Behind Blue Eyes

The marble surface of the balcony was ice cold as a brisk wind whipped the curtains from their hinges.

He felt his dark shadow watching over him, no doubt from the corner of the room beyond him as the embers sparked and splattered about in the fireplace.

Through the immense panes of the glass transom his eyes bore out at the snow blanketed mountains on the horizon of the kingdom.

Clad in the Temple’s wintry coat, he listened to the soft hisses of the breeze as they danced passed, flipping and tossing his pearlescent hair about.

There was a deep growl from the shadow in the corner of the ceiling, and the white haired boy turned his ear to the room.

“They’ve surrounded the temple,” the dark haze whispered to him in an unhurried and calm tone, to which the corner of the boy’s mouth upturned.

“Don’t worry,” the boy responded just as calmly, seemingly deaf to the loud noises of metal-booted feet and startled screams coming from below.

The door in the room was thrown open, and a hooded figure quickly ran in.

He also was clad in the Temple’s winter gear, but the immense hood covered every aspect of his face.

Only silver eyes blazed out from the darkness.

“They’ve overrun the monks, Master Tobias. We must leave, or I fear capture,” the hooded boy quickly gasped as though he’d been running.

On the balcony, Tobias turned to face the hooded messenger, sending him a brief, tight-lipped smile.

“Make sure he knows where to find me,” said Tobias.

“But, Master!” cried the hooded boy.

“Do as I say!” Tobias snapped suddenly, all the warmth leaving his features as his eyes turned cold.

The silver eyes winced from beneath the hood, and he took a small step back as they rose to the shadow worriedly.

“…Do as he says, Caden,” the black aura murmured coaxingly to him, and Caden instantly took off at a fast pace out the door.

“If he moves… should I kill him?” the small cyclone of black mist then hissed towards the balcony as Tobias remained in a solid stance, his face still hard and his nails digging into his palms.

His frown remained deep and his icicled eyes pierced the wall.

Silence filled the temple then; the sounds of metal only echoes in their memories now.

Nothingness seemed to go on forever, but Tobias knew the feeling all too well as he waited in utter stillness.

It wasn’t long before the muffled voices on the other side of the door came, and Tobias lowered his glower to the wooden floor, listening.

“He might have that creature in there! He could kill you at any moment, sire!”

“I know the risk,” his voice said, and Tobias’s heartbeat thickened as he heard him continue. “If he should kill me now, then so be it, but he will never have my son.”

There was more murmured begging, pleading from the tone Tobias’s ears picked up, managing to hear the insults and snide remarks about him.

Those terrorists…

Those creatures…

The white devil…

But that voice always defended him, always spoke for him.

“Never speak those words before me again, or your final rest shall be the gallows,” his voice growled in a low, warning tone, before the voices once more lowered to an inaudible volume.

There was only few more moments of gut wrenching silence, before the door’s hinges rattled and the door was opened once more.

In he stepped, the blaze of the fire glistening off his polished cuirass and scabbard, dancing through the locks of his fair hair.

His neck was lined with the fur of some unfortunate animal that matched well with his royal blue Bedivere uniform.

Even from the corner of Tobias’s eye, he could see those sad, navy blue eyes look directly through to his soul.

Tobias knew it would hurt to meet those eyes directly, so instead he looked beyond his shoulder at the soldier who stood at the door with the darkest scowl.

The king that he was, the blonde greeted Tobias with a slow, hesitant bow and paused before speaking.

“…Tobias,” he began, but the Harpie cut him off sharply.

“I sought your presence alone,” said the small white-haired man, still glaring at the knight near the door.

“He’s my guard, as I’m sure your guard dog is present,” replied the king, his night sky eyes rising to the dark mist in the corner.

The mist remained silent, but Tobias felt the fury surge through the shadow that protected him.

Without a glance, the Harpie gave his quiet order.

“I wish to speak to the King alone. Remain at Caden’s side.”

Without a word, the black aura floated along the shadows of the room, zigzagging across the floor until it finally exited past the King’s guard, who jumped away from it as it levitated past.

“Sixtus, tend to the men,” the King then ordered to his guard who clearly wanted to defy his orders, but as a faithful servant, he slowly edged out of the room, smoothly swinging the door shut behind him.

No doubt, he would wait just on the other side.

“…It’s good to see you, Kendal,” the Harpie said quietly, still not able to meet his eyes as he now sent his emotionally void gaze to the crackling fire.

“And you,” he heard the human reply in a breathy tone, as though he were stunned to see him again.

