Uneasily, Roman paced inside the small living room until Chantelle walked through the door. She looked up at him and she knew by the look on his face he was confused and scared.
"Son, what's wrong?" she asked, as she set her bag down.
Roman looked at his mother, and then he sighed heavily.
"Please be honest with me. Am I really like that girl?" he asked, seriously.
Chantelle looked at him for a moment, and then she nodded.
"Your father is a Selvempt, and I, your mother, am a Slayer. That would make you just like the princess. You and her are the only two of your kind," Chantelle explained.
"I never asked for this!" Roman exclaimed, as he began to quicken his pace.
"So, I take it, you got a chance to meet the spirits of the spirit realm?"
Roman looked up at her, and she only nodded.
“What did you learn?" she asked, timidly.
Seemingly, she could tell that her son was really upset, confused, and scared. Roman didn't like the fact that he was both species. He was taught along with everyone else that the princess was an abomination. So what did that make him?
"The girl is the only one who can train me,” he said in a low tone, and then he muttered something under his breath incoherently.
Chantelle looked at her son assertively.
"I am sure that you two will figure this all out, together. Besides, you two are of the same species," Chantelle said matter-of-factly, and Roman looked at her as he sighed.
"I know,” he breathed.
That evening, Chantelle and Roman made dinner together, and as they sat down to eat, Chantelle explained to him about everything that she knew about the legend of the new species and the rise of change.
*******************************
"You have to tell your uncle!" Lashanna said.
She and Ashta were in Lashanna's room, and Ashta was lying on her back on the bed.
"I can't. Not yet. I have to figure out what all of this means first," Ashta stated, with a heavy sigh.
"What are you going to do? After the way he acted towards you, how could you even trust him?" Lashanna asked, seriously, as she paced by the bed.
"What if this was his plan all along? I mean, he just mysteriously shows up at the same time that you come out and say hello, everyone I am home," Lashanna blurted out quickly, and Ashta looked over at her friend sincerely.
Lashanna did have a point from a normal person's view, but this wasn't the normal world that she and Ashta were from. Plus, the mood god instructed that we must work together.
"I don't know, Lashanna. I just don't know,” sighed Ashta, as she got up from the bed.
"Try to get some shuteye. I will see you in the morning," Lashanna said, as Ashta left the room.
Ashta laid down on her bed and fell into a restless sleep.
**************************
"Rocco, we have to get him back!" exclaimed Maya, and Rocco turned to her with an angry glare.
"Why, so you can keep him locked in the dungeon for the rest of his life?" he snarled.
Maya looked away angrily. She didn't like being growled at, but she could admit she was in the wrong. She looked back at Rocco with sorrow.
"We were wrong for locking him up. We should just have let him become what he is supposed to become. Our savior,” she stated, and Rocco looked at her oddly.
"What? Why the sudden interest in my son, huh? You hate him because he is just like your niece, both species,” he said, angrily.
Maya walked over to Rocco, and he gently placed her hands on his strong chest.
"Since he has been gone, I realize that I was wrong,” she lied.
Seemingly, Maya wanted Roman back because he could become the Selvempts' savior and make those Slayers pay. He could destroy their kingdom and their precious princess. Rocco searched Maya's eyes. He could never tell if she was lying to him or not. He had never caught her in a lie before, so he didn't have any reason not to trust her.
"So, you want to become a real family?" Rocco asked in surprise.
Maya nodded and smiled a charming smile at him.
"I like the sound of that,” she purred, as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.
Rocco sighed a heavy sigh, and then he took Maya's hands in his.
"I don't know if he will come back. We lied to him, abused him, and locked him down in the dungeon. Now that he has found Chantelle, she has shown him what real love is. Would you come back?" he asked her, sincerely.
Maya looked up at him and thought for a moment. When her parents found out that she was getting friendly with a Slayer, they locked her away without any food and water for days. Nope, she would never go back to that.
"No, I guess not. However, let him know that the days of the abuse and the dungeon are over, that the door is open to him anytime he wants to come back home. When he does come home, I will officially crown him prince and heir to my throne.”
Rocco stared at her in disbelief. That meant that he and his son could be part of the decisions that were made. Rocco smiled at her, but then he eyed her suspiciously.
"Why would you go to all of this trouble over my son?"
Maya looked into his eyes deeply.
"Because he is one of the chosen ones,” she cooed.
