Марина Марли – Universal Parallels: The Earth (страница 8)

«It was necessary,» Stephen answered him harshly, raising his voice. «Do you know what the penalty is for running away?»

«Do whatever you want,» Daniel answered indifferently, lowering his lifeless gaze to the floor.

«What were you thinking about? What prompted you to run away? Is life so bad in your native walls?» Stephen broke up.

«Yes! It’s bad!» Daniel shouted. «And I certainly wasn’t thinking about new conquests. That is all… All is meaningless!» he looked at his father and waved his hand towards the windows.

«Is it meaningless? Meaningless? Come to your senses, son! Are you refusing to defend your people? The future sovereign escapes from the clan, where has this been seen? Well, the mother is not here, she does not see such a shame,» Stephen burst into words.

«It’s good thing she is not here. She doesn’t see everything you do. You are all doing,» he nodded at the hushed elders.

«You can’t judge me,» Stephen snapped. «When the time comes and you take my place, you will regret saying those words.»

«Or maybe I don’t want to sit on a throne drowning in blood,» Daniel snapped.

«You don’t have a choice. You will have to take over the reins,» Stephen answered him unexpectedly calmly. «And I want you to be ready for that.»

«I am always ready, father. But not to fratricidal wars,» Daniel shook his head.

«Then they will kill you first. To whom you will leave your people? Did you think about that before you ran off with your tail between your legs?»

«As you put it, I didn’t keep my tail between my legs. And if I hadn’t been caught, then you wouldn’t have to justify yourself to your henchmen right now,» Daniel answered him defiantly and willfully.

Stephen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shook his head. He could not believe that his son could go against his father’s will. That his son does not understand the importance of all that his ancestors have been building for so long.

«Yes, blood. What did you want? To sit on white soft feather beds and soar in the clouds? Did you think it was so easy to hold power in the hands, control an entire clan, protect it and not let it disappear from the face of this Earth?» After a pause, Stephen started to talk with his son again.

«The face of this Earth is kind of creepy. And I don’t want to live like that,» Daniel disgusted him.

«You are not just speaking for yourself!» Stephan roared. «There are thousands of other people behind you. Finally understand this! And stop playing your games. The price for your irresponsibility will be paid by the whole clan!»

Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head. There was silence in the room again. The elders looked at each other, waiting to see how this battle would end. Father and son showdowns have become a frequent occurrence lately, but they preferred not to interfere, giving them the opportunity to solve their problems by themselves. However, after Daniel’s escape, they actually gave up on him, realizing that he will be a lousy head and will not bring anything good to the clan. Daniel, standing in front of his father and the council like an eternal outcast, could not understand why they liked the lifestyle they lead. He couldn’t believe that it was impossible to live any other way and there was only one way. The one that was once laid by his ancestors. The one who, in pursuit of the right of primacy, destroys, sweeps away everything in his path.

After coming to himself, he opened his eyes and turned his head to the left. Suddenly, a wonderfully beautiful cape came into his field of vision. The fabric of it shone silver and shimmered slightly. Interested, he ran over it higher and stopped his gaze on a sweet face bottomless oceans of eyes. Unexpectedly, he felt as if he had fallen through somewhere and was falling down a dipper. Deva stared at him intently, without blinking or looking away and he could not tear himself away – she captivated him so much with her gaze. It seemed to Daniel that time had stopped around him. He even stopped hearing his heartbeat and maybe even breathing. The traps of her eyes caught him as if he were a helpless mouse who had just fallen for the bait.

