Adira had always enjoyed traveling. She liked sleeping under the stars, and having the excitement of experiencing a new place and new people every day. It was a big relief as well. If she ever messed up and felt the rare shame build up inside of her, it didn't really matter, because she would soon be leaving the experiences, embarrassment, and not so pleasant memories behind her as she moved towards something new.
Adira lived for the moment. It was always what she had liked doing. Always look ahead, and find ways to make the future brighter.
Hector was the one that focused on the past. Tradition, heritage, they were things that he held close to his heart. She couldn't count the number of times that he had said that history was the source of loyalty.
Knowing this about Hector, it made this new decision of his, to leave the Brotherhood behind him, a confusing one. But Adira didn't question it. She was too busy supporting Hector in his choice to even think about where it was coming from.
Traveling together was an interesting experience, and Adira really liked it, even if there were moments that she didn't understand. Such as whenever she said something that was purposefully goading, Hector wouldn't do more than smirk, roll his eyes, and change the topic. That wasn't what he was supposed to do.
Adira and Hector's relationship had always been confrontational. Fighting was how they showed they cared. They usually took things too far, and then Quirin would need to play the role of mediator. That wasn't necessary now though, because Hector wasn't playing along.
Adira didn't push him to fight. She wondered if he might be holding back because he was worried that she was going to leave him again. She wouldn't, but she knew that it would take time for him to realize it.
Another thing that Adira thought was weird, though it took her a few days to notice, was that Hector never seemed to sleep. He had to sleep at some point, of course, because humans couldn't thrive if they didn't get enough.
Whenever they stopped for the evening they would stay up for a few hours before Adira would meditate and go to sleep. Hector was always wide awake when she went to bed, and when she woke up in the morning he was already awake, waiting for her.
She could understand him staying up late, as he'd always been able to spend hours just staring at the moon, but it wasn't like him to wake up so early, let alone every day. If she didn't know any better, she would think that he just had a hard time sleeping. He frequently seemed distracted and easily got lost in his own thoughts. Maybe the old nightmares that used to plague him in his youth had returned.
But Hector didn't say a word about bad dreams, or about whatever was on his mind lately. Adira knew something was bothering him, but he'd said he wasn't ready to talk to her about it. It wasn't like him to be quiet about how he was feeling, so this had to be serious and conflicting for him. Adira would give him time to figure it out, but she hoped that he knew that he could always talk to her.
Their relationship may have become strained in the past twenty five years, but they were still siblings. That much would never change.
As they got closer to the Dark Kingdom, Hector's mode improved. He could be downright giddy sometimes, and his mood was contagious. Even as he got more and more excited, Adira noticed more frequently the moments when he would look somber and almost forlorn when he thought she wasn't looking.
Sooner rather than later he would shake his head and bring his cheerful mood back. It didn't seem to be a front, but that didn't make Adira any less worried. He may not be going out of his way to hide things from her, but he was hiding his feelings from himself and being in denial, and that was worse.
At least they were almost home. Hector could speak to Edmund, be released from his duty, and finally let himself live his life.
The border to the Dark Kingdom was always very clear. It was like a clear line of desolation and waste. When they reached the border Adira didn't think anything of it. Hector on the other hand stopped at the edge of the border, not stepping foot on the lifeless ground.
She thought that he just needed a moment, because it could be overwhelming to return home after so long away. She waited patiently, only to grow confused when she saw the way he was staring at a nearby boulder.
"Something's wrong." Hector muttered. He pointed at the boulder. "That's supposed to be within the borders of the kingdom."
Adira frowned and looked at the rock. To her it looked like it was still in the Dark Kingdom. Maybe half of it was resting on very short grass at the border of the kingdom, but she didn't think it was that big of a deal. To Hector though, it apparently was.
"Maybe someone moved the rock?" Adira suggested. "Or you're remembering it wrong."
A strong breeze rustled through the trees and pushed the grass away from the Dark Kingdom. Hector growled and glared at the sky. "I'm not remembering wrong, and nobody moved the stupid rock." He pointed up. "Unless you think I'm forgetting the eternally overcast skies that plagued the kingdom, or that someone moved the clouds."
