Caiellis stepped quietly into the Ordo Medella hospital, smiling shyly at the pleasant young receptionist who bowed her head and then waved back. He distractedly thought that if his big brother had been up and active, then he would almost definitely be flirting with her right now, though felt no inclinations to do so himself. Cai felt a jolt of panic when he entered the building proper, sensing a very large build up of Red and White mana on the corridor exclusive to Alexander, telling him that the older boy had Summoned – but what for? Why? Was he in danger?
The prince ascended the stairway quickly, almost tripping and tumbling down them when he put too much pressure on his wounded arm on the banister. Though he knew he needed to be quick, a kind of sick curiosity overcame his urgency and he pulled back the sleeve, a large hand-shaped bruise coloured with a mixture of alternating throbbing red and aching purple and black imprinted on the pale skin of his thin forearm. Cai then realised that his father would probably be with Alex, and despite his need to make sure his brother was alright the thought filled him with fear. Yes, while the man may have looked apologetic and crushed by guilt, it hadn't stopped the actions, and Cai didn't want to take any more chances in case he became seriously hurt. Again he wished he had been gifted with a frame more similar to Alex's and their dad's so that he could fight off Marik without having to use mana.
Then the emergency issue of Aurelia entering reality once again pushed itself to the front of his mind, and he shot to the required corridor. He skidded to a halt when he saw his father, Surgeon-General Mortan, Choirmaster Esmelde, and Hierarch Tybalt stood dejectedly outside the doorway, but their presence was soon eclipsed by the awe-inspiring figure of the Warleader blocking the entrance to his sibling's room, the angel a huge beacon of mana in his mind. Cai then perceived that the situation had been going on for quite a while, as otherwise Marik would still have been shouting furiously at Aurelia. Dad appeared drained, though whether that was a combination of hurting his youngest and then being prevented from seeing his eldest – as that was what had evidently happened – or just the latter was a mystery to the youngest Lucerna.
"What's going on?" he directed the question outwards, a general inquiry that anyone could answer. As he predicted, Marik opened his mouth before staring at Cai with pure disgust at himself, his eyes full of guilt, and Aurelia took the chance to interject and explain: "Young Caiellis, your brother requires some time alone. I Summoned myself so that I could give him that."
Cai nodded, and walked towards the angel, who shook her head sadly, "I apologise. Not even you may see him."
"Don't be stupid, Aurelia. I am his little brother. Of course I can go see him," the boy stated it like it was an undisputed fact, causing Marik to raise a bewildered eyebrow – what made Caiellis think that he would be allowed in if Alexander's own father, the king of Lucael, wasn't? The angel turned round to block him, her fiery eyes full of uncertainty, and Caiellis met them with his own, hoping his green orbs conveyed his utter determination to enter the room and ensure his brother was fine, and that nothing would stop him – not even a First Sisterhood angel.
"He's going to kill me for this," the angel sighed in a very uncharacteristic and human manner, and stepped slightly out of the way of the door. "But only Prince Caiellis may enter. The rest of you can wait until Alexander wishes to no longer be by himself."
"What? That is ridiculous!" Marik bellowed, moving threateningly towards Aurelia, who stared at him impassively, reminding the king of his own angelic Summoning, who barely ever reacted to anything with passion. A small hand was placed over his forearm, the arm it was attached to pointing accusingly at the angel, and Marik felt a calming energy flow through him, though the hand wasn't emitting any mana – it was the significance of the gesture that mattered. He was shocked that his son would actually touch him after what he had just done to the boy, but when Caiellis's eyes met his he realised that the only reason the prince had done so was to shut him up.
"Dad, don't argue, please. I will make sure that Alex is alright. And then I'll see if I can convince him to let you in, ok?" Caiellis's eyes were steely but sympathetic, leaving Marik quite proud of his smallest son, though he was still angry at the boy being permitted entry but not him, but he supposed that if there was anyone that knew Alexander really well, it would be his little brother. He backed down when he noticed the almost imperceptible faint glimmer of fear in the boy's expressive eyes, although Caiellis had obviously tried to hide it away.
"Alright, my son. And I am sorry about earlier," he added, quite awkwardly, though his youngest's expression didn't change because of the apology.
"Thank you, Aurelia," he bowed his head and intoned the words, fusing them with gratitude at the act – something must have been quite bad for her to Summon herself into the material plane if Alex's desire to be alone had been potent enough to requisition such an act, and moved past the imposing angel and into the room. It was empty, which suggested that his older brother would be in the bathroom, and he could hear the slow drip-drop rhythm of water indicating that the shower or taps had been run. He crossed the thresh-hold to the door, and knocked timidly on it. No response.
"Alex?" he asked, knocking again and then opening the door. Alex was so caught up in his own misery that his little brother was halfway across the room before he registered that he was no longer alone. He dragged the towel that was hung over the side of the bath around him, the fabric still dripping with cold water because he had forgotten to remove it in his haste to cleanse himself. Alexander huddled behind the shower curtain, hoping his little brother would go away and wouldn't see him in this state, whilst the rational part of his mind told him there was no chance of that happening.
Instead of his brother's poor rendition of Lucaelian hymns and songs that Alex usually hummed whilst he was in the shower or just getting dry, muffled sobs emanated from behind the cyan shower curtain. When Cai reluctantly slid the cloth to the side, his brother's state was enough to crush his heart to a pulp, just like it had done when the older boy had thought he was still with the vampire in the middle of the purification ritual. However, this somehow seemed even worse. Alex quickly turned his head towards the wall, hoping to hide his tears from his little brother, but the effort was fruitless. Between the terrifying memories and the shivers that wracked his already wounded and huddled body, he couldn't stop shaking and his ragged breathing was making his already damaged ribs throb as the lungs scratched against them.
Life was so subjective sometimes, the younger Lucerna marvelled, thinking that Alexander always looked so big when he was on his feet, like an invincible and strong big brother that was impossible to bring down, but he looked so frail and small wrapped up by the towel in the bath. He briefly wondered if he appeared that way to other people, and that was why they felt protective of him.
"Alex? Hey..." he reached out a tentative hand to his brother, but involuntarily jumped back the second he touched the skin – despite the older boy releasing a large amount of fiery Red mana, Alex was ice cold to the touch, and still dripping with water that had turned freezing. Cai snapped into protective mode, pulling out another towel from the stand and wrapping it around his brother's shoulders, who was still stuck in a vain attempt to conceal his tears. Trying to offer comfort, Caiellis rested his arm over the back of Alex's neck and shoulders, but the elder Lucerna wincing underneath his touch increased the younger boy's worry tenfold. The angry red patches of skin scattered across his brother's arms didn't help assuage him, and Cai pondered whether Alex could have fallen over.
"What's wrong, big brother? Did you hurt yourself?" Cai asked in the most calming and adorable tone he could muster, and Alexander rolled his head against his knees in a negative gesture as he concentrated on getting his breathing under control. How had his little brother got in here? Wasn't Aurelia supposed to be guarding the door? Cai could feel his sibling shaking underneath his touch, and used his other hand to rub gently against Alexander's towel-clad bicep.
"Alex, you are freezing! Can you stand up?" he inquired, though his brother's head was still buried in his knees so Cai couldn't see his eyes for any insight into what Alex was thinking, although it quite clearly had something to do with overwhelming sadness.
