for the most miserable life and you'll sadly contribute to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I read the stars. The worst has yet to begin.”

“How long will she stay in the cold dungeon.”

“A year and few months. The cold dungeon is a mountain that has only light and wolves. Because she's a god, she'll survive it for sure but the punishment she'll face afterwards.. will kill her.”

Alaric was surprised, “Then.. then Chief Phalan death has been paid for but it would've been nice if I killed her myself.”

Poison bursted into laughter and jumped off the branch and safely landed on the ground in front of Alaric.

He looked into Alaric eyes and said, “Let me show you something.” With that, he grabbed him by the back of his head and dragged him to the lake across them. He was no match for Poison's trick so he gathered energy into his veins, waiting for the right time to strike.

“Look at your reflection, kid.”

Alaric scoffed and stared into his reflection, preparing to use his powers but then.. His reflection disappeared, replaced by a familiar face, crawling through the snow covered mountain. Her face was pale and she had no more tears left to shed.

She was crying, screaming for death that she couldn't bare the light in the snow-convered mountain anymore. Soon, she vomited dark blood then passed out.

Alaric felt something shift in his chest, “W-where ie she?”

“The cold dungeon.”

Goosebumps appeared on Alaric's fair skin. That wasn't a cold dungeon.. it was a cold mountain.

“That's not even the best part.” Poison said and the image in front of Alaric's eyes changed. This time, Violet was floating in what looked like noid and every second she spent screaming, there were unseen monsters ripping off her flesh causing her entire body to be filled with blood. Then, lightning from an unknown source struck her, making her scream out loud in pain.

Alaric felt his chest start to ache. He couldn't watch it anymore.

“I don't care. This is her karma for killing Chief June.”

Poison chuckled and whispered near Alaric's ear, “Is it really her that killed your chief? Remember, you were the one that killed her first. If you didn't, she wouldn't be confused and kill your chief.”

Alaric felt something crawling inside of him as Poison forced him to take a look at the lake. It was another scene with warriors, fighting and Violet was leading them.

“T-that place looks familiar..” He pointed out. That was the government house in Lagsu that the warriors were attacking.

“Yes, you fool! Violet will attack Lagsu and that won't be successful because..”

Another scene appeared with Alaric controlling Uak to stab Violet.

Alaric was shaking now. “That's not even the worst part. The gods hate Violet enough to make her go through the most painful ordeals.”

Another scene appeared with Alaric and Violet dancing under the moonlight. They looked really close. Closer than he'd liked— but then, Violet suddenly landed on the ground, vomiting blood while he smiled, staring at the small bottle containing Poison in his hand.

“She has been cursed by the gods. If she doesn't forgive you, she won't die and won't be able to ascend either.” Poison said.

Alaric hands were shaking. “Why can't she forgive me? She's a god. Me killing her before helped her reunite with her soul, isn't that a good thing?”

Poison couldn't restrain himself anymore, he landed a punch on Alaric's face. 

“You bastard! This is why I detest mortals!” 

Alaric looked up, “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the legend of Baddley?”

Alaric nodded. “Of course! Baddley was a wicked Chief and I read from the forbidden library that he killed his wife and her magic. He's so shameful that our clan name had to be changed to prevent bad luvk..”

Poison nodded, “At least you're not completely clueless.” Then Poison smiled, showing teeth. “You. Are. Baddley.”

Alaric felt his heartbeat fasten.

“No!” he had yelled.

“Never! Even if reincarnation exists, I know I'm definitely not Baddley.”

Poison grabbed Alaric's head and forced him to look into the water.

It was a scene of the past. 

From how Baddley prayed, encountered Xenia, became chief and married her. Then he later discovered she was Xenia and captured her soul and energy, using them to energise himself.so he would eventually become invincible.

By now, Alaric was shedding tears. Not for himself but Xenia, Violet..

Whatever she was know as but to him.. She was his world.

He did not know if Poison was telling him the truth about him being Baddley but Violet had suffered too much. It made him angry.

“That's only half of what I can show you right now. And the reason I'm showing you this is because I'm going to die soon. Once I'm gone, I won't be able to help Xenia ascend as a true God. By then, she'll be free from all these troubles.”

