Ch 115: - Bonus side story

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Steps sounded out down the hall. He didn't even bother hiding the sound, quite the opposite really. The man walked briskly, but in no real rush.

Alfonso wanted him to be prepared, to take the mask. But it really wasn't necessary nor would he hide. This much was nothing. Child's play.

Though it was blatantly clear that these guards had to be retrained, and repositioned....accordingly. Frederick scoffed at the thought, the guards were trained to protect him and his family. Yet here they were. With missing signals and pure silence.

Now, he could send someone. Someone more equipped to deal with this. With more free time, paid on his gold. He was a busy man, with a schedule packed for months in advance. Granted a good part of that schedule was blocked off for his family.

It was his life, and so he will do with it what he likes. In the most constructive ways of course. Nothing said poor tastes like bad self-control.

So this, he will so too personally.

The hall is dark and the stairs are darker still, yet Frederick does not mind. His steps, practiced and easy, even if this wasn't his own damn home. To rely solely on one's sight was droll, and anyone who tripped in something so simple deserved what was coming for them in the dark.

The iron door is sealed yet when he approaches the lock magically undoes itself. As if welcoming its master.

He doesn't need lights to know the bodies littered on the floor. He doesn't need to see to know that their hearts still beat, slower than what was considered natural, but beat they did.

A familiar presence greeted him at his feet, the slight hiss and rattle all the more assuring.

"Good evening Ladki, I see you've been playing more than usual."

The snake curled and twisted, its black scales pitch dark, barely climbing onto his outstretched arm. Completely unprotected in normal cloth clothes. Or so it appeared.

A light whistle sounded out in the room, halting the snake's movements.

"Noodle. Come."

And so it goes, recedes and back into the pure dark.

It takes Frederick a single snap to light it all up. The fireplace burst to life, chandelier burnings with dozens of lights. The sight of the mess annoys him further. They spilled the god damn ink.

"Of all things, you choose to call her 'Noodle'?

It was a tad tricky to spot the boy, but children are sloppy, and inexperienced. They leave trails and splatter spots. This one left ink stains and ruby red pomegranate seeds.

The stolen golden human skull being used as a ball was also a giveaway. Frederick liked knowing where all his items were. They did not belong in the ribcage of the hanging beast model. Nor did any stubborn despicable brats.

"You call her girl. That's dumber than noodle." the child swings himself up, picking at pomegranate seeds as if they were nuts in a shell.

In a short amount of time, the much-debated named snake had made its way up on the hanging skeleton. Slithering its way across bones to curl around the child.

"This gas doesn't make you sleepy?" he asks from above, yawning even. The boy rubs the back of his hand to his tired eyes.

"I suppose that's how you knocked them all out."

Frederick kicks one of his own men, judging him well knocked out. The mess still annoys him more than he would like. This kid really knew how to grate on all the right spots.

"Uh-huh. You schedule them too easy."

"Left them alive, have you? How generous. When you could have easily slit their necks."

He kicks over another knocked-out guard, identity no longer hidden. Unless one counted the occasional messy doodle over their faces. What was more of note to anyone with any sense, was the centipede line, crossed and stitched drawn across every neck.

Every single one.

"I could have?" the boy blinks, using a small knife to break apart another section of fruit as he swings lazily. "That's no fun."

That's why they would wake up to. The silent concept of what could have happened. If. If it was that knife instead of the pen. If it was their own blood and veins instead of ink and skin.

Though one man was left bleeding. The light smell obvious to sharpened sensed if the trail of bloody drool wasn't obvious enough.

"My mouth hurts," the boy explains, looking down blankly to where Frederick was eyeing.

"Yes, you are that age. His, however, won't grow back."

"Okay then."

No remorse. Freckerick could work with that. It meant there was actually hope of making any of this work. Otherwise, the kid was dead meat. Better off as snake feed.

"I'm getting bored." he bites slowly, partly savoring the tainted juice. Mostly because his mouth really did hurt from the lost baby teeth.

"Then you've learned nothing brat."

Said brat drops the pomegranate peel, left messy on purpose. Frederick considers all the ways to make the kid's death look like an accident.

"You made Vincent stop my doses?"

"I don't have the time to repeat everything. We've been through this conversation before."

"I'm getting bored." the boy whines, finally sounding his age. That childish expression was much more fitting to his innocent face, but it didn't match quite up to the words he spoke.

"Don't waste pomegranates, they're already not as good here."

"This isn't the place for you to make demands."

"Hey? Raise the poison dosages? It's getting boring."

A gunshot goes off, specimen be damned. It hits the support beam and goes down with a great crash.

"Noodle didn't like that? I think that hurt some people below? Sorry, they still won't wake up for a while."

Unfortunately, the boy didn't go down with it, hopping his way down safely with the use of spare bandages and a large hissing snake.

"You really learned nothing the last time." Frederick slid his handgun back, sighing in annoyance.

The physical pain and warning did nothing, the kid was like a roach apparently. A few sparks of his daughter's shared magic and anyone could be as good as new. Now that needed some more tests that Frederick would gladly see to personally.

"I learned their weaker spots? But it was easier to make them sleep. I can't take too many on at once. Sorry."

