Red Princess

Too long. 

 

For too long Maren had been sitting inside of this chamber, his back facing the door, as he was staring at the glistening ring upon his finger. 

 

Too long for his mind to tear itself apart as memories surged through his mind

 

He knew about her life, there was no other person he knew so much about as her. How much she suffered. How much she endured. 

 

All to protect those she cared about. 

 

And in her world, there was nothing more important than that

 

Now here she had been, begging for his forgiveness for all that she had done. Even though he had sworn that he would always support her, just as she had protected him all this time. 

 

His hand clenched together. 

 

And still she had quenched the very ground beneath her in blood in order to achieve her goals

 

His eyes sharply shut tight. 

 

And you are being selfish for accepting it… just because it is you who is on the receiving end of her affections

 

"Stop…" 

 

A sob echoed throughout the chamber. Maren did not even realize when he had begun to cry, until the tears were already running down his cheek, leaving a warm trail in their wake, before they dropped and stained the bed sheets. 

 

It was always the very same voice in his mind, of his own consciousness… daring him to prove to it that it was wrong. Preventing him from making peace. 

 

And thus, the cycle would always continue, it would always thrive upon his misery and grieve, tormenting him every second without ever ceasing. For there was never a solution that would appease both parts of his mind. There would never be a solution as easy to make. 

 

There would always only be a choice he had to make… and the responsibility to see through each and every consequence it carried with it. 

 

The door pushed open. 

 

In the blink of an eye, Maren swirled his head around just as the wooden door banged against the wall due to the sheer force with which it was opened, and he did not even get the sliver of a chance to react before a pair of Imperial soldiers stormed inside. 

 

Without waiting for Maren to say a single word, one of them grasped his wrists with force and tied them behind his back, forcing him to stand up and move away from the bed. 

 

"Move along!" 

 

Left with no other choice than to comply, having no weapon or any means to defend himself against two armed soldiers, Maren was all but shoved forward and out of the chamber, while the second soldier seemed to be scanning the hallway during the entire time for some reason. 

 

But internally, despite any and all thoughts… 

 

Did Amaragi…? 

 

… his eyes were blank before he was roughly shoved forward again, the soldier behind him wordlessly urging him to move without any reservations. 

 

Being led through multiple corridors, Maren could not spot a single other soul on their entire way, not even a single guard, causing him to narrow his eyes ever so slightly. 

 

It was not long until they ascended a long staircase, leading outside of the palace and upon one of its open roofs, leaving Maren to shield his eyes for a brief moment as rays of sunlight hit upon his vision. 

 

But nonetheless, even before he could see clearly again, he was pushed onto his knees. With a light grunt, Maren raised his head, only to witness that there were three more Imperial soldiers standing in front of him. 

 

However, upon closer inspection, he realized that their leader was in fact a captain, arms crossed while looking down at him. The visor upon their helmet covering every inch of their face. 

 

For a long time, Maren simply narrowed his eyes in the face of his captors, not giving them the satisfaction of gauging a single reaction out of him. 

 

"... so much spite…" 

 

Until suddenly, his eyes widened ever so slightly. 

 

For it was then when the captain removed the helmet from his head, showing Maren just who was underneath. 

 

And all of the courage and strength seemed to fade, giving way for nothing but cold dread. 

 

Witnessing this, a smile of sheer mockery and glee formed upon his lips. 

 

"... I thought you'd greet me with more warmth. After all, we're still family, aren't we, little brother?" 

 

More and more, Maren's eyes seemed to shiver, and the realization slowly began to seep into his mind the longer he stared at the figure in front of him. Those were no Imperial soldiers. 

 

In the blink of an eye, memory upon memory coursed through his mind

 

Each of them more horrific than the last

 

"... Tori…?" 

 

"Still not pleased to see me?" the elder brother hummed, slowly beginning to pace in front of Maren. 

 

"What are you doing here…" Maren's voice was hollow, fighting to keep a grip of itself while his memories only fought to induce more fear. 

 

To remind him of his weakness

 

"Me? I could ask you the same… look at you, all grown up, back at home, after you have struggled so much…" Tori's voice held not an ounce of warmth, mocking Maren even now as Tori came to a halt in front of him once more. Looking down on him with a cold gaze. 

 

Until all of a sudden, he 'cheerfully' raised his arms and looked around himself. 

 

"Look around, little brother, and see for yourself! Look what Almera has done with our home…" the plastered smile upon Tori's face quickly faded into a grim frown, before he stared down at Maren once again. 

 

"Look what we have all given to try and defend it, little brother…" 

 

"... I'm not your little brother anymore…" 

 

For a brief moment, a deadly silence reigned. A barely audible whisper, carried with the wind. 

 

But audible enough for Tori to stop dead in his tracks, now tilting his head ever so slightly. 

 

"... come again? I didn't hear you…" a challenging tone. 

