Cassandra

XXII. The Traitor's Fortune

I knew this day had to come. I had been dreading it: the confession, the revelation.
Percy was very gentle. Quietly he admitted me into the room, stepping aside and holding the door open for me. Nervously I brushed passed him, and settled into a chair, while he closed the dining room door behind me. The room was frigid, and I couldn't stop shivering, chilled by a cold sweat. It was a very austere room, blank and featureless without the laughter and chatter of humanity to give it life. Neither my brother nor myself were those same chatty people anymore, and we both were as unequal to the task of lighting up the room. Silence settled thick over the long featureless dining table, staring in condemnation from the empty chairs. Percy gripped my shoulders, kneading the tension out of me, and I relaxed as he touched me.
    "Are you ready for this?"
    "No." I admitted with a hopeless laugh.
    "I am so sorry Cas..."
    "So am I."
    The sound of voices in the foyer broke the silence, and I stiffened as I heard them, all the tension that Percy had banished immediately returning. Roughly he patted my shoulders, then left my side and went to the door.
    "Gentlemen, if you could sit for a moment, there's something important I feel should be discussed as soon as possible." Percy said, speaking into the entrance hall, and he once again held the door open. Archibald and Yennin, attended by one of the Whitestone soldiers who were acting as the castle guards for the moment, stepped into the room. Quietly my brother dismissed the guard, and he left with a respectful bow, leaving the four of us alone.
    "Please sit." Percy gestured to nearby chairs, and the old men both chose places at the table.
    "Cassandra." Archibald said, ceremoniously bowing to me as he took his place. I smiled stiffly, and gripped the edge of the table.
    "You've seen the structure then?" Percy asked, as he shut and locked the door.   
    "Very strange piece of architecture." Yennin said thoughtfully, running his fingers over his neatly trimmed mustache. "The Ritual magic involved is unlike anything I've ever seen, very difficult to fathom to be honest. But it's obviously a very old piece of stonework, and if I had to guess, I would say it originally had some other purpose than what the Briarwoods intended to use it for."
    "I see." Percy said darkly, speaking almost to himself. "So here is yet another thing they've twisted and defiled."
    "I've been hoping for a chance to speak with you as well." Archibald said to my brother. "The fate of Whitestone, and more importantly who is taking a position of leadership over the city, has yet to be decided. Great steps have already been taken, and once again I cannot thank you or your companions enough for all the aid you have lent us. The Rebellion would have been near impossible without you. But even though steps have been taken, that still leaves us with the greater problem of leadership. After all the atrocities committed under the Briarwood's tyranny, we have a long steep slope to climb, if this city is to get back on its feet. It will take many hours of hard work and careful forethought, and while I'm sure all of us are glad to lend a hand, you will be hard pressed I think, to find anyone of the community leaders who would be willing to accept more than their present responsibility."
    If Archibald had been expecting an immediate acceptance of leadership from Percy, as the rightful ruler and last of the de Rolo bloodline, he was disappointed. Percy only nodded, slowly circling around the table, like a brooding shark biding its time. I had nothing to say, when I considered the burden that ruling would saddle me with, I shrank away from the prospect. Self doubt, and accusations both presented me as the person least fit to rule, the youngest of the bloodline, the least experienced, and a traitor. Given my treasonous deeds, I would rather sweep mud on the street, than accept a position of trust again.
    "But you said there was something you wished to discuss with us?" Archibald hinted, after an uncomfortable silence, seeing that Percy was lost in thought.
    "Cassandra..." My brother prompted gently, his voice unbearably kind. "If you could explain..."
    I opened my mouth, but couldn't force myself to speak, and a shudder passed through me. Dizziness washed over my body, making me cling to the edge of the table for support, suddenly sickened. It felt like I was about to throw up. Percy stayed his pacing, gripping my shoulders from behind, and I shrank under his touch.
    "Please..." I sobbed, blindly pleading for mercy. "Please don't make me."
    Still gripping me tightly, Percy shouldered my burden, "She betrayed us to the Briarwoods Archibald." His voice utterly devoid of emotion.
    "What do you mean?" Archibald faltered, frowning deeply.
    "She has told me the whole story. Lord Briarwood charmed her, she betrayed you."
