Blood Has Been Shed
Tom Riddle Sr. exuded an aura of commanding authority, his form draped in elegant robes that cascaded with regal grace. A crimson cape, lined with the finest fur, billowed behind him, its presence a testament to his noble lineage. Beneath, dark garments clung to his frame, hinting at a mysterious allure that spoke of shadows and secrets. A sword, sheathed at his side, gleamed with a polished menace, a silent promise of protection or peril. Resting atop his brow, a crown of ancient design proclaimed his sovereignty over both land and legacy prowled the expansive ballroom in search of his future bride, a specter of ambition and desire amidst the swirling elegance of the gathered kingdom. Like a predator, his keen eyes swept over the sea of finely adorned masked guests, each draped in regal attire vying for his favor, regardless of their marital status. Yet, none captured his elusive gaze. With a frustrated sigh, he retreated to his majestic throne, perched high above the dance floor, a smirk playing on his lips, while his relatives sat on their seats by his chair with cold and hard expressions that matched his own. The guards, motionless as stone, announced his return with thunderous lance strikes, silencing the room. All eyes turned to their sovereign, anticipating his next move with a mix of reverence and apprehension.
With an arrogant smile, Tom Riddle Sr raised his hand high into the air. "My people," he proclaimed, his voice cutting through the room with chilling calmness, "raise your glasses and toast your ruler. To me." His words dripped with conceited confidence as he disregarded the disapproving gazes of his relatives, including his elderly father and mother, who watched him with undisguised disgust.
The Riddle royal dynasty faced numerous formidable rivals in their relentless quest to seize and maintain the crown and kingdom in their grasp. These adversaries, who had once relinquished their power to their heirs, now harbored ambitions of reclaiming their lost dominion. Amidst this atmosphere of tension and ambition, the struggle for supremacy unfolded, marked by treacherous alliances, strategic maneuvers, and the unyielding pursuit of dynastic legacy and conquest that no other man has learned to know of it.
As the kingdom applauded their king and his esteemed dynasty, a sudden uproar filled the hall as a door flung open with a jarring crash. Gasps of horror echoed through the room as guests and royals alike turned to behold the unexpected intrusion. Down the grand staircase, guards swiftly descended, their lances poised defensively to shield their sovereign and the revered royal family from whatever impending threat lay beyond the threshold. All eyes fixated on the chilling spectacle before them, tension thickening the air with palpable dread.
A guard from outside staggered into the kingdom with a massive long trail of blood that followed him from behind and his armor was coated in blood and his arm was holding his other missing limb of his arm with eyes wide in such pain and horror as he glared at the Riddle King. "He...he...he...he...is...", He stuttered in shock, the overwhelming horror rendering him unable to complete his sentence. Disoriented by blood loss, he collapsed to the ground, life slipping away from him as a large puddle of blood began to pour from his wound of his arm.
The king and his family, their icy stares betraying internal turmoil, shuddered at the sight before them. In their minds, silent screams echoed. As the kingdom's masked guests trembled in fear, another presence emerged into the vast ballroom. Clad in a simple loincloth, his long ebony black hair down to the middle of his back, body covered in filth, and hands freshly stained blood as it continued dripping, he bore a menacing smile that revealed sharp, predatory teeth that was covered in blood. This terrifying visage sent waves of terror through the assembled company, prompting them to cower in dread, as they struggle to keep their distance from this mysterious intruder.
The people echoed with to loud screams as the menacing figure was followed into the castle ballroom by a pack of wolves. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural intensity, seeming to pierce into the very souls of the masked guests who stood frozen in terror. The royal family and the sinister figure stood amidst this chilling tableau, his smile slowly widening into grotesque grins that sent shivers down the spines of all who beheld them. Drool dripped slowly from his lips, as he locked his red eyes on the Riddle dynasty while the king stood utterly frozen in fear and horror.
