Free and Unfettered 80 Reasons And Explanations

Japser raised a brow in disbelief. "Since… you were born?"

The Prince pointed at himself and pointed at Seyton. "Look at us. Don't you think we look alike?" he said with an eyebrow raised.

Seyton fell into a daze as the corner of his eye twitched. He suddenly recalled a point of time when the prince had approached him nervously, which was rather out of character for the brash prince.

The prince had looked all nervous when he asked if Seyton was willing to acknowledge him as a brother, though he hadn't been a very good one. Seyton had been puzzled but accepted it, thinking that his feelings probably matched up to what brothers felt like with Prince Jasper. That was, until this whole incident had happened, with the prince being unwilling to explain himself no matter what.

Seyton massaged his temples, feeling an oncoming headache. Though it wasn't possible for a Vampire to get a headache, he felt like he would be first in history to boast of one.

He held up a hand. "You're telling me that acknowledgement from way back then was regarding this? You didn't even explain anything!"

Prince Jasper scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Ah, I thought you already knew," he said, pausing. "Let's go up to my office to talk, shall we?"

Seyton nodded, still unsure what he should be feeling right now.

"Helena, you stay here and clean up," Jasper said, drawing reluctance from the woman.

"But - " she started, but was cowed by Jasper's harsh glare. She bit her bottom lip, tears pricking her eyes.

Seyton looked at her with a pained look, but managed to control his feelings, locking them deep down to deal with later. Though it still hurt, it didn't feel like a fresh wound anymore. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would.

Helena glared after them, boring jealous looks into the back of Seyton's skull, which he resolutely ignored.

Seyton, Jasper, Nine and Nocturne entered the well-equipped office located next to Prince Jasper's bedroom chambers.

Once they were seated, the prince started explaining everything in full, realizing that Seyton had no idea what was going on. With Seyton's information network, he thought that he had worked it out long ago, but it clearly wasn't the case.

"How much do you know about how Vampires procreate?" Jasper asked, waiting for them to put their thoughts together. Though he had wanted to exclude Nine and Nocturne from this conversation, one glare from his brother had changed his mind.

Seyton raised a brow. "We don't," he said dryly.

Nine interjected. "Actually, that isn't strictly true. Vampires are able to procreate, but only through the use of another species. Only the male Vampire can procreate with another. That is, since the female Vampire's womb is frozen, they aren't able to produce an offspring."

Jasper nodded, looking at Nine in appreciation. The moment his eyes landed on Nine properly for the first time, he was stunned. The only thing he could do was stare with wide eyes.

Never had he seen such a being that was practically elegance and dominance personified. Though the two attributes might seem like they clashed, this being in front of him was somehow able to merge the two perfectly, giving off endless charisma and charm.

Seyton's face darkened at this sudden inattention. Though he knew it was his Master's charm working fulltime, he couldn't help but feel pissed that his Master was being ogled by his brother so blatantly in front of him. Likewise, Nocturne was glaring holes into Prince Jasper's body.

Receiving his Master's permission, Seyton's Toxic Spider familiar leapt at the prince's fcae quicker than the eye could blink.

Jerked out of his unusual state at the sudden attack, Jasper flinched as it came flying towards him. His heart flew into his throat at the sight of the spider. Though he knew it would be able to harm him, he just hated spiders! It didn't matter what kind of spider it was. Harmless or not, he couldn't stand them at all.

Jasper hurriedly dodged the spider, tumbling onto the ground with a flail of limbs, shoving himself the furthest away as possible. He didn't even want to see the spider, let alone TOUCH it.

Seyton recalled his familiar with a laugh disguised as a polite cough. His familiar happily settled back down on his Master's collar, looking like some sort of bizarre fashion statement.

Jasper moved back to his seat warily, eyeing the three of them. To his horror, he realized that all three of them had Black Phantoms on their body. They were all contained on the collar, unmoving and still. Had he not had Seyton throw one at him, he would never have known they were real.

A shudder went down Jasper's spine. Somehow, they were able to wear the spider and make it look like some sort of logo. Jasper cried a little on the inside. Though he lived for battle and wasn't afraid of any Magic Beasts or monsters, that didn't include the kind of arachnids. In fact, he would be the first to flee the scene.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment, his eyes darting between each spider as he tried to regain his focus. He couldn't help but alternate his looks between the three spiders, unable to have a peace of mind.

Nine happily watched the prince suffer, feeling endless pleasure at yet another victim falling into her hands.