Alaric did not speak. He was too consumed by what he was watching. It was too brutal and to think he was the one behind her pain everytime.

Poison removed the vision from Alaric's sight and said, “Xenia's first crime was lust. Lust isn't about sexual feeling alone. It also includes desire for something and most of the times, it's what we cannot have. The second one was falling in love with you. The third one was ignoring her purpose as a god to live for a pathetic mortal like yourself. The fourth one was envy. She hated those women you laid with besides her and she cursed some of them. The fifth one was, giving her power to a mortal. The sixth one was regret for loving you after she realized you never really loved her. The seventh one is Unforgiveness. The gods that govern these seven sins have constantly tempted her to live in the same loop to keep her stagnant. She has had many reincarnations where she refused to overcome all seven sins. But in this life, I can't let fate deal with her. I'm going to help her no matter what. Xenia has overcome some of her lessons and it remains three more trials she must go through.”

“I.. I don't know what to believe.” Alaric admitted.

“You'll believe me after I direct you on how to find Violet in the next two years.”

Alaric had shook his head but Poison continued speaking regardless

“In two years in Lagsu, you'll hear of a lady with purple hair and Violet eyes that killed a general's son to protect a lady. You'll find her at an Inn called Rose inn.”

“If I'm right, you'll have to swear on your life that you'll do everything you can to make sure none of these unfortunate things happen. I'm telling you all this because there is a chance you can change destiny especially with Xenia's whole soul.”

“I'll see you in two years.” With that, Poison disappeared into thin air.

Leaving Alaric in shock and despair.

***

It had been two years. Poison's prediction was right and it made him worry if the other things he said was right.

He had seen visions of the punishment she'd gone through for the past three years. Her scars were proof and it made him ashamed. He'd done meditations and realized that his father always wanted to kill Chief June. Wasn't that why Poison and Violet were able to get inside star rock.

He had killed Violet mercilessly— ripped out her heart thinking he'd done charity for his best friend, Kian by keeping his dad safe. That was the greatest comedy of all time because Chief June ended up dying and it was all his fault.

The corner of his lips curved up into a maniac smile. He was the fool for being brutal to a weak lady. He should've done things differently and try to be her friend, maybe she wouldn't go through so much pain.

Angrily, he slammed his forehead on the tile as he remembered how he ripped her heart out bare handed.

He clenched his fists as the memory replayed all over again in head.

He felt disgust towards himself. He was such a monster.

The other side of the door creeped open causing Alaric to wipe his face quickly.

However, it was too late. Violet saw him but didn't really care about it so she teased instead, “Are you scared I'm going to hurt you in this lone mansion?”

Alaric got up from the floor quickly and changed the topic, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Violet saw that he didn't dare look into her eyes. Maybe he was scared of her.

If so, that would be great.

“Do you have some coins I can borrow? I'll pay you back as soon as possible.”

Alaric nodded and turned to his back on her, too embarassed to look at her. She had just seen him cry, he wondered how she thought of him now.

He cleared his throat, “I'll lend you 500 coins but you have to pay back in a month.”

Violet shrugged, “No problem but 500 coins Is too small. I need 10,000 coins.”

“Fine but you'll have to pay me back with interest.”

Violet grinned, “I'll pay back with a thousand coins interest so don't worry.”

Alaric nodded with a smile before saying, “Come with me.”

Alaric took Violet to the corner by the hallway and lifted a handle and a secret passageway came out. It was dark but the unlit laterns by the sides quickly became useful. Alaric easily lit them with magic as the door went shut. He grabbed a lantern and led them further inside. Soon, they were in front of a small wooden door.

With a smile, Alaric removed the key from his side pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed the door open only for Violet to see huge treasure boxes everywhere in the room. Alaric held her wrist and gently pulled her in before closing the door.

“In here, is my treasure room.” 

Violet gently lifted the first box in front of her and gasped when she saw different types of precious stones. She ran her fingers through the stones and sighed. If she sold one of those, she'd get back thousands of coins.

She had many luminous pearls but she didn't want to simply give it away for some coins. 

