For Sophie. Enjoy bby.
Word Count: 1080
No betas. We die like men.
Warning: violence, mutilation
i. Hesper
Hesper stands in the corner, covered by the shadows. No one spares her a second glance or acknowledges her at all. The Healers are far too busy tending to her father.
Father. It seems strange to connect that word to the man screaming in agony as he writhes on the bed. Her father is meant to be a strong man with fierce eyes and a sharp tongue. The man before her, however, is pitiful and frail, broken by his illness.
She tips her head to the side, watching curiously. The Healers talk in urgent whispers, rushed and difficult for Hesper to catch, but she understands. Her father has been slowly dying, and she has stayed by his side, ever the obedient daughter.
Alexia is dead. Phoebe thinks that she is a boy. Eduardus has long since been disowned. Licorus is busy with his own life and family.
Hesper has been there; Hesper has done everything right, so desperate for her father to finally love her.
And yet, even now, despite it all, her name is not on her dying father's tongue.
"Licorus?" His voice is strained, the syllables punctuated by frantic gasps as his lungs fail. "Where is he? Where is my son?"
Each word is like a dagger piercing her chest. Hesper closes her eyes. Her features are similar enough to her twin brother's, but her sex prevents her from being what her father wants and needs in his final moments. She should send for Licorus. He could be here, and her father could be happy in death.
Something bitter and acidic twists inside her. Her neutral expression hardens, contorting into a mask of annoyance and anger.
Why isn't she enough? Hasn't she tended to her father's every need? And what has Licorus done? Nothing.
"Licorus is with Magenta, Father," Hesper says, though her words are drowned out as he screams again, twisting and writhing.
Well, she tells him Magenta. If her father knew the truth, it would break his heart. His precious Licorus is not as pure and perfect as he believes.
Swallowing dryly, she tugs at her coarse, dark hair, bouncing on the balls of her feet. A Healer approaches her, smiling warmly. "I think it's best that you wait outside."
…
She sits in the kitchen, teacup gripped in her trembling hands when the head Healer approaches. His expression says it all before he even opens his mouth.
The cup falls to the floor, shattering.
She is here. She is the one to endure all of this.
And now she can give name to the source of acid that floods her veins.
Licorus, her beloved twin, the boy who has been by her side since before birth… In that moment, Hesper realizes how much she hates him.
ii. Licorus
The first thing that Licorus notices upon waking is that the other side of the bed is empty. He sighs. Xavier is always gone before the morning. Licorus has tried explaining to him time and time again that he would gladly sacrifice his reputation for the privilege of waking up in his arms. Xavier, in turn, has found an outrageous number of synonyms for "idiot".
He sits up, and he freezes, his heart sinking to his stomach when he sees Hesper sitting calmly in a chair in the center of the room, a knife in her hand, and a snapped wand at her feet.
"Hesper," he says, drawing the sheet closer to cover his nakedness. "Surely you remember that it is rude to just show up unannounced."
Her dark eyes narrow. "Father is dead," she says simply.
It's like a punch in the gut. The sheet drops, and Licorus leans forward, sucking in a slow, deep breath. His mind races as he tries to make sense of it.
The news itself is hardly a shock. His father's health has been declining rapidly. Still, there's some part of him that's always assumed he would have more time.
"Hesper…"
"I was there." She climbs to her feet, approaching him. "I was by his side, and what were you doing, Licorus? What were you doing?" There's a madness in her eyes that reminds him so much of Alexia. A chill shoots up his spine.
Hesper climbs to her feet, her expression neutral once again. All traces of her outburst have faded.
"You… I am sure that you did an excellent job tending to Father," he tells her. "Thank you, Hesper. He is lucky to have had you."
Her thin lips part, twisting into a grotesque smile. "Oh, lucky, was he?" she demands. "Lucky?"
"You know he was." He can feel his pulse quickening with each step Hesper takes. Fear makes his blood run cold. "You were always such a good daughter to him."
It isn't the right thing to say. She reaches out, slashing the knife through the air with a growl.
"And what were you? Oh, you were his perfect boy, weren't you?" she snarls. "Perfect only because of the bits between your legs."
His cheeks flush with warmth. "That is most inappropriate!"
"I decide what is and is not inappropriate," she says, standing over him now.
"Hesper, please."
"All those years at Hogwarts, allowed to study magic," she tells him, shaking her head. "What was it all for? You are useless without your wand, dear brother."
"Hesper…"
The blade finds more than air this time. She drags it across his arm, drawing a line of blood. Licorus hisses, trying to pull away. Hesper slashes him again, cutting him closer to his shoulder now, a feral cry escaping her mouth.
Again and again, the blade finds home, cutting into his flesh. Each movement hurts, and it doesn't take long for the pain to become too much.
"Please…" He collapses on the bloodstained mattress, whimpering pitifully. "Please don't kill me."
Hesper pulls away the sheet, exposing his bare lower half. She rests her blade against his inner thigh, laughing. "Oh, Licorus, I would never dream of killing you."
iii. Hesper
Her brother's penis floats in a jar. Hesper watches it, fascinated.
One little organ, a bit of useless flesh, was the only difference between them. Because Licorus had been more a boy, their father loved him more.
If only Hesper had done this sooner. Perhaps things could have been different. Perhaps her father would have loved him less, and Hesper could have had a chance.
But their father is gone now, and her victory is not as sweet.