Welcome back to Yuki no Hana! I just finished looking over my third chapter, so I can now post this, my second chapter. Hope you can enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss. I do, however, own my OC Lythia Balfour.
Special thanks to my unofficial Beta; Defiance-of-Fate!
Ephemeral Secrets
Morning didn't come soon enough in Lythia's opinion, but when it did, she wished it was yesterday. She had forgotten how the snow of Keterburg made the morning air crisp and sharp. She had also forgotten the way that the cold air caused her muscles to strain the wrong way, causing her pain which was discomforting. With a groan she pulled herself out of the warm bed that Nephry had given her for the night, trying to shake away the signs of her sleepless night with a shiver.
She was going to Daath today, she reminded herself as she dressed herself back into her military uniform, so similar to her brother's, but very different at the same time, missing the cape, instead just a tunic with long sleeves. She refused to wear gloves most days, but today she wore the elbow length gloves that Peony had gifted her one birthday as a joke to annoy Jade. Her knee high boots sat in the corner of her room. Lythia never understood how Jade could wear boots higher than his knees, but her brother somehow did. One more thing Lythia refused to wear was a belt, instead choosing to tie a black sash around her waist. This often annoyed her superiors, but the Emperor had stood up for her, so they didn't complain… much.
She picked up the ribbon that she had pulled out of her hair last night. She hated it. It stopped her from wearing the gold vine shaped hair clip that Jade had given her when they were still children. The black ribbon was a reminder that she was Major Lillian of the Malkuth army and that no one besides her sister, Fon Master Ion, and Emperor Peony knew who she was, a reminder that Jade didn't know she was Lythia Balfour, a reminder that she had run away from her own name and abandoned it by letting her brother believe that she was dead.
"Lythia?" Nephry's voice filtered through the door. "Are you awake?"
"No," Lythia replied tiredly. "I am asleep and you are talking to my decoy."
The laughter that Lythia heard as her door opened caused her to look up. Nephry was wearing a very plain, green, peasant style dress which surprised Lythia.
"Do you realize just how weird it will look with you walking next to me wearing that?" Lythia asked. Nephry laughed again, paying no heed to the look that her older sister was shooting at her. Still laughing, Nephry pushed Lythia over to the mirror and into the seat in front of it, picking up an ornamental hairbrush from a wooden box on the shelf. Lythia's blonde hair was pulled through the brush with care as Nephry skilfully styled her sibling's hair into the same tight bun that Lythia always wore.
"I'm wearing this because it is easier to move around Keterburg unnoticed if I'm not wearing formal clothes," Nephry said, answering Lythia as she worked. "And besides it will not look weird, you are military and tasked to protect the civilians."
Lythia snorted, earning herself a glare from her sister.
"I am military, yes," she replied, "but I am, in all technicality, assigned to protect his Majesty, however, I must say, it is quite impossible to do so when he orders me away so often."
Nothing much more was said between the two as Nephry finished pulling her older sister's hair into its bun, wrapping the black ribbon around it. When they had finished, the two sisters made their way to the port to catch their ferry to Daath.
"Jade! Tell me more about fomicry!"
"What do you want to know Lythia?"
"Tell me how it works!"
"Well fomicry uses Seventh Fonons _"
"Jaaade!"
"Go away Saphir, big brother is telling me about fomicry."
"I hate you, Lythia!"
"Hate you more!"
"Lythia, Saphir, stop. Lythia, I'll tell you more about fomicry later, okay?"
"… Sure…."
Lythia sighed, banishing yet another memory from her childhood. She hated the way that the memories jumped out of the back of her mind when she was thinking. With a quiet laugh, Lythia realised that Nephry was right. Any hatred she felt concerning Jade wasn't directed at her brother, but herself. She hated the way she had run away. She hated the way that simple words had led to her abandoning everything she knew.
"I hate you Saphir…." She murmured, looking out at the sea that the ferry was crossing over, noting Daath getting closer. "How often did I say that before I ran away?"
Suddenly a hand slapped the back of her head harshly. Turning around, she fell quickly into a defensive stance, before recognising her sister before her. With a growl she walked across the deck of the ferry, where she had been standing.
"You didn't say it that that often enough to cause Saphir to not care when you ran away," Nephry said to the back that was facing her.
"Oh yes, I'm sure he missed taunting me and pushing me aside so he could take all of Jade's time," Lythia said. Her words trailed as she processed what she had said.
"Not that I was jealous or anything!" she hastily added. Nephry smiled, walking off, letting her warning that they would be reaching Daath in a few minutes. Lythia remained silent, wondering when exactly she had forgiven her brother.
In Daath, the two sisters quickly walked to the cathedral. Lythia was walking with an expressionless face. They were greeted by Grand Maestro Mohs.
"Major Lillian, Governess Osborne," he said, in a tone that made Lythia's eyes narrow. "Welcome back to the grand Cathedral, how might the Order of Lorelei assist you today?"
Lythia really wanted to throw out an insult at Mohs, but she needed to see Ion.
"Thank you Grand Maestro," she stated, keeping all annoyance out of her tone. "We would request to speak with the Fon Master."
Several minutes of talking to the Grand Maestro and one new headache for Lythia, the two sisters were finally in the Fon Master's office, waiting for Ion to return. Lythia stood in the corner, leaning against the wall, while Nephry stood near the window staring out at the city.
"Princess Lythia," a voice from the doorway says. "It's been a long while since you've come to Daath to see me."
"My Lord Brother has kept me busy within the palace," she replied, wincing as she used the titles that she always felt never belonged to her. "It's still quite busy in Grand Chokmah, even though my Lord Brother's father died years ago."
"And what of your true brother?" Ion asked, moving behind his desk. "It has been almost twenty-four years since you ran away. It is clear that lying is killing your mind, and Jade does deserve to know that his sister is alive. He deserves the chance to apologise to you."
Lythia remained silent, staring forward, before pushing away from the wall and walking towards Ion. She stopped in front of his desk, putting her hands in front of her.
"Will he apologise?" she asked quietly, staring at the leather of her gloves. Nephry's hand rested on her shoulder.
"Do you want him to apologise?" Ion asked in turn. Lythia's hands fell to her sides, clenched. Silence filled the room, broken several minutes later by the elder sister as she let out a sigh.
"I don't know," she whispered. Ion regarded Lythia with sympathetic eyes.
"I cannot tell you what to do," he said softly, "but I can recommend. And I am recommending that you tell Jade the truth."
Lythia said nothing and Nephry led her out of the room.
"Think on my words, Lythia," Ion's voice called. "He will apologise, even if it's in his own way."
No. Jade hasn't shown up yet. Neither has Peony or Natalia. Don't worry; Peony and Jade will show up next chapter, promise. But Ion's here! Anyway, yeah, this isn't my best chapter. Forgive me. Next chapter is slightly longer. Thanks for reading and please review!
~Icetail of WindClan - Meta-If~
Notes that you don't have to read:
You might be wondering why I'm pushing to get Lythia to admit the truth to Jade. The reason is; I need them to have a vague sibling bond before the events of Engeve. I have plans that involve Dist, and replicas, and Natalia, and even more secrets that Lythia and Jade have that will be brought to light.
