Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Stargazer ❯ Monster? ( Chapter 4 )

CHAPTER 4 - MONSTER?

Finally Kai and Rei reached the big, wooden door in the basements of castle. As it opened Rei saw the hundreds of bookcases standing in even rows. At the center of hall there was a few oak tables with chairs. Three candle-chandeliers were hanging above them. At the table there were some parchments and quills. As Rei looked around more carefully, he noticed a little staircase in the corner. He wondered where it led, but he preferred not to ask.

Kai headed towards the tables, his cloak and scarf trailing after him, and he sat on the chair. He took some piece of parchment and started to write something down on it. In the meantime, Rei approached the center of hall and stood next to The Almighty. As Kai was still writing, Rei took a chance and looked around the library. Through the spaces between bookcases he could see some paintings and tapestries, which seemed to be very old, decorating the stone walls. Suddenly quill's scratching stopped and Rei turned to the sitting man.

"This is a list of books you must bring to me." Kai passed a note to Rei and he took some of maps, which were lying on table and started to study them.

Slightly confused boy headed towards the nearest row of bookcases and began searching. It was very difficult because of enormous amount of books. His amber eyes were sliding over varied back of books - one with golden letters, other old and faded. Finally, after what seemed the eternity for Rei, he managed to find the books he had been looking for.

Kai looked with hidden amusement at the boy, who was approaching the table. Rei was keeping the huge pile of books, which was so high, that covered his face. Raven head put down the books with a sight of relief and wiped his forehead. Kai quickly lowered his eyes, before Rei could notice his gaze and try to read any emotions from it.

"It's all for now. You can go to Tala and tell him to show you your new bedroom." He said without stopping to study the map in front of him.

"As you wish, sir." Rei bowed slightly and left the hall.

##REI POV##

'I wonder what The Almighty is doing down there.' I thought as I was looking for Tala. 'He was studying some kind of maps, but I didn't figure out what they were depicting.'

Finally I noticed Commander-of-chief's red hair in one of central corridors. I came up to him and bowed lightly.

"Sir, The Almighty ordered me to find you and asked about my new bedroom." I said as I raised my eyes.

To my amazement he smiled at me with a shade of sympathy.

"Please, call me Tala."

"Em…ok." I stuttered.

"Come with me, I will show you where you are supposed to sleep from now."

I followed him obediently and started to muse whether to take an opportunity of being with somebody, who have known The Wizard for so many years.

"Em…Tala?"

"Yes?" he responded without turning to me.

"Do you know what The Almighty is doing in that library?"

"Dunno… Probably, it is connected with that tower."

My pupils narrowed with anger at the mention of tower, but I held my wrath back.

"So maybe you know why he wants this whole tower to be build?"

"Don't you know? He wants to fly form the top of it."

"Yeah, I know, but why? Why does he want to do that?"

Tala suddenly stopped and I nearly slumped in his back. He turned around and looked down at me, with something strange in his blue eyes.

"He doesn't talk with me about the reasons of his conduct. Maybe someday he will tell you that. The only thing I can tell you, is that, " he lowered his voice." He had very tough childhood and past, so try to be understanding for him."

His words hit me. Tough childhood? Tough past? It isn't he who must carry stones everyday and work in heat without water and food. I wanted to say all my thoughts aloud, but Tala seemed to read my expression and he interrupted me.

"I know what you are thinking about that, but if you really knew his past, you wouldn't want to go through what he had to. " he said dully and continued his way.

I looked at him with confuse and followed him. But then I remembered that I wanted ask him one more question.

"Err... Tala?"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask... How old is The Almighty?" Rei asked quietly.

"Well, Kai, I mean The Almighty is 28 now, he had his birthday yesterday's night, don't you remember?" the redhead asked with sarcasm.

'Oh yeah, how could I forget I'm that damn Wizard's present. Kai, what a nice name... Rei what are you thinking about!' I mentally rebuke myself.

Finally we approached our destination. To my surprise, we were standing in front of the Wizard's bedroom. Suddenly, the memory of today's morning came back to my mind.

##FLASH BACK~

"Well? What are you doing in my bedroom?" Kai asked casting a death glare at Rei.

