Chapter Fifty-Six

Everyone in the room remained silent for a long time."Now that the issue of Lorenzo has been tackled, we will go about our business as usual." Alless continued to speak in a now-normal tone of voice.

"If anyone among our kind tries to rebel or rise against the ruling family, the penalty is death!" Alless said forcefully. His voice, which had mellowed down, began to rumble again, his voice sounding like a final warning. 

"Let the mark I have left on Lorenzo, my own brother, serve as a warning to all who would want to try with outsiders to harm us. Even the elusive magician would be brought to book soon." Alless concluded and looked down at Scarlet, who modded her encouragement.

"Guardians! Send Lorenzo to a land so far away that he would never know his way back again." Alless commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guardians responded in one accord and moved forward to take hold of the still-conscious Lorenzo and take him out of the conclave.

"You may now rise," Alless told the rest. Everyone rose, bowed, and returned to their seats. 

The two previous kings, Antonio and Leonardo, just remained quiet all the while, grinning from ear to ear and allowing Allessandro to have his way. They were thinking, "What a son we have!"

Gone were their enmity and their squabbles. At this very moment, they had forgotten why they had never even liked each other.

All they envisioned was a glorious legacy they would be leaving behind, and looking at their children, they were so glad they had preserved and seen everything through to the end.

"Let's go about our normal business. In the next meeting, I will present new ideas of how I think our kind should go on, and I look forward to your loyalty and hard work. Thank you for today." Alless finally concluded, and his features returned to normal.

As Allessandro returned to normal, so did everyone else in the room. Scarlet's face and eyes returned to their once-beautiful and sparkling green ones. Alless turned and looked at his wife and smiled as he led them both to their seats.

Marilo, who for long had been a spectator in the unfolding events, clapped her hands and hit her staff on the floor all at once. 

"Prince Allessandro, we are all impressed. We expected nothing less than what we just saw from you. You are a natural-born king. And Princess, you and Allessandro are a match made by the gods. I pray your rule brings unity to all our scattered clans.

Turning to Leonardo,. Marilo continued, "I think my work here is done. Do teach our young king how to summon me whenever he needs me."

"Antonio, you have your hands full. I hope you and Leonardo can now put away your petty fights and do a good job of grooming your grandchildren before we meet our ancestors. And I pray you prepare them better than you did your children. Till we meet again." 

Marilo finished, hit her stick on the ground, and disappeared.

Antonio and Leonardo burst out in laughter at Marilo's theatrics.

Alless and Scarlet looked at the place where Marilo had disappeared in shock.They could not believe what had just happened. They were now in their Han form, and we're still slightly confused about these things.

Diego and Edwardo looked on, unperturbed. They, too, could disappear if they wanted. Looking at each other, they spoke through their links and were like, Should we show our new king a thing or two? 

And just like that, Diego, Edwardo, and all the other guardians disappeared one after the other. 

"Where did they go? Can we do that too?" Alless asked the fathers, who were still smiling at the tricks of the guardians. 

"Yes, of course, you are the new king; you can do whatever you want; you are that powerful. But give yourself time; it will all come back naturally to you."

Standing up, Leonardo and Antonio made to move, and just like the rest, they also disappeared instead of using the door.

Outside the door on the other side, Leonardo and Antonio reappeared and looked at each other, laughing like little boys.

"I hope we did not scare them too much." Antonio asked. He was softer than Leonardo and looked quite worried.

Leonardo looked at Antonio with a raised eyebrow.

"The Allessandro you just saw a few minutes ago—did he look like someone who can be scared easily? Rather, he gave me a fright. I could not believe that little boy could be so powerful. MNCome-on, take me to my grandchildren." He said he was moving ahead of Antonio to the other part of the mansion.

Antonio did not follow Leonardo immediately. He looked at the closed door, thinking of the couple inside. Have they revealed too much all at once? 

"Also, it's your call now." He said it under his breath with a visible shrug and followed Leonardo.

Alless and Scarlet, the only people left behind, looked at each other and thought, Where did everyone go? 

The only sign that the room had been teeming with people was the blood from Lorenzo's injury, which still looked fresh.

Alless stood up, taking Scarlet with her. They moved around and stared at the bare walls of the oval room. There were no signs of anything else except the table. 

Where had the TV that replayed the events of that day gone? Was everything in their clan magic? How come he did not know of any magic tricks? Alless continued to move around the empty room, more confused than ever.

"Don't worry, my love. You heard, Father, that everything will come back to us gradually. Scarlet, who had known exactly what her husband had been thinking, was encouraged with a squeeze of her hand.

"Oh, Scarlet, do you think I will make a good king?" Alless turned to his wife, asking her with a worried frown. 

"Of course, Alless, you are the chosen one; we are the chosen ones, which means we'll be able to do the job." Scarlet said it with certainty.

What about Lorenzo? Do you think my decision about him was right? Was I too harsh? Alless continued to ask, still looking worried.

"Any decision you take, right or wrong, I will always support you. For the sake of our children, we must set an example so no other person dares to rebel. So yes, your decision was the right one."

"Thanks for my love. For you and our children, I will do everything to keep you safe, even if it means killing. You are my everything."

Alless said this and hugged Scarlet emotionally. His face and eyes over her shoulder looked different; he was once again the king of the Red and Blue Moon Clans. 

I will destroy anything that stands in the way of our happiness this time. Never again will anyone make decisions over our lives, and in this birth, we will grow old together. 

Alless swore, remembering that long-ago promise when their lives had ended so miserably.

He will go to hell and back, but he will hold onto his love and children. Never again!

In another part of the mansion, Clara Rossi woke up from a deep slumber, feeling refreshed but disoriented. She looked at her bedside table; it was almost 8 p.m. 

How long had she slept, and why did Antonio let her sleep for so long?

Picking up her cell phone, she dialed her husband's number. Je picked up on the first ring.

"Finally, you are awake," Antonio said over the line.

"Where are you and where is my son? Clara asked anxiously. How long have I been slammed? More than 48 hours. Antonio responded quietly.

"What the hell?" Clara exclaimed. 

"Calm down. A lot has happened. Dress up and meet me in the nursery."

"Okay, I will be there soon." Clara said, putting down the phone and wondering what had happened while she had been sleeping. 

This was one of her shortcomings. Whenever she felt stressed, she would go into semi-consciousness. The attack on Alless had been so nerve-wracking that her body had just closed up. I hope my son is okay. 

"That Lorenzo, I will never ever forgive him!" Clara murmured as she readied herself to go and meet her husband.

Unknown to her, the decision had already been taken out of her hands.

Lorenzo had been transported magically, as ordered by King Allessandro, to an unknown land where he would live like a vagabond for a long time, unknown and unheard of. 

Will he ever get the revenge he seeks? No one will ever know.