Down by the Sea

Title from Sweeney Todd, the ballad Mrs Lovett sings during their picnic.

A fic about the Solidor brothers and how Vayne and Larsa built their resolve after a day by the sea.

"You have got to be kidding." Revenal looked increduously insulted at his slightly older brother.
"Why not? It's the perfect present for a one year old!" Lamont defended, glaring at him with his striking blue eyes. Solidor eyes. They had been made famous by Gramis and Lamont Solidor and renewed within Larsa the moment the babe had opened his eyes.

The older brothers, separated by two years, squabbled as they were wont to do, arguing about the plushtoy Lamont held in his hands. They were quite a pair; Lamont with his long wavy tumble of deep brown hair and Revenal with his shortly cropped dark bristles. One was an eloquent diplomat who commanded admiration within the Senate and people alike, the other a fierce military General admired and respected by his comrades. But currently they stood in a toyshop in Archades, looking more like scruffy young men than the Solidors they were respected for.

"It's a Mandragora!"
"Well spotted Revenal, your soldier's perceptive eyes have not dulled over the years." Lamont drawled through a grin as Revenal shoved his shoulder.
"They're dirty little creatures that live in sand and toddle about like pests."
"No, they're adorable little creatures that make adorable little plushtoys and perfect little gifts for our baby brother."

And that was that. The item was paid for before a smiling Solidor exited the shop followed by a scowling one.

"It was Lamont who killed your mother, and Revenal who conspired with him two years ago just like how he killed your sister." Vayne Solidor, almost nineteen, stared in disbelief at his father.
"They would never- Lamont cared for her so much! Father, Revenal and he would never think of such heinous things to-"
"Her blood still stains the floor of her room, Vayne. Would you like to see?"

He snapped his mouth shut, hands balled into fists.

"They have been tried for treason and have been found wanting. A Solidor must rule with justice at his right hand, even if it means raising it against one of his own."
"Father," Vayne shook his head, "you know not what you ask of me..." His eyes, a rich deep brown like Revenal's own, bore terror mixed with defiance. "I cannot."
"You can and you will Vayne Solidor. I will not have traitors ruining our name. And think- we would not want such dangerous men around the Heir of House Solidor, hm?"

And as Vayne was handed the Solidor heirloom sword, he suddenly cursed at his surname and wished he were just an ordinary young man. He knew his father was lying; all that man cared for was narrowing the bloodline. A part of him knew Lamont must have been ordered to kill their mother. Another part of him knew Revenal would have been ordered to kill their sister too, when she mysteriously 'ran away', for what use was a female?

Vayne would try to keep up the lie over the next few days, pretending he had never obeyed his father's order. Pretending he hadn't seen the resolve in his brothers' eyes as they knew exactly what their father had asked of him the moment he had stood in the doorway with the blade.

Revenal had even teased him about his poor swordsmanship. They hardly fought back. And he had cut them both down, crying hysterically as he watched him them bleed all over the floor.

"Protect him." Revenal gasped, a weak smile on his lips as he held a hand over the wound piercing his gut.
"Save him from father." Lamont pleaded.

As they drew their last breath together, they reached for each other's hand.They had it easy, escaping into death. They both gave him a sympathetic look.

Poor thing.

"Don't forget Mandy!" Larsa pouted, tugging on Drace's cloak as she packed things into his little rucksack. She chuckled.
"Of course not, little Prince." The Mandragora plush was carefully stowed away in the bag as Larsa bounced eagerly.
"Is it as beautiful as the pictures in the books?" He asked breathlessly.
"Far more beautiful." Drace corrected, turning to face the little five year old as he could barely contain his excitement. "The sea is far more rich and vibrant than any picture will ever capture."
"And I'll see more Mandies?" He asked, ever hopeful as he looked up at her. She smiled.
"Real live Mandragoras, little Larsa. But you'll have to be careful around them, hm?"

A trip to Phon Coast upon the insistence of a clever Geography teacher. It would be fundamental to his studies if the boy saw the sea himself, he had stated to the Emperor, and it would do well if his brother accompanied him for safety. Safety also meant to company of Judge Magister Gabranth and Drace, the boy's unofficial surrogate parents though none dared admit it aloud.

