SGE His Darkened Heart (A Japaric Fanfiction)

BONUS CHAPTER #9

A/N—This was yet another request I got from HisMajestyKingJapeth to do another Jaric Oneshot. This particular Oneshot is just another rewritten version of a chapter in, "His Darkened Heart."

This Oneshot in particular will be a rewritten version of Chapter 8 of, "His Darkened Heart"—one of my most favorite chapters in the story. ☺️

So, without further ado, here it is:
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Chapter 8  Confessions

~JAPETH'S POV~

The audacity Rhian had when continuing to boldly go about with Kei, telling everybody in Arbed about his claim on Camelot's throne, was beyond Japeth's understanding. It was as if Aric and Japeth had gone through all the work of insulting the two friends for absolutely nothing.

Japeth could only assume that Rhian insistent behavior could be blamed upon the fact that Rhian was quite stubborn. It was a trait both brothers had after all and one of the only other things that tied them together besides the plain fact that they were twins and shared the same blood.

It was Rhian's stubborn refusal to believe that nobody else could be him and Japeth's father other than the King Arthur himself that drove Rhian to prance around Arbed House, obnoxiously proclaiming to everybody that he was King Arthur's eldest heir. All the while, Kei was at his side, as loyal to Rhian as ever.

While Japeth knew Rhian's stubbornness was the root to Rhian's audacity to continue his routine of proclaiming his title as Camelot's true king, Japeth also was aware that sometimes, there was a fine line between stubbornness and stupidity.

Rhian was on that line, teetering between stubbornness and stupidity. If he crossed over it by continuing with his obnoxious behavior, Japeth suspected Rhian would only serve to make a fool of himself.

As Rhian's brother, Japeth should've lightly told Rhian in private that he should quit with his shenanigans or else suffer embarrassment. As Rhian's brother, Japeth should've cared, but he figured it'd be best if Rhian learned from his mistakes.

Nonetheless, Japeth still found Rhian's behavior to be beyond infuriating, but Japeth would just have to make due with that.

Just this morning, Japeth had awoken perfectly content. He'd slept like a baby, and he figured his sleepless dreams were the result of his growing friendship with Aric.

Japeth couldn't remember the last time in his life that he'd felt so happy...so ecstatic before. But the feeling was euphoric, making adrenaline pump through his blood. It almost felt like he was on the tallest tip of a mountain peak and upon that peak was Aric. On this peak, they were free of the annoyance that Rhian brought and free of the loneliness Arbed House threatened to slap them with. Rhian and Arbed House and all the other negative aspects of Japeth's life were way down upon the very base of that mountain, leaving Aric and Japeth upon that tallest peak, untouchable and unbreakable.

This morning, Japeth had awoken with that feeling of freedom. Japeth awoke with a feeling of pure happiness, and he'd awoken feeling ecstatic. At first, it'd been odd to Japeth to feel so joyful and without worry, because usually his mood was reserved and distant. But then Japeth realized what had brought out those foreign feelings in him and more specifically, who had brought them.

It was Japeth's friendship with Aric that made Japeth's mood shoot up. It was Aric himself who made Japeth feel so upbeat. But why?

The simple fact of the matter was that for once in Japeth's life, he had a companion he could confide in, a companion he could trust. And knowing he had someone he could confide in and trust made him feel as such.