Adira blinked and actually looked out over the horizon, where she could see the land of the Dark Kingdom. The land itself looked the same, but the sky was, infact, clear. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed it before. The moonstone had brought darkness to the kingdom. Seeing the sun shine down on the black rocks was unnatural, but it filled Adira with hope.
"The Sundrop." Adira muttered. "She did it." She smiled broadly, but Hector didn't share her enthusiasm. "Brother, this is a good thing. The Sundrop must have destroyed the moonstone. Our kingdom is free. We are free." Maybe this would be enough for Hector to feel like he was released from his duty.
Hector breathed out slowly in a clear effort to calm himself. "I'm not free until Edmund says so." His posture was stiff. "And forgive me for not celebrating the fact that my home has changed." He stormed ahead. Baffled by her brother's strange frustration, Adira caught up to him.
"Hector, I don't understand what you're upset about." Adira said.
"So what else is new?" Hector growled. He wouldn't even look at her. Adira half wanted to grab his arm and force him to stop and turn to look at her. She refrained though, because she knew how much she hated unexpected touch. Especially when she was already in a bad mood. It could make her lash out, and Hector was far more prone to that kind of reaction than she was.
He had never hated touch as much as she did, but ever since they'd reunited she couldn't help but notice that he was avoiding her touch. She would offer him casual touches, and he would shirk away. She didn't think she had touched him at all since they'd started this trip.
"I don't understand, but I'm trying to." Adira said. "Can you please just talk to me?"
Hector didn't stop, but he slowed down to a more casual pace. He was no longer trying to run from her or the conversation. "...I've dreamed of coming home for so long. I-I thought that things would get better, or make sense, or that I'd…heh" He shook his head and stared intently at the ground. "That I'd find peace."
He was quiet for a long time before he continued. "I felt like the only thing keeping me together was the useless, pointless, stupid hope that things could go back the way they were before."
Adira still didn't understand, and she felt bad about it. "But things weren't good before. The kingdom has always been a disaster. If the Sundrop succeeded in her quest and the moonstone is destroyed, the Dark Kingdom can finally begin to grow and become the great kingdom that we've always hoped it would be. I was starting to think that we wouldn't live to see the day."
Hector snorted, somehow looking even more upset and amused at the same time. "I guess it wasn't about the kingdom. It was about the people. The Brotherhood." He finally looked at Adira. "You guys."
Adira almost felt like she was seeing Hector for the first time in twenty five years. He'd blatantly told her that he'd missed them desperately, and felt abandoned and alone. Maybe he missed the Dark Kingdom, but more than that he'd missed their family. Seeing the kingdom change,even for the better, was hard, because it forced him to remember that their family dynamic was never going to be the way it had been in the past.
Adira sighed. She wished one of their brothers were here. Quirin had always been good at providing emotional reassurance, even if he hated doing so, and often didn't do it until it was nearly too late. Edmund, on the other hand, wasn't good at talking about feelings, but he didn't hesitate to do so. Between the two of them, they could handle an emotional conversation much better than Adira could ever dream to.
But she was the only one that Hector had right now. What she had to offer would have to be enough.
"You could have reached out to us." Adira said. She hadn't meant to imply that Hector's distress was his own fault. She just meant to remind him that despite their distance and the fact that they had left on bad terms, she would have come back to him if he had said that he needed her.
Hector looked pained. "I know, I just…for the first five years, I was too bitter and angry. After that, well, I just couldn't do it." There was that reference to twenty years ago. Adira wished that she knew what had happened. She felt like it was the key to truly understanding her brother.
Adira frowned. "Well, I'm sorry for not coming back for you sooner." She gave him a strained, hopeful smile. "Better late than never though, right?"
Hector finally stopped in her tracks, almost making her bump into him. He was avoiding her gaze again, though she caught a glimpse of his eyes. The yellow was so pale that they looked almost white. Lifeless.
"I think it might be too late." He said quietly. Adira felt as though her heart stopped. She had thought that things had been getting better between them. He wasn't supposed to sound so defeated about their relationship. Things couldn't possibly be broken beyond repair, could they?
