The Devil's Cursed Witch

Morpheus and Aureus landed at the peak of one of the highest mountains in the southern mountain ranges surrounding the kingdom. It was so high that the air was cold and thin, its slope so steep a normal human would probably take a week of climbing to reach the top of the mountain.

'But it's beautiful…'

Aureus let his golden eyes roam the vicinity. The mountain had nothing but rocks and boulders, but it was tranquil and secluded, the kind of place he and his mother both liked.

When he was a child, he remembered that he and his mother would travel from place to place, thus they had no permanent residence, but they would often build their homes on places like this—particularly on caves at the top of the mountain surrounded by a sea of clouds. They loved to spend time in such high places where they had freedom to use their powers without the humans living on the flatlands noticing their existence. Away from the world, such peaceful days those were.

"Is there a cave here?" Aureus asked, a sad smile lingering on his face.

Morpheus didn't feel surprised at what Aureus asked. "There is. Do you want to see it?"

Aureus nodded. "Do you also enjoy being at places like this…? Umm, Mister…? I don't know what to call you."

Draven didn't tell him his uncle's name and he didn't know if this man would feel comfortable to be addressed as 'uncle' without his permission. Though Aureus wouldn't normally have bothered, this was his first time meeting family, and he felt oddly nervous.

"My name is Morpheus. I am your mother's older brother so you should call me 'uncle'. I won't mind if you call me by my name as well."

"Hmm…t-then, Morpheus," Aureus said.

Though a part of him wanted to call him 'Uncle', a part of him also resisted. He was not sure about calling him an uncle yet. Morpheus was still a stranger to him and calling him an uncle felt too intimate. It was strange.  They weren't close to each other, but he wanted to at least be comfortable with him.

Seeing the brief shadow of disappointment on Morpheus' face, which disappeared as soon as it came, Aureus felt guilt about his choice. He wanted to smack himself in the head for being so indecisive. Still, it would probably take time for him to accept this man as family.

Morpheus didn't mind that his nephew chose to call him by name. He offered Aureus his usual lopsided smile which reminded the young eagle of his mother. Morpheus could understand him as it was not easy to accept the new relationship that appeared in his life so suddenly.  Even he himself unknowingly relaxed his tensed shoulders; he also needed time to accept the existence of Aureus. It saved him from feeling awkward to have someone yelling 'Uncle!' all of a sudden.

"We can be friends first. Morpheus is a bit stiff and formal, don't you think? You can shorten it to Morph. People close to me mostly call me like that," Morpheus said. "Very few of them are left now though."

Aureus didn't know what to say about it, but then conceded on this. "Alright, Morph…"

"Come to this side. I will show you something that belongs to Myra."

Hearing another person saying his mother's name for the first time in a long time, and that too with so much affection, Areus had complex emotions in his chest. However, the most dominant one was excitement. After so many years, he was going to see something that belonged to his mother.

Aureus followed Morpheus as they followed an uneven trail leading towards the side of a cliff, where one could see a large hole enough to fit about three adults walking side by side.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" the gray eagle could not help but ask as Aureus stopped at the entrance of the cave.

"It's nothing." Aureus could not help but look around, as it reminded him of the cave he had near the capital of Megaris.

Morpheus didn't inquire further and merely said, "This place belongs to Myra. It was like her second home."

"I see. My mother probably missed this place a lot," Aureus said. Seeing his uncle's curious gaze, he explained, "When I was young, we used to wander around and she always chose places similar to this for both of us to stay. I thought she only liked high places. Now that I've seen this cave, this must be her real intention—she purposely chose those that reminded her of home."

Morpheus opened his mouth, wanting to ask him about the things the mother-and-son pair experienced, but then thought to give Aureus some more time to feel more comfortable with him. He wanted the young eagle to share his story to him without any hesitation.

"Seems like she was still the same as I remember," Morpheus said as he walked deeper into the cave with Aureus silently following behind him.

As they reached the end of the tunnel, Aureus observed the cozy interiors—the shelves filled with trinkets, the cave art on the walls, the haystack placed on one side as a bed— and just as expected, the arrangements were a replica of how his former homes looked like.

'Everything looks old but well-kept. I can imagine how Mother would have lived here in the past.'

Each and every single thing inside was something that had her essence in it. Aside from one thing.

"What happened here?" Aureus asked.