She closed the box and moved to the next box. Inside of this one was jewelries that were both precious and rare.”

“I can gift you a jewelry. Take the one that appeal to you most.”

Violet looked at the jewelleries. They looked equally precious. She understood that people took their properties seriously, why would Alaric be willing to give away his belongings easily.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yes.” Alaric smiled.

Without hesitation, she picked the one her eyes caught the most. It was a silver elastic chain with a ruby at the bottom. It was really suitable for Uak.

“Thank you, Alaric.” She said.

 Alaric could not resist the urge of smiling. He couldn't wait to see how the jewelry looked on her.

Violet slid the necklace into her chest pocket and looked at Alaric. “Please show me the coins, that'll be more useful to me at the moment.”

A bigger box was opened and inside of it were coins of several figures. Violet grabbed one and placed her tongue on it to decern if it was real or fake. Indeed it was real.

She looked at Alaric , “You're such a little boy, how could you have so much jewels?”

Alaric shook his head, “Little boy? I turned nineteen just last week.”

Violet hummed, “Then I should gift you something.”

He smiled, “I'm fine. Just spare my life.”

Violet scoffed, “Of course! As long as you do everything I ask you to.”

“Yes, purple head.” Violet scoffed but didn't say anything. 

She picked up an empty box and started to toss the coins in it after counting. Alaric shook his head. How come she lived so long without basic knowledge on scaler? It was easier to use and didn't require so much energy.

“Purple head, no offense but there's an easier way to weigh coins.”

Violet yawned boredly, “Really? Tell me.”

Alaric grabbed a huge bowl containing coins and poured it over a scale. It weighed 10kg. Each coin weighed 2.5g so multiplying that with 1,000. There were 2,500 coins.

He explained the process to Violet and kept measuring it. Even so, she did not trust him even with the box of coins in her hand. She decided to go to her room and re-count it.

She had figured out and done most of her work. What was left wasn't a problem Uak couldn't handle. 

In her room, she sat crossed-legged on the floor and poured the coins in the box before counting them and tossing them into the box. 

One..

Two..

Three..

Four..

Five..

Six..

Twenty..

Twenty eight..

Counting was torture. But since she had already started there was no way out for her so she continued untill she fell into a deep sleep, laying on the cold tile.

When Alaric passed by the scene, he laughed.

Just how deep was her trust issues?

His smiled faded as he remembered that he might be responsible for some of her traumas.

His smiled appeared again as he saw how recklessly she slept on the floor. If he could capture the moment and give it to her later she'd be so embarassed.

He sighed and walked inside the room before covering her body with the warm nice blanket.

“Have a nice sleep,” He said soothingly.

Then he locked a strand of her hair with his index finger and stared at it.

He inhaled the scent on her hair and just stood there, staring.

In his defense, he was watching her so she wouldn't toss back and injure herself. He knew how sensitive she was, if he tried to lift her to the bed she'd wake up and probably jam his head into the wall he got the time to explain himself.

He stared at her nose. They barely emitted any air or took in any. 

She might not have a heart physically but he knew how much she had suffered. He'd seen it. That didn't take away her love for humanity.

He heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. He immediately knew who it was, Uak.

He smiled and gently backed up from Violet, he walked out, leaving the door half open. Then he hid by the pillar next to the room. He watched Uak as she raced the hall to enter into Violet's room. She pushed the door open and he heard Violet gasp inside the room.

He frowned. That Uak girl..

Next time, he would make sure she didn't interupt Violet's sleep.

“Master! Where did you get all of these coins?”

“Uak, come here and count the coins for me. I borrowed ten thousand from that weird guy. What is his name again?”

Alaric eyes widened. Was she low-key dissing him?

“His name.. To be honest Master, I don't remember but I don't think you introduced us. You just said he was an old friend.”

“Well, not that his name really matters. Come on, let's talk about more important things.”

More important things..

Suddenly, Alaric felt chills on his skin. Violet had expanded her aura through the hallway to ensure no one was listening to her conversation with Uak. She was sending him a message to leave. He smiled as he passed her room, locking eyes with her stern ones.