Solivagency - Empires SMP

XVIII

Xornoth's ears tilted as they stared at the snow, a thick and fluffy carpet that covered the mountains.

"Come on, Xor-Xor!" Scott laughed and pulled them out the door, both of them tightly swaddled in thick coats to shield them from the cold. They toddled after, five-year-old self determined to keep up with their twin.

The world outside was a winter wonderland. Icicles hung from pine trees, throwing shards of sunlight when they peeked, the leaves were coated in frost, and the mounds and mounds of snow piled up high.

The two started playing immediately, thankful to be out of sight of their parents. Scott threw snowballs at Xornoth as they tried to build one of the igloos they'd seen in some of the higher, more snowy areas and when they threw back, he charged and accidentally knocked them both into the mound of snow, laughing hysterically.

And then there was the ice skating, which Xornoth had been nervous to try at first, but Scott offered a chubby hand and guided them along the surface of the frozen lake. It had been one of the funnest days either of the twins had ever had, allowed to go outside instead of being sealed away behind walls and walls and walls to 'protect' them.

Soon enough, a group of guards had found where they were making snow angels and hauled them up, shaking their heads and telling them that they needed to be more responsible, dragging them inside, but Xornoth still look wistfully at the snow, longing for another day to play with their brother.

And then they became older and the prophecy became clear which twin was which, and they had been locked inside their room all the time and never allowed to see Scott let alone go outside.

And then they had become Exor's champion, and all hopes of playing with Scott became something that needed to be removed.

(Xornoth still secretly hoped that one day they could step into the snow with him again)

-

Joey was beautiful.

It was something Xornoth knew as soon as their eyes met - blood red to emerald green, and a curious feeling bloomed in their chest, one that hadn't felt in years and years and years.

They ignored it best they could, for love was foolish. But Joey flirted, Joey hugged, and Joey sang in a rich, full voice which reminded them of everything they had once been. Their excuse to Exor was that it would be instrumental in having such a loyal servant, but Xornoth was fooling themself. They were heads over heels, tripping, sprawling and falling helplessly.

And Joey had wormed his way into Xornoth's heart even more with kisses that lingered on the tip of their tongue, leaning on top of their chest in a way that felt right.

But gilded afternoons could not prevent darkened eves, and Xornoth found themself uselessly pinning for someone they hurt, despite knowing how weak and pathetic it made them.

Love is weak. Exor told them.

They chose to ignore him.

Love will kill you. Exor told them.

Xornoth would die for Joey.

-

Xornoth came too with more clarity this time, able to properly discern what the room around them was actually like. It wasn't as dark as it had been earlier, if only for some lone candle on the wall fighting back the night.

The walls around them were thick deepslate, toughened and chipped, possibly centuries old. The flooring wasn't much better, and the door wasn't even visible - which meant that there was either no door or they weren't facing it from the way they had been strung up in the middle of the room.