Chapter Text
June 16th was supposed to be a day of celebration, of pride and honor. It wasn’t supposed to end in a bloodbath or a day of fear and mourning.
It was the day he was crowned Protector of his nation, one of many on this earth that were immersed in magic and science. One of the many that protected the balance. Azriel knew what he was being introduced to and that the training he had from his father and his mentor had prepared him for this day. He knew of the dangers that he would have to face one day and the many attempts at his life from this day forward. But he didn't care, not as long as Abdiel, his twin, was by his side and ready to fight alongside him.
“Earth to Azriel! Is anyone home?” Azriel jumped, quickly opening his eyes to see Abdiel waving a hand in front of his face. Azriel sighed before smiling at his carbon copy.
“Since when were you the earth, Abe? I’m sure I would have known about that.” Abdiel rolled his eyes, a smile gracing his lips as he tried not to show his amusement.
“Yeah well someone has to ground you here, might as well be me. And we both know I wouldn't be the earth.” Abdiel turned around and posed at the mirror in front of them.
The room wasn’t the most extravagant compared to the rest of the rooms in the Ivorie Mansion. The walls were a coral blue, made to resemble marble with silver lining the edges and the windowsills. One of the walls was comprised of floor to ceiling mirrors and in front of them were throw pillows and bean bags scattered around. Book shelves were placed along the farthest wall with a large panel dividing the shelves in the middle displaying a waterfall with blue, white, and grey cushions lined the bottom. A large table sat in the middle of the room, a chess board was laid out and ready to be played. A book labeled The History of Magical Technology and Modern Day Advancements sat closed and off to the side of the chess board with a raven feather sticking out. And at the end of the table nearest to the boys were plates that once held sandwiches and pastries.
Azriel looked to his brother before snickering. His brother turned around confused as Azriel walked up to him and pulled on his woolen shirt.
“You have it backwards you dingus.” Abdiel looked down to see that his brother was right and promptly fixed his shirt.
“Thank Sir Marcus you told me or that would have been embarrassing, Imagine! The future Head Hunter walking out in the traditional garments backwards! The humiliation!” Abdiel threw his hands in the air as Azriel moved to avoid being hit. The two looked at each other before laughing.
“Let's hope that Maggie doesn’t find out or she’ll ever let it down.” Azriel remarked to his brother, knowing full well that his brother would make sure that he would take this to his grave to prevent giving his girlfriend any more ammunition against him. And he was right as he saw the horror grow on his brother’s face before sticking out his pinky finger to him.
“We take this to the grave. Only Sir Marcus is allowed to know. Wait, no. I can’t have the legend know I almost did the ceremony wrong!” Panic showed on Abdiel’s face and Azriel quickly reassured him before joining his own pinky finger with his brother’s.
“Now are you ready for this?” Azriel looked at his brother, ignoring his own anxiety and nervousness. Abdiel looked right back at him with a grin on his face, brown eyes reflecting his excitement. He grabbed his elbow before marching them both out of the door.
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The Ceremony of Protector and Ceremony of Head Hunter had gone as planned with only a few stumbles in Abdiel’s speech of gratitude. The garden where the Ceremonial Reception was held was crowded as children ran after each other or danced along to the music in a circle, adults were congratulating the twins and wishing them luck on their Destined Path, Military Officials talking with one another, and businessmen talked about work and any offers they had.
Azriel perched himself on a column and watched as his sister, Darrah, laughed and danced with her friends before pulling their youngest sibling, Adariel, into their dance. A smile graced his lips as he turned to see his mother and father laughing and telling people how proud they were to have their eldest sons take such highly regarded positions. He was happy to see them so proud of his and Abdiel. He stood up when he didn’t see his brother with his girlfriend and soon-to-be Crowned Princes of Western Glowandar. He scand over the hedges that made up the garden's maze before spotting a familiar ice blue glow not far from him. He went to jump down from his perch when a bright red flash of magic shot up to the sky before bursting.
