“You two definitely made out.”
“Shut. Up. We did not make out for the umpteenth time!”
“Then explain why you came back looking like that!”
“Like what?!”
“Like you were making out!”
A frustrated Fang stepped between the dragon girl and the his broth, pushing them apart. “That’s enough for Solis sake. If Cyrus said they didn’t make out, then I believe him.”
Aurora threw up her hands with an eye roll. “You’re only saying that because you’re his holy yes man.”
“I am not his yes man!”
“Fang!”
“Yes!”
Aurora quirked an eyebrow at Fang, scoffing he waved her off, turning his attention to Cyrus, who was picking leaves out of his hair with an annoyed expression.
“Can you two stop yelling? I'm starting to get a headache.” Cyrus said, his tone exacerbated as he gave up on picking the debris from his hair and decided to search for his bed clothes.
“Look… I’m sorry, it’s just that you looked so…” Aurora trailed off, and Cyrus waited patiently for her to finish. A thick, awkward silence fell over the room, and he knew exactly where this was going.
“I looked so what, Aurora?”
“Happy.” Fang interjected, his voice tinged with an emotion that Cyrus could only describe as hurt. The golden royal felt a shiver run down his spine, and he instinctively rubbed the back of his neck as he was no scholar at expressing his feelings, especially not in situations like this, and he felt guilty for it.
“Yeah…” Aurora echoed, her tone mirroring Fang's. Cyrus looked over at Aurora with slight shock, she wasn't one to be worried about someone taking her place but then again there never was anyone who could take their places in Cyrus' heart.
“What? Guys, c’mon, I am happy! I’ve been happy this whole time, right here, with you two.” He offered a smile that usually reassured them, but the two newly appointed guards exchanged uncertain glances before looking back at him.
“He's one of those Finarian people isn't he?” Fang asked bluntly.
“What does that have to do with anything?" Cyrus tried to stay light hearted in tone but he could feel this was going in a negative direction.
“Oh not this again Fang.” Aurora's looked over towards the lycan boy obviously knowing something Cyrus didn't.
"You know they are godless people and have no respect for others culture," Fang spoke with slight venom in his voice, something that Cyrus didn't see often from his little brother and it hurt to hear that said about Erebus. Cyrus couldn't even think of what to say back before Fang continued. "He already showed his disrespect at the ceremony, I don't know exactly what happened but that's all they were talking about once you left."
That was my fault, I antagonized him and now people think he's the aggressor. How are people going to react when they find out he's coming to the palace...
Cyrus felt his heart drop to his stomach. He didn't even think about the consequences of what happened at the coronation, how many eyes saw it happen, what people were saying. He was so worried about finding Erebus he didn't even think to clean up the mess he made first by reassuring everyone. People probably thought he ran off distraught after being accosted by a Finarian. He didn't even tell these two that he was bringing the Finarian to the palace in a week.
"You know how your father feels about those people and I agree, any kingdom that bows to no god is dangerous and unpredictable. You should stay away from his Cyrus." Fang spoke but only pieces were reaching Cyrus' ears, the rest being tuned out by the overwhelming swirling thoughts that were consuming him at the moment. Fang was still speaking but the world suddenly fell silent around Cyrus as the realization of everything finally hit him.
My father is going to ban him from the kingdom if he sees him again, and I'll be put on daily watch...I'll never get to leave the palace grounds...
"Fang! Look at him, he's not even listening to your holy propagandist ramblings...chill out," Aurora spoke looking over at Fang sternly before passing a worried glance at Cyrus. "Despite what Fang is saying, who is he to you?"
Cyrus snapped out of it as Aurora touched his shoulder startling him slightly as he back up quickly from her touch but then remembering where he was, regaining his composure but not without a shocked look from both of his friends. "Could you repeat that...I...I didn't hear you." Cyrus spoke almost in a whisper as if his mind was still elsewhere but here at the same time. Aurora pushed past the odd behavior of Cyrus and asked again, "Who is he to you Cyrus?"
