CHAPTER 324: OH, TAKE ME BACK... ONE LAST TIME

[KAWAI]

"The third and last agenda of this meeting is the Kawai massacre that happened twenty-six years ago," Lord Sadako said coldly and everyone stiffened, save for the royals who had long seen this coming.

The subject was a delicate need that no one had ever had the courage to bring up, not at any point in time because it was one that reminded them of the time when they were all bested.

They had the power, the means, and even then, they were bested. Lives had shifted and women had been murdered because of one flaw in the plan and they had all paid the price for it.

They had gotten themselves the loneliest king who ever lived. They had seen the most powerful man be shut up by an incident that had hurt everyone. It was then that they raised just how intense the situation had been.

They all had tried to live through the years, as they waited for their king to show his face again. Somewhere.

They had been expecting the king and even though they were sure he would still be the devil from before, this time, the entire Kawai was onboard with the mad king being the psycho they had known.

And that hurt.

A lot.

This wasn’t how life was supposed to be for them and yet fate had played the long card that had fucked them over for years. Most of those who had witnessed the madness years ago, had been too traumatized and refused to think of that day.

And now, here in this room with warlord ministers and royals who were known to be quick to murder, came the most difficult subject in all of Kawai.

"We have been waiting for twenty-six years. We waited and hoped, for anything, something, that could tell us where to go. And we finally have the right direction – Grealor," Lord Sadako continued and the warriors listened carefully.

They had all lost a piece of themselves in that year when shit had hit the fan.

They had strived to be better and managed to fail because there was nowhere to refer to, there was no longer a crazy king they could look up to or even an unhinged barbarian who could help them with the murders.

Cruelty had slowed down significantly since the massacre and it was the one thing that had defined the way that Kawai saw things.

"Everyone in here and in the realm is familiar with the Grealor outcast, aren’t you?" Lord Sadako asked and the ministers whispered softly.

Of course, they were familiar with the one person that Grealor had shaped into the best slave who had served them for years.

Most had never seen the outcast face to face, but they had all heard the same rumors of the Grealor slave who was bound to the pack and wanted nothing but harm for him.

It was a notion that many had familiarized with and over the years, the Grealor outcast had become a household name for many.

It had become a title that was used to scare the wolves into submission because life may have been the hardest out there but there was never a life harder than that of the Grealor outcast.

It was the cruelest of lives and they had learned it in the simplest of ways.

"The boy without a name, and a title. The boy who never fit the scales because he was either too cruel and yet slaved. He was too quick and yet forced to be slow among a wolf pack that valued nothing that the outcast had to present.

"The boy who had nothing to gain and yet nothing to lose because Grealor had been home to him. Of course, we know about the Grealor outcast and the rumors that the Lycan prince was the Grealor outcast," Floki, one of the warrior ministers said as he looked at the Lycan Lord who wasn’t even surprised that this was happening.

Everyone had been well versed with the situation and had no doubts, and with the information out there on the Grealors and the way they operated, there was no doubt that they had to get this information too.

"That outcast," Sadako confirmed.

Tamiko watched in silence.

He had long taken a seat next to his Erasthai listening to what he had considered in the realm was unsettling but at the same time, exciting enough because he would get his vengeance.

He would go after everyone who had tried to mess with him; he didn’t care that life would perhaps stop making sense, because, at the end of the day, he had his father, his uncle, best friend, and his Erasthai.

This time, he wasn’t alone and that was comforting for the young prince. They would all be fine eventually anyway.

"Is it the prince, really?" Floki asked on behalf of everyone. There had been rumors for the past two years and honestly, it would be safe to say they didn’t want to make assumptions.

They didn’t want to stand here and act like they were going to war for someone they had expected, because this was just not it. They had to think strategically and wait for what life would be like for them.

They had to be patient and see whether the rides would favor them or if they would have to try other avenues. It wasn’t as bad because no matter what happened vengeance was theirs no matter what happened.

"Yes. The Grealor outcast is the Lycan prince, stolen from his mother’s womb years ago. The only surviving child in the massacre that had the kingdom on its knees," Lord Sadako said, making sure to voice what everyone was thinking at the moment.

He knew that there would be questions on what happened and how they had figured this out, and it was going to be extensive, at least that much is obvious. Perhaps they would have their question-and-answer session after this, right?

Besides, they were bound for war. It wasn’t as if the world was suddenly going to start lighting up right here, no?

"Do you have questions, before we continue?" Lord Sadako asked and the ministers raised their hands.

"You okay?" Kosta asked Tamiko who was staring intently ahead. He could feel the shift in the air and Kosta knew that this was going to be the hardest thing that Tamiko had ever had to sit through.

Instinctively, even the king tends to his son, his face similar to that of Danny and the rest.

Lord Sadako smiled sadly at his nephew, silently apologizing for the horrors that were about to unfold. If there had ever been another way around this then that could have chosen it, but they all knew that this session was the one time they would get the answers.

It was a tough call but it was a needed call.

No one would ever be able to understand the magnitude of the losses and chaos that would be inbound. Then again, it couldn’t be as bad, seeing as the royals were together, right?

"Yeah... I’m fine," Tamiko said as he clenched his fists, clearly not ready for this.

Then again, there was never going to be a time when he got used to the fact that he had been ripped from his mother’s womb or even the fact that many lives had been lost because he had been the target.

No matter how many times he had read the books about Kawai and the queen of hearts, there was not a chance for Tamiko to come to terms with that kind of cruelty. It was insane on so many levels and frankly, none of them expected him to be okay with it.

So gently, Kosta entwined his hands with Tamiko’s in reassurance, their eyes meeting softly as they understood each other and what was meant for them.

The beautiful green eyes spoke of a bond that would never let go and the lonely dark eyes accepted the reassurance because it was the only way out of this, without another crash-out. Granted, it would be valid, but they had to move forward.

Oh, Tamiko.

"Alright, go on. Ask your questions, I shall answer them on behalf of everyone," Lord Sadako said and Tamiko let out a shaky breath. This was all for him and his family already knew that.

They could see the way he was shaking as the minister asked their questions while Lord Sadako skillfully answered. There wasn’t an ounce of denial in them. If anything, the Lycan Lord answered the questions as soon as they dropped. .

That went to show just how much the Lycan lord had sought answers for the realm over the years.

He had tried to do everything to make sure that all would be alright and finally, this was the closest that they had ever been to real answers – to a stop to the chaos that always surrounded them.

But was it, when at the end of the day, they were always going to be on the battlefield? What was the point of anything when life didn’t ever start making sense for them then? What use was the possibility that life would be changed along the way?

All of this was just speculation, but at the end of the day, all would be alright. That was the only ending they would accept, because otherwise, this was fucked up.

"Please excuse me," Tamiko breathed when he couldn’t take any of this anymore. The questions were too brutal, but none more than hate tooths coming out of his uncle’s lips. It was like a punch in the gut for him, and he was a helpless kid once again.

"I’ll go with him," Chief Konstantin offered, but this time, the king stopped him.

"I will."