Salvation of The Scum Fifth Prince

[69 - anima; soul saint]

Nobody dared to speak to them.

The thinking and lost footsteps that echoed down the lonely hallways made of gold and luxury were far too loud, and their emotions far too present. Although the servants of the castle were weary to begin with, they silently parted to create a past for the group to walk through.

Yet when Soren stepped into his room after yawning tiredly and feeling his eyes droop, turning on his heel to leave the others, a particular person waited. 

Standing politely on the side with an exhausted, gentle smile that was tinged with faint wariness.

In the low dim of night, his expression seemed a little melancholic.

"Little brother, welcome back."

Soren faltered and nodded. "Thank you."

Deimos smiled as Soren draped himself over his bedsheets — cleaned and readied, despite his sudden arrival. He closed his eyes, feeling the cool of new sheets pressed against his cheek before reluctantly rolling over. 

Slowly, he said, "You knew my mother."

Deimos let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yes, yes I did."

"She was a beautiful woman, with a soul so wonderful that there wasn't a person who could possibly dislike her." continued Deimos with a dragging breath, as if lost in the blur of old memories.

"...you'll tell me everything?"

The second prince smiled. "Everything I tell you is something you deserve to know. It was my fault, all these years, leaving you alone. It's one of my deepest regrets, and for that, Soren, I deeply apologize."

"To me, Anima... she was an enigma. She was so beautifully fascinating, yet her origins were unknown. She... she was similar to a mother for me, who never understood parently love."

"All I knew was that she would one day disappear."

Deimos paused, mint eyes wavering as they flickered to Soren cautiously. "At times, she reminds me of you, little brother. Or should I say, you remind me of her."

Soren licked his lips, lowering his eyes as he continued to listen to the soft words. The other was already no longer simply telling a story, he was expressing his own swirls of emotions that penetrated the depths of memory.

"For years since she left, I've been searching for information I didn't even know what to look for. All I knew was that there was a secret behind this world that she wished for me to find."

"I believe it was for your sake that she wanted me to know the truth."

Love.

Anima loved all the princes, but she hadn't been around long enough for them to learn what it truly was. 

Had she not died, would things have been different?

But the dead would remain dead, and regrets that came later were meaningless.

"There are things you can learn, far from the secrets that can be found on the surface from that young butler of yours. I travelled for a long time, and perhaps, she set me on that journey for my sake as well."

Delicate lashes fluttered, and he moved a seat to pull it closer to the bed. "May I?"

Soren nodded and Deimos relaxed his posture on the chair, fully embracing the flowing thoughts that trickled into his mind. 

"If I were to remain a sheltered prince, there is a shade of the world that I couldn't see."

A light laugh escaped his lips, and the darkness seemed to make his joy only brighter. "The first time I travelled, I got lost. There was a sweet innkeeper that saw me wandering in the rain... it was quite the disaster. I still visit her when I pass by the area."