(TRC) Rhyme and reason-2
3.It was a very weird mirror, Fai thought as he placed his cold hand on the colder glass. He cocked his head to the right, and watched in bemusement as his reflection tilted its own to its right. Oh.
“…Fai,” he breathed out, the words more mist in the air than actual sound, toes involuntarily curling up in wonderment and in response to the frost creeping up his bare feet.
“Hello,” Fai said, rather expressionless and distant. “Yuui,” he added pointedly-almost maliciously, but the cold was numbing in every sense of the word and the living prince made no comment at his real name.
In fact, there was a big pause, while Yuui struggled to speak at all. He finally managed a faint “I missed you”, watching his fingertips turn blue even as his reflection’s remained pink. Yuui found that if he concentrated hard enough-difficult, as he felt rather light-headed-he could feel the warmth of his dead? undead? brother’s hand.
“Well, I haven’t,” said Fai sharply. And suddenly Yuui found his fingers crushed in a death grip. He was too cold to feel the pain of bones breaking, but the blood from glass shards embedded in his hand was very visibly there. “I hate you,” spat the reflection as it emerged from the broken mirror, in full, terrible glory of blood and glass and ice. “You stole my life-why did I die when you didn’t? You should be dead, instead of getting the love that belongs to me.” He released Yuui’s crumpled fingers. “But I forgot. I am receiving mother and father’s love beyond the grave anyway, because you are using my name, aren’t you? Hmm, Yuui? Or are you too used to Fai now?”
Yuui found that he couldn’t reply in defence-there was none-because the words seemed to be stuck in his constricted throat, as if the hand Fai had wrapped around it was forcing it back down. In the haze that filled his vision, all he could see was ice, blood, glass, and the alien person who should have been familiar in reality-
Reality? What reality, you liar.
--and finally his mouth obediently opened, letting out a panicked scream as he sat bolt upright, the sheets entangled around him and pillows falling to the floor.
A dream, his brain tried to tell him, to soothe his racing heart, but he reflexively clenched and unclenched his fingers anyway, to really reassure himself that his brother was unreachably, safely, stuck in his dreams.
“Fai!” The bedroom door opened, and his mother rushed in, followed by a man in a black cloak. He merely stared at them blankly, before his overworked brain belatedly reminded him that Yuui was no longer his name.
“Mmm…mother?” he mumbled, the word mangled as it emerged from his dry lips. “Wha--?”
“You’ve been ill, dear. Reed cured you again.” The queen settled down tentatively on the bed, shooting an adoring glance at the man behind her. Fai twitched uncomfortably.
“It was just a cut, Mother-“ he began, before he remembered himself and stopped. The queen was staring at him with an almost desperate, crazed look in her glazed eyes.
“Don’t be silly, Fai. You know you’re ill, you have to take your illness seriously.” She let loose a hysterical giggle, bony fingers clutching the rumpled coverlets. “Isn’t that right, Reed?’
Fei Wong Reed gravely bowed his head. “Indeed, your Highness. Please do remember that bumps and grazes cannot be referred to as ‘just a cut’ for you.” He seemed oblivious to the queen’s uncertain laughter.
Fai said nothing, reminding himself that he hated the man.
“Oh,” gasped the queen, sufficiently recovering herself, “you silly dear, Fai!” She patted her son’s head, leaning close enough for Fai to smell the incense on her clothes and to see the dilated pupils in her jaundice eyes. “Come, now that you’re well again, we must celebrate! Let’s have tea downstairs, hmm? Reed?”
Reed shook his head apologetically. “I’m sorry, your Highness. Your cousin the Duke has already invited me to his mansion for dinner. I have to leave now. Another time, perhaps?”
“Oh, but of course!” breathed the queen, affectionate and adoring.
Fai felt his fingers clutch his bedsheets as he watched Reed kiss his mother’s hand. “I hope you die a horrible death,” he murmured under his breath as Reed exited the room.
“Hmm, dear? What did you say?” The queen asked distractedly as she watched the man go.
“Nothing, Mother.” He stretched his lips as wide as it could go, baring his teeth in an awkward smile for her.
4.Fai found out that his wishes had a terrible tendency of coming true when he didn’t really want them to. Well, not really. He found that he wasn’t particularly upset when a butler came rushing into the dining room the next morning, interrupting their breakfast, to breathlessly announce that Fei Wong Reed’s corpse had been found floating in a river.
The news had been met with stunned silence, except for the clattering of spoons and forks as his mother dropped her cutlery in horror. His father had merely looked surprised, his already creased forehead growing more lined as he arched his eyebrows upwards. Fai had bitten his lower lip and concentrated on stirring his porridge and cream.
On the hysterical queen’s insistence, the Duke was apprehended and dragged to the palace. Fai’s uncle appeared unfazed by his arrest, and in fact looked like he had been expecting it. He said nothing when the queen raged at him, screaming at him as she tried to lunge forward and claw his eyes out, stopped only by her panicked ladies-in-waiting. The Duke just spared a friendly smile at Fai, and said, “My sentence, your Majesty?”
The queen stopped her screaming to look eagerly at her husband. The king, however, looked nervous. Behind him, a thin elderly man stepped forward. In a low voice, the advisor whispered, “Please think wisely, your Majesty. Fei Wong Reed was never popular with the people, and they may think of the Duke as a hero. Killing the Duke may upset them, and the royalty is already not in favour with them. A rash decision may put you in a very precarious position.” His voice still carried in the vast, empty hall.
The king closed his eyes, breathing out heavily through his nose. “What would you have me do?” He seemed to be speaking to both the advisor and the queen. The advisor began, “Let him go-“
“Shoot him.” stated the queen flatly. “Now.”
There was a long silence, during which everyone present was staring hard at the king. The queen was directing the coldest glare at the king, and eventually the king gave in. “Fine,” he whispered. “Execute him. I wash my hands of this matter.” And he stood up to leave the room, as if hoping this would absolve him from any future consequences.
Fai’s mother crowed triumphantly, her crazed laughter echoing around the room as guards led the Duke away. The advisor was silent and Fai, watching him from where he sat, saw him shrug, as if he was giving up on the matter-giving up on the king and the fate of Celes.