The Tragedy of Yinx - 16. The Reunion

Laneer

Yinx does not turn towards the many buildings behind us. Instead, he starts walking up the stairs that lead straight to the palace.

Do we need to visit the palace before we go find Yinx’s home? That seems a bit weird. Maybe things here are a lot more strict than back in Avelin.

The pillars hold colorful pictures that tell countless stories. Most seem to be about the gods. Specifically, Morgoren.

I do notice that quite a few show demons as well. That just makes me nervous.

Maybe it was inevitable that Yinx would have grown up in a place that worships demons.

Nobody really wants to speak with the desert people and they seem rather fine with that. Everyone else considers the Serendian’s cultists.

Once upon a time, I agreed with that. Maybe I still somewhat do, but I have learned to be more open-minded.

Look at the people now. They all seem rather normal. Sure there are a few who have strange symbols painted on their faces, but that does not necessarily mean that they are all evil.

Take Yinx as an example. He is nice and sweet. Not at all evil. Sure he may have done some sketchy stuff, but that seems to be in the past.

Serendians can be good people. There are even many in Avelin who are worse. Everyone else just chooses to focus on the bad. Especially my father.

Now that I am looking at the people, I just realized that a lot of them are following us.

I frown and glance at Beatrix. She is staring down Yinx’s back with a hard expression. The twins look unsure if they should ready their weapons. The growing crowd is making them nervous.

I don’t exactly blame them. Why would they be following us?

“They are just curious.” Yinx whispers next to me.

I purse my lips. “Didn’t you say that about animals back in the forest?”

“Exactly,” He smirks.

We walk past a few guards. As soon as they see us, they stare with wide eyes.

Is it because we are outsiders? I get our skin is pale, but I don’t think we are that interesting to look at. Maybe this is just a normal thing no matter what city you go to.

I hope Yinx was not followed around just because he looked different.

The closer we get to the palace, the more on edge I feel.

You would think that maybe the guards would hold the people off from following us into the palace, but no. They just let everyone waltz on through as if it is a normal thing.

Well I guess not a normal thing. They do look at us with strange expressions. They do bow their heads though. Obviously it is a form of respect but what for? They would not happen to know who I am would they? I seriously doubt it.

Based on how secluded they are, I would guess that maybe they would not care for others. This place seems to the type to keep to themselves.

I must say, this is impressive. I always imagined the desert being empty and filled with small villages. Not at all a gigantic city like this.

Does this mean that there are more cities hidden by some strange magic cloak? My guess would be yes. Just how many are there? Would all the people need to know magic to get inside? I feel like there must be another way.

We reach the entrance and find a man and woman standing there.

They definitely look like they own the place.

The man is tall and round. He has quite the beard. Dark skin. Laugh lines. His hair is greyed out and his eyes smile when he sees us. He seems like a nice person to talk to.

The lady next to him, who I am guessing is his wife, is a bit short but the way she carries herself, she is very much a queen.

She has long dark hair that reaches her waist. She wears tons of gold jewelry and has a symbol painted on her forehead. The lady wears a beautiful red dress that looks to be made with many expensive fabrics. Her face looks more hardened compared to the man.

As we get closer, her expression seems to grow darker and darker.

Yinx steps ahead of us and stands before both of them. He seems to have a long stare off with the queen.

“Oh my son! I have missed you so much!” The king bursts out and reaches out to pull Yinx into a bear hug. Yinx does not reciprocate it.

Wait...what?

The king lets go of Yinx and turns to his wife.

“Natzalia?” He says in a gentle tone.

She does not speak for a moment, then she clears her throat and nods to Yinx.

“Welcome back, Yinx.” She says, her words sound a bit forced. “I trust your trip came without peril?”

Yinx balls his hands into fists at his sides. He does not respond to her.

Natzalia clearly can see that Yinx is not happy to be see her. I can tell she is uncomfortable and then turns her gaze to us.

“And you all are?” She asks, her voice hesitant.

“Uh...friends.” I say. I feel like I have to be careful with what I say.

She nods and turns back to Yinx. “Has...the moon treated you well all these years?”

Yinx closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Of course you would ask about that.” He says bitterly. “Is that still all you care about?”

Natzalia just frowns and glances behind us. The crowd is still there.

“We will discuss that at another time.” She says.

