Fire and ice, Jonathan is jealous. He sits in his chambers, the chain of a white-crystal pendant twined through his fingers, and is consumed with pure envy. He is jealous of Gary and Raoul, jealous of the Rogue and jealous of the flower seller in street.
By no act of his own, he is bound to his position, a slave to the will of others; he resents this. His parents call him ungrateful, the servants put it more simply, when they think he's beyond hearing. A spoiled brat, is he? Jonathan ignores them with contempt and he is allowed to; by some trick of fate he was born above them. Separated by a title, a nasty trick of the gods. Yes, everyone wants something from him, but no one wants him.
There are two people that, in his mind, want him. One is dead, and the other who killed the first, is hiding. But that's not right, is it? Roger never wanted him, only wanted him dead. Jonathan is confused, but then he is not. He understands jealousy now; he wants anonymity, he wants freedom and choice. He doesn't want to take care of thousands of people – he can barely take care of himself.
Jonathan looks at the crystal that his cousin gave him, once upon a time, and is furious. They don't care about who he is, only what he will become. He hurls Roger's crystal at the stone walls of his bed-chamber; it shrieks as it comes in contact and then lands in the flames of the fire. The white crystal glints, a dangerous orange.
Jonathan wishes he could hide.
There is a difference though, between the jealousy that his cousin had, and he himself has now. Roger wanted power, Jonathan seeks to escape it. If only Roger were alive now, Jonathan would tell him this, and maybe the Conté duke would make a good king after all. Anyone was better than himself.
Jonathan hides in the library, searching through spells that require more power than he has to offer. He fetches the crystal from where it lies in his hearth, and begins to play with loaned power.
One night he finds himself, as if compelled, in the palace catacombs. He is standing over his cousin's tomb and incanting, drawing on the Trebond gift. Purple and sapphire light mix in his hands, and he so absorbed is he, that he is startled when an older man slams him against a wall, canceling the spell.
Sir Myles is angry, very angry. Jonathan is angry too. He seethes, and demands to know who forewarned Myles. Never mind that, says Myles and informs the prince that they are going to visit Alanna and the Bazhir, now.
But as Jonathan leaves the catacomb, escorted firmly by Myles, he is positive that he sees a flash of red hair, and the knowing smirk of Lord Thom.
Jonathan thinks, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, that he's going to visit the wrong twin.
This was written for Lord Theodore's Drop Centre, a brand new Tamora Pierce fanfiction collection.You should check it out
Fenella