 

But Maren only raised his head with utter conviction, locking on to his brother's eyes without blinking. 

 

"I'm not your little brother anymore." 

 

A hum. 

 

A quiet chuckle. 

 

"... look at you, truly, the small and frail child has pulled itself up from the ground…" 

 

Maren did not utter a word as Tori leaned back slightly. 

 

"... or at least, that's what it thinks, while in truth, it's still the same kind of garbage it has always been!"

 

Maren grunted deeply the moment Tori's boot forcefully kicked against his face, drawing blood from his lips while causing him to fall backwards. 

 

"We have fought to protect our homes. Father has given his life for it… this is what he has been training us for, for the day when this would happen, he wanted you to become great, to be a proud soldier worthy of our family's legacy!" 

 

With gritted teeth, Maren pulled himself up, and still, despite the blood trickling down from his lips, he stared at Tori without looking away. 

 

"... but you've only used excuses. You don't want to hold a weapon, you don't want to harm anyone… you know what I believe? You have always just wanted to hide your own weakness. Wanting to avoid what we have gone through, thought you deserved better. And now look at you, cowering in the ranks of our sworn enemy…"

 

Tori gritted his teeth even through his mocking smile. 

 

"... you're just as worthless as you've always been. Weak, pathetic scum."

 

His mocking smirk remained, only intensifying when he could catch glimpses of the shivering within Maren's eyes. 

 

But in the end, when Maren locked gazes with Tori once more, showing nothing but a calm and blank gaze, his eyes slowly began to twitch, the smirk fading ever so slightly. 

 

"... resort to provocation and insults if you must… if it makes you feel better."

 

Suddenly, Maren blinked his eyes once when Tori abruptly threw a sword beside his body, the blade aimlessly clattering onto the ground. 

 

"... get up."

 

Maren blinked once more, and he could see the blood coursing through Tori's veins. 

 

"Get up! You say you are no longer the weak child anymore? Don't think I will just end you with you cowering on the ground like this…" 

 

Carefully, Maren balanced himself back upon his feet before he clasped the blade on the ground and held it in his hands, eyeing the form of his elder brother. For even though he had not shown it, even though he was desperately forcing it back… 

 

… the memories did not simply just fade away

 

"... I will make you cower before I eradicate you."

 

In the blink of an eye, Tori lunged forward. With a practiced swing, Maren parried the force of Tori's blade with his own, disengaging to take a step back and give himself more leverage. 

 

"While you have cowered away, I have honed my skill, I've grown stronger, I've grown into a man…! Unlike you…" 

 

Tori lunged again, relentlessly, seeking an opening through Maren's defenses with each blow and strike they traded. 

 

Meanwhile, the remaining Norians stayed in their positions, standing in a circle around the two fighting figures, always moving in line to reposition themselves when the fight shifted to another place. Always observing, but never interfering. 

 

Maren grunted once as he barely blocked another close swing, pushing Tori's blade away from his face just before it could cut into his flesh. 

 

"You're wrong. I've grown stronger as well, stronger than you could ever be… because I allowed others into my life, people who loved me for who I really am. And through them, I learned what it meant to show my emotions."

 

"Of course you did… tell me, are those friends of yours just as pathetic and poor as you? People attract each other who are alike after all…!" Tori never ceased to mock at every turn, and yet, despite his strength, Maren could feel how his elder brother was attacking more and more violently with each strike. 

 

Until at one point, he failed to watch his defenses. 

 

And Maren exploited it with a swift stab forward, cutting along Tori's side. 

 

"Ah…!" blood spilled upon the ground as Tori grunted deeply, losing his balance and falling backwards upon the ground. Holding his side, he desperately tried to balance himself upon his other elbow, seeing with widened eyes how Maren was holding his blade tightly as he approached him. 

 

"... kill him." 

 

Suddenly, the tables were turned as Maren hastily watched his sides, already having to parry a strike as the disguised Norians moved in on him. 

 

However, it was not long until Maren felt the searing hot pain upon his back once a sword graced him there when he failed to move away in time. Forcing him to kneel once more as he felt his own blood running down his body, quenching the tunic he was wearing. 

 

Having long risen from the ground again, Tori was now the one to look down on Maren as the latter gritted his teeth in pain, while the Norians were all circled around them. 

 

"... so much for your talk earlier…" even through gritted teeth, Maren simply glared at Tori, who was wearing the same smug smirk as before. Albeit it was more sickening than before. 

 

Showing his true colors. 

 

"You've finally begun to understand how this world functions… if only you had grasped that concept sooner, little brother. Don't worry, I will be sure to find and reach out to whatever peasant friend you have made to give them my condolences-" 

 

When a sharp cry of pain sounded in the air, followed by another as two of the Norians limply fell to the ground, Tori immediately spun around in time to block the swing of a blade directed at him. 

