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🗡️🦇One🦇🗡️
Lilia sighed profoundly, slumping down on a chair. He glanced down at the tiny bundle wiggling inside his cradle, who at that moment finally, finally stopped throwing a hissy fit. How could such a small being have such a strong and resounding cry ? Malleus did have a mighty wail himself for sure, but he’s a pureblood fae, not a weak human being.
Lilia sighed again, sliding his hands down his face. He could count on them the number of hours of rest he had these past few days. Silver wasn’t usually the type of baby who’d throw fits, but right now he just couldn’t seem to sleep peacefully. He’d cry and whine and throw his tiny fists around and almost choke himself on his wails. Lilia didn’t need sleep per see, but he did like his peace and quiet ; that he did not have at the moment.
He didn’t know what was wrong with Silver, or what he himself was doing wrong, and he didn’t really have anyone right now he could ask about it either. But he knew for sure something wasn’t right. Lilia reached a hand down in the cradle, and softly caressed the baby’s cheek as Silver turned his gaze and babbled at him.
”What is bothering you little one ? Hm ? Won’t you tell me ?” Lilia spoke quietly, resting his head on the side of the cradle, letting the baby try and grab some strands of his hair. “Of course you’re not going to answer me. You barely talk as you are now.”
Lilia straightened up, putting himself out of the babe’s reach ; but feeling another fit arose as Silver started agitating himself again, he reached down to lift the baby in his arms to try and lull him back to sleep.
“Come on Silver, you have to sleep and I’m starting to run short on ideas to help you… Won’t you rest ?”
As he desperately cradled the tiny human boy around the room, his eyes fell down on an illustrated children’s book laying on the coffee table near a corner. It was a gift from Baur, who apparently started hoarding up children books for his soon-to-be-born grandchild, and particularly liked this one ; a book about a fox family and a… rolling tart ? Anyways. Lilia grabbed the book off the table, and went back to sit on the chair, installing Silver comfortably on his lap.
”What about a story ? Maybe this will appease you a bit…”
And as it appeared, the story did the trick : Silver stopped fussing and seemed pretty invested in the adventure which was recounted to him -or, at least, in just listening to Lilia’s voice-.
“Then the fox’s child said, ‘Papa, I’m going to the river.’”
“Da-”
The muffled sound coming from beneath his chin startled him and made his heart skip a beat. Did he… hear that right ?
“You talked ? Silver - did you just talk ?” Lilia said with a trembling voice.
“Papa” The babe answered, offering a wide smile to his caretaker as he made grabby hands.
“No, I’m not your father, Silver…” He couldn’t lie to this child. He was not his father and never was he going to pretend that he was. He was taking care of him for sure, but what was he supposed to do ? Let him die in these decrepit ruins covered in thorns ? Contrary of what many seemed to think of him, he was no monster ; at least not one who lets innocent children die. But being a caretaker isn’t the same thing as being a parent ; and this child was robbed of his parents too, just like Malleus-
“Pa…Papa !” Silver babbled insistently, smiling brightly and his grabby hands finally taking hold of Lilia’s cheeks, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Not going down this trail, huh.
Lilia chuckled softly, and blew a raspberry on the boy’s cheek, making him giggle loudly. “Hm, I suppose I can save that discussion for when you’re old enough to understand it. That’s right, I’m your Papa.”
For now, at least.
🗡️🦇⚡🐉Two🐉⚡🦇🗡️
The sound of wooden swords clashing resounded through the backyard of the cottage. As per usual, the boys were training under Lilia’s hypervigilant supervision, sparring against each other again, and again, and again. Malleus was there today too, observing curiously the two boys waddling around with swords in their hands, trying to appear as valiant as they could in front of their liege.
“Sebek, do not drop your elbow ! How many times do I have to tell you ?” Lilia called loudly, interrupting the children’s activity.
The green-haired boy let out an embarrassed gasp and promptly lifted his elbow again, growing red in the face as his sparring partner started snickering. “Don’t laugh Silver, it’s not funny !”
“Is so !”
“Is not !”
“Is so !”
“Silver, don’t tease him.” Lilia sighed as he crossed his arms and lifted one hand to rub at his eyes. “Go again.”