“What is your plan? You invade my home, frighten my fellow Priests, and all for what?” Tobias asked thoughtfully, his arms folded firmly to his chest now.

Kendal remained in his stance near the door, his poise perfected.

“…We seek a cure for Vincent,” the king stated quietly; though he knew he was sharing secrets with the enemy.

“Vincent?” gasped the Harpie unsteadily.

“A revival from his unnatural sleep will end this madness. He alone is strong enough to harness you, and your Shadow,” said the king, who watched as Tobias’s glower turned to a glare as he remained staring into the fire.

“Vincent or not, I will kill that creature that you call ‘your son’! Justice will overcome all, and I will bring Seth back!” Tobias screamed suddenly, the passion of his ambitions becoming clear in his tone as it remained solid with strength.

“Vengeance is not justice! My son is merely a stepping stone for you to achieve your selfish goal! Angelo is not at fault!” replied the king harshly.

“Vincent may have sealed the Children’s strength and memories away, but that does not mean the deaths they have caused will go unpunished!” Tobias yelled at the top of his lungs, throwing his arms down to his sides and finally meeting Kendal’s eyes with his.

“Your son is the last Child I must kill before the Father grants me my wish! Don’t you understand, Kendal? By killing Angelo, Caden becomes The Final Child, and the Father has promised me the greatest taboo! Bringing my dead brother back to life!” the Harpie panted; the fury clear in his baby blue eyes.  

“For once, I am selfish! For once, I will get what I want! And I want my Seth back!”

“You will never kill my son as long as I shall live!” cried Kendal in his powerful aristocratic voice, leaning forward involuntarily.

Tobias had begun breathing heavily during his outburst, now taking deep breaths to calm and compose himself as Kendal’s solemn eyes never swayed from his.

As a way to escape, Tobias turned his back to him, striding out of the warm room and back onto the marble balcony.

With one hand, he glided his fingertips through his shaggy cut, rustling it with a heavy exhale.

Kendal kept his distance for the most part, allowing the Harpie the time to calm himself as he waited inside the room.

Minutes passed now, and the men did not share words.

“Kendal…” called Tobias in his faint voice, to which the king was drawn out with invisible strings by the Harpie’s gentle, naturally sweet tone.

The king took slow steps towards Tobias’s back as to not alert him, letting the metal of his boots clank against the marble as he stepped out onto the balcony only feet behind him.

Tobias only leaned forward, resting his elbows against the outer ledge of the stone balcony, staring out at the mountains once more.

“…What’s happened to us, Kendal? So much has change in twenty years,” lamented Tobias; the memories of their adventure seeking the Sacrosanct beginning to emerge in his mind.

“Seth gone…Vincent gone… Us…gone,” the Harpie murmured, his eyelids squinting to pain-filled slits. “Things would not have turned out this way if they had not come…”

“But they did, Toby. Things have turned this way. I’ve lived twenty years without you in my life, and I do not wish to live another twenty without you,” whispered Kendal, whose fur-lined cuirass whipped about wildly in the bitter cold wind.

Tobias was silent a moment, before he eased a peek over his shoulder at the blonde man.

“The Sacrosanct has affected you as it affected us. You haven’t aged since the day you first touched it. It has been good to you,” the Harpie teased in a low tone, and Kendal smiled his brilliant smile, still as young and youthful as the day they had met.

The Harpie felt the heaviness of his heart; the deep beat at its wild pace.

“Bedivere has begun to wonder why their king is still dashing and youthful at the age of fifty-three…”

“And how will you explain that you shall never die a natural death?” perked Tobias’s brow, but the king only shook his head some.

“There will be a day when it will all be explained in history’s book,” he replied confidently, sending a nod and a crooked smile to the Harpie, who remained resting against the balcony, eyeing him over his shoulder.

“…Have it all figured out, have you? Everything you want?” Tobias asked somewhat cheerfully, his trademark grin appearing on his face now.

The mere smile lightened the mood significantly, and for the moment, the men were able to forget the wedge driven between them.

The blonde man sauntered up to the edge of the balcony just beside Tobias, gazing over the ledge curiously before looking out over the horizon.

“Not everything…” he then said, turning his head to look at Tobias, who was leaning on the balcony just beside him. “I still don’t have you.”

The Harpie flushed furiously, ducking his head a little and trying to hide his shame by desperately seeking some sort of distraction.

He found it in the mountains.

“But all of this land, all of the world and its beauty belongs to you, what would you want a damaged little thing like me for?” Tobias murmured quickly, still flushed.