"I couldn't fall asleep so I started to wonder around and I lost my way and walked here and then the doors slammed and I had no choice so I fall asleep at the floor." Rei explained very quickly.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I didn't want to bother you, master." Said Rei shyly and lowered his gaze.

Kai sighed and spoke.

"Yeah, whatever. So, if you are already here, you will be use for me."

##END OF FLASHBACK##

We entered the bedroom and Tala pointed at the small doors in the corner.

"They lead to your bedroom. It is connected with The Almighty's room, so you will be at his beck and call," the redhead said

I looked around the familiar chamber and didn't even notice when Tala was gone. He has the strange gift of disappearing. I looked around. As it was a day, I could notice more details of this room than the last time. Opposite the four-poster bed there was an oak, engraved wardrobe and some armchairs. At the paneling walls there were some paintings and strange maps. I mused what they were for.

I walked to the door of my room and wondered what it would be like. Maybe something even worse than my previous chamber? I didn't want to think about it and quickly entered.

It exceeded all my expectation. The room had also paneling walls. It wasn't as big as The Almighty's one, but it was very cozy. In the corner there was a single bed with purple, fluffy cover. On the other wall there was a mirror and, next to it, a wardrobe. I hesitate for a while and then slowly opened it.

My eyes widened with the amazement. There were clothes I have never seen before, not to talk about wearing something like that. All were in Chinese style (Kaiiko: I don't know if Rei knows what is China, but I don't know how it call it differently.) and made from silk. I touched the fabric and dreamed about wearing some of them, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to. Finally I closed the wardrobe and wondered what to do next.

I didn't really have anything to do and it was dinnertime already, so I thought I could go to the kitchen and grab something to eat.

I walked down the cold corridors trying not to get lost again. Why does it have to be so cold in here? Strange, outside it's boiling hot and here... Ah, finally the kitchen.

##NORMAL POV##

The raven hair boy entered the room and suddenly he was hit by the smell of cooking food. Rei never smelled something so delicious. He couldn't see anything because of the steam.

"Oh, hello" somebody said.

"Who's there?" Rei asked nervously.

Through the steam he could see a silhouette and it was... Tyson wearing the silliest hat Rei ever saw.

"What are you doing here?" asked the cook eyeing the pans from time to time.

"I thought I'd get something to eat" Rei said trying not to laugh.

"Oh sure, always happy to feed someone." said the midnight hair boy cheerfully.

He gave Rei a plate and showed him a door in the back of the kitchen. Rei soon found himself in a small room with a table in the middle. There were two people, one with the glass sphere attached to his leg and a blonde wearing a silly colorful costume.

"Hi, I'm Max, the jester of this castle" the blonde said very nicely "That's Kenny," he said pointing on the small brown hair boy.

"Hello" Kenny said shyly.

"Oh, I have met you before. I'm Rei."

"We know, the Almighty's personal..." Kenny started but was interrupted by Tyson coming into the room with plates of food with him.

"Now, we eat!" Tyson yelled.

After they finished eating they started to talk about life in the castle, and suddenly Rei realized that The Almighty hasn't eaten yet.

"Err guys, didn't you noticed that Kai didn't call for dinner."

The others looked at as if they saw a ghost.

"Don't call him by his name!" they screamed together.

"Easy, ok, I understand" Rei said.

"Well frankly it's nothing abnormal, he sometimes doesn't eat anything for days." Tyson said.

"People say that those children satisfy him for a long time" Kenny whispered.

Rei was stunned, of course he hared about disappearing children, but he always thought they just died because of the climate. He was furious now; he grabbed a clean plate, entered the kitchen placing food on the plate and stormed to the library.

He almost ran down the corridors and finally stood against the big doors, he didn't care to enter quietly and to his surprise there was no one there, that made him even angrier, but he thought about that stairway on the corner. Of course he's there!

##KAI POV##

Wrong, wrong, wrong, nothing ads up, this is impossible. I stood up from my desk and started pacing around my observatory thinking about this 'little' problem of mine. When suddenly...

##NORMAL POV##

Rei ran up the stairs and quickly found himself in a round room with lots of windows. In the middle of the room stood Kai with an angry look at his face

"What are you doing here?! I didn't call for you!" the wizard yelled.

