PMD: Stargazer Chronicles

Brotherhood- Feelings

Markus remembered a ghost of his mom's face, a Zoroark's, from his youth. He didn't remember anything but the good parts about her. In his mind, she was the purest person in the world. Even his dad fell in second compared to her.

Growing up in Valor Castle, Markus didn't get the impression anything had gone horribly wrong. He and the soldiers and servants referred to each other by name. On occasion, he played out in the fields with them for a whole day. His education to become king went fine, at least in his opinion. To his parents, it didn't.

Some of their passing comments were enough to convince Espurr Markus to follow them as they spoke at night. The outdoor walkways and wide open space let him listen in to Mightyena and Zoroark from the grass.

They talked about how they said the Valorian blessing was too strong in him; how it made him too reckless. They wanted to have another.

When they asked Markus the next day about how he felt having a little sibling, he didn't reply one way or the other. As he followed them more and more, he realized they only wanted another so they could become king or queen instead of him.

He understood how serious they were, and watched them follow through.

Markus wished he had said no every day since, and that he didn't feel that way. His mother died from complications, leaving a Zorua with a shiny gene behind as his younger brother.

The air in Valor Castle never quite smelled the same after; more empty and dry with his mother's perfume. Markus went out a lot while his father stayed with his brother, explaining who their mother was and where she had gone. Despite everything, Markus always thought about her fading memory as Aaron grew up next to him. He was young himself when it happened, but it stayed with him as he became a teenager.

Aaron, studying how to rule, pushed Markus away from him. He had offered to help Aaron during his lessons outside, but as he grew, he started to refuse.

Aaron snapped at Markus more and more. He insinuated that their father's poor attitude was his fault. Markus left Valor Castle, lied and told them he was sleeping over at a friend's house when he was really at a dingy, cheap hotel to be away from it all. He didn't have friends to sleepover with. Everyone called him too "blunt" and didn't want to be around him anymore.

Time passed quickly, in hindsight. The day before his sixteenth birthday, Espurr Markus ventured out to the small lake inside the castle walls. It was the burial ground of his family, and the place they were first washed when they were born.

Aaron stood at the lake's edge, gazing over the orange water under a strong pink and red sunset. It would be the last day the public didn't know Markus was a prince.

Espurr Markus approached Zorua Aaron quietly from behind on the grass hill. When he turned around, Aaron started his usual aggressive flare.

"What?" Aaron asked.

"I was just coming here," Markus said. "Uh, yah. Uhm, what's up?"

"What do you mean 'what's up'?"

"Well, what are you doing here at the moment?"

"Nothing."

A shiver went up and down Markus' spine. He wanted to leave, but also needed to be here. He reluctantly sat beside the Zorua a few paces away and stared out at the lake.

"How are you doing?" Markus asked.

"Just, don't ask me that right now," Aaron said.

"I've, uh, given you plenty of space... Maybe we should talk."

"I don't want to talk about her."

"We don't have to," Markus said quickly. "Talk about her, I mean. I just don't. I mean. I want to be friends with you, and stuff."

"O-kay?"

"Hey, Aaron... Do you think I'll be a good king?" Markus asked.

"Do you even want to be king?" Aaron asked.

"Well, I guess that part is up in the air... But I'm curious what you think."

"I think there are a few signs that my answer should be no, dude."

"What's, uh, different about me? Like, from other people."

Aaron let out a small puff of air. "You just say things and never care what others think. You're always in your own world, so of course you-"

Markus glanced at Aaron when he stopped talking.

"What do I do?" Markus asked.

"You do stupid shit like this and try and just put it all out there," Aaron said in a loud voice. "If you could just be self-aware for five seconds about what you say, that's all it would've taken for mom to be happy."

"But that's why..." Markus paused. "Look, it's not my fault mom wasn't happy with me. I still think I can do this."

"Yah, of course you do. It's in your DNA that you 'think' you can do this."

"Can't we talk about something else?" Markus asked.

"With who? Mom!?" Aaron yelled. He stood up, and Markus stood up and backed away while he advanced. "You may not be able to see it, but literally everyone in this castle misses her, and I'm no replacement."

"I'm just doing my best here," Markus defended.

"Just leave me alone with my family for once!"

Aaron scratched at him. It wasn't a serious attack; Markus barely felt it on his face, but he fell back and scurried away.

Markus felt like he had heartburn. Even without fear, the desire to get away pushed his feet up the hill, all the way out to the castle's black fence. They looked like prison bars more than they ever have. He floated over them, and kept running down the brick street.

Markus never forgot his run through the crowds and maze of skyscrapers. As he ran, he looked up and saw the full moon rivaling the city's neon light. It stayed in his dreams.