"Don't w-wanna..." the older boy forced through chattering teeth, trying to stifle more tears and dearly wishing Caiellis didn't have to see him like this. Cai responded back, "Well, if you stay in there your condition is just going to get worse."
"Don't c-care..." he muttered. Caiellis sighed sadly and rested his head on his brother's shoulder, listening to the rhythm of his breathing that was occasionally replaced by suppressed sobs. "Come on bro, talk to me. Are you in pain? Do you need any healing, or medication? I can heal you if you don't want anyone else to come in..." he drifted off.
"N-no. J-just w-wanna be alone," Alexander insisted, attempting to turn away from his little brother, though there was no more room to escape to in the bathtub. He idly realised that Caiellis had just got in whilst still clothed, so would have been moistened by the dregs of the water from the shower still at the bottom of the tub, but of course it hadn't fazed the squirt. Cai sighed again, wishing that he could accede to the older boy's request for his sake. "Can't do that, big brother. Sorry."
Alexander's frustration was building up again, and it took all of his self-control and effort not to direct it at his innocent little brother, who he reminded himself was just trying to help. He wouldn't have left if the situation was reversed, but that still didn't stop him from trying. "Go, C-Caiellis. I'll b-be ou-out in a minute."
"Let me help you," Caiellis sat up and moved round to face his brother, for once glad that he was so small, otherwise the manoeuvre wouldn't have been possible, what with how large his big brother was and how much space he took up.
"Just leave, Caiellis!" Alex yelled, raising his head and threateningly shooting daggers at his little brother, who didn't move and just glared back defiantly. "Fine, if you don't want to talk to me, then I'll go get dad."
Alex paled instantly, his anger turning to fear. When Cai started to rise to his feet, he threw and arm out and latched onto his brother's wrist. The boy hid a grimace at the force of the grasp, though luckily the older boy was holding his right arm instead of his left. He wasn't going to reveal what Marik had done to anyone, and just wanted it to die down – if his brother found out then Alexander would make a massive deal of it and wouldn't concentrate on his own recovery. "No, Cai, please don't!"
"Why not?" he quirked an eyebrow at his older brother's reaction, though was secretly glad Alex would rather have him here than their father. Another flood of tears wanted to cascade down the older boy's face, so he pre-emptively turned it away from Caiellis, but the kid could still clearly see. "He can't know, ok? P-please d-don't tell him, Cai. Please..."
Fresh tears began to slide out of the whirlpool of blue emotion that Alex's eyes consisted of, meandering down his cheeks and infusing Caiellis with a guarding instinct that made him determined to help his big brother, as the older boy had always done in the past – and still did. He sat down on the side of the tub, trying to gently prise Alex's large fingers from digging into his wrist, otherwise he would have two hand-shaped bruises before the day's end, but the effort was pointless – though at least he wasn't squeezing as hard as dad had been, and Cai could forgive his big brother because of his condition and evident need for comfort, despite his protestations and desire to be alone. "Ok, I won't say anything. You know you can trust me. But you've got to tell me what is going on, alright? You've got to let me help you."
Alex belatedly realised that he was crushing his little brother's fragile arm, though Cai wasn't complaining, and released it in favour of wrapping his arms around his knees again and huddling them to his face. Cai sighed for the third time, knowing that now was good a time as ever to launch his interrogation, and knew that his big brother was exceptionally obstinate in telling people his problems, as in that he echoed his younger sibling's fortification building.
"Are you having flashbacks again?" he asked quietly, though there was no response. Seeing his big brother as broken and destroyed as this made him wish he had killed Aksua himself, given her a death much more painful than the one she had suffered in Akroma's Vengeance, before removing the brutal thoughts from his mind, knowing it was just his desire to lash out at seeing Alex hurt speaking and that he didn't wish to inflict pain, just justice. Besides, there was another person much more deserving of agony than the vampire. Caiellis reached out and draped a third towel over the hard floor right next to the bath, idly wondering why the bathroom had so many of them. "Come on, Alex. Let's get you out of there. I can't do it on my own, ok? You're too big. You're going to have to work with me."
"Not c-clean yet," Alex mumbled blankly, and the nature of the words scared his younger brother, who replied with an incredulous: "Not clean? Judging by the fact that the water has been shut off, you have been in here for over half an hour, Alexander. Come on, look at me big brother," Cai gently jostled his brother's shoulder, hoping that the larger boy would focus on him instead of the haunting thoughts probably going through his mind and imposing themselves on his vision.
After a few seconds of silence, Alexander finally turned his head towards the youngster, his eyes filled with a desperate need for the thirteen year old to understand. "I t-tried, l-little b-brother. S-still in my s-skin. I t-tried to r-rub it out, b-but it's s-still there. Still n-not clean..."
He loosed the grip around his knees enough to lean backwards slightly, exposing his chest and some of his legs and revealing his attempts at scrubbing the skin raw. Cai's jaw fell open, and the silence in the room drew out. The boy was reluctant to break it, but gasped: "Oh angels, Alex … What did you do?"
Cai was horrified – deep scratches marred his brother's muscular body, some deep enough to bleed, and he almost burst into tears himself. Alex had reopened some of the wounds he had sustained from the vampire, and the back of the towel that still covered his lower body was stained crimson.
"I'm so sorry, big brother, but I've got to get dad to see this. Just sit still and don't hurt yourself..." Cai reassured him shakily, and made it to the door before a heavy thud resounded across the room behind him. He whirled around, and was presented by the heart-wrenching sight of Alex sprawled on the hard floor, frantically trying to get his injured limbs to respond, but just kept slipping on the third towel his little brother had placed on the floor a bit earlier. "Alex, stop!"
"Don't g-go, Caiellis! You c-can't tell him! P-promise me!" the middle Lucerna held a hand out towards his brother, wishing he was close enough to grab hold of him again and prevent the smaller boy from getting away, an easy enough task even in his present condition. Tears were blurring Alex's vision once more, in a way that before the past few days they hadn't done so for many years, and he was ready to abandon all hope – just curl up into a foetal ball and stop caring about what the rest of the world thought and did, but then a small hand clutched hold of his outstretched and much larger one, and Alexander was anchored back to reality again.
"I'm not going anywhere, big brother. I'm right here, and I am not going to leave you, ok?" Cai uttered, and helped the older boy rest against the side of the bath, re-securing the towel around his back, and slowly sank down next to him, throwing his right arm around his shoulders despite the fact that it didn't even get all the way to the other side. Alexander continued to shake violently, but at least he made no move to push his sibling away, a victory in Caiellis's book. "Alex, how long have you been sat in the cold?" he asked, though didn't expect a proper response – he wasn't disappointed when the bigger teenager replied with a shake of his head, signalling that he didn't know.
The youngest prince gently pulled Alex towards him until his head was resting on Cai's shoulder, surprised at the lack of resistance but grateful for it. "I've got you, big brother. You're safe with me," he soothed, resting his cheek on Alex's spiky wet hair and ignoring the painful throbbing of his left arm. A loud knock on the door startled them both, and Cai automatically moved in front of his brother.
"Boys? Are you ok in there? It sounded like someone fell..." the concerned voice of their dad sliced through the air, and Cai repressed a venomous and sarcastic response that also slipped out of his lips. He glanced back at his silent brother for conformation, and the unadulterated terror in the wide blue eyes served as that. "Everything is fine, dad," he swiftly answered back, "I just slipped when I was trying to help Alex get out of the shower. I think I underestimated just how heavy he is when leaning his full weight on me."
