The Parts We Play

He's Always With Me

Cara let Irene in and closed the door. The elder of the two swiftly paced from one end of the room to the other once or twice, her eyes trailing along a small set of watery footprints that had left a mere dampening of the carpet near the balcony doors.

Whatever had possessed Irene to come into Cara's room had taken a backseat in the half-Siren's thoughts, made very obvious by her slight change in facial expression and voice as she said, "Why were you out tonight? So late?"

"I needed to clear my head," Cara said simply, silently begging Irene not to tell her "You shouldn't be out alone", whereupon Cara would have to assure her she wasn't to calm her down, and, well... she wasn't sure she knew how to get into that.

"The car was gone," Irene muttered. "Where'd you go?"

"Out to the woods, in the opposite direction of the cult's base," Cara said. "I figured the car would provide more shelter than walking, and make me harder for any stray cultists to identify."

Irene nodded a little, not seeming to have the fight in her to press any further suspicion. "You're not... cold– or wet or anything, are you? Nothing happened?"

Cara felt her face warm as everything that had actually happened flashed through her mind, and she silently cursed the fact Akiridion blushing involved glowing brightly and conspicuously. "Nah. I keep towels in my trunk, remember? And besides, Akiridion is further from its sun than Earth. If anything, the cold was pleasant. Not even Krel was bothered and he hates nature-"

Cara cut herself off and slapped a hand over her mouth, mortified.

Just as Cara's hand hit her mouth, a smirk broke across Irene's face. "Sneaky, aren't you?"

Cara groaned. "I was thinking so much about not bringing him up-"

"That's the first thing that comes up when you think you've passed the subject," Irene nodded, not holding back a small laugh. "I'm afraid you'll have to tell me more, now."

Cara gave an unsteady little exhale, almost seeming to wilt. "What's to tell?" She said. "We went. We talked. We danced in the rain, we came back. Nothing happened."

"That sounds fun?" Irene offered. "I'm not mad at you– only curious. You've only ever stayed up late when you've discovered a new update on Minecraft or something."

Cara hugged herself. "It was fun," she admitted quietly. "It just can't happen again."

Irene's face dropped. "This... isn't just about the creepy shadowy cult."

Cara mutely shook her head, and then, after a moment of deliberation within herself that her sister could easily track on her face, she began to tell Irene something she had never directly heard, only heard of- her oath.

"'By the light of my core and the right of my birth, I am bound to the protection and upholding of the righteous and rightful rulers of Akiridion-5, to set aside personal attachments for the sake of the throne, and to give myself entirely, in life, in sickness, in injury, and in death, to my Royals. I will live, walk, and breathe as a sacrifice upon the altar of the Royals' future. Let my bones be broken, my energies leeched, and my core splintered for the sake of their call; let my body, my mind, and my soul be torn from me in service to the upholding of Akiridion. Such is my vow and such shall I be'."

Irene carefully put a hand on Cara's shoulder. "You're born into that oath...?" It was hard to tell if it was a question or statement at first, but Irene waited for Cara to reply, clarifying her intent.

Cara nodded. "From the cradle to the grave," she murmured, "I am sworn to always be around him, and never really be completely with him emotionally. I'm not supposed to get too close."