Kingdom of isolation - you can't hide

Thirteen - Alexander

Alexander

Age 23

For as long as I've known this 6'4 hothead, a scowl has been permanently etched on his face whenever he's looked at me. So it pleases me greatly when I see a myriad of conflicting emotions swarm his face. Anger, frustration, fear, panic. It's all there. I let the little tidbit of his own admission settle into Caspian's mind, watching him realise how he's truly fucked up without meaning to. What did you do? I knew tonight was going to be a good night, he's so easily riled up and that was all I needed. I don't think he realises that his hold is loosening up until Kill shoves him backwards and he staggers with the sudden impact. Caspian is built to withstand a fucking storm, no offence to my cousin, but he couldn't be moved unless he was troubled by something. And, boy does he look perturbed with my sudden interest in his dead little sister.

When I overheard about..this weird arrangement between my father and his friend, I wasn't exactly impressed nor thrilled at the idea of being betrothed. If anything, it made me rather furious that they chose someone for me without my permission just because they could. Toying with my life for the sake of their kingdoms? We were doing just fine as it was, thriving as normal, I just couldn't understand why they'd make such a deal that was harder to break than the normal kind. It didn't sit well with me the moment I accidentally heard them argue about it, well, James did the arguing and father ignored him as usual. And to that little doll nonetheless, she was as fragile as they came—at least that's what Caspian used to tell Nikolas whenever he'd come over. Or whenever the Hart family visited us and conveniently kept me away like I was a dirty little secret they couldn't reveal. It made me resent that little nuisance even more, how dare she dictate my life without showing herself to me? Was she so fragile that I couldn't possibly look at her without the fear of shattering her into pieces? I wanted to break her for that reason alone. And maybe, I still do.

When I saw her that night unknowingly walking into the lion's den, I could only assume that her overly protective family didn't think she was capable of getting close to danger on her own because they'd already judged me to be the one who'd bring the danger to her. But that night, she did something so different from my limited expectations of her, that it fundamentally changed something in me. And to this day, I have been trying to figure out what the fuck it was. Her little burst of courage to face me on her own? To outright call me a monster when it's usually reserved for back talking? Perhaps that was a part of it, even though that courage wasn't to be repeated when I saw her again and she clung to her brother like he was her lifeline. It was something else entirely, only further fuelled by their attempts at making her disappear not long after. Like a man obsessed, I had to know. I needed to know. It was like an itch that refused to leave no matter how hard I tried. If I have to drag her back from the clutches of Hades himself, I'll do it. All that bullshit about her dying, I never once believed it. It didn't take long to put all of the pieces together. The two best friends fell out long before she disappeared. If I remember correctly, things started to get a little tense shortly after the little bundle of chaos was born. James Hart's reluctance in visiting our humble abode with his family, our restriction on theirs. It made the perfect sense to me. Her 'dying' so tragically was the dead cherry on top.

But then again, it's all just a working theory. There's no evidence to suggest that there was any foul play, nor has there been any sightings of the little princess anywhere. Maybe I am overreaching and she is indeed dead. Something coils inside me at the thought of her being dead. For her sake, that better be right.

"But it does make me wonder if that was the reason for an empty casket."

Caspian doesn't respond like I'd expected, gunmetal eyes simmering with rage but choosing to stay silent. Hm, that won't do. I advance towards him with measured steps, not missing the way his body coils like a snake getting ready to attack. His skin glistens with sweat, brown locks sticking to his face.