"Do you need any help with him?" Marik questioned, almost about to barge into the room but restraining himself. Please don't let him come in, Cai, please – it's bad enough that you are seeing my like this, but dad, the king? No way. Alexander hoped that his eyes conveyed his desperation, when his little brother settled down back next to him and looked into them for the second time. "I can handle it, dad. We'll be out in a few minutes." That reminded him. He hadn't yet notified Alex of his departure. Shit.
"Ok, Caiellis. Make it quick, though. Alexander needs to be back in bed, especially after releasing so much mana," Marik said, and then waited a few seconds awkwardly to add: "I love you both."
"We love you too, dad," Cai replied smoothly, biting his lip at the utter hypocrisy of the statement coming out of the man but unwilling to let Alex perceive that, and also hoping the monarch couldn't detect the falsity of the words. Both brothers breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the man's footsteps faded away from the doorway. Caiellis turned back to Alex, who looked immensely glum but no longer panicking, still shivering, and a half smile worked its way onto his features. "Your secret is safe with me, big brother. I promise."
Alex let his head fall back on his brother's bony shoulder again, feeling completely exhausted now that the exertion of Summoning Aurelia caught up with him after his desperate panic. Cai tightened his grip around his stricken sibling, wishing he could do something more to help and considering gently humming the reassuring tunes of the Canticia Lux, but chose not to, as the silence wasn't uncomfortable and he was content to let Alexander slowly recover. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Alex finally stopped shaking, sitting together in total silence apart from the middle Lucerna's periodic hitches of breath and sniffles. This was the first – and hopefully the last – time that he allowed himself to appear vulnerable in front of his innocent kid brother again.
Yes, while Caiellis had seen him wounded and crying, particularly in the past couple of days, that had been understandable because he had just crawled back from death's door. This was not acceptable. Although Cai wanted to hold this moment forever, he knew that if the king came to check on them again then the man wouldn't settle for his youngest's spoken reassurances and would want to see Alex with his own eyes to ensure his safety. He was actually shocked with himself, as he didn't feel angry at Marik for letting Alex get into this state, but was still annoyed about the man almost snapping his already injured arm.
"Alex, it's probably time that we get you up and dressed. I want to get you back in bed before dad comes again, ok?" although he posed it as a question, it was rhetorical, though if his brother hadn't been so distraught he probably would have answered it just to annoy him in the way he often did. Alex nodded into his brother's shoulder, before slowly sitting back up and forcefully wiping his eyes on the corner of the towel, annihilating the tears before drying the rest of his body. Pull yourself together for angel's sake! You're supposed to be the big brother in this relationship, not him! For some reason, he just felt like saying something, but didn't know what, so instead settled on, "You're all bones, little man. You should eat more."
Cai raised his eyebrows at the random statement, but at least it meant the older boy's mental state was improving for now. He sent the seventeen year old a furtive glance to ensure that he was ok, before standing up and retrieving his brother's clothes from where they were strewn around the room, and had the situation been less dire he would have feigned a squeal of disgust at the boxer shorts lying next to the long trousers.
He recalled one day where he had put on his brother's jacket when he felt scared, though it was way too massive for him. Alex had said that he looked far too adorable to properly kick his ass for it, which is what he had been planning to do in his outrage at the younger boy touching his clothes, so instead resorted to "playfully" pinning him down and wrestling the jacket off him. Cai wasn't entirely sure why that particular memory sprung to mind, but it was a relatively pleasant one so he let it stay. When he returned, he stood nervously in front of Alex, perfectly willing to help but unsure how to prosecute that task without making the state of affairs exceptionally uncomfortable and embarrassing for his big brother, something he didn't want to achieve at the present moment. Alex glanced up at him and then dropped his gaze to the floor, tightening the towel around his shoulders. "Just put then on the floor, little brother. I've got it."
"Are you sure? Because I can, um..." Caiellis was cut off by his older brother, who smirked, "I didn't know you were so interested in me. Anyway, I'm good, little dude. Thanks."
"No problem," Cai did as he was told, turning around to give his elder sibling more privacy while he got dressed, inwardly glad Alex felt that he didn't need help – not that the older boy would tell him if he did. Cai was certain that it wasn't a trust issue, as Alex had shared many things with him that he hadn't with anyone else, but the older boy generally hated people worrying about him, especially his precious little brother whom he apparently thought worried too much anyway. Alexander rose shakily to his feet, using the walls and the bathtub to steady himself. Once the kid's back was turned he loosened the towel, carefully pulling his clothes over the raw and tattered skin whilst also making sure that all traces of weakness were erased from his expression. Emotional meltdown is officially over. Caiellis no longer has to worry about me, though I'm sure he will.
As if in response to his internal thoughts, as Cai waited for his brother to get dressed he decided he wanted some answers on exactly what had taken place when his big brother had been alome, "So, Alex, do you want to tell me what happened?"
Alexander cleared his throat – he could do with a drink of water, maybe admitting to that would make people less concerned – and made sure that all evidence of his previous sadness was wiped out from his next few words. "Nothing, little dude. It has just been a few long days, that's all, and I'm tired."
"Alex, just stop," Caiellis spun around the second the rustling of clothes stopped, presented with his fully dressed brother, his green eyes blazing like a forest fire, "I know you better than anyone, and whether you would like to admit and face facts or not, you can't always be invincible. Sometimes you have just got to admit that you are human, and do suffer from moments of weakness. All I want to do is just help you, but I can't if you won't let me."
Alexander took a breath to reply, wincing as his abused ribs protested against it and the pain of his wounds seemed to intensify in time with his brother's utterance. Caiellis didn't miss the grimace that crossed Alex's face, and cut in before he could reply.
"I know it sounds hypocritical, but you should really talk to dad, Alex," he half-suggested, half-pleaded, and the icy glare in his brother's eyes made him want to move back a couple of steps for fear that the older boy would hurt him.
"If not him, then Uncle Tristram, Uncle Tybalt, Elizabex, Leodred – someone! You need to talk to someone, Alex, because-" he began, and his brother interrupted, "Because what, little brother? Because I'm pathetic, a poor excuse for an older brother let alone a prince? I'm sure they all know that," he raised his voice slightly, although it was tinged with self-loathing more than anger directed at Cai. The younger boy felt worse than he had during his migraine, realising how similar he and his brother were, though he was sure that the older boy also knew it considering how much he had conferred with him in the past. He let out a tortured sigh, "You know that none of that is true, Alex. You are the best big brother in the entire world, and the toughest person I know. I was going to say that you should tell them you need more time alone and that you aren't ready to deal with it just yet, especially since-"
"I am ready to deal with it! It's just I'm too pathetic to do it!" he roared, grabbing Cai by his forearms and slamming them against the bathroom wall. His volcanic rage that had erupted past his barriers due to Cai's constant prodding was immediately cooled when the younger boy gasped in agony and stifled a cry of pain, and the anger instantly turned to brotherly concern. "Oh shit, Cai, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"It wasn't your fault," the younger boy murmured, his soft voice tinted with resignation, and the older brother said, "Sorry, I forgot your arm was still healing." He moved forwards and pulled down the sleeve of his sibling's left arm, before gasping in horror. "Angels! I really didn't mean to do that! I'm really sorry, little brother."
"That wasn't you," Cai scowled, irritated that his father had inadvertently given Alex an excuse to avoid his own pain and focus on someone else's. "I wanted to hide it from you because of your condition, but there is little point now. Dad did it. But it's fine, so don't try and change the subject."
