《Reign of Magic》12. Unwanted birthday
Advertisement
The clock struck twelve, marking the indication of a new day, the day the twins were born fifteen years ago. But no one in the Wright family was in the mood to celebrate the happy occasion.
The day they had been dreading was here and in twenty-four hours, Alan and Neil had to depart, and just the thought of letting go of the teens distressed the couple to no bounds. Albeit them being adopted, Jarett and Emily had taken care of them well just like how their own children, not once ill-treating them. Now, to be forced away from them, the couple felt their heart-shattering in unwillingness.
Jarett let out a sigh when the clock struck twelve times and got up from his chair. Even if he did not wish for the day to arrive, it still had and he could not avoid it. It was his sons' birthdays and even if he could not throw a grand party, he could at least wish them.
"Let us wish our sons, Emily." He held out his hand in front of his wife, who sat frozen on the chair. Every minute the hand in the clock moved, Emily was reminded of the time she had with her sons.
"Who knows we might not be able to even wish them after this?"
Emily had somehow managed to control her tears until then. But the moment she heard her husband's anguish-filled words, tears escaped her eyes and she started sobbing immediately.
"Emily," Jarett hugged her and rubbed her back as he consoled her. Though he did not wish to see her in misery, he could do nothing about the predicament they were in.
Fifteen years ago, they had learned of the unimaginable truth when they had taken in the twins as their sons. Yet, somewhere in their minds, they had hoped for a miracle, a miracle that would keep their sons with them forever and would not be pushed into the abyss of death that they deemed the land of Atanor to be.
Advertisement
But it was all their wishful thinking. No miracle happened and the people of Atanor came to take their sons back when it was time.
Emily's sobs turned into wails and none of Jarett's words of comfort worked on her. They had been childless for years and it was Alan and Neil who gave them the pleasure of being parents. But now, even that happiness was being snatched away from them. How could Emily not be in despair?
"Emily, please calm down, dear. Please." Jarett tried his best to console her, only to fail miserably. His wife's tears refused to stop and he did not know what else to do.
"Dad, Mom, what happened?" Neil rushed out of his room with Alan following him closely. The twins had expressions of worry and fear on them as they stared at their parents.
"Mom, why are you crying? What's wrong?" Neil kneeled in front of his mother and held her hands as he stared at his father for answers.
"Dad, what happened?" He mouthed silently and Jarett let out a sigh.
"Happy birthday, Alan, Neil." He smiled faintly at them but the smile did not reach his eyes and the boys, at once, realized what was wrong. Their eyes turned to the grandfather clock in the living room and their expressions went grim right away.
Finally, the day they so badly wanted to escape from was here and the countdown for their departure had started. In no time, the day too would soon pass and just the thought of leaving their parents left the twins in misery.
A torturous silence filled the room. Except for Emily's sobs, there was no other sound. Nobody knew what to speak. Words failed them at such a moment.
"Dad," Alan finally mustered his courage and looked at his father, who had his eyes lowered. "I do not want to leave you two. When they come here, we will reject them and not go with them."
Advertisement
"Yes, Dad. They cannot force us to leave you two." Neil agreed.
Jarett shook his head immediately and sighed lightly. "It is not as easy as you think it is, Alan. You will only be in danger if you two do not go."
"But, Dad....."
"But they will be in danger if they go to Atanor too." Emily intervened and stood up immediately, forcing Neil too to stand straight. "If they are here, we can protect our kids." She walked to her children and stood in between them. "Jarett, do something. Please. I do not want our sons to go to that hell hole."
Neil and Alan looked at each other with a frown. Time and again, their parents called the place hell and they were now intrigued to find out why it was so. What was so terrifying about the place that they did not wish to send their children to Atanor?
"Umm...Mom, why do you call the place a hell hole?" Alan questioned and stepped aside so that he could take a good look at his mother.
Previously, all they had got was bits and pieces of information that were not enough to curb their curiosity. What was so frightening about Atanor that their parents were this perturbed? Something had to have happened before, something drastic and ....life-threatening.
Emily looked at Jarett for a moment before she took a seat on the chair again. All of a sudden, she looked exhausted and seemed to have aged a decade.
"Stefan," Emily stopped and looked at Alan and Neil whose focus was on her completely. "Your biological father. We knew him since childhood. He was an orphan and my uncle had adopted him. We three grew up together and at some point in time, we realized that he was not normal."
Emily smiled as she thought of the good times in the past. "All of a sudden, he disappeared for quite some time the day after he turned fifteen and the next time he returned, a year later, he seemed to have changed completely. But in a positive way."
"He stayed with us for a short time and returned on the exact same date next year. " Jarett picked up from where Emily had stopped and boys' eyes went to him. "Although we were curious, we did not question him and one fine year, he brought back his wife, your biological mother, Alyssa. She was a fine young lady. We clicked and became friends immediately."
