204 Karma

Gwenivier reached for a single book of the thousands in Doevm's library, drool practically dripping down her chin. 'Just a single book,' she thought. 'he won't mind.' But before her hand could even touch the book, Doevm appeared in front of her. She squealed, jumped back, tripped over Doevm's rug, and hit the ground. "I-I," Gwenivier stuttered as she scrambled back to her feet. She took a breath and forced a smile: "I was just looking at them. I wasn't going to do anything. Isn't that right Arthur?" She tapped his sleeping figure with her foot, not daring to break eye contact with the being in front of her. "Arthur. Honey. Please wake up and explain my innocence to the nice Lich."

Arthur stirred, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. "What's happening?"

"He-"

Gwenivier pointed to Doevm but he cut her off: "Did you warn her about the books?" Arthur nodded. "And how have you come to know her?"

"Well," Arthur scratched the back of his head. Gwenivier tried to speak but Doevm clamped a hand over her mouth. Arthur raised an eyebrow. Doevm nodded for him to continue. "She came from a village that had been burned down. She asked me to slay the monster that did it and avenge her family so I did. Since she didn't have anywhere to go, she joined me." Doevm waved his hand and a magic circle formed in front of Arthur, who closed his eyes and fell asleep. Gwenivier's body shook when Doevm turned to her. A magic circle formed in front of her, a truth spell.

Doevm let go of her filthy mouth: "Where are you from?"

"Draken Capital." Gwenivier said. Her eyes went wide. "No that's not true. I'm from…Draken Capital. What in the name of the Goddess are you doing to me?" Tears streamed down from her eyes. "Y-you can't do anything to me. If Arthur were to find out." She stepped closer and jabbed a finger at him. "He would do anything for me. I've made sure of-" Two Undead appeared at her sides and forced her down to her knees. "Get off of me you fucking Undead!" She flailed around, biting, kicking, and swearing, but the Undead held firm. Magic circles formed in the room. "I'll destroy your books if I have to you monster!" Strands of mana formed around her but they didn't go towards the magic circle, but into the two Undead holding her down. Her magic circles flickered in and out of existence before disappearing completely. She hesitated for a second and Doevm could almost feel her heart drop. She fought even harder. Her wrist turned red, then purple. All throughout this process, Doevm stood watching motionlessly with the eternal patience of a Lich, just like the two Undead holding her down.

"I told you to call me master." The Undead to her right twisted her arm until it snapped. An ear-piercing scream left her throat. She kicked at Arthur but he snored away, ignorant to everything.

"Why are you doing this!" She yelped. "It was only a book and I didn't even take it!"

"What the hell are you talking about you damned monster?" She regained her vigor and struggled. The Undead to her left broke her arm.

"I'm talking about a method of punishing where I benefit. Not death, certainly not Undeath either. I accept that people will leech off of Arthur, but it may negatively affect me so I must find a solution: you." A magic circle appeared on Gwenivier's forehead. "It's ironic," Doevm let out a hollow laugh. "This spell was in the book you wanted to take." He flipped through the pages and stopped when he reached it: a description of the magic circle on Gwenivier's forehead. "I experimented with memory magic for decades. I eventually found a new use for memory magic when I stumbled upon this, slavery of the mind."

"No!" The two Undead forced her head to the ground.

"For the rest of your pathetic life, you will love Arthur and watch over him. You will be trapped in your own body. Even your offspring will be affected by this spell, as they will most likely inherit your manipulative qualities. This torment, this perpetual insanity you will slowly slip into, will continue until Arthur is dead. You will stop anyone else from manipulating him. You will be his guardian because, quite frankly, I do not have the time to watch over him like parents guiding their offspring."

…

Doevm's many scratches and bruises began to slowly close up and he rested against one of the destroyed pillars, across the room from the still unconscious Frey. "I'm sorry. Your parents inherited the curse I gave Gwenivier because I couldn't even trust innocent children. The moment Arthur died, the spell over your parents was broken. Their twisted minds, trapped for decades in their own bodies, were freed. I don't know what exactly happened, but I know that Arthur would never let his son get fat. And I've never seen your mother."

"Then you almost lost Gwen after she was pricked. Now I lie and keep secrets from you. What a life you've had. It's almost all been an unjust torment that I've put you through." He tightened his grip on his skull mask. "This trait of mine, whether it be a Lich's innate distrust of humans or my human side's fear of losing you, that trait must be purged."

"Now," He said as he slowly rose to his aching feet, nearly toppling over in the process. "Time to get to work." After gathering enough mana and blasting through the rubble at the destroyed chamber's entrance, he shoved Frey on an Amphiboard, brushed the bits of rubble off of Thomas and Elero, and pushed everyone back towards the camp. His movements were slow. Not because he was tired. With every breath, every step, even every thought, a weight pressed down upon him. The weight intensified when he wiped both Thomas's and Gwenivier's memories, but it turned into a sharp pang in his chest whenever he looked at Frey's unconscious, beaten form. Of all of Doevm's centuries of life, he couldn't place this feeling, for he had never felt it before: guilt.