“No. We will not.” Yinx glares. “I came here because Papa asked for my help. Not to speak about Morgoren.”

She purses her lips and after a moment, nods.

“Let us go inside then.” The king says in voice that clearly shows he wants to try and keep the peace.

~~~
~~~

“What is it that was so important that you needed me?” Yinx asks with a sigh.

We have all moved to a room that has a large stone table. However, after stepping closer to it, I realize that it is not a table, but a well of water. Why would that be in here?

“I believe this is where you are supposed to introduce us to your friends, Yinx.” King Jeriko, says with a smile. “We are the Dunbrali family.”

I think I have heard that name. It definitely had something to do with Demons.

Yinx rolls his eyes and turns to me. “This is Prince Laneer Bancroft of Avelin. He asked to join me on this trip even when I had said that I might be staying.”

I glance at the King and Queen and they both narrow their eyes at me.

“This is Beatrix, she is Laneer’s best friend. Those are the twins, Nalgon and Nelga. They are soldiers that work under Laneer’s family.”

Natzalia nods but keeps her eyes on me.

“May I ask why you wanted to join Yinx?” She says.

Well why did she have to put me on the spot?

“Uh...I-uh...He’s my friend. I wanted to help him.” I say. I totally didn’t want to just follow your son wherever he went.

“Do you know what he is? Surely your father would have done something about it if he knew.” She asks.

I am not sure if anyone else noticed, but a few bubbles just floated to the top of the well.

“Not another word, Mama.” Yinx snarls.

I frown. “What do you mean ‘what he is’? Also, what does my father have to do with any of this?”

She just smiles and turns to Yinx. “I see he has been keeping this secret. I take it you also did not know he was one of the Princes of the Serendian Desert?”

At my silence she just snickers.

“Fine.” Yinx says. “We are leaving.”

King Jeriko looks at his son in surprise. “No! Please don’t. We need you here.”

“Why do you even need me here?” He groans. “You made it sound as if some big evil threat was coming. Mama sure doesn’t seem scared enough to keep her bitch fit to herself.”

Queen Natzalia scowls and turns her gaze away.

The King walks around the well and approaches Yinx.

“She wanted to fix things between you, Yinx. I swear it.” He pleads.

Yinx just shakes his head. “I do not hear her saying that herself.”

I glance at the rest of the group. They look as confused as I do. When I woke up today, I did not expect to travel halfway across Thymestrys to deliver a Prince to his parents. It does not help that we are just awkwardly standing here as the royal family has some fight that clearly should be happening in a more private room.

“Yinx.” The Queen takes a deep breath, “I will apologize now, but...seeing your hair and your eyes...it just brought back bad memories. Just give me a moment to think things through.”

Yinx just laughs. “Think things through? After all these years, you still have to think things through? I bet Helgrof would have just loved to hear that.”

“Do not speak of your brother in such a manner.” The Queen frowns.

“Why not? You killed him.” Yinx steps closer to his mother. “You are the one that chose to whip either of us for making the smallest of mistakes. You are the one that decided how long we were to be punished. You are the one who made it your goal to seperate us so that we would lose our bond together. It was you who made him go insane, made him so depressed and broken that he decided to off himself because he would rather dance with the Demons than live another moment with you.”

It just got a lot hotter in the room. Everytime time he said something, he would take a step closer to her. His magic must be going wild from his anger because the water in the well had begun to boil.

“My deepest regret, is not running away together when we had the chance.” Yinx says, his anger having died down a little.

The Queen somehow did not turn into a weeping crawling mess. I know I would have. Instead, she has stood her ground. However, her eyes betray her and show that she does fear him.

Her voice shakes as she says, “I know. I was a terrible mother. I deserve all the tortures of hell for it. Just please, let me try and fix things now.”

Yinx crosses his arms and narrows her eyes. “Why should I? Tell me why I should ever think about doing such a thing. Do you truly feel as if you deserve it?”

The Queen looks as if she is about to cry but one look at us seems to remind her that she is not alone.

She clears her throat and blinks to try and hold back her tears. “No. No, I do not.”

Yinx nods. “I thought so.”

He turns to his father. “Now, have you any idea of what danger is on its way?”

The King glances at his wife before turning to Yinx. “Yes. The Timeseeker says that it is an Angel.”

~~~
~~~

“So…” I say in the silence.