Evidently, Maya's plan was to give everything to Roman that his heart desired, so she could convince him to overturn the kingdom of Nemiph and all of the Slayers. She wanted to rule over the land. Rocco sighed.
"I will try. I will let him know that he has an open invitation to return home whenever he wishes."
Maya nodded and smiled. Knowing Roman like the back of her hand, Maya knew that the bliss of the Slayer world would come to a halt, and he would snap and come running back home.
*****************
The next morning, Ashta woke up and got dressed quickly. She decided that she was going to pay Roman a visit, by herself.
There would be no audience around, so maybe he could act normal, she thought, as she tied her hair back. It wasn't like she didn't like having Lashanna, Damian, and Xavier around, but she had to figure this out with Roman alone.
Ashta realized that she had to teach him everything that Yinlin taught her, but she still wasn't sure she could trust him, so she decided to teach him one element at a time. Give him some time to get used to having new powers, and furthermore, to see his reaction.
Also, she would break up the training and teach him some of the combat skills that Yinlin had taught her.
Ashta sighed as she walked down the stairwell and headed to the kitchen. She told the man in the suit that she was hungry, and she took a seat in the dining hall. Ashta put her head in her hands, and let her thoughts roll around in her head. She didn't notice that Liam had taken a seat right next to her.
"What seems to be troubling you, dear?" he asked, and Ashta jumped as she looked up at him.
"I have to do something for the gods, and I think they are wrong,” she stated, flatly, as she looked at her hands, and Liam took one of Ashta's hands as he patted it gently.
"Oh, my dear child, the gods are never wrong. May I ask what it is they asked you to do?"
Ashta shook her head.
"I can't say anything just yet,” she said, as the waiter put their trays in front of them.
Liam took his hand back, and he picked up his fork.
"Do as the gods ask. I am sure they have a plan,” he said, quickly.
Reluctantly, Ashta sighed as she picked up her fork.
"I have to go to the Garden of Eternity alone today,” she added, and Liam nodded.
"As you wish,” he said.
They ate their breakfast together, and when they were finished, she said goodbye to Liam, and she headed out of the castle and to Chantelle's.
*************************
Excitedly, Lashanna woke up, and she ran over to Ashta's room. She flung the door open, and she suddenly stopped in her tracks when she saw the maid making Ashta's bed.
"Where is she?" Lashanna asked, and the maid looked up at her.
"I am sorry miss, she left earlier."
Lashanna nodded to the girl, and then she ran downstairs to the dining hall. Ashta wasn't there, either. Frustrated, Lashanna ran to the throne room, and she found Gale, Liam, Damian, and Xavier looking over some papers. They all looked up at her.
"Ashta?" she asked.
"She is at the Garden of Eternity. She needed to go speak with the spirits,” explained Liam.
"She left already?" Lashanna asked in confusion.
"She will be back soon,” said Gale in a soothing voice.
Lashanna only nodded, and then she ran back up to her room. She was upset that Ashta left without her.
***************************
Happily, Chantelle set a plate of breakfast in front of Roman, and then she sat down at the table across from him. She was thankful for him cleaning the house, so she decided to cook him breakfast that morning.
"Thanks mom,” he said with a smile.
Even though he didn't know her his entire life, he would still do anything for her.
"Of course, a boy your size needs a good breakfast to help keep him fueled for the day," she said, as she grinned, and he smiled as he looked down at his plate of food.
A few moments after they had begun eating, there was a soft knock at the door. Chantelle set her fork down and she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"Who could that be, this early in the morning?" she asked, as she got up from the table.
Roman smiled at her and shrugged as she opened the door. Surprisingly, she stared at the girl that was standing on her doorstep.
"Good morning, my dear. What brings you to our neck of the woods so early?" Chantelle asked, and Ashta looked at her knowingly.
"I think you already know the answer to that question. I am just as confused and scared as he is," Ashta said, as she smiled.
Chantelle only nodded, and she gestured for Ashta to come inside. Ashta smiled and nodded as she walked inside, and Roman looked up at her and sighed.
Why does she have to be so gorgeous? he thought to himself, as he looked her over.
"Good morning." Ashta said, and she smiled at him.
Roman nodded as he took a sip from his cup.
Why is he so arrogant? she wondered.
"So, what are you doing here?" he asked, as he set his cup down on the table.
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