Chapter Five Title: The Passing Train
Mikaela’s blood was pumping with excitement when they approached the Baron’s estate. Lights were on in the mansion, and shadows walking around. The carriage was hidden in darkness while the horses neighed as they were covered with leaves, but soon settled down and took a rest on the soft grass.
“Let’s hurry!” Mikaela said to the Duke, practically pouncing on his feet. “I’ll go find Lucas, and you do whatever you have to do.”
“Alright, we’ll go on the count of three.” the Duke instructed strictly. His sword was ready for action by his side. “You go left, I’ll go to the right wing. Be out in fifteen minutes, otherwise you’ll be crushed by the rubble.”
“Got it! Make sure to keep the Baron alive. I want to be the one to kill him.”
With that, they went their separate ways. Mikaela leaped to each window, startling the workers. They rubbed their eyes in confusion when they saw his shadow, but thought that they imagined it because the next second–he was gone. He checked every window on the first floor, but wasn’t able to find Lucas at all.
Mikaela used his feet to jump onto an oak tree, and finally found the right room. He could see a familiar shadow moving around.
‘Lucas!’ His heart pounded against his chest so loudly that he could hear it. It looked as if he was reuniting with his friend after years. “I found you.”
***
Lucas was stunned when he heard a rattle on the window. “W-who is it?”
“Stand back!” A voice called from the outside.
No way.
“Mikaela?” Lucas’s eyes widened. “What are you doing–?”
“Stand back!” Mikaela shouted again. Lucas did as he was told, baffled. A loud crash and a large shower of broken glass was spread across the floor. The window broke as Mikaela jumped in, shielding himself with his arms. He landed on top of the shards of glass with small cuts on his hands.
“I came to rescue you, Lucas!” He said proudly, stretching out his hands toward his friend like a prince in a fairytale book coming to rescue a princess.
“Wha–?”
“What’s going on?” Servants who were alerted by the sudden disturbance stormed into the room without knocking. “What is–?”
Taking advantage of the confusion, Mikaela grabbed Lucas’s hand and led him to the messed up window. “Come on!”
Led by Mikaela’s smile, Lucas followed after him, enchanted. The shouts of the servants behind him were blocked out. It was as if only he and Mikaela existed in this moment, and it belonged to them alone. Mikaela took both of Lucas’s hands and as they were falling out the window and about to land on the thorn bush underneath; he used the power in his legs to kick against the wall which caused them to tumble around on the grass.
The obstacle that was hindering Lucas’s escape was defeated so easily by Mikaela.
“Come on, follow me! This mansion is about to go down soon!” Mikaela said urgently, pulling Lucas up.
“What? What do you mean “go down”?” Lucas stiffened. “Is something about to happen?”
“Yes, and there’s not a lot of time, so let’s hurry!” Mikaela pulled Lucas’s arm, but Lucas refused to move.
“What about the employees in the mansion?”
“What about them?”
“Wouldn’t they be buried too if the mansion is destroyed?” Lucas said.
“Yeah, so?” Mikaela cocked his head.
“No! We have to go back to rescue them!” Lucas said, pointing back at the manor. We have to go back! We can’t let innocent people get killed!”
“Lucas, it's too late!” Mikaela argued exasperatedly. Why does Lucas have to be so bullheaded sometimes?
“No it's not! We could still save some people at least!” Mikaela looked into Lucas’s determined shining gold eyes and hesitated.
“...fine! We’ll only rescue the people that we can save, alright?” Mikaela said to Lucas, finally. “Don’t do anything stupid, and if the building starts crumbling, rush out immediately, and meet me at the gates, alright? I came here to save only you, not to lose you again–keep that in mind.”
Lucas looked at his friend appreciatively. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind, and don’t worry.”
Mikaela glanced at the large bruise on Lucas’s shoulder and grimaced. He absolutely deprecates this proposal, but he couldn’t just restrict Lucas.
‘Should we really rescue these people? Especially when he got wounded because of them?’
After hesitating again, Mikaela said, “...I’ll take the left, you take the right.”
“Okay!” Lucas parted with Mikaela, and ran inside the building after kicking open a window, which shattered. “Run away now!” He shouted to the employees.
