Thick Skin and A Jeweled Heart [8.2]

       Warning: Blood and gore

       The rest of the day went by as normally as any other day should; the sand in the Hourglass flowed smoothly, almost all of it at the bottom now, indicating near nighttime; Stones bustled about in the corridors, up and down spiral staircases and in and out of rooms to prepare the Royal family their dinner; Ian was in his room, staring out of his window which showed a view of his kingdom.

        Stalagmites rose from the stone ground covering his world, chipped and chiseled to resemble homes, littering the ground. Their windows winked at Ian, their prince. Rivers flowed between the houses like bright blue glittering ribbons, loosely tying them together. Ian stared, mind drifting someplace else, as shadows shifted from behind the windows. Families are getting ready for dinner.

       Dinner.

       Ian looked up towards the high ceiling of the vast cave in which his kingdom lay. The Topaz has long ago made to help underlings like them get natural sunlight, which was how their ceiling now came to glow like the sky above them. It is dimming now, turning a beautiful orange, bathing the kingdom in golden light.

       A knock on his door snapped him out of his reverie. He took a deep breath before calling out, "Come in."

       A stout Stone opened the doors to Ian's bed chamber, bowing low, exposing the glimmering Aventurine stone on it's back. "My Prince, dinner is ready. We are all awaiting your arrival in the dining hall." The Stone remained bowed, it's short, dark grey hair covering it's face.

       Ian walked across his bed chamber towards the Stone, stopping only to stroke the gem on it's back. It shivered in delight as Ian spoke "Very well. I will be down soon, thank you." The Stone stammered a 'you're welcome, my prince' and stood straight, swiftly turning around and walking out of the door.

       The prince waited a few seconds before following suit, pulling and smoothing down his tunic. His corridor was completely deserted, his steps echoing down the hall. He reached the dining hall and sat at a grand oak table besides his father. Sitting opposite him was Jade, his little sister. She smiled at him sweetly before his father barked, "The prince is here, serve the food. I'm starving.

       Why were you late?" his father said, turning his head to look at his son. The Stones moved swiftly around them, serving food on fine emerald green platters and pouring crystal clear water into gleaming silver goblets. Ian's eyes darted towards Jade, watching her say a word of thanks to one of the Stones and brushing the Aventurine on it's back with her fingers. His eyes shifted towards his food and he dug in, finally talking after swallowing a mouthful of Horseshoe bat. "I was admiring our kingdom from my window," said Ian, playing with the bat wings on his plate. "I hate bat wings, father. They hardly have any meat. Eating them is a tedious process." he said monotonously.

       "We could give them to Argus, he loves bat wings!" piped Jade, beaming. "I can give it to him now, father. If you'll excuse me?" she added hastily, remembering her manners. Her father smiled warmly and nodded, "Of course. Bring a Stone with you to keep you company, hm?" he said, nodding to a Stone bringing in a plate of pudding. It was the same Stone who called for Ian, and it placed the pudding in the table before bowing deeply before walking quickly into the kitchen, coming back with a green plate. It scooped up all the bat wings into it and stood by Jade, bowing again. Jade smiled. "Alright! Let's go." she said excitedly to the Stone, and it gave a surprised yelp as it got dragged towards a door behind Jade's father and they both disappeared through it.

       Silence fell between Ian and the King, in which they continued eating silently. Ian's mind was reeling, thinking of a way to fool his father into thinking Jade's month went smoothly and uneventful before his 24 hours was up and escape a certain fate he didn't want to face. Or rather, a certain a fate he didn't want his sister to face.

       The chance to do so came rather quickly but was expected, nonetheless. "Have you thought of it?" said the King, taking a sip from his goblet. "The sand is running out, boy. You better  be quick, just in case you're busy the next morning," that same warm smile stretched across his face behind his goblet, but his eyes were cruel. Ian knew better than to believe him a 'warm' man. "Tik-tok, Ian."

___

       Ian woke up in his bed chamber, drowsy and feeling a little disconcerting. He lay in bed for a while, staring blankly at the curtains of his four poster bed before starting, sitting up hastily. He has forgotten about his father! 

       'Fool!' he thought to himself, getting out of bed and hurriedly changing into a pair of leggings and a shirt. Not bothering with his tunic, he ran out of the door and down the corridor towards a set of spiral stairs that will lead him towards his father's office. As he passes a window he saw that dawn has almost risen. 'Fool.' he thought again, walking faster. After a few more hours his time limit will be up.

       He had thought he will have time to come up with something last night, but his stomach was full and he felt about ready to burst. The Stones brought in a full course meal, and a proper prince never wastes. He had a sinking feeling that that was on purpose. His father had ordered a full course meal so Ian would be full and drowsy afterwords. Now he's rushing down a corridor towards a familiar set of double doors, feeling guilty for sleeping in. However, before he even managed to reach the door, a Stone appeared from one of the doors lining the corridor and halted at the sight of Ian. 

       "There you are, my Prince." The Stone walked towards Ian swiftly, bowing. Feeling slightly irritated, he asked, "Yes, what is it?" The Stone straightened again and said, "The King has changed the hunting schedules. Starting today, my Prince will lead the hunting in the mornings. Which is now," it added, glancing at an Hourglass it had pulled from it's pocket. "If we hurry, we can make it before breakfast."

