FVN Chapter 603 - 603: Bound and Respect.
Chapter 603 - 603: Bound and Respect.
The morning after the incident, everyone couldn't stop talking about what they saw and felt. The whole city was in fear, something that never existed in their dictionary whenever they stayed in Marooth City. Their fear got amplified when they saw dozens of guards patrolling the city every half an hour. Nobody knew what happened last night, and everyone had been looking for an answer to that incident.
On the other hand, Natia's castle was visited by the most important person in the whole city, Zechariah Asghar. However, he wasn't alone, he came with all the elders and even his other wives, something that had never happened before. Anastasha would never expect to see the mountain move, and when it did, wherever the mountain moved to, it would destroy in its wake.
"Mother..." Anastasha watched her mother walk down the grand stairs with a dozen maids and servants behind her.
"Stay by my side," Natia said before Anastasha could ask or say anything else. "Whatever you do, don't stare, don't speak," she warned as she walked past Anastasha and toward the main entrance.
"Yes, mother," Anastasha followed Natia and walked right behind her. "I think I know why they're here, and based on what happened last night. Should I notice them, mother?" She asked.
"They're your guests, not mine," Natia responded as she flicked her hand over and the tall double door began to creak open. "Do what you want to do," she muttered under her breath.
As the light entered the castle, the first figure that blocked the sun was no other than the patriarch of the Asghar family. A man with long black hair and a beard, staring down at both of them from where he stood. The aura that he emitted was enough to make everyone from Natia's side lower their heads in fear. The only person who dared to lift their head was no other than Natia herself.
"It has been a while since your last visit, would this be your second visit? I hardly remember..." Natia spoke softly, her pale skin finally basking in sunlight after decades of hiding in her chamber. "However, I never thought that you would bring everyone here, especially them..." She glanced at the women behind Zechariah, the wives that weren't humans but Great Spirits just like her. "It feels like I'm being judged—"
Before Natia could finish her sentence, the air became suffocating for her. She couldn't finish her sentence and her shoulders slumped as if she was being forced to bow. However, she could still resist it and a smirk appeared on her face, but then Zechariah's wives released their Mana to subjugate Natia.
Anastasha was affected by her father's energy as well, and it was the first time she felt this. She felt her blood was boiling and her muscles felt like they were melting. She collapsed to her knees and her arms lumped on the floor like mush. She realized that she never had power over her father, she had just found out how powerless she was in front of her father.
She glanced at her mother, and she could see the scales on Natia's arms, the color of the scale was dark purple with gold gradient. She glanced up to see Natia's face, and she saw the fangs that produced dark purple venom. She watched how her mother was forced to submit, and that was when she understood no matter how powerful her mother was, her father was the one who put Natia on a leash.
"Ugh... who the fuck is trying to ruin my sleep..." Rullein's voice could be heard in the air and instantly all Zechariah's wives collapsed.
The air that felt suffocating suddenly became normal again, and Natia began to resist Zechariah's energy while her both slowly turned back to human form once again. Although she resisted Zechariah's energy, she didn't try to overpower his.
Zechariah's focus shifted when he saw Rasmus approaching with Aris and Serena behind him, and then a puff of black smoke appeared next to them that turned into Rullein. The four figures that had been causing a lot of incidents ever since they came, and the worst part was they didn't get any consequences for their actions.
"Did you feel threatened last night, Patriarch?" Rasmus asked with an impassive expression as he stared into Zechariah's eyes.
The elders and the guards that came along with Zechariah couldn't take the insult that Rasmus said. They were ready to order their guards to unsheathe their swords and to attack Rasmus. Natia on the other hand, she moved aside, walking away from the conflict. The maids and servants moved to the side as well, knowing their master didn't want to get involved in it. That act alone was enough to prove Natia's innocence from whatever accusations or assumptions that Zechariah had toward her.
Zechariah raised his left hand and all the guards immediately lowered their guards and their hands away from their swords.
"We apologize for the disturbance that we didn't intend to do. We tried our best to keep our training in a secluded area that wouldn't even harm the grass. However, we underestimated our powers," Rasmus explained as he lowered his head slightly to show responsibility for the discomfort before he lifted his head again and stared into Zechariah's eyes.
Rasmus' words could be interpreted differently, but Zechariah didn't care about interpretation but rather the words themselves. He only heard what was being spoken and knew if they were genuine or not.
"Prepare a place for me to have a private conversation with Count Blackheart," Zechariah glanced at Natia since she was the owner of the castle.
"Prepare the parlor," Natia glanced over her shoulder at the maids and servants. "And I'll personally brew the tea," she stared at Zechariah before she excused herself and signaled to Anastasha to follow her.
Rasmus saw the performance of authority from both Zechariah and Natia. The gap of authority between those two was almost non-existent because Zechariah barely had any power over Natia. On the other hand, Natia respected that gap more than a servant to their king. He then glanced at the other wives, wondering if their positions were similar to Natia's or not.
"(They have such respect for each other, and yet Zechariah sent an assassin to kill Anastasha? Was it a test? A warning? Or something else?)" Rasmus thought as he closed his eyes for a moment.
"It's such a waste to support my daughter. You could achieve what you want if you chose to support my sons instead," Zechariah said before Anastasha could walk far enough to not hear his words.
"Perhaps, but who knows," Rasmus responded without giving it a thought.
Anastasha listened to both of them and she didn't know what to feel. She left to be with her mother and whatever those two were going to talk about, she could only wish it wouldn't affect her plans for East Neva.
"Your Grace, the parlor is ready. Please allow us to escort Your Grace," the butler said as he bowed.
"You all can leave," Zechariah said as he walked into the castle.
The elders, the wives, and the guards bowed before they all left.
"You can go back to sleep," Rasmus looked at Rullein.
Rullein yawned and slowly she became black smoke that disappeared into thin air while Aris and Serena walked away to go back to the room.
As soon as the butler began to move, Rasmus and Zechariah walked side by side following the butler to the parlor. Neither of them said a word, and both of them stared at the front, unbothered by each other's presences.