To His Hell and Back-Chapter 157: Poor Man’s Tale-I

Arabella, who saw everything, panicked. When Callis’s body was thrown, her body turned stunned and she could feel goosebumps over her body as she could tell that there was the sound of a crunch of something breaking.

From how it sounded, it seems that Callis is someone close to Morpheus, and he had somehow tried to run away from Morpheus, which the latter didn’t take it kindly. But she wasn’t blind enough not to notice that this wasn’t all that had happened.

The woman beside Morpheus, named Wanda, seemed to hate Callis, and that Callis hadn’t tried to run away despite wanting to; instead, he was hurt by someone.

But Morpheus didn’t seem to be in the state of wanting to hear an excuse, readily believing that Callis was going to run away from him.

She could also see that once Callis’s body was slammed to the ground, the hood hiding his face slowly fell away, showcasing a rather beautiful androgynous face. With long blonde lashes and equally bright green eyes that peeked between his short blond locks.

His expression was filled with pain and sorrow as he looked at Morpheus who had return his expression with a cold gaze.

"How should I believe you Callis?" Morpheus questioned with a threatening hum, "It wasn’t the first time that you betrayed me. How can I be sure that you wouldn’t try to run away from me again? Because unlike me you aren’t cursed to stay in that castle and you must have been waiting for the day where you could run away from me for good."

Callis’s eyes widened as if the words Morpheus had said had hurt more than the stab on his stomach. His voice wavered, strained, "You never trusted me to begin with, did you? So it doesn’t matter if I betrayed you or not. You’ve already made up your mind." He gave a hollow laugh, then added, "So no matter what I say, you’ll always believe the ones whispering in your ear."

His gaze shifted toward Wanda, and though his eyes burned with accusation, she only offered an innocent smile, tilting her head as if she didn’t understand.

"So you are saying that you hadn’t ran away," Wanda hummed, "Then why shouldn’t we put you to a test? Bring that girl, Matilda’s child she was just here wasn’t she? Reddish brown hair and green eyes? She’s the one fated to break our curse after all, we need her help. Now. We can’t come close to her but you aren’t cursed like us, so you can come near her and bring her to our side."

"I told you I can’t," Callis said, gritting his teeth. "Her power hasn’t manifested, and if we bring her to the castle, others would try to tear her apart, and that will cause more chaos. It’s the only lead to breaking the curse, and recklessness will only cause further problems! We have to wait until her twenty-third birthda-"

"It’s not that you can’t, Callis. You don’t want to. So stop twisting the fact. You’re a good actor, but we can see through your lies," Wanda continued, and her eyes studied her King, whose face was colored in such doubt that he couldn’t realize how poisonous her words were and how she was only there to provoke the situation rather than appease it. "You don’t want to release Morpheus from his curse because deep down you believe that he shouldn’t be released-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP WANDA!" Callis yelled only to feel a tight grip choking the air from his pale neck, turning the skin around his throat blue. His eyes angrily glared at Morpheus. "You think I don’t want to release you from the curse? Fuck! Haven’t I tried everything to make sure that you are released from the curse? I tried for years, decades, and centuries! Making sure that your curse wouldn’t go to your heart. But you are such a blind bastard, Morpheus and I should have believed Matilda when she said you are a liar. Nothing but an egoistical basta-"

"Be quiet! SILENCE! NO MORE!" Morpheus growled at him, leaning forward to glare straight at Callis’s eyes, "How can I trust you, Callis? How? When have you hadn’t given me any evidence where I can truly put my trust in you? If, as you said that you have been attacked, then I will gouge their eyes, cut their tongues, and wash their innards, but tell me: were those words you wrote in your diary also something they had written in your stead? Using your quill? Using your handwriting?"

Silence was the only response that stretched between the two.

How could Callis confirm it?

That he hate the castle? That he once hated the curse and now hates those who were cursed?

That though he does love Morpheus as a family, he wishes to disappear and be free from this curse? From them? From the duties? How could he bring himself to tell his family that he wished them to disappear from time whenever he found life too difficult to face?

How could he do such a thing when deep down he still loves them regardless of the pain?

"Now you’re quiet," Morpehus sang, "Fine."

Callis’s eyes widened slightly as he wondered why Morpheus’s anger had suddenly disappeared in such short seconds, which didn’t feel right.

The sudden shift was too eerie and misplaced. It felt forced and he could tell it was going to ensue to something even more dangerous. Morpheus’s silence after his anger was always going to lead to a death and he knew it far too well. His face drained of blood when he heard a name leaving Morpheus’s lips.

"Matilda," muttered Morpheus, "Wasn’t she the cause of all this? She fell in love with a human so stupidly and then begged us to find her a way to marry that human. I didn’t want to do it, but I did it because you begged me, Callis. Because you know that I would do anything for you if you had simply asked for it."

Arabella who watched the scene also gasped when the name "Matilda" was mentioned as she knew it too well. She also saw how Callis panicked, meaning that he was as aware of who Matilda was as she did.

"What are you planning?" Callis’s face turned pale as Matilda’s name was brought up.

Morpheus looked at him as darkness clouded his face the way that in that same beat the once bright blue sky had completely turn pitch black with thunder growling behind them, followed by the thunder that lighted the sky for a blink.

Morpheus leaned forward, wiping the blood from Callis’s face in silence while staring at his face, "In exchange for her to live with that human man we erased her power and her memories. And fate works wonderous way doesn’t it? As if to repay our kindness, she had given birth such wonderful daughters who would help me break my curse and every one of our kind. But that isn’t enough isn’t it?"

"Stop! Don’t do things you will regret Mor-" Callis grabbed to his ankle when he saw Morpheus who had pushed himself to stand but Morpheus coldly kicked his arms away.

"She never repaid my mercy which I have given to her for marrying a human and for leaving our covenant," Morpheus muttered as if possessed. His green eyes was filled with such frenzy that Arabella felt chill down her spine when she felt her eyes locked with Morpheus.

"NO, no, no please," sobbed Callis who saw Morpheus leaning for a smile before grabbing him by the waist and lifting him in a swift move.

"It’s time for you to watch the consequence of your action, Callis."