"It doesn't look fine," Alex looked down guilty, incredibly annoyed that he had lashed out at his little brother, but the squirt had been getting into dangerous territory that Alexander wanted to stay far away from, even more so with little Cai. The boy pulled away and Alex took a step back, asking, "When did it happen?"
"Irrelevant," Caiellis replied coldly, "We weren't talking about me; I am perfectly alright." There was a pregnant pause in which both brothers tried to stare the other down, their eyes locking in a silent confrontation. All Alexander could focus on was the bruise on Caiellis's arm, and Cai could see his brother reconstructing his barriers against showing frailty. I should have been there to protect him, the older boy thought, and broke the silence first.
"C'mere, kiddo," he ordered, and Cai decided that he may as well follow the command, eyeing his sibling quizzically as he did so. Alex gently grasped his younger brother's left arm and angled it towards the light so that he could better examine the bruising, both from their father and from Aksua's Nocturon. Cai let out an exasperated exhalation but let the elder Lucerna complete his ministrations. Wincing with sympathy, Alex voiced: "It looks like Aksua's horror got you good."
"She hurt you significantly more than me," Cai pouted, carefully encircling his brother's wrist and pulling out of his grip, an irked look in his bright emerald irises. He grumbled, "Stop changing the subject."
Alex played innocent, earning a deep scowl from his smaller sibling, "What subject?"
Caiellis gave him a frown and crossed his arms with a huff, sighing, "Why do you keep pretending that you are fine? No one expects you to be after what you have gone through, so why do you refuse to share the pain with anyone?"
"Why do you?" Alex returned the question, sensing that Caiellis was becoming more irritated with him, "Look, I'll make you a deal then, little man: If you do the same, then I will share all of my worries with you, ok?"
Though he had no intentions on following through with his end of this bargain, Alex smirked when Cai's eyes lit up – he supposed that it wouldn't hurt to share his concerns with the younger boy so long as he didn't appear vulnerable or pathetic and didn't make his brother worry. "There may be a slight problem with that, and I'm not talking about the fact that you are clearly lying to me."
Alexander blinked. He hadn't expected to be cut down so quickly, however the boy wasn't as much of a little kid anymore, so should have anticipated this sort of response. It was his turn to sigh, realising there was no point in pretending to be hurt or betrayed by the prince's statement, "Right, fine, maybe I was planning to hide most of it from you, but that is because you worry yourself to death and a little brother shouldn't have to do that. But what is the other problem?"
Caiellis mumbled something under his breath, lowering his gaze to the floor, and Alex cocked an eyebrow at him, curious why the kid seemed so guilty. "Speak up. I know you are small and it is hard to hear what you are saying from all the way down there, but that was way too quiet."
"Dad is sending me to Scientia Mos," he blurted out, and Alexander masked the sharp pang of negative emotions he felt, instead concentrating on the positive ones and plastering them on his face, giving his kid brother an enthusiastic smile. "Cool! Are you going there to prepare the legion? Don't look so down, you're gonna love it. Trust me."
Cai considered the words in great detail for a few seconds, before glancing back at his brother, a small smile forming on his own face because of the older prince's infectious wide grin. "Yeah, I suppose it will be good. I guess I was just worried about you."
"You shouldn't worry about me, I can take care of myself," Alex stated, though he knew the words would have no effect. That explained why Cai had been so insistent on making him talk to someone else because he wasn't going to be there, and felt a mixture of worry about his sibling's safety and a more selfish sadness at not being able to see Caiellis for a while, before crushing the emotions. He reminded himself that the younger boy would be just as safe in the City of Books than in Civitas Sol in him, but it still didn't quash the protective notion that automatically rose up inside of him.
"You know, big brother, if you keep piling up problems inside of yourself you are eventually going to explode," Cai cut into his thoughts, breaking the boy out of his reverie and making him roll his eyes. "You're just like a hound with a bone, aren't you? Can you not just let the issue drop?"
"Not until I know that you are alright. Besides, that is a bit rich coming from you," Cai replied evenly, though his eyes emphasised his determination. Alexander sighed in frustration, "Cai, I did it because no one is going to be able to get over this if they all think I need to be coddled, least of all you. All I needed was time to deal with it myself, and that's exactly what I did. End of story."
"If you can that dealing with it then I hate to see you not," Caiellis muttered under his breath, though the older boy still heard. "You are just asking for me to beat you up, aren't you baby brother?" Alex smiled, and the words were not intimidating. Cai then asked again, "Are you sure that you are alright?"
"Yes, I think your ultra-girly moment healed me. You must have had a gender change overnight," Alexander smirked at the furious expression creasing over Cai's gaunt and pale features. "Alex, I'm being serious!"
"Look, Cai," Alex said, swiftly crossing the short distance across the room to his brother and placing his large hands on the boy's thin shoulders. "I promise you that I am fine. But if I ever feel this bad again, I am definitely going to tell you. No more secrets. From either of us."
As he spoke the words, he switched his grip and lifted his brother into a hug, and although it wasn't quite at the bone-crushing intensity as normal Cai still couldn't break out, even if he had wanted to. He dolefully rested his head on the older boy's shoulder, breathing in the familiar and reassuring scent of the leather jacket his big brother often wore, and suddenly a thought came to mind. "In that case I had an awful migraine yesterday … actually I guess it was this morning. Midnight, anyway. I'm fine now though."
"It's just joy and happiness in Cai-world isn't it?" Alex joked, resting his chin on his little brother's head as he shuddered at the thought of his little brother all alone in the city in the throes of one of the worst migraines he had ever experienced – just after Caiellis had left him to go see his father and Tristram had taken over watching him, he had woken up and the Guardian had informed him. He felt awful because of the fact he had almost forgotten about it, "But I already knew. Sorry for not asking you if you were alright or not."
"It's ok, big brother. I probably would have just accused you of changing the subject," Cai smiled and pushed his head further into his brother's chest as a wave of sadness threatened to overcome him. He just felt depressed at the fact that he wouldn't be able to see Alexander when he was in Scientia Mos.
"Aww, what's wrong short stack?" the older boy asked, and the younger snorted, "I've not heard that one before."
"Being confined to my bed has given me a lot of time to think," Alex let go of his brother when the boy started to move away, who raised his eyebrows. "You know, one day I'll be taller than you and you'll regret all these stupid nicknames."
"I'm sorry to dash your dreams, but you are never going to be taller than me baby brother," Alex grinned, "And what makes you think that I would stop calling you them even if the unthinkable happened and you got bigger than me?"
"You're impossible to live with," Cai jested back, and his sibling's response was, "I try."
They stood in brotherly silence for a few seconds, both boys thinking about what it would be like without the other there, and once again the eldest broke it. "Come on kiddo, we'd better go out and I suppose I should get back into bed."
"I'm gonna miss you," Cai said, and his brother laughed, "You're only going away for a few days, a couple of weeks at the very most."
"Yeah, but what is the longest amount of time I've spent away from you?" Caiellis shot back, and the older boy paused. Both of them knew that it had only been the very short period at the Scholaria Magnus, less than a day in total, "Fair point. And I'm gonna miss you too, little buddy. Make sure you call me every day on the mana communicator."
"How do you know that I have one?"
"Big brother instinct. Plus, although dad may want you gone because of your incessant arguing, he's not an idiot, nor does he hate you," Alex's voice took on a nurturing resonance, "On the bright side, at least you can't shout at each other if you are miles away."
