Somebody Else?
I watched my father descend the steps and retake his seat on that ostentatious throne of his. Of course he was right, everyone who was ever lucky enough in life to meet Keira instantly knew there was something special about her. There was something that drew you in and captured you. It then held you prisoner and you simply smiled as she unknowingly swallowed the key for the rest of your eternity.
That was her greatest gift and she didn’t even know it. Armies would line up from one smile, ready to fight to keep her safe. She would have the underworld kneeling at her feet with the power of her soul, one that could brighten any dark realm without much thought. And all this power and not one fucking clue!
And she was once mine.
I had to shake my head to hold these thoughts from injecting me with a murderous rage as it usually did. You know not of the treasure you hold when looking into the eyes of true love until those eyes become forever closed to you. If it is true what the poets say, that the eyes are the key to a person’s soul, then looking into one as pure as Keira’s was like being able to gaze through the keyhole to Heaven’s door for a mortal.
“So, my Maru, the question remains…are you really going to trust in the Fates when the Fates not only obviously lied to you but to her as well?” (‘Son’ in Sumerian)
“You know of their lies?” I asked my father after sucking in a defeated breath.
“I do indeed and from the perfectly formed lips of your Electus.” I couldn’t help the growl that sounded at the back of my throat when hearing my father talk of the very same lips I craved like salvation to a dying man. However, my father simply smirked and ran a fingertip across his own lips in order no doubt to goad me further.
“If you want a fight old man then you only need to ask.” I commented dryly knowing my father was good for it, never being one to pass up the chance of a challenging fight.
“But of course my child, if you think it will help.” He lowered his head to me in respect and rose gracefully from his seat. I watched as he held out an arm and nodded in the direction I was to follow. I felt my blood start to heat under my confining skin in anticipation. Yes, this was what I needed, a man who didn’t fear giving me his all. A worthy opponent and one so equally matched to my own skills.
I waited as he approached a pair of double doors and briefly took note of my surroundings. The large open space was sectioned into different areas and each had its own carnal influence. There was a raised platform at waist height that was obviously where he slept. This was a combination of fine silks in the colours of a sunset he never saw and twisted raw iron arms and hands set in crude ways that formed the bed frame.
It was as though medieval England had clashed against an Arabian harem. I rolled my eyes as I turned away and watched as my father pulled both doors back dramatically.
“Ah, now this will do nicely!” He said taking in the room beyond where he stood with his arms outstretched. I shook my head at my father’s theatrics and followed him through to see for myself what the mad King was up to this time.
“Let it be said Father, that your imagination knows no bounds.” I said wryly as I took in the new space.
“What can I say, I felt inspired…it really is a very good movie.” I supressed a groan at his outlandish ways and responded only with a grunt. The room we now stood in was a large hall that had been converted for a short time into a Japanese training room. Of course this one had a few significant twists. For one, it was snowing and covered the ground in a blanket of crisp white that crunched with each step I made.
“Only you could make it snow in Hell.” I commented wryly shaking my head at him. His only reply was to laugh vigorously.
The other aspects of the room included the wall at my back and the one directly opposite me both made from thick dark blocks, reminding me we were still in my father’s castle. The ones at our sides were in keeping with Japanese architecture as the walls were fusuma, a paper and wooden frame that let in lots of light. In this case however, it created a perfect stage for the shadow puppets that were putting on a show behind it.
“I don’t remember that in the movie.” I nodded to the Japanese Demon warriors that were battling it out around the room behind the walls. My father smirked at me before saying,
“So you have seen it?” I merely answered him with a shrug.
“Well, this is my version.” He said before facing the centre of the room and lifting up his arm bringing his outstretched fingers to a fist. I waited knowing this was what was done when bringing forth power from the elements around you and in my father’s case, something volcanic.