She wanted to reassure him, and tease him for being so pessimistic when that was supposed to be Edmund's and Quirin's thing, but she didn't. What was she supposed to say to make things right? So she stayed silent and walked along behind Hector as they continued their journey towards the castle.
Things were tense by the time they reached the chasm. Adira wished that Hector would talk to her, because it seemed like any time she opened her mouth she just upset him more. At least they would soon be inside of the castle, where they could talk to Edmund. If the king couldn't cheer Hector up, Adira didn't know who would.
The castle halls were as quiet and empty as they'd been when Adira had been here just a few days ago, but the silence hit her differently now. It seemed like it settled right into her very soul. They headed towards the throne room, which branched off into the moonstone chamber. It was the most likely place where they would find the others, and Adira wanted to see for herself if the moonstone was truly destroyed.
The throne room was empty, which was disappointing, but there was still something to be done. Adira looked at Hector. "Wait here. I'm going to check on the moonstone." She didn't think he was in any state to see the potentially destroyed moonstone.
He didn't say anything. He just slowly walked towards the throne. Adira hurried into the moonstone chamber, just to take a quick look. What she saw, or didn't see, was breathtaking and almost made her want to cry. The room had lost the glow of the moonstone. It was dark. Adira cautiously moved forward, smiling to herself when she saw the shattered remains of what had to be the moonstone on the ground, surrounded by an impossible amount of brown hair.
Both the Sundrop's hair and the moonstone had lost the heavenly glow of their magic. Adira didn't see any bodies lying around, so she had to assume that the princess hadn't become a casualty of the sundrop and moonstone canceling each other out. Adira couldn't have asked for things to go better.
Of course, her peace and happiness couldn't last. There was an absolutely unearthly scream that sent shivers down Adira's spine. It made her want to curl up and hide from the dangers and darkness of the world.
Adira completely forgot about the moonstone and sundrop. Any relief she had been feeling was replaced with fear and concern. She turned and ran back towards the throne room. She needed to get to Hector. She had a terrible feeling, and she just knew that he was involved somehow.
She needed to make sure he was okay. She remembered him begging her to not leave him on his own. He said he'd lose himself without her. Adira felt guilty. She'd left Hector behind because she thought it would be the best for him, but in doing so she'd forgotten that she had left him.
It didn't matter that she hadn't gone far. It didn't matter that she wasn't gone for very long. Hector had been alone when he was already clearly upset.
She'd never heard him scream like this before, and she never wanted to hear him so distressed ever again.
Adira ran into the throne room and found Hector curling in on himself, clutching at his hair in a way that had to be painful. He looked impossibly pale, and he looked like he was shaking. Something was wrong.
"Brother!" Adira ran towards him. "Hector, I'm here. I'm sorry. I-I wasn't thinking."
"He's not here." Hector said lowly. He didn't sound like himself at all. His grip on his hair somehow tightened and he let out another cry of raw emotion and pain. Adira felt her legs go weak as a primal fear settled into her chest. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She didn't get scared so easily, especially not just because her brother was frustrated and overwhelmed. Why was she feeling like this?
"Edmund?" Adira asked.
"Of course Edmund!" Hector shouted. He glared at her, his eyes almost seeming to glow in the darkness. "He left." A frightening expression crossed Hector's face, and Adira was scared, and not just out of concern for her brother. Hector straightened and stalked closer to her, and Adira couldn't help but take a step back, and she hated herself for it. This was her brother. She shouldn't be afraid of him.
"He knew we were coming." Hector's voice shook as much as his hands did. "He knew I had a request for him. We're doing this on his terms, and he just up and leaves because he's a selfish fool who doesn't know how to think about anybody but himself."
Adira blinked, absolutely stunned. She'd never heard Hector speak poorly of Edmund, let alone in a tone full of so much venom. "How do you know he left?"
"How do you think!? He said so himself." Hector looked back over his shoulder at a letter left on the floor. It seemed to flutter and ripple, like it was about to be blown away, even though there wasn't so much as a breeze in her. Adira slowly stepped past Hector and picked up the note, quickly skimming it over while her brother seethed behind her.
