Chapter 2: Complicated
"Just tell me why, Ernest!" The small boy circled his older brother's strides even as Ernest walked the halls of the manor, having to break his steps every time Elliot rounded in front of him. The 16-year-old* sighed heavily, and yet again attempted to bypass the child to continue on toward the main Hall. But Elliot would not be dissuaded, and followed after in a hurry.
"I told you 'no', Elli," said the older Nightray heir, glancing down at the eight-year-old blond bouncing about at his feet. "You wouldn't understand."
Elliot looked indignant, huffing and folding his arms. "Says who? I understand a lot of things."
"Yeah, well, this isn't one of them." Ernest pushed on, trying to make a beeline for his destination, where maybe he could lock the doors to keep Elliot out. It wasn't something he necessarily wanted to do, but his little brother could be so pestering once he set his mind on something.
"How would you know if you won't even tell me?" the boy whined, trotting behind him.
Ernest set his jaw, halting in his steps. His abrupt stop must've caught Elliot off guard, for the boy collided into him from behind, and stumbled back. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave the young boy a mild glare.
"I already told you what you needed to hear. Raven didn't want Claude, and it made everyone angry."
"So, why were you hitting Vincent and Gilbert?" the boy asked boldly, squaring his small shoulders.
Ernest scowled. "It's complicated, Elliot."
"You just say that when you don't want to answer."
"Exactly!" he snapped, and strode forward once again, coming to the large double doors that led into the Hall. He darted through and, just as he heard Elliot's footsteps speed up, slammed the doors shut, snatched the key off the top of the doorframe, and locked the doors behind him. On the other side, Elliot threw himself at the doors, banging away like the child he was.
"HEY! ERNEST! LET ME IN! YOU CAN'T LOCK ME OUT!" The little boy growled, shaking the doors until they rattled, but they would not give, and Ernest quietly set the key on the top of the doorframe once more.
He stepped away from the doors, trying to drown out his little brother's objections as he approached what he had sought during his entire trek across the mansion.
The Nightray gate to the Abyss.
The door loomed tall and sinister at the center of the wall to the far right, and Ernest stared up at it with a grim expression. He came closer and closer still until he stood directly in front of it, craning his neck to look up at its intimidating height.
He would be next. Both Fred and Claude, rejected. It would be his turn, soon.
He clenched his fists. Did he dare hope that maybe, maybe he would break the streak? Maybe Raven would see in him what he hadn't seen in his older brothers. Maybe Ernest would be the one to change the status-quo, make the Nightray family finally equal to the others in power.
Perhaps. He had nothing more than a 'perhaps', but it was the most he had. If it wasn't him… Elliot. Little Elli. True, it was a noble cause, but… For some reason, the idea of the small boy that was his little brother entering even the highest levels of the Abyss made him shudder. Claude and Fred had described it as it was – dark, dank, endless shadow.
Ernest sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. If not Elliot, what other choice did they have?
Vincent and Gilbert?
He clenched his teeth, and his fists. Never! Never. They weren't even true Nightrays. Raven was the Nightrays' Chain, and he could never be contracted by someone other than a Nightray. Never. If he were, then the Nightray name would be scandalized. Who would take them seriously after that? Knowing that none of the legitimate heirs were able to form a contract, and an adopted street rat could? Ernest cringed.
No. It had to be him.
But what if it isn't? The lingering doubt pulsed through his skull, and he rubbed his temple tiredly. Ugh… How much more complicated could it get?
*Ernest's age is not revealed, so I guessed him to be a little older than Gilbert.