“Oh...he was… my friend,” looked at his feet, the weight of his past heavy in the air. “It was before I met you two… back before..." Cyrus felt his throat get dry and tried to swallow. "Before dad put me in the tower.” He walked over to the window and pushed it open, letting in a cool breeze. Just the thought of that place made him feel suffocated, and the thought of having it happen again made him feel as if the air was being pulled from his lungs in this moment.
“Was he the reason your dad put you there?” Fang, feeling a little bad now after what he was saying about Finarians seeing that it obviously triggered something in his brother. He found himself grabbing his tail for comfort, a habit he hadn’t fully grown out of.
“It could have been… but I know that because of that, I got to have you as my little brother, and I got to meet you, Aurora.” Cyrus turned from the window, meeting their concerned eyes with one of his usual smiles.
“No one could make me happier than you guys.”
“Promise?” Aurora asked, her voice softening not knowing what else to say.
“I promise…”
“I’ll make you a promise!” the darker prince announced loudly, Cyrus looked shocked and confused at the other, a slight red blush growing on his cheeks. “Promise me what?” Cyrus questioned.
“I, Erebus Grimwood, promise you, “Princess” Cyrus, that I will come back for you and we will go on all the adventures that she went on in the book, and more…i-if you want.”
Erebus sheepishly let go of Cyrus’ hands and put his behind his back kicking slightly with one foot. “Yeah…it’s a deal!” Cyrus spat in his hand and held it out for Erebus to do the same.
“Um…that’s gross…” Erebus just shook his finger instead with a disgusted face. They looked at each other and both proceeded to break into laughter and sit on the edge of the dock. “Just know I’m still going to go on more adventures than you.” Piped up the younger royal with a grin. “No way, I’m definitely going on more than you, and mine will be more dangerous.” Erebus said laying back against a crate. Cyrus scrunched up his face at the challenge before feeling something in his pocket.
“Hey, do you want to try a tart?”
“As long as it’s not from the hand you just spit on…”
“You're not really going to the Sunshine Kingdom, are you?” Merosa demanded, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
“Why do you care, Merosa?” Erebus snapped, irritation lacing his voice as he tossed his belongings into his trunks. Though he wouldn’t leave until morning, he was determined to have everything ready on the ship for a daybreak departure. He paced back and forth, snatching items for the trip, but Merosa grabbed one of his shirts before he could shove it into a trunk.
“Let go, sister!” he snapped.
“Oh, I get it. You see your long-lost princess for five seconds, you screw in the woods and suddenly you’re packing your bags? Is that it?”
Erebus wrenched the shirt from her grasp flinging it into the trunk, their eyes locked in a fierce stare.
“The queen has requested my services.” His voice was cold, his statement curt, but his anger simmered beneath the surface.
“You mean your company~. I saw the way he looked at you at the coronation.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Erebus turned away, huffing, the heat rising in his cheeks. “He didn’t look at me... There were a thousand people in that room.”
“You can pretend all you want, but I was there, and I can see through you.”
“Merosa…”
“I would just hate for you to disappoint the new queen with your ‘services,’ considering you’ve never—”
“MEROSA! Enough! Dammit, do you ever just find silence?!”
“Brother, I—”
“I need to pack, and I would appreciate your absence!”
Merosa scoffed, leaning against the wall, her bravado faltering. Her voice shifted from sarcasm to something softer, almost vulnerable. “I just don’t understand what’s so special about this princess that would make you abandon your family.”
Erebus slammed the trunk shut, spinning to face her, fury igniting in his eyes.
Is that why she thinks I’m leaving? Is she really this oblivious? Family?
“What family? You mean the ones who throw me into the fires of war at every opportunity, using me like a pawn in their endless battles?”
Tears glimmered in Merosa’s eyes, but she held them back. Erebus felt a surge of satisfaction mixed with guilt. He wanted her to feel just a fraction of his pain. He grabbed his trunks and stepped closer, dropping them to the floor with a thud that echoed like a gunshot.
