The Guardians Ch. 05

"Ella please. May I know why you've come here Mr Flavius?"

"Olybrius, please. I have come here, in hopes that you would be interested in bidding for one of my artefacts Ella. We had quite a good chat about it the previous time remember?"

"Of course. Is it of much urgency Mr Fla... I mean Olybrius?"

"Actually yes it is. But we could discuss business later shall we? Why don't we talk more about you, Ella, over dinner? I'm sure you're ravenous."

As the three of them had no real need for food, they glossed over the menu; bickering of course as to what was best for Ella's body. She still needed feeding to keep her body alive.

"Undecided Ella? Why don't you let me pick then?" Olybrius mused. He thought he had seen Ella's eyes change colours so very often. Perhaps it was a trick of the lights. Whatever it was, he felt strangely comfortable in her company...

Ella smiled as a response and ate in silence. Olybrius watched with curiosity as she ate.

"Perhaps the cuisine doesn't suit your palate, Ella? I assume you're more of the Italian?" he asked, inching towards her background.

"Yes, my parents, they were from Italy."

"Oh, how lovely. I used to live there once... a long time ago. In fact, we used to stay in Rome and later I moved to England. Where did you live before Ella?"

"I'm sure that is not important, Olybrius."

"Don't you think that's just too 'Adrian'; austere and so un-Ella-like you moron!" snapped Aurora.

"I'm sorry, I mean, I don't see where this conversation is going Olybrius." Aurora added a sweet smile to finish.

"You almost broke an old man's heart there Ella. I thought you were angry at me. Well... it is like this Ella. I am a truly Roman at heart and I felt rather nostalgic that day when you turned up inside my ruins. You remind me very much of my daughter and I came here to see you again."

"What happened to your daughter...?" Aqurico added with a touch of sympathy. Although he was best at manipulating emotions, his own heart felt threateningly unsympathetic towards the man sitting across them.

"Ah, she died when she was at her prime. An accident of sorts. Ah... you make an old man tear up, talking about this... I'm sorry Ella..."

"Who wants to bet that our real Ella would have fallen for this line hook and sinker?" sighed Aurora to her siblings.

"Isabella..." Olybrius took her hand in his and smiled. "Please come to my museum tomorrow. I would like to show you the things as I've promised. Please come." With that, he set his napkin down and rose to take his leave. "I'm afraid I must leave you now for some business I have to attend to. I will be expecting you tomorrow. Do not disappoint me, my child."

Ben watched the man in white suit leave. He didn't look very much like the Olybrius he once knew... and hated. This man, had a resigned look; worn out from years of living... A curse, of eternity, just like the four of them.

***

"Are you sure we should be doing this Abben?" Aurora looked at her brother. He was selecting clothes to change Ella into. He didn't want to talk much ever since they got back to the room.

"Let him be, Aurora," said Aqurico, putting his hand on her shoulders. Adrian too had been silent. He had been taking care of Ella, making sure she was alright. The baby may be strong, but it still needs its mother. She could already feel its soft heartbeat, pulsing, reaching out to her. Aurora closed her eyes. Their powers have become weaker ever since Abben became a full human. For him, the spell of eternity has been broken. But for herself, Adrian and Aqurico? Was this their destiny?

Looking at Ella lying on the bed, Aurora felt a strange feeling of pain in her heart. Perhaps it was true that Ella can break their spell after all... Isn't she the chosen one?

"Would all of you... go out for a while please?" said Ben. His voice soft and almost unstable.

When his siblings had left, he sat on the bed beside Ella, taking her hand in his.

"Hey there little fella... your Mummy, she's a stubborn person but cooks up a hell of a storm when she's in the mood. She's really beautiful too you know that? Daddy's going to get Mummy for you... no... for us. So you must be strong and keep her heart pumping too you hear?"

Letting the tears fall naturally, Ben undressed her and changed her into fresh clothes. It was almost as if he was dressing her for battle; armour and all.

"I'm done," he called out. "Tell me, what the plan is."

***

"We're here to see Mr Flavius," said Ben, tightening his grip on Ella's hand.

"Ah, of course, if not Abben himself to bring my guest to my humble sanctuary..." a voice replied from behind them.

Ben did not reply, nor did he smile. He simply looked at Olybrius.

