"To heal and protect."~ Soraka, The Starchild
Ay! Its me! Back at it again with another chapter! Why was the chapter not out on the 24th? I somehow ended up in rainy Belgium after an impressive back to back all-nighters. By the time I returned, I couldn't stay awake.
How were the exams? One I went in knowing I cleared it from the assignments alone, this was just to up the grades. The second was truly a torture. I don't know if I'll pass.
Hoping.
Anyway, enjoy!
(I'll be uploading daily chapters till the missed chapters are made up for and from the 19th of June you should be getting daily chapters till September!)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The smile on Pieter's face at that instant was huge. That feeling of knowing something others did not and watching their reactions to that information was practically ecstasy. He turned to Tianna and watched the absolute shock on her face.
"Titan....?" She whispered.
Eileen on the other hand had dropped her weapon in surprise and shock and she looked at Gregori. She had felt a vague connection to him and had attributed it to him being interesting but the truth was completely different.
He was her brother.
In hindsight, it was obvious. The hair and eyes. It was the same as her. The excitement in Annie's voice when Eileen had introduced herself to them. It all made sense now. Why Gregori hadn't minded her presence but kept the others at a certain distance. Why he had let her guide them to the palace. He was accepting of her since she was his sister.
Tug.
A hand tugged at her own. She looked down. Annie looked up at her with a smile. "Auntie!" She called. Daisy and Briar did the same. The rest maintained their distance still not completely trusting their new aunt.
Eileen's shock was overridden with happiness as she realized that she had been spending most of the last few days with her brother's children. Her nieces and nephews.
The whispering voices that had been a constant completely dissipated as Gregori revealed his birth name.
Silence reigned as the name and its weight was processed.
Nobles in the court began to feel a sense of dread set in as they came to understand something. Gregori was a Spiritmight..... He belonged to a high noble family. And above all..... he shared the same blood as the king.
He had claim to the throne if the king did not have children.
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
Heads turned to the owner of the voice as Alain stepped forth, his face red with anger. "Not only do you lie in this court... you even disgrace my dear dead brother."
Some of the nobles had a smile creep up. Of course! If the brother did not recognize him... then he was most likely lying.
Gregori however, turned to the two behind Alain. His parents. Maer and Vale Spiritmight. He watched their eyes widen in recognition. He watched his mother's hands tremble.
Then he finally turned to Alain, who held a look of righteous anger.
"Liar!" One noble called.
"LIAR!"
"LIAR!"
Chants accusing him of lying began.
Gregori took it all in with a smile.
SLAM
"This is a court. You will not make this place sound like a tavern filled to the brim with drunkards." Jarvan's words were cold. He turned his focus to Gregori, "My cousin... Titan lost his life in an attack a very long time ago.... for your sake... I hope you are not lying."
Gregori smiled. "First, let us not change the past and claim that I was dear to you brother. We barely spoke to one another. And that decreased further when I turned out to be a mage. There was only one person I did speak to and it was out nanny." He turned to the king. I did not die. I was supposed to. But my parents couldn't find it in their hearts to actually witness my death. So they did the next best thing." He turned to his parents. "They sent me off to Targon with the criminals and the dishonored. Those men and women decided to give me and opening and helped me escape. I lived."
Jarvan's gaze focused on the elder Spiritmights. "Is this true?"
Maer grit his teeth, "No your highness. This man is lying. He is not only dishonoring the memory of our son but also besmirching our name."
Alain didn't turn to face his parents. He knew that this man was Titan. No one outside their family and those that worked for them knew of Titan's treatment in the family. The chances of any of their servants letting this information out was next to impossible. They knew the results of that decision.
Vale chose not to reply but her fists were clenched tight, her nails dug into her skin as she shook in anger.
"Gregori do you have proof of being a Spiritmight?" Jarvan asked. "Else we can only consider you to be lying."
Gregori nodded and replied, "The first would be my facial features. I share the same shade of hair as them. My eyes are the exact same color as them as well. And if you really wanted to check for proof, I could tell you things the only I would know." He turned to Tianna as he said those words but an instant later he turned back, "But that could still not be enough, which is why I ask you to pull out the familial records for every noble family." His voice echoed confidently, "Every noble born has a record of them and any identifiable feature of theirs recorded in case they ended up dying in battle. This is also done for soldiers but for nobles it is done at birth. And it had been done for me as well. Now it is impossible for me to have the same feature if I wasn't Titan now would it?"
"Seneschal." Jarvan spoke. "Let us check with the records."