“I think it's a little too late for the concerned older sister act. Maybe if I hadn’t spent five years of my adolescence in a military camp…” His words dripped with venom, his disappointment etched on his face.
“That was Father’s choice, not mine!” Merosa reached for his scarred face, but he caught her wrist, squeezing it tightly enough to make her gasp. “I-I wanted you home—”
“And yet you didn’t fight for me.”
“I—”
“When Father wanted to give you away to that wrinkled Selentian king, I fought for you!” His voice rose, desperation clawing at his throat.
“I know…”
“And do you know where that got me?”
“I’m sorry…”
“I was sent to The Camp, Merosa! Up until that point, Styx was going to be the one chosen for war because he was the screw-up, not me!”
“Erebus…”
“I suppose our father could only afford to lose one son.”
He dropped her hand, and she clutched her chest, a choked sob escaping her lips. Ignoring her, he opened the doors, light flooding in and slicing through the darkness between them.
“...Are you really going to leave me here?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Yes… at least until Father needs me to fight another one of his battles. Though you never really seemed to care about my presence or lack there of anyway.”
The doors closed behind him as Merosa slid down the wall, burying her head in her knees, weeping quietly.
“You didn’t have to say that to her,” Styx said, his eyes burning with anger as he glared at Erebus from across the hall.
Erebus scoffed, hoisting his trunks onto his shoulders with a bitter smirk. “Surely you’ll be here to coddle her, if you can find the time between your nightly escapades.”
“Are you trying to prove something on your way out, brother?” Styx’s voice was low, dangerous.
“Maybe… maybe it should have been you and not me.”
“I don’t know… that scar suits you well, little brother. Besides, you don’t like brothels as much as I do. I guess they remind you too much of home.”
“Hm… I guess so.”
"I heard what you said about me in there."
Erebus looked over his shoulder at his brother who was giving him a sickening grin at the moment. "I meant every word." Erebus said with an unwavering tone.
"I bet you did, but since we're on the topic of screw ups, I heard what you did at the coronation," Styx's eyes darken as his sneer widened revealing an unnerving amount of sharp teeth. "You really think they're going to welcome you with open arms after that little display?"
Erebus tried to ignore him as he had turned his attention to the doors ahead.
I didn't do anything wrong, besides everyone already expects the worst from people like me anyway...besides...
"It would be such a shame if after everything you said tonight, and what you did at the coronation just happened to touch father's ears." Styx spoke as if he were the one convincing man in the garden to partake in the fruit, sliding up behind Erebus and squeezing his shoulder before speaking again, "And what a shame it would be if your little Queen sent you home...I wonder what father would do. Have a safe trip little brother."
Erebus could feel the grip loosen on his shoulder and as soon as it did he strode down the hall toward the doors, fighting the urge to turn around and say so much more. He could hear Merosa’s muffled cries as Styx opened the chamber doors. He swore he heard his brother whisper something as he slipped inside, something along the lines of, “Get up, you’re embarrassing yourself,” before slamming the door behind him.
I am not coming back even if I have to take refuge in a town outside of Solaria, I refuse to come back here unless I am needed...even then...
Thoughts swirled in his mind as he paused at the palace doors.
“Erebus? I thought you weren’t leaving until morning,” a weary male voice called from behind him. He turned to see an old guard who struggled to lift one of his trunks, his breath coming in labored gasps.
“I am still leaving in the morning… Are you sure you can manage that, old man?” Erebus replied, raising an eyebrow as he hefted the other heavy chest, holding the massive palace door open for the elderly man.
“Bah! I’m fine! If I can’t carry this wooden box, then I shouldn’t be a royal guard!” The guard’s pride clashed with his physical struggle.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be Rusoe. Ever thought about becoming a bookkeeper instead?” Erebus shot back, his tone teasing but with an undercurrent of genuine concern.
The old man huffed, straining as he dragged the trunk along. Despite his disdain for the palace, it was the people who worked there, like Rusoe, that kept a flicker of warmth in his heart. They shared a lighthearted banter as they walked, and at one point, Erebus took the trunk from the old man to give him a break. The harbor was a long walk from the palace, and the company was comforting.