Jasper cleared his throat again, resolutely looking at the ceiling. "Somehow, male Vampires can procreate and create a half-blood race. Half Vampire, half of whatever species the female parent was. In your case, father brought you back when you were around one year old. Then, he ran off carrying you," Jasper said, his eye twitching.

"I never got to see you again after that. Mainly because I accidentally woke up the Royal blood after the excitement of seeing you."

Seyton looked at him blankly. "So, we share the same father, but different mothers?"

"Well…" Jasper said, "no. We have the same parents, apparently." Jasper got up and handed Seyton a painting that depicted their parents.

The painting was masterfully done, showing lifelike eyes and expressions. Their father was a tall man with purple hair and purple eyes. He wore loads of makeup on his face, causing him to look paler even compared to a normal Vampire. With purple lipstick and a biker outfit, he looked like a stuntman. The woman next to him had blue eyes and blonde hair, and the way she stared at her husband contained an endless amount of love. With a skin-tight suit of blue, she looked like she belonged next to her husband. She was cradling her distended stomach, likely containing Seyton within, and sitting on a chair in front of them, Prince Jasper, who at that time had not yet awakened the Royal bloodline.

"Father met mother when she was still young. They had a whirlwind romance, had me, joined the circus and raised me until I was twenty before father converted me fully. Then, they joined back the same circus as I made a life for myself, travelled around the world, and had you. A year after you were born, they brought you back for me to have a look before leaving again. This time, they sailed the world in a sailboat. A. Sail. Boat. I tried to dissuade them, but they insisted it would be fine. They then crashed into some rocks, made a hole in the bottom of the boat, and started sinking," Jasper said, letting out an explosive sigh. He had a dry look on his face.

Seyton stared at Jasper with wide eyes.

"Father then converted you when you were only roughly a year old before placing you in a basket, which then carried you to shore before their boat sank. That's why I couldn't find you," he said, finishing his tale.

Seyton had no words for his supposed older brother. He could only recall some blurry images when he thought about his parents. Now that he thought about it harder, it seemed like Jasper looked a lot like how he remembered his father looking. Apparently, he took more after his mother.

He had no idea what to do with this influx of information, but he supposed it didn't really matter. Parents were an abstract concept in his mind, mainly because he didn't really have any memories of them.

"So…you're really my elder brother," Seyton said softly. Somehow, he felt like he could accept this. Jasper had always felt closer than a normal friend. Perhaps this was why. Blood was calling to blood.

"Will you accept me as your brother?" Jasper asked, expertly hiding his anxiety.

"We'll see," Seyton said, enjoying the hidden anxiety in Jasper. Seemed like Nine rubbed off on him more than he thought. "First, tell me what's going on with you and Helena."

Jasper's face darkened. Nine admired the similarities between the two brothers. Though their features were different, the way they frowned and smiled was remarkably similar.

"Helena, that woman… I would never have kept her here whilst knowing that you still loved her. The first time we met, I could already see the infatuated feelings that bloomed within her. Quite frankly, I would allow a woman like that to stay next to my younger brother even if I had to incur your hatred," Jasper said. "There's no kind of woman I haven't met in my years as a Royal. She was the kind that acted innocent and soft, whilst hiding a dagger behind their smiles. The moment she heard I was a Prince, she was all but ready to throw herself at me. I have no idea how you didn't see it."

Seyton frowned, thinking back into his memories. He tried looking at them from an unbiased point of view, realizing that Jasper was right. He had been beautifying the memories they had together."

The moment he acknowledged it, Seyton felt like he put down a heavy stone in his heart. He instantly felt freer than he had in a long while. Now that he felt better, he realized that more than the fact that Helena was gone, it was more the fact that Jasper had betrayed his trust without a single word that bothered him more. He felt like their entire friendship had been a lie.

Seyton got up from his chair and hugged his elder brother tightly, feeling a lot better about the whole incident. This idiot shouldn't have done things 'for his own good' and instead talked it out with him, he would likely have seen things from his perspective. Instead, they ended up going around and around in circles from a vicious cycle.

Jasper gave his younger brother a big bear hug, doing his best to crush all the bones in Seyton's body. Seyton bore it with goodwill.

Nine studied the painting in front of them, furrowing her brows.

Whilst the brothers got reacquainted, Nine broke the atmosphere.

"Your parents may still be alive," Nine said slowly, dropping a bombshell.

Chapter end