According to the note, Edmund believed that Fishskin was his son. The princess and her friends had meant to wait for them, but they'd gotten a message from Corona. There was an emergency in their kingdom, and they needed to hurry home. Edmund, wanting to know his son better, had gone after them.
Edmund's letter invited Adira and Hector to meet him in Corona, so they could rebuild their family there. Either Hector hadn't seen the invitation, or he was so furious and distraught that he couldn't bring himself to care. All he cared about was that he needed his brother. He was stepping out of his comfort zone to ask for help, only to be left alone once again.
Except Hector wasn't alone, and Adira was going to make sure that he knew it.
She dropped the letter and went up to Hector. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Hector stiffened and seemed to stop breathing, and Adira did the same as her skin tingled at the contact.
Adira hated physical touch of all kinds, because it so easily got overwhelming. She was always hyper-aware of any touch on her skin. Firm touches made her feel restrained. Light touches made her feel like there were insects dancing across her skin. It made her want to either hit the person touching her, or shake her arms out to get rid of the feeling.
This was worse. It tickled, and felt both too cold and too hot at once. She felt frozen in this position, stuck holding Hector and unable to get away. She thought that she could feel the uncomfortable touch all the way down to her bones, but she didn't let Hector go, because she thought that he needed the comfort more than she needed the distance.
Hector slowly turned to look at Adira. His eyes were shining and looked raw and vulnerable. "You…what are you doing?" He sounded stunned to the core.
"I'm hugging you." Adira said plainly. She thought that she would get used to the touch, that it was just so bad because she'd gone without it for so long, but it didn't lessen.
"But you don't like…you can't…doesn't it hurt?" Hector sounded concerned about her, and that just made Adira tighten her grip. He was hurting, and yet he was worried about her. Anybody that thought that Hector was unfeeling and uncaring was insane.
"It's no worse than normal." Adira said, and it was just a small lie. "It's definitely better than seeing you suffer." She ran her hand through his hair, which had become so thin after all these years that it almost felt like stroking the air. "You've been avoiding my touch. I appreciate your concern, but you need this, don't you?"
Hector was still for a long moment before he whined and leaned closer to her. The discomfort got so bad that she could hardly breath, but Adira pushed it aside. She could handle this for a few minutes if it meant easing Hector's pain and fear of being left behind.
"I-I can't remember the last time I was touched by anybody." Hector said quietly. Adira felt her guilt increase. She realized it wasn't an exaggeration. He really couldn't remember, because he hadn't been held like this even long before they'd been sent away from their home.
Adira avoided touch like the plague. Quirin was only marginally better. Edmund loved physical touch, but once he'd met his wife he hadn't offered as much of that affection to his siblings. They'd all left Hector wanting long before they'd left him.
"So I have a lot of time to make up for." Adira said. "The trip to Corona is a long one. We'll have time to at least start making things right."
Hector blinked and slowly his body relaxed. The discomfort that Adira felt from the tickling pressure got a little better. Maybe she was finally getting used to it. "You'll come to Corona with me?"
"I said I would be with you as long as you wanted me." Adira said. She intended to keep her promise. With her quest complete, there was nothing else that demanded her attention. She could give it all to her brother. "I'm not leaving you, Hector. Not ever again."
They stood there in their tense embrace for a long time before Hector began to pull away. She let him go. He looked more at ease, but her was once again refusing to look her in the eyes.
"If we're leaving for a bit, I need to check on my bearcats first." Hector said. His tone made it sound like it was something he dreaded, which Adira didn't understand. She'd noticed their absence. She'd just thought that they were protecting the Great Tree. Did he just not want to go back?
"Where are they?" Adira asked. Maybe she could find a way to somehow get them herself without leaving Hector's side.
"They're protecting something." Hector said. "Something useless, but supposably priceless. Something lost." He sounded sad, and pained. "They barely leave its side, but I can't go on this journey without them."
"We'll get them." Adira promised. If she had to drag the bearcats all the way to Corona by their tails, she would make sure they would make the journey. She wasn't going to let her brother be disappointed and left behind again.