"I was hoping Ella would come by herself. But since you're here, you make my job so much easier. Please, please follow me."

Cautious, Ben followed behind, his hands still holding onto Ella's.

"Come on in Abben. Where are your manners?" chuckled Olybrius as he gestured towards the door on the second floor.

"It's a trap," Ben replied, matter-of-factly.

Olybrius only smiled.

Once the three of them entered, the door disappeared. Ben did not look behind him to know that Olybrius had brought them into another place, in another time. Holding Ella close to him, Ben took a look around. It was the same room where he had, on numerous occasions knelt before the royal family. His eyes flickered briefly to the right where he knew Juliana usually sat.

"Ah you remembered. She is the chosen one; Scelto, isn't she? " said Olybrius; his gaze on Ella. "I could feel myself weakening each time I'm around her."

"What would you know and what do you want even if you knew it?"

"Is that the way you speak to your king, Abben?" sneered Olybrius. "I plan for her to die here. But you decided to come along."

With a lift of his fingers, Ben was thrown backwards, crashing onto the walls behind him. Before he could get up, he felt the invisible chains holding him back. His neck, wrist and ankles were shackled, immobilizing him.

Ben saw Olybrius walk over to his throne. He was going for the royal crest; the sword, hanging behind his throne. This must have been a time even before he became a knight. That was the same sword that was given to Aqurico.

"I will kill her and you will watch her die. But before that... I will play with her first, and you shall watch," he sneered. "Oh... you should have seen Juliana just before I killed her... 'Father, father, no, no, please... spare Abben'." His laughter was maniacal, echoing throughout the empty room.

Ben looked straight at Olybrius, not saying a word. He could hear his siblings' voices exploding inside his head.

With the sword in his hand, Olybrius moved closer to Ella. He tried to stroke her cheek but was surprised when he came up with a barrier. Overcome with rage, he wielded the sword and tried to pierce it through only to have the sword disintegrate into pieces.

"Is this your magic Abben? Is that the power that the devil gave to you? Much stronger than mine!?" he shouted, his voice shaking with anger. "Fine! I'm done playing. If you don't tell me how to kill her, I'll just have to kill you first then."

The sword that lay broken on the floor began to piece itself and glued together to form the same sword like before.

"This is my world, Abben. My rules, not yours!" he shouted, charging at Ben with the sword, aiming for his heart.

"Leave her and get out!" Ben yelled. The confused Olybrius stopped and turn, in time to see the three spirits leaving her body and disappearing. Outraged, he faced Ben; the rage within him had turned his face into a ghastly hollowed appearance. Ben knew that this was his real face; the face not adorned with magic. A face full of hatred for everything and one that craved for power.

"Get up!" he yelled. The shackles around Ben disappeared and in his hand, was a sword; an exact replica of the one in Olybrius' hand. "Get up and fight me!"

Ben knew that the protection around Ella would last for as long as he wasn't hurt. He had to fight, to prolong the battle... until his siblings could get Ella out of the place.

"No human can leave this world, Abben... not alive anyway, unless I allow them to. I know what you're thinking... but you are no use to her dead!" he roared and thrust his sword in Ben's direction. Unable to evade the blow, Ben felt the cold metal pierce his right shoulder, missing his heart by a few inches.

"What... what is this? Blood?" Olybrius stepped back, clearly in shock. Fear loomed on his face. Turning around, he quickly grabbed Ella's body that was lying on the ground. The magic protection around her was gone; he didn't know for how long, but he needed to escape. He was confused how the immortal horsemen could become a human.

Within a blink of an eye, Ella was gone. Still pressing a hand to his wound, he howled a cry for her.

The illusion of the room disappeared with Ella and Olybrius. It was just an empty room now, with the door to his left. Ben struggled to open the door. He was losing consciousness; too much blood had drained out of him.

When he scrambled through the door, he vaguely saw his siblings crouching over him; he could hear their voices shouting... what were they saying? Then all... went dark... and blank...

***

PS: Hi all, this is the ending of the first part of the series. I will follow up the story in another part called 'Healing Rights of Revelation'. I'm really sorry for the long wait some of you have for this chapter. But I hope you have enjoyed The Guardians so far. –love, M.C-