(Third Person’s PoV)
In the middle of the summer night, the wind blew cooly. Instead of the sounds of crickets in the forest, a mellow and lively music from different made up instruments were being played by the town’s folks.
The moon had started to rise up on its peak and under it was a big bonfire where people gathered around it, happily going, singing with the produced music.
The silent forest were none. People were rejoicing, grinning from ear to ear while the bothered animals went scattered away from the crowded place. Hiding.
Trees and plants were so alive.
Some were leaning or sitting in the tree branches and some were dancing by partners or by group to praise the Goddes of Light and God of Dark.
There was a famous folk tale since ancient times that were passed down from generations to generations.
It was the ‘Tale of A Hundred Times’.
Long time ago, in the era called Zero, Gods and Goddesses resides in the Eternal Realm that was accessible in the Earth, the path between the two worlds were rough and could only be traveled by humans in feet while Gods and Goddesses could come and go wherever they want using teleportation.
All Gods and human race coexisted in peace, the Graces love the humans and the humans worshipped the Gods.
It was a ‘give and and take’ relationship, not until the Demon God schemed both humans and Graces.
The Demon God told the humans, “Your Graces have planned to destroy this world.”
And to the Gods he told, “Thou we created planned to abandon us.”
The dispute betweem two races turned into a war.
Frite, the God who oversees all, the Almighty of Gods who did live in neither worlds knew the Demon God’s devious plan and the fact that he even made God of Greed his accomplice.
The God of Demons taught humans how to defeat the Gods and the human race came in victory with the evil’s help. Though not dead, the Graces were sealed in their own world unable to leave and go to places.
Frite was a fair God that she even judged the wrong doers fairly. She freed only two Graces from their world: the God of Darkness and Goddess of Light.
The Goddess of Light purified the humans who were manipulated by the God of Demons and Greed whilst God of Dark gave back the humans’ rationalities.
People started to worship the kind Graces once again that broke the seal of the Graces’ world and casted the two evil Gods away to the underworld and they were the ones who were sealed back.
After what happened with the two worlds, Frite decided to make another races in Earth other than humans, races who resembles all the Gods before breaking the pathway between the two worlds and forbidding the Graces from travelling in the human world.
When the moon had finally reached its peak, a man and a woman stood up from the crowd. They were the chosen ones to dance the dance of praise for the two Graces.
The music have changed from a mellow to a beating music. The crowd fell onto silence, the whole place rather. Other than the beatings of instruments, nothing could be heard and it was as if the whole forest were also watching the partner in the middle.
Everyone stood back when two men drew a line with fire, surrounding the two dancers and the main fire in between of the circle.
Everyone was smitten when the two people started to dance and clasped their hands with each other. Every living things in the forest stopped from moving, listening to the thuds the dancers’s feet on the ground.
The land was palpitating out of excitement.
It was a solemn beating, as the fire in the middle grew, the way the dancers danced became more eye-catching that no one could take their eyes away from them.
The trees and plants were silent almost as if watching them too. The crickets stopped to give way in the music.
The man and woman danced with their eyes locked with each other, dancing gracefully one with the blazing fire behind them. They were dancing it so expertly as if they had danced it more than the times they knew.
They swirled, leaped and flicked, swaying all parts of their body everytime they get the beat. How many times have they danced the dance of praise?
Their steps became intimate that gives off a rare feeling of sadness. Unconsciously, the crowd who were watching them teared up, tears slowly rolled down their cheeks, even the animals who could hear them, magically and doubtly shed tears.
The vibes they were giving, it was like the forest and the fire were one with them. What everyone sees in the two people dancing passionately was like dark and light, a swaying magnificent element.
For their outro dance steps, they twirled non-stop with the fast simultaneous beats from the drums, the man threw the woman up in the air, swirling.
When the woman landed, she was caught by her partner romantically and the fire blazed before their eyes, they all had goosebumps from the performance they watched.
From the dance everyone saw, they now wonder, what was the Tale of A Hundred Times really about?
A sound of lashing, chains and groans could be heard underground in the punishment cell. An iron, stench smell of blood was lingering to the boy of a young age.
He was chained in both of hands, neck and ankles like a beast. His body was burning from pain and fever and anyone could tell that he was not in a good condition but despite that, the man assigned to him -had his eyes closed- was still whipping the boy.
The man pities him but could not do anything because it was his job.
‘I would be more happy if it was a wronged man, but to think that the Duke could send his children down here as punishment like this… Now, he has sent the youngest bacause of an accident… This is just too much.’ the man thought as he kept whipping the child who almost lost his conscious.
Maxwell took twice of the poison’s dosage as part of the punishment before he voluntarily went to the underground where the punishment cell was located after Maxineirah was taken care by their father. He was feeling guilty that he had not been careful in taking out that poison.
What was Maxineirah inhaled was a very lethal poison that could kill a cow by just inhaling it.
He always wakes up around that certain time just to intake poison given to him and his brothers for their vitality. He did not noticed that his door was ajar and his little Sister Maxineirah would be watching him from the gap.
He should have been more careful.
Mixed with guilt and worry, he wondered how his sister was doing right now while being whipped. He was sure that it was a pain to treat his sister because the poison was too strong and there was no antidote stocked at the laboratory right now, since it was a new found poison.
A poison that they added few dosages.
It has been three hours since Maxineirah fell ill and Maxwell began to receive his punishment.
Outside of the cell, the guard in charge yawned but immediately strengthened his back after seeing one of his Young Masters approaching the place.
The guard immediately opened the door to the cell and Maxillary scoffed at the guard when he paused infront of the slacker. He definitely saw the guard being tardy in his work.
He entered the cell and posed with his right hand inside his pocket. He watched at the side for a moment as the man whipped his brother continously. He quickly noticed his blank brother.
‘How amusing. He does not seem to mind the whipping.’ Maxillary thought and let out a small chuckle before stopping the man from whipping Maxwell.
Maxillary commanded the man to free his brother from the shackles and the man obeyed in fright. He unlocked Maxwell’s shackles from his neck unto his ankles before he escorted the beaten Young Lord and inducting him gently on the corner.
The man bowed his head before leaving the cell. He even glanced at the Young Masters of the House and a shiver ran throughout his veins because of how ominous they look in a young age. He shook his head before departing with light footsteps, terrified that Maxillary might kill him if he was to make a noise.
Maxillary sat on his legs and tried to glanced at his little brother’s face.
Maxwell was conscious and well aware of his brother’s presence but he ignored him because he knew why Maxillary came to see him.
“My poor little brother.”
It was to tease him because Maxillary knew well that Maxwell would not be able to win against the latter.