The Offering

Chapter Sixty Eight - Daella

"Maybe, maybe if it helps him sleep it's alright." I shrug turning to Aeris who grips the bottle tightly in his hand like he is worried someone is going to try and snatch it from him.

"He doesn't want to sleep, he wants to pass out into oblivion, and then when he wakes he will do it again and again and it will only get worse until he is drowning and can no longer tell reality from fantasy." He tells me and I believe him.

"Aeris," I say gently moving towards him slowly. "Aeris, maybe Alvaryn is right, maybe you have had enough to drink and we should put the bottle down." I stand in front of him and he looks down at me, eyes glassy and full of pain, struggling to focus.

"Aeris," I say softly, touching his cheek so he looks into my eyes, eyes so dark it's difficult to tell where his pupil ends and iris begins. "This won't help, it won't make you feel better, it will only make things worse."

His brow furrows and his eyes squeeze closed as if he is struggling with his own thoughts and then he steps back suddenly, growling loudly as he throws the bottle into the fireplace and it explodes in a flash of fire and broken glass. I feel Alvaryn's arms around me pulling me back away from the flames and shards of glass.

Aeris collapses onto his knees in front of the fireplace holding his hand out into the flames. I move closer slowly, watching as the flames surround his hand, licking at his fingers as they dance and weave.

I sit down beside him carefully, I place one hand on his back as Alvaryn comes to sit by my side and we all stare at the bright orange flames.

A single butterfly made of flame flutters out from the logs of wood and hovers in front of us.

"Do you remember the solstice?" Aeris asks quietly, his voice worn out like he has been screaming for hours on end. "I had thought the worst of our troubles was Varis, when I learnt he had threatened you I didn't think I could feel the same kind of anger and rage and need for revenge as I had in that moment." The butterfly floats around his hand, its translucent wings bright orange and beautiful. "I had been wrong."

"Varis is still an issue, did you see him today, the way he wouldn't let Demwyn out of his sight." Alvaryn says, the fire light making shadows and shapes against his drawn expression.

"Do you think Demwyn will listen to him?" I ask, not knowing their brother enough to try and guess.

"I'm not sure." Alvaryn answers, turning to me. "Varis served our father for years, he was by his side before we were even born. Demwyn would be a fool not to listen to him and heed his advice. But in saying that, I don't know if he is strong enough to only listen and not follow."

"Varis will sink in his claws like he did with father." Aeris says as the butterfly falls apart and the sparks flutter back into the fire.

"But father was strong enough to still stand on his own two feet and make decisions that best served the Kingdom." Alvaryn replies. "He was ready to be King, it wasn't shoved on him so unexpectedly like it is with Demwyn."

"Well, we need to make sure that doesn't happen." I say softly, they both look down at me as I sit between them. "You are his brothers, you should be standing with him, helping him, guiding him, he trusts both of you. You need to make sure that the decisions he makes are the right ones."

"Dae's right, we can't keep fighting with Demwyn, not now, we need to stand together." Alvaryn says running his hand down my back.

"How am I meant to stand with him when he refuses to accept us?" Aeris asks still staring into the flames.

"We need to find a way, we can't leave him to stand alone and fall into Varis' clutches. He might have been born to be King but we were born to stand by his side." Alvaryn replies looking at his brother, then down at me. "And if we are to live here together, to have this Kingdom be our home then we need to make sure it is safe, from everyone." He kisses the top of my head and I lean my head against his shoulder as my hand finds Aeris'. He threads our fingers together as our hands rest on his leg.

"Tomorrow everything will change. We will have a new King." Aeris says quietly, hand still stretched out into the flames and I sit watching, transfixed by the way the flames wrap and weave themselves around him.

"You're right, we will have a new King, but not everything has to change." Alvaryn replies.

"It's too late for that." Aeris says.

"We will still be here, the way I feel about both of you will not change." I tell Aeris, looking up at him. He blinks, turning to look down at me. He kisses my forehead softly then pulls back and I rest my head against his shoulder as he turns back to the fire, finding comfort in the flames.

I would sit and stare into the flames for as long as he needed. I would hold Alvaryn and sit in silence with him until he fell asleep. Whatever they needed I would give. They both gave up a piece of themselves to save me with barely a thought, I would give all of myself to save them if that was what if needed.