A/N: Just a little one-shot, because I've always thought the de Bois siblings are a pretty interesting bunch.
One died for revenge, one died for greed and the youngest died to give life.
Anyway, kind of pointless, but still a fun read (I hope). Enjoy!
"Why?"
The question broke his heart.
It was something he'd wondered about often, though about a different subject than the question suggested.
"Why would you want to hurt your own nephew?" she asked, sounding both angry and heart-broken. She looked as perfect as the day she died, though he doubted she'd appreciate the complement.
"He killed you," Agravaine answered simply. His little sister, the light of his and Tristan's life, had been taken from them, and it was that little brat's fault. Arthur and Uther held equal amounts of blame in his eyes. Uther for asking that blasted sorceress for a life without thinking of the consequences. Arthur for sucking the life out of her.
"He was a babe, he didn't decide how to come into this world," she said. Then her eyes hardened. "And he was my son."
Agravaine shook his head. "He was Uther's son."
Ygraine let out a sound that was as close to a growl as he'd ever heard his delicate sister get. She stepped closer, and Agravaine had to fight the urge to step back. "Just because he was raised by my husband, doesn't mean that he doesn't resemble me! He's kind, sensitive, brave and just. Those aren't traits Uther taught him!"
For a moment, Agravaine wondered if she'd forgiven Uther for his sins, which were surely greater than his.
"I don't know how to forgive you for this, brother," she whispered, the anger slipping out of her like water through a sieve. "He is my son."
"He was never supposed to exist," Agravaine insisted, even as guilt flooded him. He'd known that Ygraine hadn't wanted to use magic, that Arthur was conceived against her wishes. And then she'd died as a result. He had hated both Pendragons ever since.
It had never occurred to him that his sister might have loved the abomination that was her child.
"You loved him."
"I love him still. Even Uther, for all his faults, loved our son completely, though he rarely said so."
"He murdered an entire people without remorse! Are you saying he is less at fault than I?" he demanded, wondering whether death had driven his dear sister mad.
She glared at him, some of her fire coming back. "Uther became a horrible man, driven mad by grief. He stopped being Uther the day he started the Purge. You however have no excuse. You chose a half-mad woman over your own nephew. You conspired to murder him, and did so without remorse, not caring who else would be hurt. You're no better than him."
Agravaine was shocked. Ygraine had never been like this when she was still alive, and while he admired her spirit, he was also confused and angry. "I did it for you! They needed to be taken down!"
"He needed his uncle!" she shouted back. Agravaine noted that she said nothing about Uther, and realized that she hadn't forgiven her husband either. There was that, at least.
She visibly calmed herself down. "At least he had his friend. Merlin took better care of him than you ever did. Even Gaius was more of an uncle to him than you," she said, a little venom seeping into her voice. "I don't ever want to see you again."
"Come now, Ygraine, we'll be here for all eternity, surely that's long enough to forgive me?"
Her glare intensified. "I'm not sure double that would be enough time for me to forgive you," she hissed. Then she turned on her heel and strode off, disappearing into the mists that enveloped this place.
"Ygraine!" He shouted, but it in vain.
He was alone.
/*/
"Ygraine!" He shouted.
"Save your breath, brother."
Agravaine looked up into his older brother's face. He'd lost him shortly after his sister, though his face looked exactly the same as he remembered.
"It took her years to forgive me, and I never held any ill will towards her son."
The younger – older? Agravaine had aged beyond Tristan's age – of the brothers frowned. "Didn't you come back from the dead to avenge Ygraine?"
Tristan looked a little uncomfortable. "To be fair, my soul remained here, it was only magic that reanimated my… well, my remains. And my goal was to kill Uther, not to harm Arthur."
Stubbornly, Agravaine scowled. "It doesn't change the fact that the boy killed her, whether willingly or not. He wasn't fit to be king."
Something shifted in his older brother's face. "And that's the crux of the matter. Your hatred might have started because Ygraine paid for her son's life with her own, but you wanted power. And you hoped to get it through Morgana. Getting rid of Arthur was just a happy side-effect."
Agravaine fidgeted uncomfortably. "And so what if I did? No Pendragon will ever be a good ruler, I would have made Camelot flourish. But I was a middle child, and not meant for such things. Even after you died, father's inheritance went to your son, not me. I had no choice!"
"And that's why Ygraine will never speak to you," Tristan said, sighing. "You honestly think you did the right thing, and nothing will make you truly regret it. And she'll never forgive you for that."
For a moment, Agravaine didn't say anything. If what his brother said was true, nothing would ever change. Because he would never change his mind, and so long as he didn't, Ygraine would pretend he didn't exist. "And you, brother? Am I to live in solitude for all eternity?"
Tristan regarded him for a moment. "You were always too ambitious for your own good, little brother. But while I don't particularly like you, I have no interest in cutting ties with you. After all, it's not my child you tried to murder."
A/N: Bit of an abrupt ending, but I figured this was the right place to end it.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think!