“How long will you be gone?” Rusoe asked, his tone turning serious.
Erebus halted at the ship port, turning back to see the guard, who stood there looking almost like a lost child.
“How long will you be gone, Erebus?” he repeated, concern etched on his weathered face.
“…Not long. I’m just helping the new Queen get acclimated,” Erebus replied, though doubt crept into his voice.
“So you are running...” Rusoe’s eyes bore into him, probing.
The waves crashed against the silence, rocking the ancient docks beneath them as Erebus met the guard’s steady gaze.
“I’m sorry, what are you accusing me of—”
“It will find you, fate finds everyone, the loneliness, the pain. You can’t chase it off with familiar whimsy.” Rusoe warned, his voice low and trembling.
“Rusoe, you’re an old friend, but I’m asking you to watch your tongue. You don’t know what you’re speaking of.”
“I'll still be here,” Rusoe insisted, his voice quavering as if it were barely holding itself together. Erebus felt a strange pang in his chest, something he hadn’t experienced since his days in The Camp. The voice that broke through Rusoe's at that moment sounded familiar, uncomfortably so, this wasn't the old man he knew.
“Who are you…” Erebus demanded, his patience fraying.
“What do you mean? I am me, Rusoe. Well, I am who you think Rusoe is. I’m the Rusoe you needed. But since this is the last time we can meet in this setting, let me show you… a glimpse of who I really am.”
Erebus stood guarded, hand instinctively going to the hilt of a sword that wasn’t there, looking down with disbelief he had barely a moment to think before a sinister cackle echoed around him, like the crackling of fire, breaking his panicked thoughts. The old man’s form crumbled, falling away like ash to reveal a swirling mass of black smoke—a visage of a person, but not quite. Two eyes of white flame flickered to reveal emotions that no ordinary face could convey.
“I figured the form of an old man would be more comforting, you know grandfather figures and all.” the being said, voice dripping with mockery.
“You…” Erebus stammered, his shock palpable.
“YES ME! Hahaha! You know I love that face you make when you’re upset. It makes me feel so much better about my own problems. I'm so glad you remembered me!”
For the first time, the brooding general was at a loss for words, his usual biting quips stolen by confusion. The waves crashed behind him, a stark reminder of the chaos swirling within. The being spoke with the smooth voice a salesman but with an odd hissing wheeze at the end of every sentence the a wet log in a fire.
“You’re welcome.” the being said casually.
“What?” Erebus grumbled, barely forming a question, his voice low and filled with resentment as he kept his eyes on the figure.
“I said you’re welcome, what did all those years on the field make you hard of hearing? Usually, people thank someone for a gift. That power you have… it’s a gift. So, you’re welcome.”
“I didn’t ask for this power,” Erebus snapped, frustration boiling over.
“Well, you have it. And thus… you have me. I think thats a pretty good deal if you ask me.”
The shadowy form whipped through the air, wrapping around Erebus like his own shadows before solidifying and draping an arm around his shoulder, its touch both familiar and unsettling.
“I’ve been waiting for this day, you know? The day you forsake this place. I knew it would happen, but I didn’t expect that boy to be the reason. How much are you willing to give up?”
“I’m not forsaking or giving up anything!” Erebus pushed, trying to shake off the smoke-like arm, but it clung to him.
“You really think you control everything? Well, I thought that too. Now I’m in your head, a necklace and a ring. But we’re all entitled to our own delusions, I suppose. But what will you lose when you… slip… up?”
A wild wind stirred around the being, twisting its form this way and that, leaving only its eyes of flickering flame in its wake before it fully disappeared, leaving Erebus alone in the dawning light. The harbor slowly came alive as stall owners came out to set up shop, open tents and doors. Some cast glances at Erebus wondering what a royal was doing here at this hour. Frustration surged through Erebus, he yelled out while throwing a stray piece of wood from the dock into the water as locals looked away and continued to keep busy, but deep inside of Erebus, a seed of doubt took root.