Suffocating

With the two princesses by my side, we traversed through the castle as we made it to the training fields. It was where Dracyian resided along with his army of soldiers. But at a place where it was supposed to be bustling, was a place of dead silence. There were few maids and guards stationed here.

No one would think of being stationed here due to Dracyian's nature. He was after all second to Talberon but his personality and traits weren't like him.

I never got along with my siblings. Most of the time I spent growing up, I spent it beside Zecane or Daemeon. I sometimes saw Aremiah but Aleera wasn't allowed to come near me. There were times when she'd sneak out to visit me.

I knew about Dracyian but we hardly ever interacted. What can I say? Oh right, I am the black sheep of the family. I never had shared a bond with my brothers and sisters. For the past twenty years of my life. The only bond I had was the hatred and despair that was given to me every second of the day.

Dracyian opened the doors to his courtyard and the five of us stepped inside. Zecane marched past us with a scowl on his face. I was still upset with him. I never did like him.

Dracyian turned back to us, "You're welcome to get changed. Thereafter the seven of us are going to sit down and eat something together. And then we're going to do some training." He said with a grin.

Aremiah excitedly jumped up and down at the mention of training and giddily shook my hand, "Did you hear that!? We're going to finally train!" She then ran around Aleera, fist-pumping the air.

I chuckled at her happiness, "Ari, be careful, you could hurt yourself." I said bending down to her level. She stopped running and then came to stand in front of me. She shook her head and the next few words she said surprised me and everyone else in the courtyard.

"No sister Serah, it's okay if I get hurt. Cause I'll be training to be stronger and grow up faster because I want to protect you." She said and wrapped her little hands around my neck.

Did she really say that?

Did my baby sister say something that made me cry?

My eyes stung from the tears and I blinked them away. She was so young and yet so brave. I picked her up and carried her in my arms.

"I don't want you to grow up too quickly. Enjoy your childhood, that's the only thing I ask of you." I hugged her in my arms.

Aremiah kissed my cheek and laid her head on my shoulders. My lips lifted into a smile. I then looked up at Dracyian. His face seemed content and he gestured for us to follow him.

"Come this way with me," Aleera said as we went into the halls to one of the rooms. Dracyian skipped the other way to the courtyard. When I glanced back, I saw Zecane glaring at two other boys, my remaining two brothers. I didn't get a chance to see them so I turned away.

"I'm happy that you have returned Serah," Aleera whispered as we entered a bedroom. She closed the door behind me. I looked her in the eye. I sighed, then turned away to lay Aremiah on the bed.

"I knew what happened and yet I couldn't do anything to help you. I wanted to help you. I'm sorry Serah. I never wanted my sister to go through that. You were only a child and yet our parents never did anything to help you." She began to cry as she took my hands into hers.

Was this really happening?

How is it possible that my siblings care for me now?

"Aleera, it's okay. It's all in the past-"

"We both know it can never stay in the past." She whispered and I didn't know how to reply to that. She was now eighteen years old, a marriageable age. She was old enough to make decisions now.

"Come on now, stop crying, dry those tears," I wiped her eyes and moved her hair that fell on her face; I pulled her into an embrace and then brought her to the bed.

First Aremiah and now Aleera

Are the Gods finally trying to help this worthless soul?

Or is this all a joke?

Are they testing me?

Is this a new kind of game?

Yes, I came here willingly because I felt like it was time to get things straight. I just didn't expect it to become a pity party.

"Aleera, please stop crying. I'm okay; I won't let what happened to me happen again or to anyone else."

It was the only thing I could say. I wasn't sure how to behave in a situation like this. So I continued to hold her in my arms until she stopped crying.

A few minutes later, Aleera had also fallen asleep in my arms. I was trapped in the middle of them as they both held onto me as if I would disappear.

In the end, I couldn't sleep even though they held me so tightly. The crickets began to creak and the frogs began to croak outside alerting me that night had fallen. I felt like I was in a cage and in that cage there was warmth.

It was suffocating...

I was suffocating in their love… A love I knew I didn't deserve

I slowly crawled away from them. My clothes were sticky, so I quickly went to have a bath and changed into a nightgown. The water didn't cool me down. I wiped my hair and left the towel on my shoulders. Once I went back into the room, I noticed my sister was still asleep.

I could hear the wind howling outside. A shadow passed through the balcony window. I became more alert because my sisters were here and they were the princesses. I couldn't allow them to be hurt. I waved my hand through the air, casting a protection spell around them.

The least I could do was make sure they were safe under my watch. Softly I opened the latch, stepped outside to the balcony, and shut the door. I scanned the area to make sure it was safe. It was quiet, too quiet. The air was warm. First, the water, and now the breeze couldn't cool this warmth that plagued my body.

I wish my Darkside was here. I chuckled softly, "Too think I would wish for that now..."