“Just you wait Silver, I'm gonna be the greatest guard ever for Malleus-sama !” Sebek shouted proudly as he resumed his en garde position, followed quickly by Silver.
“Not with this elbow, no.” Malleus asserted absent-mindedly.
“Gah-!”
The two boys turned towards the young prince, frozen. In a matter of seconds, Sebek’s face fell, his eyes watered and his lips started wobbling, utterly humiliated at being caught in front of Malleus.
“I’m… I’m sorry my liege, I will work hard to be worthy of you in the future !” The boy exclaimed as he bursted into tears.
“Papa, Sebek is crying again…!” Silver commented, dropping his sword in the green grass at his feet.
Malleus slowly turned towards Lilia, wide-eyed. “I did not mean for him to start wailing.” He said with an uncertain voice.
Lilia sighed again, and motioned for Sebek to come up to him. The boy, still sobbing and crying, his nose dripping, waddled to Lilia and let himself be caught and lifted in his arms to be comforted. “Come now Sebek, how can you become a great guard for Malleus if you cry at the first remark ? You just need training, and you’re still young after all.”
This did not seem to appease the boy, for his crying kept resounding in the backyard, inconsolable. Lilia rocked the child in his arms, trying to calm him down as best as he could. “Silver, resume your position and try that attack I showed you again.”
“Yes, Papa !”
The older man watched as the silver-haired boy picked up his sword and renewed his form to train again. Malleus, seemingly embarrassed after his “misstep”, entertained himself with a book he had brought, sitting down at the tiny garden table adorning the backyard, not far from the improvised training ground. Lilia groaned softly, still balancing a crying child on one hip and trying to correct Silver’s form with his free hand, while keeping an eye on Malleus.
Truly, taking care of children is absurdly rough and energy-consuming. He did not regret it, but he did miss his peace sometimes.
Like this once, for example.
🗡️🦇⚡🐉Three🐉⚡🦇🗡️
Loud snoring echoed in the little cottage late at night. Lilia giggled as he pulled up the cover on Sebek’s tiny form, sprawled in a star shape and taking over the better half of the bed, crowding Silver’s sleeping form against the wall. He picked up the younger boy’s plush crocodile from the floor and wedged it under Sebek’s arm again.
With a satisfied sigh, Lilia straightened his back, hands on his loins. Maybe he did push the boys a bit too hard in their training today. Or maybe they were just growing and that exhausted them naturally ; he did hear Sebek’s father talk about this one time, about growth spurts exhausting human children.
”How long are you going to entertain yourself with this child ?”
Lilia turned his head slightly to his right, and glanced back at the young prince who sat himself at the coffee table. He smiled cheekily and answered, “Technically, I count three children in this room.”
”According to your standards maybe. I’m far from a child compared to them.”
”Fine. Two children then.”
”Sebek hardly counts, he is half fae. Who knows whose genes will prevail in the future ?”
”Where is this going, Malleus ?” Lilia huffed and walked over to the young prince after grabbing a kettle and two cups to pour themselves some tea from the tiny kitchen.
”It’s just…” Malleus started, then stopped himself, searching for words. Lilia patiently waited for him, sipping from his hot tea. “It’s a human child. And you’ve always said that a human’s lifespan is nothing but a blink to us, creatures of the night. He will soon be old and withered and buried six feet under when you’ll still be around and fine. I don’t see the whole point of… this.” Malleus gestured towards the bed and the two sleeping boys.
Lilia lifted his cup to his lips again. “Taking care of an orphaned boy ?”
”Playing family with a human child.”
Playing family . Lilia ticked at this, and exhaled strongly. He crossed his legs after putting down his cup on the coffee table, and stared at the young prince for a little while before answering. “I’m not playing family with him.”
”Papa…?”
At Silver’s voice coming from the corner of the room, Lilia stood up and walked quickly to his bedside. “What’s wrong Silver, did you have a nightmare ?”
The boy shook his head no, grabby hands claiming his caretaker’s arms. The older man lifted the child up, and returned to sit on his chair, rocking the boy back to sleep and humming a lullaby.
Malleus sipped his tea silently, before he resumed as Silver seemed to have fallen asleep again. “He still calls you by that name.”