"But just like your father, we noticed that she too was not normal. Again, we did not question them about it. They had secrets of their own and we did not wish to probe into them. She too would visit us with Stefan every year."
Jarett too stopped speaking and Emily choked on her sobs.
"Dad?" Alan probed with his brows raised and Neil gave him a displeased look.
"But that year, they did not visit us on the scheduled date. In fact, they did not visit us for the next four years after that. There was no news about them until that year." Jarett sighed.
"We saw them for the first time in five years and they were not alone. You two were in their arms as you slept peacefully, not knowing the turmoil your parents were going through."
Jarett pressed his forehead and looked at the floor before he finally, faced his sons.
"It had just been two days since you two were born and they had come to us for help."
Advertisement
An Adventure Beyond Greatness!
Alex was a bullied high-school student with high sense of morality and a guy who believed in having a firm heart due to his martial art heritage. One day after being beaten unconscious at school he suddenly wakes up to find himself in a mysterious library, but before he could digest his situation, a woman he had never met before reincarnated him into a world of swords and magic. Fifteen years after his reincarnation he visits the great kingdom of Lancia to reunite with his comrade and childhood friend. However, things quickly fall out of place as he meets an old enemy who had apparently 'reformed' and became a good person after their last encounter including the crown prince of the kingdom itself. This is ignoring the Ascenders in the shadows...! What are their goals and how is he related to them? What is to happen in this tale of Hidden Dragons and ACTUAL Dragons? Guess it's all in Alex's hands... ———I am posting this on other sites.
8 202Phenomena the Basic Witch and the Unwritten Kingdom
After her previous adventures in Nightdream Academy, young witch-in-training, Phenomena Willow’s first semester has quieted down, but things are ready to heat up again on the eve of a chilly winter solstice. When gifts arrive for her and her friends, Mena’s eyes are drawn to one from her Auntie Grizabella, who had previously gone missing after a skirmish with the nefarious Anguish the Blood Siren. The gift is revealed to be an ancient book, unable to be opened by mortals. A voice cries from inside, calling from the depths of an “Unwritten Kingdom.” It tells Mena that a ghost writer has taken control of their book kingdom, throwing off the balance of the mortal world in the process. Mena and her friends are left stumped, but intent on solving the mystery that lies between the worlds. As their new semester begins, however, a new teacher is introduced into the fold—Ms. Loreena Cumberson. Stern, strict and a busybody who teaches Magic Home Economics with an iron fist, Cumberson is flabbergasted by the flamboyant antics of Gemini the headmaster and aims to combat him and the whole school with a league of concerned magical moms. Join Mena and her friends as they attempt to outwit Cumberson and unlock the secret world of the Unwritten Kingdom.
8 235Druid Evolution (A Battle Royale, Druid MC LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure)
A high school biology teacher is sucked into a new reality, where a mysterious Gamemaker forces him to fight for his life. With no other choice, Theodore Cross must become a Druid and master the powers of nature to protect himself -- and those he loves the most. New chapters every weekday at 9 AM CST. For advance chapters, see my Patreon page! Discord for Druid Evolution --------------------------------------------------------------- What to expect: 1. A pretty standard LitRPG apocalypse set-up, with certain high-potential players getting invited to participate in an Arena. 2. A MC who is human and empathetic, who makes mistakes and flounders sometimes, but who is willing to fight and kill to protect his friends. 3. A quest to save his best friend and crush from another party of players led by two psychopaths. The MC doesn't vie for power, but does what he thinks is right and gains power along the way. The basic set up resembles a love triangle, but will not go that way. 4. A Game/System that is reminiscent of both Skyrim and Dungeons and Dragons. 5. Some gore and violence, mild horror, some foul language, but no sexual situations or overly traumatizing content. 6. Typos -- this is a first draft, so bear with me! I am going to keep writing forward, then go back later and take comments and suggestions into account.
8 131Who Fixes Books Anyway?
On the pretense of a raise, the relatively new employee Pernie is called in to talk with her superiors. NOTE: This is a short story written for a class I took recently. As a result of deadlines, it does not possess the quality (or length) that I would like and is rather thrunkated. Perhaps sometime far in the furture I'll fix it up. For now, I have much more important things to work on, such as my other fiction.
8 207An unlikely friendship
Two men from opposite sides of the track meet and form an unlikely friendship.
8 202美滋滋
Li Zhao is a poor, 20-year-old actor who only thinks of where his next meal is coming from. After growing up in a child only facility, Li Zhao has taken on a very optimistic personality even while raising money for those he sees as family.On the other hand, 28-year-old rich businessman Yan Ting is super pessimistic.Yan Ting: Life is no fun. What is the difference between life and death?Li Zhao: Life is very happy.The world in Yan Ting's heart was very grey until he met Li Zhao. He thought, this must be the liveliest person in the world. Otherwise, how could Li Zhao be so lively in his heart every day?📌 Story and translation are not mine, all credits goes to the rightful person/s.
8 80