At these words, Kendal’s elated mood suddenly deflated as he began to eye where Tobias’s wings once had been.

These words also seemed to remind Tobias of his lack of wings, and he suddenly began to withdraw from the outside world, being sucked into the abyss of his melancholy mind.

The blonde man saw Tobias slowly fade; his eyes losing their shine, their glow as his happiness faded.

“Your wings...” he whispered.

“Broken remains, that’s all that left. The pain became unbearable after being broken again,” Tobias explained softly, rubbing his hands together as he stared absentmindedly at them.

Kendal gradually raised one of his hands, resting them on the small of his back for only a second before the Harpie stood again, moving away from the edge of the balcony.

“Please don’t. I’m hideous without my wings,” Tobias pleaded softly, backing away from the blonde man.

“In all my years, I’ve never met one as beautiful as you,” Kendal responded as he stood again, watching the Harpie move small steps away.

“You can’t say that! I’m deformed!” cried Tobias, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut tight.

The king nearly ran forward. “There is nothing you can say to make me believe that!”

“Why can’t you see the monster in me?” Tobias whispered brokenly, clutching himself in his arms as his illuminating blue eyes widened and became glassy with unshed tears.

Kendal became still in surprise at the question, knowing that Tobias was questioning about more than his appearance.

He was asking about that day.

The day when he had witness this Harpie slaughter thousands…

The day when Vincent was put down…

The day when Seth had been killed…

The day that the white devil’s eyes turned red…after the Children descended from the sky.

“Do you remember now? What I truly am?” Tobias’s tiny voice asked softly, his thin frame shaking as the tears began their small rivers down his porcelain cheeks. “So why can’t you see the monster in me?”

“Because…I love you,” the king whispered as a strong wind swept across the balcony, managing to snag one of the Tobias’s tears, carrying it away in the current.

“Even after…” said Tobias breathlessly, his mouth parting and his tears halting; though they remained on his cheeks.

“Yes,” answered Kendal in a firm tone, taking small steps towards the quivering Tobias. “The first time I heard those words from your lips, I knew there was nothing that could ever stop me from loving you. I knew there was nothing that was going to keep you from me,” he whispered as he cornered the Harpie against the archway of the balcony.

“No, Kendal… Please, don’t,” pleaded Tobias, holding his hands out in front of him to keep the king an arm’s length from him.

“Why do you always push me away?” Kendal asked in a tender tone as he captured Tobias’s hands, entwining their fingers together. “Can you not see how much I love you?”

“I am an enemy of your kingdom…I want nothing more than the death of the Prince of Bedivere,” Tobias reminded Kendal gently as the wind began drying the tracks of wet tears from his cheeks.

“As I’ve said, you will not achieve that goal, as long as I shall live…” said Kendal as he flattened Tobias’s back against the marble archway, closing the space between them.

The Harpie clenched his teeth, squeezing the last few droplets of tears left out in his eyes.

“If I have to kill you to get to Angelo…I will,” cried Tobias through his clenched teeth.

“Is that how far you’re willing to go to bring Seth back? You’d kill me, Tobias?” Kendal asked, tilting his head at the Harpie whose face was only inches from his now.

“I just want Seth back!” Tobias cried out loudly this time, a new stream of tears flowing now. “I didn’t want this! I don’t want to have to choose between you and Seth! Just give me Angelo and everything will be fine again!”

“I can’t do that...Angelo is my son,” Kendal whispered, and Tobias ripped his hands from his, pushing pass the king with a rough shove of his shoulder.

“Tobi-“

“You’ve made your decision… You love that creature more than you love me,” Tobias said matter-of-factly, swiping his cheeks with the sleeve of his coat.

“That’s not it at all!”

“Then what is it!?” Tobias screamed in uncontrolled fury, turning to face Kendal again. “You’d die for the beast that killed my brother!”

“Tobias, he’s my son! He doesn’t remember, he doesn’t even know!” yelled Kendal.

The Harpie only shook his head. “That’s no excuse. Why should I bear this pain when he has forgotten?”

To this, Kendal had no reply.

“Forget all this nonsense, Tobias! Just come home to me!” the king pleaded, but the adoring Harpie he loved was gone, replaced by the callous assassin he now was.

“You’ve hidden Angelo somewhere in Bedivere,” Tobias said sternly, folding his arms and turning to look outward at the mountains. “Vahn, Caden and I shall be heading out tomorrow morning to find him.”