"Shall I have them break all of your bones this time?"

"Ok. If that means I can increase the poisons."

Frederick feels the pressure of a day's work and this in his head. He sighs and gives credit where credit is due, Aishwarya sure did give this brat all the worst parts of her. Obviously seen at the moment was that reckless sense of stubbornness, one that led to tense gamble after hanging gamble. It was made even worse with whatever else was at play. Whatever gave the boy those disgusting green eyes and suicidal tendencies that even battle maniacs didn't possess.

This brat was going to die ridiculously early without anyone stopping him.

"I beat them. Does it matter how I did it?"

"Very. You're weak. Reckless and weak. You can't even take on a mere fight head on and you want to raise your poison tolerance even more? At what cost? My own? What does that accomplish? You're simply too powerless to handle anything further. Try again when you're actually worth something in a fight."

"Oh. Okay"

The kid shrugged, set the snake down and disappeared.

Frederick really does not want any more messes. That's why the office rooms were separate. Normally he would have more practiced patience, normally a sloppy little child of all things wouldn't affect him so much. But this was Aishwarya's devil spawn so really, he's not surprised.

He has no mercy at all twisting and breaking that small ankle, personally this time, when it comes kicking towards his head. He doesn't mind breaking a bit more than that if that's what it would take to just make the beastly thing stay the hell down.

The only way to strengthen bones was to break them minutely, but if this monster wanted the sped up course well then...

"Should have stayed down and low brat."

The boy hisses, neck under pressure and face pressed into a now broken desk. Frederick was thinking of buying a new one anyway. He presses down further, jabbing at spots above vital and nonvital organs. Admittedly the task was harder on children, they were just so small. You never know if you were hitting three or so organs in one hit.

But since he was handling it personally, Frederick made sure that not only did it hurt worse than before, it would be much harder to detect and heal. Even with daughters' logic-defying ability. What an honor for the worthless brat.

If you wanted something done right, do it yourself. True but who has the time for that?

Can't be helped in this case.

Frederick presses on the head, sore mouth, and all, and waits for the screams that don't come. The brat would rather bite his tongue before it comes to that. He wonders if he should just order for all the boy's teeth to be knocked out, but judging by the brat's appetite for revenge his guards may revolt. Then he wonders when his girls will lose their first baby teeth. He should look into that in advance.

But first, there was this to clean up, for good.

"What did your mother name you?"

That gets the brat to stop struggling, stop breathing even.

"You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't even exist. You're a cruel line of mistakes and the tragedy of it all rolled up into one existence."

A beating press to the lungs but it forces the child to breathe. He has to breathe, even if it hurts. Especially if it hurts. Pain means you're still alive to feel it all.

"She's dead. They say you killed her and you did. No matter what you tell yourself, you and your sick bastard of a father did. She would still be here if it weren't for you."

Presses at lungs and holds at the jaw. To prevent the child from doing something stupid. Like mother like son.

"Don't bite your tongue if your mother didn't cut it off for you. I don't care what she did to silence you already but don't. Don't you dare. You're laughably weak. You could never take him on. You'll die like a bug before you even get close."

The choked-up blood was annoying. Not exactly easy to clean on silk. The child heaves, in harsh, breaths or gross sobs it doesn't matter. He doesn't really care.

"Your disastrous mother died for you to live. Live for a long time. Don't waste it."

Frederick sighs a tired sigh and walks out and away. He's done his part, overtime. There was a hell more to clean up before the trip, and he's really not looking forward to arranging the matters with the North. For now, he'll settle with a hot bath. Back upstairs where the only world that matters live.

"Jean."

From above, a dark and tight hooded figure drops to a kneeling stance. Bowing low despite blending in perfectly to the dark.

"The discipline is abysmal since you left but even more so as of late."

"Yes my Lord. I shall-"

"Don't bother. I'll take care of it myself....see to that boy."

"..Yes, my Lord.

"And Jean....don't be so soft on him. He doesn't need it from us, it won't keep him alive.

"....."

"He's not her. She's not ever coming back from the grave."

"....of course not....my Lord."

"Hmm....carry on."

He'll be soft. He'll stay soft.

Frederick knows the same he knows how much he's gotten soft himself. A happy domestic life does that to you. It was a trade-off, he supposes.

Outside his man, Alfonso awaits him with a fresh topcoat and a powder for his headache. So much to do, so little time.

"The Lady expects you tonight."

"Send her my deepest apologies, I'll be working tonight."

"The Lady 'expects' you tonight my young master."

Ah, that tone.

"Well then....even more reason to advance the schedule. If I'm going to die by my wife's hands I might as well clear the list ahead of time."

"A personally unwise but very productive choice my Lord. The steeds are ready as is a getaway bag. I shall have the lady's maids perform drastic distraction maneuvers."

"Excellent, I expect to live another 3 days then. Five if I'm lucky."

If.

A lot of things were safer bets. Letting that child live was not one of them. But well, Frederick always considered himself to be a good gambler.

He wouldn't try his chances against his beloved wife though.

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Author's note: I just learned the max limit on this site is 50k characters. So certain long chapters or those with bonus segments or side stories will now be seperated.