The Antagonist's Full Moon
3. Black Mist
Melian's face was bent, since returning home from her failed road plan with Liv. The girl's mind was so upset. He continued to sit pensively on the lobby sofa. Taking care of Liv is the late mother's last trust, but Melian can't live well.
Olrun Themaris who accidentally passed through the lobby from the workspace saw the face of Melian who was being unfriendly. "Daddy's daughter why is she here alone?" greet Olrun as he stepped into the lobby. Melian put on a smile in front of her father, trying to show that nothing had happened.
"Oh, Dad. Is it done with work?" ask Melian. Olrun sat beside his eldest daughter.
"It has. Calculating finances and regulating the taxes of the Themaris region is indeed mind draining. But after this, Father should go attend the meeting with His Majesty and the Elvenars in the palace," Olrun said with a sigh.
Melian showed her worried face. "Dad, don't be too tired. Remember, take care of your health!"
"Dad understand, honey. The meeting won't last long. Take it easy," Olrun replied with a smile. The man stared fixedly at Melian.
"What's up, Dad? Why are you looking at me like that?" Melian asked in wonder. Olrun stroked the girl's hair lovingly.
"Dad only remembered your mother. Your face looks a lot like her."
"His intelligence too?"
"Your intelligence looks just like me!" olrun. Melian laughed hearing that.
"Yes, yeah. I managed to become a class champion all year long too thanks to Dad! Hehe!"
There is no doubt that the fruit fell not far from the tree. Olrun in his youth was also the pride of the family. In both the academy and the martial arts, Olrun was always a champion. The intelligent brain and powerful physique made Olrun feared by anyone.
"Daddy's education worked for you. So I want to send you to a neighboring kingdom that's famous for its education."
Melian recalled which neighboring kingdoms had good education systems. He could remember one name and ask confirmed, "Kingdom of the Cowper?"
"Just right! I want to send you there, if you're willing," the father suggested.
"I'll obey whatever you want, but on one condition."
Melian held a finger in front of her father. Olrun frowned, not expecting that his daughter would give her terms. "Whatis that?
Melian sighed for a moment. He knew that his request would be immediately rejected by his father. However, Melian thought that there was no harm in trying.
"I want Father to also enroll Liv to enter the academy," Melian said, taking great care. Liv's age is enough to receive education outside the home. In Legolas Kingdom, education outside the home can be achieved when one reaches fifteen years. Liv is sixteen years old.
Olrun's previously cheerful face spontaneously stiffened. The veins on the middle-aged man's forehead until it looks so emotional. He moved from Melian's side.
"Don't mention the creature's name again in front of me!" furious Olrun. Both hands clenched firmly on the sides of the body, until his fingernails felt piercing.
Melian walked up from the couch watching her dad tense up like that. "But, Dad, Liv is also your flesh and blood! Your real daughter too, just like me!"
"She's not my daughter!" shouted Olrun. His breath was hunting.
"Why did that old man treat him like a stranger? Did you forget that Mom's last mandate was to look after Liv?"
"Because he killed my wife with all the curses that stuck in her body!"
"What?" Melian flabbergasted. The girl felt like she had never heard of that reality before.
"You don't know what happened, son. That thing did want your mother not so she could stay alive ... ."
Olrun threw himself onto the sofa. Thought glaring. The man started telling me about an old incident when Liv was just born. The baby is so eagerly awaited, it turns out to present a look of disappointed face from the head of the family, namely Olrun.
The baby's skin is black, not pure white like his brother who was born seven years earlier. Her hair was ivory white, just like Olrun. His eyes were purple like the descendants of a true Themaris. However, the color of the baby's skin was really like it had just received a curse from a God. The cries that came out from her tiny mouth also shrieked noisily, unlike the cries of babies in general.
Olrun asked the doctor many times about whether the baby was normal. However, none of the healers were able to explain for sure. Clearly, there is one thing in common with the answers of all healers.
"The child's magic is very weak, and cannot develop like the elves in general. It's a phenomenon that's never happened before."
Despite being born with various shortcomings, Elanor – mother of the baby who is also the beloved wife of Olrun – still holds her daughter. Both of Elanor's eyes showed a look of affection. As soon as Olrun set foot into Elanor's birthing room, his wife greeted her husband with a sigh.
"Olrun, our baby's so pretty, yeah!" elanor said at the time.
At least Elanor never thought to comment on the baby's dark skin. The woman continued to nurse the baby painstakingly, as she did Melian at birth.
Olrun had never had a problem with the lack of his second daughter. The man even invited his eldest daughter into the dressing room, so that he could welcome the birth of the younger brother.
Olrun did not hate the baby. All the shortcomings of the baby will be accepted with a chest. Whoever insults later will be confronted with the army of the Themaris family, as long as the wife he so loves can smile happily ever after.
Olrun thought like that.
However, what happened next was completely beyond reason. The dark-skinned baby let out a jet of black fog from inside his tiny mouth. The black fog moved, as if it had a life of its own.
In the next second, the mist entered Elanor's mouth and ears, sucking out all of her magic energy. Elanor could not resist such a great black force. Even though the baby had been kept away from the mother, the black fog continued to move.
Slowly, Elanor's radiant face turned pale and wrinkled. His entire essence was drained away, leaving only the last seconds of his extermination breath. Olrun screamed hysterically, preventing his death from picking up his wife, but in vain.
Before taking his last breath, Elanor told Melian to love her sister no matter what. He also asked to name "Liv" to his sister, which means "live".
"Sign Liv, I want her to stay alive, that's all."
Such was Elanor's message to Melian at the time. However, Olrun did not heed the message. Burning with a furious rage, Olrun took a dagger. He took Liv from the doctor's arms, intending to slit her in place.
Although Melian had tried to prevent her from crying, Olrun did not care. Elanor is the pivot of Olrun's life, now the woman is lying lifeless just because of a cursed baby.
But destiny says something else. As soon as his body detected danger approaching, Liv's black fog blanket instantly reappeared, shrouding his tiny body, and thickened.
The dagger that Olrun thrust out repeatedly could not penetrate. Neither the ordinary skin nor the ones that encased the vital organs were all capable of injuring the tiny baby. It was as if the black fog wanted to protect the owner of the body.
Olrun also tried to attack the innocent baby with magic. However, the black fog again protected. Liv, the newborn, turns out to be immune to any physical and magical attacks.
"I lost my wife because of her ... ."
Olrun closed his story in a raucous voice. Everyday, Olrun looks like a strong and tough man. However, at this moment he looked like a boy who was crying bitterly for the loss of something he loved. Olrun actually intended to throw Liv since infancy, if only then Melian who was seven years old did not immediately cry. She hugs Liv's tiny body tightly, wanting to keep her sister big, as her mother's last memory.
Melian hugged her father's body which trembled withstanding the cries. "Dad, I'm sorry. At that time I was a kid too, I really don't remember what it really was."
Meanwhile, behind the door Liv listens to the whole true story with tears that have flooded her face. "It turns out, I'm the cause of mother's absence? I killed mom?"
***