We have all been shown to rooms we’d stay in while we are here.

I was originally supposed to be in my own room, but Yinx had said that I was to share with him. His mother tried to fight it, but that fight was over quickly.

The King is great, however. He was standing behind the queen giving us a thumbs up and his nod of approval while the queen was trying to change Yinx's mind.

Now I am in Yinx’s room to settle in. It is also to wait for the Timeseeker to show up but I think everyone just wanted a break from each other.

“I take it you want answers now, yes?” Yinx sighs. He is standing on the patio. Not sure why, he can’t really look out into the world. Does he see a bunch of colorful blobs?

“That would be nice.” I say and walk up behind him.

When I wrap my arms around him, he looks confused. “You still would hold me even after all that?”

I kiss his neck. “Of course. I didn't really expect to learn that you were a Prince, but I am not opposed to it either. I just wish you never lied to me.”

He turns to me and runs his fingers along my chest.

“I never lied.” He says with his lips pursed, “I just didn’t get you the whole truth.”

I smile at that.

We have changed into what feel like pajamas. I must say I am very comfortable right now. I just wish Yinx would put on some pants. He looks as if he is wearing an oversized shirt and is barefoot. It makes it a bit hard to concentrate.

“What did your mom mean about you?” I ask. “She made it sound as if you weren’t even human.”

He just huffs a laugh at that. “She probably thinks that too.” He sighs and turns his back to me.

“The Moon God marks people every hundred years or so. He turns their hair white and their eyes become this strange paled our color,” He gestures to his face. “We never really understood what the marked people do. Some don’t even really do anything. I think that most just live their lives just like everyone else.”

I frown as I listen. It sounds as if Morgoren is marking people as his property. I don’t like it.

“Were you blinded by the marking?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No I was blind when I was around a year old.”

I nod and rest my chin on top of his head.

“I guess I happen to be one of the few that appeal to the Moon God.” He sighs.

“And you do not want it.” I say.

He nods. “I am not sure why the God of Darkness wants me either honestly. It is all just a mess. They had said I have until my birthday to give them a proper answer.”

I purse my lips. “When is that?”

“Four days.” He says.

“Yinx!” I exclaim and turn him to face me. “Why did you not say anything?”

He rolls his eyes. “Because it does not matter. Just like how me being a Prince does not matter.”

“I think it matters.” I say.

He just smiles. “Of course it does.”

There has been something that’s been eating at my mind since his argument with his mother. I just hope he does not hate me for asking.

“Yinx?” I say, “What did your mother do to you?”

His smile slips away and his gaze drops to my chest. “I...I guess I can tell you. It is what you deserve after all this.”

I pull him into a tight embrace. “You do not have to, I was just curious as to what caused...all of that downstairs.”

He nods against me.

“She...She was jealous...of me.” He starts, “She wanted to be marked. She had done everything for Morgoren. Worshiped him like nobody else. He was pretty much everything she lived for. My family came second.

When I had been marked 14 years ago, we no longer became second. I am pretty sure I was the most hated thing she knew.

It started with small things. She had cut my meals in half, would smack my hand with a ruler for getting answers wrong during school.

When it came to my singing and instrument lessons, she would constantly try to find the hardest pieces for me to work on. Unfortunately for me, the mark happens to make me gifted at both of those things. So instead she would make ridiculous songs to make me sound awful. Since I ‘did not sound right’ to her, she would slap me for getting it wrong.

Soon she got more ballsy with her discipline.

Mama would whip me along my back for not cleaning up right. If my back was too sore for the whip, she would move on to the backs of my arms and legs.”

His voice starts to get shaky.

“It would get so bad that I would only be able to sleep on my stomach.

My brother...he would try and defend me. He would take the blame or actually try to push my Mama off of me.

That just earned both of us more lashings. She did not care if he did nothing at all.

She then closed him off to the other side of the palace. I remember not even seeing him for almost two years.”

Yinx wipes tears off his face and keeps talking. I just pull him with me to sit on the bed.

“I remember my Papa coming in one evening and giving me the news that my brother had taken his own life. That...that was when I first thought that maybe I should run away. I was only eleven years old. I was too scared.

