MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE!
Please enjoy this upload! I'm gonna try my best to upload again this week as a Christmas present to you all :P!
Happy Holidays!!! And don't forget to vote and comment.
Love,
Thannujah
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Saphryn and Vairyn stared at each other, while the others stared at them. There was a tension that I had never sensed between the boys before. Usually, despite their somewhat awkward relationship, the two seemed close.
But right now, Saphryn seemed both annoyed and upset.
I had come to believe that this was not the first time that Variyn has kept something from his little brother. I mean, I don't think Saphryn would be so annoyed if this was the first time. And I don't think Vairyn would have looked so nervous if this was the first time.
"You're wasting time, Vairyn," Saphryn said. "Just say it."
I could tell from the look on his face that he wanted to say it. He wanted to tell Saphryn, whatever it was, but he was trying to figure out the right way to say it. Obviously this was something serious and something that was going to upset Saphryn.
Saphryn could tell too.
Which, of course, made him more antsy.
I turned to Midina, who watched the boys carefully. "Do you know..." I started, in a low whisper.
She looked at me with a look of concern, but then nodded.
When I looked back at Saphryn, I saw him step forward. "Well, out with it!" He shouted at his brother.
"Saph... now is not the time–"
"What the hell happened to my city?"
Everyone except Saphryn turned around to see the super annoyed and angry looking King Arya. She was followed closely by many of her men, including Saphryn's teacher, all of whom looked horrified by what they saw.
"Go," Arya hissed at her men. "Go help with the clean up."
Everyone except Lord Kyshan vanished.
"What is going on here?" She shouted. I couldn't help but notice the cuts on her face and the tears in her clothes. "Why are you all standing here while my city is blackened by fire?"
Lady Iva, who looked exceptionally relieved, sighed. "Thank goodness you have returned."
"Thank goodness indeed!" The beautiful but frightening woman scoffed. "Saphryn!"
He didn't turn. He just looked at Vairyn, who seemed to be looking for help from King Arya... at least, that's what his face seemed to suggest.
King Arya seemed to get what was going on almost instantly. In fact, her look of annoyance and frustration seemed to vanish almost instantly. She let out a breath before mumbling, "that goddamn king." She then took a few steps forward until she reached Saphryn and put a hand on his shoulder.
Her heeled boots made it look like she was taller than him, but something about the way she looked at him made me really understand when people said that she cared for him like a son, and he suddenly looked more smaller next to her.
"Go ahead, tell him," she said, turning to Vairyn. "I never thought it should be kept from him to begin with."
Vairyn seemed to had hoped she would say something else.
"Go ahead," she repeated. "If anyone is to tell him, it's you."
Vairyn let out a breath, and then sighed. "Saphryn... our mother..."
There was a pause.
And though I seemed to be the only other person who didn't know this secret, I put two and two together.
Oh no.
"Our mother did not die in childbirth," Vairyn said.
Saphryn's shoulders lowered almost immediately as King Arya kept looking at him. She squeezed his shoulder but it didn't seem to help. "He... killed her?"
Vairyn nodded. "She lived for three months after your birth."
"Why?" Saphryn asked. "Why did he kill her?"
"Because she gave Saphirian the Blue Moon."
Saphryn looked surprised.
"Our mother's family protected the Blue Moon and the Royal Family made her marry the King in order to get it," Vairyn said. "Everyone knew it, including her."
"And she chose to give it to a nobler cause," King Arya added.
"Saphirian was a nobler cause?" Saphryn asked. "He started a war."
"That's not true," King Arya said. "You know that."
"A thirst for power was what started it," Vairyn said. "Saphirian did nothing but try to stop it, and it led to his death in the end too, though his actions led to the jewel staying away from the hands of the Royal Family, which was what our mother wanted."
"Which also led to her death," Saphryn confirmed. "At the hands of the royal family."
Vairyn nodded sadly.
I saw Saphryn's hands ball up into fists. "You let me think..." he started. "My entire life..."
I knew what he was going to say.
I remembered that book I made him right in when he first started training with my grandmother, where he wrote down all of his doubts and fears.
The thing that upset him the most... was that he thought he killed his mother.
I felt the tears begin to well up in my eyes, though I forced myself not to cry. This wasn't about me.
Saphryn pulled his shoulder away from King Arya, stepping back. "You all let me think that it was my fault... that she died," he said. "You all knew?"
"Saphryn," Vairyn started. "I always told you that it was not your fault–"
"How are you living with him?" Saphryn hissed. "The man who killed our mother!"