They looked at him in confusion, and others attempted to capture him but he was too swift. He sprinted around the whole estate, shouting out warnings to the workers, advising them to move out immediately. The ones that heeded his warning rushed towards their quarters and took their belongings and exited the mansion. While the ones who didn’t, continued on with work, thinking that Lucas was crazy and jeered at him.
“Okay, the only floor left is the East Wing on the first floor.”
Lucas speeded towards his destination.
***
The Duke sat on top of the roof, counting the minutes to himself. He could hear the kids bustling around in the mansion, and servants exiting out the front door, carrying suitcases. A flurry of activity began in the tranquil mansion ever since Mikaela had headed inside. This wasn’t part of the plan but...at least they were having fun.
‘Well, I suppose I can give them a few more minutes.’
After some time passed by, the Duke stood up and went to work.
“Right about...here.” He unsheathed his long sword and swung it down on a specific spot on the roof. The tiles started to crumble, and the ceiling on top of the Baron’s study caved in. He landed elegantly on the now dusty wooden floor. The noisy commotion outside could be heard, but he focused on his main task and opened a drawer of a messy desk.
He gritted his teeth after examining the documents stashed underneath. They all stated the many crimes of the Baron’s, including illegal trade, and many lab reports. “What is all this? Human experiments? How did he get his hands on a stone fragment?!”
He stowed the papers into his sleeves when he heard shoes arriving at the doorstep. Then he vanished from the room in a flash. He safely arrived on top of the roof again, and when he checked the time on his pocket watch, he gripped tightly onto this sword.
It’s time to wipe this place off the map.
“The documents said that the lab is somewhere around his mansion.” The Duke sighed. Extra work was added to his list because of that dumb Baron. “I’ll have to be more careful and precise on where I cut. What a pity. I’m guessing that his lab is somewhere around the right area of the mansion, so I’ll just eradicate the second floor for now.”
One gentle–but powerful–slice of his sword made the half of the roof collapse. He kicked holes in the thick walls, making the mansion disproportional. Walls crumbled, and the whole second floor was half destroyed. He looked down at the broken down house from a large hole on top of the ruined roof. The first floor looked alright compared to the second which was on the verge of collapsing completely.
Now all he had to do was find where the Baron went. Most likely, he was hiding in that horrid lab of his. The whole building was now trampled upon, so the Baron should appear right about now. The Duke perched on top of the edge, and peeked down just in time to see his prey walking out of a secret entrance inside the walls.
The Baron looked around with a devastated expression at the amount of destruction surrounding him. The Duke’s sword created so much havoc that it left the Baron speechless.
“Servants!” The Baron bellowed furiously. “Servants!”
Nothing answered his calls besides screams.
“Baron! Having fun with the fight you started?” The Duke called out, grinning contemptuously. “The fun hasn’t even begun yet! Don’t run away now!” He landed next to the Baron with a poisonous smile that could kill. The Baron shuddered in fear. “I’ll give you ten seconds to flee. If you manage to do that, I’ll let you off the hook. Otherwise…”
He pulled out the documents he took from the Baron’s desk and waved it in front of his face.
“How did you–?!”
“You’ll know what happens if this information leaks out right?” The Duke whispered playfully. “You’ll be dragged to court–no, you’ll be executed for committing treason against the empire because of that secret lab of yours. You'll be placed on a guillotine and die without honor. And don’t you remember what the privilege the emperor bestowed upon me is? If my target puts up a struggle, I get to eliminate that disaffected noble of the empire before any other damage is inflicted.”
“You–!” If only he was prepared for his arrival, then maybe his mansion wouldn’t have ended up like this! His precious house that was passed along for generations was destroyed in a single night!
No, it wasn’t his fault! It was that boy’s fault! Who told him to be part of the Winurasten family? Who told him to be born with a pretty face?! If he hadn’t met that boy, then the situation wouldn’t have plummeted this quickly!
“One,” the Duke began to count. The Baron stiffened. What? “Two.”
He started running for his life. Literally. He rushed down the messy corridor, and stumbled upon the crumbled walls. He howled in pain when he saw his scraped knee, and whimpered.
‘It hurts like hell!’ He screamed inwardly. But he never thought that when he tortured the young boys. He scrambled quickly to his feet, and limped dramatically.