He smiled even sensing their hearts pounding and underneath their armor, he smelled the salt of sweat with their lances shaking in fear. His gaze lingered upon them with a chilling intensity before he strode towards the long table laden with an array of food and drinks. With each tray, his bloody hand methodically selected morsels, emitting low growls of satisfaction. Grasping and gulping a large bottle of wine, he hurled it to the ground, the sound of shattering glass punctuating the air. Moving towards the fruit bowl, he plucked a red apple, cradling it in his bloodstained palm as he approached the king and his family with deliberate steps. He smiled wider, eating the apple, with his burning eyes staring at his grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins who he never got to know or wish to know them ceased his steps staring at the man who imprisoned him in the tower.
His smile widened unnervingly as he savored each bite of the apple, his burning eyes fixed upon grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins he had never known, nor wished to know. Halting his steps, he locked gazes with the man who had imprisoned him in the tower. Taking another bite of the tender, rich fruit, he savored its flavor deliciously. Then, with a slow, vicious growl simmering with fiery rage and hate, he spat the chewed pieces of the apple at his father, who recoiled in fear.
"So...Father", he sneered in disgust saying the word. "Is this how to treat your son? The prince of the Riddle dynasty?" He asked calmly as he smirked, showing off his blooded teeth. "To be raised, locked, trapped in a damn tower?" He asked with growls of such rage that was burning his body and heart hammering rapidly.
The king and the entire dynasty felt their bones shrivel in fear as their hearts stopped pumping. Then, the king began to hear the murmurs of his people who stared at him, his family, and his son in such surprise at the news that they hadn't acknowledged until now.
"That monster...is the king's son?"
"That's absurd! Impossible!"
"I thought the child died along with the queen"
"How could such a monster be the king's son?"
"A curse from the queen!"
Tom Riddle stared at his family who all gazed at him, then rose from his chair. "You are not welcome here, demon", he spat. The boy snickered. "Leave here. At once"
The unnamed Riddle and the prince stood unfazed. Suddenly, he began to feign tears, which gradually transformed into mocking snickers. Soon, the entire room echoed with his eerie, deranged laughter, piercing through all their hearts, even unsettling the cruel king himself.
The nameless prince's laughter echoed eerily through the chamber, each cackle sending shivers down the spine. Abruptly, he ceased, a chilling smile stretching across his face. His eyes, hidden beneath a veil of black hair, gleamed with a sinister intensity, while his sharp canine teeth glistened in the dim light as he grinned.
"You left me to rot in that tower, Father. You kept me in there all those years...like I was a dog", he snarled as he smiled. "You sent a damn human to kill me...but...I showed him the beast you made me become...that my mother created me to be"
Tom Riddle Sr stared at him with fear and hatred as he mentioned his wife who gave him such a monstrous child.
"But now....those sixteen long years of imprisonment in my life...", he then smiled. "My fangs have found you," he whispered, his voice dripping with menace and dark promise.
The wolves heard his words and attacked the many guests in the ballroom attacking them all clanging their fangs into their flesh ripping their clothing, tearing their flesh apart as they screamed in horror and pain as they tried to escape from the predators of the forest but no one survived the large ballroom was filled with screams and growls and the floor were covered in blood. The king and relatives reacted quickly and fearfully with their hearts stopped seeing the horrific sight, they quickly take off from the wolves the nameless boy makes a more loud and feral cackle and the guards rush to stop him from approaching the royal family.
With a sudden, grotesque transformation, his body contorted and expanded into that of a massive wolf. In a frenzied onslaught, he lunged at the guards who stood dutifully by their king and the royal family. They attempted to fight back, but the wolf's vicious onslaught overwhelmed them all, teeth and claws tearing through their defenses with savage efficiency. They screamed as they felt the other wolves tear off their limbs and flesh as their large alpha devoured his victims as he growled and snarled savagely with his coal black snout covered in deep red dripping red.
Rising slowly on his powerful haunches, the wolf-creature lifted its canine head with a menacing snarl and low, threatening hisses. Its eyes gleamed with an unsettling intelligence as it fixed its gaze on the door through which his family and the king had escaped, their terrified footsteps echoing down the corridor. A sinister smile spread across its lupine features, filled with the promise of relentless pursuit and murderous revenge. His mouth covered in blood and dripping he slowly walked down the hall.
