Onyx quickly masked the sly grin on his face with a serious expression. "Father, why are you writing your will now? Surely, you have many years still left to live, right?"

Sirius got out of his chair and walked towards Onyx. He was taller than his son so he looked down on him, "Onyx, my son...my only son." He clutched Onyx’s shoulder tightly with his large hand.

Onyx didn’t speak, he only looked up at him. It was unusual for his father to get this close to him. He analysed his father’s face and it was the same as it had ever been, disappointed. Onyx hadn’t cared at all as even though he called Sirius his father he had always been emotionally disconnected from such familial relations. There was no particular reason; it was simply because he was born with a cold heart.

"Fetch your younger sister. It is something all three of you should hear."

Onyx nodded his head without question and walked out of the room to grab both of his sisters. He walked through the corridor to see maids cleaning the window, but he paid them no mind and continued walking. They bowed as Onyx passed and in the distance, he could see a terrifying man suited in full black armour with a dark cape that was embroidered with purple linings. The man was fully covered from head to toe and his face wasn’t visible.

This man was the captain of the Nightingale’s family army: the black knight. Even though technically Onyx was his superior as all the members of the Nightingale family naturally ranked higher than this man, Onyx still couldn’t help but feel uneasy as he walked past this human man in the royal realm, who was in charge of the prestigious army of the Nightingale family. However, Onyx’s uneasiness was unwarranted as this black knight would never harm any members of the Nightingale family as it was his sworn duty to protect and serve their family; still, he couldn’t help being somewhat nervous because of the immense strength coming out of this man.

It seemed that this overwhelmingly powerful captain was on his way to meet Sirius. Both the captain and Sirius were of similar strength to one another and both respected each other, they could even be described as friends.

Onyx made his way to Myerlin’s room as he thought that Amygdala would most likely be hanging around Myerlin. He barged in, opening the door wide and saw, as expected, Amygdala clinging lovingly to Myerlin.

"Tch. Both of you come and follow me, right now." Onyx showed visible disgust on his face as he spoke, setting Amygdala in a bad mood.

"What’s your problem? Why’d you have to speak so rudely and click your tongue at us?" Amygdala asked with an annoyed pout.

"Our father requested we all see him at once." He said, dismissing Amygdala’s questions.

"Fine..." Amygdala replied while turning to Myerlin she asked with a worried expression, "Can you get out of bed?"

"Ah, yes. I’m sure I can manage just *cough* fine." She quietly spoke as she slowly got out of bed. Her legs were shaking, Amygdala gave her the support she needed to walk. Each step they took was slow and Myerlin began sweating while still frequently coughing.

"Hey, Onyx, why don’t you just ask Father to come to Myerlin’s room?" Amygdala asked as she was concerned with the welfare of her younger sister.

"Stop talking," Onyx said coldly with his back turned.

Myerlin struggled to walk and so they walked at a slow pace to their father’s office.

≡

Nightingale’s Office

The black knight opened the door to Sirius’s office. He took off his helmet and held it to his side as he stood up straight.

Sirius chuckled lightly for a moment. "You’ve gotten old."

The black helmet had covered the face of an old man with a short grey beard. His hair was also grey and thinned out. His eyes were a dark green and on his left cheek was a faint scar.

"Haha...I am only human after all and I suspect I don’t have many years left to live."

"How is your son? Is he strong enough?" Sirius asked, with an underlying hope that he was strong enough to take his father’s place as the captain of his army.

"To take my place?" The black knight captain raised an eyebrow while looking at the ground, thinking for a moment. "He’ll do just fine I reckon. Haha!" He gave a hearty laugh. In truth, his son was exceptional and showed much promise.

Sirius looked out through the window to see his clean and well-kept courtyard. "I trust in your judgement. How old is your son?"

"He would be-maybe around your youngest daughter’s age?"

