Chapter Text
It'd only been about a hundred years since Silver's death.
It'd been the worst day in Lilia's long life, but somehow he managed to get through it. Just don't ask him to explain how he did it, because he wasn't sure himself. Malleus and Sebek supported him through it but they were grieving as well. It had been a rough time for their family.
Lilia had found himself especially missing Silver lately. Everything recently seemed to remind him of his late son. The sound of the birds singing in the morning, the seasons changing from winter to spring, all of it made him think of Silver.
Speaking of, Silver's birthday was coming up soon. Lilia still made sure his grave was well kept. He'd have to make sure to bring him some flowers to mark the occasion. It would be quite a long time before he could see him again, wouldn't it? Lilia was beginning to think his life span was more of a curse than a blessing. Of course, he wouldn't want to leave Malleus and Sebek like that, it wouldn't be right. He didn't know if their hearts could take another loss so soon.
Malleus would need to be reminded of Silver's upcoming birthday, he would surely be upset if he missed it. He still wasn't good at remembering certain occasions. While others might've been annoyed by this, Lilia was glad some things would never change.
Lilia didn't have much to do today. Perhaps he could allow himself some time to-
"LILIA-SAMA!!"
Well, it seemed he wouldn't have time to himself today. Maybe tomorrow he'd be able to take a trip to the cottage.
"Inside voices, Sebek. What's the matter?" Sebek's volume was also something that wouldn't change, despite Lilia telling him many times over the decades to keep his voice down.
"Darren! He-he's dead!"
Lilia let himself form an expression of shock at Sebek's words, but in truth he wasn't really all that shocked.
You see, a while after graduating Silver and Sebek had both taken up their roles as Malleus' knights.
Five years after taking their rightful positions, there was an attack on the castle. During the attack, Silver had passed. Since then, there have been some that have tried to take up his position. Human and fae alike. Some had been trained since birth to be knights, while others with natural talent began their training at the castle. No matter what they did, the position was never filled for long.
The causes varied. Some were involved in accidents and could no longer continue their duties as knights, while others simply quit. One even ran away and left Briar Valley altogether. Those were the ones that were left alive, anyway.
Others died from accidents. Some were murdered by wild animals while walking in the forest, and some even committed suicide. It was honestly a miracle anyone was willing to work for Malleus anymore.
Sebek was the only one who was able to continue being Malleus' retainer. He did have other knights, but none were willing to be his primary guard along with Sebek.
Lilia was allowed to fill the position if it was desperately needed, nothing out of the ordinary happening to him when he did. It seemed he and Sebek were the only ones that were safe from such tragedies.
"-The gust of wind came out of nowhere! He fell down the stairs and I-I couldn't save him! It was as if the wind was holding me back!"
Sebek must've continued talking while Lilia had zoned out. The poor boy was clearly distressed from the whole ordeal. Lilia felt a bit bad, but dwelling on it wouldn't help.
"Did you see anything else strange? We can't allow this to continue happening." Lilia said.
"No! Though, I may have heard something... But it was extremely faint! I fear I may have imagined it."
"What was it?" Any clue was better than nothing.
"I thought I heard someone humming the song you used to sing to me and…and Silver as kids. Our favorite one. But I didn't think anyone else knew that song."
Lilia wasn't sure if he liked where this was going or not. Whatever the situation was, they had to put a stop to it. This had been going on for too long, and innocent people were getting hurt. It wasn't right.
"You're right, no one else knows that song, aside from Malleus." Another possibility Lilia didn't want to consider. "You've been a great help Sebek. I'll make sure this gets solved quickly so we can enjoy Silver's birthday." He hoped he sounded more sure of himself than he felt.
"If there's anything I can do to help Lilia-sama, let me know! I won't let them interfere with Silver's birthday."
"Thank you, Sebek. May I ask you to report the situation to Malleus?" Malleus might've been told already, but Lilia needed some time alone to think.
"Of course Lilia-sama!"
And then Lilia was alone.
He didn't like the two theories that were currently running through his head. There was a slight possibility both of them were wrong. There could be something else behind this, he just didn't know what it would be.
But his gut feeling told him one of his sons was behind this, it was only a matter of which one.
Lilia didn't know what outcome he wished for at this point.
"Malleus, are you available?" Lilia asked, knocking on Malleus' bedroom door. He wasn't prepared for this conversation, but he didn't think he would ever be. He couldn't afford to put it off. He wanted to get this solved before Silver's birthday.
"Come in." Malleus said. Lilia opened the door to a surprising sight. It seemed his eldest had been pacing back and forth, not pausing at all with Lilia's entrance. He closed the door and made himself comfortable on Malleus' bed.
"Darren passed today. How many will get hurt trying to become my retainer? Sebek said it was the wind this time. There's no pattern to the attacks. None of them make any sense. Am I simply bringing misfortune to whoever is chosen as my retainer? Will something happen to Sebek as well?"
"Malleus, it's not your fault." He didn't want him to panic, but he had to get to the bottom of this. "Though I do have to ask, you don't know who's behind the attacks, do you?"
"Of course not!" Malleus yelled, pausing his pacing to turn to Lilia in anger.
"I just had to be sure. I'm starting to put together a picture of what's happening, but it's not pretty."
"What do you mean?"
"Did Sebek tell you what he heard when Darren died?"
Malleus shook his head, giving Lilia his full attention.
"He said he heard the song I used to sing to you all as kids, the one you all loved so much. I only sang that song for you, Silver, and Sebek. No one else has heard it."
Malleus looked at him in confusion. "You mean to say Sebek's been causing these accidents?" He asked in disbelief.
"No, that's not what I'm saying."
"Surely…surely Silver would be at rest now. It's been a hundred years."
"That is what I thought as well, but I can't think of another explanation. Some of these incidents don't seem possible for a living person to cause, fae or human for that matter."
"No, that's impossible. Silver's at rest. He would never do something like this. Moreover, I refuse to believe he's been suffering for this many decades." Lilia didn't want to believe that either, but it was becoming more and more likely.
"Death changes people. I've seen it happen before. He may feel he has unfinished business because he didn't finish serving his duty to you as your retainer."
"But I didn't expect him to be my retainer forever! If Sebek wishes to retire at any point, I will allow him to. Silver had to know that."
"Perhaps. That being said, it wasn't his choice to leave."
"…What do you suggest we do now?" Malleus asked brokenly, looking as lost as Lilia felt.
"If it really is Silver, we'll have to try to get in contact with him. As his father I cannot allow him to keep hurting innocents." His boy would've never allowed this if he was alive. He'd be ashamed of what he'd done.
"How would we begin to do that?"
"I have some tricks up my sleeve, Malleus. Don't underestimate me. I told Sebek that I'd have the situation resolved before Silver's birthday, but it seems that won't be the case."
Lilia smiled, though none of his usual cheer was behind it. "His birthday will be the perfect time to contact him."