Will of a Prince

Chapter 200: He is Still Human... For Now

Jacob crumpled the paper furiously and threw it across the table. He began walking towards a wall and repeatedly punching it with his right hand. The walls creaked and groaned with each impact but remained in perfect condition. Jacob’s hand became bloody the more punches he threw. Everyone around him stared at him with caution. Maria was the only one brave enough approach.

She put a hand on his shoulder gently, causing him to stop momentarily and pant heavily. He slowly turned around and looked at Maria with his hazel-green eyes. They were filled with small tears. His face looked distraught and regretful, and his shoulders weakened the more Maria held on to them.

Maria looked back at the paper he crumpled and threw away. After waiting for Jacob to calm down, she slowly sat down on the floor with him as people passed the note around to each other, all of their faces portraying a similar emotion of shock. When the note finally got to Maria, she gently grabbed the corners of the page and read carefully. Her eyes grew wider the further down she read.

"Jacob... This still doesn’t mean-"

"What was it all for?"

Everyone was silent hearing that question. Jacob grabbed the note and lifted it in the air playfully like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"Can someone tell me what my dad died for?! Anyone?!"

Another deafening silence followed. Not a single person could look at Jacob in the eye, except for Lidia. She was the only one who stood her ground and looked into his face with a composed expression. Eventually, she broke the silence first.

"Your dad died because he was a ruthless leader, Jacob. This doesn’t excuse him of the actions that he has done to me, to all of us."

Jacob stood up and walked towards Lidia, slightly shaking as he tried to contain his furry that he felt. He got close to her face and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you still going on about shit like that? Do you have any concept of what this note means?! He wasn’t being ruthless because he was coldhearted, he was being ruthless because he HAD to be! Don’t you see it?! His quest for power, his priority to keep Iron Kingdom safe, this was all to save the WORLD!! Why can’t you see that?!"

Lidia held her ground and pushed back into Jacob.

"You can be a strong leader without beating down on those below you. He sent your mom to her death-"

"HE LOVED MY MOM! SHE WAS EVERYTHING TO HIM! EVRYTHING! AND WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT MY FAMILY?!"

"Are you forgetting how he treated you? How he treated Maria?! Are you saying that all those terrible things he did, all those terrible things he said were all justified because he had the kingdoms interests in mind?"

"He had the worlds interests, HUMANITY’S interests in mind!!"

Suddenly, a large hand pressed against Jacob’s chest and shoved him back slightly. Slimo stepped in between him and Lidia with a cold, foreboding glare.

"Back up, Jacob. Stop talking to Lidia like that or you won’t like what happens next."

Jacob looked at Slimo maniacally. A small chuckle escaped his lips. He lifted his hands up and looked around at everyone else.

"Anyone else want to share their thoughts? You all lived it too! Do I need to remind you what this world did to our friends? That’s the kind of thing my father was trying to prevent!!"

Everyone remained silent. Suddenly, Jacob’s anger surged even greater.

"SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!!"

A wave of energy blasted through the room, making everyone flinch. Upon this happening, everyone around each other started speaking quickly.

"Well, I’m not sure I-"

"If you think about it, he may have been-"

"I was never in Iron Kingdom, but it sounds like-"

All the talking was getting to be too much for him, but there was one person he was deeply curious to hear an answer from: Maria.

He walked up to her, his eyes bloodshot and cracked from the tears.

"Maria. Please tell me I’m not crazy."

Maria swallowed calmly and lifted her chin.

"You aren’t crazy. I don’t think your father was a bad person knowing what I know now, but I also can’t defend how he treated those below him. However, I will support whatever decision you decide to make with this new information."

That answer wasn’t what he was hoping for, but it also brought him a slight piece of mind. Slimo was still cautiously standing in between him and Lidia, looking at Jacob scornfully.

Jacob looked Slimo up and down trying to understand why he was being so defensive. In his mind, there was no way he could lay a finger on Lidia, let alone hurt her even if he tried to. Therefore, Slimo taking so much precaution means that Jacob was a much greater threat than he realized.

"You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?"

Jacob slowly inched forward threateningly. Slimo put his hand on his sword, preparing to draw it.

