Prince of The Abyss

What was his sister even doing here exactly... after all, he hadn’t seen her in so long... what business did she have with the Withered, with what happened to him? Would she really come to this place? Plus, the relationship between the two Kingdoms has been terrible.

That’s why he had decided to follow her.

He didn’t know what class or rank his sister had gotten to; who knew she could even be a Harbinger at the moment, and he wouldn’t know. But he was confident in his ability to hide in the shadows; no matter what happened, he was going to see what was going on.

She walked with no rush, looking around at the place, sometimes even stopping to admire it... she had changed quite a lot. Looking at her face, she lacked her smile; her messy hair rolled over her shoulders as it used to, but it seemed as if it was just there to say it was. Not like before, when she used to take good care of it. Her eyes looked a lot colder... he didn’t know what the cause was exactly; there were many that could have, maybe all, but he sure didn’t like it.

The person he knew was a lot more lively than this, not letting the world harm her... but at the same time, he had no idea what was happening inside his home Kingdom, so it wasn’t like he could judge her.

But it did hurt him slightly...

He continued to follow her through the shadows, noticing a small silver bracelet on her hand. It wasn’t anything special; quite the opposite, it was made from scraps, but at the same time... he recognized it. After all, he had been the one who had made it for her when he was little, for her birthday.

’Has she been wearing that since I died...?’ It must have meant the world to her; after all, it was one of the only memories she had of her brother, of him. Aether patted his head, feeling his pin under.

It was the same for him as it was for her, just that his looked a bit nicer, but it wasn’t the reason he wore it. If it had been a normal pin, he would have taken it off long ago, maybe even before getting captured; he found accessories annoying as a child.

And yet he had never taken off this one. All because it was the only thing he had to remind him of his mother.

Aether followed through the shadows all over to the last ward, the Royal ward... ’Of course, she has business with someone important; it wouldn’t make sense for her to have stopped at the other wards.’ But what he hadn’t expected was for her to go directly for the castle.

His eyes widened as she entered, waiting for a minute before entering in himself, and trying to find where she was. There weren’t shadows to hide inside the castle, so he had to do it the old-fashioned way and hope.

He followed the main corridor until there was an intersection, where paths divided, but he didn’t need to choose. His answer was already given when he heard Keres speak out. ’So, have you already made up your mind about Sofie?’ He smiled, putting his hands on his waist, while tilting his head.

She nodded, sighing, not very fond of his personality. "I have. If I had taken longer to decide, you would have made my life hell until you got your answer. So I just thought about it for a good second."

Keres rolled his eyes; he knew that was exactly what he would have done, but at the same time, she didn’t need to say it out loud, did she? "So, care to answer, or did you just come here to say you decided?"

Sofia scoffed before pausing for a second, staring at the floor, almost as if she was checking one last time if this was what she really wished to do. Then her eyes moved up. "When Winter comes, I’ll join your party. It’s not like I have a choice; your Kingdom needs to fill in the numbers, and since you’re also going, we also have to send someone from the royal family... and while I’m not that fond of my siblings, they will only cause trouble."

The Prince stared at her for a second before bursting out into laughter. "Not very fond of your own siblings, eh? From what I remembered, you loved Aether with your heart; what’s different from them? Just because you, they aren’t fully blood-related to you?"

She instantly moved, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him closer. "Don’t you dare make a joke like that. Don’t even bring his name up again."

Keres raised his hands in the air, smirking. "Alright fine, I won’t, so let me go."

Sofia didn’t let him off instantly; she continued to stare him in the face before sighing and letting go. "Also, did you hire someone to spy on me? If so, he hasn’t been that good. I first saw him in a pastry shop, and then he followed me all the way here."

Aether staggered a bit, leaning more into the wall... she knew he was following? But he had tried his absolute best, picking the best route, and always sticking deep in the shadows, and still, she saw him?

"No, I didn’t... don’t mind him, thought... I promise you... If you were to kill him, you would greatly regret doing so; all your life, you would grieve over his life." Keres’ smirk widened as he stared beyond her. Aether felt it; he knew he was looking at him, even if he couldn’t see him.

Sofia frowned. "Is that a threat?"

The Prince quickly shook his head. "Not at all, just some friendly advice."

She scoffed, turning away and heading towards the exit, giving Aether a deep look, trying to get through his hood, and while she was able to do so slightly, he had covered his face with his hands. Annoyed, she left.

Aether sighed, relieved, turning to leave, but before he felt someone behind him. "Ah ah, leaving so soon, Aether?"