    "I don't understand."
    "She fed information to the Briarwoods."
    Shaking his head, Archibald's frown deepened. "We never would have gotten as far as we did without her! She singlehandedly guided the whole Second Rebellion. Everything I knew about the castle I learned from her, the Ziggurat, Lord Briarwood's undead nature, the secret tunnel into the castle. She told us everything!"
    I hated his confusion. It lacerated me to the core, until my heart was bleeding, and I choked on tears. So much faith had been placed in me, the object of blind devotion, and I had betrayed it all. Lord Briarwood been right. I was a liar.
    "Silas charmed her in the first rebellion. When they attacked the secret tunnel on the west side of the castle, he was waiting with an ambush, and he possessed her during the battle." As he explained Percy gently ran one hand through my hair, silently reassuring me. "She wasn't taken prisoner by Lord and Lady Briarwood as you were told, they adopted her, and kept her alive as a pet. The first letter you received was in Cassandra's hand only, everything it said, everything it promised, everything it revealed, was written under the direction of Delilah herself. Every letter you ever sent to Cassandra was read by Lady Briarwood, used to monitor everything you said or did. I can assure you that everything you ever planned was intimately known, and even shaped, by the Briarwoods themselves. Cassandra told you to wait until nightfall for the Second Rebellion to begin, but it wasn't so you could have the cover of darkness, it was because Lord Briarwood's vampire spawn could only move about freely at night, because Lady Briarwood's rituals would take an entire day to complete. The Second Rebellion was meant to fail...
    When you wrote to Cas, and told her that my friends and I were sparking the third rebellion, I have not doubt the Briarwood's knew everything within the hour. They knew everything we were planning. They were the ones that ambushed us in Tyleeri and Vedmire's homes, and released their undead hoards on the city."
    Archibald listened to all this silently, his face slowly falling. Everything Percy had recounted had been spoken blandly, his voice cold and unbending. Yennin had grown very grave, gripping his holy symbol in one hand. And remorse had crushed me, until I could hardly think, and the only thing that bore me up was Percy's ceaseless caressing, holding me together.
    "When we rescued her from Professor Anders," Percy continued heavily, "she led us down into the tunnels. But when we reached the acid distillery, she triggered a trap that caught us inside the acid room. She confessed to me that she had been adopted by the Briarwoods, and left with them."
    My brother's voice finally failed, silence fell, and he convulsively squeezed my shoulders. The iron grip revealing much more potently than his words, how much my betrayal had wounded him. I wept again, but these tears were pure, and I shed them for his pain, not mine.
    "They knew?" Archibald murmured incredulously. "All this time, they knew everything."
    "Yes..." I whispered brokenly.
    "And you were the one that informed them."
    "Archie--" I began, but I got no farther than our childhood pet name for him, before my voice would no longer obey me and I felt to continue would be unwise.
    "Why?"
    "I'm so sorry Archie."
    "Why would you join them?"
    "Do you think she would have chosen to, if she actually knew what she was doing?!" Percy asked, coming loyally to my defense.
    "The Briarwoods murdered your family!" Archibald shot back at my brother. "Hunted and oppressed your people! How could she actually join them?!"
    "She. Was. Charmed. Archibald."
    "I trusted you..."
    "Archibald!" Percy's voice cracked like a whip over the room, and Archibald was silenced, but by no means moved. Confusion had given way to anger, and though he remained perfectly composed, indignation boiled beneath the surface.
    "Please..." I whispered, "I'm so sorry..." He said nothing, sitting cold and rigid in his chair. Despair overcame me, bowing me under its burden, and I blindly clung to the table for support.
    "I have forgiven her." Percy said. "If you are still faithful to me, as you were to my father before me, you will both endeavor to do the same. Cassandra is my sister, the same ancient blood and birthright that exists within my veins, also flows within hers. I would hope you will both recognize that privilege, as well as the burden that comes with it."
    "We are all in need of forgiveness, I can willingly give mine." Yennin said solemnly, bowing low to my brother. Archibald also bowed, but remained wordless. For a long moment, Percy regarded them both, weighing their responses.
    "Very well, then there is nothing more to be said. I'll show you out." And Percy lead them both out of the room, proceeding them out the doors of the castle, and across the courtyard toward the castle gate.