"Yeah," the youngster stated sullenly, and his brother punched him on the right arm, eliciting a loud yelp followed by an annoyed scowl, "Stop being so depressing, Caiellis. Don't let your worrying about me spoil an educational and enjoyable trip. I mean, at least dad picked your favourite city, and you can go see mum's parents."
"Just promise me you'll be alright," Cai said, and Alex saw the tears in his wide green eyes before the boy wiped them away, "Yes, Boy Genius, I'll be fine. I promise. And have I ever broken a promise to you before?"
"There's a first time for everything," Caiellis murmured, a melancholy aspect infusing his voice, but then resolved to brighten up – he refused to leave on a negative note with his brother. "Thank you, big brother. I-"
"Are you two coming out this century?" another impatient knock resounded through the room, and Cai growled in annoyance before repressing it under Alex's admonishing stare. The older boy shouted, "Yeah, we're coming!"
He leaned a good proportion of his weight on his little brother as they emerged, hoping he was strong enough to help him, who took it without comment, his eyes fixated upon the bed and completely avoiding their father, who moved round to the other side of his eldest to help manoeuvre him back into the bed. Cai then half-leapt into his brother's arms, wrapping his own carefully around the middle Lucerna's chest as the larger boy patted him comfortingly on the back. "You should get going, little man. I wouldn't want you to miss your train. Have fun, and make sure you contact me as soon as you arrived, every day and if you need help, got it?"
"Control freak," Cai teased, but nodded solemnly as both simultaneously said, "Goodbye."
His eyes then flicked to Marik, who stood despondently on the other side of the bed, and spoke: "Dad, what you did was wrong, and you should be sorry for it. But I'm willing to forgive and forget over time, and I think this will be good for that."
Marik looked up from where he had been staring at his hands, imagining them crushing his little boy's arm and feeling sick because of it. "Are you willing to humour your old man and give me a hug?"
Cai shook his head slowly, and the monarch smiled understandingly and sadly in the same instant. His son evidently didn't want to leave on bad terms, judging by his thoughtful earlier statement, but still didn't trust him with contact.
"That's fine, my boy. I hope you find your trip educational and successful. I can go with you to the monorail station if you want," another shake of the head, "Well in that case, goodbye, and Ave Lux."
"Ave lux." the boy replied, before exiting, and Marik turned his anxious but still calculating gaze upon his eldest, who was doing his best to appear nonchalant and avoid it. He sat down in the chair, sighing, "Are you alright now, Alexander?"
"Yeah, yeah," the boy rolled his eyes at his father's dubious smile, who then stated: "I will speak with you later. But despite your brother's wishes, I should go and see him off. I'm positive I can catch up with him before he embarks."
"I'm not sure he'll like it, but I think that is a good move," Alex replied, glad that his father was actively trying to heal the relationship between him and his youngest son.
.*.*.*.
Ilentia strode across the front rank of the garishly garbed Order of Gluttony Enforcers, glaring at the sweating figures in the small squad in front of her. She had soon found that she despised each and every member of her Order, especially the severely lacking Enforcers, but unfortunately she would have to wait until changes could be made, as Tradax had forbidden her from turning it into a potent fighting force like she had wanted, telling her that the Order of Gluttony was an essential part of the Empire and the City of Pleasure. Ilentia briefly mused about how in her past life she had ever let herself get so ridiculously obese, before focusing on her current objective.
They were stood in the humid and dank sewers running underneath Usnaan, the air misty and permeating everything with its entirely unpleasant moist heat. Though they were out of the baleful red orb of the baking sun, its effects could still be felt underground, though Ilentia was not bothered in the slightest. There was a stream of murky brown flowing beneath two pathways encrusted with dirt and excrement, and the passageway down further into the sewers was pitch black, though a wan red light illuminated the small party.
She wished that she could have brought the only Enforcers that she could actually stand with her, but those that had been turned into lumbering Gargantuans wouldn't be able to fit into the sewers, let alone be graceful enough to navigate them. That left her with the normal, and extremely unfit, generic human Enforcers by her side, though she was confident that if it came down to it her might alone would be enough to prevail. Besides, the Enforcers could serve a much more malignant purpose should Ilentia so desire, as she had been begrudgingly taught by Arrapackxia.
The Master of Gluttony's first mission was to annihilate the Resistance that had been so disruptive of Tradax's plans, and it was rumoured that their base was in the sewers, so Ilentia had led her troops there. The Ja'an Guards were masters of infiltration and escape after perfecting such techniques in the Revolution, though Ilentia hoped that they wouldn't be able to conceal themselves or disappear from what was coming. The Master of Gluttony certainly wasn't as easily eluded as the periodic packs of Enforcers sent to locate and destroy the rebels, though there was little to no information on them because of their lack of activity up until this point.
There was no clear plan past simply finding them, as Ilentia had always worked best on impulse before her dark revival, and that particular trait had carried over into what she was now. She knew that Tradax had very deep doubts about her, as she simply wasn't interested in indulging in the pleasures on offer throughout the Empire, which was not fitting for a Master of an Order of Passion. Ilentia's main priority past survival was to faithfully serve the one who had brought her back to life, though she would have no compunctions about killing the Master of Rapture should he try to impede her first concern. She intended to impress him by eliminating the Resistance that had unwittingly led to her creation, and stalked forwards with a feline grace, her long and thin limbs tensing as she made her way across the passageway, beckoning the Enforcers to follow her.
"My lady, what are your orders?" one asked, and she turned around, feeling a violent anger welling up inside of her. They were seriously grating on her nerves, and contemplated why she had actually ordered them to accompany her. A malicious smile crept onto her lips as she remembered the reason why the Master of Rapture had killed her former self – simply because she had been irritating him. Then, he surely wouldn't mind her emulating his example? No, she would restrain herself for now, because there was no point in killing them if she wasn't going to feed them to Arrapackxia just yet, and she needed the demon hungry so that she could find the Resistance headquarters.
"Just follow me," she spat, drawing upon her reservoir of mana as malevolent laughter laced with ravenous hunger echoed through the sewers, causing her soldiers to huddle closer out of fright. The darkness became more solid, and tendrils of shadow dragged themselves out of her outstretched palm, billowing around her and coalescing into a humanoid form. Though her demon didn't seem that impressive, Arrapackxia required feeding to unlock his true potential, and only the meat of living humans would do. She heard one of her Enforcers whimper in terror at the sight of the demon, but ignored the man as the being of Sancturia sneered at her, his eyes glinting with hunger.
"What is it that you want, wench?" he snarled, his tone softening grudgingly after chains of gloom wrapped around him and Ilentia cocked an eyebrow, "Fine, fine. I will located the rebels for you. I can smell their scent from here. But first I require a meal." he licked his lips in anticipation, swivelling his gaze from his Summoner to the petrified Enforcers.
"No, you do not," Ilentia snapped, yanking on the tether and forcing the demon to meet her red eyes. The beast growled deeply, and muttered, "I am going to enjoy killing you." Arrapackxia then took off, loping along the ground on all fours instead of running with just his two legs. Ilentia ran behind him, and the Enforcers followed, their armoured footsteps clattering on the ancient stone of the sewers as they ensured that they stayed at a safe distance from the demon. Ilentia narrowed her eyes as Arrapackxia slunk into a side passageway that to all intents and purposes shouldn't have been able to hold the demon, and swiftly ran after him. She emerged onto a ledge overlooking a wide, more open area than the claustrophobic tunnels, filled with a few terminals that sparked hazardously. The room had about fifty people in it, going about different tasks such as analysing a paper map of Usnaan on a decrepit wooden table, sharpening weapons and cooking. Two men joked and laughed as they played cards on a stool, a woman wielding a curved scimitar attacked upturned chairs to practise her combat skills. Each person below was wearing two gauntlets, one red and one black.