"YOUR HIGHNESS THIS IS A LIAR!" Maer cut in, anger evident in his voice. "TRUSTING THIS MAN IS A FOLLY!"
Gregori chuckled, "If it doesn't match.... you would have no problem right? Father." He said the last word with a large smile on his face. The struggles of the man was bringing a happiness he hadn't felt in a long time. The one from satisfaction. A payoff of something in the works for decades.
Xin Zhao bowed and ordered, "Guards! Bring forth the familial records for the Spiritmights!"
Guards bowed and hurried out of the court.
Jarvan looked toward Gregori's children. A conversation springing to his mind. His daughter asking, "Can I sit there?" referring to the throne. And the boy's muttering, "He could be..." talking of his father becoming the king.
They knew of his heritage.
They knew that Gregori held claim to the throne.
Jarvan shuddered. A strong player had entered the field. One who could usurp his birthright. Alain was never a concern for him. The man was too busy playing political games instead of actually helping the citizens of the nation. Then again... most nobles and even his own father were like that. But Gregori.... he as different. He wasn't like the other nobles. He was not reliant on anyone. He had done so much with his weapon and it even had a mind of its own.
A dangerous thought slid into Jarvan's mind. Should he convict Gregori for something he did not do? Keep him in prison? Hide away his weapons?
It would be an easy choice but it would make him an enemy.
"Your highness!" The guards rushed in. They held a large book with the Spiritmight crest on it.
The wings shone with the light glinting off it.
"Open it." Jarvan ordered. "Check for Titan Spiritmight."
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Maer tried once more.
Jarvan stared at him coldly, "Do not interrupt this session again Lord Spiritmight. This concerns the safety of Demacia in its entirety." The words were uttered with an air of finality as Jarvan turned his attention back to the book.
"Damn it!" Maer muttered under his breath.
Vale turned to her husband in fear and askance, "What do we do now?" If this man was truly their son, then they wouldn't be known as the true nobles they had always been regarded as. The pristine image they had cultivated over the years would fall. Nobles weren't supposed to abandon their own. That was what it meant to be a noble. That was their image.
Reality was different however. Nobles were always abandoning their families. Their children were hidden or sent to their deaths.
But their hypocrisy would make them act like their family was perfect.
And for the first time in a long time, Maer did not know what to say. "I... I don't know Vale..."
Alain stepped backward and appeared close to his parents. "Did you see him die?"
The both of them remained silent.
He took a steep breath. His parents had ruined everything. They hadn't finished the job they had been so proud of doing. The sheer number of times they had spoken about disposing his brother only for them to have not seen to it themselves was angering him beyond anything he had ever experienced. But there was still the smallest chance this man wasn't Titan.
The records were his only option.
"Titan Spiritmight." The guard read. "Brown Hair. Brown eyes." The guard looked at Gregori and nodded. "Features: Birthmark on the side of his torso. Brown in color. A third of a finger long."
Gregori raised his shackled hands above his head as the guard lifted his shirt upward. The guard noticed the abnormally pale skin, almost greyish.
There it was.
A birthmark. But a scar bisected the birthmark. But anyone who saw it would recognize it as the same as the one described.
The guard stepped back and under the gazes of everyone..... he nodded.
He turned to the king. "This man is indeed Titan Spiritmight."
Not one person spoke.
Jarvan turned to Gregori once more. "I suppose I should call you Titan from now on?"
Gregori shook his head, "I prefer the name I have taken for myself. Gregori is the only name I want to be called."
Jarvan nodded. "As of this moment.... Gregori's identity has been verified. Him being a spy is unlikely. All families in acceptance of his freedom raise your hands."
Lady Fortis and Pieter's hands shot up. Following them, a lot of other hand shot up. All creating a clear majority.
Jarvan nodded. For a single instant, he had a thought of overturning this decision and sending Gregori back to prison.... but he chose to not do it. "Gregori Hastur. As of this moment all crimes you have been accused of are absolved. You are free to go. Guards! Remove his shackles!"
As the shackles fell, Gregori rubbed his wrists. He felt the magic flow through him again unhindered. "Your highness?" Gregori asked.
"Speak Gregori."
"My weapons." Gregori continued. "I would like to take my weapons back."
"Those are dangerous Gregori." Jarvan spoke. "I cannot let you roam around Demacia with them in hand."
"I am planning on leaving Demacia now that my work here is done." Gregori answered but he felt the anger bubble underneath.
Jarvan appeared shocked. "You are leaving?"
Gregori nodded. "I have done almost all I have come here to do. I find no reason to waste anymore time here."
Jarvan sighed, "I will return the weapons to you..... but on one condition..."