       Ian stared at his father's office door in disbelief and horror. The King's doing this on purpose, Ian was sure. "Can't I lead the hunting starting tomorrow?" he said hopefully, walking towards the door. The Stone stopped him. "We have no room for changes. You will have to speak to the King after if you want to make arrangements. I'm sorry, my Prince--" it added, as Ian's eye gave a visible twitch.

       "Oh, alright," Ian decided to make it quick, grabbing the Stone's hand and leading it down a spiral staircase. "We'll hurry. Have you chosen a place to hunt?"

       "The King has ordered us to capture a Blind Carp--"

       "Those are hard to capture. I want this to be quick. We'll stay on land and hunt some Horseshoe bats instead." Ian said. The Stone stammered behind him, unable to catch it's breath as they turned a corner. They both came to a stop and Ian let go of the Stone's hand as he reached the room full of supplies. A group of Stones with glimmering Aventurines on their backs were chatting in the room, and bowed respectfully when Ian entered.

       The Stone rushed to Ian's side, speaking uncertainly. "B-But, my Prince," started the Stone. "The King--"

       "I am the one leading this hunt. Not my father. And I say we hunt some bats. Understood?" Ian said sharply. The Stone nodded, face set in determined submission.

       "Grab your sword and bow and arrows! We're going bat hunting." Ian said to the group of Stones as a whole. "You there," Ian pointed to a Stone standing by the door. It's body, like the others, are slim and in shape, but you can see defined muscles lining it's arms. Ian decided he will be strong enough to shoulder a bag full of bloody bats. "You'll be in charge of inventory." It nodded and bustled off towards the back of the room as its fellow Stones took their weapons of choice in confusion. It came back shouldering a large empty canvas backpack.

       "We're gonna make this quick! If I'm-- We're lucky, we'll be back before breakfast."

___

       "Thank you so much, my King!" exclaimed a kind old lady from the kitchen staff. She, like Ian, is made completely out of stone. But unlike Ian, her face was quite capable of showing emotions, and she smiled gratefully towards her Prince. Ian smiled back. "No problem, Misses Eve. I'm sorry, I really can't--" Ian stammered as Mrs Eve tried to pull him into the kitchen. She talked merrily as Ian stared hopelessly towards the exit. "Help out in the kitchen, dear! We're making soup. Although, we thought your catch would be a gigantic fish! But we can make bat soup, no problem. Just as delicious--"

       "I'm sorry, Misses Eve. I really have to go." and with that Ian pushed Misses Eve gently away from him and ran towards the exit, making a beeline towards the staircase that would bring him to his father's office quickest. Misses Eve shook her head, smiling fondly before going to help the other kitchen staff with the cooking.

       The corridors leading to the office were eerily quiet and deserted. Not odd, since the Stones don't need to be up this high unless ordered to, but eerie nonetheless. Ian thought the silence was scary enough, but the wails of someone in pain ringed through the hall and he knew it was too late. He started sprinting up the stone steps and ran as fast as he could towards the double doors of his father's office. The golden patterns glinted maliciously in the low light, swirling. Ian thought he could see a dragon in the swirl of golden paint, but he wasted no time examining it for the wails became louder the closer he was.

       Ian slammed open the double doors, dreading what he would see.

       Jade lay rigid in her father's arms, round face gripped by a gloved hand, the other holding a sharp dagger with an Aventurine hilt. Tears streamed down her face, thick round globs of it, and they joined the blood pouring out of her mouth. She sobbed as she gripped and hit her father's chest weakly, mumbling incoherent sentences. Ian thought it was because she was scared, but gasped in horror as he saw the real reason.

       Their father's eyes glowed with a wicked gleam as he pried open Jade's mouth with a gloved finger, staining it with blood. He presses his thumb onto her tongue and she screamed, "Faher!" He chuckled, picking up what looked like a bloody bubblegum pink stone. He lifted it to the light streaming through his window and his gaze turned towards his son slowly, grinning as he saw the horror struck look in Ian's eyes. "Her... tongue." He cackled as he squeezed the piece of cut muscle in his hand. "Too late."

       Jade continued to cry as Ian stood by the doorway, paralyzed, watching the horrible scene unfold before him. " Pease! Faher, pease!"

       Their father cackled even louder, shaking Jade by her tiny shoulders. "Peas, dear? Why are you crying for peas?"

       Jade's cries reduced to whimpers, and their father continued to cackle madly. Ian's mind was racing. What should he do? He needs to do something, but the deed is done, and his little sister has been tortured. Mercilessly. He stared at his sister blankly, his chest heaving, their father's laugh ringing in the background. Surely it couldn't get any worse.

       Turned out it could.

       Jade's hair started to shorten, growing back into her scalp. Her face became less round and her eyes stared at her father in horror, wide and bright blue.

       This was what their father wanted. This was what their father was after. And now he got it.