”As you said yourself, he is just a human child, Malleus. He’s not yet capable of understanding this situation. Let him believe his truth for a little while longer.”
”A truth that is a lie through and through.”
”Am I lying though ? I never told him I was his father.”
“You never corrected him when he called you that either.” Malleus pointed out, before finishing his cup of tea with one long sip. “But alright. I won’t say anything anymore.”
Lilia watched as the young prince stood up from his chair and he followed him quickly as he moved towards the door to the outside of the cottage, Silver still in his arms. Malleus stopped right outside the door to say his goodbyes, and Lilia stared at his back until he disappeared completely.
With a sigh, he closed the door behind him and moved to the bed once more, installing Silver back on the mattress, moving a still snoring Sebek to the side slightly to give the human boy more space. He giggled softly as the green-haired boy groaned in his sleep and hugged his plush crocodile tighter. Lilia’s gaze softened as he took one last glance at the boys’ sleeping forms and he took a few steps back, stretching his aching lower back.
Playing family huh … Malleus’ words kept replaying in his head. Not quite .
🗡️🦇🐉Four🐉🦇🗡️
“Old man, have you seen my alchemy notebook ? I can’t find it in my room.”
Lilia slowly lifted his head from his book, blinking incredulously as he processed what he just heard. “Did you just call me “Old man”, Silver ?”
The young man turned towards him, standing out between the deep black furniture of the Diasomnia dorm lounge with his silver hair. “Yes, what about it ?”
Dumbfounded, Lilia debated with himself how to approach this matter, and opted for humor. “I mean, I am pretty old, but I don’t think I deserve to be called that yet. I’m still vigorous for my age !” He answered with a laugh.
Silver however did not laugh at all. He crossed his arms over his torso with a frown, and replied curtly, “Well, you forbade me to call you “Dad” at school, so I had to find an alternative. “Old man” sounded pretty fitting.”
With a deep sigh, Lilia gently closed his book and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “Alright, we’re going over this again. Silver, why did I tell you not to call me “Dad” at school ?”
Silver groaned as the older man started speaking with his “lecture voice”, and rolled his eyes.
“Do not roll your eyes at me, young man.”
“Fine ! You said it would look weird to outsiders because you don’t look old enough to be my father.”
“And I enrolled here as a student so it would also be weird for a first year to call a second year "Dad"."
“Yeah yeah, I get it.” Silver muttered begrudgingly, as he lowered his head and slightly kicked his feet.
“So don’t fuss like a little child. Where could you have possibly left your notebook ? Did you study around here yesterday maybe ?” Lilia not-so-subtly changed the subject and returned to the first question that was asked.
“Ah, I found it while you were talking. It was lying around on the table.” Silver answered promptly, lifting the notebook with one hand to show it off.
“Good then.”
“Yeah.”
The silence stretched between them awkwardly, and Lilia shifted slightly on his seat. After a short hesitation, Silver dropped back his arm holding the notebook and turned to leave. “Good talk.”
The older man watched as the silver-haired boy left the room without adding a word, and groaned softly when he had exited the room, a feeling of exhaustion filling up his limbs. Malleus, who had silently witnessed the entire scene, finally opened his mouth. “Is this what Sebek’s father called the “adolescent crisis” or something ?”
“Please, I barely survived Sebek’s as it is.” Lilia groaned louder, shifting to face Malleus. “I thought I was safe now, regarding Silver’s age.”
“I guess he is a late bloomer on this hand.” The young prince replied with a tiny smile. “I wouldn’t know about that human problem though.”
“This is an interesting thought : do fae go through this teenage years’ crisis too, just like humans do ? After all, fae and humans do share similarities in their behavioral developpement, aging aside.” The older man wondered pensively.
“I’d say not.”
“You are still considered in your early years for a dragon, Malleus. Do you think you will go through a teenage years’ crisis of your own ?” Lilia teased the young prince gently.
“Probably not, Lilia.”
“You know what they say : good things come in threes !”
Malleus huffed amusingly, shaking his head. “I don’t think it would be considered a good thing.”
“If this is an important behavioral milestone for a child, then however complicated and rough it is for the parents around them, it is a good thing whatsoever.”
“You’re still playing family then I understand ?”