"Your family bloodline always seems to produce strong sons and it has served our family for a long time now. Truly, I have no idea how it remains so consistent, tell me does your son possess the same colour of green eyes that you do?"

"Well, I believe they’re brighter than mine...but they are green."

"Would you like to retire? You’ve worked long enough in your duties. I’ll send you to the human realm with enough riches to live peacefully with your wife and son."

The captain of the black knight scratched his head and thought about it for a moment, "Haha! My wife and I are quite content and happy as it is, and my son as well. Thank you for the offer though, it’s much appreciated!"

"I see," Sirius smirked as he was expecting such a reply. Long ago, the captain’s father had said something similar when Sirius made the same offer. However, even though his smirk could suggest otherwise, he had been completely serious in his offer to the black knight captain–Ashford d’Arc. It wasn’t out of debt and fear that the Arc family served the Nightingale family but rather out of honour. In turn, the Nightingale family always remained on good terms and never once made enemies out of them. They treated the small Arc family favourably in hopes they continued to work for them and this long line of servitude is traced so far back that Sirius wouldn’t even be able to find the roots of their relations however their bonds always remained healthy and strong.

*knock* *knock*

"Father, I have brought Amygdala and Myerlin."

Sirius sighed, "You may leave now Ashford, thank you."

"At once." Ashford gave a bow and put his helmet back on.

"Enter."

Onyx swung the door open to see the large frame of the black knight, which gave him a bit of a startle. He then walked into the room and his two sisters followed. They all lined up in the middle of the room, which had a fancy blue carpet floor. Sirius continued to look out of the window, seemingly in deep thought.

"Well then...excuse me." Ashford quietly said, feeling slightly awkward.

Amygdala turned to glance at the black knight with a child-like curiosity, and Ashford caught her gaze. Just as he was about to leave he gave her a thumbs-up and left, which made her giggle. Ashford then quickly left the room and went to attend to his usual duties.

Amygdala thought to herself, "He’s nice. I wonder what’s under that helmet?" She then envisioned the head of three cats sticking out of the captain’s armour. "That looks about right." She thought proudly to herself.

"Hey! What are *cough* you imagining?" She quietly whispered in Amygdala’s ear.

"Ahem!" Sirius cleared his throat and turned to his son and two daughters, "All of you, I have decided on an heir."

"It’s Onyx, right?" Amygdala asked confidently in her answer.

"Quiet Amygdala," Onyx spoke with a harsh tone, though he believed it was him as well.

"Onyx, naturally will inherit my seat. He will be the heir of the Nightingale family and own everything. However, you-Amygdala-will inherit the treasury and all that is inside." His eyes turned towards his eldest daughter.

"Father! Why would-"

"-Quiet!" Sirius exclaimed, sharply cutting off Onyx’s words. "This is what I have decided. That is all I have to say. I will hear no protests." Sirius spoke more calmly with a wrinkled forehead.

Amygdala was shocked at this news, expecting that everything would go to Onyx. Myerlin, as expected, had nothing given to her. She stood there clutching Amygdala’s hand as tightly as she could, wanting to go back to bed as it was a struggle for her to even be standing.

"Yes, father." Onyx quietly spoke and left the room. He shut the door and leaned on it, he put his thumb to his mouth and bit with enough force that blood streaked down. The bridge of his nose scrunched and his eyes had a furious glare. He believed he would inherit everything, including the Nightingale’s treasury, which was very important to him as it held great artefacts that would help him accomplish a greater ambition. Onyx never wanted to be just the head of the prestigious Nightingale family-no, he wanted more. He wanted to rule the heavens itself! He wanted to stand atop all the royal families!

≡

30 years passed

Sirius Nightingale was found dead and the circumstances surrounding his death were unclear and remained a mystery. He was given a funeral befitting of royalty. Nyx Nightingale, his wife, grieved his death.

Following his death, Onyx Nightingale officially took Sirius’s position, becoming the head of the Nightingale family.