Ripples

Balance VI

Includes brainwashing and mentions of death, blood, and abuse.
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Anastasius could not quite identify when it began, but he knew how it felt each time. When he would wander Obelia with simply a voice as his friend, images would begin to appear, seemingly out of nowhere. At first, they were vague, blurry images that would vanish as soon as they came. However, the more that they appeared, the more that the images cleared. And when an image of bright eyes flashed before his eyes, it was always accompanied by a sharp pain in his head.

The child looked as innocent as he did abused. Bruises and smudges littered his face, while his clothes were crumpled and dirtied. Rather than focusing on those details, however, Anastasius could only see the bright sapphires gleaming with trust. The man yearned to know who it was. Perhaps, he even wanted to find that child again, but the voice would speak and he'd be left with emptiness.

"Memories are useless. Just focus on your revenge." Thus, each time that the memories resurfaced in his mind, the voice would speak, leaving him to wonder about what happened. It could only last for so long. After all, he wasn't dumb. The more that it happened, the more that Anastasius remembered. They were insignificant when trying to identify the child, but enough to tell him that the voice wasn't his friend. However, that did not mean that he could fight the voice, nor regain control. In the end, he simply felt like a puppet of the cruel voice.

The only reprieve were the nights that he would end up in the streets, where the noise was louder than the voice. Amidst those drunken, or the vendors yelling at him, the numb man could walk and feel like he was his own. And when he saw that young maiden bathed in a mysterious blue light, he felt as drawn to her as he did to the streets at night.

The obsidian eyes that stared back at him felt wrong. He could not quite identify it, but he felt that the eyes did not fit her at all. And, when he thought that, he couldn't explain either why those sapphire eyes flashed across his mind. "Who could they be?"

He could only wonder.

That moment with the young maiden was unforgettable. Perhaps it was because that was the first time that the voice was completely quiet, or because his frozen heart had finally dared speak again. No matter what it was, Anastasius yearned to see her again.

"If I may, do you also frequent these streets at night?" The man turned his head from the hand above his heart, only to greet obsidian eyes that were gleaming beneath the lantern lights. He couldn't help but notice how easy going they were, a massive difference from the fear that she once held "What was she afraid of?"

"Yes," Anastasius replied with a dazed look, glancing about him slowly. Athanasia wondered what he was thinking about, but she felt that it was deeper than anything she could possibly know. Seeing how mild he was, now and even last time, she questioned when he had become the murderous man that she knew. "Here, it is quiet."

The princess paused, blinking up at the man. Her attention then turned to the street as well, taking note of the deafening laughter and intense smell of alcohol. "This is quiet? Is the palace really that different?" However, remembering the streets that Lucas had once dragged her into, right before her death, she knew that this was not quiet.

"May I ask why you frequent these streets?" Athanasia blinked again, her eyes returning to her companion. He was smiling, something that was odd because they didn't quite meet his eyes. And when she finally remembered his question, the maiden hummed and wondered too. Did she not go out in order to search for him? Could she tell him that? "No, that's ridiculous."

However, she also couldn't deny that the streets appealed to her. Here, where knights did not follow her, where the citizens were not in awe of her, and where her family could not suffocate her with their adoration; it was where she could move as she was. "Here, I am free."

Anastasius blinked, watching the princess smile fondly. His eyes followed her gaze, finding a simple bracelet on display. It wasn't anything special, just some fake gold and braided strings, but it had made her smile. "It seems that we are no different."

"Huh? Who are?" Athanasia stammered, watching the man walk towards a vendor. As she watched him buy the bracelet that she had been staring at, she wondered who it was for. "Could it be that he has already met Jennet? Did he ever even care about Jennet, or did he regard her as she did him?"

"You and I," the late emperor laughed, surprising the crown princess. Just like when Claude first smiled towards her, she felt that the situation was so bizarre. Suddenly, she remembered what Jennet had once said, "You are forgetting that they're brothers, and the blood running through them is much too thick and evil."

Amusing. She found it so very amusing. And when Anastasius stood beside her again, offering the bracelet that she had gazed upon, Athanasia felt warmth bubble within her chest. Perhaps, fate really did favor her. Perhaps, this was another fruit to her labour. However, she distinctly knew then, "similar to father, I don't think that he's quite evil."

After all, didn't everyone start by feeling cold towards her? If they all got the chance of redemption, how come he should be an exception? And, just like she once pulled Claude to dance to her tune, she vowed that this man would too. "Maybe, that's what would make my family whole."

"This is...?" Athanasia asked with a fond laugh, holding the bracelet delicately as if it would break with her touch. There, where the crowd seemed to live with smiles, where the light seemed brighter simply because fate seemed to favor them, the duo stood and stared at the bracelet. Anastacius placed another hand above his heart, feeling how it thundered for the first time in months. And though he could not identify what emotions ran with his blood, he felt relief. "When was the last time that I felt anything at all?"

"It's the bracelet that you wanted, wasn't it? It's for keeping me company the last few nights." A soft smile grew on the maiden's face, obsidian eyes glimmering sapphire for a moment as she gazed upon the bracelet. Perhaps, she really had gone insane, but she could not help feel fond of him. "Maybe, I am attracted to these psychopaths just as much as they are to me."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to cherish it," Athanasia whispered, wearing the purple bracelet. Even when they had already parted for the evening, she still felt the warmth of the strings, a far cry from the frosted glint in the eyes of the one that presented it. And though that cold glint reminded her just what he was supposed to be, a murderer that seeked revenge against her family, she could not help but wonder, "what happened to him?"