Ilentia felt her limbs fill with expectation, noticing that Arrapackxia had concealed his mana presence with dark magic as to not attract their attention. She drew the elegant twin sabres that had been the former Master of Gluttony, Ershun Firefist's prized family heirlooms despite never actually ever using the blades in combat and that Tradax had gifted to her. She tensed her limbs, and leapt, just as a pale and huge hand grabbed hold of her waist and dragged her forcibly back into cover. It took all of Ilentia's self discipline to not scream in indignation and revulsion at the demon's flesh touching her own, and glowered at Arrapackxia's malicious snicker.
"Patience, my dear," he whispered, and Ilentia had to restrain herself from using her shadow tether and making her Summoning scream in pain, "Look closely at the Resistance members. What do you see?"
Ilentia growled under her breath at the demon, who let go of her, but instead of leaping back into the combat she had been about to start she took Arrapackxia's advice and intently examined the humans below. After about a minute, her frustration slowly building every second, she was about to turn back to the demon before she saw something strange.
The woman, her curved scimitar flashing in the crackling fire of the cooking pot, repeated her motions of slicing into the chairs, using a completely identical technique to the one before. That in itself wasn't that unusual, as a flawless swordsman could easily replicate a series of attacks, but the thing that caught Ilentia's red eye were the chairs. No one had replaced the ones she had destroyed earlier, but here the woman was, attacking the chairs and breaking them in the exact same manner. To confirm her suspicions, Ilentia looked down at the two men playing cards, noting that the one on the left had three different cards in his hand. He played one, and his opponent played another. Then, abruptly, without drawing another card, the first man had three slips of cardboard in his hand again.
"I see," Ilentia nodded, knowing that the demon was able to sense living souls in his hunger, and that those below were anything but. She was honestly quite shocked Arrapackxia had stopped her from jumping down there, considering the amount he seemed to resent her. The demon shrugged, sensing her thoughts, "There is more in the material world to feast upon than in Sancturia, and in my opinion living humans are much more tasty than their soul counterparts."
Ilentia spun around as her Enforcers finally caught up with her, pointing at five of them, "You, you, you, you, and you," she declared, not having bothered to learn any of their names, and elegantly twirled back to the ledge, concealing her smile at the woman obliterating the wooden chairs again. "You have the honour of leading the attack. Now go, for the glory of the Empire!"
The men and women whooped in joy and jumped down onto the lower room, brandishing their weapons and beginning to charge at the figures of the Ja'an Guard, who didn't react in any way. Then, Ilentia felt it. A huge release of Red mana gave the air an actinic smell and she could taste ash on her tongue. The Enforcers remaining behind her covered their eyes at a massive detonation of light coming from the chamber below, and Ilentia looked impassively on as the clones of Resistance members exploded in a spray of molten metal, immolating the screaming soldiers down below in a wave of fire and flowing metal. The sewers shook, depositing rubble and dust next to her party and making some of them cough as others shouted in panic.
"For freedom!" a cry rang out, and her Enforcers turned around as black-clad figures wielding Red magic and a host of Summonings crashed into them. Blood spurted into the air as the ambush commenced, slaughtering the unprepared Enforcers. Ilentia had predicted this course of action the second she knew that the Resistance below had been an illusion – they would be trying to split up the party of Welkalite military, by making them take casualties from the explosion and then assaulting them from the back. Ilentia saw the woman wielding her scimitar hacking through the Enforcer that had asked for orders earlier, her fiery blade turning the man to ash as her Summoning, the Oread that must have created the metal clones of the Guard, incinerated another one of her soldiers. The Master of Gluttony was perfectly content to watch the massacre and intervene when she felt it was right, sensing Arrapackxia's lust to feast increasing every time one of her Enforcers was cut down.
A kind-faced man with a crackling crimson elemental at his side then broke through the ranks, his spear fizzing with electricity, turned in her direction, and his eyes widened in shock. Arrapackxia lowered his concealment magic, and the darkness of a greater demon permeated throughout the tunnel, filling its occupants with dread.
"Get back!-" the man shouted as Ilentia's demon sprang forwards grabbing him around the throat and biting off his head, blood fountaining from the stump as he greedily devoured the corpse, his power levels rising exponentially. He stood up to his full height just as the last of the Enforcers was finished off, huge black wings extending out of his back and scraping the ceiling before Arrapackxia released mana from his hands and annihilated the obstruction, laughing at the terrified faces below.
"DEGAN!" the woman with the Oread shrieked in fury and loss as Arrapackxia consumed the last remnants of the man's body, leaping forward as her weapon glowed with rage. The greater demon bellowed with laughter and back-handed her, and although her fall was minimised by her Summoning Ilentia still heard bones cracking. Arrapackxia shot into their ranks, extending his claws and sweeping them in a wide arc, dismembering and maiming at every attack as a fiery spirit in the form of a woman clothed in robes of smoke and steam shot sparking flames at the demon, who laughed again and battered them away.
"Messa! We need to retreat!" a Resistance member shouted, just as a lance of pure darkness pierced through his stomach, forcing him to cough up lungfuls of blood.
"Now that wouldn't be fun at all, would it?" Arrapackxia's spiteful voice rang out as he sent out bolts of darkness that impaled the spirit that was attacking him, though with the wounding of her Summoner the creature had started to fade already. Ilentia augmented her speed with Red enchantments and sprinted at the group of Resistance members that had been trying to leave, but somersaulted backwards as a pool of magma erupted from the ground she had been about to run on.
The woman who must have been called Messa swung her sword at Ilentia, who blocked it with both of her own and twisted as a bolt of fire came dangerously close to impacting on her side. The Master of Gluttony felt empowered by her Summoning, but Arrapackxia was drawing on her reserves on mana and if she didn't eliminate the party of Ja'an Guard soon then she might end up dying. She wished that her Enforcers would have lasted a bit longer so could be distracting some of the Resistance, as instead of concentrating their attacks on the huge distraction of the fully awakened greater demon they were trying to kill its Summoner first.
She slammed her foot on the ground, mentally ordering Arrapackxia to attack to the group of rebels assaulting her instead of eating the ones he had just killed, but the demon was able to ignore her now that he was fed and did so, continuing to slowly feast upon the humans that tried to flee from him. Ilentia realised that if the Resistance was allowed to escape, it would take huge amounts of searching to locate them again, but for now if she let them get away she knew that they would return and kill her when she was forced to Unsummon Arrapackxia.
Ilentia flipped back from Messa's second swipe, the woman's technique not lost in her rage and forcing the Master of Gluttony into some unfavourable positions. Ilentia snarled and twirled her swords, creating two waves of fire and shadow and sending them at Messa. The Oread intercepted the first wave, nullifying the flames with its own, but the second sapped some of Messa's strength and reduced her energy.