“How asinine you are, Baron.” The Baron suddenly found himself raised into the air with a hand gripping tightly onto his neck. “I caught you.”
He let out small cries as his foot dangled above the ground. “P-please...kegh!...s-spare me!”
“Spare you?” The Duke growled menacingly. “Have you spared the boys that you’ve treated as lab rats? Have you done that? No. So why should I spare a rat like you?” The Baron let out a squeal.
“I-I didn’t mean it! The b-boys said that I could do w-whatever I-I pleased!” He concocted untruthfully. When he sensed that the lie wasn’t effective, he tried to sway the Duke. “W-well, th-they’re all peasants, s-so why does t-that matter? Heh, heh…Urgh!”
The grip on his neck became tighter. The Baron’s face turned purple. His lungs were running out of air. It was not until when he could barely speak, the Duke loosened his hands. The Baron was daunted. Snatching his nephew from the Duke was only so he could have a card to play against the Duke–so he could overpower him. But who would’ve thought that the Grand Duke wasn’t that easy of a man to beat?
Clearly not him.
“It’s a pity that I can’t kill you.” The Duke said with sorrow. “I owe my son a present since he just joined the Winurasten family. You see, I treasure my son a lot–and do you know what he wanted as his gift?”
“J-jewels?” The Baron coughed out, smiling weakly. He hoped that his guess was correct. What else would someone want besides jewels, money, and power?
“Wrong.” His face fell. The Duke glared down at him, and broke into a smile. “The right to kill you.”
The Baron’s face was filled with shock.
‘W-what kind of kid would wish to kill someone? And why me?!’
But he had to swallow those thoughts down and reluctantly gave the Duke a small smile.
“I-is that so?” He squeaked out. “H-he must be a-a very….bright kid.”
“Oh yes, he is!” The Duke seemed amused which made the Baron loosen his guard.
‘I think that I get to live a bit longer. When I see an opportunity, I’ll run from him. Who would’ve thought the empire’s greatest man would’ve been so relaxed in this situation?’
The Baron sneered inside, confident that he could get away from the Duke.
The Duke, noticing this, smirked and grabbed the Baron by his ear. He yelped. “Did you really think that you can overpower me so easily? Did you really underestimate me?”
“N-no!” He shook his head frightfully. The Duke looked hurt for some reason, playing the victim when he really was just the predator in this situation. “I-I never thought that! N-never!”
“Really?” The Duke raised an eyebrow. “Whatever. I can’t trust the words of a worm like you either way. You’re just desperate to survive so any words could be spewing out of your mouth. Disgusting.”
The Baron stayed silent. It seems like he already displeased the Duke a lot with his ‘compliments’. His whole confident attitude from before was compressed by a single glare from the Duke. He could only walk ahead of the Duke with a sword jabbing at his back, commanding him to pick up his pace while he was frustrated mentally.
Ugh, just why did he have to get caught? Now his whole plan was routed!
***
Lucas was running around the mansion, double checking if there were any other people who stayed behind until he felt the ground shaking and large explosions. He jumped aside when he felt something rushing towards him. Thankfully, he made it in time, and was able to dodge the sharp touch of a blade of wind which destroyed the whole entire wall next to him. He shuddered.
‘Now that was scary!’ He shook his head. ‘I think that might be the backup Mikaela was talking about. He sure is strong to be able to slice a wall like this indirectly.’
Dust was all that was left accompanied with cracks and pieces of what used to be the wall. Lucas took a step back and headed the other direction instead. Clearly it's not safe there anymore, and he had promised Mikaela that he would stay safe.
The loud explosions proceeded on without cessation. Just how much power does that person even have?
His foot stopped when he heard a loud shriek. He frowned.
‘Is there still someone left behind?’ He headed towards the direction the voice came from. Even though Mikaela’s words echoed throughout his mind–right now, saving that person became his main priority.
He jumped over a foot tall cracked wall, and slid across the floor, scraping his elbow on a nearby pointy antique on the way when he heard another yell. His promise was thrown out the window (although all the nearby windows were smashed ) and he continued on, urging his feet to move faster.
‘Faster! Faster! I still have three more minutes before I reach my deadline, and that's plenty!’