Vairyn's frown deepened.
I put my hand on his arm and he flinched, but relaxed when he realized it was me.
After a moment of what I thought was him contemplating whether to do this all in front of me, he continued, seemingly not caring of my presence. "And you wanted me to have a relationship with him?" He asked, looking back at his brother, looking infuriated.
"Saphryn listen," Vairyn said. "This truth does not leave this group. No one else–"
"So you can protect his ungrateful ass?" Saphryn hissed harshly. "Or so you can stay on his good side and become King one day?"
Vairyn narrowed his eyes, as if this accusation stung him a little.
"Saphryn," King Arya scowled. "Do not speak to your brother–"
"Stop trying to act like my mother–"
"Don't you dare–"
"You were a coward to not tell me–"
"You were too weak to understand!" King Arya shouted. Her voice was deep and angry, and her words seemed to hit Saphryn as hard as the initial truth he had just heard. It also seemed that none of the bystanders were even breathing.
He glared at her before letting out a deep breath. "You keep me away from almost everything and use the excuse that I am too weak. Now, I was too weak to understand that my father killed my mother?" he asked. "How does that make any sense?"
No one responded. But I saw Avarius close his eyes and keep them closed. I didn't know if it was out of annoyance or out of pity.
Saphryn let out a huff before turning around. "Screw you all."
"Saph!" I called, but I was too late. He was already gone.
I let out a breath of frustration. "We have to go after him."
"Let him have some time alone," King Arya said. "He–'
"Don't you get it?" I asked, feeling the tears again. I was getting choked up, but I tried not to make a fool out of myself. "He's already alone!"
He was really alone.
As I let them all take in what I said, I tried to steady my breath. Though I didn't know Saphryn that well yet, as much as I wanted to know him, I felt like I could understand him. Like I understood what he was going through. Of course, I could never actually understand... my father would never lay a mean finger on my mother... but what I meant was that I could see where he was coming from.
Maybe it was because I was crazy empathetic.
Or maybe it was because it wasn't that hard to understand, and all these people were idiots.
"You guys are all he cares about," I continued. "And you guys all let him down. I know you mean well but you don't show him that you believe in him or trust him–" I looked at Avarius when I said that before turning back to the rest of them, "–You keep him away from opportunities and now from the truth as well?"
King Arya didn't seem pleased with the fact that I was being so forthcoming, but she seemed to be listening. Vairyn... well, he looked the most upset.
Avarius...
I couldn't read Avarius.
"Saphryn is an adult... and I'm sure if you showed him that you trusted him and believed in him he would do so well and he wouldn't let yo su down! And that's not a suggestion... you must do it!" I said. "Because he does it for you guys all the time!"
I thought back to all the times he showed me that he had faith in me... that confident smile he would give me. Surely I wasn't the only one who he's done that too, and surely I wasn't the only one who noticed it.
"And you should see how much he's progressed with my grandmother! You should have seen him fight when Avarius actually gave him a chance... and even when Avarius stayed back, he held up on his own against two people, including one over your backstabbing but elite warriors!"
King Arya raised a brow before looking at Midina, who nodded her head.
I frowned, a little disappointed that she needed confirmation to know how well Saphryn did.
And to top it all off, no one had anything to say. So I frowned and began to march off.
Darling, I heard Midina call, where are you going?
"To find Saphryn," I said, annoyed. "Cuz none of you will grow up."
Nyla–
"I know where he went," I said, remembering the night we spent together under the huge moon. "I'll figure out how to get there." I could remember our walk back... I just had to retrace my steps.
"You shouldn't go alone," I heard Lady Iva say, but before she could continue, I began to run.
Not that I was running away from them or anything, but I wanted to find Saphryn fast. I didn't have time for them to concern themselves over my safety. I'm at risk no matter what, seeing as this stupid moon thing is inside my head.
Right now, my concern was Saphryn.
But as I ran, however, I was surprised by the loud sound of something running after me.
I slowed down to see who was coming with me, but just as I did, I felt something hit the back of my legs.
I didn't even know what was going on, but suddenly, whatever hit my legs pushed me up into the air, and before I could realize what had happened, I fell back down and was sitting on the back of someones back.
And not just anyone's.
It was Avarius.
Hold on. The super fast beast said to me as I began to slide off of him because I was frozen on his back.
I grabbed onto his fur as fast as I could, bending forward, closer to the tiger's body as he pounced forward.
My heart was racing in excitement at the speed he was going at... but also because I was so happy.
Avarius... was coming too.
Somehow, my words must have meant something to him.