Ilentia frowned as she heard a huge release of Blue mana, and then suddenly the Resistance members were gone. Her eyes widened at the sudden disappearance, and at the fact that the Ja'an Guard had access to such potent teleportation technology, meaning that at least one League of the Yentarian Republic was aiding them, before pure and unadulterated rage coursed through her mind. She turned furiously to Arrapackxia, whose wings were forming back into his body as he hunched over a corpse, and the greater demon took one look at her face and returned to the Mind Realm, escaping her wrath for now.
Ilentia screamed in anger and punched the floor, knowing that she had failed Tradax – although she had killed some of the Resistance, she didn't know where the rest had gone, and the fact that they now knew her strength meant that she would probably never be able to hunt them down again. Her fist was covered in the gore, the blood of her Enforcers and the rebels she and her demon had murdered coating the sewer tunnels in thick, sticky red fluid.
You win, for now. But rest assured, I will find you, and you will pay for this.
.*.*.*.
Caiellis walked slowly to the monorail station, as he had set off far too early so that he could ensure everything was in place for his departure. His booted feet crunched in the snow, and he carried a large book he had recently purchased with him for the journey. As usual, the scarf he wore hid his identity, though he would have to take it off before boarding the train. As well as Mysos and Jenna, his father had seconded a squad of four elite royal bodyguards to him, but he had told the men (who had been waiting dutifully outside of the Ordo Medella hospital) that as long as they got on the train on time, he didn't mind what they did. It was approaching midday, not that he would know without the new watch he had found in his room when he had gone to it just after leaving his relatives, and after that he had said his goodbyes to Tristram and Tybalt.
Despite his misgivings about leaving Alexander alone, he was massively looking forward to the trip – Scientia Mos was his favourite city apart from Capitalia Lux because of the latter's sheer impressiveness and historical relevance, and he had gotten on well with Hierarch Martha and Guardian Weiss when he had stayed at the city a bit in the civil war, although he hadn't spoken to either in two years.
The boy sensed a familiar presence striding quickly towards him, and exhaled frustratedly, trying to curb the rise of annoyance that tried to disrupt the peaceful state of mind he had created for himself. The man just didn't know when to quit, did he? Cai sighed exasperatedly, irked by the fact that his father had gone back on what he said and decided to in fact come and see him to the train station. However, he still stopped, not wanting to seem petty or ignorant and knowing that if he did increase his pace then the much taller Marik would just catch up with him.
"Why are you here?" he asked, not turning around but directing a sideways glance at dad when he reached his son's side, the king's face cast in resolute determination mixed with parental warmth. Cai would be lying if he said that he wasn't grateful for the man appearing, as it showed that he did care, but they had left each other's company on a positive tone and the fact that his irritation was rising meant that that probably wouldn't last. He knew that if they argued now, just before he left, both would foster the resentment of the other (unless his father decided to act like an adult) until it evolved into something much more foetid and sinister, possibly even directly influencing the war.
"Caiellis, I am aware that you are annoyed and put a lot of effort into ensuring that we parted on good terms, but what sort of a father just lets their children leave without seeing them off and making sure they are safe?" Marik stated, suppressing the desire to embrace his son after the boy's eyes clearly told him he wouldn't welcome that. I wonder if he is ever going to apologise properly for what he did earlier, or try and explain himself to me. I doubt it, Cai thought, his mind voice clinical and speaking with a detached, surgical precision. He stayed silent, hoping Marik would infer that now his youngest was no longer in the presence of his brother, there was no need to hold up on the pretence of being comfortable near his father.
The king's blue eyes were inscrutable and he also said nothing, so Caiellis set off again with his father pacing at his side, often directing glances at the prince, who kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead, endeavouring to slow down his breathing and trying not to think about his father attacking him. He wanted, no, he needed dad to speak, to break the silence and show that he still loved his child, but the king seemed perfectly content to walk in quiet, as if the man thought the silence between them was companionable instead of forced and tense. A couple of guards bowed but otherwise made no moves to prostrate themselves in front of the king, thinking that the man just wanted to act as a father instead of a monarch.
Sighing at his parent's density, Caiellis let his soft voice cut through the quiet, "Was Alex alright after I left?"
Marik smiled at him, though the gesture wasn't entirely suffused with happiness, registering that he had become lost in his own thoughts and that he should have been the one to begin the conversation considering the fact that he was the one who sought out Caiellis. "Your brother still seemed a bit … scared, I suppose, and I am planning to talk to him after you get on the train, but was definitely better than before. Whatever you two did in the bathroom, it certainly healed him."
Cai could feel his father's analytical gaze scrutinizing him, examining him closely for any subtle clues that would allude to what had happened, so ensured that he kept his posture, and expression, neutral. The younger brother was not going to give away Alex's secret, and would just ignore his father if he asked what had occurred, though he doubted the man would be that brash. He refused to give away any information, figuring that if Alexander wanted to reveal his fears to anyone else (unlikely), then it was the older boy's choice, and he knew that if the roles had been reversed then Alexander would preserve his secrecy.
"Just make sure he is alright," Caiellis said quietly, and Marik nodded dutifully. At least neither of them were shouting at each other, though the king had had his hopes dashed numerous times before when he thought they had been making progress. "Anyway, thank you for asking, I'll be fine in Scientia Mos. I will make sure to report back to you or Alex every day on the mana communicator on the state of affairs, but I will need orders so that the mobilisation can be done in synchronisation with the other cities. I assume that we are still following your plan?"
Marik nodded, proud of his son not allowing the animosity that he wished didn't exist between them get in the way of the kingdom's future. What he had done was inexcusable, but he had apologised for it and didn't want the moment of peace between them to end. "Yes, we are still following my strategy. However I have incorporated some elements of yours into it, as they were masterfully done, so instead of a rush at the capital we will destroy other armies to prevent them from reinforcing it before besieging Usnaan."
Cai raised his eyebrows at the compliment, sceptical of whether his father was saying that in some vain attempt to improve their relationship or actually thought that. "You know, sometimes I wished I knew which one of you would be king." Marik stated idly, "Then I could focus on their development instead of having to train you both, and so you didn't have to live your lives in uncertainty."
Caiellis thoroughly disagreed with that – having knowledge of which child would ascend to the throne would create favourites, and the other child would be neglected and ignored in favour of making sure their sibling was prepared to rule, though he knew his father would agree with him on that. However, he couldn't help the irritation from entering his voice the next time he spoke, aiming the question like an accusation, "Did you not think of that?"
"What?" Marik replied, utterly bemused by his son's enigmatic question. Caiellis sighed like he was being forced to speak to an idiot and was indulging him just by deigning to talk, and elaborated, "Did you and mum not think that after you had Alex, it would have been better for the kingdom just to have one heir and not had another child, especially after you were crowned king?"
"To be honest, the thought did cross my mind, but your mother would never have agreed to letting blind loyalty get in the way of what we wanted," Marik said, nostalgically recalling the argument they had had about disciplining their children after three year old Alexander had a tantrum – Marik had originally wanted to follow his father's example, as they dispassionate violence did make him and Johnias respectful, obedient and dutiful, but Emili had vehemently opposed hitting their children. He had relented after a few minutes, knowing that what his wife said about words being far more powerful being right, and wanting to be as far removed from King Garius II as possible. Though he respected the man as a king and sought to emulate that within his own reign, he had never loved him and wanted to be far closer to his children then the man had ever been to him and his twin. The civil war had put a stop to that. "And anyway, we didn't exactly know you were coming."