His gaze was directed at one hole on the wall of the cave which led to another tunnel. Though the destroyed part was cleared of rubble, the remnant still showed that it was a recent addition to the cave. Aureus narrowed his eyes, and he realized he could see sunlight on the other end. The hole passed through the other side of the mountain.

"It's nothing much. Just one Dragon got crazy," Morpheus brushed it off with a playful smile and then walked towards the shelves from where he picked one wooden box and offered it to Aureus.

Aureus opened it and his hands trembled. Inside was one thing which was familiar to him— a wooden token which had a pair of wings carved on it.

Aureus picked it up in his hands and caressed the carved wings with his thumb.  His eyes turned moist.

"Mother…"

After a while, he let out a shaky breath.

"She made one for me in the past," the young eagle informed as he pulled out a similar wooden token from under his cloak. It was hung around his neck in a thread but was hidden under the golden feathered cloth clasped around his shoulder.

It was crudely made, the material made from inferior wood that had none of the blessings of spirits, but the symbol of the clan was the same, and Aureus' name was inscribed in it using the ancient runes. Morpheus could also faintly feel his sister's divine power on those runes. Now, whatever little doubt he had about this Divine Eagle being Myra's son was gone.

"For as long as you stay here in Agartha, you can use this cave for as long as you want. Treat it as your own."

"I will." Aureus put his mother's token back in the box and observed the rest of the cave. It made him wonder what his mother was like in her youth.

As he eyed the items on the shelves, he realized his mother was fond of collecting colorful things, and seeing the drawings on the wall, she seemed to be deeply interested in art.

In the young Aureus' mind, he had brief memories of his mother making bracelets out of wild flowers, but she did not leave any marks or drawings on their old homes. Their old homes were also mostly modest, the things and arrangements inside only those basic for survival. She was too busy taking care of her young son, too focused on hiding their existence, that she could not afford to live as freely as her old self.

Morpheus left the young eagle alone inside the cave dwelling, giving him privacy to explore the things his mother left behind, and he walked towards his favorite spot at the edge of the cliff, the very same spot he would sit to watch the sea of clouds.

After some time, Aureus went out of the cave, his expression looking a bit lost, but then after he spotted Morpheus, he walked in his direction. Morpheus patted the spot behind him, gesturing for him to sit down, and the golden eagle did not refuse.

Comfortable silence enveloped the two.

However, Morpheus' thoughts could not help but wander. He had so many questions that he didn't know where to begin. He was curious about Aureus, about the time he spent living on the other side of the continent, and what Myra was like after she left Agartha. Moreover, he was curious to know who was her sister's mate, Aureus' father. His sister was not someone who would select a nobody as her mate. He was sure that her mate must be someone extraordinary, a person so outstanding he managed to win her heart.

Morpheus let out a light cough to get Aureus' attention. "King Draven had explained to me the reason you came to Agartha."

Aureus nodded as he heard Morpheus try again, "I mean, I don't want to talk about the official reason—I mean, ugh, I am curious about so many things but I wonder how to ask."

The older eagle was acting so befuddled, the younger one could not help but crack a smile.

"Does it help if I say I also feel the same?"

"Yes. Talking like this makes me feel weird. But I want to hear about my sister so… If you can tell me anything you remember about Myra..."

Aureus stayed quiet for a while as he took a deep breath. "About my mother, I am not sure what kind of life she had here and why she left Agartha. What I remember is her struggle to hide the both of us. We never had a permanent residence, and we also avoided people as much as we could. At that time, I didn't know why she was doing all those things, but now, I know. I wish I could be of any help to her. I wish I had protected her but I was just a child back then. When she was gone, I, who was dependent on her for everything, was so scared and lonely. I hated myself for being weak…."

"Your father, didn't he do anything for you two? Wasn't he with you?" Morpheus finally asked, seeing this was a good chance to talk about his sister's mysterious mate.

"I don't know my father. About who he is, where he is, I don't know."

It shocked Morpheus. "How could—Didn't Myra tell you anything about him? In the first place, why was he not with his mate and child?"

Aureus merely shrugged. "For as long as I could remember, it's always been just my mother by my side. She didn't wish to talk about him so I never forced her to tell me. She looked hurt whenever I brought up topics related to him."

"Hurt?" Morpheus asked. In his opinion, she must have loved the person and vice-versa if they had a child together.

"Seems like whoever my father is, he must have done something that disappointed her, that's why she didn't wish to talk about him."

This angered Morpheus as he wondered how her mate had hurt his precious little sister.

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