Mօռֆȶɛʀ : The Dragon Prince Rayllum - (COMPLETE)

Who Lives

Viren laughed. "Looks like your little speech didn't work," he snarled as he approached Claudia slowly. "Such a shame that I have to kill someone so powerful."

"But not if I do first." And she drove out her knife.

----------------

The next few seconds happened so quickly that Claudia couldn't process it all. Her hand went towards the knife in her coat pocket and her arms felt like they were swimming in honey. It was almost as if it were in slow motion, diving towards her father.

And then she stopped.

This was her dad.

Claudia knew that he had done some horrible things, and he wasn't the best. She was even willing to admit he was the worst-- but something stopped her. Did she really want to live with the guilt of murdering someone in general? She understood that he did crimes and evil doings worse than words could explain, but the one who raised her would be dead.

Claudia knew as well that it wasn't Viren's fault he became like this. Her father was someone she had trusted from the very start-- the blood of her father would be painted on her hands if she killed him.

The person who raised her would be dead, and no matter how bad he was, no matter how many wrongs he had done, Viren had been watching over her for so long. If she killed him, all her memories of her father would be gone. Done. Deleted.

"Daaad!" 4-year old Claudia chided. "Are the pancakes done yet?"

Viren laughed heartily. "The best things come to those who wait, Claudia." Claudia went on tip-toes in an attempt to see what the pancakes looked like above the stove, but she was too small so her eyes just gazed like saucers.

Viren had a kind wrinkle in his eyes with a smile as he put a loving hand on Claudia's shoulder.

Claudia stomped her foot, her lips pouting like a fish. "Are they done? I'm hungry!" 

Viren sighed. "Do you want to see how the pancakes look?"

Claudia nodded, but she still looked cranky. Viren scooped Claudia up in his arms and showed her how the pan looked from above. 

"Woah!" Claudia gawked. "So that's how they look like!"

"That's right," Viren grinned. "It'll be even better if you eat it while you're happy, so can you smile for me?"

"Okay!" Claudia beamed. Her smile went so wide you could see her molars. She almost looked like a shark. Viren stifled a laugh and smiled.

"That's my girl."

---

Then she stopped.

The knife stopped mid-air and fell with a loud CLANG.

Her hand was left stiff, still frozen in the air.

"I... I can't," she trembled. "No matter how hard I try, I can't- he doesn't... I don't..."

He didn't deserve this.

No matter how bad her father was, he still meant the world to her-- her father was misunderstood. She didn't care about anyone who said anything otherwise, because even though he messed up, there was never a single person in the world who deserved to be killed by the girl they raised.

And no one should have to kill their own father.

If I kill dad... I'd be an orphan, almost. She looked at Soren. We'd be orphans.

Viren turned around, his posture arubty relaxing as Claudia watched Viren's expression soften for a split second- even though it was a second, it meant the world to her that a bit of him was still left inside whatever monster he had been possessed by.

But suddenly, he froze still and made an odd gagging noise.

His eyes rolled up to his head and the whites of them were only visible.

He coughed up blood.

A pointed silver tip erupted from in between his ribs with blood pouring uncontrollably from the tip.

And Viren collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

Behind him stood Aazrail, who was breathing hard behind him with a trembling hand holding a silver blade. 

Soren blinked. Once. Twice.

Instantly, all the blacks and bruises and purples on Claudia's skin disappeared and she could see clearly again-- everything cleared except the jumbled thoughts mixing up in her head.

"Dad...?" Claudia said, testing the words out. "Dad!" she sobbed, slapping Viren across the face. "Dad, dad, answer me!" 

And Claudia screamed.

See, Soren had heard a lot of screams. He had heard the screams and wails of those dying in battle, some being tortured in burning lava from prisons, the shrieks of prisoners being killed," and those who fell in battle.

But Claudia's scream was loud, shrieking, heartbreaking, wrenching-- all the horrible feelings anyone ever could have felt in the world were there, in that scream, and that was what destroyed him, from inside out. 

"DAD!" Claudia wailed. "Dad, where are you? I know you're there, just... please, one more time, just wake up!"  

Claudia's veins were suddenly filled with anger. 

Aazrail.

That man had done this.

But when Claudia looked up, she saw the attic door closing and Aazrail running away, and she lunged for him-- until Soren held her back.

"What-" Claudia began through tears. "What are you doing, Soren? I need to-"

But when Claudia turned around and her eyes locked with his, she hesitated and realized he was pulling her into a hug as Soren shook his head.

Claudia's body heaved against Soren's as she sobbed into his chest, her body trembling. "It's my fault, it's my fault, I know he was a bad guy but it's my fault- he- he could have changed and- I didn't stop him- and,"

Soren pulled Claudia closer to him as he held her close.

Then there was silence.

A/N: I'm sorry BUT I LOVE SOREN & CLAUDIA's season 1-2 relationship so much ;-; <3 SIBLING GOALS AMIRITE