Caiellis's eyes widened. What? They didn't know I was coming? That means... "So I'm a mistake?" he demanded, his voice coloured with rejection, despondency and anger. Oh shit. Caught up in his introspection, Marik had forgotten who he had been talking too for a second. He should not have said that. "No, Caiellis, you were never a mistake. You were the happiest surprise that ever happened to me and your mother."
"So you never did want me," the boy sighed, turning away, and although he tried to be cold Marik could clearly see the wide green orbs so reminiscent of Emili's beautiful eyes misting up and beginning to brim with tears. "Caiellis, don't be silly. Of course we wanted you, and I still want you now-"
"So why are you sending me away?" Caiellis raised his voice, the words caught in between an enraged yell and a soft sob, making Marik's heart ache, "Why did you tell me that I was a failure the first time I had spoken to you in nine years?! Why did you send me away after only speaking to me properly after one month? Why … Why?" Caiellis's voice drifted off and his pushed his face into his sleeve, "W-Why did y-you attack m-me?" Tears were fully cascading down his face now, so he wiped them away vigorously, and when a hand lightly brushed onto and gripped his shoulder he jerked away, out of reach.
"Caiellis..." dad said as the boy turned back around, looking like all of the thirteen year old he was instead of the adult everyone - including himself but excluding his brother and Uncles – expected him to be. Marik didn't know what to say, he wanted to apologise, throw himself at his son's feet and beg for forgiveness, but couldn't find the words so Cai spoke instead. "Dad, j-just leave. I'm s-sorry, I'm n-not myself. I w-wanted to e-end on a g-good note. Just leave before this escalates further." his voice hardened, "We can start fresh when I get back, ok?"
"Yes. Yes we can," Marik replied softly, reaching out to his son, but the boy started moving away before he could embrace him in a hug. He inwardly smiled at how ridiculous he must have looked, with his hand outstretched and his mouth gawking open, so returned to a normal posture. "Goodbye, Caiellis. I love you, and look forward to seeing you again."
Sure you fucking do, the boy thought, before hiding the emotions under the determined, intelligent and reserved prince persona he often wore in preparation for alighting. Dad just had to go and ruin everything, didn't he?
Marik sighed deeply, realising just how much he had screwed that up. Caiellis had been right; he should have just stayed with Alexander and let the goodbyes that had been said earlier be the last the two had seen each other before his youngest's return. He turned around – he may have ruined his chances with one son, but his other still needed his love and help to get through his wounding at Aksua's hands, and Marik knew that by aiding Alexander he was indirectly helping Caiellis as well.
When he entered his eldest son's room, the daughter of his friend Carlis, Elizabex, smiled and bowed respectfully at him and took her leave. He didn't fail to notice Alexander squaring his shoulders, and not meeting his gaze, an instant sign that something was wrong if he needed any.
"Alexander. Are you feeling any better?" he asked, and his son grinned in his direction – he certainly did look significantly improved than before he Summoned Aurelia and forced his father to leave. The boy still had that haunted and vacant look in his eyes, and occasionally the pale blue orbs flicked to the side, as if checking that the room was empty apart from him and his father, and that most likely Aksua wasn't there. "Yeah dad, I'm good. I just needed some time alone. Seriously, I wish everyone would stop asking."
"I'm sorry, but you are not fine, bud. Not by a long shot," Marik stated, attempting a more informal tone once again to put the lad at ease, though he could well empathise with trying to conceal weakness. Alexander's eyes narrowed, and he instantly demanded, "Did Cai say something?"
"About what, my son?" he inquired, sitting down in the chair, and he saw the boy falter. That had been stupid of him – his little brother and their dad never interacted, and although Marik had gone to see him off it didn't mean the squirt would tell him anything. Most likely Caiellis had told Marik to take very good care of him, but not revealed any information as to what had occurred in the bathroom, however Alex was annoyed that he had automatically blamed his innocent younger brother. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."
"I'm willing to bet you had some sort of breakdown the amount of time you spent in there," Marik idly mused, and the visual cues of Alexander's body tensing defensively confirmed his suspicions. "Clearly, you are not in a talkative mood today, with me anyway, so just listen." he received a tentative nod, "I know that you are trying to hide your inner fear, which is admirable, but I am your father. I am not judging you, nor do I expect you to be emotionally unscathed after what happened. You may think that my opinion of you has lessened because of you being what you perceive as weak, but you couldn't be further from the truth. I love you, Alexander, and no matter what happens I want you to know that that will always be true, ok? You are one of the strongest people I know, and I am incredibly proud to be able to call myself your father, although how you are now is not because of me. And I know that you just want to recover and forget about this, like we all do, but don't think you have to carry the burden of what happened on yourself, and if you ever need any help then I am here."
"Thanks," Alexander responded simply, though Marik could sense that his father/son talk had made the boy feel better. Unwilling to focus on himself any longer, the prince diverted the conversation towards his little brother's departure, "So was Cai alright? Did you seeing him off work?"
Marik shook his head sadly, "Suffice to say I wish I could be as eloquent with him as I am with you, and that I should have taken his advice on staying here with you."
"Don't blame yourself, dad," Alexander voiced thoughtfully, "And I know that you aren't, but don't blame him either. I'm sure you two will be able to make it up to each other soon, and I will be with you both every step of the way." This is just a day of emotional and inspiring speeches, Alex thought.
.*.*.*.
The vibrations of the monorail train beneath his comfortable and padded seat juddered through Caiellis's trembling body, though he no longer noticed the feeling after two hours of being sat on the train. Mysos and Jenna were in the same booth as him, although the two had given him a wide berth when they saw the mixture of hollow sadness and stormy anger that he couldn't hide on his face, sat in the seats opposite him. He was reading the book on the war against the Drenure kingdom, prosecuted in the ninth century by Queen Arie, and although he already knew quite a bit of information about it the book detailed some battles that he didn't know, as well as more depth into the culture of the Lucaelian's enemies than usually found. Cai was deliberately and utterly ignoring his two advisers bickering about something, though was still listening in, his mind simultaneously processing the inked words of the book and the spoken argument in front of him. The Bylae sisters undoubtedly had a knack for arguing with people.
Then, a strange sensation dragged its way into his mind, demanding his attention and refusing to allow the boy to ignore it and focus on anything else. He mentally smiled in what would have been a grim and wry manner if it was physical when he identified what it was – every time it emerged, it did so in a different form, though still bringing the same ominous message. Now all that was to be determined was how early it had come relative to what was going to happen.
Jenna completely blanked out what Mysos growled back at her, noticing that the fast paced flicking of pages had ended – Cai seemed to be an exceptionally fast reader, though knowing him he would have still absorbed the knowledge present in the pages with that sponge like mind of his – suggesting that the prince had ceased reading. The Yentarian looked at the boy's face, and although the blank mask he had worn when first meeting her in the palace library was still there, there seemed to be a sense of introspective contemplation that was quickly dissolving into something far more urgent.
"Lord Caiellis, is everything alright?" she asked, intentionally using the title to see if he noticed and also to see if the thing Cai had discovered was important – if it was, then either he wouldn't realise she had said "Lord" or he would ignore it in favour of talking about what was going on in his mind. The boy's eyes flicked up at her, his brow creased in consternation and his emerald eyes full of apprehension, though he hid it underneath resolute steel.
"No, actually," he said calmly, standing up out of his seat.
"We are under attack."
New Summonings in this chapter:
Degan Onkoda - Generator Servant
Resistance member: Lavaborn Muse