The moon was still up in the sky, and glowed down upon his path, as if indicating him to the right way.
He skidded to a stop when he saw an unexpected scene unfolding between his eyes.
‘...why is the Baron being choked in the air?’
The Baron let out a groan, and he was released. He whimpered like a dog being beaten, and his face fell when he exchanged words with the tall man beside him. He seemed...eager to please, but in the end, he walked ahead of the man with a long sword jabbing his back. Curious, Lucas followed them, masking his presence so he wouldn’t be noticed.
“Who’s there?” The voice that felt like a harsh blizzard wind pierced through his body made Lucas jump. “Show yourself.”
He dithered around, not sure whether to reveal himself, or escape swiftly. He drew in his breath and stepped out of the shadows. His mouth dropped.
The man who looked so menacing to the Baron, also let down his guard when he caught sight of Lucas. He stopped breathing, asking himself if it was a dream. Sure, he told Mikaela that they were going to eradica–trespass the Baron’s estate to rescue Lucas, but he didn’t expect that he’d meet his nephew this soon. If he was conscious of that, then he would’ve prepared himself mentally. Just staring at the golden eyes that resembled his made his heart tremble.
He was legit, the Baron was not lying after all.
“W-who are you?”
“Hel–”
“H-how are you still able to move?” The Baron interrupted suddenly. The Duke shot him a glare.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
The Baron flinched, cursing himself at his mistake. His tongue slipped the second he saw Lucas standing before him. “E-erm…”
“...Did you try to poison me?” Forgotten memories resurfaced, and Lucas recalled the milk the maids placed before him when he first arrived. “Could it be…?”
“S-shut it boy!” The Baron bellowed, but clamped his mouth shut when the Duke sent chills his way.
“Explain.” The Duke kicked the Baron onto the floor, and gave Lucas his full attention. He made sure to add a few stomps on the Baron’s legs so he couldn’t move.
Lucas faltered and stepped back; he couldn’t understand what was happening. Why was this man being so kind to him? Why did his expression look so genuine? And, why did he look so much like himself?
“I won’t bite you,” the Duke said softly when he saw Lucas’s hands tremble. How could this child seem so much like a fearful animal? Just how badly was he treated? “I’m here to save you, so tell me what's going on so I can get rid of this trash quickly, and punish him for his crimes.”
“I-I…” His heart raced. “I...got sold to him by my mother. T-they threatened me using my other friends...so I went along with them. H-he acted nice to me, but...he abused me horrifyingly. In the beginning when I arrived, the maids served me this cup of milk, and catered to my every need. I thought...that it was weird when they kept on glancing at the cup as if urging me to drink it...so I didn't touch it at all.”
‘Those bastards!’ The Baron bit his lip but stopped when the Duke looked down at him for confirmation.
“Is that true, Baron?”
“Y-your highness, t-the boy–”
“I asked if it was true, Baron,” the Duke silenced his excuses in a stern tone. “Answer, or do you prefer it if I decapitate one of your hands?”
“E-eek! I-I didn’t mean to offend you, D-duke!” He shook his head quickly. “W-what the boy said was false!”
“Liar!” Lucas grinded his teeth, filled with hatred. “You liar!”
“You thought that you could escape from the truth, Baron?” The Duke placed his feet on the Baron’s head and pressed it down on the floor.
“Urgh! W-wo, ruor h-hikghness!” The Baron sputtered, trying to sound humble. “I-iw w-was m-meh mehstake!”
He was grabbed by his cuff and placed back on his feet with a sword shining at his neck, brimming with the intent to kill. “Silence, unless you want your head to roll. Like I said before, it's a pity that I can’t cut your head right now.”
Lucas stood rooted to his spot. “...how am I supposed to trust you?” Lucas spat out hoarsely.
Those insecure words were all it took to break the Duke’s patience. The Baron screamed as a golden light penetrated through his body. He wriggled around like a worm being burnt, and finally, he dropped down, half-dead. His hair sizzled, and only the white of his eyes could be seen as foam dripped down from the side of his mouth.
“Is that enough?” The Duke smiled warmly at Lucas who just stared at the unconscious body. “I’ll get rid of anyone who brought harm to you. Is that enough for you to trust me?”