Shouts came from the guests and orders from Military Officials down below. Azriel finally jump down from his perch and turned to the nearest Hunter.
“Block all exits and lead the civilians to the underground. Whoever is attacking is facing my brother so we have to work quickly if we want casualties to be low or none. My brother is strong but if there is more than one attacker, we got to make sure that we get as many people out and give him some back up-” A blast cut him off as dirt showered them from above. A scream rang out before chaos erupted around them.
A group blasted through the hedges at the right of the entrance of the maze, hands glowing a malevolent red as they began casting spells. The people nearest them fell as people rushed to escape the garden. The Hunter that Azriel had spoken to rushed to pull his gun out and shot down a few of the attackers before their attention was directed at them. A knot tightened around Azriel’s gut before his instincts kicked in. He shoved the man behind him as he extended his hand out.
His magic concentrated and formed what he needed. A black and purple shield formed in front of him, rebounding the spells that were thrown at them back at its casters. He saw a few go down before slamming his foot down and concentrating on the earth below the attackers. He had scensed water as he was shielding the Hunter and himself and now was pulling it out to use against the attackers. Water shot out from underneath them and whipped around, detaining as many people as the limited amount of water allowed. Some escaped the waters onslaught and focused on the retreating crowd of panicked civilians.
Azriel gritted his teeth before solidifying the water to ice. He dropped his shield and raced after them. Before he got far, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He whipped around to see Abdiel, his hair matted in blood and his face littered with scars.
“What are you doing?! Let me go! I have to stop them from-!” Abdiel cut him off.
“No. My orders are to get you out of here! The Hunters and military will deal with them. You just became Protector! And you don't have a lot of experience in magical combat like them!” Abdiel pulled him towards the Mansion’s left wing where their parents hurriedly directed civilians inside. They ran inside as their father went to close the doors to the mansion. Azriel looked around and realized they were in the left wing library. A blast rocked the room, shaking the ground and dust rain down.
“This way! To the underground!” A yell redirected everyone's attention. Standing in front of the doors leading farther inside the mansion was Maggie, a look of determination gracing her face. She turned around and opened the doors and motioned for everyone to follow her.
Everyone rushed forwards, following their princes to safety. Azriel moved forwards with the crowd behind his mother when a series of blasts hit the mansion.
He blinked before moving to lift up. When had he ended up on the floor? Why was everything so out of focus? He lifted himself off the floor, stumbling as he stood. He saw his brother sprawled on the floor not far from him. He moved towards him, stumbling as he knelt down to check on him. He shook him to wake him up, to get a response. Nothing. Something was wrong. He cursed to himself not knowing what to do. He stopped. He cursed again, louder.
Nothing.
He couldn’t hear.
Another blast knocked him down, it was far too close for his liking, feeling the searing heat. He moved to stand up when he felt arms lift him up. He turned around to see his father. His lips moved fast before turning his head to look behind. Azriel tried to say something before his father turned back towards him and grabbed him and pointed to the doors. They were open. Some people were struggling to get up and go through them. He felt his father push him towards the doors. So he started stumbling towards them, trying to move his legs faster. Before he got too far, he was knocked down again by another blast. Azriel whipped his head back to see his father fending off one of the attackers.
Fire raged around them, flashes of teal and red as the two fought with their magic and magical weapons. Azriel moved to help his dad when he was grabbed once again. Once again, he turned to curse out the person when he saw it was his cousin, Elizabeth. Her lips moved frantically as she tugged on his hand before a look of horror dawned on her face. Azriel redirected his focus on his father once again, only to wish he hadn’t. The attacker held him by his throat, the red glow of their magic intensifying before dying out. His father was released and Azriel watched as his father dropped to the floor, not getting up.
Azriel couldn't move. He watched as his mother struggled to get up not far from their attacker before she was hit by the same red magic.
All he could remember was him screaming and being dragged out by Elizabeth before everything going back.