“I’m not-” Lilia cut himself to sigh annoyingly. “I already told you years ago and I’m still telling you right now Malleus, I am not playing family with Silver.”
“Whatever you say, Lilia. But it sure looks like you are.” The young prince said as he lifted himself from his seat. “I’m going out for a walk.”
“Please take Silver with you for your protection.”
“Of course.”
Looking at that cheeky smile the princeling gave him, Lilia sighed deeply, aggrieved. “Of course” my ass, he definitely took after his mother…!
🗡️⚡Five⚡🗡️
“Silver, where are you Silver !”
Silver grinded his teeth together and kept running as fast as his legs would let him, as far away from his- from Lilia as he could. How could he not ? Running out of the house into such a stormy night maybe wasn’t the best idea, but he couldn’t let Lilia see him right now.
He closed his eyes, feeling his tears mix with the pouring rain on his cheeks. The more the scene replayed in his mind, the more wetness covered his face. He should have known. Should have realized it sooner. They did not look anything alike, and Lilia wasn’t aging at all when he himself was growing faster and faster… And yet…
We’re not related, Silver. I found you years ago, and took care of you.
Such simple words, yet how much pain they could cause. The mere thought had his heart constrict and his throat dry up. Not related .
His foot caught on a stray root and he fell face first in the mud. Silver felt more tears drip on his face as an agonizing sob tore its way up his throat. He let his face fall back against the wet and dirty forest ground, finally letting out anguish-filled wails as reality dawned on him.
Lilia was not his father, and he was no son of his.
*
Staring blankly at the darkness surrounding him, Silver let his tears fall freely on his cheeks, his mind jumping between the memory of that night and the horrible truth he just learned. Maybe he deserved this darkness, to stay alone here forever… The thought had a sob escape him.
What must Sebek think about him now ? Does he hate him ? What about his father ? Did he know that the ring he found along with him belonged to the Dawn Knight, enemy to him and all of Briar Valley, vanquisher of Malleus’ parents… And that he was… He was his…
Another sob, more powerful than the last one, shook his core and made him double on himself woefully. His father must have known. Then why…? Why did he raise him ? He must hate him !
Silver shook his head. He doesn’t want to think anymore… Just let him sink in this darkness and disappear…
“Lightning, pierce the stormy skies ! Living Bolt !”
A voice thundered, followed by a flash of white light suddenly piercing through the thick veil of darkness surrounding him, and he had to close his eyes to endure it. Silver felt a hand roughly grab his forearm, and gasped as electricity coursed through his body.
“Silver, you incorrigible sleepyhead ! I finally found you !”
Is that…
“Sebek ?! What are you doing here ? Is this another dream ?” Silver asked hesitantly, staring at his friend and dormmate.
“A dream ? Absolutely not, I am the genuine Sebek Zigvolt ! I’m here to get you out, you coward !” The green-haired man loudly announced with a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiations. “Remember what you said, Silver ? That you’d break our liege’s spell and liberate him, Lilia, and all the rest of the foolish student body ? Are you going back on your word now ?!”
“But…” Silver started, his voice unsure. “Father and Malleus… They must hate me.”
“What…?” Sebek responded with a frown.
“ … I learned the truth in a dream. I… I was born to Henrick’s sister Leah and the Dawn Knight. I’m the son of Father and Malleus’ mortal enemy ! How could I ever face them now ?” The silver-haired man answered, his voice progressively rising and growing urgent. “How must my father have felt, raising someone who shared the same face as his foe ? He could never love the son of a man he despised ! He has to hate me ! He has to !” His voice cracked at the last syllable, as he let his tears fall once more.
All his insecurities about his heritage resurfaced quickly, his mind spiralling deeper and deeper into despair. How could his father even bear to look his way with the way he looked ? Surely this was the truth, Lilia could never love someone as foul as him, a living and breathing reminder of the very man who took everything- and everyone his father ever loved. Because of that man, Malleus’ parents died, followed by Lilia’s disgrace and exile from his home, forcing him to live as a hermit in the middle of a forest in Briar Valley. All “thanks” to that godforsaken Dawn Knight.
Of fucking course Lilia must detest him with all his being…!