    Groping blindly to find my way, I immediately quitted the room, fleeing to the sheltered sitting room. Then unable to maintain my composure any longer, I dissolved. I had never felt so alone. Every one of the few people who could have loved me, I had alienated or betrayed. I was utterly heartsick.
    Percy came when he had finally seen Archibald and Yennin off. Tapping on the door, he peeked into the room, then roughly pushed his way in as soon as he saw my state. In one stride he sank down next to me, and roughly gathered me to him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and squeezing me.
    "Everything I touch gets hurt."
    "Don't be like that." He said hearteningly, giving me a little shake as he embraced me. "Archie will get over himself, you'll see. He's just a stiff necked old man who can't bare to admit he was hoodwinked."
    But his words couldn't stop my grief, and he fell silent, gently holding me as I wept. He couldn't have drawn away from me if he tried, he was all I had left, and I clung to him desperately. In the midst of my despair, he was my one and only anchor, and I couldn't let go of him. To pull away from him in that moment would have been a physical pain, and Percy knew better than to try.
    "I forgive you." He murmured in my ear. "I don't care what Archibald says, he can go fuck himself for all I care. I forgive you. I forgive you."
    He squeezed me tighter, saying it over and over, as he once again ran his fingers through my hair to soothe me. Gradually I regained control, and grew quieter in his arms. But Percy continued to hold me, in no hurry to break up the sibling cuddle session. Finally I swallowed my tears, and in the absence of a pocket handkerchief, I resorted to his sleeve with a sniff.
    "You're such a wet chicken Cas." Percy laughed.
    "Shut up."
    "It really is pathetic."
    I laughed shakily, giving him a half hearted shove. He resisted it without much effort, slapping me on the cheek, then gathering me back into him.
    "I'm so tired of this," I murmured as we settled again, tears veiling my voice as I struggled to keep control. "Always trying to please everybody."
    "Then don't. You're terrible at it anyway."
    "I hate you."
    "You always get so worked up about everything." He said, tweaking my nose fondly. "I almost envy that: how much you care. We're Heart and Brain, you and I. Sometimes I feel like we each got a double serving of what the other could use a little more of."
    "Wait, are you calling me stupid!?"
    "Maybe..."
    "You're heartless then."
    "I am heartless."
    "What do you mean?"
    Percy laughed, curling a strand of my hair around his finger thoughtfully. But no answer was forthcoming, and I pressed him.
    "You've got a heart Percy, I know that."
    "No I really don't." Percy said, smiling knowingly, his eyes turned inward. "Maybe I did, but I certainly don't now. If I was using my heart instead of my head, I would have known better than to come up with such a dangerous weapon as this." He drew out Ripley's pistol as he spoke, which he had adopted, in the absence of the pistol he made himself.
    "Ripley made that."
    "But it was my idea. Don't you see Cas? She built it, but I was the one that thought of it, I was the one that was crazy enough, or cruel enough to harness something so terrible."
    "You're a builder Percy," I reasoned. "If you hadn't built this, then you would have built something else."
    "If you had conceived something like this, would you have built it?"
    "No..."
    "And if I hadn't created this, maybe I would have had to come up with something a little more worthy of praise."
    "You're not the first person to invent a new weapon."
    "Every weapon is dangerous, but this is worse." Percy said, and in our close embrace I felt him shudder. "It shoots farther than a bow, faster, and and with less exertion. At least with a bow you have to train, but a child could kill someone with this. If you had been shot with this instead of arrows, that night I left you in the woods, your attacker could have shot you twice as much as he did, in the same amount of time. He could have killed you, and spent half as much energy doing it. This is the culmination of every vengeful thought I've ever been ashamed of. This is what happens when I try to murder my way to an answer, as if death could bring the family back. This is cold, efficient death, bundled into a neat little metal package, and I was heartless to build it. This gun is the highest creation of a man who has no soul."
    "I know that's not true, you're my brother, I know you."
    "That's not me anymore, Cas." Percy declared, speaking lightly, as if we were discussing the weather. "I'm not the same person I was. All this has changed me, changed everything. I look at this place, and it isn't the same place anymore, it isn't were I'm supposed to be."