Deva listened attentively to their entire dialogue and wondered what actions the father would take to pacify his wayward son. Will he relent or give instructions to execute the heir? She looked into the eyes of everyone. She read their minds, all except Stephen. She still didn’t see him. He, like yesterday, was close to her. But when she managed to catch the young man’s gaze, she saw everything that he hid from others, but could not hide from her. Looking into his soul, Deva saw hatred and rage blazing with bright fire, and indifference and hopelessness replaced them, like the colors of multicolored crystals shimmering in the sun. The son hated not his father, but his actions: wars, bloodshed, separation from his beloved from another clan. After reading this, Deva raised an eyebrow. She was pleasantly surprised by the young man’s outburst of feelings for a girl not from his lands. Despite the fact that communication with enemy clans was strictly forbidden, this did not stop any of the two of them. They strove for each other, as if a plant seeks to put down its roots in fertile soil. And it seems that even his father’s will could not stop him. Even now, after all Stephen’s sobering speeches, Daniel was determined. He wanted to escape again, leaving this place forever. «What is the force driving him?» she mused, contemplating his destined future. «A force that will move not only mountains, stop not only rivers, but also go against the father’s will. It’s a pity that he has to make such a choice. He could be a good leader.»

«Traitors deserve only death,» an unexpected phrase that popped up in Daniel’s head intruded into her visions. This was the law of the Earth Clan, which did not bode well for him. At this time, Stephen was closely watching the silent communication between the maiden and his son. For a moment, it even seemed to him that he had seen it somewhere before. These strange, but familiar «peepers» to the point of suffocating pain in the throat.

«What’s going on here?» he wondered mentally, noticeably cooled down after a stormy dialogue with his son and heir. «In her eyes I see sympathy, sadness, genuine interest, courage. It’s been a long time since I’ve met such a person, pure and sincere,» he marveled at his own out of nowhere gentleness towards this young lady.

A loud, harsh and slightly shouty voice pulled Stephen out of his thoughts:

«He needs to be executed! He is a traitor, and you know our laws. Stephen,» said Harold, his deputy, who was already tired of the inaction of the leader.

Smoothly and even reluctantly, Stephen turned the head in his direction and calmly replied:

«I have to listen to the opinions of all the elders, given the special circumstances,» by which he meant his son, the sole heir to the throne.

The elders exchanged glances. They understood that executing Daniel was not such an easy task. Even though he broke the law. Although he went against the head, in case of his death there will be no one to pass the reins of government. They supported Stephen, nodding, wanting to take part in the discussion of the future fate of his son, taking into account all that he had done. Daniel wasn’t a bad boy. This strange obsession attacked him not so long ago. As long as they remembered him, he was always easy-going, intelligent, inquisitive and never contradicted his father. Now it’s like he’s been replaced. And after he was caught in the woods and returned home, he was not at ease with himself at all: he was rude, impertinent, and said various stupid things.

After a moment’s hesitation, Stephen coldly gave the command:

«Lock him in the tower.»

Right now, his only desire was to get his son out of sight. He didn’t want to see him, and even more, he wanted to erase from his memory and the memory of the elders what had just happened in this room. «What a shame. In front of everyone, I listened to my son’s nonsense. I raised him, educated him, and he did… Who is he to talk to me like that?» Stephen looked at the approaching guards who were standing at the door. «How could he betray my expectations? Betray the people?» he shifted his disappointed gaze to his offspring. «Where was your head when you ran away from the clan? And what should I do with all this?»

The guards approached Daniel. He didn’t resist. Only twitched once when his hands were put behind his back. Without taking his gaze off his father, who made the decision to lock him in the tower, Daniel did not condemn him for this. Rather, his eyes expressed sympathy and were full of sorrow. A heavy and inconsolable grief for the father he used to be.

«I’m sorry,» his lips whispered, speaking individually and to everyone.

The guard pushed him toward the exit. He did not stand on ceremony, following the command of the head, whom he did not dare to disobey. Unlikely Daniel, who tasted his father’s strength. And, probably, today was the day, when the vessel, which had been heating up for several years, burst, releasing everything that had accumulated. Daniel’s mind was all mixed up. The last point in his relationship with the father was supposed to be his escape, but it failed. And now this drop has become a wonderful witness to his defeat.