Fates: Chapter Thirty-Eight

Margaret

I had never seen anyone angry the way Seirra was the moment he saw who was behind all our attacks. He completely dropped his defenses and jumped away from the enemy as if he had been scorched by the man's skin. He took several seconds to study the enemy and when he confirmed what he was seeing, a scream that sounded too rough escaped from his lips. Before I knew it, he had grabbed the man again, throwing solid punches that made sounds too loud that even I had to flinch. The stranger did not even try to deflect Seirra's fist. In fact, he seemed to encourage Seirra to do it over and over by standing up and smirking every time he ended up sprawled on the ground.

It was as if something feral was unleashed within Seirra--which was worse than him strangling the older man a while ago.

"Seirra," I pleaded, "you've got to stop this right now!"

I ran to him to try to take him away but he was too strong and too furious. My hands just slipped without even managing to get a good hold of him. I stumbled several times but he didn't even notice it. He was too focused on letting his rage control him.

"Seirra, stop! Stop it!" I shouted again, hoping that my voice would somehow pierce through the haze caused by his anger.

Swallowing my fear, I tried to break the fight again. He wouldn't hurt me. At least not intentionally. I was sure of it. It took several tries and I almost succeeded when I was able to push Seirra away by nearly two feet. I sighed with relief but the enemy had other ideas. Damn him. He took a step closer and chose that moment to taunt Seirra.

"Are you quite finished?"

His words were slurred, his face was bleeding and I didn't even want to think about his nose. Somehow, seeing him like that irritated me. I moved between Seirra and the man as I took matters into my own hands.

"Are you stupid?" I couldn't help but answer back. He was being stupid. "Or are you just suicidal?"

And then the enemy turned to look at me. I meant really look at me. His emerald eyes were slightly brighter than Grampa's but his gaze was fierce and sharp whereas my grandfather's was gentle and soft. I stared back, entranced despite the shiver that ran down my back. There was something powerful in his eyes and I held my breath, waiting for him to say something.

"You do not share the same blood yet you remind me of her," he murmured.

We were looking at each other's eyes and yet, I could sense that he was not really seeing me. His voice had been low, tinged with something similar to wonder. I did not know who he was talking about but I had a feeling someone else had compared me to whoever her was.

"She was human too," he continued, seemingly talking to himself.

Seirra, who seemed to have calmed down after hearing the man talk, moved in front of me, his stance still as protective as ever.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. "Who was human?"

The dreaminess disappeared from the stranger's face and he turned to Seirra. He took a deep breath--which had probably been painful for him because he winced--as if he was preparing for a speech.

"Your mother." He let out a small laugh. "She was human."

"What?" Seirra exclaimed. I placed my hand on his arm just in case he decided to go berserk again. "Stop lying, Father! All these. Killing Doris. Trying to kill me and Margaret. Don't you think this is too much? Why have you betrayed Aquania? Why did you betray me?"

There was confusion mixed with anguish in Seirra's voice. It was as if he still couldn't believe what was happening even though each revelation since a moment ago seemed like a punch in his gut. I found myself wanting to comfort him so I did the best I could. Without giving myself any time to hesitate, I slipped my hand into his and kept it there. He didn't notice but I felt better knowing that I was helping him even if it was just something as small as holding his hand. I glanced at the older man who was looking at his son--his son?

"Wait! Did you just call him Father?" I asked Seirra, incredulous of what I had heard him say.

"He's Kalus," he replied through gritted teeth. "I am the Celari leader by name but everyone still sees him as the most powerful of our clan. And yes, he's my father."

He said the word father with a hint of disgust and despair. Understanding came to me. So this was why he got so angry. I remember very little of my parents but I could imagine how it would feel like if they had tried to kill me. My heart filled with compassion and I realized that I had never felt this much emotion for another person. There was something magnetic about him that it was impossible for me not to get affected by whatever was happening to him.

"But...if he's your father, why was he doing all these?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

"I could ask the same thing," Seirra answered, his eyes snapping back to his father.

Kalus was only silent for a few seconds.

"I had to save you, son. I didn't want to kill you but I had to kill her."

His emphasis on killing me sent chills through me but his voice had no menace. Rather, he sounded resigned, as if he had long since given up on something.

Seirra looked ready to hit something again or maybe faint. Perhaps both. His words began to register in my brain, but I was still confused of my role in all of this. Seirra had once said that I was the girl he needed to save his kingdom--and that we were in love. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to remember what exactly I was expected to do so Seirra could save Aquania. All I knew was that I should become a mermaid and go back to Aquania with Seirra.

"What did she even do to you? You don't know her!" Seirra retorted angrily. And then his eyes widened in shock as some thought crossed his mind. "Unless..." He started breathing heavily. "Unless she's actually connected to my mother?"

"Yes, she is, in some way, connected to Ariana," Kalus said. His eyes focused on me and with a smirk, he continued, "And a very close connection too."

"W-What do you mean? I don't know anyone named Ariana," I answered.

"True." Kalus turned thoughtful for a moment. Both Seirra and I didn't bother to talk and the short silence that surrounded us became too eerie and overbearing. I wanted to demand for him to say the rest but before I could talk, he said, "But I'm sure you know someone called Gregory. And surely you know...Nathan."

He said the names with a guilty expression but it was on the second name when I heard him choke something that sounded awfully like a sob. It took me more than a second but the names finally clicked in my head.

"Gregory...is my father's name. And Nathan. I only know one person with that name. It's...Grampa."

He smiled in affirmation but neither Seirra and I had the time to react further because Kalus suddenly gripped his chest and was racked with a coughing fit. The next thing I knew he was spitting blood, his skin turning dry and wrinkly while his hair turned white--all in a matter of seconds.