Months go by and then one day, my mother brings in what looked like a stand used to hang people. I thought she was actually going to try and kill me. Instead, her new way of punishing me was to tie a rope around my stomach and hang me in the air naked.

You know I can’t see unless my feet touch the ground, so I was just hanging in the dark, waiting for the whip to come down on me. It would randomly hit me in places she usually did not.

My chest, my behind, even the bottoms of my feet.

That...that was when I ran away.

I was twelve years old and I just ran until the scars on my feet opened up and ruined my shoes. I did not know where I was going and I really didn’t care. I just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.”

Yinx sniffs takes a small break to clean his face. “Sorry.” He says meekly.

I shake my head. “Don’t be sorry. I am just sorry you went through something like that.”

Now I see why he was angry with his Mother. I would be angry too. Sure my own Father ignores me and does not really do anything, but he never beat me. He never treated me as if I was some criminal living in his own home.

Yinx cleans his face off with a towel and then rests his head on my shoulder.

“I thought I was going to die out there. I thought that maybe I was going to join my brother. Maybe a small part of me hoped so.

However, I used to want to try and keep a positive mind back then, so I just told myself that I would try and find a new Mama. Someone who wouldn’t hurt me like the old one.

Well one day, after almost being raped by a bunch of bandits, I found the Ancient Ones. Or...I guess they found me.

They had taught me a song in my head. They called it the Song of Death. When I sang it...the bandits were all dropping to the ground like flies. It was a magic I was unfamiliar with, but it saved my life.

It was the first time I killed anything. Can you imagine killing six men at once? At the age of twelve?

The Ancient Ones then took care of me, brought me food and water. They brought me back to life.

I remember they would fight amongst themselves because they had never taken care of a boy before. Never raised one.”

Yinx smiles at the memory.

“I would just walk in whatever direction that felt right and they would follow. Bringing me fruits and meats to keep me healthy and alive.

After a year of that, they send me to the Drulai forest. There I stayed for five years for obvious reasons.”

“I would stay there too.” I say with a nod.

“Yeah it was nice living there. I just missed being around other humans. Seeing the same animals and hearing the same voices got old.

So I decided to teach myself how to hunt. If I was going to try and make it out there on my own, I needed to get my own food. I didn’t want to depend on The Ancient Ones. They did teach me how to hold a bow and that was that. I could get food for myself. They helped me learn to cook and live in the woods.

When I felt ready, I started traveling south and eventually found a few towns. Most did not want me near them so I had to move a lot.

I could never stay in one place, so hunting in the woods was what I did most of the time.

Soon, I learned that if I wanted a nice bed to sleep in, I would have to find one to share with. Those...those were not really my best moments.

Eventually I made it to Avelin. I met Irene and she told me about a small hunting cabin that has been deserted for years. You know the one.

So I have been staying there for the past...two years. I did not want to sleep with anyone for a bed to sleep on anymore, so the cabin was my best bet.

Of course, I wanted to help loosen the stress Irene goes through, so I would help around with her. Distracting Damond is pretty much my one downside to living in Avelin.”

“Then you met me?” I say.

“Then I met you.” Yinx smirks and reaches his hand up to brush his fingers along my freckles. He must have really paid attention to them if he is still able to trace them out.

“I’m so terribly sorry that you went through all of that, Yinx.” I frown.

He just shrugs. “From how things have been going lately, I am glad it happened.”

“Why?” I ask. Why would he ever be glad any of that happened. I would be so...defeated if I went through that.

“Because of you, you big buffoon.” He smiles.

“Because of me?” I ask huff a laugh. I am definitely not blushing in the face right now. Nope!

Yinx leans forward and kisses me. When he pulls back he whispers, “Thank you for everything. You have been so supportive and sweet and caring. That is something I have not gotten in so long. I just...I love you, Laneer. I think I really do.”

I pull back to look at his face better. His eyes are puffy from his previous crying and his nose is a bit red, but he does look genuinely happy when he says that.

“Is this real life?” I ask. He rolls his eyes but smiles wide. “I-I love you too!” I chuckle before leaning down to capture his lips.

Fuck it. What have I got to lose? To hell with what anybody says. I just know that it can only go up from here!

Was originally going to leave it with the fight and the retelling of Yinx's past, but I thought that was too sad and I needed my boys to be happy. Now, they get the extra happy