"Jacob, back away from her. I won’t ask you again."

Jacob stopped and continued staring at Slimo. Lidia also seemed to be on edge even though she was hiding behind Slimo.

"You both are hiding something from me. Does it have to do with those little glasses you have?"

Slimo’s eyes betrayed a hint of fear hearing these words. Jacob caught it immediately and inched forward a little closer. Slimo drew his sword and held it out in front of him.

"You do not want this fight, Jacob."

Jacob breathed deeply and looked away for a few moments.

"I will leave you alone as long as you tell me one thing."

He looked back at Slimo, almost playfully.

"What are Maria and I truly capable of with these marks?"

The room fell so quiet that the only sound being heard was the wind blowing against the walls of the palace. Even Maria appeared shock hearing that Slimo and Lidia were potentially hiding something from them. To know that her own mom didn’t trust her ached her heart to no end.

Three uncomfortable moments passed before Slimo finally gave an answer.

"You don’t need to know. You are strong enough with your powers."

Jacob chuckled slightly, his voice echoing off the walls of the room.

"You know, I truly wanted to believe I wasn’t the reason that judge pulled her own tongue out, but seeing everyone follow my command upon me asking them to hear their thoughts, my suspicion was all but confirmed."

Jacob scoffed.

"And to think I was just some powerful gardener this whole time..."

Suddenly, Slimo surged forward and threw his sword down at Jacob. However, Jacob was prepared for this attack. He moved his own sword from his waist and blocked the strike with ease. The clashing of their weapons rang through the hall. Slimo looked at Jacob with a desperate expression.

Lidia didn’t know what to do. It was clear her mind was fighting itself with what the right decision would be in this situation.

"Everyone, Jacob is not himself anymore! Help me tie him down!"

An explosion sounded through the room and Slimo was sent hurdling into across the floor, breaking through multiple tables and chairs as he flew. After crashing on the ground, everyone stared in awe at who had attacked him.

Maria’s fist was steaming from the impact. Her eyes looked desperate, hurt, and angry. She stared at Lidia with tears filling her eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?! First, you hide this information from us because you don’t trust your own family, then you go and try to attack them?! You have both lost your mind!"

Jacob glared at everyone else around him, daring them to get any closer than where they were. He put a hand on Maria’s shoulder and began to walk out of the room.

"Don’t follow us."

Maria followed him, still sniffling from the altercation. In mere moments, both Maria and Jacob had left the palace. All that was left in the room was eerie silence.

Slimo crawled out of the rubble, struggling to balance himself as he tried to stand up. He rubbed his cheek where Maria had hit him.

"Damn it. She hits harder than Lidia has ever hit me before."

Everyone looked at Lidia and Slimo for answers.

"What the hell just happened? What are Maria and Jacob talking about? Where are they going?"

"I don’t know Squabee, but I promise what we were hiding was for good reason."

Enki crossed his arms.

"I understand I am new to this group, but I feel that we are owed an answer after everything that just happened."

Zoey yelled over everyone.

"Why would you think to attack him?! This is Jacob we’re talking about!"

"Yah. Cutting him would have been much better."

Zoey punched Steel over the head for making such a comment.

Slimo bowed towards everyone and began to speak.

"As you all know, Jacob and Maria are marked with that weird skull. The skull gives both of them weird powers that grow in strength the more they use it. We were actually using Maria’s power to travel, but she doesn’t know it’s from her skull marking. Maria was never who we were worried about being a danger though."

Everyone leaned in attentively.

"Upon using these glasses on Jacob, I discovered the true nature of his Zalo power. It has nothing to do with roots at all. In fact, Jacob can not only command plants to do his bidding, but everything and anything must also follow his will. That kind of power is extremely dangerous, even in the hands of someone like Jacob. If he were to accidently say something or lose control of himself like he has done a few times before, there is no telling what the consequences will be. In fact, we would all be at the mercy of his command."

Multiple people covered their mouths hearing the truth. Lucy was the first to speak.

"What an insidious power."

"I thought Squabee’s was powerful, but Jacob’s may just be even stronger."

"Did the glasses tell us what his weakness is?"

Slimo hesitated.

"It told me that his weakness is that he is still human... for now."