“You… You FOOL !” A strong punch landed on Silver’s head, knocking the breath out of his chest. He let out a surprised gasp as another punch was thrown his way and Sebek resumed. “I’ve always known you were a fool, but I never realized it was to this extent.”
“Huh ?” Silver stared at Sebek, dumbfounded.
“As things stand, no amount of verbal reasoning is going to get through to you. Draw your weapon, Silver.” The green-haired man seemed to resign himself, drawing his magical wand from his waist.
“Sebek, don’t…” Silver implored pitifully, as he reached a pleading hand towards his friend. “Please, I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore…”
“Pathetic… How can you call yourself my elder pupil ? I’m disappointed. If Lilia saw you now, there’s no question he would be filled with sorrow.” The silver-haired man withdrew his hand abruptly, like he was burned, his face distorting itself with pain. “So be it. I’m going to knock some sense into you before you disgrace yourself any further !”
Seeing the other man’s determination, Silver had no other choice but to draw his weapon too, and engage in combat. To say he went all out wouldn’t be an exaggeration. It was like his body was moving on its own, throwing spells after spells and punches after punches, like it was trying to survive of its own will. They went round after round, until both of them ran breathless. Sebek casted one last spell, trying to gain the upper hand, but Silver overpowered him with a spell of his own, which landed a rough blow on the younger boy’s arm, disarming him definitely.
Said boy gasped loudly and fell to one knee, trying to catch his breath. “It’s over… Silver… You win…”
Silver dropped his wand at his feet, his face twisting with horror. What did he just do…? He hurt one of his closest friends badly for what ? He truly was a bad omen bird, bringing nothing but terrible things to the people around him. Starting with his father. Surely, surely this was the truth… The truth…
“Sebek… Don’t tell me you let me land that final blow on purpose…!” The silver-haired man asked tentatively, his voice trembling.
“On purpose…?” Sebek repeated slowly. “You… absolute nincompoop !” He weakly slapped the other man’s arm. “Why in the world would I TRY to lose ?” Another slap. “I thought that time I would finally defeat you… I fought with all I had ! But I couldn’t win, confound it ! Do you know how frustrating that is ?” And another slap.
“Sebek… I’m sorry. My body flew into action before my mind could catch up…”
The green-haired man’s voice grew more and more distressed. “You have this much strength… And you dare to say you weren’t loved ?! That you were hated ? Don’t you dare insult me like that… And ESPECIALLY not Lilia !”
“What…?”
Silver could see the tears well up in Sebek’s eyes as the younger man kept talking. “If he hated you, he didn’t have to give or teach you anything. He could’ve raised you into a dimwitted coward and made you a servant. But he didn’t - and look at you now. Even alone and helpless, you stood firm. You spoke up, unfettered in the face of our liege’s madness. Even trapped in the darkest despair, you kept on fighting ! Who raised you to be so strong ? LILIA DID!”
The older man kept his mouth shut, as he felt his body start trembling from head to toe with the need to start bawling. And Sebek still wasn’t finished.
“Why don’t you see ?! Why do you doubt ? You should have understood years ago !” Finally the tears started spilling on Sebek’s cheeks, his voice cracking on the edges. “What can you call your strength, if not the direct result of Lilia’s love ? Don’t you ever make a mockery of my- of OUR teacher again, Silver !” The green-haired man fell down on his knees and let out a loud wail, after having let out all his thoughts on the matter and bared his heart to his dormmate.
Silver stayed frozen for a few seconds, before he fell to his knees too and embraced the younger man in a tight hug. Sebek snorted in his shoulder loudly but didn’t move, and held him even tighter against him. They stayed like this quite some time, until the green-haired man finally stopped crying.
“You’re right.” Silver started then paused before speaking again. “Even in the darkness, I’ve been hearing it the whole time. Father’s voice, telling me to stand up. To never give up. To… Live.” He closed his eyes, feeling his emotions well up but trying to control them. “I thought I was just imagining it… But now I finally see. Everything Father taught me proves his love. That’s not a dream or delusion… It’s the truth.”
The real truth. Even with his heritage and what it entailed, his father chose to raise him. To be with him. To care for him. He held the son of his arch enemy in his arms in an abandoned castle and chose to have him live a happy and fulfilling life, surrounded with love and attention. How did he even doubt it in the first place ? It was so obviously clear now… He was so, so loved by his father.