 

When the remaining two Norians moved in, they were swift to join their dead comrades on the ground, one of them having his throat sliced open, while the other was brutally impaled before being shoved away. 

 

Maren shakily looked up from his position as he still knelt when he heard the sound of blades clashing yet again, followed by another outcry. 

 

And then, suddenly, he felt a warmth around his chest. 

 

An arm draping around his torso, familiar, tender and careful, all too aware of the injury he had sustained. 

 

Thus, when he trembled to look and see who was kneeling down on one knee to his side-

 

"A peasant, you say? How curious… I didn't see myself in that light yet." 

 

Amaragi

 

Her tone was as mocking as it was seething with cold and calculated malice, regarding Tori with a murderous glint in her eye. 

 

And still, even when she didn't look at Maren at that moment, her hand gently squeezed his side, holding him in comfort

 

Tori grunted, only barely regaining his senses after having received a blow from the hilt of Amaragi's blade against his face, having knocked the wind out of him. 

 

Holding a hand to his eyes, he was breathing heavily while blood began to trickle down his chin. 

 

Yet, his widened eyes were nonetheless more than apparent, his momentary speechlessness speaking volumes. 

 

It wasn't long until several metallic steps began to approach from all around them, this time, with real Imperial soldiers covering each and every escape or entryway, while the rest surrounded and circled Tori at a fair distance. Each of them pointing their lance at him. 

 

"You're standing quite alone now. Maren has told me so much about his family, you must be his elder brother… had I known about your whereabouts, I would have happily droven a blade through your guts a lot sooner." the malicious intent in her eyes only barely reflected what she was truly feeling inside, and while her tone was already seething with hatred beneath her calm facade-

 

-it utterly dropped in the next moment when she lowered her head and her eyes narrowed, growing into an unspeakably calm and frightening whisper. 

 

"... you are pathetic. The likes of you who possess nothing in life, and so desperately try to cover their own insecurity through superficial traits like strength, spending their entire lifetime on it, while shoving it into each and every face they encounter to gather even a sliver of self satisfaction to feel better about themselves…"

 

Slowly but surely, the veins on Tori's face all but surged with blood, and along with it, Amaragi's smile edged all the wider. For within Tori's eyes, for the first time, the sheer amount of fear could finally be seen. 

 

"Did I hit a nerve?" 

 

No words came back as Tori stared at the Crown Princess, his inner feelings unknown. As his eyes shifted between her and Maren, quicker with each second that passed. 

 

"Ha…"

 

Maren struggled to look up with a raised eyebrow, and the Imperials threateningly pointed their lances further towards Tori's unmoving form. 

 

"... ha… ha…" 

 

While on the other hand, Amaragi remained entirely unfazed. 

 

"... my little brother…" 

 

Tori's hand began to shake as it clenched, and whereas the soldiers failed to realize it in time, Amaragi immediately witnessed when he gripped his blade anew. 

 

"... you deserved nothing!" 

 

And thus, with one, elegant move, she stepped past Tori's last attempt to lunge forward, and while his blade moved past her-

 

-he looked down to see that Amaragi's own blade was impaled deeply within his stomach, buried in his flesh. 

 

His gaze was empty with shock, hatred, and disbelief. 

 

Having grown past their own shock, the soldiers had barely taken a step forward in the intent to assist, until they laid eyes upon the sight and stopped dead in their tracks once more. 

 

As Amaragi stared at Tori for even a fraction of a second, she already grew disgusted before she hummed once and swiftly retrieved her blade from his inner flesh without mercy, causing him to lose any last shred of life before he slumped backwards onto the ground. 

 

Silence reigned in the air as Maren stared at the fallen body of his own brother, his mind filling with different feelings that only now all swarmed through his head-

 

-until suddenly, Amaragi comically glanced down at her blade again, now that it was stained with Tori's blood, before she shook it once. 

 

"... eww."

 

Her expression was filled with dismay while her lips turned into a small frown. 

 

Having reassured themselves multiple times that the area was clear, the soldiers lowered their lances before they began to spread out to work on bringing away the dead bodies. 

 

However, Amaragi didn't pay it any heed when she instead turned her head and immediately knelt down at Maren's side again, carelessly dropping her sword down onto the ground. 

 

For when the first tear escaped his eyes, he was already in her embrace, hugging him close, just as she always would, just as she always had-

 

-and for the first time since all of this happened, Maren simply stayed in her hold, unmoving, allowing it to happen. 

 

Until, in the end, when more and more tears followed and his trembling body shook against her own, Amaragi could feel his hands slowly moving around her waist as well. 

 

"Shh… I am here, I always will be…" her hold increased, her voice gracing his ear in a soothing whisper. 

 

And her smile could not have been any more joyful as she slowly closed her eyes before she all but buried her head against the crook of his neck. 

 

… how much had she missed it… 

 

---

 

AN:

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