Ripples

Balance XII

Mentions of grief, homicidal tendency, and emotional distress.

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The longer that Jennet stared at Anastasius, the more chaotic that her thoughts became. At first, there was only that thunderous day, where Anastasius told her to leave Claude behind. It had been traumatizing the first time, simply because she had been sandwiched between two psychopaths by herself. Worse yet, Athanasia was dead. Simply and irrevocably dead.

However, soon, the memories faltered. She began to remember moments where the tyrant emperor gave her boxes of chocolates, only because he noticed that they always brought a smile to her face. One time, he even bought a simple bracelet from the streets because he found out that she preferred simple things with meanings.

Just as a tornado began with a single gust, her mind began to gather memories. Happy moments, angry moments, heart-wrenching moments, and all were with Anastasius. So when she could not handle the memories anymore, the first thing that came to mind was, "Athanasia! Athanasia! Athanasia! My sister."

Ever since her birth, after her very first lifetime, her purpose had always been to protect that bright smile. Some would call it elegant, and others would be so cheesy as to call it brighter than the stars. Jennet agreed with every single statement, but she would also add that it has always been her lifeline. Even now that she felt her life was going out of control, away from her dedication to remain in the shadows and protect her sister, Athanasia's smiling face was still enough to anchor her.

However, a part of her couldn't help but hope that she would be the one being protected this time. Which, in hindsight, was utterly ridiculous too, simply because she had already spent her entire lifetime controlling the shadows. What, then, was it all for?

"Sister? Talk to me, what is bothering you?" Jennet blinked, lifting her eyes up from the floor. And, when their eyes met, sapphires to sapphires and oceans to oceans, she couldn't help but recoil because it was far too much of a reminder of what was bothering her. "When he wakes up, what will happen to me?"

"I," Jennet faltered, the memories swirling. She lost her words, her emotions flickering as the moments flashed before her eyes. In the end, she could feel nothing but fear, for she was afraid that her contentment to remain by her sister's side would waver when she could hope to have what she had always wanted. "I need to kill him."

Athanasia flinched, staring at her sister. There was no question on who 'him' could possibly be, and she couldn't deny the words that she had just heard. But, why? Didn't Jennet accept him already? Was that not the point of standing above him, staring for days and even weeks?

At that moment, a rift began to form between the two, for one was panicking and the other was confused. And, unlike the relationship of the crown princess and her mage, the two sisters had never bonded to the extent of being empathetic.

Unlike Lucas and Athanasia, who built a relationship out of understanding one another, mending each other's broken souls, Jennet's and Athanasia's bond was based on assumptions. Athanasia had never dared to ask about her sister's past, not that they ever even had the chance, and Jennet had never cared to ask about the undying maiden's lives. And when it was close to being torn apart, a bizarre sense of responsibility simply patched it all back up.

Never was it healthy, and they both knew that. Especially now when Jennet was close to breaking apart, and her companion simply could not gather any words of comfort. So, all that she managed was, "you shouldn't do that."

Athanasia had never seen her sister express any sort of distress. Sure, there was that time that she opened up about Ijekiel, or the numerous times that Athanasia had almost died in front of her. Hell, there was even that time that Jennet literally died in front of her sister, but they weren't quite the expression that the blonde saw at that moment.

The expression was so raw, a myriad of disappointment, anger, despair, and pain. It was a pain so great that even Athanasia's mind blanked because she had never seen it. Never towards her. But this time, it was inevitable.

She hadn't meant to sound condescending. She hadn't meant to judge, but what she hadn't meant was already said aloud, and her conflicted sister had not been ready to hear it. In her moment of vulnerability, it hurt far more than she would have wanted it to, so she ran away. Back to her room, back in solitude because, this time, the smile of her sister could not help heal her heart.

Not that it ever did.