"Guards! Guards! Guards! Guards!" As the king yelled while he and his family takes, the guards swiftly moved to protect them, but their courage faltered when they beheld the monstrous sight before them. The large wolf, its fur as black as the cape of the grim reaper, loomed menacingly. Moonlight gleamed off its blood-soaked, razor-sharp teeth, casting a ghastly sheen across the scene. In its chilling presence, the creature seemed to embody death itself, silently promising each guard a grisly fate they could not escape.
Screams were heard down the hall.
The king and the rest of the Riddle family takes off then the wolf with his black fur almost fully coated in blood as he smiled with his mouth completely dripping blood, he attacks them all. Ripping them all apart as he held them down all apart as he snarled and growled while his wolf army joined their leader ripping out the lives of his relatives. The hall as the ballroom were filled with savage growls, snarls, screams, flesh being ripped apart, and blood splattering then all was silence only the sounds of wolves devouring their lucky, easy, and exquisite rewards.
Except one who still remains alive.
King Tom Riddle Sr stumbled into the chamber, his breaths ragged and panicked, sweat mingling with blood on his disheveled clothes. The weight of his lost crown seemed a distant memory as he frantically locked the door behind him, eyes wide with terror fixed on the haunting cries echoing from beyond.
Backpedaling in horror, he could still hear the agonized screams of his family reverberating through the walls, each cry a chilling reminder of the carnage unfolding. His chest heaved with each labored breath as he moved farther from the door, his gaze darting nervously, searching for any escape from the nightmare closing in around him. In a desperate twist of fate, his frantic retreat brought him face-to-face with the mirror.
Then he heard growls emanating from outside, accompanied by snickering snarls of laughter that pierced his heart, causing it to momentarily stop. The king panicked, clutching his sword with trembling hands, until it slipped from his sweaty palms.
The nameless prince barged the door down in seconds with his chest coated in blood from the cloaked bloodied mouth as he smiled with eyes showing such insanity.
"Please...please...I...please...spare...me", he muttered in panic.
"I have begged for sixteen years while your men came and inflicted such cruelty upon me, much like your own," he snarled, his voice tinged with madness.
"Please...spare me...son. Give me a chance, son", Tom Riddle Sr begged with his hands up.
The nameless boy stared at his father, finally hearing the word "son" spoken to him.
"I know I've been a awful father, my son. I know I've treated so cruelly and unfairly, my son. And I haven't been a true man, king, or a father, my child, but now...I know have been terrible but...now...I see now that I have to be there for you, son...Tom Riddle...Jr...my son", the king makes a shaken smile.
He stared at him silently, ignoring the blood that was becoming crusted on his body as he stared at his frightened father.
"I...know...I...abandoned you so...cruelly and...your mother...your dear mother...I'm sorry...but I can make it right...for us both...my son", he lied as he held a dagger behind his back under his cloak. He remained silent, staring at his father who slowly approached him with his other arm raised for a hug. "My son...Tom", he shivered as he held his arms around his back as he clenched the dagger in his hand ready to end the curse his wife gave him. "I wanted to protect you from the outside world, my son...but now I learned it was wrong. Forgive me, my son", he rested his hand on his shoulder.
The nameless prince stared off into space, gazing at the mirror and he slowly closed his red eyes, resting his cheek on his shoulder.
The king stared at the dagger, gripping it tightly in his hand as he slowly raised it into the air, determined to end the curse inflicted by his wife. With a sneer, he wasted no time and thrust the knife toward the nameless prince.
Reacting swiftly, the boy caught the knife in his grip and tightly squeezed his father's hand, preventing the dagger from piercing his body.
He then caught the knife and began pulling it, ignoring the blood from his hands feeling the dagger peeling his skin until he threw the knife out of his father's hand and threw him to the mirror shattering it into pieces then without giving him a chance to escape and plea for his life he rammed his jaws deep into the skin of his father's throat making his screams turn to silence.
He panted viciously, a wide smirk revealing blue foam dripping from his mouth, teeth stained crimson with the blood of his victims. Slowly, he staggered to his feet, his gaze fixed on the shattered mirror before him. As he stood, his snickers morphed into unsettling cackles that reverberated through the echoing halls of the castle. Overlapping with his laughter, haunting howls of the wolves echoed, intensifying the eerie revenge of all those sixteen years, he was now free.