BROTHER AND SISTER

How stupid they had been, Marcia was thinking. If only they had brought their mounts with them they wouldn't have been in that horrible situation.

She was starting to not feel his feet anymore and she didn't know for how long she could hold on; she prayed that someone would come save them soon.


There were rumors of a small group of bandits hiding outside a village, so the queen had sent Marcia and Makalov to check; if the rumors were proven true then she would have sent other soldiers to help them.

She trusted Marcia: she had always demonstrated to be reliable and capable of handling every situation she was in quite well; as for Makalov… well, at least there was his sister to keep him in line. He wasn't totally incapable in combat; the problem was having him sober enough to be of any help.

That was a perfect chance to test him; maybe being alone with his sister would have helped him in some way.


- A-are you all right?-, Makalov said with difficulty.

Marcia weakly nodded but it was obvious that she was lying; she was shaking from head to toe.

She was wrapped in her cloak but it wasn't enough to keep her completely warm.


Once they arrived at the village they decided to wait for the weather to get better before going to check the place where the bandits should have been.

They spent the night at the only inn they could find. From the windows they could see snow falling down from the sky.

Even the elderly didn't remember such a cold winter; it was like being in Daein all of sudden.


They had decided, the next day, to go without their mounts, since they weren't used to such a cold weather, and to leave them to rest at the inn – fortunately they also had a stable.

They realised their mistake too late.


It had started to snow again and soon they got stuck in a blizzard.

They had to go back, but as time passed moving their legs was becoming more and more difficult, especially for Marcia.

Makalov had successfully been able to drag her for a bit, but he was starting to feel weak too.


The only solution they could think of to go through that situation mostly unharmed was to find a place where they could wait for the blizzard to end.


- I'm so cold…-, she whispered, before feeling a pair of arms around her.

She turned her head towards Makalov, who was holding her close.

- It's to keep us warm-, he explained.

He was obviously in pain, but he wasn't saying anything about it, which was strange; he usually didn't waste any time to make everyone know about any sort of illness he got, fake or not.


She couldn't tell how much time had passed; it felt like an eternity, but it was probably just her impression.

Snuggling with her brother had made things a bit better, even though he faintly smelled like booze and that wasn't really pleasant; she was still freezing cold but it wasn't as bad as before.

It almost felt nice. It was bringing her back in time, when she was still a child.

They had been pretty close at the time. Makalov had always been there to play with her, to help her whenever she was in need.

He used to be such a caring brother and Marcia couldn't help but wonder where that little child was now, how did he become what he was now.


- Hey, a-are you still with me?-, Makalov asked, bringing her back to reality.

- Yes…-, she replied.

She was starting to not feel her body anymore.


None of them spoke again until Makalov exclaimed:

- That's it! We're going to die here!-.

- No, y-you doofus, we're not-, Marcia replied.

She wasn't in condition to deal with his antics.

- Yes, we are-, he insisted.

That time she didn't say anything.


- I guess I should apologize-.

- Why…-, she was starting to say but she was interrupted by Makalov.

- I am such a poor brother-, he said, with a very distinctive bitter tone in his voice.

- I'm sorry-.


It wasn't the first time he had said something like that, but he had never sounded as sincere as he seemed to be at that moment.

Marcia didn't really know what to think about that unexpected confession.

It was true that he was the worst brother ever and the meanest part of her really wanted to tell him that, but instead she just said:

- Save your energies for later-.


When she opened her eyes, she was welcomed by the sight of an old lady.

When did she fall asleep? She couldn't remember.

- Oh, I see you're awake-, the woman said as soon as she noticed Marcia trying to move.

As she looked around, she understood where she was: she was at the same inn where she and Makalov had spent the night. She had recognized the room she had been in the previous day.

- You and the other fellow are very lucky to be still here with us-, the old woman continued, - There was a caravan passing through the blizzard and some people noticed you. They've been very kind to take you with them and to bring you here-.

- You should thank them later-.

- Oh- was all Marcia said.

She couldn't believe what she had heard. The old lady was right: they had been very lucky.


- … Makalov? Where is he?-.

- Are you talking about the other guy? He's not awake yet, but he's gonna be fine-, the woman said, but Marcia noticed a sparkle of uncertainty in her eyes.


As soon as she was able to stand on her legs without falling she went to the other room to check on his brother.

As the old woman had said he was still unconscious; he was breathing, which was a good thing, even though his breath was very light.

She noticed that on the other side of the room there was a chair; she took it and she put it closer to the bed.

Even if she wasn't feeling completely well she had decided that she would have waited there until Makalov woke up.


It was true that they didn't have a strong bond; no matter how hard she had tried to change him he had always disappointed her.


He was still her brother and, despite everything, she didn't want to lose him.


Author's note: hi! Thanks for reading this I hope you liked it.

Explaining how this story was born would be too long, so I'll just put here the link of the post that gave me the inspiration: post/132020608045/dinredfire1-feeldespair-dinredfire1

I really like Marcia and I love Makalov. He's like my trash son (please don't judge me). I'm also really curious to know why these two don't have a support; they're siblings, come on! In his death quote Makalov admits to be a poor brother, so it would have been cool to have a support between them that could make us understand them more.

Well, that's all for now, let me know what you think about this story. See you soon! -Feeldespair