The boy could barely contain his excitement in the aircraft, bouncing and running about until it was Ghis who simply picked the boy up and sat him on his armored shoulder in an attempt to still him.
"Good luck with the combination of sand and armor, Judge Magisters." He teased Drace and Gabranth as they looked at the coast spanning below. Phon Coast, beautiful and pristine yet dangerous if one did not know how to keep creatures at bay.
"We will enjoy our little holiday and think of you holed up in your office with stacks of papers." Drace retorted with her sharp tongue. Gabranth only smiled wryly to himself as Larsa giggled.

As the aircraft landed, it was only through his trained reflexes that Ghis managed to catch Larsa before the boy eagerly pitched forward into the sand.
"Ah, " he tisked, setting the boy down yet keeping a firm hold on his shoulder, "not until your guardians escort you." Despite the huffing and pouting, Ghis moved not a muscle until Gabranth had swept the boy up into his arms and bid his comrade farewell.
"See you tomorrow, Judge Magisters." Ghis nodded to the pair.

At the front of the aircraft, the now eldest Solidor conversed with the men in the cockpit. He was a man now, freshly twenty and charming in every aspect. Pleasing to the eye with his tall stature and broad shoulders, and pleasing to the ears with his rich voice and eloquent speech. He thanked the pilots before disembarking.

"The seeeaaaaa!" Larsa squealed, wrestling with his shoes and socks before running along the shore to wet his feet.
"Larsa!" Vayne cursed silently, unable to stop the laugh in his chest as he tore down the sand after him.

Behind him, the two Judges swung their weapons to warm their muscles. Phon Coast was known for both her beauty and the dangerous creatures that ensured not many soiled her shores. Though they remained hilghly alert, they deemed the place safe enough for the two Solidors to run amuck.

"Cold." Larsa stated as he was carried back to Gabranth. The sopping wet Solidor was set back on his feet in front of the notoriously stoic man. Larsa grinned, though his teeth chattered. "I'm wet!"
"Well observed, my Lord." Gabranth chuckled as he draped a towel around his shoulders.
"Where's Mandy?"
"Right here, nice and dry." Drace unearthed the plushtoy Mandragora, sitting it on the sand beside her. "But he won't want you near if you're wet!"

After a brief struggle to change into warm, dry clothing, Larsa sat beside Drace and pulled his toy into his arms. He didn't remember too much about the day he received it, but he did remember blue eyes and brown eyes. And lots of smiling and cooing. Vayne told him his brothers had given him Mandy before they left. Left to where he still did not understand.

A dash of green distracted him, buried a little away from where he sat. A sprig of green; a little sprout poking out of the sand. Looking around him and noting that his guardians and brother were conversing avidly, he crawled forward towards it. He crept closer and closer, Mandy in one hand, until his little nose was touching the leaves. It was odd, seeing a tiny sprout peeking out of the sand when no other greenery surrounded it. He giggled, tapping it with his fingertips.

Larsa cried out as a Mandragora unearthed itself, chattering at him angrily for disturbing its sleep. It chattered to the plush, mistaking it for one of its own, before trying to reach for it. Larsa yanked his plushtoy close to his chest, scrambling back and screaming for help. The Mandragora lunged forward.
"Larsa!" Without thinking Vayne had drawn the sword at his hip, slicing the creature fatally. Larsa screamed in hysterics as his face was splashed with blood still hot from the body. Gabranth swept the boy into his arms shielding his face against his bare shoulder, for once free of armor, so he would not see the mutilated corpse that gushed blood into the sand

Drace backhanded the elder brother, hissing at him through clenched teeth.
"What were you thinking?!"
"Oh I know not. Protecting my brother, perhaps?" Vayne fought to urge to cup his burning cheek, glaring long and hard at her instead. It was only when Larsa was concerned that the hierarchy of power ceased. They were just men and women after Larsa's wellbeing, not Judges nor Solidors. She returned his glare, mouth set in a hard line before she turned to Gabranth and the boy sobbing inconsolably in his arms.