    "But this is home." I said, a prick of desperation smiting my heart.
    "It's home, but it's not where I'm going, can't you see that? I'm not finished yet, I can feel it. Those crazy idiots I call friends, they're my family, no matter how insane they can be sometimes. Honestly I don't know if they'd survive without me around to baby sit. And whatever it is we're meant to do, it's going to be out there, not here."
    "You only just came back to me..." I pleaded, the growing feeling of desperation rising up to smother me.
    "Oh, I'll always come back! You silly goose, I'm not leaving you!" Percy struggled out of my clinging grip, and turned to grab my hands. "I want you to listen to me very closely. Can you do that?"
    I nodded. With a smile Percy cupped my face, forcing me to look up at him. Then the smile vanished, and his eyes became hard, as he turned deadly serious.
    "I will never leave you. Do you understand? I will never leave you on your own again."
    "You are leaving, you just said that."
    "This isn't like before." Percy asserted, gripping my hand so tightly it began to go numb. "I abandoned you, dying alone, in the middle of winter. While I was off finding fame and fortune, you were here all alone, completely friendless, trapped under Silas's thumb."
    I could hear the self reproach in his voice. The guilt that scorched him. I wasn't the only one living with regrets, burdened by the knowledge that I'd let down the people I cared about.
    "I will never leave you like that again, I'm always going to come back. Would you like me to swear it?"
    "No, no, of course not. Never to me." I refused instinctively, then I grinned. "Maybe you should actually, on paper or something, so I have physical proof. You always were a slippery one."
    "Don't push your luck, I'll swear to come back, but I'm not writing it down," Percy said. "Are you satisfied?
    "Not yet. You still have to swear to me. I haven't heard you do it properly yet sir."
    "I swear--"
    "Properly."
    "I, Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the third, do swear to come back to Whitestone, in one form or another." Percy said, placing a hand on his heart and speaking out to the empty air. "Now do you believe me?"
    "It'll do for now." I said, tilting up my chin. "But if you come back to me dead, I swear I'll kill you. I fucking will."
    "I'd better be careful then."
    "I'm serious Percy." I said, suddenly becoming sober, and I impetuously embraced him again, speaking into his shoulder. "If you get yourself killed, I will follow you into the afterlife, and then I swear you're never going to hear the end of it."
    "Noted...and I love you too." Percy said, speaking into my hair, so that his breath tickled against the side of my neck. "You're my sister, this is my home, and I'll always leave you half of my heart to keep here."
    I could have been content to be like this forever. If he was going to leave Whitestone again, my only option was to hold onto him for as long as I could, and enjoy it while it lasted. After all, he wasn't gone yet. So I did hold on, and for nearly a minute we sat in silence.
    "I thought you had no heart." I said at last.
    "Well if I do, it's not as big as it should be, and I was still a fool to create this gun."
    "But if I've got one half, then who's got the other?" Once again I received no answer, and Percy silently tried to disengage himself from me. I sat up and looked at him, but he wouldn't meet my eyes, and sudden understanding dawned.
    "Because somebody's already got the other half!" I grinned wickedly, trying catch Percy's downcast eyes. "Who's the lucky girl? Is it Keyleth? She's pretty, but I don't know if you go for redheads. What about Vex? Maybe you like a little wickedness to your bride. Or it could be Pike, but that would be a bit awkward with the hight difference, and I don't know how wooing a priestess would go. That might be blasphemy...Don't tell me it's another man...Vax'ildan maybe?"
    "Stop, Cas, stop, stop."
    "What? You can tell me! I'll be as silent as the grave, wild horses wouldn't drag it out of me!"
    "I haven't told her yet," Percy said soberly. "It wouldn't be fair to her, if you knew before she did, so just wait alright? I'll tell you eventually."
    "Very well..." I said, with mock sullenness. "If you insist. When my lucky fellow comes along, I shan't tell you who he is either, but leave you to puzzle it out for yourself. And as another warning, I will be on the lookout anyway, maybe I'll sniff out the temptress for myself."
    "She's not a temptress."
    "Oh, that ruffles the feathers...maybe it is Pike after all..."
    "You're a perfect idiot Cas."