SPELLBOUND

Few hours earlier in Gideon's Castle.

"You're saying that I am totally wrong, that Gideon's aim is not to kill his brother but the other way around?" Evie narrowed her eyes at the good looking dark fae lord.

Kione nodded, his gaze steady and seemingly so genuine that after looking at him for a long while and considering things, Evie could not help but believe his words no matter how she tried to tell herself he must be bluffing. She sighed internally, wondering if she was just one who was too kind hearted and a sucker for sob stories.

"Yes. Also… Gideon isn't after the throne. When Gavrael was still young, Gideon had deliberately made himself to be the weaker one between them both, just to make sure that the dark faes turned their attention to his younger brother."

"Made himself out to be the weak one?" Evie echoed, her gaze questioning.

"Gideon was already very strong even back then when we were still kids. But he had hid his abilities and portrayed himself to be weaker than his younger brother."

"Why? Why would he do that? Why would he not a want a throne that was meant for him? He is, after all, the first born son of King Belial. No matter who was stronger between the two, no one can change the fact that he's the eldest legitimate son." Evie reasoned it out, not just to Kione but also to herself. Kione then looked out of a large window that was overlooking the city.

He seemed to be contemplating once more to decide for the last time whether to tell her the full truth or not. Evie noticed that Kione seemed to have allowed his mind to wander off from their conversation. She realised that he must be mulling over something important as there was a deep frown that was not there before. Evie did not disturb nor distract him but held herself still and waited there patiently and respectfully for him to finish his considerations. After some time, a soft and deep sigh escaped his lips before he turned to face her again.

"If you don't mind, please allow me cast a soundproof barrier around us first, Queen." He said respectfully, informing Evie of his intentions in case she took his actions the wrong way and misunderstood him. And before Evie could respond, a thick wall of smoke encircled them, effectively cutting them off from everyone else on the outside of it. The dark fae lord even made certain that his barrier was thick enough. And from all this, Evie could only brace herself, knowing that what he was going to say next must be of extreme importance where secrecy had to be maintained to this extent.

Kione then stared wordlessly at her for a few moments before opening his mouth. "Because Gideon is… not King Belial's son." He revealed the shocking truth and Evie's eyes slowly widened. She took a while to respond and had that statement register in her mind.

"You… you mean… Queen Beatrice had a –" Evie stammered out, not sure if she should complete the sentence.

"No, Queen. Gideon does not belong to queen Beatrice either. He is not her son." Kione corrected steadily and Evie could only look at him as another wave of shock rocked her.

"Gideon is actually the son of the previous King who was King Belial's brother. King Belial secretly adopted Gideon as his own and no one knew about it for a long time, until Gideon found out about the truth himself." Kione continued his explanations and then he turned to look out the window again. A small nostalgic smile then curved on his face. "You might not believe me but when we were children, Gavrael had been a part of our small group. Gideon adored Gavrael so much back then he had always brought Gavrael along with him whenever he come over to play with us. Gavrael was still just an adorable but naughty little five year old kid back then. Gavrael also adored Gideon in return, and he would always find ways and means to follow after Gideon wherever he goes. He once even tagged along with us all the way to the training camp, where Azrael and I had ended up helping our friend to babysit him. He's such a devil sprout though. Azrael and I had always told Gideon not to take him along when we were going somewhere but he couldn't just make himself leave his little brother behind no matter how much we reminded, encouraged, or even threatened him to. Well, the devil sprout… err, Gavrael, also refused to be left behind. So, we couldn't do anything but just let him tag along as our little tail. His presence always frustrates me and Azrael though, but Gideon loved spoiling him so much." Kione shook his head as he was caught in remembering the past while recalling it for Evie's benefit. "I think Gideon was the one to be blamed on why Gavrael grew up to be such a troublemaker brat." He grumbled as he looked at Evie, causing her to lift her lips in a smile.

As Kione recounted those matters of their younger days, Evie could not help it but feel her heart swell in happiness, with bittersweet feelings as well because though she was glad to hear of his childhood memories, she also felt bad that it was being told to her by a third party and not Gav himself. Gav only told her about that awful childhood of his… she had never heard him tell her anything pleasant about his childhood. And that was why this was making her feel as though she was in such a blissful state. She was happy to know that he had at least experienced such a happy childhood and he had spent it with a beloved brother.

"We were like that for quite a while and Gideon had been growing more and more powerful. But then…" Kione's expression changed, and Evie realised the bad news were about to come. "Everything suddenly changed. During our final training mission, Gideon disappeared for quite a long time in the Abyss of Darkness."

"Abyss of Darkness?" Evie wondered what kind of a place that was to have such a name tagged onto it.

"It's the abyss where monsters originate from. This place is located in the deepest part of the Under Lands. There is a well-like hole in its centre and we believe that the well-like thing is actually a portal that leads to a place or even a separate dimension where monsters reside. Sometimes, the portal seemed to open randomly and monsters that came out of it would invade and wreak havoc in the the Under Lands." Kione explained, making Evie crease her brows at the information she was hearing.

"Nobody comes out alive once fallen into that well-like hole. Everyone who had previously fallen in there will disappear forever and never come back. But Gideon somehow managed to make his way back, and he was alive. However, he was not the same person anymore. He had done his best to act like he was still the same… but Azrael and I knew he had changed. Then one day, Gideon told us about this, that King Belial and Queen Beatrice are not his real parents. He told us that he is a son of a monster, King Sarion. King Sarion was the infamous mad king who nearly destroyed the Under Lands. And if it were not for King Belial's help, this place would not have existed anymore. King Sarion had gone mad and had let his dark magic take over him. As a result, he killed countless of dark faes, including his whole family. It's only King Belial and the newborn Gideon, who was able to survive that calamity. Gideon told us his mother had conceived him when the king was already mad and consumed by the darkness. He believed that he is not actually the son of King Sarion, but of the darkness itself."

Evie was so speechless by Kione's words that she could not say a thing for a while but only stare at him.

"Why… why would he believe such thing?" Evie asked cautiously after long moments had passed.

"He said that it's the only logical reason why he had the strange dark magic that was supposed to only be possessed by a dark fae who had gone mad and was swallowed by dark magic… and… Azrael and I saw him once, suddenly growing horns and turning into a monster when we were still young." Kione paused for a while as his face became extremely severe. And Evie knew that the man seemed to still be seeing the scene that must have been burned into his mind and it still seemed to be quite a horrific memory to him. "He was still turning into one until now. But thankfully, unlike those mad kings in the past, Gideon has the power to control himself. Of course, there are times when he does have a hard time to control himself. But those times are a rare occurrence. It only happens when someone he cares for is harmed or… killed… And it is then that he'd go completely uncontrollable."

___

Dear spellbounders, i'm unwell today so i only managed 1 chap.