Chapter 30: Siblings 2

The next day Nathaniel found himself being run ragged, as buckets of sweat trickled down his forehead, his legs felt like they were bread dough and his heart slammed against his chest so hard he feared it would break through his ribs at any moment.

He had woken up with his bandages undone and the burns from last week healed, he also found a big plate of food in his room next to his bed, usually the maids forget about him and he is forced to either go to the kitchen and make it himself or starve as he fears running into one of his siblings on the way there.

After the big meal and seeing his healed burns he figured this would be a good day for him, he ate a full meal and had his wounds healed all he had to do was stay in his room and none of his siblings would bother him, unfortunately he wasn't quite so lucky.

"Run faster, blight, I didn't tell you to slow down!"

His older brother, Siegfrued, who was currently at the age of sixteen, shouted, yelling at the boy to run faster. Nathaniel wished to voice the fact he could run no more, but fear of being slapped prevented him from doing so.

"I said faster! Blight faster!"

Siegfrued screamed, his face showing a stern anger. He had commanded the blight of the Dreyer family to run laps around the knight's training grounds.

Siegfrued could not consciously live with himself, knowing that a member of his family was a disgrace, one that made the Dreyer family a laughing stock.

Nathaniel tripped and fell face first onto the ground, an action that made Siegfrued snicker in disgust. He walked up to the child and stood before him.

"stand up!"

Nathaniel did his best, but his legs no longer had the desire to function. The best he could do was stand on all fours.

"I said, STAND UP!!"

"I can't–"

A sudden kick to the stomach interrupted those words, as the pain registered in his brain, if he was asked if he had a stomach at this moment he'd answer no, as he felt like his internal organs were forcefully removed, he rolled on the ground as he gasped for air, his mouth making no sound.

"You are a disgrace, a blight to the family, there is no "I can't" for you, it is because of you that the nobility have begun to question our family's rule, it is because of you that we have become a joke to the kingdom, you are a stain, the least you can do is try and be better"

Siegfrued spoke with an unhidden malice as Nathaniel threw up all the food he had eaten this morning as well as everything he had eaten prior. His body trembled in both fear and pain, and the only thing that came out of his mouth

"I'm sorry, I'll do better"

He held back his tears and swallowed whatever tried to exit his mouth. He once again questioned why his mother had selfishly died and left him by himself. He had nothing to protect himself with and had nowhere to go, or rather leaving the castle was impossible for him.

"Why are you wasting your time with the brat?"

A female voice spoke from behind Siegfrued, forcing him to turn around and address it.

Seeing his sister behind him, he couldn't help but note her beauty, her cobalt blue eyes gleamed like jewels when the light reached them, she had illustrious blonde hair that was a rare sight in the family but something he appreciated,although if he had his way he'd have her smile more.

"You can't seriously tell me you're okay with this stain in our family, can you? Sister"

Siegfrued asked his sister, who was giving him a deadpan look, one he didn't particularly appreciate.

"Your attempts won't change anything, and besides with his hair and eyes different from ours, it's obvious he isn't our brother by blood"

"True but he's a member of this family regardless and I will ensure he isn't an embarrassment to us, not unless you disagree with me and think my attempts to save our family from ruin are wrong"

She gave him a long stare before looking at Nathaniel and then turning on her heels and decided to leave.

"Do whatever you want, I don't care"

"Then you shouldn't have said anything"

Siegfrued responded before turning himself back towards Nathaniel.

"On your feet, blight!"

He commanded as he prepared to ensure that this stain in his family would be less of a stain.

...

Eon's body trembled as he took another step back, his body remembering exactly who this man before him was, The fear was ingrained into him through years of abuse and pain. His body shivered more as the chills ran all over his body. Danger was before him, and his instinct recognized the need to be safe.

'I need to–"

That thought was cut off before it could be complete. A name was called, and his name was called. her voice cut through the fog that clouded his mind.

"Eon!?"

Reniris said in disbelief and confusion, the look on Eon's face was one she didn't recognise, the sheer fear plastered on his face caused her to reconsider if she was looking at a person she knew, the usual confidence on his face was gone, a sight she didn't like.

Turning his head, he saw her confused face, almost like she was looking at something unrecognisable. Seeing the look of confusion in her face, more specifically seeing her face at all, served as a reminder to himself.

'That's right..'

He thought. He wasn't some tragic prince tortured by his family and killed by his own father. He was nothing like that. He was an otherworlder, a distinct individual from the pathetic child who did nothing to change his situation.

He is an otherworlder and he is here to live a peaceful and exciting life, emphasis on exciting, to run away from this, not only would mean he is beholden to the whims of the dead but it would be a betrayal of the goal he set for himself, a dragon going back on its word was blasphemy.

His self chosen name was Eon, and his will was Steel. To run was not an attribute to attach to himself.

"Hm"

A hum escaped Siegfrued's mouth as the dust settled, and he stood up from his kneeled position. The sight he saw was one he did not expect and one that inexplicably filled his body with rage.

"Indeed, a blight is always difficult to remove. Why must you stain our family name with your existence"

He spoke as his aura raised in its intensity, nothing like a raging sea but like the slow rise of a bathtub being filled with water. This was a showcase of his skill. His was a tempered and controlled anger.

"Hello brother in blood, it has been a while, hasn't it?!"

A step forward was taken, and like a complete contrast, his aura flowed with uncontrollable rage. Like a roaring fire, it fluctuated and swayed without reason.

"I came here for a different matter, but eliminating you will have to take priority"

"Go ahead and try!!, I'm not the one you think you know!!"

The Dragonoid beckoned as another step was taken, his body steamed as heat radiated from within him, and his iris became sharp reptilian slits. However, despite this, his eyes maintained the typical shape of the human eyes.

In a moment, faster than an instant, they both charged forth and clashed, and the resulting shockwave caused a dust to be kicked up in the air.

Siegfrued had planned to swing his thin blade, aiming to slice the blight in two. However, Eon was quick to intercept and block the attack by grabbing the wrist of the hand that held the blade.

Siegfrued had his eyes widened just slightly in a bit of shock as he hadn't expected such resistance. He had thought this would be an execution rather than a battle.

....

A/N: I was planning on having all his siblings terrible to him and treat him like trash, but it felt a bit unrealistic and a bit cruel, so I decided against that.