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Title: Bond of Brothers

Inspired by: Chapter 8 of the Manga Akagami ni Shirayukihime

Characters: Izana Wistalia, Zen Wistalia, Luen Mitsuhide, Kiki Seiran

Wordcount: 1157

Rating: General

I let my words sink in for good measure. I have made up my mind to take Raxd away from Zen's care; at least for six months. I am of the opinion that Zen may have too many duties to think of; running Wistal Castle without the Queen and the First Prince in residence may be too much of a burden for his shoulders. My brother never complains much. But I can see that between Wistal Castle, ensuring the security of the southern and western borders, and keeping the citizens in the capital safe, the loss of Raxd under his care doesn't put much of a dent on his schedule. If Zen is ready to take more responsibilities, he is free to approach me about taking control of Raxd again.

And when that time comes, I would ensure that Shirayuki is no longer in the picture.

Smiling a little mischievously to myself, I twirled around, deliberately making clomping sounds with my leather boots. Taking huge strides across the room where the velvet draperies were drawn down, I made a dramatic flourish of pulling the drapes wide open.

"All right, to my next business then." I waved my audience away, dismissing them from my presence without giving them so much as a farewell glance.

"Zen, you have my permission to leave," I added for good measure.

Predictably, he did not obey me. Not when I am standing very close to his special friend.

"Sh-Shirayuki?!"

I focused my attention to the girl looking bewildered at being thrust so suddenly between the attentions of two men.

Hmmm. She cleaned up pretty well.

My initial assessment of her was wrong. Earlier, I almost have mistaken her for a boy, almost Ryuu's age, perhaps slightly older by a couple of years. But when she bumped into me, there was no mistaking those soft curves that I briefly had contact with.

Shirayuki is most definitely a woman.

Well, not the kind of woman I was expecting. More like a budding flower about to blossom. Or a butterfly almost ready to break free of its cocoon.

Now that she has cleaned herself up after a day's hard work in the pharmacy and Royal greenhouse, her feminine features are more obvious. The pharmacist smock she wore earlier was indeed hiding the gentle womanly curves I felt earlier.

The palace attendants sent her a suitable attire to wear: the bright white tunic and skirt with semi-precious stone accents around the collar and sleeves brought out the green in her eyes, making them look even deeper in color than usual. Someone, probably another servant, took a hairbrush and pinned Shirayuki's hair at the sides to expose the delicate shape of her face and neck.

Amazing what a dress and a hairbrush can do. A child transformed suddenly into someone I need to carefully consider whether she is a threat or not.

I can almost hear my brother's teeth gnashing together. I almost forgot that there are still other people besides us in the room.

"Then, I will do so…Brother…"

My lashes lowered a little at my brother's acceptance of my will. His blue eyes look brighter than usual.

Interesting. I noted to myself. How far along are they in the relationship? Have they reached physical intimacy yet?

Breaking off his eye contact with mine, he directed his next words to the woman next to me.

"I will see you later, Shirayuki." And barely the words were out of his mouth when he pounced.

It all happened so fast. One second he was standing several feet away from us; the next second, the heavy draperies flapped before my eyes, giving me only glimpses of pale hair moving close to red hair- almost as if the colors are bleeding and merging together as one.

"Zen!" I heard her soft murmur of surprise before she was interrupted with his next words:

"I promise I'm going to go and see you."

The draperies stopped their rustling.

My eyes met her green ones.

They looked moist, almost melting with powerfully deep emotions that I have yet to comprehend.

My chest tightened unexpectedly at the scene I am witnessing. For that moment alone, I am not looking at my cute brother and a girl he has taken an unusual fancy to.

I am looking at Zen Wistalia, Prince of Clarines, and Shirayuki, the woman who captured my brother's heart, mind, body and soul. It felt like they were in their own universe and I was granted a rare opportunity to observe something divine.

Two seconds later, they separated. Zen is fast, almost nearing the door, ready to let himself out when he turned sideways and bid his excuse.

"Excuse me, dear brother."

Cheeky little brat! I have to admit that I was a little stunned at the way he speared me with a warning look, as if to say, If you do anything to her, you will have me to answer to!

A tiny shiver went down my spine at the thought of Zen challenging me to a duel, if I do so much as lift a finger and do something inappropriate with his precious one.

I did not acknowledge his veiled threats. I do not yield to such things. Zen may profess his displeasure vehemently, but I will not be thwarted with my quest to get to the bottom of his deepening relationship with Shirayuki.

"Let's go." He ordered his two retainers, and they quickly retreated from the room, shutting the door of the library with a profound sound of promises to be kept and debts to be collected.

I do not know why I feel angry suddenly, or jealous for that matter. All my life, I have always been the privileged first born; the prince who would one day rule. Everywhere, people tremble at my presence, for I spare no one with the principles I abide to, no matter what is their status in life. My goal is simple: to rule Clarines and lead them to a prosperous future using the best of my abilities honed from years of learning and observation. Everything comes easy to me, and I have followed a strict rule of eliminating unnecessary obstacles along my way to the throne.

Zen, on the other hand, was destined to be born as the second prince. If I'm the heir, he is the spare. And while most people think that one should count his lucky stars if one is to be born as the second prince, they are wrong.

Being the second prince will mean a heavy burden to bear: to always be the supporting role to the next king…which is me.

However, I feel a little uneasy. Just a little. Clarines will always come first, for me. But looking at Shirayuki, Zen may come to a point that he might debate whether he would choose Shirayuki over his sovereign.

And if that happens, is this woman worth it?