"I thought that you might be hungry, my Lord" Rei answered with sarcasm in his voice "but I hared that children satisfy your hunger better than food." Rei spat at Kai.

"What are you talking about?! What children?!"

"Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about!" Rei looked at him furiously. "You revive our enforced benevolence of nine children every year. And we gibe them to you only to satisfy your hunger! You merciless monster!"

Kai stared at him for a while and then, to Rei's amazement, he smiled indulgently. "Come with me. I will show you something."

They left the room and headed towards lower parts of castle. Finally, Kai came to halt in front of big doors, which were oddly different than other things in that part of corridor. Rei was sure that he hasn't been here before - he would remember white doors in golden frame.

When they opened the doors it turned out that it led to the courtyard. There were some trees and bushes. At the center there was a big, circle fountain. As Rei looked around he noticed that the place was full of people occupied with something - he didn't know with what. As a matter of fact these people were…

"Children?" asked stunned Rei as he turned to Kai. "What are they doing here? And who are they?"

"Do you recognize anybody?" The Almighty asked with a smirk.

Rei looked around and saw some of familiar faces. But they were slightly different than he remembered.

Kai seemed to read in Rei's thoughts.

"They look different than last time you saw them, don't they?"

"Yes…but why?" he turned again to Kai. "Why do you take them from their families and keep here? And what about that all "benevolence" and "eating" stuff?" he burst.

"Ok. I will tell you, but listen carefully, because I'm not going to repeat it."

Rei only nodded; he was curious about the reason of all this strange things.

Kai sighted and started. "I don't like to make a harm to people, but I really need to build that tower and no one would help me, if I asked."

Rei inwardly admitted that Kai had some right in that. But still… who let him to kidnap all these children.

Kai seemed to read Rei's thoughts once again. "You can wonder why I chose kids, but it's rather easy. Maybe you didn't notice, but people always choose the nine of the most vulnerable kids. And that's because they think that if the children must die, so it's better to give those, who won't lose too much. So they give me the weak kids and I try to make their life better than it was. I have give them all I could and they only have to do some basic duties in castle for me."

Rei was too stunned to respond as he looked with the highest amazement at Kai.

"Anyway, I have no more time for this stupid explanations. I have work to do." And with that he left the room.

Rei slowly returned to his chamber and stayed there for a couple of hours.

##REI POV##

God did I mess up, I yelled at him, called him a monster. All because Kenny likes to panic... Kai'll probably have my head for insulting him. Why do I even call him by his name?!

## In the heat and the rain##

But the worst thing is that he isn't so bad as I thought, he really cares for the weakest children.

## With the whips and chains##

Still, he's a tyrant.

## To see him fly So many die##

But I think his a nice guy somewhere down in his heart.

##We built a tower of stone ##With our flesh and bone##

But that doesn't mean he has to make people build that damn tower.

##Just to see him fly But we don't know why##

He's right with one thing, nobody would help him if he asked.

##Now where do we go?##

What the fuck am I doing? I'm explaining him! It's because of him so many people died, so many of my friends. Even now, there're probably building that thing, maybe somebody's dieing now? Lee? Mariah? No! I don't want to think about it.

But still I feel bad about accusing him of killing children.

I know, when he calls me next time I'm going to say I'm sorry, yes that could work.

##2 DAYS LATER##

I'm getting worried. Tyson told me that The Almighty hasn't been down to eat anything for two days, strange, maybe he has some kind of food supply in that observatory of his? Rei, what are you worrying about? Why do I even care? Tyson said that sometimes Kai doesn't eat anything for days, so it's ok. Isn't it? Fuck, I'm his personal servant, I should care. Did I say servant? I mean slave! But his is my master... Fuck it, I'll just go to his observatory again and check if he's all right.

##NORMAL POV##

Rei quietly opened the library door and looked inside. But there was nobody there.

'So his up in that observatory of his.' Rei thought.

The raven hair boy slowly climbed up the stairs.

'Last time it wasn't such a long way up here.'

Rei finally reached the end of the stairs and panting slightly he almost whispered.

"Master?"

But he got no answer, so he tried louder.

"My Lord?"

Still no answer. Rei was worried so he gathered all his courage and stepped into the chamber.

##REI POV##

I looked around the room and there... Oh my God!