       Their father's cackles died away, now replaced by heavy silence. "Aha.." he chuckled, bringing Jade's face closer to his. His usually charming smile now seemed cold, too wide for his face. "Knock knock... Who's there?" he drawled in a singsong voice, grinning madly. Jade shook her head, pushing and hitting her father's chest with renewed vigour.

       "Can't speak, can you?" her father asked, prying her mouth open again. She shook her head and turned away, whimpering. He chuckled, crouching down so he was level with his daughter. Ian knew what was on his father's mind right at that moment, for he was thinking the same thing. It was a simple question. It wasn't 'Are you okay?' when she was clearly not. It wasn't a matter of what, when, why, where or how, but-- 

       "Who are you?"

       It was Ian who spoke. He walked towards his sister slowly as she turned her frightened gaze towards him. Her face was the same as before, only distinctly boy-ish, even more so with her now short, light blue hair. His father watched with an amused smile, letting Jade go from his tight grasp. She immediately scrambled towards Ian, tripping in her hurry to reach him. Ian met her halfway and she immediately hid behind him.

       "What was the purpose of this?" Ian asked, a question to which he already knew the answer.

       "Oh, you know..." his father answered vaguely, waving away Ian's question. Then he grinned and pointed towards Jade, who gripped the back of Ian's shirt tightly. "Look at her, though!" he said gleefully, sounding like a kid who successfully stole another's lollipop. "She isn't Jade. I don't think she's even a she!"

       Ian gripped his sister's tiny arm, growling, "She's your daughter." 

       His father scoffed, "Yeah, my daughter. I can do whatever I want with her," and with a look of fury shot at him by Ian, he whispered manically. "She's our key to power, boy. I'm doing this for your own good." he said, as if that was a good enough explanation. His cold eyes darted towards Jade hungrily.

       "No!" screamed Ian, picking Jade up in his arms and running out of the room. He quickly climbed up the stairs two steps at a time, occasionally looking behind him to see if his father was following. He couldn't see nor hear him, and it only made him feel more uneasy.

       He stumbled into his bed chamber, quickly crossing the room towards the window. Jade pushed herself away from Ian, confused, and looked behind her to see where Ian was taking her. Her eyes widened and she shook her head frantically, tiny hands beating onto Ian's crystal chest. She hit harder as Ian opened the window. Cold wind hit their faces, soothing if not for the situation. The morning sunlight glinted on Jade's overflowing tears as she continued to hit Ian.

       "Jade!" Ian said sternly, placing her on his hip and grabbing both her tiny hands into his. Jade sobbed, fat, silent tears streamed down her face and Ian hastily wiped them off her flushed cheeks. "You're going to be okay. You need to escape," he whispered, hugging Jade one last time. Jade's arms wrapped around Ian's neck. She nuzzled the side of his face, smearing Ian's cheek with her blood, still crying. "Brother knows you're going to be just fine. There's a river down below, you'll fall safely into it and swim away. Will you promise me that?" he added hastily, checking the door of his bed chamber. Still no sign of anyone.

       "Do you trust me?" he said.

       Jade nodded, wiping away her tears, new ones quickly replacing them.

       His face emotionless like always, mixed emotions swirling inside him like a raging storm, Ian pulled his beloved his sibling away from him and over the window's ledge. The last thing he saw was Jade's face twisted in fear, eyes showing understanding and love too real to be on a ten year old's face before he dropped her.

       Jade didn't let out a pip, only pressing the palm of her hands against her eyes as she felt the rush of air against her back and all around her, whipping her hair to the front of her face.

       Ian looked out of the window, his heart pounding. He saw Jade getting enveloped in white feathers before disappearing into the lake. He didn't question the feathers, walking back into his room, his legs shaking underneath him, threatening to give in.

       He buried his face into his hands and fell down on his knees, breathing heavily. What have I done? What do I tell father? 

       "You threw her out of your window?"

       Ian started, scrambling to sit up and face his father. But he got pinned down, a bloodied gloved hand fitting itself onto his neck. He gripped the hand as it tightened around his crystal neck, not really choking him. His father pressed his weight onto his hand, making sure Ian feels the pressure, and sure enough Ian's eyes widened a fraction. He grinned.

       "Your attempts were fruitless, boy." he drawled. He showed a tiny black stone in his other hand to Ian, chuckling. "You see this? Her tongue," he pressed harder onto Ian's neck, laughing as Ian started to choke, writhing underneath him. "turned into a stone. You know what that means?" he asked no one in particular, not really expecting his son to reply. He smiled. "I still got a piece of her. You know how determined I am... I will work this out."

       With a grunt, he gave a particularly hard shove against Ian's neck, and an audible crack could be heard. Ian scratched and scrambled on the floor, gasping for air as his father let go of him. His neck has been snapped into two, and his father dusted off the crystal pieces from his glove. "Oh well," he smiled down at his struggling son. "I'll clean you up later."

       He left his son's writhing form on the floor, closing the bed chamber door quietly behind him.

Stones: Helpers of the underground royal families. Looks like humans but with rough or smooth grey skin. They don't have a definite gender. The stone or crystal on their back shows who (royal family) they belong to, it is especially sensitive to their owner's touch. They love getting praised.