…
Christopher
…
We were all tending Jaiden's injuries beside the pumpkin patch, when Ilaria appeared in the field, close to the village's entrance. My brother gasped and ran at her.
We saw Ilaria drop to her knees, a lost look in her eyes as she saw her hands and muttered something I couldn't hear. Quickly, her gaze and her facial expression became more relaxed, as if someone had comforted her.
My brother kneeled beside her. "Ilaria," he said. "Are you ok?"
Ilaria blinked and inspected her surroundings. "A-Alexander," she said. "Are you alright?"
My brother hugged her, relief all over his face. "I am fine," he laughed softly. "Come on, let me worry about you at least once"
Ilaria smiled. "Thank you"
My dad and I approached them, Jaiden stayed where he was. I inspected the scene and stopped next to Lane's body, he looked bloody and had several cuts in his chest. "Did you defeat him?" I asked. The question was obvious, but I couldn't believe she had actually defeated someone that strong.
I glimpsed at Ilaria. Her short black hair, messy in the wind, her clothes making her look like a warrior, her attitude, kind, yet sharper than an arrow. She didn't look like any of the girls in the town, all with their long locks of hair or their outstanding shiny dresses. She was a hero, and she was beautiful, all in her own unique way.
Ilaria stood up and dusted herself off. "Yes, but it wasn't easy," she said. "He made me fight him in illusions that were so real. Even underwater"
I whistled in awe and stared at Lane.
"We should probably get him inside," my dad said.
Ilaria and Alexander nodded.
Jaiden grabbed my shoulder from behind, startling me. "Jaiden! Go lie down!" I said.
He shook his head. "I'm fine. What happened?" he asked. Then he saw Ilaria, and Lane's body. "Oh"
Ilaria scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah…" she walked to him. "Are you good?"
Jaiden twisted his mouth mockingly and opened his arms. "I'm perfectly fine!" He gave me a gentle push in the shoulder. "This guy helped me, see?" he pointed to the bandages on his arm.
I grinned, but remembered something important. "Hey, where's Chares?"
…
Chares
…
Why?
How did something so perfect suddenly crumble?
I stood on the boat, my Shade Clouds twirling around my fingers. Colin lay down on the boat, unconscious, blood on his forehead. A black masked follower had attacked us out of the blue, mounting a very big winged monster.
Unfortunately, the monster unstabilized the boat, making Colin hit his head.
I gritted my teeth. "What do you want!"
The follower laughed with a very deep and taunting voice. "To destroy everything and anyone who refuses to obey us!" he pointed at Colin. "Like this boy, he had the nerve to defy us. Not once or twice," the leader clenched his fists. "Every… single… time we came here!"
He charged. I blocked creating a wall of my clouds. Solidifying them was very hard to do, it was basically creating a wall of shadow. The follower stopped hitting it and the wall dispersed itself in a cloud.
The follower exclaimed. "You are a Twili! And not any twili," he lifted his mask, revealing facial features from the Twilight realm. "My, my, give in, young Chares, and the West Realm won't be affected"
I pushed him aside. "Never. I will never support your madness"
Quickly, I grabbed Colin and flew towards the entrance of the village.
…
Christopher
…
Just as I stopped talking, Chares showed up in the sky, he was carrying someone… He fell, but caught Colin to reduce the impact.
"Colin! Chares!" I shouted.
Chares was breathing heavily. "H-help Colin, don't worry about me"
I hushed him. "It's ok, tell me what happened"
As Jaiden healed them, Chares told me a follower had attacked him. "A follower?" Jaiden asked. He clicked his fingers and the girl from the sword materialized. "Tell me, where the rest of the followers are" he instructed.
The girl grinned. "Oh sir, good news! You don't have to worry anymore, they are close and most likely coming here! After your orders of course!"
Jaiden clicked his fingers again and the girl vanished. "He outsmarted me, huh?"
I started shaking. "J-Jaiden, what now?"
He looked at me with concerned eyes. "It's ok, Chris, don't worry"
"J-Jaiden, I… don't feel so good" my head spun and I felt as if I had lost control of myself.
Jaiden grabbed my hands and the rest came near me. "Chris, it's ok," my dad said. "I won't let anyone hurt you"
I tried to smile, but couldn't. "Thanks dad," I said. "I…"
The world turned black.
…
Alexander
…
I saw my brother faint. My worry kicked in.
"Chris!"
My dad had caught him. "Chris, wake up" a tear slid out of his eye. "Please, don't make your mom worry"
Chris opened his eyes and my dad hugged him. "Son, don't scare me like that!"
Chris stayed frozen for some seconds.
"Don't make your mom worry? Son?" Chris finally said, his hair over his eyes.
My dad released him. "Chris?"
He grabbed my dad's wrist, hard. My dad flinched.
"I am not your son" he said. "I am no one. Got it?" he released my dad leaving a mark on his wrist and jumped backwards, unsheathing his sword.
"Chris, what are you doing?" I asked.
My brother laughed loudly. A frightening laugh that made me doubt if this guy was my brother.
He lifted his head and we all gasped. Black lines were drawn over his skin and his eyes glowed with an orange light. "Want to play, brother?" he asked and continued to laugh, swinging his sword around carelessly, destroying walls of houses, leaving marks in stones and hitting the ground.
"Who are you?" I asked. "You are not my brother"
Chris smiled. His arms were trembling and his breaths were shaky.
"He's been possessed," Jaiden said. "That bastard… Ganondorf used the magic within Chris to control him"
Chris ran and slashed, leaving a cut in my cheek. "Play with me, Alexander"
…
Ilaria grabbed my arm. "Alexander?"
I nodded. "Let me handle this"
I thought about all the times I had to be saved by somebody else. This time, I wasn't fighting for my pride, for not feeling useless or pathetic. I was fighting for him.
I looked up to my brother and I wanted him to teach me how to be a better prince, to help my family, the kingdom, the people, even myself. But none of that would happen, if I lost him today.
"I will play with you, Chris," I said.
He grinned. "Awesome!"
"Don't worry, I will save you!" I shouted.
...