"Hush now Larsa, your brother was just trying to help you. It's alright..." Carefully a soft white embroidered kerchief dabbed at his cheeks until the tears and blood were no more.

Vayne Solidor was in a foul mood. His cheek still stung and his pride stung far worse. The servants knew to steer well clear of him when they had returned from their trip and no one dared question the bloodied plushtoy he carried in a clenched fist. Of course he would not throw it away! He had exploded at one of them after she had suggested she place the dirtied toy in the garbage.

He could not bear to throw away the toy Larsa had hugged every night since his first birthday. His gift from his brothers now dead by Vayne's own hand. The toy was as precious to Larsa as it was to Vayne.

So in the privacy of his room he had scrubbed away at the blood splattered on Mandy's face. In his mind he tried desperately to blank the memory of Larsa's face stained with blood. Stained. Tainted. A state he wished would never ever befall his brother as it had him. He resolved to gladly stain his hands, over and over again in blood if it meant Larsa would be kept innocent and full of laughter and smiles.

Mandy stared at him, clean at last. He sat the toy by the window to dry before returning to his desk to resume his duties. Yes, he was now the eldest Solidor with responsibilities and duties to be performed. He would complete them no matter the pain, if it only to keep his father occupied with him instead of worrying over the youngest son. The smiling son with the disarming laugh.

Vayne felt his chest twist, looking down at his hands he could not banish the image of them dripping with blood as his hands shook with terror the night he took up sword against family.

For you, Larsa. All for you.

"Do not be angry at him, my Lord." Gabranth spoke gently as he helped the boy into a cotton shift. "He was trying to protect you. A Mandragora could have wounded you."
"He killed it Gabbies!" Larsa shouted, still angry and terrified. He clung to the man's leg, burying his face in the cloth of his pants.
"It could have killed you." He reminded, lifting the boy into bed and tucking him in.
"That's not the point!" Larsa argued, surprising Gabranth once more and reminding him this was an incredibly perceptive child.
"What is your point, little Larsa?" Gabranth coaxed, making sure the boy was snug in his covers.
"He shouldn't have killed it. It was my fault it got angry at me, I disturbed it! He should have just moved it and then I would've said sorry and things would be ok." The boy was trying stubbornly not to cry, cheeks puffed out in a pout. The memory of hot blood on his face had not been buried yet and the boy would forever hate violence.

"Larsa?" Vayne's mellow voice calling him.
"Go away." He huffed, suddenly burrowing beneath the heavy linens. The brother did the opposite, coming inside the large room to sit beside the lump.
"I have someone here to see you."
"I'm sleepy. Tell them tomorrow."
"Alright Mandy. He'll see you tomorr-"
"No!" Suddenly he pushed the covers back, reaching for the toy hungrily. Vayne handed the toy back, his heart at peace as soon as Larsa crushed the plush to his chest. "Mandy..."

With guilty eyes he meet his brother's gaze.
"I'm sorry for being rude."
"I am very sorry for making you upset, Larsa." Vayne smoothed his hair back, marvelling at how soft Larsa's hair was.
"Don't hurt things, not even for me." Larsa pleaded. "No one should hurt things for other people."
"That's not how the world works, little love." Vayne shook his head.
"Then it should work that way." The young child huffed, turning away for a moment.

Solidors, Gabranth had observed, were extremely stubborn. But there was a glint in his rainy grey eyes. He had found a glimmer of hope that shone in the youngest Solidor. Maybe, just maybe, he would grow to take Lamont's place as Drace had whispered one day. A peaceful ambassador of Justice.

"I'll always be willing to fight for you, precious." That gentle, rich voice as Vayne tucked his brother back in bed to quell any further arguments. "You are the heir to our name, and so very beloved to us all."
"I'll work hard to make a world so you won't have to fight, brother."

Gabranth caught Drace's eye as she stood in the doorway. They nodded to each other.

This one, this boy, this Larsa Ferrinas Solidor would be their beacon of hope in a darkened Empire that reeked of corruption.

They would fight for his vision, even if it meant raising a hand against their own.