Sebek sniffled grossly against him before he finally detached himself from the other man. He rubbed at his eyes roughly, rendering them even puffier than they were as Silver smiled at him. “About time you figured it out. So… What do you want to do now ?”
Silver closed his eyes again for a few moments, thinking about what he was going to reply to Sebek's question. A multitude of answers came to his mind, but he opted for asserting one inalienable truth.
“I… I am Silver Vanrouge, son of Lilia Vanrouge. And I’m going to help my father wake from this dream and escape- I mean. WE are.”
Sebek smiled brightly at his words. “That’s the spirit !” He went to slap his shoulder but stopped himself midway and winced painfully. “Outch outch…”
“Sorry, sorry…!” Silver exclaimed regretfully, but Sebek signaled for him to shut up.
“Let’s just get out of here.”
The silver-haired man shook his head yes, smiling. Reinvigorated, he followed the younger man who joined Grim and Yu who watched the whole scene from the side, determined to accomplish what he promised to do.
After all, nothing was impossible for the son of the great general Vanrouge !
🗡️🦇⚡🐉+ One🐉⚡🦇🗡️
Lilia looked exhaustingly at Malleus. Even after a lasting overblotting and an excruciating final battle, the young prince could still stand up properly, though holding himself steady with a hand on Sebek’s shoulder. He looked utterly defeated and would not look his way, like he was too ashamed to. Silver was asserting Malleus’ injuries, focused on his task. Lilia sighed softly, and walked carefully towards the boys. At his approach, Silver and Sebek turned to look at him, where Malleus kept his eyes pointed to the ground, like a child caught with his hand in the candy jar.
“Malleus…” He started, but was quickly interrupted.
“I am very sorry, Lilia.” The raven-haired fae said, his voice small. “I just… The child of Man told me they may have found a way home, and you said you were retiring far away, and I just…”
“I know, Malleus.” Lilia smiled gently. “You’ve always detested and feared loneliness after all. Even as an egg.”
Finally, the young prince tentatively lifted his head to look at his benefactor. Lilia’s smile grew brighter as his gaze crossed with Malleus’. He slightly turned to Silver, then started again. “Boys, I will talk to Crowley and see if we can find a way for me to stay at Night Raven College at least until the end of the school year.”
“And after the school year ends ?” Silver asked tentatively.
“After that…”
“I will talk to Grandmother.” Malleus promptly said. “And to the Senate if I must. There must be a way for you to retire not so far away from us. Lilia, I-” The young prince cut himself, then resumed after a pause. “We can’t lose you.”
“Malleus…” Lilia began but got interrupted again.
“Malleus-sama is right, Lilia. There MUST be a way for you to stay around !” Sebek exclaimed loudly.
Lilia offered an exhausted smile to the green-haired boy, then turned back to Silver and Malleus. He tentatively lifted his hands towards the boys, and gently cupped one of their cheeks with his hands. “We will see what the future holds for us. But I can not leave my son-” He turned to smile at Silver, then at Malleus. “-my sons behind knowing it would cause you such anguish. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing this.”
Uncaring of the fact the entire student body was surely looking at them, Lilia heard Silver’s trembling voice articulate a “Papa…!” before he found himself with an armful of a sobbing boy. With an amused smile, he gently patted Malleus’ nape to make him bend down slightly and join the hug. Malleus followed slowly, looking unsure at first, but he let himself get embraced and relaxed, sandwiched between Lilia and Silver. Lilia could hear the loud -and gross- sniffling of Sebek from the side, who seemed particularly emotional witnessing the family reunion. With a laugh, he opened his arms larger and turned to Sebek.
“Oh come here Sebek. You’re family too.”
“I am honored to be considered family by you Lilia !” The boy sobbed and rushed in the embrace, holding tightly on the other boys, making Silver groan unhappily. Lilia took in the sight of his boys hugged close to his chest, before he closed his eyes and sighed with a soft smile. As the two human boys cried their hearts out, Lilia lifted himself slightly on his tiptoes, and murmured in Malleus’ear.
“See, Malleus. I was never playing family with you lot.”
“We are a family.”